Disclaimer: We don't own Pokemon, Pikachu, or Monopoly. Neither of us sees dead people, but if you sue us, we'll pretend we do, and then plead insanity.
Author's Notes:
Dana: That's right! Lucia and I are back with the next installment of our story. Amazed? Impressed? Confused? Our plans are succeeding!
Lucia: Mwahahah! Er...we were talking about 'those' plans, right?
Dana: Um, yes, plans... *nervous giggle*
Lucia: But anyway, we can blame most of this chapter on Dana, since she's the Hiro/Sato fan, and the rest on me, since I'm the one who wanted ...wait, don't want to give that bit away. ^_^
Dana: *likes that secret too* *hums* And for the sake of keeping a bit of sanity (Gods know we lack enough of that ourselves), Chapter Two takes place eight years after Chapter One.
Lucia: Sanity?
Dana: Yeah, I know insane...I think I have *sanity*!
Lucia: *giggling insanely* People...who don't need a mind...are the happiest people...
Dana: *giggles* What she said! So, I guess the point of the matter, is please enjoy the chapter, and enjoy the story over all, and remember to give us feedback; I *know* where you live... *evil cackle*
Lucia: Do you know where I live? I'm lost. Oh...right...the readers. Bye-bye people!
Archiving: Nope, this is ours, and WE (not Lucia and I, I think I'm being imperial here) ARE MEAN! Archiving only on end of summer and Lucia's site. Okay, and fanfiction.net too. Cause I'm nice. Confuzzling sentences, ne?
Feedback: Feed the kitties! And the authors too. ^^ Millions of authors die each year due to lack of feedback... Have a heart! Give some feedback!
Warning: Shounen ai in this chapter! If you flame us, we will probably do something weird. After we die of laughter…
~~~~~
I hum as I help Satoshi-kun clean his room. To any bystander, it might look like stuff is just flying through the air, which I find to be a funny idea, for some reason. Satoshi-kun's grown up a lot. He's into sports and stuff, so there's a soccer gear sitting all over the place. It's hard to believe I've known him for eight years. And he's exactly the same as he always was.
And here I am, about to hit what would be my eighteenth birthday if I was alive. Time goes by so fast!
Satoshi's got his head under the bed and his butt sticking in the air, as he digs stuff out, tossing it haphazardly behind him.
A knock comes from the door and Hiroshi bursts in, just as Sato tosses a pair of boxers from under his bed behind him. They land on Hiroshi's head and he turns bright red, peeling them off and dropping them on the floor. "Ano...Satoshi..." he says, and Sato pops out from under the bed, glomping Hiroshi.
"Gomen, Hiro-chan!" he pipes. "What's up?!"
I chuckle to myself, floating up to sit cross-legged in midair. Those two...it's so obvious (to me, at least) that they both have huge crushes on each other, but neither one will admit it to the other. I think it's kawaii.
Although at times it can be frustrating, most of the time it's just funny.
And I'm not saying anything! They have to figure it out for themselves.
~~~~~
I have to admit, I'm glad to see Hiroshi. Do I have a better friend in the world? Well, I guess he and Shigeru do tie for that position. And I think Kasumi would threaten me with something abjectly harmful if I left her out...
I pull back from him with a smile, "So, what's up?"
He shakes his head and blinks. "Oh," he smiles, he has a pretty smile, I wonder if he knows..., "just came over to ask you about, well, you know, the dance..." His voice trails off after that.
I shrug and sit on the edge of my bed. "You know what I said about it before... I'm not sure."
"Oh come on, you and me and Kasumi could go as friends." He looks up at Shigeru and smiles. "You can too, if you want. They don't say anything about not being able to bring along friends."
Shigeru laughs softly. "I'm sure they'd worry if they knew there was a ghost floating about."
I laugh too, "Like you are now?"
He sticks his tongue out at us, and then Hiroshi glomps onto my arm, "Please, please, *please* Sato-chan!" I blush at that, him calling that always makes me blush, "It'll be fun! And it's the junior prom...we can't miss out on it!"
I don't know if I can escape from this, and I shoot Shigeru a pleading look to which he shakes his head no in reply, and then I sigh, "There's gonna be another one next year..."
"And you'll try and get out of it too..."
"Hiro..."
"Please..." he whispers, and I can't imagine why Shigeru has such an amused look on his face. I can feel Hiroshi's breath on my cheek, and I turn to him and our lips are just a breath apart. I flail back and fall off the bed.
"Sato! You okay?"
I nod and sit up. "Yeah... Hiro, please you can't be serious."
He has his 'pouty cute you bet I'm serious' look on his face. I hate that look. It's gotten me into so much trouble over the years. "I can't dance."
"I'm sure we can find someone to help with that." Hiroshi says with a smile and I finally sit back down on the bed. "Like who?"
Hiroshi looks thoughtful, opens and closes his mouth a few times, and then shrugs, "I don't know."
I sigh. But maybe I can get out of his yet... "Well..."
Shigeru clears his throat. I blink and look up at him. "Huh? What is it, Geru?"
"Well, I can dance..."
I blink a couple more times and Hiroshi glomps onto my arm. "It's perfect! Please, Sato-chan, please! Geru can help you learn and we'd have so much fun, please?"
I melt and smile. "Sure." I really turn to mush when he wants his way...
~~~~~
I'm inwardly giggling like a six-year-old. I can't believe they don't see this!
"Sure, I can teach you to dance, Satoshi-kun. It's not that hard. And I think Kasumi knows how to dance pretty well, so if you still need help, she'll be at the dance, too." I wonder if I can ask her to leave Satoshi and Hiroshi alone to spend some "quality time" together.
I must have a big, goofy grin on my face, because Satoshi asks, "Shigeru...what are you thinking? Anytime you have that look on your face, you're plotting."
