Hola!! This chapter takes place at the same time as the previous chapter, only instead of telling what's happening to Usagi, it's what's happening to Mamoru. It starts when Mamoru leaves the campus and ends a little after Usagi opens the door. I hope ya'll like it!! Love you all much, but only if you review. ^_^ Ja!
Disclaimer: Well, duh I don't own them. The super nifty Takeuchi Naoko does. Not me. I'm not her. If I were, I wouldn't be writing stories like this. I would be making money. Besides, it's fun to manipulate her characters. HER characters. Not mine. I'm just a fan fiction writer. So no suing. Suing bad. Bad.
He couldn't get her out of his head. The way she spoke, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she cried...all of it put together made up a very beautiful, vivacious, talented girl that Mamoru could currently not stop thinking about. Even after she had come running back to tell him that she couldn't go eat with him, he felt like she was there beside him. And even though he knew she wasn't, he really wished she were. The sound of his own stomach growling in hunger brought his attention to the fact that even if Usagi wasn't there to eat with him, he was really hungry. Pulling up to the diner where he had planned to take Usagi, he wondered what she was doing at that moment. Shutting off his car, he began to ponder why she had suddenly turned him down.
'She seemed so scared. And she wouldn't make eye contact with me. What could have scared her so badly?'
Then it clicked. Thinking out loud, he ran over the things that pointed to what might be a truth that he didn't want to even imagine.
"I already have one...chick's dressing room...stupid audition...sometimes she's just stupid...a scream..." his voice faded as he realized that the green-eyed jerk might be Usagi's boyfriend. "If that was Usagi's scream I heard from the stair well? Oh man!"
'What if he hit her? He seems like the type. First a yelp, then her close to tears and not being able to go with me...oh please let me be wrong...'
Forgetting his hunger, he re-started his car and drove back to the academy. Once he reached the school, he jumped out of his car and ran into the backstage area. All the auditions were over, but some of his fellow stagehands were still hanging around. Scanning his eyes over the group of college-age guys, he found the one he was looking for.
"Motoki, I need a favor," Mamoru said as quickly as he reached his best friend. Motoki nodded and Mamoru continued. "You know that extra work you do in the administration office?" he nodded again. Pulling Motoki away from the rest of the guys in the group, he lowed his voice whispered "I need to get the address of a girl who auditioned today."
Motoki's eyes widened. Things like that were seriously prohibited in the admissions office. All student and applicant files where confidential. But Motoki was a risk taker, and that's what Mamoru was counting on.
"You know, if I get caught, I'll lose my job." He said, pretending he was considering not doing it. But Mamoru didn't buy it.
"Motoki, you know you don't care if you get fired or not. Please? If you do, we'll be even for that time I covered for you when you brought that girl here during our shift."
Motoki raised an eyebrow. "I guess I do owe you," He cracked a grin. "She was worth owing you a favor." He added with a wink.
"Not now, Motoki. The girl's name is Tsukino Usagi, and I need her address as soon as possible."
"Give me 15 minutes." And with that, he left the stage area.
Just as promised, Motoki returned quickly; he was carrying a small piece of paper with him. Handing it to Mamoru, he grinned again.
"Saw her picture in the file. She's a pretty one there Mamoru. Not really my type though. But definitely yours. Maybe you should go give her a visit." He said with a smile as he handed Mamoru the post-it with Usagi's address on it.
Mamoru read the address, and smiled at his friend. Slapping him good-naturedly on the back, he rushed out of the stage area, calling out a 'thanks!' behind him.
Jumping into his car, he drove towards the address written on the paper, the thought of Usagi keeping him company the whole way. Just as he reached the given address, he got a little nervous. Parking his car next to a red truck that was obviously not very well taken care of, he took the little scrap of paper in his hand and scanned the group of apartments for the one that was Usagi's. When he spotted number 8, he climbed out of his car, took a deep breath, and started toward it.
'What if I'm wrong? She'll think I'm a stalker or something. But if I'm right...oh man.'
As he approached apartment number 8, his heart started to race and his palms began to sweat. Even if he was wrong, he would get to see her again. And he would be able to stop worrying about her, and concentrate on finding a way to spend more time with her. Then it occurred to him that he didn't care if her boyfriend was a jerk or not, as long as she was okay; even if it meant he could never have a relationship with her. The thought puzzled him, but he pushed it out of his mind, and focused on ringing the doorbell.
