~Chapter Twenty~

Cupid is Stupid

I would never pull the trigger,
But I've cried wolf a thousand times.
I wish you could
Feel as bad as I do;
I have lost my mind.

It's all your fault.
You called me beautiful.

~It's All Your Fault, by Pink

Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.

To my surprise, Sammy turned to me and smiled crookedly. "Thank you," she whispered as the three siblings passed me on their way to double doors leading to the hallway.

Although I said nothing in response to her words, I knew that Sammy understood my silence. But at one time, she would not have known how to interpret my actions. Yes, we had come a long way in three months – the two of us had met under strange circumstances and, strangely enough, we had been attracted to each other on sight.

I might not believe in fairy tales, or love at first sight, but falling in love with such a sweet, funny girl? That was something that I could live with.

Sammy's P.O.V.

I scampered through the halls at breakneck speed, praying to God, the Devil, anyone that would listen. Hell, I just wanted someone to save me from this nightmare! And for those of you that are now questioning my sanity – yes, I am awake! This was not one of those dreams where one finds herself running through the school in her lacy underwear and mismatched socks; however, I have experienced that horrible teenage trauma. …in my dreams, that is. So don't listen to any of that bullshit Hikaru insists on spouting – I did not come to my old middle school in such a fashion. He was a liar, liar, pants on fire!

Although, I would truthfully prefer that scenario to my current situation: three evil creatures were hot on my tail. One was wielding a bag of soggy tomatoes, and the other two were happily pelting me with them as I scurried through yet another hallway. With all of this of this running, and tripping, and blood – I mean, tomatoes – I felt a little like Bella must have when she was being hunted down by Victoria and her army of undead, newborn vampires.

…oh, fuck. It has occurred to me that I just compared myself to the moronic heroine of the Twilight Saga. And while I appreciated the storyline, complete with sexy vampires and werewolves, I had absolutely no love for the finicky brunette, Bella. Thus, it appeared that the world as we knew it was ending. Ladies and gentlemen, it appeared that December of 2012 had arrived early! Armageddon was here!

And I still haven't finished The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword! Life was so unfair sometimes…

"Run for your lives!" I shrieked in horror, ducking away from the tomatoes that were now flying over my head like missiles. "Medusa and her sisters have been released from the confines of the Underworld! No one is safe – somebody needs to warn Percy Jackson and the others!"

Another tomato hit me, this time directly in the shins. And this one was obviously rotten; it exploded on contact. Verdammt! I've been hit! Red juices trickled down my legs and over my brand new pair of Gucci Genius Jeans, which had cost over three thousand dollars. Oh, that is seriously gonna piss my brothers off…

I hit a particularly slippery puddle of tomato juice and went skidding down the hallway, all the while screaming, "Help…me…!"

My cell phone was ringing in my pocket, but I couldn't answer it; however, I knew that it was Hikaru calling by the blaring of the ringtone – Reckless Youth, by Pillar. He and Kaoru were more than likely fretting over my late arrival because I was supposed to be meeting them after club hours. We had agreed to walk the short distance to the shopping district so that we could visit Simply Sweets on the way home, as was now part of our afternoon routine.

Of course, that was now impossible because I was halfway across campus, located somewhere in the grade school section, and I WAS RUNNING FOR MY FUCKING LIFE!

Two thin arms were suddenly wrapped around my neck. I fought against their vicious hold, but I was unable to break free. Instead, I found myself being yanked backwards and into the depths of a dark, shadowed corner, which was admittedly not how I pictured my amazing escape. I had originally planned to transform into a swarm of bats and get the hell outta Dodge! Alas, I was not enjoying life as the awesomely sexy Alucard; I was but a small, worthless, pitiful human. And this pitiful human was now being suffocated by an unknown assailant beneath a large, dusty, and pink curtain of doom. In conclusion, I would more than likely be the victim of an asthma attack. …if I survived, that is.

"Hey, you better l-let me go this instant, du Arschloch! I have a b-boyfriend, and he's r-r-really strong!" I stuttered in fear of the situation at hand.

