It's been a long time since I've been on the computer…I'm sorry it took so long to get this up. I hope you like it and please review!
Momiji's eyes opened. Her head felt as if someone was beating on it like an army drum during a war and her stomach was unsettled, like a rushing river current. She sat up, feeling the room around her spinning in circles. Am I dreaming? Was all that just one big nightmare and my audition hadn't happened? At first, she thought she was falling down a never-ending tunnel of light, but she knew she wasn't, since the room appeared to spin in the same direction (left to right) without looking as if it was moving up and down.
The room was so dark that she couldn't see anything, except for a bright light on the ceiling that spun in circles, creating the illusion of the room spinning. She sighed in relief to know that her mind wasn't the one imagining the room to revolve around her.
I'm not crazy. Thank God. I don't want to take this whole actress thing to the point of insanity. I see enough of that on the supermarket tabloids to know that humiliation comes hand in hand with insanity when you're famous.
She rubbed her eyes, to try to adjust them to the thick darkness. Once they were attuned to it, she stood up on her shaky legs. She tried to make her way across the room to where a beam of lights shined on the bottom of the floor, feeling the wall to guide her. She knew instantly that it was a door. She opened it and stepped out.
She fell to her knees. She couldn't believe where she was. She was in a huge mansion! The size was beyond belief! She was on the second floor, where you could see the bottom floor, just by looking over the railing, that lined the hallway. She could see a pool with sparkling water just below her with a small wooden bridge arching across it. The idea of a pool inside a house amazed her, especially one of that size. It was only something she saw in the movies, not in real life.
She wondered if this was a house of a celebrity or some handsome millionaire. She grinned to herself. A handsome celebrity or millionaire… Imagine, me laying by the pool, reading my script, of course, with a wealthy, handsome guy next to me… Now that's paradise… She giggled, trying not to be loud, she didn't want to make her presence known just yet.
That thought made her wonder how she got here. I remember getting ready and Kome taking me to the…the…audition…Dammit! She raised her arms in the air and made a loud noise in frustration. I totally screwed up the audition by running away! I had my chance and I failed horribly! Only I could achieve that…I can't believe myself. I wanted it so badly, too. If only I didn't feel like that…then maybe I would be there right now, shaking hands with the director once he told me I go the lead in the play. Why did I feel so weird being up on that stage? I wonder if it is stage fright…
…anyway. I remember getting at least a couple blocks away, when I bumped into somebody…That guy! He helped me and this must be his house! I wonder if he is a celebrity…or just a simple millionaire… Either way, it doesn't matter to me, just as long he's not conceited… I--
"Oh, you're up," a familiar male voice said from behind her. "You were sleep for a long time."
She turned around. There he stood, a tall dark man with mysterious black eyes and forest green hair. Though she would never think a guy with green hair would be handsome, there was something about him that she felt attracted to. She felt some sort of connection between them, like an electric wave of energy pulling them together. I feel as if I met him before…like in a dream.
"Are you feeling better, Miss--," he said, and scratched his head. "Uh, I don't think you told me your name."
She smiled. "Neither have you," she said, and nodded. "I'm feeling a little bit better."
A look of disappointment trickled on his face. "You mean you don't recognize me?"
She shook her head. She felt confused. Should I know who he is?
He looked in the mirror that hanged on the wall. He fixed his hair and wiped his face with his hand. He then turned to her and said, "Do you know who I am now?"
She shook her head again. "I'm sorry, but I don't." She stared at him for a few minutes. He didn't look at all familiar, well except for him being the one that helped her. She raised a brow and said, "Who are you?"
He sighed. "I guess I'm not as famous as I thought," he said. "I'm Mamoru Kusanagi, but just call me Kusanagi, if you please."
"I'm Momiji," she said, and tilted her head to the side. "Am I supposed to know you?"
He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Well, I am in the most popular series on television," he replied. He looked at her. Confusion still laid on her face like a heavy blanket. He groaned in irritation. "I play a plant guy that protects a girl from being killed by evil demons, etcetera…"
She still didn't know what show he was talking about or who he was, but she figured she could pretend she does to make him feel better. "Oh, now I know. It's my favorite show! I especially like the character you play."
