Part 3

The next morning, I felt someone shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Folken. I groaned inwardly and opened my eyes wide. "What? What's going on?"

"You have to wake up." He said. "Mom's cooking breakfast."

"Two more minutes." I closed my eyes again.

*Normal POV*

"Mom, she won't wake up." Folken said. "Maybe I could carry her over."

"Nonsense. Van, do that."

"What?? No!"

"Come on Van! Yeah!" Folken cheered. "Go for it, man."

He sighed heavily, saying thanks mentally to his mom.

He walked up the stairs and opened the door. He saw her facing sideways with the blanket on top of half of her. He could see how beautiful she was. His heart pounded loud and heavy.

*Hitomi's POV*

Suddenly, I felt myself moving up. I opened my eyes alertly and stared into his eyes. Those beautiful, amber eyes full of mystery and shine. "What are you doing?" I asked him sleepily, slowly putting my arms around his neck.

"Well, we're having breakfast and you didn't wake up in time, so I'm bringing you there." He grinned.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"How many times have I heard that?"

"Thousands of times. Put me down."

"Ok." I knew what he was going to do, so I held on tighter.

"Not like that!" I whimpered. "I already told you last night, remember??"

"Oh yeah…now I'll be sure to pass that information on to Folken. He's got some scary ideas."

I let go of his neck and tried getting out of his arms, but he tightened his hold on me. "You are so mean." I said angrily.

He laughed. "I was just kidding! Relax!" His arm rested on my waist, warming me. "Besides, I won't drop you."

I gave a little sad moan and waited until he put me down on a chair.

I smiled at the sweet aroma of pancakes. It really was going to be a good day. I stood up and went to get something to drink. "Wow, dear, you make an incredible audience."

"Huh?" I turned around at the two guys staring at me.

I turned pink and looked away. "Why are they staring at me?" 

"Because you're beautiful."

"No I'm not." I murmured. "No one ever said I was beautiful."

*Normal POV*

"Man, you have got to be crazy to not fall for her." Folken muttered to Van.

"Stop staring at her." Van warned.

"When you stop staring at her."

"I'm not staring at her."

"Yes you are."

"She's just so beautiful…" He groaned angrily and finally looked away.

*Hitomi's POV*

I took a seat beside Van and glanced at them. "Mm…morning."

"Good morning." Folken grinned.

"Hey." Van muttered.

"You okay?" I asked him. He seemed to be avoiding my eyes.

"I'm fine." He snapped, stood up, and left.

That hurt me. When Van left, I gave a small groan and looked down. "What'd I do?"

"Don't worry. Van's just a little moody sometimes." Folken said, covering his hand over mine.

I nodded. "I don't get him at all."

"You will someday." He teased.

*********

I went home an hour later by the bus. "Hey mom." I kissed her on the cheek.

"How was the night?"

"It was nice." I smiled. "Varie's so nice."

"I know she is." Mom smiled. "Anyway, you have to cut your tutoring an hour short, because we are going to the beach!"

"Really??" I laughed. "With who??"

"Varie and her family!!"

I stopped, and then, "WHAT?!?! WHY??"

"Hitomi…be nice. It'll be fun."

I knew I had no way of getting out of it, so I growled under my breath. "Do I bring my bathing suit to the house?"

"Yes. Go with them to the beach, because we'll meet them. I'm sure Varie's telling them now."

********

Later that afternoon, I arrived at the house. The maid opened it. I started up the stairs, but she told me that Van was swimming in the pool with Millerna. I gave a sigh and headed there. Van was closing his eyes and resting on one side of the pool. Millerna was swimming laps.

"Van?" I called silently, making sure Millerna didn't hear me.

He opened his eyes. "Hitomi." He said in a surprised tone.

"Hey." I waved a little. "We have to start the tutoring now, because we've only got an hour."

"Oh right." He groaned and stood up.

My breath caught in my throat. He was a hunk. I think I was just staring at his perfect body. His face was wet and his chest…oh damn…I knew I was falling for him. Ah God…

"Mil, I gotta get ready to go to the beach." Van said.

Millerna looked up and saw me. "You're going to the beach?? Can I come??"

"Sure." He smiled.

I felt jealous, but ignored it. I went back in the house and stayed in the living room.

*********

After the tutoring, I got in the car with Folken beside me. We sat in the back. He put an arm around my shoulders. "This'll be fun." He grinned.

"I'm sure." I mumbled. I stared out the window, looking glum.

"What's the problem, babe?"

I glanced at him. "That your new nickname for me?"

"Yup."

