Mmmmm.....tea. Now I know why Shigure drinks the stuff....Oh yes!! Thank
you all for reviewing! It makes my heart all warm and fuzzy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.
Easily Amused : Tricky Little Buggers
I don't exactly know how I made it back to the Sohma household in one piece and with my stomach still intact, but I managed. And even now, laying on the thinnest mat in the world, I can't help but hear my stomach talk in demon tounges and punish myself for letting myself fall for such a guy. Whoa, where'd that come from? I've only been concious in this house for 48 hours, minus the day I blacked out from seeing the man naked. Or perhaps it was from him turing into a dog. I still haven't been able to figure that one out. I keep reminding myself it's just a physical attraction and that nothing can come from it. The guy is way too old for me. Right? I mean, i'm just 18. Even if it IS legal now, I can't! I could never hug him, for fear that he would be wagging a tail instead of returning the gesture. And intimacy.....I shouldn't even be THINKING about that stuff!!! Get a grip Dusty!
I roll over from my romantic interrogation to find a cup of steaming tea in front of my face. I wrinkled my nose and pushed it away from my nose. My stomach was already flipping backwards from the sight of it. My nurse wasn't going to take no for answer. Once again, the cup was pushed in front of me. Couldn't this person take a hint. I jumped up from my mat, my arms still curled around my equally angry torso.
"Don't you understand anything?! I don't want -" I stopped myself from going any furthur. I had anticipated Shigure kneeling in front of me, but I was met with a pair of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen before in my life. They were of a violet nature. Don't get me wrong, i've seen what contacts can do. A guy came into the hospital where Henry works once because he had a red one lodged in his eye. So he was stuck with one brown eye and one green cat eye. But these were real. Like Elizabeth Taylor real.
"It's good for nausea." It was a guy?! My memory suddenly registered the sickly creature I had seen earlier. They were almost identical except that this guy didn't look like he belonged attached to some test tubes. I accepted the cup and sipped a bit of the hot liquid. It burned all the way down but it tasted quite good. I thought I could taste some honey but my tastebuds weren't in the best functioning order right now.
"Thank you."
"You're the American Shigure brought home, is that right?" He was serious. Kind but serious. Didn't this guy ever laugh?
"Gee, you make me sound like a cheap hooker." His eyes were about the size of golfballs. Two points! He wasn't expecting something like that to pop out of my mouth.
"I didn't mean.....It came out.....What I meant to say..." I couldn't help but give a soft giggle.
"Chill. I was just messin' with ya. Thanks for the tea.....?" I strained the last question in hopes he would catch the hint and drop his name.
"Sohma Yuki." This again......
"Yuki's your first name, right?" He smiled and nodded. I drank from the cup again as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "I get so confused in this country."
"Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it." I quirked an eyebrow at him.
"You make it sound like i'm here to stay."
"Aren't you?" My cheeks reddened for about the twentieth time this week. I struggled to find a phrase that would give the guy solace yet tell him the truth. I was going to go back home sooner or later. "So what's America like?"
"Don't know. I've only been to parts of it. Mostly Louisiana, Texas, New York, and California. Oh! Once I went to Florida."
"To see Disney World?" My expression fell. No, not exactly. My great aunt Selma had passed away. I didn't know much about her except that she wore a mumu, had about ten cats, and read romance novels in her spare time. How did I know all this? Well she had mumus in her closet, cats everywhere, and romance novels littering her shelves when we went to pack up her belongings. Doesn't take Sherlock to figure that one out, kids. I refused to tell Yuki that though.
"Um, something along those lines." It was close to the truth. Aunt Selma's mumus were about as big as the giant golfball at the famous amusement park. You think I joke? Take a look at those things and then tell me if i'm mean or that i'm a liar. The tea had worked its way into my system by then and healing my tired stomach with its sweet warmth. How did I get sick in the first place? I stood up and stretched, arching my back ever so slightly to show a bit of bellybutton. Call it a practical flirting technique. Yuki had stood up along with me, probably to avoid another confrontation with the albino skin I liked to call a stomach. Me and the sun just didn't get along in that area. About then, a figure came crashing through my sliding door, ruining any chances of NOT sleeping under the stars. It was the rude redhead from earlier. For a second, I thought he was coming after me. But no, he was aiming for Yuki, and just so happened to push me over on my rear in the process. This guy was working my final nerve. He took a few swings at the polite teenager, Yuki dodging them in smooth motions. I gawked at my torn door, the only thing keeping noisy insects out of the room. That was the last straw.