I will an angel's halo into existence above me. "Who? Me? I'm just thinking about the dance."
"Oh, really?" Satoshi says.
"Really!" I reply, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He still looks like he doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push me any further.
"Well, Satoshi, why don't you put some music on?" I ask. "Hiroshi? Do you need dance lessons, too?"
~~~~~
I know he's up to something. Pushing the matter, though, isn't going to help me in the matter. I shoot one glance back at Hiroshi, who's nodding, "I could always use a bit of a refresher course..."
Dancing with Hiroshi... I wonder if he...
I'm trying my best to keep any big, stupid grins off my face, unlike a certain ghost who will go unnamed had on but a moment ago, as I turn on my radio. "Are we looking for anything in particular?"
"Um, well, you need slow music to slow dance, right?" Shigeru asks in a tone suited more to a five year old.
"Um," I blush and turn the radio, trying to find a station for just that, "I guess you're right."
I turn back to them. Shigeru's smiling angelically and Hiroshi's staring off into the space around my lamp. "So..."
"So..."
"Come on off you're high horse, Shigeru," I beckon to him with a motion of my finger, "I don't want to stop on Hiroshi's feet or anything like that."
Hiroshi's gaze snaps back to me, and I figure out what I just said, "I mean, you do want to, don't you?"
He blinks then smiles and nods, "Of course I do, Sato-chan."
There's that stupid grin I was trying to fight off... I think it got the better of me. "So, Shigeru..."
~~~~~
I'm doing my best not to get that big, "I'm plotting something and everything's going my way" grin on my face again. "All right," I say. "Now, Hiroshi-kun, put your arms around Satoshi's waist...and Sato, your arms go around Hiroshi's shoulders..." Here comes that grin again. I turn away to hide it, floating down to turn the volume up on the CD player. "Now just sway together," I say, my back still turned to them. Hmmm...I bet they're not paying much attention to me anymore, so they might not notice the goofy grin on my face.
...Yup, I was right. I resume my sitting position in mid-air. Awww...isn't that cute?
"Um...Geru?" Satoshi says after a moment. "My hands are getting tired."
My grin gets bigger. "So just pull him closer and wrap your arms around him."
~~~~~
Oh. That sounds simple. Why didn't I think about that?
This is nice, though. I do as Shigeru's said, just pulling him closer and wrapping my arms around him. And it feels nice, very nice.
I mean, it's obvious that I like him. And little things like this, can't help but make me believe that he likes me too. So it's all good, right? Wrong.
Because there's a chance that he's just acting like a friend. And that that's the only way that he sees me...
Wouldn't it be too good to be true?
But if it's possible...oh come on, I don't have that sort of luck at all.
I think it would be... it really is too good to be true...so I'll just take what I have. And right now, I never imagined something like this would happen. And I'm afraid something is going to ruin it...
"Are we doing this right?" I ask softly.
Hiroshi's face is actually just so close... I need to get these thoughts out of my head, don't I? Where are they supposed to go, though...?
~~~~~
"'Scuse me for a moment," I say, sneaking towards the door. "I'm hungry going for some food." Hopefully it won't occur to them that, while I can eat, I don't get hungry. I think they're too wrapped up in each other to really think about what I've said. I float down and slip out of the room. I really do go get a snack- even if I don't get hungry, I miss eating sometimes. But I do it fast- don't want to miss anything!
I slip back upstairs and crack the door to peek in on them.
~~~~~
If I thought it was too good to be true, just a moment ago...then it really is beyond just *good* right now. "Hiroshi..."
"Satoshi..."
He closes his eyes, and leans closer. Oh god, he's going to kiss me, he's going to kiss me, he's going to...
That line of thought is completely and thoroughly derailed as the phone begins to ring, and I blink as Hiroshi abruptly jerks back. "Huh?"
"Satoshi," Mom calls from downstairs, and I swear I just heard muffled cursing from the door, "there's a phone-call for you!"
I blink and stammer and then pull away from Hiroshi, who sits down on the edge of my bed. Dazed, I turn down the music and then pick up my phone. "Hello?"
Why did that have to happen...we were so close...
~~~~~
"Oh, hi, Kasumi," Satoshi says as I mentally practice my naughty
vocabulary...in five different languages. I'm going to have to yell at Kasumi later. "Yeah, I'm going," Satoshi nods, winding the phone cord around his finger. "Yeah, he convinced me. OK, I'll talk to you later."
He hangs up the phone and it immediately rings again. Stupid phone...as soon as Satoshi gets off the phone, I'm taking all of them off the hook.
His face lights up. "Hi! You're coming home? Great, I haven't seen you in _ages_!" He must be talking to his sister, the one who was always off at boarding school when he was younger and is in college now.
"Cool, maybe you can come to the dance with us! Yeah, Hiroshi and Kasumi- they're the one's I'm always talking about. You need to meet them, they're great! ... Well, you always come and leave right away, and it seems you always miss them...yeah, Geru's still here." He hangs up- finally. I guess I should go back in now, before they realize I'm missing.
~~~~~
With a smile I turn to Hiroshi and Shigeru. Oh, didn't notice he'd gotten back... "Guess what!"
Hiroshi looks to Shigeru who has s similar look, "Don't tell me, your sister is coming for a visit?"
I nod, "Yeah, I guess you noticed. It really has been so long...this is the perfect time for her to visit, and it'll be perfect!"
With a spin, I sit down on the bed next to Hiroshi. He laughs softly and shakes his head. "Well, it would be nice to meet her."
"Yeah, I know you'll all like her!"
"Well, I know I'll always like you better, so I hope you don't mind."
My tongue's all tied up and Shigeru's just got that *look* again... 'oh stop looking that way!' I mouth to him.
He does a little shrug. "So, have you gotten it down? Or do we need more practicing?"