I smiled weakly. "It's nothing. I'm just…I didn't know we were going…and I'm not really up for it."

"You don't have to go swimming, you know. You can hang out in the sand."

I shook my head. "I want to go swimming. It's just…I don't know, maybe I'm just not going to have fun."

"You'll have fun. Don't worry about it. We'll have fun together."

"Ok." I smiled. I still felt uneasy because of Millerna and Van.

Van turned around and glanced at me. I caught his eyes and he looked away. I blushed and ignored it. Suddenly, the car jerked and my face contacted with the seat in front of me. Thank God Van hit the seat in front of him too, or my face would have just hit his head.

I shook my head. "Sorry!!" Varie apologized. "That'll never happen again, I promise you!"

"Are you all right?" Folken asked, putting an arm around my waist.

"I'm fine." I said and pushed his arm away. "Please don't."

"I won't." He backed away. "Sorry."

"It's ok." I whispered.

********

We got to the beach and my family was already there. I saw the little squirt and my big brother. I hugged him tightly because I missed him a lot. He came back from college, and he was Folken's best friend, so they hung out.

The squirt ran to me and hugged me. "Hi Hitomi!!"

"Hi!" I hugged her back and pulled her up and brought her. "How are you doing, Kimie?"

"I missed you last night."

"You did?"

"Uh-huh."

Kimie was my little cousin and often, she would go with us in trips. I brought her over to the hut that we stayed in. There was about 12 people altogether: my mom, my dad, Van's mom, a few maids, Sammy, Folken, Van, Millerna, Kimie, and me.

Later, Kimie and I headed to the beach. I took my clothes off and wore a two-piece bathing suit. It was pretty and simple. Kimie and I stayed by the sand. I was helping her make a castle when she found a friend who hung out with her too.

Suddenly, someone pulled me up by the waist. "Aah!" I cried. 

"It's me." Folken yelled happily. "We're gonna have a fight with Van and Millerna!"

"Really??" I was really happy. "Let's go!"

We ran to the water and swam to the shallow water. It was up to my tummy and Folken's waist. Van and Millerna came. They started swimming towards us.

"All right, what we'll do is get these girls up at our shoulders and have a war. The first couple to go down loses!" Folken said to Van.

"You're on!" Van yelled.

Folken hoisted me up and I was sitting on his shoulder. I stared at Millerna staring back at me. "It starts right now!" Van yelled again.

Suddenly, Folken started moving. "Oh my god, Folken!" I laughed. He kicked Van's shin.

"Let go of your girl, man!"

"No, let go of Hitomi!"

Millerna was still staring at me, not laughing. "I hate you." She said.

"I hate you as much." I called to her.

Folken and Van were now laughing and punching each other. Suddenly, Millerna started losing her balance.

"Van, whoa! Van!!" She screeched.

We won. "WHOO!!!" I yelled happily. "We won!!"

"ALL RIGHT!!! WE RULE ALL!! I BEAT MY BROTHER!!" Folken screamed.

Van emerged from the water and started pulling on my arms. "Aah! Van!!" I yelled at him.

"Come down, Hitomi!!" He called up to me.

"Let go!!" I laughed, pulling away.

At the end, Folken bended and I fell on the water. I punched him playfully and we started swimming around. I didn't want to get too close to Millerna or Van, because they had really big problems with me.

*********

I started just relaxing and closed my eyes, moving my arms gracefully. Then I felt someone hold my arm. His touch was gentle and soft, and then I knew it was Van. I opened my eyes and saw him in front of me. I stood up. Besides, I was still in shallow water.

"What is it?" I asked him softly.

"Mind if I swim with you for a while?"

"No."

We started swimming together and finally we just sat on the mat by the sand. "What's the matter?" I asked him silently, noticing his sad features.

"Millerna and I had a fight." He muttered.

"Oh." I mumbled. "What happened?"

"Just stuff." He put both his hands under his head. "I think she's falling in love with Folken again."

"How are you so sure?"

"Just look." He pointed at them. I saw Millerna and Folken walking on the shore and flirting. I shook my head.

"Sorry Van." I told him.

"It's ok." He muttered again. "I shouldn't have tried dating her again."

"You'll find someone else."

"Hope so."

After a few minutes of silence, I sat up and hugged my knees. "Van?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think…maybe we could be friends?" I turned around and faced him. "I'd rather be friends with you than enemies."

He grinned. "Are you scared of me?"

"No. It's just that…I think you're a real nice guy…if you're not being mean that is."

He laughed. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard. "Sure, why not." He thrust his hand.