Yes, I actually stuttered. I mean, it was only a few days ago that I discovered my younger friend was a rather handsy pervert. Of course, the discovery had only been made after I'd been accosted by said pervert, but I shall not allow that to discredit my amazing intelligence. Because we cannot all be Sherlock Holmes – some of us have to play the role of Dr. John Watson in this story. And I'm against animal cruelty, so experimenting on poor Gladstone was out of the question anyway.

Nonetheless, that sort of thing had a tendency to scar a girl for life, you know? And I had promised Takashi immediately after The Incident that I would be more careful, but here I was: alone, in a dark corner, with an unknown male… So, yes – I admit to the fact that I just stuttered. That aside, I was also being choked by the slender, but incredibly strong arms that were still wrapped around my neck. That chokehold might also have something to do with my inability to speak correctly, now that I think about it.

Oh, and asphyxiation sucks, by the way. I don't recommend it. In my humble opinion, I believe that it might behoove a person to pick another method with which to meet their maker. Feel to free to watch 1,000 Ways To Die for inspiration. Quite an entertaining show, that one…

A bitter snort was heard overhead. "Yes, I am well aware of that fact, Sammy-senpai." The deep voice sighed in annoyance as he released me, before quietly murmuring, "…unfortunately."

Panicked, I floundered for a moment. "What are you doing here, Neko-chan?" I finally asked.

He shrugged carelessly and gestured to the surrounding classrooms. "My little sister is an elementary school student. I came to visit her from the shadows because she has developed a fear of my attire. I don't want to scare her, you see…"

"Ah…" I croaked. Nervously, I cleared my throat and added, "That is, uh, very kind of you."

"Am I scaring you, Senpai?" he asked in a creepy tone of voice – it sounded eerily like Sauron from The Lord of the Rings. Scary as hell, dude! "…well, am I?"

My expression was one of horror and I felt my eyes briefly widen as the words were processed in my brain; two black pupils dilated in fear once more. Oh, this is so not good… Shit, shit, shit!

Nekozawa was smiling grimly as he declared, "Oh, but you don't have to be afraid of me anymore, you know." Elegantly, he bowed. "On my honor as the President of the Black Magic Club, I promise that I will not harm you or yours in the near future."

Every one of my brain cells (yes, I do have more than one, thank you very much) was screaming at me to kick him where it hurt and flee the country; however, the sad glow of his cerulean eyes stopped me in my tracks. My heart ached as I stared up at him with skepticism, but I had to admit that his words intrigued me. An oath from a black magician, especially from one as talented as Neko, was not given freely or without cause. For now, I was safe from his clutches.

And it would be nice to have my friend back again. I'd missed his evil laugh, and his dark, sadistic humor. Attempting to cast spells on people just wasn't any fun without my faithful Dark Magician card to help me along the way. I must believe in the heart of the cards!

I bit my lip, chewing on it nervously before blurting, "I am so terribly sorry for all of the trouble that I caused you, Neko-chan!" And I also bowed to my classmate.

The younger male was quick to blush and back away, mumbling something about being uncomfortable with my close proximity. He ran a long, slender hand through his blonde hair; it was shaking. Slowly, I approached him and encircled his thin waist with my arms, hugging him to my smaller form. Neko jerked away from me, almost as though my touch had physically hurt him. Burned his skin…

Sadly, I shifted my focus to my yellow converse and whispered, "You really hate me now, don't you?"

"…no," Neko finally admitted. "But I'm not very happy with you either." At my startled expression, the magician dryly stated, "I will admit that cornering you like that was a mistake on my part, and it wasn't a very nice thing to do. However, it wasn't very nice of you to lead me on either."

The confusion rippling through my brain must have been evident on my face because he sweatdropped. After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally gave up and shook his head in exasperation, muttering to himself about the evils of young women. Oh, well – at least he wasn't cursing me to the snowy planes of Antarctica. As much as I loved penguins, I couldn't quite bring myself to live in a cold, strictly white climate for 365 days a year. I would miss my flip flops too terribly much.

At that point, I could no longer look him in the eye. "Honestly, any flirting on my part was unintentional. I was merely acting like I always do around my friends – stupid and crazy. I'm sorry if you mistook my desire for friendship to be something else…"

"It's fine. I should have known that you would choose one of the Hosts over me anyway," he mumbled sourly, turning his head to the side to stare out the window at the miserable, rainy weather. It appeared to suit his mood.

