Lonely Love

Chapter 3: I Love You Like You Are
Hell struggled to breathe as her hands went up to the one that was squeezing her throat. The thug had a tight grip, and her lungs were burning for air. He had lifted her off her feet and shoved her hard against a brick wall.

The thug studied Hell's body closely. His small, dark eyes traveled down from her face to her breasts, then to her hips, and finally her legs. "What a lovely body," he noticed. "Maybe I shouldn't strangle you yet, but I love hearing those noises women make when I choke them."

Hell's vision was growing blurry as the thug continued to crush her windpipe. She wasn't strong enough to pry his fingers from her throat. She believed she would die here, with his guy choking her.

Suddenly Hell could breathe again as the thug's grip loosened. She fell to her knees and clutched her throat. She then saw Schön standing behind the thug, holding a skinny wooden board in her hands. It appeared that she had hit the thug in the back with it.

"Hell, are you all right?" Schön asked, concern clearly visible in her face.

"Yeah," Hell reassured, breathing heavily. She was still recovering with the lack of air.

"You little wench…" the thug insulted, turning around to face Schön. He kicked the wooden board out of her hands and then punched her across her face, thus knocking her down to the ground. He started to advance closer to her. An unmistakable expression of anger was upon his face.

Hell saw her chance and was determined to seize it. She dived for the wooden board and swung it at the back of the thug's head, knocking him out cold. He never saw it coming.

Hell threw the board into the dumpster and walked over to Schön, who was trying to get up. "You're all right, aren't you?" she prayed, offering her hand to the blonde model. "C'mon, we can head to my house." Despite her smile, the fact that she was breathing heavily suggested that she had been extremely worried.

Schön took Hell's hand and the blue-haired scientist helped her back on her feet. "Sure," the model agreed, a tiny smile forming on her face.

o o o o o o

It wasn't until the two women reached Hell's house they realized just how shaken up they really were. They had been trembling violently the entire time. Schön went to take a shower to calm herself. Hell, wanting to make up to the blonde model for slapping her, decided to wash her clothes. Once they were washed and dried, the scientist went to lay them outside the bathroom. She then decided to make rice balls to pass the time and because she was feeling a bit hungry now.

As Hell was trying to perfect this one rice ball, she gazed out the window. The sunset-colored sky was so beautiful and cloudless, it was hard to believe that she had been almost assaulted by some perverted thug. Most times the weather seemed to reflect her mood.

She looked back down at the rice ball and saw that she had stuck her thumb into it. She took her thumb out of it and glanced at the other rice balls. None of them were even close to perfect. They just looked like humps of rice smashed together. For some reason, she couldn't make even one rice ball correctly.

The imperfect rice balls were just like her life. Nothing was perfect, especially when it came to her relationships. She just couldn't stay in one without becoming afraid of being hurt. She could tell Masafumi had been the same way when he confessed that he didn't think a long-distance relationship would work.

But there was one thing in Hell's life that was almost perfect: Schön. The blonde model did have her flaws and negative traits, but all the blue-haired scientist saw were the positive traits that matched Schön's beauty.

Now if only Hell had the courage to tell Schön how she really felt…

o o o o o o

Schön stepped out of the shower and wrapped a long towel around herself. She walked over to the mirror above the sink and looked into it. Her olive green eyes were still blood-shot. She had been crying. She was just so relieved that Hell was all right. If she had not chased after the scientist…well, she didn't want to think of what might have happened. She grew scared whenever she did.

Schön wondered if Hell had forgiven her for trying to pry into a touchy part of the blue-haired scientist's personal life. She understood why Hell had slapped her. She also believed she had deserved it. That didn't mean she hadn't been mad about it, though. But who wouldn't be mad about being slapped? she asked herself amusingly.

The blonde model opened the door a tiny crack to see if her clothes were near it. They were all there: her dark gray shirt, navy knee-length skirt, under garments, and write socks. They were also neatly folded and completely dry. She picked up her clothes, stepped back into the bathroom, and got herself dressed.

Once Schön was done with that, she left the bathroom. She walked through the simple yet elegant living room. There were only a few pieces of furniture; two fancy chairs and a well cared for couch. There was a television set near the front with little speakers. The exotic plants near the large window made the room seem lively.

