Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe or any of the popular name brand apps, products, services, etc. The rest is mine.
Chapter 24
"We do not need two bags of marshmallows."
"Says you," Inuyasha snorted, dumping them into the cart anyway despite Kagome's protests. "You forget how many you can go through in a weekend."
"When we were kids! I have a figure to watch now!"
"...Watch it do what?"
She glared at him, unamused. "Hopefully do nothing. Because we're putting the second bag back."
"You're gonna regret it," he sang with a smirk, his eyes twinkling in delight. It was too easy to push her buttons sometimes, and he was clearly enjoying doing just that.
"Well then I'll regret it," she snapped, placing it back onto the shelf. Why had she agreed to do this again?
She should have just gone shopping for their camping trip alone, but noooo…
Just had to go with the king of processed, sugar-coated, fried foods, didn't you, Kagome?
"We don't need this much junk food anyways...we should get some real food too. I mean...our cart represents every bachelor's eating habits...Ramen? And chips and salsa? When did that even get in there?!"
"When you were looking for the SkinnyPop...Which is junk food too ya know."
"Healthy junk food!" she argued, turning around and making her way down the aisle. He just rolled his eyes when she turned back around and snuck the marshmallows back into the cart. She pretended not to notice. If he really wanted a second bag of marshmallows - fine. He was going to be the one stuck taking them back home with him after. She wasn't going to help him pack it.
On principle alone.
"What do you actually want ta eat then, since ya don't want any of my junk food?"
"Something healthier than what's in the cart now."
"Helpful," he sighed. "Ain't this your thing? Knowing food?"
"...I don't really go camping in LA you know…"
"And ya didn't think about what ya wanted before we went shopping neither, did ya?"
"Well did you?"
He just gestured down at the cart and she groaned.
"No!"
"And why not," he whined, pushing the cart after her as she grabbed a few bars of chocolate.
"Because you need to eat things that aren't pretzels. And Poptarts."
"Says the woman who put three bars of chocolate into the cart!"
"A bar a night!"
"And you didn't want the extra bag of marshmallows," he scoffed, leaning onto the shopping cart's handle.
"And yet somehow it weaseled it's way back into the cart anyway," she replied knowingly, and he froze. "Yeah. I saw," she smirked, bending over to pick up a box of cinnamon graham crackers. She swore she could feel his eyes on her ass...but...She had to be imagining it. Yes...They had flirted the entire time. Yes...He had been placing lingering touches on her back or arms since they met up...Yes...They felt like they were an old married couple just walking around a Super Target...But that didn't mean that he was actually checking out her ass right now! Or that his touches had meant anything!
Or that his flirtatious behavior meant anything…
She gave herself a mental shake and stood back up, smoothing her hair behind her ear.
"And you're gonna thank me for it later," he shot back, a deep blush staining his cheeks, before telling her to grab a box of the honey ones too.
"I don't need the honey graham crackers."
"Yes, ya do - they're your favorite ones."
"I like cinnamon ones just as much."
"Since when?" he snorted.
"Since I started using them in my cheesecake crust."
"Really? Ya used to hate cinnamon with chocolate."
"My taste changed," she shrugged, placing them into the cart, his still slightly pink cheeks not escaping her notice. He'd only be blushing if he really had been checking out her ass!
But...Why would he do that when he was still dating Kikyo?
...And did he like what he saw?
The blush told her he must...at least a little...right?
"Anyways...Why don't we start getting real food? We can grab some fruit," she continued, trying to get her mind off of his reddened cheeks. "And eggs...Ooooh! And things for those sausage foil packets my dad used to make!"
"You're gonna run me ragged, ain't ya Higurashi?"
"Yes - but you love it," she winked, leading him over to the fruit. If she had thought that he was impossible before, it was nothing compared to when she was trying to pick out fruit.
"But we can make sangria!" She whined, dropping a few peaches into the cart despite his sputtering.
"Why do we need to make sangria! We can just have whisky!"
"Again?"