I blush for a moment before I realize he means dancing. "Well, I'm sure that we'll need to practice more so we don't make fools of ourselves, right Hiro?"
He smiles and nods. "I think so too."
Everything is turning out just perfectly. This is so like...good...like... heaven or something... Yeah, I know, I'm really eloquent as Shigeru would put it. But I don't really care...
~~~~~
"I look-"
"Great," I interrupt Satoshi.
"-stupid," he finished.
"No, you don't," I reply. Satoshi's sister nods her agreement, moving to fix his collar.
"You're so grown-up!" she squeals.
"Nanami," he whines, batting her hand away.
I cough. "Don't worry...certain people you have a crush on will think you look absolutely adorable."
He chuckles nervously. "I don't have a crush on Kasumi," he says.
I just smile sweetly at him.
"OK, let's go," Nanami says. She's driving and we're picking up Hiroshi on the way. Kasumi has her own ride there.
"I'll meet you there," I say, since I promised Kasumi I'd let her know how she looks. I float through the wall and then through the wall of Kasumi's house that leads to her hallway.
I knock on her door. "Come in!" she pipes. "So, from a guys' perspective, do I look OK?"
Wow, is the only word that comes to mind. She has on a white dress with gold trimmings, making her look pure and regal at the same time. The gold swirls up from the hem of the dress, looking like a dancing flame, and setting off some gold highlights in her red hair, which she has down and curled slightly at the end. Blue eyeshadow and a necklace with an aquamarine butterfly pendant set off her eyes.
"Wow," I say after a moment. "If I was alive, I'd definitely want to date you."
"So I look OK?" she says. Man, girls are so nervous about these things. On second thought, Satoshi was as well.
"Gorgeous," I reply, offering my arm and escorting her to the end of the hall, before I blink out of sight so her parents won't see me and follow her to her car.
~~~~~
I don't believe Shigeru. I know I look stupid, and there's nothing that he or anyone else can say to change my mind.
That, and Nanami looks far too amused by the entire thing for my liking. "Why do you look so smug?" I ask my sister as she unlocks the door to her car. She looks up at me innocently, and smiles.
"Who, me? I'm not smug at all."
Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that look. I perfected it on our mother over the years...
"You're up to something, too, aren't you? Just like Shigeru..."
She laughs and unlocks the passenger side door. "You're so paranoid."
I get in, crossing my arms on my chest as I do. "Well excuse me for breathing."
"You're excused," she says as she gets in, "now buckle up and tell me how to get to Hiroshi's house."
"Hiroshi..." I sigh happily. I wonder how he's going to look. Better than I do in this stupid suit, that's for sure. This is going to be such a perfect night... With another sigh, I buckle up and Nanami starts up the car. "You're gonna like him so much. He's the greatest."
She chuckles lightly. "We'll see. You sure seem to like him."
I am not going to blush in front of my sister when she insinuates things! I look away, blushing where she can't see the reaction. "Well, he's a great friend. Him and Shigeru and Kasumi are the best ones I've ever had..."
She stops at the corner and her hand is light on my shoulder. "I'm glad you like it here. I'm glad you and Mom finally found a place..."
I look back at her, smiling. "It was bound to happen."
She smiles too. "I know. Now, where are we going?"
"Oh, turn here. Then take the first right. He's the third house down on the left."
She smiles and we move on. Tonight is going to be absolutely perfect. She pulls up in front of Hiroshi's house and taps my arm. "Huh?"
She shakes her head with a grin. "You were just staring off into space. You're acting like this is a date or something, dear little brother of mine."
I blush and unbuckle my seat belt to get out of the car. "It's not a date!" I say, turning and stomping up towards the house. But... that would be nice if it could be possible...
I knock at the door and Hiroshi's mother answers. She smiles and ushers me in, complimenting me on how nice I look this evening. "It's nothing..." I murmur, looking for Hiroshi.
"Oh, he'll be down in a moment." She tells me and goes off.
I wonder if I look all right... I hope I look all right... I wonder if Hiroshi will think I look all right... I... "Sato-chan?"
I blink and look up at him. "Wow."
He smiles and takes the last few steps down the stairs. "Thanks... I guess I look OK?"
I nod, silent. OK is definitely not the word that I would use, but it'll work. "Shall we be going?" he asks with that melt-worthy smile of his.
"Oh yes, the night is young, as they say..."
He giggles, and we're about to leave when his mother shows up with a camera in hand. Oh God not this... "Oh Hiroshi, you have to let me take a picture... I haven't seen you this dressed up in forever."
He blushes and nods and we stand there at the foot of the stairs as she takes several pictures. Finally, Hiroshi gives in, "Mom, we're going to be late..."
"Oh!" She starts to shoo us out the door. "Go on, go on, and have fun!"
I'm sure we will...
~~~~~
Kasumi and I seem to have beaten Satoshi and company. I don't see them here, yet, anyway. "I wonder where they are," I announce in Kasumi's ear, still remaining invisible. She jumps a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
She relaxes a little. "It's OK," she whispers out of the corner of her mouth. "So what does Satoshi's sister look like?"
I think. "Well, she has black hair, like him, and she's really pretty. Tonight she's wearing a gold dress with black butterflies on it and a dark gold poofy skirt. It's really pretty."
Kasumi sighs. "She sounds really pretty."
"Don't worry, you are too." Poor Kasumi...she needs the encouragement. She's kind of made fun of for being a tomboy, and I think it really hurts her feelings more than they let on.
"Oh, look! They're here!" I can see them, from my floating position above the crowd, but Kasumi can't.
"Where?" she asks.
"Over there," I point, and we start weaving through the crowd. "We have to find some excuse to squirrel Nanami off, though, so Satoshi and Hiroshi can have some alone time."
