A/N: Because I was feeling quirky. To roku-chan, as always, a great beta-reader even tho I do send them to her after I've already posted it on ffdotnet. Silly me. ^.~  Oh, and the title needs a bit of work, but so far, I can't find anything that fits this purely monologue one-shot. Just… enjoy!

Wink

(lunita_cero@hotmail.com)

"Well, sugar, what can I say? I was in your exact position too at one point in time; I was in lust with the bishounen that is Ishida Yamato. Okay, so maybe not exactly the same as your situation, but its close, doncha think? Lead singer, lead guitarist, that cute tush and those baby blues… and I take it by your nauseated look that I went into too much detail for your liking? Fine, whatever, but as I was saying, how could I not fall for the boy when he is just that delicious to look at? And it wasn't just his looks, either. Once I got to talk to him that one time before he started avoiding me… Hey, no! Don't you dare say anything! I am perfectly aware that I didn't act completely normal when I was around him, but I grew out of that, okay! I matured, if you will.

"… And if you roll your eyes one more time, I'll make sure your lady friend knows exactly what names you called her today, and I'm not at all in doubt that Takenouchi can kick your ass quite spectacularly if insulted unjustly…"

Ahem.  "Anyway, as I was saying, I fell completely for the boy. And I followed him around, trying to get to know him a bit more… Ugh, all right, all right! I stalked him, okay! Happy now? Geez, you can be so immature… … Anyway… I was sure that if he got to meet the great girl that is Motomiya Jun, he'd be just as in love as I was… Sadly enough, more than 7/8 of the female population in school had the same exact plan later on when he got really popular. He became quite the beefcake, Yama-kun did, but I was there before the rest of those mindless fans, dammit!

"…Although I hate to admit it, but Takenouchi was there before any of the fans. What most of us should've noticed—and that includes you, Yagami—is that the only one he acted remotely attached to was Takenouchi. Whenever he wasn't in rehearsal, or with Takeru-kun, they were walking the school grounds, heads together, laughing at something or other. They were really close, especially after you started dating that twin what's-her-face. And don't give me that look. It was your fault for acting the way you did around Takenouchi when you were around Ditz-Twin. I saw it all remember? I was attached firmly to Yama-kun's arm when you made that crack on the way she dressed. If Sora hadn't decked you one right there, Yama-kun would have, and if Yama-kun hadn't, then I would've. You should've seen the look in her eyes when you said that! Most guys did notice that there was a girl under the beanies and ripped jeans and shit. Wearing a skirt as short as those twins did didn't make them Ladies at thirteen. It made them cheap and slutty, sugar, and we all knew that, but she still cried in the bathroom afterwards. And just between you and me, Yama-kun blushed at the thought of going in, but I dragged him inside anyway. What kind of friend would he have been otherwise?

"Yes, Yagami, you were a jerk when you were younger. And so was most of the guy population and that trait will follow for years to come, but what I am trying to point out is that with all the years she waited, you should be happy that she got over you when she did. Otherwise there would've been months and months of hurt and then what? Did you really want her to wait? You went from girl to girl, and she remained close friends with you, always there when you needed her, but what was she more to you than a person to unload on when you had female problems? And what girl in their right mind would stay in that position for long? She did what any of us would do. She stopped seeing you as anything more than a friend. She had to…

"Sweetie, I know it hurts, but you have to realize that it hurt her, too. And when you realize that, you can begin getting over her and continue your conquest for love… Or whatever. Here, have some of my cocoa. Really, I insist.

"… Nani? When did I get over Yama-kun, you ask? Welp… Maybe I first started realizing that there was something between them when we were fourteen. I went out to the quad for lunch and they were at the usual spot, under that old Sakura tree near the gate. You know which one I mean, right, the only one separate from the rest in the formation by the auditorium? Yamato was leaning against the trunk, sexy and mysterious like always, but I noticed right away that he looked… not his usual serious self. I mean, he was serious, but this was a different serious. He was glaring at the school in general, never looking at her, and I remember quite clearly that she even stood right in front of him and tried to press something into his hands when he continued to refuse.