"Hey! What's wrong with whisky?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest as she darted across the way to grab some strawberries and raspberries.
"Nothing is wrong with it...but...sangria is more…Hmm…" She pondered, watching him as he eyed a bunch of bananas. "It's more fun."
"Whisky ain't fun?" he replied, raising his brow as he picked up the bananas.
"Not as fun as sangria…" she insisted. "You want bananas? I thought you didn't like their texture."
"It's not that I don't like their texture," he smirked. "It's that I don't like them...raw."
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she tried to figure out what the hell that was supposed to mean.
"Wait—"
"—Hear me out—"
"—We do not need to make those!"
"—We're already basically getting everything for 'em anyway! Sides - I thought you wanted me to eat healthier!"
"Excuse me for not wanting you to keel over and die at 25!"
"Aw Kags...I didn't know you cared that much 'bout me!" he teased, his eyes glimmering with amusement under the fluorescent lighting. "'Sides - I bet it's been years since ya had them."
Because the last time she had them...Her dad was making them. On the last camping trip they ever took together.
She couldn't stop the flashbacks to their childhood. To when they used to do this together. Both of their families gathering for the weekend to escape the world for a minute. Her dad would take bananas and split them in half, sandwiching chunks of graham crackers and chocolate and marshmallows between the slices before cooking them.
They were so good too.
The chocolate would get all warm and oozy and the bananas and marshmallows would get all delicious and gooey...They were some of her fondest memories, frankly. She could almost hear her father's laugh as he wrapped them in tinfoil, telling them to give him a few minutes before they could eat them. He had to keep her prying hands away from all the chocolate and sneaking a few marshmallows...And then once they were cooked they—
"Kagome?" he pressed softly, putting the bananas back, drawing her attention back to him. "Hey, we don't have ta get them," he reassured her, and she shook her head.
"No! Grab them. I always loved his banana boats. You're right. We can make them with everything in the cart already."
"Are you sure," he pressed, picking them up again. "'Cause we don't hafta."
"Do it," she nodded, swallowing thickly. She didn't want to think about the past right now. She wanted to think about the sun on her skin...the fresh air in her lungs...the crystal clear lake…
Oh fuck. If she wanted to go swimming, she would need another swimsuit! She only had one with her, and she didn't think she could wear it twice…It wouldn't dry in time.
"Hey, can you go ahead and get some of the stuff without me? I just realized that I need another swimsuit."
"...You do?"
"Well...I only have one. The ones that I have left from high school probably won't look too good anymore."
She thought she heard him mumble, "I'm not so sure about that," but it was too quiet for her to really make out.
"What?"
"I said I'll keep going. I'll look for ya in the women's shit if I finish early - ya sure you trust me on my own?"
"I don't think I have much of a choice - it's not like watching me try on swimsuits is going to be all that fun."
"...Ya sure about that?"
She snorted, trying to wave off his comment as a joke and nothing more, and ignore the way it made her palms all tingly.
"Go," she insisted, leaving him alone and to his own devices. It probably wasn't too wise...but...She also had other problems to deal with. She was sure he could handle it just fine without her.
She really didn't know if him coming to watch her try on swimsuits was the best idea in the world anyway. For either of them. They might be in a Super Target, but people from home shopped here all the time. That was the last thing either of them needed. Someone seeing them and then reporting back to Kikyo and then it would just be a giant problem and…
She internally sighed and shook her head. It wasn't wise to ponder these things.
It wasn't going to do anything other than hurt her, and it was just helping remind her that she had given up something amazing because she hadn't been well. She needed to just focus on finding a swimsuit.
Which, now that she thought about it, she realized that she had a bit of a problem. She wasn't sure what kind of "look" she wanted to go for. Something more reserved and modest? Like a one piece? Or something a bit more risque because she would be using it back in California too? She already had a string bikini with her so she could keep her Californian complexion. Maybe getting another one would be sending out signals she shouldn't be sending out…
But as she aimlessly walked through the swimsuit aisle, passively looking at the different choices, she started wondering what signals she was putting out, if any.