A smile slithered on his face. "Really?"
"Yeah," she said, forcing a smile on her face.
"Well, I do what I can to add to the character and to the show," he said modestly.
If I do become famous, I hope I don't get arrogant like him. His good-looking and all, but it's just too bad that he knows it…
--
After they became more acquainted, they went into the kitchen, which was surprising small compared to the rooms in the rest of the house. They sat at the table and began to eat noodles and a cucumber-free salad, since they both don't like them.
"So, why were running?" Kusanagi asked. "You must have been running from something? Was it the police?"
She shook her head and laughed. "No, not the police," she said, and shrugged nervously.
She didn't want to tell him, a perfect god-like stranger, the reason why she was running. She didn't want to tell anyone. She would feel so embarrassed and ashamed if she did! She'd rather keep it bottled up inside of her for the rest of her life than to tell someone that she, out of all the people in the world, had stage fright.
"Please tell me," he said with sad puppy-dog eyes. "I won't tell anyone, I swear."
She looked up at him. His eyes were sincere and very trusting. She almost felt as if she could tell him everything. She wanted to, but she didn't think she could trust him fully just yet. In order to do that, she would have to trust him with her heart first.
She started to say that she couldn't tell him, when he reached across the table and touched her hand. Her eyes shifted quickly to his. His hand felt so gentle, making him seem so heartfelt and caring, as if they had been good friends for a long time.
Can I trust him? My heart doesn't want me to, but my mind is undecided. I know I should follow my heart, but he is just too handsome for me to ignore the butterflies in my stomach and the dizzy haze filling my head. Just tell him, Momiji!
Tell…him!
"All right, I'll tell him!" she exclaimed. Once she realized what she has done, she put her hands over her face in embarrassment. How can she control her presence on stage if she can't even control herself from doing things without thinking the situation through?
He looked at her in bewilderment. "They were right," he muttered to himself.
Even though he meant for her not to hear it, she did. "Right about what?" she asked.
He swallowed hard and took his hand away from hers. "Actresses really are eccentric," he said with a smirk.
She crinkled her nose and darted a look at him. "What gives you the right to--"
She was stopped by him lifting a finger to her lips. She looked at him in shock, but it was the type of shock that made the blood boil in her veins and her heart to race like crazy. In that moment, she felt like the lead female in a romance movie. I hope what I'm feeling means that I'm attracted to him and not repercussions of my stage fright.
Kusanagi leaned over the table to get close to her. He removed his finger and teasingly hovered his lips over hers. She wanted him to kiss her, but she didn't want to get her heart broken. She couldn't let him get so close too fast. It was her rule to protect herself.
She backed her head away. "Kusanagi, I like you and I really want to kiss you, but I don't want to go so fast," she said. "I don't want to get hurt."
He looked her over, studying her face for a couple of minutes. She wanted to know what thoughts were going through his head. She didn't want him to be mad at her for not wanting to kiss him, that was the last thing she wanted.
"I'll make you a deal," Kusanagi said, breaking the loud silence, " I promise not to hurt you, if you tell me why you were running."
She blinked. Promise not to hurt me? I know I shouldn't, but I actually believe him. I don't know why exactly, maybe it's the sincerity in his eyes or his glowing smile. I guess this one time I will drop my guard and trust someone…I hope I know what I'm doing.
"So, what do you say?" he asked. "Are you up for it?"
Everything Momiji held dear to her weighed in the air by loose threads. She knew that one sharp pain could ruin even the tightest seam. But even with all that at risk, she knew she had to take the jump, no matter how far the fall is.
"It's a deal, Kusanagi," she said and smiled.
He leaned forward, leaning his head on his arm. "Good, now tell me the story you're so ashamed of."
She nodded and began to tell him everything, even though she felt something inside of her wanting her to stop.
--
"Where is Mamoru Kusanagi?" Sakura asked as makeup artists powdered his face. "I'm such a big fan of his, I can't wait to meet him."
Sugishita looked down at his clipboard, looking over the schedule. "He'll be here in an hour or so," he replied, and smiled. "You will get to meet him soon enough."
Sakura grinned wickedly. Mamoru Kusanagi will be mine…
--
To be continued…
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