Rage has his arm wrapped around Emi's body, and Ni Na walked next to
Izam's. Izam tried to smile up at Rage, but it was hard. He didn't like
being a woman, much less his best friend's girlfriend. Every now and then
Rage would lean over for a kiss on the cheek, and Izam did not want to have
to deal with a real kiss.
Ni Na pulled Emi over to the side entrance of the main arcade building downtown, leading the group to a non-busy part of the sidewalk.
"Well, I think it's time we split up." She said cheerily. Emi blinked rapidly and Izam paled to ashen white. Rage just simply smiled and hugged Izam reassuringly.
"Just for the day. You guys have some real issues about each other, and this weekend is the perfect time to resolve that." Rage said, lifting Emi's...er...Izam's chin by placing his hand under it and lifting it gently. Izam felt his face grow a bit warm. Feeling left out, Emi cleared her throat loudly.
"So...what does that mean?" Emi asked, rubbing the back of her head and wondering if Izam even did this when he was confused. Ni Na smiled up at her.
"That means all of the day of Saturday, today, you and Emi will be partners in crime. This means you have to actually be yourself Izam, and not put up a face like you do when Rage and I are here." Ni Na put her hands on her hips, playfully glaring up at Emi. Emi forced a smile and looked at Izam, then nodded. At least they would get more of a chance to act like themselves. "So, Rage and I will beet you here in 8 ours, alright?" Ni Na asked. Rage gave Izam a kiss, just under his left eye, then walked to Ni Na, who hugged Emi tightly. Emi gave her a small hug back, then jumped, a bit surprised when Rage gave him a hard slap on the back, then a grin, and walked off with Ni Na.
"You're not really going to take me clothes shopping are you?" she heard Rage ask. Emi smiled a bit, then turned to Izam.
"Can we eat? I'm hungry..." she mumbled, feeling extremely out of place. Izam walked up to her, grabbed her sleeve and pulled her along until she walked beside him.
"Fine...where's a place where we can talk in private?" he asked, looking around. The sidewalk was slowly getting more crowded as people got hungry for lunch. Emi raised her nose and inhaled.
"The park..." she mumbled. "...mmm...a chili cheeseburger and cheese fries would really hit the spot..." she groaned, placing a hand over her...Izam's...stomach. Izam grinned.
"Veggies don't exactly fill me up. I need junk food to go throughout the day." Emi glared down at Izam.
"Well, that type of food just doesn't sit well with me, so you'll be eating 'health nut' food." She gloated back. Izam made a face.
"Whatever. Let's just get our food and go!" Izam hissed. Emi nodded and hurried across the street, taking long strides. Izam had to run to keep up.
Fifteen minutes later saw Emi with two chili dogs in her hand and eating a hamburger and somehow holding a soda as well. Izam was holding two cases of sushi, running after Emi. After a long moment of watching Izam hurry after her, she slowed her pace.
"Where are we going?" Izam asked, looking at Emi's water bottle, wondering how long they had to walk.
"The park. No one really goes there anymore, so it's perfect to chat." Izam nodded and gruffly said 'all right'.
"...and then Ni Na moved to the Disco Zone when Rage and I were 8. Then we thought girls had cooties and we tried to avoid her, but she lived in the same apartment as Rage and Tracy. Since I went over to Rage's so much, we were kind of forced to play with her. Nin used to have this crush on Rage, but I guess she realized that Rage wasn't interested in girls yet." Izam leaned back against an old tree, popping a piece of unagi into his mouth and chewed. Emi listened quietly, then realized Izam wasn't going to say more.
"My turn? All right, what do you want to know?" she asked, taking a sip of soda. Izam closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Why Rage?" he asked softly. Emi stared at him for a moment. They had talked for about two hours about random things; favorite colors, animals, DDR songs and dance techniques. Only in the past 10 minutes have they gotten past that point. Emi wasn't sure how comfortable she was with answering.
