Yoshi! Time to reply to some of your reviews! I warn you that I've just taken flu tablets and am feeling . . . cheerful . . .
Takari's Baybee: What can I say . . . ? I was in a Taiora mood that night. I even wrote about half of one, before I lost interest in it. I have the same attention span as my kitten sometimes. O.o;;
Azn Angel Hikari: Of course Takeru is! What is up with Yamato's hair when he's an adult? It's like he's lost all his skill with the comb and gel . . . Kowaiiii . . .
Jamie-kun: Nope, I just fell into another cliché for this chapter. Kekekeke. And you're quite right about the alto\tenor thing, although his voice is unnaturally high in 'Focus.' I can sing the song without straining my voice at all, and I'm an alto. Admittedly, though, he is off on most of the higher notes in the song. . . . O.o;
Cherry Blossom: I'm so tempted to buy Ichigo 100%. It sounds too funny for words . . . I must be having a lapse of good taste.
Avaria: Everyone always tells me I put Takeru and Hikari through hell. It sucks to be my favourite characters, doesn't it? ^.~
Also, I agree that Hikari wouldn't normally have taken a look at a private letter, but her curiosity got the better of her. I can't say I would have resisted if I'd been in a similar situation. As to Takeru's letter, he's not the best when it comes to telling people about his feelings face-to-face. Admittedly, that interpretation of his character hinges almost entirely on his image-song where he keeps breaking off in the middle of sentences and saying "I just can't ask . . ." He's soooooooo cute.
Alan: True, but Taichi always has been a little crass.
Everyone else: Thank you. It's your reviews that keep me writing when I'm feeling flu-ridden and miserable. I just hope that this chapter keeps you reading. ^.~
Dancing Lessons
Part 6
'Miyako Gets Sneaky'
"Yagamiiiiiiiiiii Hikariiiiiiiiiiii. Wheeere are youuuuuuuuu?"
Lying on her bed with an unread book open beside her, Hikari felt her stomach lurch when she heard Miyako's voice. She knew it wasn't her friend's fault that Takeru loved her, that it should have changed nothing between them, but she still didn't want to see her. The pain of discovering it was her he loved was still too raw and fresh, and she didn't quite trust herself to keep her emotions under control.
For a moment, she thought about pretending to be asleep until Miyako left, but knew that her friend would have no compunctions about waking her. Good manners were nothing compared to good gossip in Miyako's opinion.
Besides, she was a terrible actor. She was always chosen as the tree or the fifth sister in their school's productions, any part where she didn't have to do more than stand on the stage and be quiet. Miyako would guess that she was faking it in a second, and would just be more suspicious of her.
No, she decided, it was best to get it over with as quickly and as simply as possible. Time wouldn't make it hurt any less.
"I'm here!" she called at last, sitting up straighter and wrapping her arms around her legs.
"Geez, take your time!" Miyako grumbled as she came through the bedroom door.
Looking at her, Hikari felt even worse than before. When Miyako had gone into middle school, she had decided that the only way to be popular was to change her image. The thick-rimmed glasses and hippie-chic clothes had been discarded for contact lenses and designer labels. Today, she was wearing a pair of tea-stained jeans and a white, chiffon top that left her stomach bare. A diamond flashed at her belly-button.
Why had she been so surprised to discover that Takeru loved her? Any guy with eyes would, and her best friend was hardly immune to the charms of a pretty girl. She couldn't see any other reason for his short-lived crush on Catherine the China Doll with her blue eyes, blonde curls and complete lack of any personality. He had started off by writing her long e-mails in French every day, but those had soon been cut down to a shop-bought card on her birthday and Christmas. As he had said to her, she had nothing interesting to say in return, and he was sick of hearing about her pet poodle.
However, the voice of memory whispered that he hadn't thought much of Miyako's make-over. When she'd asked him what he thought about it, he had ummed and erred around the issue in typical Takeru fashion, but had eventually confessed that he hated it. He didn't see why Miyako thought she had to become someone else to be liked, especially when she had friends who accepted her for what she was.
Yet time passed and people changed. The girl in front of her was proof of that.
"So-o?" Miyako said eagerly, sitting on Hikari's bed and giving her an expectant look, "I want all the gossip. Was I right or not? Did he ask you to the dance? Did he kiss you? Are you a couple now?"
Hikari did not know what to say in reply. She could never tell Miyako the truth about what happened that afternoon – that it was her he wanted to take the dance, to kiss, to date. It was bad enough that she had already invaded her best friend's privacy in a moment of weakness and stupidity; she could not tell the other girl how he felt about her.
Takeru would never forgive her.