"That's IT!!" Both boys stared at me, shocked that I was yelling at the top of my lungs. "Just WHAT exactly gives you the right to just bust through these things?! What if I had been dressing or something?! Did you ever think about that?! NO! No you didn't!!! What is your problem anyway?! You are so friggin hotheaded and I don't even KNOW you!!! GEEZ!"
"Ahem." All attention darted to Shigure hanging in the doorway. I could've done without his presence for the time being.
"Yuki. Kyou. Take it outside, would you?" The two nodded and hastily walked out of the room I occupied.
"Baka neko!"
"Oh shut up!! I didn't know it was HER room!" Shigure shook his head and began to follow him. I stood in complete awe, unable to comprehend his form. I now know why I had become sick. How could something that cute and charming be GAY?!
I shuffled underneath the blanket, unable to sleep without the comfort of the smell of Gumbo wafting through my room for Sunday dinner. I threw the thing off of me and stumbled towards the newly aquired window I had obtained from Kyou's little outburst. I spotted a figure sitting a few yards away and squinted to put a face with the body. I could tell that there was a shiver every now and then, which I could understand considering I was beginning to shiver from the chilly Japanese air as well. At this point, I didn't care who the person was; they were cold and I had an extra blanket in the corner. I slipped on the flip flops Ayame's assisstant had offered me and scampered over the dewy grass, careful of slipping. I had made the mistake of wearing flip flops in a grocery store after they had just mopped and well....let's just say I couldn't feel my backside for a good week. Tile flooring is oh so rough on the butt. I finally got to my goal only to find out that the chilled body belonged to Shigure himself. Stupid man. Maybe coming out here was a mistake. Not the romantic comedies on Valentine's Day kind of mistake. I mean getting attached to a Corleone and then buying oranges in the street type of mistake. The kind of mistake you'll ultimately regret. I placed the blanket over his shoulder, stopping the shivering at that moment and copping a squat beside him. He smirked that boyish smile at me that melted every hard exterior I had ever put up. How could he be gay? He's made so many perverted comments towards me....and I could settle with bisexual. Tell me you're bisexual and at least put my mind at ease that you're still half interested. Then I could have a fifty percent chance at least.
"Aren't you cold?" That's right. Be cool about this, Dusty. No pun intended. He shrugged and gazed up at the stars. This would be the perfect moment if I hadn't been questioning his sexuality. I mean, that would REALLY set the mood. 'Hey, i'm finding myself growing a crush on you even though i'm only going to be in Japan until I solve this thing for you and probably way too young for your tastes. But my heart aches when you smile at me and you give me chills when you touch me. I don't care about a stupid curse and I don't care about any other secrets. Now, are you gay?' What a way to win a guy over.
"We'll begin your search for your friends and your hotel in the morning." His statement was so bland that it made me want to gag. Where'd he get the idea that I wanted to leave anytime soon? Where'd I get the idea that I didn't? My silver irises widened in surprise and I moved to find a seat in front of him, not even realizing that my hands had somehow found his knees. Tricky little buggers...
"Hey! What makes you think that i'm so eager to quit this little family mystery of yours?" His eyes were downcast, which really bugged me. Up until now, he could look me straight into my eye without faltering. But now, he seemed like a shy teenager. Even i've grown out of that.
"I just figured that you missed your family and boyfriend very much, is all." Whoa. Back the truck up! Family, perhaps. But boyfriend. I hadn't had a boyfriend since....
He uncovered a strip of those pictures you get in carnival booths showing me with a green haired boy of my age. He had the softest blue eyes and a grin the size of Texas. I was maybe a sophmore when the pictures had been snapped. My hair was up in a high ponytail with a few locks framing the sides of my face. I reminded myself of Alvin's love interest from Alvin and the Chipmunks, with the exception of the teeth and the pink outfit. Besides those two things, I was a dead ringer. The first snapshot showed the guy and myself picking each other's noses. The second was of him groping me. The third, fourth, and fifth were of a friendly hug, a peck on the lips, and of a tight embrace around my shoulders. It was all coming back in a painful rush. I could even remember me messing up his perfectly spiked jade hair.
