Disclaimer: If I told you I did own Escaflowne and that Van is also mine… would you seriously believe me? ^^U
A/N: Okay, here we go again!! Thank you again SO MUCH!! to those who reviewed [see end chappie ppl! ^^] and many, many MANY thank yous to Dariel *crushes her in a bear hug* for beta-reading the chapter and helping me when I was stuck!!!!!! What would I do without you??!!! ^_________^
Btw, don't worry… FLUFF will be coming soon… but not yet :p you'll have to bear with me for a few more chapters before reading some fluffy parts ^.~ though I promise there'll be lots of it! *sighs, blushing*
Natsu no E ~ Picture of Summer
~Chapter 2. Why can't we be friends?~
She slipped into her shorts as fast as she could, locking the door immediately so as to make sure that the boy couldn't come in again. The towel wrapped around her wet hair was starting to soak her T-shirt, and she gave her honey blond tresses a final rub before storming out of the bathroom, barefooted, and holding a sandal in each hand.
"Where are you…?" she mumbled, peeking out of the room and trying to spot the hiding place of the intruder around the garage. But he wasn't there. "… escaped?" she asked herself, a few damp strands falling over her eyes; she shook her head to get them out of her sight, and then decided that sandals were definitely not the best weapon she could use…
So there you had Hitomi, slipping into her summer flip flops and grabbing a long stick that had once been a broom, until Serena's dog, Scherezade, decided that it would make a wonderful toy for biting. Since then, you couldn't sweep a single leaf with what was left, but it was okay for hitting some trespasser on the head, she thought.
Ahhh!! And what if he is dangerous?? Some kind of criminal, or a psycho who wants to rape me and then kill me or something?? she started thinking, her imagination going wild, as she clutched her stick with all her might, her knuckles turning white.
She went into the kitchen and then into the living room, pale as a ghost, until she found him in the small dining room, his face cast down and his red cheeks hidden from her keen big emerald eyes.
"HAH!!!" she yelled at him, pointing at his head with the stick. Sun poured into the room, and she had to blink several times for her eyes to get adjusted to the bright light. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN MY HOUSE???!!!!" she accused him, sending threatening glares and shaking the stick to try to impress him. "And stepping in my bathroom nevertheless!!!!! YOU GODDAMN PERVERT!!!" she went on, and recoiled a little when the raven haired boy gave a step in her direction. She started panicking, and gulped loudly, her voice trembling a little. "S-Stay there!!! Don't move! I know how to use this stick and I will if you dare to come a single inch closer to me!!" she warned him, although the slightly terrified look in her green orbs gave her away.
But even so, he did as told and stood frozen in place… and then, he looked at her;
Those are not the eyes of a psycho-killer she thought in awe, not even noticing the deep blush that stained the youth's cheeks. He attempted a feeble smile.
"I-I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean-" he started, taking several steps towards Hitomi, eyeing the stick in her hands as he tried to get her to drop it and listen to him, if not to trust him.
But when she saw him coming closer, she freaked out. She was alone in a big house, half lost in the woods, if she screamed no one would hear her, and she was with a boy who had stepped right into her bathroom and seen her half naked… what would you have done in her case?
Well, Hitomi decided that the best thing was to defend herself above all; hence, the stick flew to the black haired boy's head with a "Kyaaa!!" while she screamed something like "DON'TCHA DARE COME CLOSE TO MEEE!!!!!!!!" and closed her eyes, not sure if she wanted to see what harm her blow had inflicted.
But the room was silent after her strike, and she suddenly wondered if she had killed the intruder, panic creeping inside her.
The emerald eyed girl gasped when she saw that, in fact, the intruder was safe and sound, and quite alive, as he had stopped the stick's advance with both hands. The expression on his face was calm and collected as his fingers finally grasped the broom stick and, making it slip out of her small hands, he placed it out of her reach. And then, just then, a deep frown made its appearance.
"Hey! What was that for?!" he shouted, and she recoiled, her hand blindly searching for something that she could throw at him now that she was defenseless and unarmed. Her long fingers stumbled over a nice glass ashtray, and she wielded it as if her life depended on it. Well, bear in mind that she truly _did_ think it in those moments.
"Get out of my house!!!" she screamed, trying to scare him off, but he was in front of her in a single swift motion, and took her by the wrist. She felt her breath caught when she felt his strong grip, his closeness, and realized that he was incredibly good-looking. His eyes delved into hers, sparks of red overtaking the hazel mist in them, as he took the ashtray with his free hand and shook her gently.
"Would you please listen to me??" he yelled angrily. "This is going to be MY house too for the summer!!" he explained. And suddenly, she understood; her eyes opened in dismay, noticing for the first time that there were other three people standing in the kitchen door, gaping at them as if they couldn't believe what was before their eyes. A tall man with dark eyes and dark hair, a woman with deep cerulean eyes and chestnut colored hair, and a young man with aqua-blue hair and intelligent eyes, all three looking at them in surprise and disbelief.
And the realization sunk in: she was actually fighting one of the Fanels.
Hitomi felt her cheeks turn even redder than they were, and for a moment she just wanted to run away and hide her embarrassment from their curious eyes. AHHHHH!!! she closed her eyes as the auburn eyed boy released her and stepped back finally convinced that she wouldn't try to hit him again.