"I, of course, demanded to know what she had done to my Yama-kun, and Takenouchi turned to look at me. She was frustrated, I could tell, because she was nearly in tears and used this hard tone to describe quite in detail how much males confused the noodles out of her. (She didn't quite say it with those words, but you understand, public cafe and all that we're in). Then she stomped off, but not before she kicked open his guitar case and tossed the letter in it, ignoring his angry mutters.

"Now this wasn't an epiphany in itself, but whenever those two got into an argument, it was forgotten by the next period at the very least. This time, though, it lasted longer. I was there with Yama-kun everyday while he glared off into the distance and Takenouchi disappeared from Odaiba for a while.

"Yeah, now you remember that, ne? It was when her father took her away for a couple of weeks even though we all thought he had taken permanent custody of her. Welp, Yama-kun was not happy at all, but he hid it well, crawling into his little fortress of seriousness and silence and not seeing the daylight for a couple of days. I called him constantly, but his machine usually answered. When I finally got the courage to knock on his door, I somehow managed to get him talking. I can be quite persuasive when I want to be, you know.

"Sure, eat the rest of the ice cream, it's melting anyway…

"Anywhoo, when Takenouchi came back, he looked a sorry enough mess and there was no need to say anything. Their hug lasted longer than I liked, but I didn't say anything. I knew by then that if I were to ever disappear, he wouldn't have gotten like that… He'd miss me, no matter how much he denied it. But he wouldn't stop functioning the way he did…

"Heh, you think I was okay? Of course I wasn't. I denied his feelings for her, unknown even to him for a while. I acted like more of a bitch to Takenouchi. I even got into a fight with her once, remember? Tried to get her to confess that she was playing with his heart… Pulled her hair, got on the floor and everything. She gave me a black eye, but I decked her a good one on the lip… We were both suspended and I had the weekend to think about it. And after a week of avoiding both of them, and after one of Daisuke's 'famous' talks, mostly involving what a dumb ass I was for what I was doing… Well, I finally went to apologize and found them in the practice room.

"And she was sitting there on his amp, busted-healing lip and all, his guitar in her hands, playing one of his songs with novice fingers while he sang softly to her. She was helping him practice, I knew. But the way his eyes never left her as they sat there, facing each other, their knees touching ripped jeans to ripped jeans… Wow… And she concentrated on him rather than her fingering and the cords, butchering the song every once in a while, but it didn't matter. They hadn't even noticed me come in…

"I just simply couldn't deny it anymore…I gave in, threw in the towel. Their eyes and the close way they were sitting and the simple… natural-ness of it all, the way they interacted throughout the whole time I knew them! It hit me all like a ton of bricks and I just knew that this was love, simply by the atmosphere in the practice room. That simple and that complicated.

"… … Yeah, I'm okay, just gimme some of that ice cream…

"… But do you see what I'm saying? Do you see, sugar, why it's not just Sora betraying you with your best friend? You had her heart when you didn't want it, and she moved on. She didn't just come to this conclusion to kiss the boy outta nowhere. It took time and I watched most of it, heart in throat, but in the end, I accepted that this was something bigger than what I felt for him. He was there for her, and he fell for her, and somewhere along the way, she fell for him just as hard. They're tighter than anything, and nothing neither you nor I say or do will get in between them, Yagami Taichi.

"Now, how about you start accepting that while we get out of here? The rest of prom awaits us, if you remember, and if I have to wear this slutty dress and not dance, I will not be a happy woman. Let's go back to the scene, ne?

"Besides, you look yummy enough in a suit to make me forget there was ever an Ishida Yamato on the dance floor. Maybe I can make you forget that there is a Takenouchi Sora there with him, ne?"

~Wink~

Owari

Ano, tell me what you think of this piece of drivel, ne? Review!