"Aubrey..." My eyes flooded over with the love we used to share. Yeah, USED. If there was anything more tragic than the death of Romeo and Juliet or the breakup of Sonny and Carly Corinthos - this would be it. He was a guitar player for a local band and highly rebellious. The opposite of what I was at 16. If anything, I strived to get all A's and make the Red Apple Sale at JcPenny's. That's right folks, this outcast wasn't always considered weird. I hated the fact my father was never around and I hated the fact that I was like this just to prove that I could achieve more than he could. Inside, I wanted the black nailpolish and the piercings and the bohemian peasant shirts. But outside, I was all Abercrombie and lip gloss. Then I met Aubrey. He made fun of me on the first day of school and I punched him. Not exactly love at first sight. We were constantly arguing until I saw him at the carnival. Frankie and Becky had chosen a ride that my stomach couldn't handle and I was walking aimlessly around the fairgrounds in hopes that I would meet my Johnny Depp look alike. And there popped Aubrey. I could settle for him instead. To make a long story short, I fell hopelessly and helplessly in love that night with Aubrey.
"Tohru found it in your pocket while she was doing laudry. As I was saying, we can begin the search in the morning." I let a single tear fall before immediately drying any signs of my saddened nature.
"It wasn't supposed to end like that."
"Huh?"
"Aubrey. He made me so happy. He taught me to laugh at my insecurities. Easier said than done, right?"
"Made? As in past-tense." I nodded before continuing.
"He was so perfect in my eyes. I'd call him beautiful and then he'd grab my compact mirror and hold it in front of me and say 'No, THAT'S beautiful.' We were so different but so much alike. I can honestly say I loved him. And then he got his driver's license. Told me he was going to take me away....take me to a far away place...like Japan. It was raining,and I warned him that it wasn't drivable weather. But he had band practice. That damn band was so important to him. Anyway, he got in a car wreck on his way home from band practice. Doctor's said there wasn't a hope in the world that could've saved him." The tears fell freely and I had to stop myself from squeezing Shigure's knees too hard. "It wasn't supposed to end like that. We were supposed to get married and have a family after his second album and after I released my first novel." Shigure placed his hands over my own without me noticing.
"How did you cope with something like that?"
"I couldn't for awhile. I missed everything about him. His cologne, his smile, his touch, his voice. I didn't even write that much afterwards. But I got back into the jist of things a year later. I became boy crazy again and started writing more. I didn't even know I carried his picture around anymore. Must be habit."
"I'm sorry." His head had found its way to my own and shyness set in very thickly.
"How could you have known?"
"Could you ever replace him?" I gave no thought to the words he had spoken. I was quite naive at the moment.
"More than likely. He wouldn't have wanted me to mourn all my life." He wouldn't have....I had been using his picture as a reminder of what I once I had. No wonder I was single. I wouldn't let myself love until I got another Aubrey. But there wasn't another Aubrey. I snatched the picture from Shigure's hands and stared at it for a moment. I ripped one square from the strip for my scrap book at home and then ripped the remainder into tiny bits, before letting them fly away with the night breeze.
"What'd you do that for?" I shrugged, not exactly knowing myself. I needed to know of my happiness I had which is why I ripped off the one of us picking each other's noses. I kneeled before him once more, my hands cupping around his own.
"Dunno. But no more talk of me going back just yet,' kay? I mean, you're not all THAT bad, except that you saw me naked and caused me to have a concussion. But besides all that you're really a dec-" Before I could go on, I was stopped mid-breath by a sweet kiss that I would have never guessed to take place. I was lost in his touch. That kiss, wow. It was gentle and so needing, and so inviting. Not to mention surprising. I mean, I was questioning whether he even LIKED girls a few minutes before. He suddenly pulled away, breathing heavily. Who wouldn't? After a kiss like that! I just sat there like a dork hoping something like this would happen soon....VERY soon. He rubbed the apple of my cheek and glanced down at me. His eyes were hurt, even remorseful. Don't tell me he regretted that?! I sure as hell didn't!