Kasumi giggles. "I'm two steps ahead of you. I'll just ask her to help me with my make-up. You know, girl time?"
"Sounds good," I agree. "And you can nab me as your male consultant again."
"Sure, that sounds...oh my." Her eyes have gone really wide. "Is that Nanami?"
~~~~~
We've woven our way through the crowd, trying to search out Kasumi or Shigeru. Hiroshi finds Kasumi first, who's staring in something close to awe. "Kasumi, Shigeru!" I wave with a smile.
Kasumi snaps out of it and smiles and waves back, and Shigeru has a smug look on his face from where he floats.
Well, I guess I too would be smug if I could float. But that aside, "Kasumi, I'd like you to meet Nanami. Nanami, this is one of my best friends, Kasumi."
Kasumi has an almost shy smile on her lips- that's completely out of character for her, isn't it?
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I- I've heard so much about you."
Nanami smiles and nods slightly, "Satoshi's told me so much about you, too, Kasumi."
I blink and Kasumi twirls a bit of her hair with a finger, "Do you think you could...you know...help me with my make-up? It's something these boys just wouldn't be able to understand..."
She smiles, "Oh believe me, I understand completely." My sister gives me a knowing look, she had better not bring up that time when I was three and she played dress up with me...
"Have fun you two." Shigeru says and then looks back at Hiroshi and I, crossing his arms over his chest. I'm so glad everyone's busy enough *not* to notice us. "Wow, I must admit, I think you look perfect together."
I blush and Hiroshi clears his throat. "Well?" Shigeru pipes up with a glint in his eyes. I turn to face Hiroshi, smiling unsteadily. "Well..."
"Want to dance?" he asks suddenly. I nod mutely. We're going to be stared at. And you know what? I don't care at all...
I give Shigeru a smile before Hiroshi drags me off towards the dance floor.
~~~~~
Yes, score one for the ghost! They're so adorable! I'm giggling madly to myself, now, as I wander off to see what Kasumi and Nanami are actually up to. It looked like love at first sight to me, and although the thought hadn't occurred to me beforehand, I now realize they would make a cute couple.
I poke my head into the bathroom. Kasumi and Nanami are whispering to each other and giggling, and then I see Nanami offer Kasumi her hand. Kasumi blushes and takes it, and Nanami leads her out of the bathroom and on to the opposite end of the floor as Satoshi and Hiroshi, escaping their notice.
Actually, I think an earthquake would escape their notice at this point. Satoshi's got his arms wrapped around Hiroshi's shoulders, and the smaller boy has his arms around Satoshi's waist and his face buried in his shirt. Awwww...it's so obvious to everyone at this point how much they like each other, but nothing else is going to happen until they admit their feelings. Darn it! And there's nothing I can do about that.
Although just watching them like this turns me into a pile of goo.
But still, I wish they weren't both so shy/stubborn. They probably both think that this is a "friendly" dance.
Well, maybe there is something I can do. I take off for the bathrooms, where I form myself to as solid as I get, complete with formal gear. I slip back out, before requesting the sappiest song I can think of, and one that's a favorite love song for both of the boys. Funny that they've never compared notes- I don't think either of them knows that the other loves this song so much.
~~~~~
That's it, I have to be dead and this *has* to be heaven. Because I've never been as happy as I am right now...and that's with Hiroshi in my arms, this way...
I need to thank Shigeru for the dance lessons...I think they're helping...
But...Hiroshi and I...we're just friends...just friends...I shouldn't be thinking things this way through. But...
That's when I hear the sound of one of my favorite songs. Why is that playing? I open my eyes, I hadn't even noticed they were closed, glancing down at Hiroshi who slowly looks up at me.
"Hiroshi..." I whisper under the music. I didn't notice I'd spoken, until he replied.
"Satoshi..."
It's happening all over again. His lips are so close, and I swear that this has been set up...just so that...
"You know..." I murmur. "This is one of my favorite songs..."
He blinks cutely. "Really? It's mine too... How long have we known each other?"
"Eight years now..."
Eight perfect years...
"Mmm...I feel like there's still so much that I don't know about you, Sato-chan..."
"I...maybe we need to change it. I would like to get to know you better, too..." Because he's right...he's such a mystery to me... My throat suddenly feels dry and I swallow the lump that's formed. "I think...there's a lot that I wish I could tell you, Hiroshi..."
He blinks, then smiles. "There's a lot that I've been holding out on you about, too." He says softly, before cushioning his face against my shoulder.
"I- Hiroshi, can I be blunt?" I settle on that in the end, because it seems to be the best thing that I can do. He murmurs a yes in reply, and I close my eyes. Just swaying, that's what this feels like.
And it's so very nice...
Now, just what to say? I said blunt. So the only thing that's going to work is the truth. I can do this. I know I can... "I think I love you, Hiroshi...and I have for a long time..."
"Satoshi..." His voice is just so very calm, that it scares me so very much.
I open my eyes slowly, and I swear it's like the rest of the world has just stopped. I'm terrified of what he's going to say...
So when he smiles and presses up on his tiptoes, getting a better hold on me with his arms shifting around me as he does, and then I feel his lips pressed against mine, and my eyes just sort of close on reflex...
It's sort of slow and easy, I mean, I've never kissed anyone before...not like this... But it's something that I hope we have chances to make up and refine... The world really has stopped moving and existing, except for him. Just us and the music...
So when I feel him pull away, it's sort of a shock. "Hiroshi...?" I blink and look down at him. He's just smiling up at me, completely angelic.
"I love you too, Satoshi. I...I think we need to have deep talks like this more often..."
I have to smile at that. "Only if you want to."
"Believe me, it makes me happy."
So I smile and just kiss him again. And this time...if I thought the first was amazing...well, this is just better.
