Twin Hearts: A Parallel Destiny
Chapter 8: The More-Than-Amusement Park
At 7:30 the next morning Shiori's mother's van was waiting in front of Tomo's house, Sei and Rei, as well as Shiori already inside. Tomo flung her backpack of supplies over her shoulder, yelled 'good bye' to her mother and father and ran out of the house, slamming the front door behind her as she went.
Her mother didn't even have enough time to open the door and ask her is she had remembered her house key, they were already gone. By 8:00 they had arrived at the park and by 9:00 they were wandering around, eating cotton candy, wondering exactly what they were going to do with this day full of potential fun.
Shiori was already putting her plan to work. The first step had been to get them to the amusement park, now, basically all she had to do was seat herself between Rei and Sei the entire time and hang all over them every chance she got. Tomo, of course, would be on the other side of Sei, but that didn't matter. They weren't 'together' yet and she highly doubted Tomo would do anything.
First off, Tomo decided to put one of her arms through Rei's and the other through Sei's.
Sei tried shrugging her off, "Come on, Shiori. We'll look like little kids if we walk around without arms linked like this!" He smiled while saying it, trying not to offend her.
Shiori pouted as she looked up at him. "But we used to do this before . . . " with this statement she shot a glance at Tomo. Tomo made sure not to acknowledge the glance, even though she noticed it.
"We were also less mature then," said Sei as he pulled his arm out of her own. "Besides, I never really liked it, anyway."
A new fire lit in Shiori's eyes. Now she was beyond determined to get rid of Tomo.
I don't know who this girl is, thinking she can just steal Sei away from me like this! We've been such good friends and now she's going to ruin everything! Unfortunately, the thought never passed through her head that maybe if they all became friends, that all of their friendships and bonds would strengthen again. Shiori was too jealous. She wanted things to be back the way they were before, back when all of them were best friends and no one had even heard of a girl named 'Tomo Shiru.'
It was here that Shiori decided to make a change of plans.
***
At lunch she sat between Sei and Tomo this time, forcing Tomo to sit next to her, something that Shiori knew Tomo would not enjoy. In fact, she was fidgeting nearly the entire time and did not touch her chicken fingers or french fries, all she did was glance back and forth between all the smiling faces. Even Sei seemed to be enjoying himself, but she couldn't see that he really wanted to be spending more time with Tomo. He himself was having a dilemma.
I know I should be spending more time with Tomo, said Sei, as his eyes wandered to where she was sitting, a smile still on his face from Rei's joke. But I've been drifting so far away from Rei and Shiori lately, and I feel like this is pulling me back to them again. His simile faded as he sighed and looked from brother to friend, then pulled out his chair and went and sat next to Tomo.
Sei could see the shock on Shiori's face as he seated himself in the empty chair next to Tomo. Tomo instantly cheered up, but for a brief instant, Shiori looked like the clouds in the sky before a storm. Sei could've almost sworn he saw lightning flicker in her eyes.
But he brushed it off as if it were nothing, and almost immediately he and Tomo struck up a conversation and were laughing and having a great time. No more than ten minutes into this, Shiori declared that she was done with her lunch and that they should now go spend some time in the water themed area of the park considering it was getting so hot.
Everyone, even Tomo, agreed that this was a good idea, so they all picked up their bags and headed off toward the wave pool and giant water slides.
***
As desperately as Shiori tried, she couldn't keep the group together once they had set a foot inside this separate area of the park.
Tomo looked around, instantly picking out what she did and didn't want to do, and what she wanted to do first, and second, and so on. She talked this over with Sei, and for the most part, he agreed, but Shiori and Rei had a different plan all together.
"How about we all just meet back here in four hours," said Rei as he passed his hand through his hair in annoyance. He was getting tired of hearing them trying to work the two conflicted schedules out. Tomo and Sei instantly agreed and they headed off together to the wave pool before Shiori could say two words.