"I am not dating Takashi-kun because he's a member of the Host Club," I snapped, feeling oddly offended; I wasn't some stupid fangirl! "In fact, it was never my intention to get involved in any of their messes in the first place! It just… Well, it just happened."

Nekozawa nodded at that, clearly understanding where I was coming from – the Host Club had a tendency to drag anyone within close vicinity into their nonsense. It was like being sucked into a Supermassive Black Hole. You set my soul alight… Glaciers melting in the dead of night, and the superstars sucked into the supermassive~!

I smiled at the memory of his confession, blushing faintly when I added, "And it was a bit of a surprise that he returned my feelings. Never in a million years did I expect that."

"A pretty girl like you expected to be rejected?" At that, the younger boy chuckled, seemingly amused at my words. "How could you not catch his attention, Sammy-senpai?"

"I've n-never thought of myself as pretty. Maybe c-c-cute, but…yeah," I mumbled, somewhat flustered at his flattering compliment. "…do you really think that he finds me pretty?"

"Yeah, I really do." He paused, smiling faintly as he continued, "Kami, I am such an idiot. To think that I actually believed I stood a chance with you." When I opened my mouth in protest, he held up a hand, signaling my silence. "Honestly, now that I think on the matter, it's obvious that you like him a lot."

I blushed and ducked my head, hiding my face behind a curtain of blonde hair. Even as I willed the burning sensation away, I could feel my face reddening to the point that spontaneous combustion was a definite possibility. Seriously! Steam was practically leaking out of my ears at that point in time.

To be honest, I was embarrassed because his words were spoken so bluntly. And they were true: I really did like Takashi. Yes, I liked him a lot.

Takashi was not the first guy that I'd ever had a crush on either. There had been my childhood friend, Caleb – who I recently discovered was gay – and a guy in my sixth grade drama class. I was still in frequent contact with the former, but the latter had been forgotten the moment that my family died. He was sweet and very kind to me, but nothing seemed important after that day, especially since I had been sent to the orphanage only a week after their death.

And I couldn't honestly say that such a simple term as the word 'crush' might be used to accurately describe my affections for the silent giant. I still felt the familiar anxiety at his presence, and I was always making a fool of myself in front of him, but… There were other new, unexpected side effects to my sudden attraction to Takashi, as well – strange, but welcome ones.

A brief, crooked smile in my direction was enough to make my heart pound in my chest, almost to the point that I expected it to break free of my ribcage. And his beautiful, gray eyes were always focused on me so attentively when I spoke to him, or as I tugged on his hand for comfort, or trailed after him like a useless puppy on our way to class. They never once strayed from my face – not even when one of his countless fangirls called for his attention, giggling and flirting with him as they shoved me aside. And every single time, he would ignore them and pull me right back under his arm, even amidst the angry cries of the canaries.

Under the strength of his gentle gaze, I felt safe, and loved. I was happy.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

I froze in place, my heart skipping a beat as the words were whispered into the silence of the empty hallway. On my own, I would never have had the guts to admit to them, but with the help of my lovelorn friend, I was able to see the light. Stupid cupid had finally caught up with me.

Oh, my God. I thought in amazement, savoring the feeling that settled in the pit of my stomach like a handful of light and fluffy cotton candy. I am in love with Morinozuka Takashi.

***Author's Note***

Me: She admitted to it! You see that, right? It's in writing! SAMMY IS IN LOVE WITH TAKASHI!

Sammy: ...I hate you...

Me: *Shrugs* Oh, well. You'll get over it, just as soon as Takashi gets the nerve to make out with you!

Takashi: O_O

Sammy: Okay! =^u^=

Twins: *Staring at Above Conversation* You better not even think about it, Mori-senpai! *Evil Glowers of Doom*

Takashi: ^^; ...what the hell just happened?

Anyway, thanks again for reading! And to everyone that has reviewed, or alerted, or favorited - thanks so much! I really appreciate your feedback. :D

P.S. Sorry that this chapter is so short, but this one was originally quite long; the only way to split it properly was to do so like this!