~~~~~
Lucia: *smile* Don't worry, the third and final part is finished, and it will be posted as soon as Dana htmls it. ^_^
Author's Notes:
Dana: That's right! Lucia and I are back with the next installment of our story. Amazed? Impressed? Confused? Our plans are succeeding!
Lucia: Mwahahah! Er...we were talking about 'those' plans, right?
Dana: Um, yes, plans... *nervous giggle*
Lucia: But anyway, we can blame most of this chapter on Dana, since she's the Hiro/Sato fan, and the rest on me, since I'm the one who wanted ...wait, don't want to give that bit away. ^_^
Dana: *likes that secret too* *hums* And for the sake of keeping a bit of sanity (Gods know we lack enough of that ourselves), Chapter Two takes place eight years after Chapter One.
Lucia: Sanity?
Dana: Yeah, I know insane...I think I have *sanity*!
Lucia: *giggling insanely* People...who don't need a mind...are the happiest people...
Dana: *giggles* What she said! So, I guess the point of the matter, is please enjoy the chapter, and enjoy the story over all, and remember to give us feedback; I *know* where you live... *evil cackle*
Lucia: Do you know where I live? I'm lost. Oh...right...the readers. Bye-bye people!
Archiving: Nope, this is ours, and WE (not Lucia and I, I think I'm being imperial here) ARE MEAN! Archiving only on end of summer and Lucia's site. Okay, and fanfiction.net too. Cause I'm nice. Confuzzling sentences, ne?
Feedback: Feed the kitties! And the authors too. ^^ Millions of authors die each year due to lack of feedback... Have a heart! Give some feedback!
Warning: Shounen ai in this chapter! If you flame us, we will probably do something weird. After we die of laughter…
~~~~~
I hum as I help Satoshi-kun clean his room. To any bystander, it might look like stuff is just flying through the air, which I find to be a funny idea, for some reason. Satoshi-kun's grown up a lot. He's into sports and stuff, so there's a soccer gear sitting all over the place. It's hard to believe I've known him for eight years. And he's exactly the same as he always was.
And here I am, about to hit what would be my eighteenth birthday if I was alive. Time goes by so fast!
Satoshi's got his head under the bed and his butt sticking in the air, as he digs stuff out, tossing it haphazardly behind him.
A knock comes from the door and Hiroshi bursts in, just as Sato tosses a pair of boxers from under his bed behind him. They land on Hiroshi's head and he turns bright red, peeling them off and dropping them on the floor. "Ano...Satoshi..." he says, and Sato pops out from under the bed, glomping Hiroshi.
"Gomen, Hiro-chan!" he pipes. "What's up?!"
I chuckle to myself, floating up to sit cross-legged in midair. Those two...it's so obvious (to me, at least) that they both have huge crushes on each other, but neither one will admit it to the other. I think it's kawaii.
Although at times it can be frustrating, most of the time it's just funny.
And I'm not saying anything! They have to figure it out for themselves.
~~~~~
I have to admit, I'm glad to see Hiroshi. Do I have a better friend in the world? Well, I guess he and Shigeru do tie for that position. And I think Kasumi would threaten me with something abjectly harmful if I left her out...
I pull back from him with a smile, "So, what's up?"
He shakes his head and blinks. "Oh," he smiles, he has a pretty smile, I wonder if he knows..., "just came over to ask you about, well, you know, the dance..." His voice trails off after that.
I shrug and sit on the edge of my bed. "You know what I said about it before... I'm not sure."
"Oh come on, you and me and Kasumi could go as friends." He looks up at Shigeru and smiles. "You can too, if you want. They don't say anything about not being able to bring along friends."
Shigeru laughs softly. "I'm sure they'd worry if they knew there was a ghost floating about."
I laugh too, "Like you are now?"
He sticks his tongue out at us, and then Hiroshi glomps onto my arm, "Please, please, *please* Sato-chan!" I blush at that, him calling that always makes me blush, "It'll be fun! And it's the junior prom...we can't miss out on it!"
I don't know if I can escape from this, and I shoot Shigeru a pleading look to which he shakes his head no in reply, and then I sigh, "There's gonna be another one next year..."
"And you'll try and get out of it too..."
"Hiro..."
"Please..." he whispers, and I can't imagine why Shigeru has such an amused look on his face. I can feel Hiroshi's breath on my cheek, and I turn to him and our lips are just a breath apart. I flail back and fall off the bed.
"Sato! You okay?"
I nod and sit up. "Yeah... Hiro, please you can't be serious."
He has his 'pouty cute you bet I'm serious' look on his face. I hate that look. It's gotten me into so much trouble over the years. "I can't dance."
"I'm sure we can find someone to help with that." Hiroshi says with a smile and I finally sit back down on the bed. "Like who?"
Hiroshi looks thoughtful, opens and closes his mouth a few times, and then shrugs, "I don't know."
I sigh. But maybe I can get out of his yet... "Well..."
Shigeru clears his throat. I blink and look up at him. "Huh? What is it, Geru?"
"Well, I can dance..."
I blink a couple more times and Hiroshi glomps onto my arm. "It's perfect! Please, Sato-chan, please! Geru can help you learn and we'd have so much fun, please?"
I melt and smile. "Sure." I really turn to mush when he wants his way...
~~~~~
I'm inwardly giggling like a six-year-old. I can't believe they don't see this!
"Sure, I can teach you to dance, Satoshi-kun. It's not that hard. And I think Kasumi knows how to dance pretty well, so if you still need help, she'll be at the dance, too." I wonder if I can ask her to leave Satoshi and Hiroshi alone to spend some "quality time" together.
I must have a big, goofy grin on my face, because Satoshi asks, "Shigeru...what are you thinking? Anytime you have that look on your face, you're plotting."
I will an angel's halo into existence above me. "Who? Me? I'm just thinking about the dance."