Shiori was about to go after them when Rei grabbed her by the kriss-crossed straps on the back of her bathing suit.
"Come on," he said, not too thrilled about this part of the park. "Didn't you say you wanted to go on those slides first?"
Shiori sighed and turned around, making Rei let go of her suit. "Yeah," she said, trying to recover her facade and smile back at him. It didn't work, but Rei just decided to ignore her weird mood that day.
***
Laughing and soaked, Sei and Tomo approached the spot that they were all supposed to meet at . . . thirty minutes ago. Both Rei and Shiori didn't look too happy that they were late, but all Rei did was sigh and ask where they were going to go next?
Well, by now it was getting dark, since they had eaten a late lunch to begin with, and then straight afterwards had headed to the water park.
"Why don't we all go on the Ferris wheel together?" suggested Shiori. "It will be perfect! We'll be able to see the entire park from the top and then decide what we want to do for the rest of the time from there!"
"Sure," said Rei, not really caring.
Tomo, on the other hand, had a different idea. "Nah, I rather go on that new roller coaster they built. It would probably be pretty cool at this time and I'm sure me and Sei would somewhat be able to see the layout of the park and all the rides.
Sei agreed, and once again, Shiori was stuck alone with Rei as Sei and Tomo took off toward the roller coaster, on a completely different side of the park than the Ferris wheel.
Rei sighed. I would've rather gone on the roller coaster myself, he looked down at Shiori. Oh well.
Shiori hesitantly led the way to the Ferris wheel, now smouldering with anger. Her idea had backfired completely! It seems that they've gotten even closer because of this! What am I supposed to do now?! Grr. Rei sighed again when he saw how long the line for the Ferris wheel was. Guess everyone else had the same idea they did.
***
Sei couldn't remember when he had this much fun. Tomo and him just couldn't stop laughing as they walked away from the roller coaster. It had been even more fun than the advertisements and seeing the looks on the people's faces in the photos after wards, combined with the fact that they both were having trouble walking, just proved to be too much.
Sei had to catch Tomo a couple of times as she lost her footing and nearly fell over, one time taking Sei with her.
As they reached the area of game stands, Tomo lost her footing once more, causing her and Sei to fall into one of the areas between two of the game stands.
Tomo was now laughing at his own clumsiness and was about to suggest that they should probably get out of there before someone misinterpreted what they were doing.
But Sei wasn't listening, he was too busy staring into her brown, laughing eyes and being pulled into her contagious smile. Before Tomo could even imagine what Sei was doing, he leaned downwards, intertwined his fingers in her hair, and brushed his lips against hers.
Tomo froze, ridged as a tree in a day with no wind. A million thoughts rain through her head, but in the ends she ended up being lost in the kiss.
When he broke the embrace he realized that both of them were blushing and Sei managed a grin as he scratched the back of his head.
"Come on," he said, locking his arm inside hers. "We have to go meet Rei and Shiori before they get suspicious."
Tomo slid her arm out, making Sei look at her, surprised and hurt, but when she grasped his hand, he blushed deeper than before. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, only stopping when they were in close distance with the Ferris wheel.
***
Sei may have realized that both of them were blushing after the kiss, but what he didn't notice was Shiori, who had spotted them from the top of the Ferris wheel and went from being pale with shock to flushed with anger. By the time the ride was over and she and Rei had gotten off, her face was back to a normal color, but Rei could tell that something was wrong.
He was about to ask her what was bugging her when she somewhat randomly (at least to him, anyway) took off toward the game area. A few minutes later he realized that she had spotted Sei and Tomo and must've wanted to ask them how the ride was, he assumed. Why she would be that curious was beyond him.
***
Shiori was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the new couple, but she still managed to smile and look like she wasn't doing something out of the ordinary.
"Sei?" she asked, making him tear his gaze away from Tomo for a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Could you please try and win me that cute stuffed duck?" Shiori pointed over to this giant yellow duck that had to be at least three feet tall.