She...She still had feelings for him. But if they acted on those feelings…
Well…
She wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but...She wasn't opposed to acting on them either. But, he was still with Kikyo. And she didn't want to do anything that would put a strain on their relationship. She really did want him to be happy, above all else, and, well...if Kikyo was it…
She was getting sidetracked now.
Maybe she should go with a one-piece?
But...Ok. If she were at a pool with a bunch of friends, she wouldn't be wearing a one piece. So why should she change? There were other options. It wasn't like string bikinis and one-pieces were the only options for her. There were high waisted bottoms with flounce tops too, for example.
Kagome internally groaned at herself. She was making this way too complicated.
She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, trying to refocus as she turned around. When she removed her palms, she was staring at the sunglasses and jewelry carousels, and well...Fuck it! It couldn't hurt to take a peek while she was still trying to figure out what the hell to do…
Not that she needed new sunglasses. Or more jewelry...but still. She could absently turn the jewelry carousel around, and passively run her fingers across all the sparkly trinkets as she thought. Nothing truly caught her eye though, which was good. She didn't need more costume jewelry that would turn her skin green in a few weeks and tarnish.
She sighed and mentally refocused herself.
Maybe a one-piece would be fine. It wasn't like they all looked like you were a nun if you wore them. Some of the cuts were modest enough, but she also wouldn't worry about feeling like a prude in it back home.
And wasn't that what she was—
She stopped spinning the carousel, blinking at the necklace she just found.
She didn't think it was for women. Frankly, she didn't think it belonged in this section at all. It must have been randomly abandoned here...but she liked it.
It had a single white fang with one large, round onyx bead on either side of it, all strung on a black waxy cord. Her fingers skimmed the charm, thinking of a certain someone's cheeky, fangy smile. She didn't know what possessed her, but she took it off the carousel and bought it, hiding it in her purse before he could find out what she had done and why.
"Kags, you in there?"
Inuyasha's voice carried into the dressing room as she slipped into a cobalt blue swimsuit. It was a one-piece because she decided that, all things considered, it would be the most considerate thing to do. But...she thought that it was adorable and she could still get away with wearing this to a pool party in California. Plus, she wouldn't need to apply as much sunscreen as she would in a bikini. Pair it with a cute wide brim hat and the right cover-up and—
"Kags?"
"Yeah! Sorry! Just trying one on," she called out. "I think I'm gonna get it - care to weigh in?"
There was a long, pregnant pause before a nervous yet hopeful, "You want me to?" filtered into the dressing room.
"You don't have to if you don't want t—"
"—I don't mind!"
Did he sound a little eager? Or was she just imagining that because that's what she wanted to hear?
"Ok - gimmie a sec…" She called back out, running her hands down the suit again. The material was silkier than normal, and she loved it. It made it feel more elegant somehow. Perhaps even more upscale? Either way, she was into it and she really did think she looked amazing...But...Well...Who knew?
She slipped her flip flops back on and left the dressing room, finding him leaning over the handlebar of the cart. He was trying to look casual by concentrating on his phone...But he was scrolling a little too fast to be browsing Insta or Facebook. It also didn't help that his ears were stock still, trained on the dressing room entrance.
"Well?" she prompted, smoothing her hands back down the soft fabric of the one-piece.
He slowly looked up at the sound of her voice, and his eyes widened as he took her in. She watched as they traced the lines of the deep 'V' neckline, taking in the sides of her breasts. Watched as they roved over her curves and the contrast of the cobalt against her skin. How the tied belt drew his eyes to her hips. Watched as his jaw dropped a little, his lips parting ever so slightly.
"What do you think?" she asked, moving her loose wavy hair to the side as she turned around for him. The sound of his phone clattering to the polished concrete floor, slipping from his loosened grip, made her smile.
Yeah.
He liked it.
"Fuck!" he swore, swooping down to pick it up, his cheeks flushing sweetly in embarrassment.