"Oh, really?" Satoshi says.
"Really!" I reply, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He still looks like he doesn't believe me, but he doesn't push me any further.
"Well, Satoshi, why don't you put some music on?" I ask. "Hiroshi? Do you need dance lessons, too?"
~~~~~
I know he's up to something. Pushing the matter, though, isn't going to help me in the matter. I shoot one glance back at Hiroshi, who's nodding, "I could always use a bit of a refresher course..."
Dancing with Hiroshi... I wonder if he...
I'm trying my best to keep any big, stupid grins off my face, unlike a certain ghost who will go unnamed had on but a moment ago, as I turn on my radio. "Are we looking for anything in particular?"
"Um, well, you need slow music to slow dance, right?" Shigeru asks in a tone suited more to a five year old.
"Um," I blush and turn the radio, trying to find a station for just that, "I guess you're right."
I turn back to them. Shigeru's smiling angelically and Hiroshi's staring off into the space around my lamp. "So..."
"So..."
"Come on off you're high horse, Shigeru," I beckon to him with a motion of my finger, "I don't want to stop on Hiroshi's feet or anything like that."
Hiroshi's gaze snaps back to me, and I figure out what I just said, "I mean, you do want to, don't you?"
He blinks then smiles and nods, "Of course I do, Sato-chan."
There's that stupid grin I was trying to fight off... I think it got the better of me. "So, Shigeru..."
~~~~~
I'm doing my best not to get that big, "I'm plotting something and everything's going my way" grin on my face again. "All right," I say. "Now, Hiroshi-kun, put your arms around Satoshi's waist...and Sato, your arms go around Hiroshi's shoulders..." Here comes that grin again. I turn away to hide it, floating down to turn the volume up on the CD player. "Now just sway together," I say, my back still turned to them. Hmmm...I bet they're not paying much attention to me anymore, so they might not notice the goofy grin on my face.
...Yup, I was right. I resume my sitting position in mid-air. Awww...isn't that cute?
"Um...Geru?" Satoshi says after a moment. "My hands are getting tired."
My grin gets bigger. "So just pull him closer and wrap your arms around him."
~~~~~
Oh. That sounds simple. Why didn't I think about that?
This is nice, though. I do as Shigeru's said, just pulling him closer and wrapping my arms around him. And it feels nice, very nice.
I mean, it's obvious that I like him. And little things like this, can't help but make me believe that he likes me too. So it's all good, right? Wrong.
Because there's a chance that he's just acting like a friend. And that that's the only way that he sees me...
Wouldn't it be too good to be true?
But if it's possible...oh come on, I don't have that sort of luck at all.
I think it would be... it really is too good to be true...so I'll just take what I have. And right now, I never imagined something like this would happen. And I'm afraid something is going to ruin it...
"Are we doing this right?" I ask softly.
Hiroshi's face is actually just so close... I need to get these thoughts out of my head, don't I? Where are they supposed to go, though...?
~~~~~
"'Scuse me for a moment," I say, sneaking towards the door. "I'm hungry going for some food." Hopefully it won't occur to them that, while I can eat, I don't get hungry. I think they're too wrapped up in each other to really think about what I've said. I float down and slip out of the room. I really do go get a snack- even if I don't get hungry, I miss eating sometimes. But I do it fast- don't want to miss anything!
I slip back upstairs and crack the door to peek in on them.
~~~~~
If I thought it was too good to be true, just a moment ago...then it really is beyond just *good* right now. "Hiroshi..."
"Satoshi..."
He closes his eyes, and leans closer. Oh god, he's going to kiss me, he's going to kiss me, he's going to...
That line of thought is completely and thoroughly derailed as the phone begins to ring, and I blink as Hiroshi abruptly jerks back. "Huh?"
"Satoshi," Mom calls from downstairs, and I swear I just heard muffled cursing from the door, "there's a phone-call for you!"
I blink and stammer and then pull away from Hiroshi, who sits down on the edge of my bed. Dazed, I turn down the music and then pick up my phone. "Hello?"
Why did that have to happen...we were so close...
~~~~~
"Oh, hi, Kasumi," Satoshi says as I mentally practice my naughty
vocabulary...in five different languages. I'm going to have to yell at Kasumi later. "Yeah, I'm going," Satoshi nods, winding the phone cord around his finger. "Yeah, he convinced me. OK, I'll talk to you later."
He hangs up the phone and it immediately rings again. Stupid phone...as soon as Satoshi gets off the phone, I'm taking all of them off the hook.
His face lights up. "Hi! You're coming home? Great, I haven't seen you in _ages_!" He must be talking to his sister, the one who was always off at boarding school when he was younger and is in college now.
"Cool, maybe you can come to the dance with us! Yeah, Hiroshi and Kasumi- they're the one's I'm always talking about. You need to meet them, they're great! ... Well, you always come and leave right away, and it seems you always miss them...yeah, Geru's still here." He hangs up- finally. I guess I should go back in now, before they realize I'm missing.
~~~~~
With a smile I turn to Hiroshi and Shigeru. Oh, didn't notice he'd gotten back... "Guess what!"
Hiroshi looks to Shigeru who has s similar look, "Don't tell me, your sister is coming for a visit?"
I nod, "Yeah, I guess you noticed. It really has been so long...this is the perfect time for her to visit, and it'll be perfect!"
With a spin, I sit down on the bed next to Hiroshi. He laughs softly and shakes his head. "Well, it would be nice to meet her."
"Yeah, I know you'll all like her!"
"Well, I know I'll always like you better, so I hope you don't mind."
My tongue's all tied up and Shigeru's just got that *look* again... 'oh stop looking that way!' I mouth to him.
He does a little shrug. "So, have you gotten it down? Or do we need more practicing?"