Sei looked at her, clearly confused. "Why? Rei is much better at those types of games than I am."
"Please?" Shiori pouted and looked at him, begging him with her eyes.
Sei sighed and promised Tomo that he's be back in just a moment. Tomo nodded her head understandingly and watched her new, and first, boyfriend, go off with Shiori toward a table about half a block away.
This short conversation had given Rei just enough time to make his way over to the group. He sighed as he watched Shiori run off again, making Tomo jump. She had not known that he was behind her.
"Oops. Sorry," said Rei, as he grinned, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean to surprise you like that."
"It's okay," said Tomo, smiling back.
Rei was just about to say something more when Tomo looked back at the game Sei had been playing and realized that both Shiori and Sei were gone. Seeing something odd with this, she ran over to see what they were doing.
"Tomo, I wanted to thank you for . . . " then Rei looked down and realized that she was running off. "Dammit! What is with these girls?"
Rei took off after her, but slowed down when he saw just how suddenly she had stopped.
***
Tomo couldn't believe her eyes.
There was the one whom she had finally thought she could trust, the one she had allowed herself to love thinking that she wouldn't get hurt again, kissing Shiori nearly in the same way he had just kissed her moments ago.
She didn't stay long enough to see the shock on Sei's face when he pulled away from the kiss, or the malicious grin on Shiori's, all she saw was the blur of the amusement park face by her eyes and the feel of moisture on her cheeks as she ran past Rei, out of the park gates, and into the night beyond.
***
A/N: Sei couldn't believe Shiori! What was with her?! They had broken up, they were finished, and they had never even kissed when they were together, so why now? As he pulled away from her he noticed someone watching them out of the corner of his eye, and then no sooner had he notice them, they were gone. "Oops, looks like Tomo spotted us. Poor girl." Sei looked at Shiori, his disgust clearly written across his face, and then ran after Tomo, the second one to nearly run Rei over.
Next Chapter . . . Chapter 9: Raindrops from a Clear Sky
Chapter 8: The More-Than-Amusement Park
At 7:30 the next morning Shiori's mother's van was waiting in front of Tomo's house, Sei and Rei, as well as Shiori already inside. Tomo flung her backpack of supplies over her shoulder, yelled 'good bye' to her mother and father and ran out of the house, slamming the front door behind her as she went.
Her mother didn't even have enough time to open the door and ask her is she had remembered her house key, they were already gone. By 8:00 they had arrived at the park and by 9:00 they were wandering around, eating cotton candy, wondering exactly what they were going to do with this day full of potential fun.
Shiori was already putting her plan to work. The first step had been to get them to the amusement park, now, basically all she had to do was seat herself between Rei and Sei the entire time and hang all over them every chance she got. Tomo, of course, would be on the other side of Sei, but that didn't matter. They weren't 'together' yet and she highly doubted Tomo would do anything.
First off, Tomo decided to put one of her arms through Rei's and the other through Sei's.
Sei tried shrugging her off, "Come on, Shiori. We'll look like little kids if we walk around without arms linked like this!" He smiled while saying it, trying not to offend her.
Shiori pouted as she looked up at him. "But we used to do this before . . . " with this statement she shot a glance at Tomo. Tomo made sure not to acknowledge the glance, even though she noticed it.
"We were also less mature then," said Sei as he pulled his arm out of her own. "Besides, I never really liked it, anyway."
A new fire lit in Shiori's eyes. Now she was beyond determined to get rid of Tomo.
I don't know who this girl is, thinking she can just steal Sei away from me like this! We've been such good friends and now she's going to ruin everything! Unfortunately, the thought never passed through her head that maybe if they all became friends, that all of their friendships and bonds would strengthen again. Shiori was too jealous. She wanted things to be back the way they were before, back when all of them were best friends and no one had even heard of a girl named 'Tomo Shiru.'
It was here that Shiori decided to make a change of plans.