"Is it ok?" she asked, coming over to look at it, and he sighed in frustration.
"Yeah...cracked the screen protector I think, but the phone is fine."
She took it from him and ran her thumb across it, trying to see for herself if it really was just the screen protector...And she noticed that his eyes were being drawn back to the 'V' neckline of the suit.
Again.
The way he was looking at her...It made her skin tingle and raise and pucker into gooseflesh. She felt hyper-aware of him and his attention.
"You're lucky," she swallowed, trying to ignore the way he was eyeing her, but it was so hard. She could feel his eyes roaming over the valley between her breasts, and she wanted to know what was going on in that head of his! "You didn't break it."
"Yeah...Got clumsy."
"Mmm…Do you need a new screen protector? While we're here?"
She handed the phone back to him and he slipped it into his back pocket.
"Nah. I have a spare at home. Just gotta dig it out. It's annoying but not a biggie."
"Ok then," she smiled back, stepping away from him. "So? What do you think? Do you like it? Think I should get it? I figured it would look good back in LA too."
She watched him swallow again, the slight bump of his adam's apple bobbing while he nodded - his eyes tracing every inch of her body once more.
"Yeah. I think it's good. Did you have any others you were considering?"
Was he hopeful? Trying to get a show perhaps?
Strange since he was dating someone.
Something she had to keep reminding herself of repeatedly this trip since his behavior was so abnormal...
"I think I like this one the most," she decided, turning to look at herself in a mirror just inside the entrance. "I like the color...Fit isn't too bad…"
"I'll say," he mumbled, leaning back down onto the cart handles, and that time she knew she hadn't imagined it.
There was no doubt in her mind...except for the little voice screaming "WHY IS HE ACTING LIKE THIS?". She just...didn't get it. And it was confusing and frustrating as hell and…
She needed to get her head on and change so they could get out of here.
Then they could finish up their trip and she could over-analyze all of his interactions with her when they got home. From the safety of her bedroom. Like a normal adult.
Yeah.
Because normal adults totally went on weekend camping trips with their ex-fiances.
No.
She wasn't going to think about that either.
"I'm gonna go change then and get this one. I'm proud of you by the way," she smirked, pointing at the cart. "You actually got some real food."
"Hey! I said I would!"
She waved him off, disappearing into the changing room as her laughter echoed off the thin walls around her.
"It will go faster if we divide and conquer," she tried to reason as they loaded the groceries into the back of the truck. "I can easily walk to the liquor store once we get to the hardware store. Besides...do you really need me to go with you?"
"Well…"
"That's a no," she giggled, and he smiled sheepishly at her.
"Ok. No. I don't need you. But I can still want you to, right?"
"Mmm," she nodded, pushing the cart back into the corral next to the truck. "But we have the food now and we don't want it to go bad…"
"Told ya we should have done this last…"
"Yeah but this was going to take the most time so I wanted to do it first."
"But it didn't make logistical sense…"
"And now I think you're just complaining because you don't want to go by yourself," she laughed, hopping into the passenger's side of the truck.
"It's not that I don't want to go by myself…It's that I like shopping with another person more."
"So you don't want to go by yourself," she teased, turning on the radio as he started up the truck, buckling in.
"Stop trying ta logic me, woman…"
"But why would I when it's so much fun?" she teased, and he rolled his eyes, absently placing his hand on her knee cap as he turned around, reversing the truck out of the parking spot. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked down at his tan hand, his claws gently resting against her skin.
She didn't know what to do...Didn't know if she should say something or move his hand or—
He removed it, placing it back onto the wheel as he turned his attention back to the road and exiting the parking lot. She was trying to not pay it much attention...write it off as nothing. An unintentional slip-up or habit or gesture…Perhaps it was just because he had turned around physically to back out of the spot?
...But her skin wouldn't stop singing. It wouldn't stop burning.