A small groan escaped her lips, as she covered her bright red face with her hands. Is there any hole around to hide? she frantically thought. I urgently need one, I want to be swallowed this very moment!!
"Wow, Van, I had heard that you were a heart wrench in High School, but had never imagined that you got girls to fall for you this soon" Folken Fanel said jokingly, and it was his time to blush deep crimson.
"Ah-eh-uh…I-it-it's not like that!!" he managed to stutter, as Hitomi bowed to him, trying to apologize, and glad that her hair covered her face. She wouldn't be able to look at that boy into the eyes for the rest of her life!!
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't know that you had already arrived. I thought you were coming at twelve," she murmured, and Jaira smiled, crossing the kitchen and walking next to where she was. The brunette woman placed a hand on her bare shoulders with an understanding grin.
"So you must be Kanzaki Hitomi, right?" she kindly asked. "I'm sorry if we startled you. I'm Jaira Fanel, and that is my husband Goau over there" she said, pointing a finger at the handsome dark haired man, and the sandy blond girl finally looked up to see who was she being introduced to. The woman then signaled at the boy with dark mauve eyes, and smiled. "That is Folken, and this" she said, placing both hands on the raven haired boy's shoulders, "is Van."
Both teenagers avoided each other's eyes and mumbled a hurried 'hi'.
"Mom!!! There's no swimming pool!" an unknown voice echoed in the garage, and suddenly a lively little girl came into the room with a small scowl on her delicate and slightly feline features. She had the brunette woman's same deep sapphire eyes, and same silky brown hair, and was dressed in a spaghetti strip blue tank top, a pair of jeans and sandals. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and Hitomi immediately guessed that it was the kid who she got to 'baby-sit'. And she didn't like it.
Oh great, can't be better… she sarcastically thought, rolling her eyes, I nearly hurt the boy with an ashtray, put myself in ridicule in front of the whole family, and now I get to take care after a spoiled and posh little girl who has a big problem because there's no private pool here she snorted softly. Not to say, that in top of all that the other guy thinks I was trying to chat up with his brother she blushed again at the mere thought of it.
But, after all, she was the one in charge of the house for the summer. And if any explanations were to be given, it had to be her the one to give them.
"There is no pool because it would have meant cutting down some of the trees to get room to build it there. These woods need hundreds of years to grow, and are very old, so we decided that we didn't need a pool as the sea is less than ten minutes away from here" she explained, her chin tilted up when she looked at the girl, who first frowned and then sighed, nodding. Jaira smiled brightly.
"I think that was a lovely decision, dear. I already noticed that the trees were very ancient, it would have been a pity to cut them down" she declared. "But ah, I forgot to introduce you. This is my daughter Merle. Merle, say 'hello' to Hitomi. She'll be taking care of you this summer."
The young girl walked up to where the honey blonde was, and mumbled some words of greeting, her brows knitted in a huge frown.
"Mom, I don't want anyone to baby-sit me!! I'm thirteen, damnit, it's old enough!" she mewled, frustration pouring in her voice. But Jaira shook her head firmly.
"No, Merle. We've already been through this. I don't want to hear another word about this in the whole summer. Understood?"
The blue eyed girl nodded, suppressing a growl in her throat, and her mother turned to Hitomi again.
"Oh, sorry dear. Merle's a little bit… touchy, but I don't think she'll give you any problem."
"Oh er… sure" she murmured, although watching the brunette's daughter, she was positive that it would be exactly the opposite. In fact, in one single day, she was starting to realize what a hard summer she had gotten herself into. "Okay so… shall I show you around?" she offered, trying to concentrate and get into the role she was supposed to play for two months.
"That would be perfect, thank you dear" Jaira said with a smile.
***
"Hello?"
Hitomi gulped, as Allen's voice answered the phone. She fidgeted and started tapping her fingers nervously on the small table. "Hi, Allen?… this is Hitomi"
"Hitomi! Lovely to hear you, how're things at your place? Snobs already there, right?" he asked enthusiastically.
"Er, yeah, they're here. Look, can I come to see Serena? I just can't talk freely now" she dropped her voice to a whisper, "I… I'm not alone here, ya know…"
"Sure" he smiled, sitting on the couch. "Come over to dinner if you feel like it. Mum's just preparing it now, do you want me to tell her that you're staying?" he suggested, and she gulped, trying to stop her hand's shaking. Allen inviting her to dinner. She had done that a thousand times last summer, when they were still together, and he always walked her up home again, and gave her a goodbye kiss in front of the gates, not a single light around, just the two of them in the darkness. She blushed at the memory.
"…hello? Hitomi? You still there?" Allen's worried voice woke her up again.
"Uh oh er yeah, I'm here, sorry" she stammered. "I'd love to stay but… er, I think I should really have dinner here tonight… you know, first evening together and all that…" she fought with the words. She then heard a squeal on the other side of the line.
"Allen! Who're you talking to?" a feminine voice that the honey blond girl knew quite well asked.
"Oh, just wait a sec, Milly. It's Hitomi" he replied, and she could swear that he was smiling. …Milly??
Allen was back on the phone an instant later.
"Ah, sorry. So you're not staying for dinner?" he repeated, but the green eyed girl was thinking about something else.