I blush for a moment before I realize he means dancing. "Well, I'm sure that we'll need to practice more so we don't make fools of ourselves, right Hiro?"
He smiles and nods. "I think so too."
Everything is turning out just perfectly. This is so like...good...like... heaven or something... Yeah, I know, I'm really eloquent as Shigeru would put it. But I don't really care...
~~~~~
"I look-"
"Great," I interrupt Satoshi.
"-stupid," he finished.
"No, you don't," I reply. Satoshi's sister nods her agreement, moving to fix his collar.
"You're so grown-up!" she squeals.
"Nanami," he whines, batting her hand away.
I cough. "Don't worry...certain people you have a crush on will think you look absolutely adorable."
He chuckles nervously. "I don't have a crush on Kasumi," he says.
I just smile sweetly at him.
"OK, let's go," Nanami says. She's driving and we're picking up Hiroshi on the way. Kasumi has her own ride there.
"I'll meet you there," I say, since I promised Kasumi I'd let her know how she looks. I float through the wall and then through the wall of Kasumi's house that leads to her hallway.
I knock on her door. "Come in!" she pipes. "So, from a guys' perspective, do I look OK?"
Wow, is the only word that comes to mind. She has on a white dress with gold trimmings, making her look pure and regal at the same time. The gold swirls up from the hem of the dress, looking like a dancing flame, and setting off some gold highlights in her red hair, which she has down and curled slightly at the end. Blue eyeshadow and a necklace with an aquamarine butterfly pendant set off her eyes.
"Wow," I say after a moment. "If I was alive, I'd definitely want to date you."
"So I look OK?" she says. Man, girls are so nervous about these things. On second thought, Satoshi was as well.
"Gorgeous," I reply, offering my arm and escorting her to the end of the hall, before I blink out of sight so her parents won't see me and follow her to her car.
~~~~~
I don't believe Shigeru. I know I look stupid, and there's nothing that he or anyone else can say to change my mind.
That, and Nanami looks far too amused by the entire thing for my liking. "Why do you look so smug?" I ask my sister as she unlocks the door to her car. She looks up at me innocently, and smiles.
"Who, me? I'm not smug at all."
Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that look. I perfected it on our mother over the years...
"You're up to something, too, aren't you? Just like Shigeru..."
She laughs and unlocks the passenger side door. "You're so paranoid."
I get in, crossing my arms on my chest as I do. "Well excuse me for breathing."
"You're excused," she says as she gets in, "now buckle up and tell me how to get to Hiroshi's house."
"Hiroshi..." I sigh happily. I wonder how he's going to look. Better than I do in this stupid suit, that's for sure. This is going to be such a perfect night... With another sigh, I buckle up and Nanami starts up the car. "You're gonna like him so much. He's the greatest."
She chuckles lightly. "We'll see. You sure seem to like him."
I am not going to blush in front of my sister when she insinuates things! I look away, blushing where she can't see the reaction. "Well, he's a great friend. Him and Shigeru and Kasumi are the best ones I've ever had..."
She stops at the corner and her hand is light on my shoulder. "I'm glad you like it here. I'm glad you and Mom finally found a place..."
I look back at her, smiling. "It was bound to happen."
She smiles too. "I know. Now, where are we going?"
"Oh, turn here. Then take the first right. He's the third house down on the left."
She smiles and we move on. Tonight is going to be absolutely perfect. She pulls up in front of Hiroshi's house and taps my arm. "Huh?"
She shakes her head with a grin. "You were just staring off into space. You're acting like this is a date or something, dear little brother of mine."
I blush and unbuckle my seat belt to get out of the car. "It's not a date!" I say, turning and stomping up towards the house. But... that would be nice if it could be possible...
I knock at the door and Hiroshi's mother answers. She smiles and ushers me in, complimenting me on how nice I look this evening. "It's nothing..." I murmur, looking for Hiroshi.
"Oh, he'll be down in a moment." She tells me and goes off.
I wonder if I look all right... I hope I look all right... I wonder if Hiroshi will think I look all right... I... "Sato-chan?"
I blink and look up at him. "Wow."
He smiles and takes the last few steps down the stairs. "Thanks... I guess I look OK?"
I nod, silent. OK is definitely not the word that I would use, but it'll work. "Shall we be going?" he asks with that melt-worthy smile of his.
"Oh yes, the night is young, as they say..."
He giggles, and we're about to leave when his mother shows up with a camera in hand. Oh God not this... "Oh Hiroshi, you have to let me take a picture... I haven't seen you this dressed up in forever."
He blushes and nods and we stand there at the foot of the stairs as she takes several pictures. Finally, Hiroshi gives in, "Mom, we're going to be late..."
"Oh!" She starts to shoo us out the door. "Go on, go on, and have fun!"
I'm sure we will...
~~~~~
Kasumi and I seem to have beaten Satoshi and company. I don't see them here, yet, anyway. "I wonder where they are," I announce in Kasumi's ear, still remaining invisible. She jumps a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
She relaxes a little. "It's OK," she whispers out of the corner of her mouth. "So what does Satoshi's sister look like?"
I think. "Well, she has black hair, like him, and she's really pretty. Tonight she's wearing a gold dress with black butterflies on it and a dark gold poofy skirt. It's really pretty."
Kasumi sighs. "She sounds really pretty."
"Don't worry, you are too." Poor Kasumi...she needs the encouragement. She's kind of made fun of for being a tomboy, and I think it really hurts her feelings more than they let on.
"Oh, look! They're here!" I can see them, from my floating position above the crowd, but Kasumi can't.
"Where?" she asks.
"Over there," I point, and we start weaving through the crowd. "We have to find some excuse to squirrel Nanami off, though, so Satoshi and Hiroshi can have some alone time."
Kasumi giggles. "I'm two steps ahead of you. I'll just ask her to help me with my make-up. You know, girl time?"