'The only way to do it is to do it.' he reminded himself. With that thought, he pressed his thumb to the doorbell. He heard it jingle inside, and waited. Only moments later, he heard the doorknob turn and the door opened.
There she stood, her eyes filled with a mix of shock and happiness. After a pause, she realized maybe she should say something.
"Hi." She said in a hushed voice, not able to take her eyes off of his. 'It's him! What's he doing here?!'
"Hi." He said back. Inwardly, he rejoiced. She was here, she had answered the door, and now she was talking to him. Even in her close to threadbare shorts, she looked amazing in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a truly puzzled voice. He himself looked somewhat confused. The sight of her had made him momentarily forget why he was there in the first place. Then he heard the sound of a TV going in the background and he remembered. Taking a step towards her, he told her his reason.
"Well, when I was waiting for you, I um...I heard a yell from the girls dressing room area," he took a deep breath and continued. "And then you came running and you looked so scared, I just was...well, I...I was worried." He finished.
Her face lit up with gladness, and she smiled. 'He was worried about me! Worried! About me!' her minded shouted. "You were worried?" she asked.
"Well, yeah." He answered, stepping towards her once again. They were now barely 6 inches apart.
Just then, someone inside the apartment coughed loudly and yelled what sounded like an angry 'tell them we don't want any!' Her eyes filled with fear as she broke the gaze she and Mamoru had been holding.
"I'm sorry Mamoru, I have to go." She said quickly as she began to back into the apartment.
"Can I see you again?!" he asked, afraid that if she closed that door, he wouldn't see her again for a long, long time.
"Um, well...I don't know. Manashiai doesn't really like me being very social." She said, her voice filled with regret.
His eyebrows knitted with an angry wonder, and he asked why.
"I have to go Mamoru." Was all she would say. Locking eyes once again, she held back tears and shut the door. And with that, she was gone.
He shut his eyes and choked back tears. Slowly and mournfully, he walked back to his car.
Oky doky! It's not the end, don't worry. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review. Look, see, I said please...once or twice. ^_^ Ja 'till I get 10 reviews for this chapter!!
Disclaimer: Well, duh I don't own them. The super nifty Takeuchi Naoko does. Not me. I'm not her. If I were, I wouldn't be writing stories like this. I would be making money. Besides, it's fun to manipulate her characters. HER characters. Not mine. I'm just a fan fiction writer. So no suing. Suing bad. Bad.
He couldn't get her out of his head. The way she spoke, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she cried...all of it put together made up a very beautiful, vivacious, talented girl that Mamoru could currently not stop thinking about. Even after she had come running back to tell him that she couldn't go eat with him, he felt like she was there beside him. And even though he knew she wasn't, he really wished she were. The sound of his own stomach growling in hunger brought his attention to the fact that even if Usagi wasn't there to eat with him, he was really hungry. Pulling up to the diner where he had planned to take Usagi, he wondered what she was doing at that moment. Shutting off his car, he began to ponder why she had suddenly turned him down.
'She seemed so scared. And she wouldn't make eye contact with me. What could have scared her so badly?'
Then it clicked. Thinking out loud, he ran over the things that pointed to what might be a truth that he didn't want to even imagine.
"I already have one...chick's dressing room...stupid audition...sometimes she's just stupid...a scream..." his voice faded as he realized that the green-eyed jerk might be Usagi's boyfriend. "If that was Usagi's scream I heard from the stair well? Oh man!"
'What if he hit her? He seems like the type. First a yelp, then her close to tears and not being able to go with me...oh please let me be wrong...'
Forgetting his hunger, he re-started his car and drove back to the academy. Once he reached the school, he jumped out of his car and ran into the backstage area. All the auditions were over, but some of his fellow stagehands were still hanging around. Scanning his eyes over the group of college-age guys, he found the one he was looking for.
"Motoki, I need a favor," Mamoru said as quickly as he reached his best friend. Motoki nodded and Mamoru continued. "You know that extra work you do in the administration office?" he nodded again. Pulling Motoki away from the rest of the guys in the group, he lowed his voice whispered "I need to get the address of a girl who auditioned today."