It plagued her all the way to the hardware store, and even as she aimlessly entered the liquor store, all she could think about was him. The way he was acting. Behaving. It was just so…
She heard the bells chime as someone else entered the store, and she looked up from the wine she was absently contemplating, turning to the door out of habit. She wished she hadn't.
"Oh hell…"
Kagome winced at Kikyo, trying to not let the words the woman uttered bother her, but she couldn't blame Kikyo for having that reaction when she saw her too. If she were Kikyo, she probably wouldn't want to see herself either. Kagome knew she hadn't been all that nice to her the last time they had seen each other...She had not only insulted the woman's relationship with Inuyasha, but had also all but mocked it by insinuating that they simply weren't serious.
She had been rude and mean to her, and ultimately the woman didn't feel like she could stick around for the rest of the night, and had ended her date with Inuyasha early. A date which they had crashed.
She didn't feel right about that.
She should make amends with her. For Inuyasha's sake, if nothing else. She might not like Kikyo, but for Inuyasha...She would do it.
"Kikyo," Kagome waved nervously, picking up a bottle of white wine at random and adding it to her basket with the whiskey and beer she had already grabbed. "Hi."
"Kagome," Kikyo nodded, looking like she desperately wanted to get away from her.
"Listen," Kagome began, walking over to her, and the closer she got, the clearer the dark circles under Kikyo's eyes became. The puffiness around her eyes. The slight, red tint to her nose. Had...Had Kikyo been crying? Oh god, had she done that to her?! Oh fuck…
"Kagome—"
"—I'm sorry."
Kikyo's breath audibly caught in her throat, and Kagome winced at the look of surprise on her face.
"Y-you're sorry?" she breathed, and Kagome nodded.
"Yeah. For what I said the last time we saw each other. It...Wasn't right of me. I was just...upset and I took it out on you. Inuyasha and I...well...We've been trying to mend bridges since I've been back, and hearing you question our friendship...I just...I took my insecurities out on you, and I shouldn't have."
"Your insecurities…"
"Yeah. Look...I…I don't want to get in the way of what you and Inuyasha have, and...it...wasn't...W-what?"
Kikyo was laughing, and she was befuddled. What the hell had she said that was so damn funny? She was trying to apologize and make amends, and was trying her best to extend a fucking olive branch, and here was Kikyo...Shoulders trembling, hand clasped over her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks, laughing at her apology.
What...the actual...fuck…
"What's so funny, Kikyo," Kagome asked, her voice strained, and Kikyo's head rolled back, her eyes pinched shut as she grabbed her abdomen. Her whole body was shaking, and they had earned a few curious glances from other patrons within the store, making Kagome that much more nervous.
"Never mind," Kagome sighed, shaking her head and walking to the cash register, handing the clerk her bottles.
"You don't know."
Kikyo's voice drew her attention back to the entrance of the store, and there was something about the woman that was setting Kagome on edge. Maybe it was her posture with her arms crossed under her breasts, her legs spread apart into a wide stance like she was preparing for a showdown of some sort...Or maybe it was the look in her eyes that unsettled Kagome. It was…
Not quite malicious or vindictive...but there was a spark in there that told her that Kikyo was in pain, and she was hurt...And she was about to lash out at her, like a viper lying in wait.
"I don't know what?" Kagome replied, reaching into her purse and handing the clerk her ID, and fishing out her credit card. She had a feeling that she wanted to get out of here.
"You have no idea…" Kikyo whispered in awe. She was genuinely stunned that she seemed to know something that Kagome didn't, and it was starting to grate on her nerves.
"No, Kikyo. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about the fact that you're not so sweet and innocent, Kagome. You play the role nicely though, I'll give you that. 'I don't want to get in the way of what you and Inuyasha have'...God...Do you hear yourself? Do you really believe that bullshit?"
"Kikyo—"
"—Damn. You do. You are so fucking clueless."
Kagome shakily turned her attention back to the clerk, ignoring the way he was watching the showdown between them with rapt attention and she placed her credit card into the card reader, silently begging it to work faster.
