Chapter 17 – Just a friend?

Asai: Muhahaha.. I will make you pay Makino!!

Tsukasa: Who dares hurt my Tsukushi?!

Asai: *weak laugh* sorry Doumyouji..

Tsukushi: Shut up.. idiots..

Angel: Yes *shakes head sadly* I have to write about idiots..

Tsukasa: WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

Angel: *cough, cough* ummm.. you? *smiles innocently*

Tsukushi: *grins* yes, you.

Tsukasa: *sulks*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Asai waited patiently for Tsukushi to arrive in the classroom. "Makino!" she called out in fake warmth.

Tsukushi glared at her foe, "What do you want this time?"

Ah.. so this girl had toughened up now.. She smiled wickedly, but she was sure to be crushed by this new information. Years of practice had perfected Asai's skills of emotional torture. "I just wanted to tell you something. Don't waste your time on Hanazawa-san. Like I said before, he already has someone special." She said carelessly before waving a magazine in front of Tsukushi's face.

"That person is.." she flipped open to the page, "Toudou Shizuka." She grinned as she saw the look of surprise and admiration as her eyes fell on the photo of Shizuka.

"She's so beautiful.." Tsukushi breathed as she stared at the page in awe. Every part of her face was flawless. Her skin shone and her wavy brown her cascaded down her back.

Asai pulled back the magazine, "Of course she is beautiful. Toudou Shizuka is Hanazawa Rui's special one."

"Special?" she mumbled softly. Damnit! Why was she reacting like this? It wasn't as if she liked the guy or something.

Asai read out a few lines from the article, "Toudou Shizuka is a highly-renowned model through-out the world. She is the first Asian to be "Miss Teen France"."

"Miss Teen France?" Tsukushi repeated.

"Yep." Asai grinned, relishing the look of confusion on her face. Makino was such a great victim. It almost seemed to easy to manipulate her thinking. "She's coming back from France soon. How do you feel?"

Tsukushi took one last look at the magazine in Asai's hand before running out of the room.

(I made that last part up myself about Shizuka..)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tsukushi leaned against the wall, quietly crying. What was she doing? Rui was just a friend.. just a friend. Damn. Then why was she in such a mess now?

"Tsukushi?" Tsukasa's voice penetrated her lonely dark world of self-pity and sorrow. "Who bullied my Tsukushi? I will give them the red tag!" He shouted angrily then his voice softened as he turned to look at her, "Don't cry.. it's not like you." He stood looking at her awkwardly – what was he supposed to do when a girl is crying? "Can you stand up?"

"Get lost Tsukasa!"

"What the hell?" he looked at Tsukushi's outburst puzzledly, not quite comprehending her sudden outburst.

"You are the cause of all this! Baka!" she cried, releasing her anger and frustration.

"Tsukushi! What's wrong with you today? I'm your friend!"

"Nobody asked you to be my friend."

"What?!" he felt his own anger building.

"Get lost you asshole." She said vehemently.

"I am the most perfect guy in the world! How dare you call me an asshole?!" he shouted. He could only keep his anger under control for so long.. this.. this behaviour from anyone.. even Tsukushi, was intolerable.

"I hate you., you idiotic person! I hate your hairstyle! I hate your snobbish attitude! I hate your selfishness!" She broke down into tears, "Why? Why can't you be like you used to be?" she sobbed.

"Tsukushi.. I'm sorry.." he said softly, placing one arm on her back.

She flung his hand away angrily, "Go away." She yelled before running away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tsukushi blinked hard, trying to hold back her tears. So that was why Rui was suddenly so cold to her.. The beautiful Toudou Shizuka was back. Ignorance was bliss. If Asai hadn't told her about Shizuka she wouldn't be feeling like this now. The dull ache in her heart. She had always thought Rui was just a friend to her. Well, apparently not. Maybe that was why it felt so painful.

"Makino! What's wrong with you today?" called out Soujiro, grinning.

She glared at them, "Get lost. F4.. you are all assholes."

"Bad mood eh?" Akira replied casually, "Assholes? But aren't you supposed to be the "perfect" girlfriend of our dear friend Tsukasa?"

"I am NOT his girlfriend," she said hotly. The memories of their heated argument came back. Maybe she had been too harsh. Tsukasa hadn't really done anything wrong. Here she was again, letting out her anger on her poor innocent friend.

"Doesn't matter. You are a girl and you are his friend. That means you're his girlfriend." Soujiro chuckled.

"Leave me alone.." she ordered. She slumped down onto the ground in defeat. She didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"We might be able to help you know." Akira winked at her.

"Why does Rui always seem so cold and distant?" she murmured quietly.

"Rui? He's always like that. Don't worry. Besides, if he let you call him 'Rui'… You must be special to him."

Akira nodded in agreement, "I think apart from F4, you and Shizuka. No one is allowed to call him that."

There it was. That name again. Shizuka. What was her relationship with F4?

"It was all his father's fault really.. Rui had so many expectations to live up to. To be the perfect gentlemen. Sometimes his father even forbid us to visit him. That was why he shrank back into his own world.. and became autistic." Akira shook his head sadly, "Shizuka is two years older than us. Sometimes, when we played together. Tsukasa would be too rough and Rui would start vomiting. Shizuka would take him away somewhere and he would come back smiling. She was a really good influence on him."

"Who.." Tsukushi's voice trembled as she spoke, "Who is Shizuka?"

"She's daughter of the Toudou empire. She's also Rui's first love. He's loved her since… I dunno.. since he was 6?" Soujiro shrugged, "All I know is, they have this really close relationship, she was the one who made him open up more. She was the only one who could penetrate his world.. not even F4. Anyway she moved to France for education."

She had already tuned out on his last phrases, she had stopped concentrating after the 'close relationship' bit. So it was true. Shizuka was the one that Rui loved. Hanazawa Rui's special one. She had willed herself to believe it was all just Asai's ramblings, that it wasn't true. But these two boys had just confirmed Asai's words. Still it was hardly surprising, from what she had heard from Asai – Shizuka was a rich, beautiful and accomplished woman – with numerous talents. How could she, the poor humble Tsukushi compare to such a perfect person? She sighed sadly and walked away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I changed it slightly from the original manga but I hope it still makes sense in my twisted world of Hana Yori Dango..

Do you think I moved things too fast? I mean.. Tsukushi was friends with Rui.. and then suddenly she likes him. Okay.. maybe itz too unbelievable? Hope not.. plz tell me in ur comments!

Shizuka will be coming back real soon – and maybe I will put t/t together for a while.

Thanks for reading! Please review!

*Angel*