"That was Millerna? Millerna Aston?" she asked bluntly and her ex boyfriend chuckled.
"Yup, that was her. She just came to invite us to a summer party she's organizing next month, it sounds totally terrific" he grinned, and Hitomi felt a pang of jealousy in her stomach.
Millerna was Fanelia's mayor's youngest daughter, and she was… well, everything all girls in the village wanted to be. The green eyed girl remembered her as an astonishingly beautiful girl, with pale blond long hair, huge sweet violet eyes, and thin long legs that made boys go crazy. Rich and wealthy, although they lived inside Fanelia, her dad, Grava Aston, owned a huge mansion in front of the teens' favorite beach.
The place was properly and officially called Yurizen's Beach, but everybody knew it by 'Yuri', or 'the yuri', for short.
But, what was Millerna Aston doing in Allen's house? Hitomi didn't believe that it was only because of the party thing, oh no… she made a mental note to ask Serena about the blonde's behavior towards her elder brother.
"Oh" she managed to murmur. She then felt a tap on her shoulder and quickly turned to stare into Van's deep dark crimson eyes. He blushed immediately, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.
He's thinking of the bathroom scene she told herself, and the simple thought was enough to make her turn crimson as well. She wondered how much of her he had been able to glimpse, but she would die right there and then before asking such an embarrassing question.
"What?" she barked harshly, unconsciously aiming at him the frustration and rage that filled her then, not only because of what had happened between them before, but because of what she suspected that *could* happen between Allen and Millerna if given the chance.
His eyes hardened at her sharp tone, and the flush slowly faded from his sun tanned cheeks.
"Could you tell me when you're finished with the phone?" he asked unemotionally, and she nodded.
"Hitomi? Everything alright?" Allen 's voice on the phone broke the silence that had fallen between Van and the girl. She eagerly went back to the receiver.
"Yup, no prob. I'll be there in five minutes. "
"K, see you then."
"See you" and she hung up the phone. Shooting a cold glare at the raven haired boy, she stormed out of the room to bump into Goau.
"Whoa, whoa! Are you in a hurry, miss?" he asked with a smile, and Hitomi smiled back.
"I'm just going to a friend's house for a moment, do you mind? I'll be right back in half an hour and I'll cook dinner then, is it okay?" she suggested, praying all gods the answer to be 'yes'. Goau shrugged his shoulders with a lopsided grin.
"Okay with me, miss. But you don't need to worry over dinner, Jaira will cook, or even Folken can do it. You should taste his crêpes, they taste heavenly" he winked an eye to Hitomi, and she grinned. "You'll just have to tell them where all the ingredients are, frying pans and casseroles, and it'll be okay with them."
Geez, snobs that cook! she thought for herself with a surprised smile, as she ran half jumping towards the big green gates. It was already eight o'clock, and the sun was still quite high in the sky, a crescent silver moon hanging lazily in the east. She could never get to see such a clear sky in Astria, and not even in Boarding School, where there were no high buildings around to hide the blue.
A gentle breeze was blowing, and she was grateful that they were near the sea, where soft winds always blew on the coast, making the high temperatures almost bearable, something otherwise impossible in other parts in the interior.
She ran down the lane and took the only turning on the right there was before the roundabout, hurrying to the Schezars' house.
She spotted a group of boys in the street, and though they were far enough to avoid having to say 'hello' to them, she could perfectly recognize Serena's neighbor, who lived in the same street, although in the opposite side of the road. He was uncharacteristically pale, and he had been Hitomi's biggest fear when she was a kid at Fanelia's School, as he was the popular guy who sometimes took pleasure in bullying shyer and smaller children than him.
Oh, yes, Dilandau Albatou, with those dark red eyes and silver hair, had a reputation to maintain, and he certainly did.
"Hitomi!"
Serena had come out of her house to greet her, and was calmly sitting on the low stone wall that delimited her house's boundaries, leisurely swaying her longs limbs over the fence. With a bright smile, she jumped to the floor, twisted her ankle, let out some actually not quite refined words, and finally walked to where the honey blond girl was, laughing at what had happened to her.
"I don't think it's funny!" the ash blonde groaned, as Hitomi hugged her, still snickering.
"Ah, Sery, you should've seen your face! It was *very* funny indeed."
"Hey, S, great fall there!!! Could you repeat it again??" a boy's voice boomed from the end of the street, making her turn crimson and start fuming.
"Fuck off, Albatou" she snarled as Dilandau and some of his friends, Miguel and Dallet, headed for the spot where the two girls were standing, still laughing at Serena.
"Ohhh, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be saying those rude words, don't you think, guys?" he smirked, elbowing Dallet, who happened to be the one who was closer to him.
"Just ignore them" Hitomi told her with an indifferent look in her eyes and turning her back on the three boys. "Let's go into the house."
Serena shot Dilandau a deathly glare as she saw him mimicking what she had done, earning more laughs from his friends, and followed the green eyed girl into the house, crossing the garden and finally closing the door behind her.
"That son of…" she started, but Hitomi placed her hand on Serena's lips to silence her with a sweet smile.
"Forget them now. I've gotta tell you loads of things…" she grinned in complicity.
After saying 'hello' to Encia, the siblings' mum, both girls ran upstairs, Serena still slightly limping from her fall, until her friend stopped dead on her tracks in the middle of the staircase. The Schezar girl eyed her curiously, not quite getting what was going on.