***
At lunch she sat between Sei and Tomo this time, forcing Tomo to sit next to her, something that Shiori knew Tomo would not enjoy. In fact, she was fidgeting nearly the entire time and did not touch her chicken fingers or french fries, all she did was glance back and forth between all the smiling faces. Even Sei seemed to be enjoying himself, but she couldn't see that he really wanted to be spending more time with Tomo. He himself was having a dilemma.
I know I should be spending more time with Tomo, said Sei, as his eyes wandered to where she was sitting, a smile still on his face from Rei's joke. But I've been drifting so far away from Rei and Shiori lately, and I feel like this is pulling me back to them again. His simile faded as he sighed and looked from brother to friend, then pulled out his chair and went and sat next to Tomo.
Sei could see the shock on Shiori's face as he seated himself in the empty chair next to Tomo. Tomo instantly cheered up, but for a brief instant, Shiori looked like the clouds in the sky before a storm. Sei could've almost sworn he saw lightning flicker in her eyes.
But he brushed it off as if it were nothing, and almost immediately he and Tomo struck up a conversation and were laughing and having a great time. No more than ten minutes into this, Shiori declared that she was done with her lunch and that they should now go spend some time in the water themed area of the park considering it was getting so hot.
Everyone, even Tomo, agreed that this was a good idea, so they all picked up their bags and headed off toward the wave pool and giant water slides.
***
As desperately as Shiori tried, she couldn't keep the group together once they had set a foot inside this separate area of the park.
Tomo looked around, instantly picking out what she did and didn't want to do, and what she wanted to do first, and second, and so on. She talked this over with Sei, and for the most part, he agreed, but Shiori and Rei had a different plan all together.
"How about we all just meet back here in four hours," said Rei as he passed his hand through his hair in annoyance. He was getting tired of hearing them trying to work the two conflicted schedules out. Tomo and Sei instantly agreed and they headed off together to the wave pool before Shiori could say two words.
Shiori was about to go after them when Rei grabbed her by the kriss-crossed straps on the back of her bathing suit.
"Come on," he said, not too thrilled about this part of the park. "Didn't you say you wanted to go on those slides first?"
Shiori sighed and turned around, making Rei let go of her suit. "Yeah," she said, trying to recover her facade and smile back at him. It didn't work, but Rei just decided to ignore her weird mood that day.
***
Laughing and soaked, Sei and Tomo approached the spot that they were all supposed to meet at . . . thirty minutes ago. Both Rei and Shiori didn't look too happy that they were late, but all Rei did was sigh and ask where they were going to go next?
Well, by now it was getting dark, since they had eaten a late lunch to begin with, and then straight afterwards had headed to the water park.
"Why don't we all go on the Ferris wheel together?" suggested Shiori. "It will be perfect! We'll be able to see the entire park from the top and then decide what we want to do for the rest of the time from there!"
"Sure," said Rei, not really caring.
Tomo, on the other hand, had a different idea. "Nah, I rather go on that new roller coaster they built. It would probably be pretty cool at this time and I'm sure me and Sei would somewhat be able to see the layout of the park and all the rides.
Sei agreed, and once again, Shiori was stuck alone with Rei as Sei and Tomo took off toward the roller coaster, on a completely different side of the park than the Ferris wheel.
Rei sighed. I would've rather gone on the roller coaster myself, he looked down at Shiori. Oh well.
Shiori hesitantly led the way to the Ferris wheel, now smouldering with anger. Her idea had backfired completely! It seems that they've gotten even closer because of this! What am I supposed to do now?! Grr. Rei sighed again when he saw how long the line for the Ferris wheel was. Guess everyone else had the same idea they did.
***
Sei couldn't remember when he had this much fun. Tomo and him just couldn't stop laughing as they walked away from the roller coaster. It had been even more fun than the advertisements and seeing the looks on the people's faces in the photos after wards, combined with the fact that they both were having trouble walking, just proved to be too much.