"Sounds good," I agree. "And you can nab me as your male consultant again."
"Sure, that sounds...oh my." Her eyes have gone really wide. "Is that Nanami?"
~~~~~
We've woven our way through the crowd, trying to search out Kasumi or Shigeru. Hiroshi finds Kasumi first, who's staring in something close to awe. "Kasumi, Shigeru!" I wave with a smile.
Kasumi snaps out of it and smiles and waves back, and Shigeru has a smug look on his face from where he floats.
Well, I guess I too would be smug if I could float. But that aside, "Kasumi, I'd like you to meet Nanami. Nanami, this is one of my best friends, Kasumi."
Kasumi has an almost shy smile on her lips- that's completely out of character for her, isn't it?
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I- I've heard so much about you."
Nanami smiles and nods slightly, "Satoshi's told me so much about you, too, Kasumi."
I blink and Kasumi twirls a bit of her hair with a finger, "Do you think you could...you know...help me with my make-up? It's something these boys just wouldn't be able to understand..."
She smiles, "Oh believe me, I understand completely." My sister gives me a knowing look, she had better not bring up that time when I was three and she played dress up with me...
"Have fun you two." Shigeru says and then looks back at Hiroshi and I, crossing his arms over his chest. I'm so glad everyone's busy enough *not* to notice us. "Wow, I must admit, I think you look perfect together."
I blush and Hiroshi clears his throat. "Well?" Shigeru pipes up with a glint in his eyes. I turn to face Hiroshi, smiling unsteadily. "Well..."
"Want to dance?" he asks suddenly. I nod mutely. We're going to be stared at. And you know what? I don't care at all...
I give Shigeru a smile before Hiroshi drags me off towards the dance floor.
~~~~~
Yes, score one for the ghost! They're so adorable! I'm giggling madly to myself, now, as I wander off to see what Kasumi and Nanami are actually up to. It looked like love at first sight to me, and although the thought hadn't occurred to me beforehand, I now realize they would make a cute couple.
I poke my head into the bathroom. Kasumi and Nanami are whispering to each other and giggling, and then I see Nanami offer Kasumi her hand. Kasumi blushes and takes it, and Nanami leads her out of the bathroom and on to the opposite end of the floor as Satoshi and Hiroshi, escaping their notice.
Actually, I think an earthquake would escape their notice at this point. Satoshi's got his arms wrapped around Hiroshi's shoulders, and the smaller boy has his arms around Satoshi's waist and his face buried in his shirt. Awwww...it's so obvious to everyone at this point how much they like each other, but nothing else is going to happen until they admit their feelings. Darn it! And there's nothing I can do about that.
Although just watching them like this turns me into a pile of goo.
But still, I wish they weren't both so shy/stubborn. They probably both think that this is a "friendly" dance.
Well, maybe there is something I can do. I take off for the bathrooms, where I form myself to as solid as I get, complete with formal gear. I slip back out, before requesting the sappiest song I can think of, and one that's a favorite love song for both of the boys. Funny that they've never compared notes- I don't think either of them knows that the other loves this song so much.
~~~~~
That's it, I have to be dead and this *has* to be heaven. Because I've never been as happy as I am right now...and that's with Hiroshi in my arms, this way...
I need to thank Shigeru for the dance lessons...I think they're helping...
But...Hiroshi and I...we're just friends...just friends...I shouldn't be thinking things this way through. But...
That's when I hear the sound of one of my favorite songs. Why is that playing? I open my eyes, I hadn't even noticed they were closed, glancing down at Hiroshi who slowly looks up at me.
"Hiroshi..." I whisper under the music. I didn't notice I'd spoken, until he replied.
"Satoshi..."
It's happening all over again. His lips are so close, and I swear that this has been set up...just so that...
"You know..." I murmur. "This is one of my favorite songs..."
He blinks cutely. "Really? It's mine too... How long have we known each other?"
"Eight years now..."
Eight perfect years...
"Mmm...I feel like there's still so much that I don't know about you, Sato-chan..."
"I...maybe we need to change it. I would like to get to know you better, too..." Because he's right...he's such a mystery to me... My throat suddenly feels dry and I swallow the lump that's formed. "I think...there's a lot that I wish I could tell you, Hiroshi..."
He blinks, then smiles. "There's a lot that I've been holding out on you about, too." He says softly, before cushioning his face against my shoulder.
"I- Hiroshi, can I be blunt?" I settle on that in the end, because it seems to be the best thing that I can do. He murmurs a yes in reply, and I close my eyes. Just swaying, that's what this feels like.
And it's so very nice...
Now, just what to say? I said blunt. So the only thing that's going to work is the truth. I can do this. I know I can... "I think I love you, Hiroshi...and I have for a long time..."
"Satoshi..." His voice is just so very calm, that it scares me so very much.
I open my eyes slowly, and I swear it's like the rest of the world has just stopped. I'm terrified of what he's going to say...
So when he smiles and presses up on his tiptoes, getting a better hold on me with his arms shifting around me as he does, and then I feel his lips pressed against mine, and my eyes just sort of close on reflex...
It's sort of slow and easy, I mean, I've never kissed anyone before...not like this... But it's something that I hope we have chances to make up and refine... The world really has stopped moving and existing, except for him. Just us and the music...
So when I feel him pull away, it's sort of a shock. "Hiroshi...?" I blink and look down at him. He's just smiling up at me, completely angelic.
"I love you too, Satoshi. I...I think we need to have deep talks like this more often..."
I have to smile at that. "Only if you want to."
"Believe me, it makes me happy."
So I smile and just kiss him again. And this time...if I thought the first was amazing...well, this is just better.
~~~~~
Lucia: *smile* Don't worry, the third and final part is finished, and it will be posted as soon as Dana htmls it. ^_^