"What-?"
"Hey, is Millerna still here?" Hitomi shushed her in a whisper, and the ash blonde sighed, understanding what was in her friend's head at that very same moment.
"Yeah, in Allen and Amano's room" she murmured back. "She's staying for dinner. I think she's after Allen" she said seriously, narrowing her big sky blue eyes.
Just then she heard girlish giggles from upstairs, and she felt the urge of making the pretty girl swallow her stupid sniggers. Serena smiled at her.
"Oh, yes Hitomi, I see that you are absolutely not the very bit interested in my brother" she mockingly said. "So, that murderous look I see in your eyes does not mean that you want to strangle Millerna this very instant" she concluded, and the girl next to her sighed deeply, rolling her eyes in defeat.
"Well, okay…I might be a little bit interested in Allen, but it's not something strange after all, he's been my boyfriend!" she reluctantly said, defending herself, and Serena laughed.
"Yeah sure right okay…" she quickly said, laughter still in her eyes, and Hitomi shot her a pissed look. "Okay, okay!" the ash blond girl retreated, chuckling. "So, what's all this you wanted to tell me about?" she said, pulling her friend upstairs to her room.
Serena's place was quite big, and decorated in blue colors; the wooden floor was covered with carpets with ethnic designs during winter, and there were several paintings on the walls, some painted by herself, as well as some posters, mainly basketball, as the blue eyed girl was a big basketball fan. A huge bed full of cushions and pillows was next to a big window with white see-through curtains, butterfly patterns sewn on them. And, as always, Hitomi could see that her friend was still as untidy as ever, as the desk, part of the bed and both chairs in the room were covered with clothes.
"Mm, Serena, are you sure that all this can actually _fit_ in your wardrobe?" she joked, and her friend poked her in the ribs, waving her hand to tell her that her room's condition was not the matter of business right now.
"Are you going to tell me about the snobs or not?" the ash blond girl asked in a sigh, dropping onto her bed and opening her window a little bit more, as if trying to tempt the breeze into the house.
Hitomi took a seat next to her, trying not to crush any of her friend's skirts and blouses, and started to tell her about her 'triumphal' meeting with them.
"What??!! I can't believe it!! You tried to shoot a sandal at him???" Serena was laughing so hard that she nearly fell off the bed, as Hitomi tried to shut her up and stop blushing all at once.
"Yeah, okay, it wasn't as if I was expecting a terribly gorgeous and good-looking guy to step right into my bathroom while I was naked!!" she tried to explain, just when the door opened and a blond head peeked in.
"What have I heard? A hot guy tried to spy on you in the bathroom?" asked Allen, fairly amused. He stepped into the room, followed by Amano, both wearing a wide grin on their faces.
"Hey, and you hadn't told me he was good looking!!" squeaked Serena with a laugh, punching the honey blonde's arm, and she blushed again.
"Allen? Amano? Are you in here?" asked Millerna's voice, and right afterwards she went into Serena's room as well. When she saw Hitomi, she smiled. "Hey!! Hitomi, I didn't know you were here, when did you arrive?"
The green eyed girl tried to ignore the fact that the pale blonde was clinging to Allen quite obviously, and put on a smile as well. "Last Friday afternoon. I'm staying all summer though" she explained, and Millerna gasped.
"Ahh!! So you're the lucky one who gets to live with the Fanel people, aren't you?" she said excitedly, and Hitomi arched her eyebrows. …lucky?. The girl with violet eyes went on chatting animatedly.
"They stopped this morning to visit my father, you know, he likes to know everybody who's staying around, and I got to see the brothers… they're hot!!" she squealed with a spark in her eyes.
"Soo, you're a lucky one, 'Tomi!" Allen said with a mischievous smile, winking an eye to her, and she sighed, trying her best not to let the sadness show in her eyes.
… he doesn't feel jealous about me living with them. He doesn't care if I have something with one of the boys… in fact, I doubt he cares at all about my love life she told herself, her heart sinking a little. If only she could make him become interested in her again…
"Yeah, and with her looks she will surely win their hearts over… oh my, I would give anything to be in your place" said Millerna, and Amano ruffled Hitomi's sandy blond strands of hair.
"Hey, Weedy, I hadn't seen your new hair-do!" he said, using her childhood nickname for the green eyed girl. She smiled at the mention of the name, remembering the time when she had gotten herself tangled in some seaweeds while diving, and Amano had had to get her out of there, all covered in green weeds, of course. "It really suits you" he complimented her. "And as I see that you'll soon be caught, won't you have any friends as pretty as you around here?" he said humorously.
"Oh, Amano, I'm so sorry… I didn't want to break your heart, you know I love you" faked Hitomi with a serious expression. "But yes, I'll get you a girlfriend, don't you worry" she said with a laugh.
"You dummie! Who would want to pair up with you?" joked Serena.
There was another knock on the door, and Encia came into the room with a tray full of chocolate biscuits and a few cokes.
"I thought you might want something to eat before supper's ready" she said with a smile.
"Mom!! Don't tempt me! You know I can only have carrots as a noon meal!" moaned Serena, and when Hitomi shot a questioning glaze over to the twins, they both adopted the same expression of 'you-know-she's-still-on-her-diet-thing'. She snickered softly, and got up with a grin.