Sei had to catch Tomo a couple of times as she lost her footing and nearly fell over, one time taking Sei with her.
As they reached the area of game stands, Tomo lost her footing once more, causing her and Sei to fall into one of the areas between two of the game stands.
Tomo was now laughing at his own clumsiness and was about to suggest that they should probably get out of there before someone misinterpreted what they were doing.
But Sei wasn't listening, he was too busy staring into her brown, laughing eyes and being pulled into her contagious smile. Before Tomo could even imagine what Sei was doing, he leaned downwards, intertwined his fingers in her hair, and brushed his lips against hers.
Tomo froze, ridged as a tree in a day with no wind. A million thoughts rain through her head, but in the ends she ended up being lost in the kiss.
When he broke the embrace he realized that both of them were blushing and Sei managed a grin as he scratched the back of his head.
"Come on," he said, locking his arm inside hers. "We have to go meet Rei and Shiori before they get suspicious."
Tomo slid her arm out, making Sei look at her, surprised and hurt, but when she grasped his hand, he blushed deeper than before. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, only stopping when they were in close distance with the Ferris wheel.
***
Sei may have realized that both of them were blushing after the kiss, but what he didn't notice was Shiori, who had spotted them from the top of the Ferris wheel and went from being pale with shock to flushed with anger. By the time the ride was over and she and Rei had gotten off, her face was back to a normal color, but Rei could tell that something was wrong.
He was about to ask her what was bugging her when she somewhat randomly (at least to him, anyway) took off toward the game area. A few minutes later he realized that she had spotted Sei and Tomo and must've wanted to ask them how the ride was, he assumed. Why she would be that curious was beyond him.
***
Shiori was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the new couple, but she still managed to smile and look like she wasn't doing something out of the ordinary.
"Sei?" she asked, making him tear his gaze away from Tomo for a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Could you please try and win me that cute stuffed duck?" Shiori pointed over to this giant yellow duck that had to be at least three feet tall.
Sei looked at her, clearly confused. "Why? Rei is much better at those types of games than I am."
"Please?" Shiori pouted and looked at him, begging him with her eyes.
Sei sighed and promised Tomo that he's be back in just a moment. Tomo nodded her head understandingly and watched her new, and first, boyfriend, go off with Shiori toward a table about half a block away.
This short conversation had given Rei just enough time to make his way over to the group. He sighed as he watched Shiori run off again, making Tomo jump. She had not known that he was behind her.
"Oops. Sorry," said Rei, as he grinned, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean to surprise you like that."
"It's okay," said Tomo, smiling back.
Rei was just about to say something more when Tomo looked back at the game Sei had been playing and realized that both Shiori and Sei were gone. Seeing something odd with this, she ran over to see what they were doing.
"Tomo, I wanted to thank you for . . . " then Rei looked down and realized that she was running off. "Dammit! What is with these girls?"
Rei took off after her, but slowed down when he saw just how suddenly she had stopped.
***
Tomo couldn't believe her eyes.
There was the one whom she had finally thought she could trust, the one she had allowed herself to love thinking that she wouldn't get hurt again, kissing Shiori nearly in the same way he had just kissed her moments ago.
She didn't stay long enough to see the shock on Sei's face when he pulled away from the kiss, or the malicious grin on Shiori's, all she saw was the blur of the amusement park face by her eyes and the feel of moisture on her cheeks as she ran past Rei, out of the park gates, and into the night beyond.
***
A/N: Sei couldn't believe Shiori! What was with her?! They had broken up, they were finished, and they had never even kissed when they were together, so why now? As he pulled away from her he noticed someone watching them out of the corner of his eye, and then no sooner had he notice them, they were gone. "Oops, looks like Tomo spotted us. Poor girl." Sei looked at Shiori, his disgust clearly written across his face, and then ran after Tomo, the second one to nearly run Rei over.
Next Chapter . . . Chapter 9: Raindrops from a Clear Sky