The next morning, Mecale was awakened by the sound of wood scraping on wood. She opened her eyes and was momentarily confused by her surrounding. When her eyes fell on Kouji, she remembered where she was.
Kouji was standing at the dresser with his back to her. The scraping sound she had heard was him opening one of the drawers. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants and she could see the muscles in his back ripple as he pulled some clothes out of the drawer. He pushed it shut after he was done and when he turned around, he noticed she was awake.
"Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just getting my jogging clothes."
"It's okay," Mecale told him.
"I go for a jog every morning," he explained and picked up his Nikes from where they were by the dresser, "I'll be gone for about half an hour. If you want, you can take a shower while I'm gone. There are clean towels and washcloths in the closet across from the bathroom." Kouji exited the room, leaving Mecale along to fully wake up. She yawned and stretched, then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She heard the front door open and close and figured Kouji had left for his jog. Mecale pushed the blankets off of her and got out of the bed. She picked up her dress and headed down the hallway to the bathroom. She stopped to get a towel and washcloth, then proceeded.
Inside the bathroom, she put the washcloth in the shower and put the towel and her dress on the counter. She fiddled around with the shower knobs for a while until she got the right temperature, then took of her bedclothes and stepped in.
After the invigorating shower, she dried off and put the red dress back on. After the comfortable clothes she had slept in, the dress seemed too revealing once again and she wished she had changed when her father had told her to. The thought of her father suddenly brought back the thought that she needed to find a way home. From what she knew about traveling between the two worlds, it was controlled by human thought and emotion. All she had to do was will herself back home and she would go. She didn't want to try now for fear that people would see the column of light and panic. Worse, if people realized it was coming from Kouji's house, they might think he was a witch or something and it would be bad news. She decided to wait until late at night when almost everyone would be asleep.
Mecale found a comb on the counter in the bathroom and ran it through her hair. Once all of the tangles had been removed, she took her nightclothes back into the bedroom and put them on the bed. After that was done, she went out into the living room to wait for Kouji.
-----------------------------------------
"Good night Mecale."
"Good night Kouji."
The raven-haired man left the room and shut the door. Instead of changing into the sweatpants and T-shirt like the night before, Mecale sat down on the bed to wait for the right time to leave.
The day had gone by with Kouji and Mecale watching TV and getting to know each other better. For dinner, Kouji had ordered pizza and Mecale was surprised to find that she liked it even better than the hamburger the night before. She was almost sad to leave.
After about an hour of waiting, Mecale began to get antsy. Finally she couldn't stand sitting still anymore and went over to Kouji's desk. She found a blank piece of paper and a pen. She sat down at the desk and wrote a note to Kouji, thanking him for his hospitality and explaining that she had gone home. She would leave it on the bed where he was sure to find it.
After the letter had been written and she placed it on the still made bed and began to pace the room. Every few minutes se glanced at the clock radio on the nightstand and every time, the last glowing red number had progressed only one or two digits since the last time she had looked.
Finally getting tired of pacing, Mecale sat back down on the bed. She glanced over at the clock and sighed at the time. As she looked away, something next to the clock caught her eye. It was a book. She picked it up and read the title. "Watchers" by Dean Koontz. She read the back and, mildly intrigued, opened to the first page. At least it was something to do to pass the time.
Three hours later, Mecale was so entranced by the book that she had forgotten why she had stayed up in the first place. As she turned the page, her eyes happened to catch the glowing red numerals on the clock. They read 1:53. Remembering her plan, Mecale put the book aside, closed her eyes and folded her hands.
"Please God," she prayed, "please help me get back home." She waited for a few seconds and when nothing happened, she opened her eyes. She was still on Kouji's bed in the darkened room. She hadn't returned to Gaea. In truth, she hadn't expected to. She was only praying half-heartedly. She was enjoying her stay on the Mystic Moon and wasn't quite ready to end it yet. She assumed it wouldn't hurt anything to stay for a few more days.
Mecale tore up the note she had written for Kouji and threw it into the bedroom trash. She put the book she had been reading back on the nightstand and changed into the T-shirt and sweatpants. Once this was done, she climbed into bed and fell asleep.
------------------------------------------
"Well, you've officially been missing for over 48 hours," Kouji told Mecale as he emerged from the bathroom, his hair damp from a shower. "If you parents had filed a missing person's report, Tommy would've called. My conclusion is that you brought here from someplace else, probably another country, and no one is looking for you. Which means, you'll be staying with me until you remember where it is you came from."
Mecale stared up at him from the couch. "You're really going to let me stay here?"
"I couldn't very well turn you out on the street, could I?" Kouji asked with a grin. Mecale shook her head, also smiling. "So now that we know you're staying for a while, I think it's time we got you some clothes and stuff. You can't wear that dress forever."
"But I don't have any money," Mecale reminded.
"Don't worry about it," Kouji insisted, "I have money."
"But…"
"No buts," Kouji interrupted, "you need clothes so I'll buy them for you."
Mecale nodded, knowing it would do no good to argue.