"Well I guess I should be going now. I promised I'd be there for dinner, and I don't want them to wait for me…" she explained.
"Yeah, two guys are waiting for her" winked Serena, tapping her shoulder, and Hitomi rolled her eyes. Oh suuuuure… as if I'm going to fall for them. One is as quiet as a tomb, and the other one is a pervert who sneaks into bathrooms and has a bad temper… how could I even put it to doubt? Suuuure I'll be falling for them, this same night she sarcastically thought. Though one must admit that they _are_ good-looking…
***
Van went into the room without any noise betraying him, observing his elder brother ease his laptop on one of the big wooden tables, and then place tons of cables next to it. He saw that there actually was another computer there, with a printer and a scanner, but he also knew that his brother had always liked working with his own things.
"Hey Folken" he said, and although any other person in the same case would've jolted or flinched, the aqua-blue haired man did nothing but smile.
"Hey Van. Have you already unpacked everything?" he asked casually, switching cables and looking for a socket where to plug in the laptop.
The reddish brown eyed boy wandered around the room, going to the balcony and peeking out to admire the dark woods before him, and then to the terrace. "Yup. Everything done."
He gazed in awe at the landscape that could be seen from the terrace. "This is really beautiful…" he commented, and Folken nodded, while grinning, pleased to have all his things ready to be used.
"Yeah, it truly is. Doesn't it remind you of mum's village?" the elder brother asked, and Van sighed, saying nothing. "And what about the girl?" he asked with a mischievous grin. His little brother immediately started stammering and blushing.
"W-wha-what ab-about what?"
Folken started laughing. "Geez, lil' bro, you finally have started doing what Jaira wants you to?" he teased. "At least I must say she's very pretty. You have good taste, kid" he smiled, and Van punched him.
"Folken! She's not my girlfriend, and don't call me 'kid'! I'm not eight years old anymore" he grinned, then turning to a confident smirk. "But, by the way, it is true that I have good taste."
"Vaaan!!!!!!!!!" Merle stormed into the room and threw herself into the raven haired boy's arms, burying her face in his chest. "Van, Van, can't you tell mom that I don't need that girl to take care of me? I'm sick with it all!!" she pleaded in a mewl. He shrugged with an easy smile, as Folken tousled their stepsister's brown hair.
"Merle, you know that Jaira is just worried over you" the elder brother tried to reason with her. "You sure did your best at demonstrating her what you could do when left on your own" he said, chuckling, and she snorted.
"But Folken it was nothing! I don't deserve this military vigilance all the time just because of a little mess I did once" she protested, and Van laughed.
"Do you actually call getting a fire in the kitchen and nearly getting yourself killed with the smoke 'a little mess'??!" he asked, and the girl waved her hand.
"Nah, nothing I couldn't handle. Anyway, that was _a year_ ago!" she said, as if that year had been a lifetime to her. "I'm old enough now."
Folken sighed. "Anyway, Merle, I don't see that… er, what was her name?" he trailed off, giving them a questioning glance.
"Hitomi" purred Merle, scowling when she said the name.
"Ah, yes, well …that Hitomi's to be that bad… she sure will be nice to you" he said, trying to calm the girl, and Van let out a chuckle.
"Oh yes, very nice indeed… trying to hit me with a stick and then with an ashtray. Such a pacific little angel…" he murmured ironically.
"She did WHAT?!" his stepsister shrieked. "Ohhh I'm gonna tear her to pieces when she comes! How dare she??!!" she yelled, and Folken sniggered.
"Oh, she dared because Van saw her naked, didn't you Van?" he put in, and his brother turned crimson, while Merle stopped yelling and looked up at the raven haired boy in disbelief, her jaw dropped without her noticing. He blushed again even deeper.
"I-she-I mean, NO!!" he tripped over the words, trying to make that point clear. "I saw NOTHING! I swear! She was covering herself with the towel, so I just got to see her face and maybe her shoulders but…"
"Aww come on Van, didn't you see anything that was… a little bit _lower_ than that?" asked Folken with a smirk, elbowing him gently, and having a great time in teasing his younger brother. But, after all, he was so easy to tease!
"NO!!" he shouted, so red that one couldn't really distinguish between his T-shirt and him.
"Oi, Van… you're really innocent, you know that?" his elder brother said with an amused grin. "So, have you said anything to her ever since? She does look like a nice girl to me" he opined.
"Merle! Boys! Dinner's ready!!" Jaira's voice echoed in the stair hall.
"Hey, weren't you going to cook crêpes?" Van asked his brother, relieved and highly grateful for the change of topic.
"Noo, I'll let you cook them next time. You could impress the girl with your lemon ice cream, cream and chocolate ones" said Folken with a wink.
"Would you stop it!!? I'm not interested in that girl, when are you going to get that??" shouted Van. And then he froze in his place when he saw that Hitomi was just standing there, in the corridor in front of the study room's door. Her eyebrows were arched and her lips slightly parted.
"Oh, how nice to know" she said coldly. "I may also inform you that I'm not interested in you either, Van Fanel, so, rejoice" she snorted sharply afterwards, and then walked calmly to where her computer was and grabbed a pair of sunglasses that had been left next to the screen.