I shook it. "Good." I smiled. "Now…since you're feeling down, you want to go and swim?"

"Yeah all right."

We walked to the beach and started walking to the deep end. When we finally got there, we treaded water.

"Let's play tag!" I announced, grinning happily.

He smiled. "All right."

"You're it, ok?"

"Sure. You got 5 seconds."

I swallowed air and started swimming to the shallow water. When I got there, I saw him swimming after me. "Aah!" I squealed and started swimming again. Then I felt his hand touch my foot. 'Oh no!' I thought in my head.

Suddenly, I splashed his face with more water and started swimming away, but then he caught up with me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Our heads thrust up out of the water.

"I got you." He said silently.

I groaned and grinned. "Then I guess I'm it."

"Everyone, come back up here!! We're going to eat!!" They called.

I turned around to face them when Van pulled me close to him. "Let's keep on swimming." He whispered in my ear.

I felt a shiver go down my spine. I felt like I really wanted to, but in the back of my head, I knew that he was just using me to get revenge on Millerna. "No." I shook my head and pulled his arms with me. "Let's go eat."

He let me pull him up and we walked towards the hut. "That was fun." He said, smiling.

"I'm glad you're smiling." I smiled back.

*********

My mom put some music on the stereo they brought. It was a slow one. Van glanced at Millerna and I felt a little jealous. Folken already took Millerna's arms and they danced at the sand. I watched Van's eyes fill with hurt.

I didn't like it when Van was hurt and so I stood up and walked over to the couple. They both stared at me as if I was delusional.

"Excuse me, Millerna, but I think you're dating Van." I told her, butting in.

"I was just dancing—" Folken started.

I put my hand up to signal him to shut up. "Now, if you want to cheat on him with his brother, think again. I recommend that you break up with him before you start any other relationship."

"Who are you to talk to me like that?" She said angrily. "I am not breaking up with him nor am I cheating on him! I love Van! Look, I'm just dancing with Folken! Is that against the rules?"

"No, but you should dance with Van first! He's your boyfriend after all, isn't he? Not Folken?" I glared at her angrily. "There's nothing wrong with dancing with Folken, but Van wanted to dance with you!"

"He should have said something then!!"

"He couldn't! You were too busy FLIRTING with Folken!!" I yelled at her.

"F-flirting?" She stuttered. "I-I…w-we never flirted…"

I slapped her. "Shut the hell up and stop denying everything! Get it through that thick head of yours and just think for a minute that you're hurting your boyfriend that you say you 'LOVE'." 

*Normal POV*

Van stared at the two fighting. 'What's going on??' He started walking towards them when Millerna stopped in front of him. "What?" He asked.

"Do you want to dance with me?" Millerna asked softly, almost feeling tears in her eyes.

"What?"

She held her cheek. "Would you like to dance with me? Maybe we can practice for the Prom." She smiled forcefully.

"You don't seem too happy with that idea." He said angrily.

"I am." She interjected. "Please, Van. Dance with me."

"No."

Her face turned very red. "Damn it, you have to dance with me."

"Why?" He held her stare with hurt eyes. "Your flirt with my brother and you expect me to do that?"

"I wasn't flirting!!" She protested, tears rushing down her cheeks.

He almost felt bad. "Stop it."

"B-but I wasn't…"

"Look…" He stopped for a minute. "I want to break up."

"What?"

"Let's break up."

"No! I'm not letting you!"

"Why the hell not??"

"Because! We are not breaking up, Van!!"

"Yes we are." He said in a murderous voice.

"Why??" Her voice trembled.

"It's obvious you're still in love with him, Millerna. You can't lie to my face about that."

"Van…" Millerna glanced up at him. "Van, no…" 

*Hitomi's POV*

I heard their conversation and I felt saddened by what just happened. I let go of Folken's arm and walked away from the whole scene. I knew Van would be really upset and Millerna too, but I just couldn't stand it. Folken, I knew, was totally happy. He was such a player. I didn't want to see Millerna crying and then running in Van's arms, begging him to take her back. I felt tears spring to my eyes, so I walked away.

Kimie followed me. "Hitomi." She called, tugging on my shorts.

"Yeah?" I wiped my tears away. "What is it, Kimie?"

"Don't cry." She whimpered. I saw tears start burning in her eyes. "When you cry, I cry."

"I'm not crying." I whispered, hugging her. I picked her up and we started walking around. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I'm only 17 and I'm in love."

"Really?" She giggled. "I'm 5 years old," she showed her whole hand to me, "and I already know what love means."

I smiled sadly. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yep."