"Please forgive me." With that said, he stood and rushed away from a now dazed Dusty. Forgive? No! No forgiveness!! I don't wanna forgive a kiss like that!! My eyes wandered towards an opened door to find Hatori walking towards me. Great. Now the doctor of death was going to punish me even more than before by breaking my entire arm this time.
"Be careful."
"Huh?" He sighed and lowered his head to my eye level.
"I know you will not be leaving any time soon now. You're too stubborn. But don't go falling in love with Shigure. It will only lead to heartache." Ouch. Dumped on twice in the same night!
"You speak from experience or something like that?"
"Something like that." He turned to leave but I wasn't going to let him leave without a guilt trip.
"Hatori?" He paused. "I don't know who she was but i'm sure she was great. I hope someday someone else will make you just as happy. Thank you." It all made sense now. Hatori wasn't a bad guy. He was protecting me from something, I just didn't know what - yet. His shadow was already morphing with the darkness of the house. I sat back on a rock and let my eyes soar to the sky. I was pretty tired by now. But something was telling me to stay. You should always listen to your gut, no matter how big it is. My father always told me that. It didn't make a whole lot of sense but neither did my dad. And then there it was, right in front of me, Kyou and Tohru on the roof. She said something before squeezing his hand (which the little jerk yanked away) and walking away. I watched him carefully. He reached out towards the young girl, like he wanted to tell her something. Uh-huuuuhh. It was all making sense now.
I drifted off peacefully that night to the nonstop clicks of Shigure's typing. It didn't bother me. Just knowing he was somewhere near, (actually he was across the hall) was comforting enough. I curled up in the blanket I had offered Shigure earlier, feeling like a giddy school girl once again. And to tell you the truth, it felt good. I wasn't overly perky to the point of running to the nearest female and spurting my little night, but enough to go to sleep with a smile. I could even hear a light snore being emitted from my agitated nose. I didn't know I snored....
It was the middle of the night when I heard it. It wasn't terribly loud, but enough for my ears to hear. It sounded like a fight and I wondered if Kyou and Yuki had gotten into again. But the light slaps were followed by even lighter mutterings, which I figured would be louder and clearer if I could get closer. I snapped from my bed, careful of my cast, and poked my head out of my makeshift window. The sounds came from the mainhouse....I think. I looked over at Shigure's little office before peering back to the main house once more. A thin figure walked out of the house, holding his head tightly. Was that....?
"...Yuki...?" My voice was a hushed whisper yet it was enough to catch the writer's ear.
"Go back to sleep, Dusty..." I glanced over my shoulder to see that the computer screen was turned off and his chair was faced away from me. He was good, but not quite good enough. I shuffled my foot around in the blanket, creating the illusion that I was just shifting around in my bed. And then I moaned once before throwing in a 'Shigure' for good effect. I could hear his weight shift in the chair and knew that would shut him up. Little did I know that he was trickier than I led myself to believe. My eyes widened in horror as he lifted a cigarette high up into the air. Where in the blue hell did that thing come from?!
"ATOOT! ATOOT! ATOOT!" I tried to cover my mouth in time to muffle the sorry excuse of a sneeze but failed miserably. The squeak of a chair turning brought my attention elsewhere. His eyes were closed but he wasn't even close to falling alseep. One leg was draped over the arm of the chair and his hands rested on his stomach.
"Dusty..."
"I know. Sleep. Bed. Getting to it. Don't you have better things to do than stalk me?" I turned my back to him and adjusted the blanket so that it fel lto my waist. This way, I wouldn't get too cold or hot. Or maybe I was trying to entice him. I hate being truthful.
"It isn't.....nevermind. Dusty?" I lifted my unbroken arm into the air to signal him. Let's just say I greeted him with a very unfriendly air gesture. The kind of gesture you use in six o'clock traffic. Bingo.
"I'm trying to sleep." I didn't mean to be so grouchy about it. But when you kiss someone....okay when you kiss ME like that and then ask me to forgive you, I can only be one thing....alright TWO things: curious and REALLY pissed off. And right now, curious George was far, far, FAR away from my brain.