When she left the room through the terrace and went down the stairs, Van buried his face in his hands and groaned.
"Great. Just great" he moaned, and Folken tapped his shoulder sympathetically.
"I must say you did quite screw things up back there" he said, shaking his head.
"What are you talking about, it was your fault!!!" the raven haired man yelled, and his brother laughed, easily avoiding Van's punch.
"Nah, anyway who cares?" Merle put in indifferently. "Let's go have dinner, I'm hungry" she smiled, and scampered down the stairs, trying to sit on the railing to slid down. Unfortunately, she hadn't practiced that move much, lost balance and fell onto the steps with a groan. She eyed the railing with a set look.
Mwa… practice makes perfect she decided with a feline grin.
***
Hitomi woke up at seven next morning; she eased into her running shorts, put on a white string tank top and a pair of runners, and after placing a hair band to keep her hair out of her face, she quietly sneaked out of her room.
The sun had just risen not long ago, and there was still a gentle breeze in the woods. It was, she thought, the perfect time to go jogging.
For a second she considered going into the house and get something to eat before going out, but she decided it would be too complicated, having to unlock the door and lock it again after leaving. So she ignored her stomach's grumbles and trotted nonchalantly to the gates, deciding that it was better to run before having breakfast. That way she would avoid later sickness and vomits, something she knew quite well from boarding school, as every time she had p.e. at 8 in the morning she ended up with her stomach hurting and her breakfast giving some unnatural leaps and jolts inside her.
Okay, what's up for today… she thought, closing the gates and, after a little hesitation, heading for the left, up to the mountains. The route she had chosen was tough, but it was all surrounded by high trees and not a single person could be found around, as they preferred the houses that were closer to the sea and the beaches.
Maybe that's why she preferred this route, because she was all alone with her thoughts, and completely in peace with herself and what surrounded her.
But the previous day had given her lots of food for thought, and it was starting to give her a headache.
"Let's see. I guess they can cook themselves their breakfast if they want some bacon or eggs or whatever they get in Irini" she reasoned out loud, scaring some birds perched on low branches and making them fly away. "I'll have to get water, get lunch ready, and show them around I guess… maybe they want to go to Fanelia and see what's there…" she growled. "Okay, so guide job today. Oh my god… and don't tell me they can't make their beds themselves…" she groaned, suddenly realizing that living with such rich and posh people maybe they really didn't know how to make such trivial things as those.
And when she remembered that Millerna was flirting around Allen, that she had promised Serena to keep her company with her diet every time she went there for a meal, and that her ex boyfriend didn't seem to be the very bit interested in her, it honestly didn't help her to feel better.
If I could only drop by at Serena's this afternoon… maybe we could meet tonight at the beach she thought with a smile, this time not able to say it out loud, too concentrated on keeping her pace to break it by simply speaking unnecessarily. I just hope I don't get to baby-sit the girl tonight… by the way, I wonder if they plan to go out without her and leave her with me… she mused.
By eight she was back home, sweating and panting though satisfied. One of the good things, apart from Yukari, that she had found in boarding school, was the track. She was one of the star members of the track team, and she dearly thanked Amano for urging her to take the sport. He had seen that she was good at running, and it was, thanks to his advice, that Hitomi was now that good.
The house was still silent, and she was glad for it. After all, she had expected them to be heavy sleepers until late in the morning, while she usually got up very soon to go jogging, when it wasn't hot yet and running could be enjoyable.
She slipped into her new routine effortlessly: she took a quick cold shower, got dressed in a cream-colored tank top and a navy blue miniskirt, and then made her way to the western wall of the house, where the rain water cistern was, with a jug to fill it up….
And she bumped into the auburn eyed boy from the previous day.
You may think that they both blushed.
They did.
"… good morning" mumbled Hitomi, brushing aside a loose strand of golden wheat-colored hair that hung in front of her eyes.
"… same to you."
And there they stood, face to face, not uttering another word, until Hitomi murmured an excuse and walked past him to the cistern, taking the key that would open it from under a stone bench next to the water reservoir.
"What are you doing?" Van asked. His hair was wet, and the girl thought that he must have had a shower after waking up. He was wearing a pair of dark denim trousers, and a black T-shirt.
I've always loved guys in black T-shirts a part of the girl's mind sighed, and the other part ignored the thought. He sure did look good, with his coal black locks gently framing his face, where his eyes shone like hazel rubies.
She opened the cistern with her back turned on him, and realized that he was making her nervous.
"Getting water."
Van bit his lip, not knowing how to fix things between them. He knew that things hadn't been exactly going the best way possible up to now, and he truly wanted to sign peace and start over again with her.
"Do… do you want me to help you?" he asked shyly, and she snickered.
"Oh, no, no please… you would hurt your delicate hands heaving a bucket full of water" she shot cynically, letting the metal bucket splash into the dark water and fill up with the fresh liquid. He admired her swift and strong movements while she pulled the bucket rope through the pulley, and hurried to help her when she had some problems with the huge water filled container, though Hitomi tried to get him out.
"Stop it, Fanel, I said don't-!"
But it was too late… he accidentally made the bucket triple and poured part of its contents onto the girl he had been trying to help.