"Look at me, Kagome."
Kagome turned around in surprise and watched as Kikyo strode across the store to stand directly in front of her, and Kagome gripped the side of the counter as the irate woman invaded her personal space.
"I want to see the look on your face when I tell you this since he clearly hasn't. Inuyasha and I broke up."
Were her ears ringing? Because she swore she could hear a ringing that she hadn't heard before in them.
"W-what?"
"We. Broke. Up."
Her hand slipped from the counter, but Kikyo's eyes didn't leave her face. It was like she was feeding off of Kagome's shock. The way she was suddenly light-headed and her world began to spin.
"You…When…"
"The other night. At the bar."
"W-wha…"
"Wha, wha, wha, what, Kagome?" Kikyo ground out. "You really couldn't see this coming? You really think I'm that stupid? You really think that I believe that you're trying to work on mending your friendship with him?" she demanded, her voice cracking and slowly becoming quieter with each syllable. "He was mine, Kagome. I have wanted him for years. I finally had a chance with him...But you've never liked me, have you? You couldn't even let me have your scraps after you threw him away like he was nothing. You abandoned him and left him broken. And now that he isn't...Now that he really started to move on from you and everyone else, you just couldn't leave well enough alone…"
"It's not like that—"
"—Isn't it?"
"You think I don't want him to be happy? He's my best friend Kikyo!" She screeched, ripping her card from the card reader as it started to angrily beep at her. "Why the hell do you think I helped him make you dinner!"
"So you could weasel your way between us, and it worked!"
"I did it to help him because he wanted to make you happy."
"Yeah - because he canceled on me to spend more time with you."
"And I didn't ask him to do that!"
"It doesn't matter what you do or don't ask him to do - it's you! He would do anything for you! You don't need to ask!"
"Well, the same goes for me!"
The crowd of onlookers had closed in around them, and Kagome felt herself shaking - barely holding it together.
"Kagome? Kikyo?"
She nearly snapped, whirling on the man who had just said her name, until she took in Hojo's concerned expression. She hadn't even realized that he was here, honestly. But that shouldn't have been a surprise. She hadn't really taken the time to identify the crowd. She just...She just wanted to leave and go home and scream and yell and ask Inuyasha why the hell he hadn't told her any of this.
She didn't get it...And she couldn't believe that it was true…
"Hojo," she replied crisply, fumbling with her purse and wallet as her shaky hands tried to slide her card back into its slot.
"You ladies...Ok?"
No, Hojo. They clearly weren't.
"Everything is fine, Hojo…"
"No. It's not." Kikyo snapped, and Kagome shook her head, finally getting the card back into her wallet and tucked away into her purse, next to the necklace she had bought Inuyasha.
"No...they aren't," she conceded. "Kikyo...I don't know why you and Inuyasha broke up, but it had nothing to do with me."
"That's not what he said."
That made her freeze.
"He...What?"
"I'm surprised he hasn't made a move on you yet, since he ended things for you."
He ended things for her?
Her mind was still playing catch up while Kikyo's was rounding corners and coming in for sneak attacks.
"Have you kissed him?"
"What?"
"You heard me, Kagome. Don't pretend you didn't…"
"And are you hearing yourself? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
"That's not a no."
"It's an 'I'm not dignifying that with a response'!"
Because...She had. They had. Maybe not within the last two weeks…
But if she closed her eyes, she could still feel his lips pressed to hers that night at the lake. Taste the water on his skin from when she had kissed him. She. Kagome. She still didn't know what the fuck she was thinking when she had done it, other than it had felt right.
Oh god…
She was telling Inuyasha to do this, wasn't she? She was giving him all these signals that she wanted him and now he had gone and wrecked everything and—
"Ladies...maybe you should take a step back from this..."
"No. There's no need for that, Hojo. I'm leaving. She got what she wanted...and I...I won't begrudge you for doing whatever the fuck this was, but I want to make something clear. I'm going back to California, so whatever the hell Inuyasha did...It wasn't for me, and he knows that."