I knew she wouldn't really understand what I was going to say, but she was good company. She did know what love meant. "I don't understand why I have to fall in love with a guy who's in love with someone else."

"Who do you love?" She asked. 

I shook my head. "I can't tell anyone."

"Ok. Well…then you should love someone else! Because he wants someone else!"

"But I can't, Kimie. I'm falling for him and I don't know how to stop it."

She shrugged her little shoulders and looked behind me. "It'll be okay. Don't worry."

I put Kimie down and sobbed a little. "Two hearts broken today…" I mumbled, mostly to myself.

"Don't cry." She whispered, stroking my shoulder.

"I was his enemy, Kimie, and today we just agreed to be friends…but the thing is…I-I'm falling for him hard…" I sat on the sand and she sat beside me, putting her arms around me.

"It'll be okay. He'll love you too."

"Aw, thanks baby." I smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're a sweet girl."

"You're welcome." She grinned up at me. "You're the best girl in the world. Everyone loves you. I love you, 'Tomi." She kissed my cheek lightly.

"Thank you…" I hugged her tightly. "I love you too, baby." 

*********

We went back to the hut after a while. Van stood up when he saw me. "Where were you??" He asked.

"Kimie and I just took a walk somewhere." I mumbled numbly, sitting in front of him, looking down.

"So…Millerna and I are officially over."

"Really?" I whispered.

"Yeah. Just look at them."

I glanced up and watched Folken hug her tightly. I saw her shoulders quivering and I knew she was crying.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him quietly.

"I'm fine. Just sad I guess. Millerna and I were…together for almost 2 years…and it's just weird, you know?"

I nodded. "Maybe it's for the best." I sobbed out.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I put my head down and wiped my tears. "Millerna's going to regret it." My voice was breaking.

"I don't know if I'll ever forgive Folken for doing this…"

"It takes time." I murmured.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying to find my eyes.

I shook my head and looked down. "Nothing."

"Hitomi, what's the matter?"

"There's nothing wrong." I stood up and walked to Kimie. "You want to come with me?"

"No."

"You don't want to go?"

She shook her little head. "I think someone else wants to go with you." She pointed behind me.

I looked up at Van's reddish brown, amber eyes staring at mine. My eyes started watering. I swallowed a little and let go of Kimie's hand. I started down the shore and just faced the sea. I cried fully, not caring if people saw. I felt his arms wrap around my waist. I just kept on crying and leaned on his chest. I finally turned around and buried my head on the nape of his neck.

"Don't cry…" He whispered.

"I'm sorry you have to comfort me when you're the one who just had his heart broken." I mumbled.

"It's ok. I don't mind." I could feel him smiling.

My crying lessened and I slightly pulled away. "Van…"

"Yeah?" He wiped away my tears and stared at my eyes.

"Will you dance with me?" I asked him quietly.

The music started up and the sun was just starting to descend. "Sure why not."

I gave a small laugh and put my arms around his neck.

The song started. We were just looking into each other's eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"Millerna got really hysterical and I…I admit, I was feeling really guilty. But, when I tried to comfort her, or at least do something, she just ran to Folken. He stared at me as if I was some kind of devil…and glared at me. I was looking for you, because, you know, I felt alone."

I nodded, looking at his shirt.

"I'm upset. I didn't plan to break up with her today…or break up with her even."

"But you did." I whispered.

"I know." He muttered. "Tell me why you're crying."

I shook my head. "I can't."

"Is it something personal?"

I nodded.

"Will you tell me? I told you what happened." He teased, but his eyes were full of concern.

I helplessly looked at him with stray tears in my eyes. "I didn't want to be here to watch Millerna cry her tears out because of me, or…see her just beg to be with you again………and-and I didn't want to be here for you to use." I pulled away and we stopped dancing. "You're using me to get to her, Van. You're trying to make her jealous, right?" My heart was thumping hard as the tears rushed down. "B-but I don't want that. I-I care for you…I mean, we're friends now, and…and…" I sobbed.

"Hitomi, I'm not using you!!" He protested. "I'm not using you to make her jealous!"

"Please don't deny it." I whispered. "Look, I hate crying…" I turned around. "And I think we should just forget about my breakdown."

"Hitomi-"

"I'm here for you whenever you want to talk about anything…but I won't be here for you to use." I went up the sand to the hut.

*Normal POV*

'I wasn't even using her…' He thought to himself. 'Why would I?? I don't want to make her cry………' He stopped. 'Oh no………' He sat down. 'Oh man………I-I think I'm in love with her…'

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