"I-I'm so sorry" he quickly apologized. … maybe Folken was right and I should try with my crêpes…
She shot him an irate gaze. "So, you want to play with water? Leave these things to me, you snobs have no idea of what to do with your hands, so get into the house and I'll serve 'Your Richness' your breakfast" she snarled, surprised at herself for being so rude. What had Van done to her to deserve such an offensive treatment.
He spied on me in the bathroom she told herself. And he said that he wasn't interested in me
Er… wait a minute. That's not a reason. I'm not interested in him either she reasoned.
But that was not what mattered. What had hurt her was that he had talked about her as if she was not attractive at all. Although she was in love with Allen, she certainly did like, as all girls in the world, other boys to notice her. Feeling as she felt guilty and unworthy of Allen –the reason was obvious: he had left her!-, to think that other guys didn't like her as well got her close to the point of thinking that no one would ever like her. Stupid, we do know, but that's how her mind worked at the moment, still lingering over what had happened with Allen, and still blaming herself for all of it.
And then, Van screaming to the world that he didn't like her. Very well, that was fine with her, but he could have shut up. So yes, there he had. For being an insufferable rich and spoiled boy who claimed that he could never fall for her. Because she wasn't as well-off as he was, for sure.
Van frowned, irritated. She didn't know him, and she was accusing him of being a snob?
"Whoa, stop it there! I was trying to help you, I may have money but that doesn't mean I'm crippled or something" he spat back, fuming. "If you're envious of my family and you have to work baby-sitting Merle to earn a few pennies, don't blame it on us" he said, folding his arms.
"What?!" she yelped. "Hey, know what? Ya go to hell!!!!!!" she yelled, taking the jug into the house, and disappeared from Van's view.
Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?
Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?
***
"And there, you have the Egzardian ruins of the city that was built here more than twenty-three centuries ago…"
"It's a lovely place, isn't it, Goau?" Jaira commented with a bright smile, as Hitomi led the whole Fanel family around Fanelia.
Folken was listening to the girl's explanations with an interested look in his purple eyes, while Van chased Merle around, trying to catch her and too engrossed in their game to pay any real attention to what the honey blond girl was saying.
Hitomi was bored. She had had to take a look at her history books to learn and memorize some of the historic deeds that had happened in her village, just to be ignored by half of the Fanels. And, on top of that, the heat was terrible, and she just longed to get back home and go to the beach.
Something I won't be able to do with these people around! she gloomily thought, and then she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see Millerna running up to where she was, her beautiful face slightly flushed from the run. She was panting, and Hitomi proudly thought that, if it had been her, she would be as fresh as a lettuce after such short run.
"Hitomi!" she smiled, though the green eyed girl immediately noticed that the new comer had instantly diverted her eyes to where Van was. For a second, she thought in delight that maybe Millerna would prefer to get the Fanel as a boyfriend and leave Allen be…. And that meant, still free for her.
"Hey, Millerna" she greeted her. "I guess you already know the Fanels, right?" she said, and the blonde nodded.
"I just met them yesterday, but I wasn't introduced to your children" she said to Goau and Jaira, and the brunette woman smiled, calling Van and Merle to introduce them to the mayor's daughter.
She giggled after kissing both Van's cheeks, and giving short pecks to the little girl, who eyed her suspiciously, not liking a very bit the way she looked at his dear and beloved stepbrother.
"Hey, I was just going to my dad's house by 'the yuki', would you like to come over?" she offered to Van and Merle with a charming smile. Then she turned to Jaira with the same dazzlingly white grin. "Am I disturbing any plans you had, maybe you were thinking of doing something different with them…" she asked, her happiness slowly fading away at the thought that they wouldn't come with her. Goau and Jaira looked at Hitomi, who snorted.
"Yeah, I was planning a great trip around the defense walls, then to the town hall, the video shop and an ice shop. Nothing that cannot be beaten by a beach trip" she grumbled.
"Okay then, you can all go, but promise me that you'll be home for lunch" said the brunette woman.
"Done then! Don't worry, Mrs. Fanel, they'll be there in time!" said cheerfully Millerna, taking Van's arm and dragging him along the street, urging the others to follow them.
Fanelia was small, but very beautiful; paved streets were full of life, bars and restaurants filling them with chairs and tables, balconies full of green plants whose thin branches hung like a curtain down the railings, like a shower of flowers over the passer-by's heads.
"We could stop and buy that ice cream Hitomi talked about, couldn't we?" asked Merle. Millerna shrugged and arched her eyebrows.
"Yeah, sure… I guess so" she muttered, and they all stopped in front of an ice shop.
Van asked for a mint and chocolate one, while Merle asked for strawberry and lemon, and Hitomi for a cookies and cream one.
"Aren't you eating one, Millerna?" asked Van, while licking his own one. She shook her head fervently, as she led them to where her brand-new car was.
"Nope. It has too many calories, you know…" she explained.
"Ahh" said Van, as Hitomi snorted and Merle shrugged, thinking that the girl was stupid if something as calories could stop her from eating something as good as ice cream. Seeing this, the green eyed girl leaned over her.
"I know what you're thinking: I think so too" she whispered, and Merle giggled, as Millerna chatted excitedly about her car, bought for her by her dad when she turned eighteen, even before she had had her driving license.