Schön soon entered the clean kitchen. It was rather small with the oven, sink, wooden cabinets, table, and chairs taking up most of the room, but there was still room to walk. Hell was over by the small sink, making rice balls.

"Hi," Schön greeted, only somewhat cheerfully. Even though she had calmed, she still wasn't feeling right.

Hell jumped and dropped the rice ball she was holding. It hit the counter and fell apart. "Oh Schön, I didn't know you were there," she said, turning around. "Well, help yourself to some rice balls. They're not very good, though."

"They look fine." Schön took a few rice balls and sat down at the table. Soon Hell joined her. They ate their rice balls in silence. The only noise was the crewing. They weren't in the mood to talk that much. They were still recovering from the shock of the events of earlier.

Later, Hell and Schön were sitting on the couch in the living room. The model had her head tucked under the scientist's chin, and the scientist had her arms wrapped around the model's back. They found comfort in each other's embrace. They wished that time would freeze just so they could remain in this peaceful state. It was what they had always been longing for, and they found it in each other.

The reason for the embraces was unknown. They originally went into the living room to watch some television, but it was never turned on. Instead, Schön just suddenly leaned against Hell and then the scientist instinctively wrapped her arms around the model. They don't know why that had happened; it just felt natural to them.

Finally, Schön broke the fragile silence. "Hell, I'm sorry for what I said earlier," she apologized. "I had no right to say that. I can understand why you slapped me. That doesn't mean I wasn't angry with you."

"Well, I'm very sorry about that," Hell apologized as well. "I was just really frustrated. You see…" She broke down and told Schön what happened her and Masafumi. She explained why they had broken up, but she tried her absolute hardest not to make her ex-boyfriend sound like some evil villain. He was pretty much the exact opposite, and Hell wished him all the happiness he deserved. She didn't want to ruin his image.

Schön clutched Hell's arms a little tighter. "From what you said, this Takatori Masafumi sounds like a nice guy," she commented. "I don't think he meant to hurt you. Will you get back together with him when he returns to Japan?"

Hell's pale brown eyes held a sorrowful look. "I don't think that's likely," she thought. "We were really close friends, and it probably should've stayed that way. Our relationship was going nowhere. Never once did we talk about marriage. I just hope we can become close friends again." Her voice carried such sadness she sounded like she was about to cry.

Schön looked up at Hell. "Hey, did you wear that low-cut shirt just to attract me?" she asked as a smile came upon her lips. She really didn't care about the shirt. She was just trying to lighten the mood.

Hell blushed madly. "No, of course not!" she corrected hastily. "I just happened to like how it looked!"

The blonde model chuckled quietly and rested her head on blue-haired scientist's shoulder. "It's all right," she replied. "You know, I'm unhappy with my life as a model. I want someone to help me make something of my life." Her voice was wishful, as if that was a clue for Hell.

Hell cupped Schön's chin in her hand and forced the model to look up at her. "I'll help you do that, as long as you promise not to hurt me," she said, using her other hand to push Schön's wavy hair behind her ear.

"I promise," Schön agreed. She was so overjoyed, she found herself unable to say much. She sincerely hoped her smile said what she wasn't able to.

Hell gently pressed her lips against the blonde model's. "I love you, Karen," she confessed, pulling Schön closer. It wasn't really necessary to say those words since the kiss had just about said that, but still, it felt nice to say them.

Schön curled her arms tighter around Hell's back. "I love you too, Chizuru." Right now, she never wanted to let go of the scientist. Hell gave her all the happiness she could have ever wanted.

They said nothing else, for they didn't need to. Those simple words and the kiss had said more than enough. They were happy to be loved now, and they planned to keep it that way.

END


A/N: Okay, since it's the end of the story, I have to thank my extremely helpful reviewers: Kasra, Gangsta Videl, Ambika-san, kudos youji, Crystal Dawn, Minerva Solo, and anyone else I didn't mention. I really appreciated your reviews, and I found your constructive criticism to be very helpful. While sugar-high, happy reviews usually make me smile, I prefer some good ol' C.C. (As long as it's not too rude or mean. Those are a bit too damaging to my ego.)

As a writer not yet out of high school, I'm still learning. I'm not very good with description, but I really am trying to improve. Description is probably my weakest point. Any suggestions on how to improve will be greatly appreciated.