Motoki's eyes widened. Things like that were seriously prohibited in the admissions office. All student and applicant files where confidential. But Motoki was a risk taker, and that's what Mamoru was counting on.
"You know, if I get caught, I'll lose my job." He said, pretending he was considering not doing it. But Mamoru didn't buy it.
"Motoki, you know you don't care if you get fired or not. Please? If you do, we'll be even for that time I covered for you when you brought that girl here during our shift."
Motoki raised an eyebrow. "I guess I do owe you," He cracked a grin. "She was worth owing you a favor." He added with a wink.
"Not now, Motoki. The girl's name is Tsukino Usagi, and I need her address as soon as possible."
"Give me 15 minutes." And with that, he left the stage area.
Just as promised, Motoki returned quickly; he was carrying a small piece of paper with him. Handing it to Mamoru, he grinned again.
"Saw her picture in the file. She's a pretty one there Mamoru. Not really my type though. But definitely yours. Maybe you should go give her a visit." He said with a smile as he handed Mamoru the post-it with Usagi's address on it.
Mamoru read the address, and smiled at his friend. Slapping him good-naturedly on the back, he rushed out of the stage area, calling out a 'thanks!' behind him.
Jumping into his car, he drove towards the address written on the paper, the thought of Usagi keeping him company the whole way. Just as he reached the given address, he got a little nervous. Parking his car next to a red truck that was obviously not very well taken care of, he took the little scrap of paper in his hand and scanned the group of apartments for the one that was Usagi's. When he spotted number 8, he climbed out of his car, took a deep breath, and started toward it.
'What if I'm wrong? She'll think I'm a stalker or something. But if I'm right...oh man.'
As he approached apartment number 8, his heart started to race and his palms began to sweat. Even if he was wrong, he would get to see her again. And he would be able to stop worrying about her, and concentrate on finding a way to spend more time with her. Then it occurred to him that he didn't care if her boyfriend was a jerk or not, as long as she was okay; even if it meant he could never have a relationship with her. The thought puzzled him, but he pushed it out of his mind, and focused on ringing the doorbell.
'The only way to do it is to do it.' he reminded himself. With that thought, he pressed his thumb to the doorbell. He heard it jingle inside, and waited. Only moments later, he heard the doorknob turn and the door opened.
There she stood, her eyes filled with a mix of shock and happiness. After a pause, she realized maybe she should say something.
"Hi." She said in a hushed voice, not able to take her eyes off of his. 'It's him! What's he doing here?!'
"Hi." He said back. Inwardly, he rejoiced. She was here, she had answered the door, and now she was talking to him. Even in her close to threadbare shorts, she looked amazing in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a truly puzzled voice. He himself looked somewhat confused. The sight of her had made him momentarily forget why he was there in the first place. Then he heard the sound of a TV going in the background and he remembered. Taking a step towards her, he told her his reason.
"Well, when I was waiting for you, I um...I heard a yell from the girls dressing room area," he took a deep breath and continued. "And then you came running and you looked so scared, I just was...well, I...I was worried." He finished.
Her face lit up with gladness, and she smiled. 'He was worried about me! Worried! About me!' her minded shouted. "You were worried?" she asked.
"Well, yeah." He answered, stepping towards her once again. They were now barely 6 inches apart.
Just then, someone inside the apartment coughed loudly and yelled what sounded like an angry 'tell them we don't want any!' Her eyes filled with fear as she broke the gaze she and Mamoru had been holding.
"I'm sorry Mamoru, I have to go." She said quickly as she began to back into the apartment.
"Can I see you again?!" he asked, afraid that if she closed that door, he wouldn't see her again for a long, long time.
"Um, well...I don't know. Manashiai doesn't really like me being very social." She said, her voice filled with regret.
His eyebrows knitted with an angry wonder, and he asked why.
"I have to go Mamoru." Was all she would say. Locking eyes once again, she held back tears and shut the door. And with that, she was gone.
He shut his eyes and choked back tears. Slowly and mournfully, he walked back to his car.
Oky doky! It's not the end, don't worry. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please review. Look, see, I said please...once or twice. ^_^ Ja 'till I get 10 reviews for this chapter!!