When they were all fitted in the vehicle [ahh distribution, decided by the car owner, also important: Van in the front seat with the driver, while Merle and Hitomi got the back seats, though none of them both cared much: they had their ice creams and they were happy], she started the car and headed for the road that led to both The Sparrow and the beach where they were going.
"Next stop: Yuri beach!" Millerna announced. "I phoned Allen a while ago and he told me that they would be there" she commented, and Hitomi's eyes brightened, still licking distractedly her ice cream.
Maybe she still had some possibility with him
Tbc~
~~~
Many thanks to all who revieeeeeeeeeeeewed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^________________^
Dariel: *blushes crimson and shakes her head* I owe you my life girl!!!!! Thanks a million!! And _you_, one of the best writers around, say that you like my writing style??? *dances around the room* I feel so, so much honoured!!!!! ^_________^ nah, but I won't let you beta-read this, that way you may still want to have a look now that's posted ^.~ Yup!! I thought about the e-mail thing, it's just something that nearly anyone can understand, you always rush to the mailbox to see new mails, and it's quite often just rubbish *grumbles* hehe, ya see, yukari_rulz was one, and the other tip, this one to dragons, was Hitomi's ~@ryuunet.com :p Allen is mean!! But I tell you, it could have been even worse -_- imagine breaking via e-mail!!! I tell you that's far more horrible!!!!!! *nods wildly* don't worry, Yukari will go butt-kicking quite soon ^.~ and hehe, if I had know about the foam bath thing before, maybe I would have written down that, LOL!! Anyhow, *clasps Dee's hands in hers and shakes them like mad* this chapter wouldn't exist as it is if it weren't for you!!!!! THANK YOU FOR AAALL YOUR HELP!!!! *hugs you almost to death*
*points finger out at Dariel* and yooou missy!!! Hurry up with YOUR fanfics!! You know my reviews are waiting ^.~!!!! *grins from ear to ear*
SabineballZ: Thankie so much!!!!!!! *blushes* And I found Ferrara!!! ^^U it took me a while, but I did in the end *triumphal grin, waving her atlas in her hand* yeah, I just couldn't let those two have a normal meeting!!! ^.~ I hope that you liked this one as well!!!!
Toni: *blushes* yes!!! That's it, Merle and Jaira share hair colour and eye colour ^__^ and you'll see later on what happened to poor Folkie-sama and Van-chan's mum… Ah, believe me, I would kill Allen myself for what she did to the poor girl, but that's what Yukari's in for!! ^_~
Fuzzie: thanks a million!!!! ^_____^ so glad that you actually like it!!!
Cyber1: yup! Lol, it _is_ going to be a reeeeaaally long summer for all of them, I'm kinda addicted to emotional roller coasters so she'll go through a heck of problems from now on… I already said I was going to be evil here hehehe… *cackles* and you could change your name so I guess you did manage ^.^
caitie: thank u!!! *sigh* sorry for not updating sooner but I was stuck!!! If it hadn't been for some help [*hugs Dariel*] I wouldn't have had it ready for now! Lol!! I would also kill to be in the sandal's place ^_~ and thanks again for the lovely review!! *grins*
Cev: Yees!! Of course I would listen to you ^.^ in fact I suffered from writer's block but in the end I managed… thank you tons for reviewing *grins like mad* and hehe, I'll leave some questions unanswered so that you can see for yourself ^_~ but yes, they're good brothers!! Range of likes and dislikes about Jaira is something more complicated so you'll see ^^ aandd… *Ryuu kills the pretty boy with Cev* that was something I also had to do!! *sigh*
deathwings: *grinning* thank you tons, so glad that you like it!!!! ^____^
snow blossoms: *blushes and smiles* thank you!!!!! ^__^ Ahem ^^U yeah, fluff will come ^.~ eventually… and thank you so much for the suggestions!!! Yay!, I'll include some of those in following chapters ^___^ as you see there's gonna come one in the next one ^^ I had come up with your same idea when I wrote this, so feel free to tell me any other ideas you have!!! *grins like mad*
A/N: Heeeeeeyy how did you like it?? I loved this chapter, mainly the first part, the cistern part was necessary though I suddenly felt the urge to delete it when I had finished it, but it has to be there, believe me! If they don't fight a bit, it's not fun to get them together afterwards. Ah, you didn't think for a minute that I'm going to get Hitomi with Allen, didn't you? Because I'm NOT ^_^, later on I'll see what happens to Allen. I want to get Yukari into the story really badly, she'll be justice's hand, mwahahahaha… but she can't come in yet… just a few more chappies, be patient *grins* I'm sorry if Millerna is turning to be a little bit… well, you have read it ^^U I like the character but I needed someone to have that role in the story, and she was perfect for it so…
This was done in a day and I ended up really tired ú_ù so plz, plz make it worthy and, hey, click on the nice button down this and send me a nice REVIEW onegai ^___^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ideas, suggestions, comments, flames… all welcome [okay, some slightly more welcome than others ^^U]
Till next time!!!!!!!!
Ryuu ^^
PS: short, short song extract from Smashmouth song with the very same name ^^, again as chappie title hehe
Ahem… I reposted this to correct some things I had forgotten to fix *sweatdrops* I'm sorry for that… anyway, I'll update as soon as possible, but with college coming over I dunno how soon that will be…