"Now that that's settled," he walked over to the phone, "My friend Lisa has a sister who's about your size. I'll ask her if she can bring over some clothes to take you shopping in."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Mecale asked casually.
"God no!" Kouji exclaimed, "I met her through my agent. She's actually his daughter. Anyway, we've been friends for almost two years now."
"So do you think she'll help us?" Mecale inquired.
"Of course she will," Kouji assured, "Watch." He picked up the phone and dialed a number. After a brief conversation he hung up and smiled. "She said she'll be over in ten minutes with the clothes. She also insists on going shopping with us. She's gonna take us to the mall."
"Sounds like fun," Mecale grinned.
They sat down to wait and exactly ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Kouji opened the door to reveal a short, skinny blonde woman. She had some clothes draped over her arm, a pair of shoes in her hand and a purse over her shoulder. She smiled.
"Hey! Good to see you Kouji," Lisa greeted.
Kouji stepped aside so Lisa could enter. "Hi Lisa." He motioned to where Mecale had stood up and walked over. "Lisa, this is Mecale."
Mecale extended her hand to the shorter woman. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Hey Mecale," Lisa shook her hand, "Wicked streaks."
"Thank you."
"Well, I can see why you needed some clothes," Lisa teased and motioned to the T-shirt and sweatpants Mecale was wearing. "Here. These should fit you." She handed Mecale the clothes and shoes. "Go get changed. I can't wait to hit the mall!"
Mecale took the clothes into the bathroom and changed. The outfit consisted of a pair of white Capri's, a pink tank top that laced up the front and tied at the top and white strappy sandals. Once she had the outfit on, she went back out into the living room.
"Perfect!" Lisa exclaimed when she saw Mecale emerge from the hallway. "Let's get going. Clothes aren't going to buy themselves!"
The three of them left the apartment and made their way down to the street. This was the first time Mecale had been out of the apartment since Kouji had brought her there two days ago. At that time, she had still been contemplating her situation and hadn't really gotten to take a look around. Now she did and was surprised to see almost solid buildings.
Lisa led the two of them to a powder blue convertible VW beetle and pushed the button on her key ring to deactivate the alarm. The car beeped and the headlights flashed, startling Mecale. No one noticed. When they reached the car, Lisa opened the driver's side door and looked back at them other two over the black roof of the car.
"Girls up front," she announced and climbed into the car.
Kouji sighed and opened the passenger door, then climbed into the backseat. Once he was in, he pulled the seat back to it's original location. Mecale climbed in warily. She had seen a lot of commercials for cars and was fascinated, and a little frightened, by them. She closed the car door and sat back in the seat.
"Seatbelts," Lisa instructed.
Not knowing what a seatbelt was, Mecale turned to Lisa and watched as the petite blonde grabbed a strap hanging from the car, pulled it across her and hooked it next to the seat. Mecale turned and found her own strap thing. She proceeded to copy Lisa's actions, hoping that the strap was the seatbelt thing she was talking about.
Mecale turned back and saw that Lisa had put the keys in the ignition. She turned the key and the engine purred to life. Lisa flicked a switch and the top began to lower. Once it was down and stored in it's designated spot, she shifted into drive, pulled out onto the street and they were on their way to the mall.
On the way there, Lisa and Kouji chatted about various things. Mecale was so entranced by the city around her that she barely heard anything that was said between the two friends. She was concentrating on all the amazing sights and sounds along and on the road. There were so many people!
After about ten minutes of driving, Lisa pulled into the parking lot of a huge two-story building. They drove around for a few minutes before finding a parking spot. Once they were stopped, Lisa put the top back up on the car and they all piled out.
"Come on! Let's go!" Lisa urged, "The stores are calling to us!" She grabbed Mecale's hand and began dragging her towards the entrance. Kouji followed behind, fearing for the continued existence of his bank account.
------------------------------------
Four hours later, the three of them, loaded down with bags from almost every clothing store in the mall and a few others, made their way back to Lisa's car. They put the bags in the trunk and then climbed in the car.
"I'm starving!" Lisa announced as she pushed the button that controlled the top, "Let's go to Minnie's."
"What's Minnie's?" Mecale asked as she covered her eyes with her newly bought sunglasses.
"It's a little café down by the beach," Lisa explained, "They have an outdoor patio where you can eat and watch the ocean."
The car pulled back into the traffic and they made the fifteen-minute drive back to the shoreline. They found a parking space not too far from Minnie's and walked the rest of the way. They got a table outside a waiter brought them all a menu. It was obvious that Lisa was a regular patron at Minnie's because the waiter knew her by name and vice versa. She introduced him to Mecale and reminded him that he already met Kouji. The waiter took their drink orders and told them he'd be back in a few minutes to take their food orders.
As soon as he was gone, Lisa turned to Mecale. "Ooo, did you see the way Johnny was looking at you?" Johnny was their waiter.
"What?" Mecale questioned.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice," Lisa insisted, "he was checking you out!"
"He was?"
"Yes!" Lisa nodded, "when he comes back, you should talk to him."
"No, I couldn't," Mecale declined.
"Sure you could," Lisa urged, "Just ask him a question or something."