Next Chapter: Dusty tries to play Cupid and runs into complications. She also talks to her mom. Things are revealed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.
Easily Amused : Tricky Little Buggers
I don't exactly know how I made it back to the Sohma household in one piece and with my stomach still intact, but I managed. And even now, laying on the thinnest mat in the world, I can't help but hear my stomach talk in demon tounges and punish myself for letting myself fall for such a guy. Whoa, where'd that come from? I've only been concious in this house for 48 hours, minus the day I blacked out from seeing the man naked. Or perhaps it was from him turing into a dog. I still haven't been able to figure that one out. I keep reminding myself it's just a physical attraction and that nothing can come from it. The guy is way too old for me. Right? I mean, i'm just 18. Even if it IS legal now, I can't! I could never hug him, for fear that he would be wagging a tail instead of returning the gesture. And intimacy.....I shouldn't even be THINKING about that stuff!!! Get a grip Dusty!
I roll over from my romantic interrogation to find a cup of steaming tea in front of my face. I wrinkled my nose and pushed it away from my nose. My stomach was already flipping backwards from the sight of it. My nurse wasn't going to take no for answer. Once again, the cup was pushed in front of me. Couldn't this person take a hint. I jumped up from my mat, my arms still curled around my equally angry torso.
"Don't you understand anything?! I don't want -" I stopped myself from going any furthur. I had anticipated Shigure kneeling in front of me, but I was met with a pair of the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen before in my life. They were of a violet nature. Don't get me wrong, i've seen what contacts can do. A guy came into the hospital where Henry works once because he had a red one lodged in his eye. So he was stuck with one brown eye and one green cat eye. But these were real. Like Elizabeth Taylor real.
"It's good for nausea." It was a guy?! My memory suddenly registered the sickly creature I had seen earlier. They were almost identical except that this guy didn't look like he belonged attached to some test tubes. I accepted the cup and sipped a bit of the hot liquid. It burned all the way down but it tasted quite good. I thought I could taste some honey but my tastebuds weren't in the best functioning order right now.
"Thank you."
"You're the American Shigure brought home, is that right?" He was serious. Kind but serious. Didn't this guy ever laugh?
"Gee, you make me sound like a cheap hooker." His eyes were about the size of golfballs. Two points! He wasn't expecting something like that to pop out of my mouth.
"I didn't mean.....It came out.....What I meant to say..." I couldn't help but give a soft giggle.
"Chill. I was just messin' with ya. Thanks for the tea.....?" I strained the last question in hopes he would catch the hint and drop his name.
"Sohma Yuki." This again......
"Yuki's your first name, right?" He smiled and nodded. I drank from the cup again as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "I get so confused in this country."
"Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it." I quirked an eyebrow at him.
"You make it sound like i'm here to stay."
"Aren't you?" My cheeks reddened for about the twentieth time this week. I struggled to find a phrase that would give the guy solace yet tell him the truth. I was going to go back home sooner or later. "So what's America like?"
"Don't know. I've only been to parts of it. Mostly Louisiana, Texas, New York, and California. Oh! Once I went to Florida."
"To see Disney World?" My expression fell. No, not exactly. My great aunt Selma had passed away. I didn't know much about her except that she wore a mumu, had about ten cats, and read romance novels in her spare time. How did I know all this? Well she had mumus in her closet, cats everywhere, and romance novels littering her shelves when we went to pack up her belongings. Doesn't take Sherlock to figure that one out, kids. I refused to tell Yuki that though.
"Um, something along those lines." It was close to the truth. Aunt Selma's mumus were about as big as the giant golfball at the famous amusement park. You think I joke? Take a look at those things and then tell me if i'm mean or that i'm a liar. The tea had worked its way into my system by then and healing my tired stomach with its sweet warmth. How did I get sick in the first place? I stood up and stretched, arching my back ever so slightly to show a bit of bellybutton. Call it a practical flirting technique. Yuki had stood up along with me, probably to avoid another confrontation with the albino skin I liked to call a stomach. Me and the sun just didn't get along in that area. About then, a figure came crashing through my sliding door, ruining any chances of NOT sleeping under the stars. It was the rude redhead from earlier. For a second, I thought he was coming after me. But no, he was aiming for Yuki, and just so happened to push me over on my rear in the process. This guy was working my final nerve. He took a few swings at the polite teenager, Yuki dodging them in smooth motions. I gawked at my torn door, the only thing keeping noisy insects out of the room. That was the last straw.