She picked up the bag of alcohol on the counter, holding her head as high as she could, and walked towards the exit.
"I hate you, Kagome Higurashi. I wish you never came back!"
She paused with her hand on the door, and turned to look at Kikyo.
"And I pity you, Kikyo...Waiting years to make a move on a man? You should have just taken what you wanted long before now."
She pushed through the door, trying to forget the last however long that was and just find the truck...but she felt like vomiting. She was shaking and light-headed and it was hard to focus on anything. Her stomach felt like it was in literal knots as she tried to walk down the street, and after what felt like an eternity, she saw the hardware store come into view just as Inuyasha left it, his supplies in hand.
"Hey! I was just about ta come 'n' get ya!" he greeted chipperly, heading over to the truck and tossing them into the flatbed.
"Good timing," she mumbled, approaching him.
Oh god, she felt so sick.
"I'll say so—Hey...Kags?"
His nostrils were rapidly flaring and twitching, meaning he was picking up that she was not ok.
And she wasn't.
"Here," she grunted, pushing the bag of alcohol into his chest before lurching forward to the trashcan a few yards away. Her back curled as she gripped the sides, her abdomen trembling as she heaved and emptied the contents of her stomach into the bin below.
"Shit...Kags…" he swore, carefully putting the bag down before rushing over to her and pulling her hair away from her face, tenderly rubbing her back as she continued to wretch into the trash can. "Kagome...What the hell happened…"
"F-food p-poisoning," she lied. She knew he knew it was a lie, but frankly, she didn't care right then.
She wouldn't be the only one keeping things from the other.
When she was able to finally take deep calming breaths, he handed her the keys to the truck and told her to get inside if she felt like she could, and she jerkily nodded her head. She wanted to get off the street too. She was sure the rumor mill was already spreading what had happened like wildfire.
People were going to be gobbling this up for days.
He disappeared to go back into the hardware store and returned a moment later with a bottle of Sprite.
"They didn't have water," he smiled sheepishly, twisting the cap off for her. "Here. It'll still help get the taste out."
"Thanks," she whispered hoarsely.
"Of course," he replied softly, watching her take the bottle and sip from it. "You feeling any better?"
"No?" she laughed dryly. She didn't think she would feel better until she had a fucking explanation. "I feel better than I was, though."
"That's all that matters," he murmured, reaching over to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Can you...Take me home now, Yash?"
"Yeah...course…" he whispered, concern etched into the lines of his face. She knew he wanted to know what was going on, but she just…
She couldn't right now.
She still felt like vomiting again...Because if what Kikyo had said was true - and after the vehemence in that confrontation, she had every reason to believe it was - then she may have just ruined his life.
And she wasn't sure she could handle that right now.
A/N:
OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU GUYS! 300 REVIEWS. EXCUSE ME AS I SOB. I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE WE WERE THAT CLOSE BUT HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER YOU GUYS ARE ALL AMAZING AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Excuse me as I sob from joy.
You guys just...You make me so happy...And I hope this story makes you happy too!
Also.
GUESS WHAT THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GUYS?! GUESS!
Or don't. And you can read 25, 26, (and hopefully 27 tomorrow at the latest) somewhere else! Details are posted on my tumblr (lemonlushff). And you can also catch bunch of quotes from upcoming chapters there too! I know how I'm spending the rest of the night. Hint - it's posting quotes from chapter 27 as I edit it. Because that's how I survive editing. DON'T JUDGE ME!
SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! I read all of them and they make me smile and make my day. YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! crazyponygirl, InuKagLover 1992, LayLay lives, Momo Neko Hitsugaya, Writer's-411, LucyDEU, HammyJessa, RedViolet11, zizi08, ANOAN, kagomesdouble07, Reesexxoo, Lola1991, NightOwlSuffersInsomnia
I LOVE YOU ALL! AHHHHHHH!
UNTIL NEXT TIME!
-LL