"I don't know…"
"Lisa, will you leave her alone? She obviously doesn't want to talk to him," Kouji's face held a look of mild irritation.
"Chill out Kouji," Lisa smirked, "if you want Mecale all to yourself, all you had to do was say so."
"What?!" Kouji exclaimed and his cheeks turned rosy.
"I mean, if I had known that you had a crush on her I wouldn't have said anything," Lisa continued with a grin.
"I didn't say that!" Kouji defended.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lisa apologized insincerely, "I guess I misunderstood."
"Yes, you did," Kouji agreed.
At that moment, Johnny brought their drinks and they ordered. Mecale avoided eye contact with the waiter the entire time he was there. She didn't need another man chasing after her. After he left, Lisa began chatting with Kouji as if she hadn't just embarrassed him two minutes ago.
Their food was brought a few minutes later and they ate and talked about different things. Mecale usually stayed out of the conversation and looked out over the ocean while she ate. She had always enjoyed the ocean.
After their meal, they walked back to the car, got in and drove back to Kouji's apartment. Lisa parked on the curb and the three of them unloaded the car and took the bags up to the apartment. Lisa said goodbye to both of them and told Mecale she'd come and pick up the clothes she had lent her in a few days. Mecale thanked her for taking them shopping and then Lisa left.
As soon as she was gone, Mecale turned to Kouji. "I'm so sorry Kouji! I didn't want all these clothes but she wouldn't stop buying! If we can, we'll take them back. I only need a few outfits, not an entire wardrobe!"
"Don't worry about it," Kouji grinned, "she spent less than I thought she would."
"But…"
"No buts," Kouji insisted, "you're keeping the clothes. The money was just sitting in my bank account doing nothing anyway."
"Are you sure?" Mecale persisted, "because this is a whole lot of clothes." She motioned to the bags sitting on the living room floor.
"I'm sure," Kouji assured, "now let's get them put away." Kouji grabbed a handful of bags and walked down the hall to the bedroom. Mecale picked up some bags and followed.
Inside the bedroom, Kouji had the drawers on the dresser open and was cramming everything from the second drawer into the third drawer. He was also transferring his socks from the top, right hand drawer into the top left drawer.
"What are you doing?" Mecale questioned and sat down the bags.
"Making room for your clothes," Kouji answered as he move his own.
"What? No," Mecale said, "my clothes can stay in the bags. They don't need to be put away."
"Yes they do." Kouji shut the top left drawer, which now contained his boxers and socks, and turned to Mecale. "We don't know how long you're going to be here. You should feel at home."
"But Kouji…"
He held up his hand to stop her. "How many times do I have to tell you, no buts? You are putting your clothes in the dresser and what doesn't fit in the dresser will go in the closet. Understand?"
Mecale nodded quickly. "Yes." The tone he had used was the same her father used when someone wasn't accepting his "suggestions."
"Good." Kouji turned back to the dresser and continued moving his clothes into the bottom drawer. "You can start putting stuff in the right hand drawer."
"Okay." Mecale went and got the rest of the bags from the living room and brought them into the bedroom. She found the one that contained her new undergarments and put them in the smaller drawer quickly, trying to angle her body so that Kouji couldn't see them. She also put her three bathing suits (which Lisa insisted that she HAD to have. "You're only a few blocks from the beach. You'll be there all the time.") and the few pairs of socks she had gotten in the drawer as well.
Kouji finished moving his clothes and in the second drawer were placed her shorts (of which she had fifteen pairs), shirts that wouldn't wrinkle (thirteen of them), her pink jogging outfit (so she could jog with Kouji in the morning), her pajamas (three pairs, one pink with monkeys, one green with frogs, one blue with ducks) and her few pairs of jeans (four to be exact). Into the closet went her dresses (five, not counting the one she had arrived in), shirts that would wrinkle (six), and three skirts that Lisa insisted looked amazing on Mecale. There were also four pairs of shoes (one pair of black Vans, one pair of strappy brown sandals, one pair of white Nikes and one pair of dress shoes) and a pair of flip-flops for the beach. The shoes were lined up against the closet with Kouji's shoes.
After the clothes were put away, Mecale and Kouji relaxed in front of the TV for a few hours. Around dinnertime, Kouji decided that they should go out to dinner and he took her to Olive Garden. She got to wear a new skirt and blouse, which made the trip down the block worth it. Not that Mecale didn't enjoy the dinner, but every outing is more fun if you get to go in new clothes.
After dinner, they drove back to Kouji's apartment in his silver, convertible Nissan Z car. Mecale was less nervous this time and was even beginning to enjoy how quickly a car got them around.
When they arrived back at the apartment, both of them were exhausted from their busy day and decided to go to bed. They said goodnight to each other and Mecale went to the bedroom. She changed into her duck pajamas and climbed into bed. Exhausted by the events of the day, she fell into a dreamless sleep, the last dreamless sleep she would have for a while.
*******************************
Sorry it took so long for the update. I've been lazy. I know things have been kind of boring but I promise some plot will start in the next chapter. This was just a little fun before the darkness begins.
I don't own Vans or Nissan.