"That's IT!!" Both boys stared at me, shocked that I was yelling at the top of my lungs. "Just WHAT exactly gives you the right to just bust through these things?! What if I had been dressing or something?! Did you ever think about that?! NO! No you didn't!!! What is your problem anyway?! You are so friggin hotheaded and I don't even KNOW you!!! GEEZ!"
"Ahem." All attention darted to Shigure hanging in the doorway. I could've done without his presence for the time being.
"Yuki. Kyou. Take it outside, would you?" The two nodded and hastily walked out of the room I occupied.
"Baka neko!"
"Oh shut up!! I didn't know it was HER room!" Shigure shook his head and began to follow him. I stood in complete awe, unable to comprehend his form. I now know why I had become sick. How could something that cute and charming be GAY?!
I shuffled underneath the blanket, unable to sleep without the comfort of the smell of Gumbo wafting through my room for Sunday dinner. I threw the thing off of me and stumbled towards the newly aquired window I had obtained from Kyou's little outburst. I spotted a figure sitting a few yards away and squinted to put a face with the body. I could tell that there was a shiver every now and then, which I could understand considering I was beginning to shiver from the chilly Japanese air as well. At this point, I didn't care who the person was; they were cold and I had an extra blanket in the corner. I slipped on the flip flops Ayame's assisstant had offered me and scampered over the dewy grass, careful of slipping. I had made the mistake of wearing flip flops in a grocery store after they had just mopped and well....let's just say I couldn't feel my backside for a good week. Tile flooring is oh so rough on the butt. I finally got to my goal only to find out that the chilled body belonged to Shigure himself. Stupid man. Maybe coming out here was a mistake. Not the romantic comedies on Valentine's Day kind of mistake. I mean getting attached to a Corleone and then buying oranges in the street type of mistake. The kind of mistake you'll ultimately regret. I placed the blanket over his shoulder, stopping the shivering at that moment and copping a squat beside him. He smirked that boyish smile at me that melted every hard exterior I had ever put up. How could he be gay? He's made so many perverted comments towards me....and I could settle with bisexual. Tell me you're bisexual and at least put my mind at ease that you're still half interested. Then I could have a fifty percent chance at least.
"Aren't you cold?" That's right. Be cool about this, Dusty. No pun intended. He shrugged and gazed up at the stars. This would be the perfect moment if I hadn't been questioning his sexuality. I mean, that would REALLY set the mood. 'Hey, i'm finding myself growing a crush on you even though i'm only going to be in Japan until I solve this thing for you and probably way too young for your tastes. But my heart aches when you smile at me and you give me chills when you touch me. I don't care about a stupid curse and I don't care about any other secrets. Now, are you gay?' What a way to win a guy over.
"We'll begin your search for your friends and your hotel in the morning." His statement was so bland that it made me want to gag. Where'd he get the idea that I wanted to leave anytime soon? Where'd I get the idea that I didn't? My silver irises widened in surprise and I moved to find a seat in front of him, not even realizing that my hands had somehow found his knees. Tricky little buggers...
"Hey! What makes you think that i'm so eager to quit this little family mystery of yours?" His eyes were downcast, which really bugged me. Up until now, he could look me straight into my eye without faltering. But now, he seemed like a shy teenager. Even i've grown out of that.
"I just figured that you missed your family and boyfriend very much, is all." Whoa. Back the truck up! Family, perhaps. But boyfriend. I hadn't had a boyfriend since....
He uncovered a strip of those pictures you get in carnival booths showing me with a green haired boy of my age. He had the softest blue eyes and a grin the size of Texas. I was maybe a sophmore when the pictures had been snapped. My hair was up in a high ponytail with a few locks framing the sides of my face. I reminded myself of Alvin's love interest from Alvin and the Chipmunks, with the exception of the teeth and the pink outfit. Besides those two things, I was a dead ringer. The first snapshot showed the guy and myself picking each other's noses. The second was of him groping me. The third, fourth, and fifth were of a friendly hug, a peck on the lips, and of a tight embrace around my shoulders. It was all coming back in a painful rush. I could even remember me messing up his perfectly spiked jade hair.