"Because..." she said slowly, "he's the only person who makes me truly feel like I'm worth something..." Izam looked over at Emi and saw that she had her face hidden in her arms, with her knees up so Izam couldn't see her face. "Ecks is there, but we're growing apart. He's leaving the Burning Zone to go to college...then Rage came and told me how much I meant to him..." she shook her head and hid her face again.
Izam stared at her. Emi, the adorable one, had low self esteem? It was unbelievable. She was so happy and full of life...everyone loved her. How could she not love herself? Suddenly, Izam thought to her apartment. A two room apartment with a living room, bathroom and kitchen. Her younger brother used the second bedroom, but there was no bedroom for a parent. He remembered Rage saying something about her father, but looking at Emi now, he didn't want to press.
It took a moment, but Izam suddenly realized Emi was crying.
"Hey! No! Don't--" he paused. What right did he have of telling someone not to cry when he brought up memories that obviously brought up pain. He found himself scooting next to Emi, then wrapping his arms around her. Emi looked up in surprise and looked into her own blue eyes.
'That must be what people meant when they said I have sympathetic eyes' she thought, allowing herself to be held by Izam. She closed her eyes for a moment, and her breathing calmed when Izam brushed a few strands of hair from his eyes. Emi allowed a small smile to cross her lips when a sudden rush of adrenaline made her jump away from Izam.
"No! We're—Rage!" she gasped, instantly feeling dirty and ashamed. Izam looked baffled, then turned a bright red. He turned away from Emi, thinking about the past few moments.
Emi, even in his body, had looked so friendless and helpless, that he was compelled to bring her close—to reassure her that she was cared about. She shook in his arms for a few moments before calming down, when he started to stroke her hair. The next thing he knew, he was leaning over her, about to kiss her...or him...
NO! He had Ni Na, but Nin wasn't---wasn't---he couldn't put his finger on it. He glanced at Emi, who was avoiding his gaze. Did he hate Emi because he wanted her for himself?
__ Read my other fics? Go to my profile page, then to the address provided for updates and why your favorite has been neglected ^_^
Sorry that I put this fic on hiatus for a while. I was attempting to add to my other fics, but I kinda missed getting reviews from this one ^_^;
Ni Na pulled Emi over to the side entrance of the main arcade building downtown, leading the group to a non-busy part of the sidewalk.
"Well, I think it's time we split up." She said cheerily. Emi blinked rapidly and Izam paled to ashen white. Rage just simply smiled and hugged Izam reassuringly.
"Just for the day. You guys have some real issues about each other, and this weekend is the perfect time to resolve that." Rage said, lifting Emi's...er...Izam's chin by placing his hand under it and lifting it gently. Izam felt his face grow a bit warm. Feeling left out, Emi cleared her throat loudly.
"So...what does that mean?" Emi asked, rubbing the back of her head and wondering if Izam even did this when he was confused. Ni Na smiled up at her.
"That means all of the day of Saturday, today, you and Emi will be partners in crime. This means you have to actually be yourself Izam, and not put up a face like you do when Rage and I are here." Ni Na put her hands on her hips, playfully glaring up at Emi. Emi forced a smile and looked at Izam, then nodded. At least they would get more of a chance to act like themselves. "So, Rage and I will beet you here in 8 ours, alright?" Ni Na asked. Rage gave Izam a kiss, just under his left eye, then walked to Ni Na, who hugged Emi tightly. Emi gave her a small hug back, then jumped, a bit surprised when Rage gave him a hard slap on the back, then a grin, and walked off with Ni Na.
"You're not really going to take me clothes shopping are you?" she heard Rage ask. Emi smiled a bit, then turned to Izam.
"Can we eat? I'm hungry..." she mumbled, feeling extremely out of place. Izam walked up to her, grabbed her sleeve and pulled her along until she walked beside him.
"Fine...where's a place where we can talk in private?" he asked, looking around. The sidewalk was slowly getting more crowded as people got hungry for lunch. Emi raised her nose and inhaled.