Besides, if she were honest with herself, some small, selfish part of her hoped that he would never tell her; that he would leave the letter unsent and the words unspoken. She could almost cope with him having feelings for Miyako, but she did not know how she would handle him dating her. Even now, being around either of them was like dancing on splinters of broken glass, smiling while she was bleeding.
Miyako evidently interpreted her silence as reticence, because she grinned and clapped her hands together: "I knew it! I knew he was going to use this as an excuse to ask you to the dance!"
"Miyako . . . ." Hikari rubbed a hand across her eyes, "It's not me he wants to ask. It's . . . it's another girl."
"What? You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed, "Are you sure? How did you find that out?"
"I-it doesn't matter," she replied hesitantly, "I just . . . I'm sure it's not me."
A speculative expression coming to her pretty face, Miyako leaned back against the wall and steepled her fingers in front of her, "Guys can be dense at times. You sometimes have to help them realize how much they like you. I'd normally say make the first move and ask him out yourself, but that won't work if Takeru thinks he likes someone else. We're going to have to be more sneaky . . . ."
"Miyako, please don't . . . ." Hikari felt too tired to deal with another of her friend's hare-brained schemes. She wanted to crawl into bed, pull the covers over her and lie there in the dark until the dance was over and her life could go back to normal, "He's made his decision, and . . . I have to accept it."
"That's your problem right there," Miyako sighed, "You're too . . . too . . . too Hikari! Look, Ken and me didn't work out in the end, but I've never regretted the time we spent together and that wouldn't have happened if I'd waited for him to realize how he felt about me. You want to be with Takeru and I know deep down he wants to be with you, so do something about it! Otherwise, you'll be the bridesmaid at his wedding in ten years time, standing next to his new wife and thinking it should have been you . . . ." she took a deep breath, her cheeks turning red, "Sorry about the speech, but it's true!"
Hikari was silent for a long time, looking at her friend. She had a sudden vision of an older Miyako walking down the aisle, slim and beautiful in a white dress with flowers in her hands and hair. Takeru was waiting for her at the other end, even more handsome than usual in his tuxedo, a proud smile on his face. She shook her head and the image dissolved, "So, what do I do?"
"I hoped you would ask!" she gleefully clapped her hands together, "Well, we all know how jealous Takeru gets."
"Takeru?" she gave her a weak smile, "Aren't you thinking of Daisuke?"
"Hey, I know you're biased, but that rivalry was never one-sided," Miyako said wryly, "Besides, I saw how he looked when Wallace kissed you on the bridge that day, and it wasn't just because he was being too forward." (1)
Hikari blushed at the memory. That had been the first time a boy had ever kissed her. She knew she should have been shocked by what he had done, but she was ashamed to admit that she had enjoyed it. She had even been half-in-love with Wallace for weeks afterwards, walking around in a happy daze, daydreaming about kissing him again. It had lasted until Mimi had told her how he had been hitting on her and every other girl that he met. She had scrubbed her cheek with disinfectant that afternoon.
However, now that she thought back to it, Takeru's behaviour had been a little odd on their trip back to Japan. He had barely spoken two words to her on the plane, only put on his earphones, turned the volume up high and stared out the window at the clouds streaming past beneath them. Had he been jealous of Wallace kissing her? Or had it been his kissing Miyako that had bothered him so much?
"So," Miyako continued triumphantly, "You just need to ask another boy to the dance. It won't take long for Takeru to realize how he feels about you."
"But that's low! I couldn't just use somebody like that!"
She rolled her eyes, "You can't use a user, dear."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we all know Wallace is an exchange student in Kanagawa this year," she explained with a wicked grin, "You could ask him. It would make Takeru doubly jealous remembering how he kissed you."
Hikari sighed and leaned back against her pillow, "Miyako, I really don't like this. It just seems wrong to me."
"Well, think about it this way," she replied, "You need a date for the dance and all the guys in our school are taken, unless you want to go with Teppei who picks his nose or Takeshi who sells porn at lunchtime. Wallace is one of the few other boys you know, so it makes sense to ask him."
"I could just stay home," she suggested hopefully.
"No, I won't let you," she shook her head vigourously, "It's your first proper dance and I won't let you miss it, because Takeru's too dense to realize he loves you."
"O-okay," Hikari felt too tired to argue. It would be less trouble to go along with what her friend wanted. The dance would only last a couple of hours, whereas Miyako would continue bugging her for days to come. She would go with Wallace, let him twirl her around the dance-floor a few times, make polite conversation with the others, and then it would all be over and her life could get back to normal, "Okay, I'll phone Wallace tonight and ask him."
"Great!" Miyako winked and flashed the bingo sign at her, "Trust me. This is going to work perfectly. . . ."
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DUM DUM DAH! TO BE CONTINUED!
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NOTES:
(1) I've been translating movie 3 for fun. I had to bring that in somewhere. ^.^;