"Aubrey..." My eyes flooded over with the love we used to share. Yeah, USED. If there was anything more tragic than the death of Romeo and Juliet or the breakup of Sonny and Carly Corinthos - this would be it. He was a guitar player for a local band and highly rebellious. The opposite of what I was at 16. If anything, I strived to get all A's and make the Red Apple Sale at JcPenny's. That's right folks, this outcast wasn't always considered weird. I hated the fact my father was never around and I hated the fact that I was like this just to prove that I could achieve more than he could. Inside, I wanted the black nailpolish and the piercings and the bohemian peasant shirts. But outside, I was all Abercrombie and lip gloss. Then I met Aubrey. He made fun of me on the first day of school and I punched him. Not exactly love at first sight. We were constantly arguing until I saw him at the carnival. Frankie and Becky had chosen a ride that my stomach couldn't handle and I was walking aimlessly around the fairgrounds in hopes that I would meet my Johnny Depp look alike. And there popped Aubrey. I could settle for him instead. To make a long story short, I fell hopelessly and helplessly in love that night with Aubrey.
"Tohru found it in your pocket while she was doing laudry. As I was saying, we can begin the search in the morning." I let a single tear fall before immediately drying any signs of my saddened nature.
"It wasn't supposed to end like that."
"Huh?"
"Aubrey. He made me so happy. He taught me to laugh at my insecurities. Easier said than done, right?"
"Made? As in past-tense." I nodded before continuing.
"He was so perfect in my eyes. I'd call him beautiful and then he'd grab my compact mirror and hold it in front of me and say 'No, THAT'S beautiful.' We were so different but so much alike. I can honestly say I loved him. And then he got his driver's license. Told me he was going to take me away....take me to a far away place...like Japan. It was raining,and I warned him that it wasn't drivable weather. But he had band practice. That damn band was so important to him. Anyway, he got in a car wreck on his way home from band practice. Doctor's said there wasn't a hope in the world that could've saved him." The tears fell freely and I had to stop myself from squeezing Shigure's knees too hard. "It wasn't supposed to end like that. We were supposed to get married and have a family after his second album and after I released my first novel." Shigure placed his hands over my own without me noticing.
"How did you cope with something like that?"
"I couldn't for awhile. I missed everything about him. His cologne, his smile, his touch, his voice. I didn't even write that much afterwards. But I got back into the jist of things a year later. I became boy crazy again and started writing more. I didn't even know I carried his picture around anymore. Must be habit."
"I'm sorry." His head had found its way to my own and shyness set in very thickly.
"How could you have known?"
"Could you ever replace him?" I gave no thought to the words he had spoken. I was quite naive at the moment.
"More than likely. He wouldn't have wanted me to mourn all my life." He wouldn't have....I had been using his picture as a reminder of what I once I had. No wonder I was single. I wouldn't let myself love until I got another Aubrey. But there wasn't another Aubrey. I snatched the picture from Shigure's hands and stared at it for a moment. I ripped one square from the strip for my scrap book at home and then ripped the remainder into tiny bits, before letting them fly away with the night breeze.
"What'd you do that for?" I shrugged, not exactly knowing myself. I needed to know of my happiness I had which is why I ripped off the one of us picking each other's noses. I kneeled before him once more, my hands cupping around his own.
"Dunno. But no more talk of me going back just yet,' kay? I mean, you're not all THAT bad, except that you saw me naked and caused me to have a concussion. But besides all that you're really a dec-" Before I could go on, I was stopped mid-breath by a sweet kiss that I would have never guessed to take place. I was lost in his touch. That kiss, wow. It was gentle and so needing, and so inviting. Not to mention surprising. I mean, I was questioning whether he even LIKED girls a few minutes before. He suddenly pulled away, breathing heavily. Who wouldn't? After a kiss like that! I just sat there like a dork hoping something like this would happen soon....VERY soon. He rubbed the apple of my cheek and glanced down at me. His eyes were hurt, even remorseful. Don't tell me he regretted that?! I sure as hell didn't!