"The park..." she mumbled. "...mmm...a chili cheeseburger and cheese fries would really hit the spot..." she groaned, placing a hand over her...Izam's...stomach. Izam grinned.
"Veggies don't exactly fill me up. I need junk food to go throughout the day." Emi glared down at Izam.
"Well, that type of food just doesn't sit well with me, so you'll be eating 'health nut' food." She gloated back. Izam made a face.
"Whatever. Let's just get our food and go!" Izam hissed. Emi nodded and hurried across the street, taking long strides. Izam had to run to keep up.
Fifteen minutes later saw Emi with two chili dogs in her hand and eating a hamburger and somehow holding a soda as well. Izam was holding two cases of sushi, running after Emi. After a long moment of watching Izam hurry after her, she slowed her pace.
"Where are we going?" Izam asked, looking at Emi's water bottle, wondering how long they had to walk.
"The park. No one really goes there anymore, so it's perfect to chat." Izam nodded and gruffly said 'all right'.
"...and then Ni Na moved to the Disco Zone when Rage and I were 8. Then we thought girls had cooties and we tried to avoid her, but she lived in the same apartment as Rage and Tracy. Since I went over to Rage's so much, we were kind of forced to play with her. Nin used to have this crush on Rage, but I guess she realized that Rage wasn't interested in girls yet." Izam leaned back against an old tree, popping a piece of unagi into his mouth and chewed. Emi listened quietly, then realized Izam wasn't going to say more.
"My turn? All right, what do you want to know?" she asked, taking a sip of soda. Izam closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Why Rage?" he asked softly. Emi stared at him for a moment. They had talked for about two hours about random things; favorite colors, animals, DDR songs and dance techniques. Only in the past 10 minutes have they gotten past that point. Emi wasn't sure how comfortable she was with answering.
"Because..." she said slowly, "he's the only person who makes me truly feel like I'm worth something..." Izam looked over at Emi and saw that she had her face hidden in her arms, with her knees up so Izam couldn't see her face. "Ecks is there, but we're growing apart. He's leaving the Burning Zone to go to college...then Rage came and told me how much I meant to him..." she shook her head and hid her face again.
Izam stared at her. Emi, the adorable one, had low self esteem? It was unbelievable. She was so happy and full of life...everyone loved her. How could she not love herself? Suddenly, Izam thought to her apartment. A two room apartment with a living room, bathroom and kitchen. Her younger brother used the second bedroom, but there was no bedroom for a parent. He remembered Rage saying something about her father, but looking at Emi now, he didn't want to press.
It took a moment, but Izam suddenly realized Emi was crying.
"Hey! No! Don't--" he paused. What right did he have of telling someone not to cry when he brought up memories that obviously brought up pain. He found himself scooting next to Emi, then wrapping his arms around her. Emi looked up in surprise and looked into her own blue eyes.
'That must be what people meant when they said I have sympathetic eyes' she thought, allowing herself to be held by Izam. She closed her eyes for a moment, and her breathing calmed when Izam brushed a few strands of hair from his eyes. Emi allowed a small smile to cross her lips when a sudden rush of adrenaline made her jump away from Izam.
"No! We're—Rage!" she gasped, instantly feeling dirty and ashamed. Izam looked baffled, then turned a bright red. He turned away from Emi, thinking about the past few moments.
Emi, even in his body, had looked so friendless and helpless, that he was compelled to bring her close—to reassure her that she was cared about. She shook in his arms for a few moments before calming down, when he started to stroke her hair. The next thing he knew, he was leaning over her, about to kiss her...or him...
NO! He had Ni Na, but Nin wasn't---wasn't---he couldn't put his finger on it. He glanced at Emi, who was avoiding his gaze. Did he hate Emi because he wanted her for himself?
__ Read my other fics? Go to my profile page, then to the address provided for updates and why your favorite has been neglected ^_^
Sorry that I put this fic on hiatus for a while. I was attempting to add to my other fics, but I kinda missed getting reviews from this one ^_^;