"Please forgive me." With that said, he stood and rushed away from a now dazed Dusty. Forgive? No! No forgiveness!! I don't wanna forgive a kiss like that!! My eyes wandered towards an opened door to find Hatori walking towards me. Great. Now the doctor of death was going to punish me even more than before by breaking my entire arm this time.
"Be careful."
"Huh?" He sighed and lowered his head to my eye level.
"I know you will not be leaving any time soon now. You're too stubborn. But don't go falling in love with Shigure. It will only lead to heartache." Ouch. Dumped on twice in the same night!
"You speak from experience or something like that?"
"Something like that." He turned to leave but I wasn't going to let him leave without a guilt trip.
"Hatori?" He paused. "I don't know who she was but i'm sure she was great. I hope someday someone else will make you just as happy. Thank you." It all made sense now. Hatori wasn't a bad guy. He was protecting me from something, I just didn't know what - yet. His shadow was already morphing with the darkness of the house. I sat back on a rock and let my eyes soar to the sky. I was pretty tired by now. But something was telling me to stay. You should always listen to your gut, no matter how big it is. My father always told me that. It didn't make a whole lot of sense but neither did my dad. And then there it was, right in front of me, Kyou and Tohru on the roof. She said something before squeezing his hand (which the little jerk yanked away) and walking away. I watched him carefully. He reached out towards the young girl, like he wanted to tell her something. Uh-huuuuhh. It was all making sense now.
I drifted off peacefully that night to the nonstop clicks of Shigure's typing. It didn't bother me. Just knowing he was somewhere near, (actually he was across the hall) was comforting enough. I curled up in the blanket I had offered Shigure earlier, feeling like a giddy school girl once again. And to tell you the truth, it felt good. I wasn't overly perky to the point of running to the nearest female and spurting my little night, but enough to go to sleep with a smile. I could even hear a light snore being emitted from my agitated nose. I didn't know I snored....
It was the middle of the night when I heard it. It wasn't terribly loud, but enough for my ears to hear. It sounded like a fight and I wondered if Kyou and Yuki had gotten into again. But the light slaps were followed by even lighter mutterings, which I figured would be louder and clearer if I could get closer. I snapped from my bed, careful of my cast, and poked my head out of my makeshift window. The sounds came from the mainhouse....I think. I looked over at Shigure's little office before peering back to the main house once more. A thin figure walked out of the house, holding his head tightly. Was that....?
"...Yuki...?" My voice was a hushed whisper yet it was enough to catch the writer's ear.
"Go back to sleep, Dusty..." I glanced over my shoulder to see that the computer screen was turned off and his chair was faced away from me. He was good, but not quite good enough. I shuffled my foot around in the blanket, creating the illusion that I was just shifting around in my bed. And then I moaned once before throwing in a 'Shigure' for good effect. I could hear his weight shift in the chair and knew that would shut him up. Little did I know that he was trickier than I led myself to believe. My eyes widened in horror as he lifted a cigarette high up into the air. Where in the blue hell did that thing come from?!
"ATOOT! ATOOT! ATOOT!" I tried to cover my mouth in time to muffle the sorry excuse of a sneeze but failed miserably. The squeak of a chair turning brought my attention elsewhere. His eyes were closed but he wasn't even close to falling alseep. One leg was draped over the arm of the chair and his hands rested on his stomach.
"Dusty..."
"I know. Sleep. Bed. Getting to it. Don't you have better things to do than stalk me?" I turned my back to him and adjusted the blanket so that it fel lto my waist. This way, I wouldn't get too cold or hot. Or maybe I was trying to entice him. I hate being truthful.
"It isn't.....nevermind. Dusty?" I lifted my unbroken arm into the air to signal him. Let's just say I greeted him with a very unfriendly air gesture. The kind of gesture you use in six o'clock traffic. Bingo.
"I'm trying to sleep." I didn't mean to be so grouchy about it. But when you kiss someone....okay when you kiss ME like that and then ask me to forgive you, I can only be one thing....alright TWO things: curious and REALLY pissed off. And right now, curious George was far, far, FAR away from my brain.
Next Chapter: Dusty tries to play Cupid and runs into complications. She also talks to her mom. Things are revealed.