The dance and the bottle

-Flashback-

Barn dance, Saturday night…

As the resident band played the oldies on the makeshift stage at the front of the rundown church, and the other couples mingled around with each other among the haystacks stacked in every corner of the place, Kaede and Hana danced together, totally oblivious to their surroundings.

They didn't care that people kept bumping into them, or they kept bumping into other people. All they cared about was each other, and to them, that's all that mattered in the world.

On the stage, Sendoh Akira, one of the guitarists of the band, looked on forlornly as Kaede placed his hands around Hana's waist and pulled her closer to him, pressing their foreheads together. Even with the dark lightings around the place, Akira could see the blush on Hana's face. If you met me first and Kaede later, would you love me as much as you love him now, Hana? Or will you still love him?

-

Later, Kaede and Hana sneaked out of the dance and headed towards a secluded part of the campus. Even running down the stairs and along the corridor seemed like a walk in heaven to the love-struck couple.

After making sure that no one else was around to see them, Kaede cornered Hana against the wall and captured her lips. For the next few minutes, none of them, especially Kaede, felt the need to breathe. But, as the kiss became more and more passionate, Hana began to feel more and more anxious and nervous. Finally, she broke away from the kiss and held on to Kaede as she breathed heavily from the lack of oxygen.

Catching her breath, she said, "No, I don't want to rush it." She brushed away the hair sticking to her face and looked into Kaede's eyes. It was obvious that he wanted more.

"I'll marry you," he said, amidst heavy breathing, and moved in to capture her lips again, but Hana turned her face away and placed her hands flat against his chest to push him away. She slid down to the floor and hugged her knees, her eyes never leaving Kaede's face, as they implored to him to understand.

Kaede crouched down in front of her, disappointed, but he loved her, and that's all that mattered, right? Right. He could wait. He would wait, for as long as it took. And so, he nodded his head, and sat down beside her.

Yeah, I'll wait, because I love you Hana, and I always will.

-

A few days later, back in her dormitory…

Hana sat on the bed, thinking back about what had happened between her and Kaede the other day. Matsui, who was doing her class assignment at her desk, tried to get Hana's attention, but Hana was already in a world of her own.

She walked over to Hana and sat beside her on the bed. "He didn't enter, so it should be ok."

"But lingering about is risky enough," said Hana, without looking at her friend.

"When was your last period?" asked Matsui.

"Well, this Tensai's very irregular, sometimes in 2 months, sometimes 3. Sometimes even only once in 6 months."

Matsui frowned. "That's bad. Why did you give way? Now there's no market value."

Hana blinked. "I… I didn't want to, but I hated to push him away, so I only gave half way." She pulled at her own hair. "Argh! Give him an inch and he takes a yard, that kitsune!"

"You mean, he's got a whole yard already?"

"Baka! It's just a saying! What do you mean by a whole yard?" Hana snapped, blushing a little at the thought of 'a whole yard'.

"Ok… so he didn't get a whole yard. But did you or didn't you do it with him?" asked Matsui mischievously, nudging Hana with her shoulder. "Was it nice?"

Hana narrowed her eyes, trying her hardest not to smile. "Get lost, you nympho. Nosy Parker! See how nosy you look."

"Nosy! I'm not nosy!" Matsui protested, jabbing Hana at her sides.

"Yes, you are, Fatso! Nyahahahaha!"

-

In another part of the campus…

"Wake up! It's time to work!"

"It's so damn noisy here all day long!"

Hisashi made his way across the crowded study room and plopped himself on the chair next to Kaede, who was sucking on a cigarette and looking at a plan (architecture plan). Placed in front of him on the table was a model of a bridge.

"I'm starving," said Hisashi, as he munched on the extra big sandwich in his hand. He looked at the model. "Beautiful, really beautiful. Hey, Kaede, let's have a snack. Let's go down to Ryonan Street for sweet soup."

He took another bite off the sandwich, before continuing, "I'm starving. Sweet soup, ok? Herb and egg tea?"

Without a word, Kaede stood up and walked out to the corridor, ignoring the call of his friend. Once out on the corridor, he took a deep breath, and shouted, "Aaaaahhhhh! 7001, you're gorgeous!"

His voice travelled through the night and all the way to the reception desk at Shoyo Hall. Anzai-san shook his head. "Hohoho! Here it comes again. Everybody says his girlfriend is 01 of her class. Hohoho!" (A/n: I take it to mean that 70 is the year of the girl's class, with the 01 at the back stating that she is the number one beauty in her class.)

-End of flashback-

"What are you looking at? Come here," said Kiori to Kioshi, who was watching a couple of students experimenting on something. He followed her to the front hall of the very, very small and cramped-up room.

"This place is pretty cool. So this is the Mini Hall?" asked Kioshi.

"Yeah, it meets the Japan Housing Department specifications. 35 square feet per head," Kiori explained.

Kioshi took a swig from the bottle of drink in his hand, before settling down on the floor beside Kiori. "But that's different. That's for the resettlement areas."

Kiori raised an eyebrow. "Hello? This is a resettlement hostel. Be satisfied." She threw out a few packets of snacks and shouted, "Hey guys, chow time!"

Everybody gathered in a circle as they made a grab for the snacks.

"Hey, let's play 'Spin The Bottle'!"

"What's that?"

"'When, Where and With Whom'. Your first time." (A/n: First time as in first kiss… )

The bottle was spun around, and the first 'victim' was quickly chosen."

"The one pointed at by the bottle must confess," said Kiori, pointing to the guy, who looked nonchalant.

"When: 18. Where: 7-11. With whom: sister 13." (A/n: 7-11 as in a convenient store. As for sister 13, it is a nickname.)

Everybody started cheering and clapping. "Wow, 3 seconds! Fastest gun in the west." The guy just smiled smugly.

The bottle was spun again, and another victim was claimed, this time a girl, who almost choked on her potato chips when she saw the bottle pointing at her.

"'When, Where, With Whom'. Shoot."

"And it has to be me?" she complained.

"Just your luck. Stop whining, talk. When?"

"Ok, ok! 18," she said. "Sweet eighteen."

Everybody whistled and cheered at the phrase 'sweet eighteen'. "Where, where?"

"At my place."

"With whom?"

"Actually, it's outside the door of my place," she corrected, and was instantly booed at.

"With whom? Come on, spill!"

"Michael."

"Michael who? Michael Chang? Michael Jackson? Michael Douglas?"

"Go to hell! Nuts, forget it. Next!" shouted the girl, and spun the bottle. The next victim was a guy who was wearing a facial mask on his face.

"Me?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, you. Speak. When?"

"Well, I was 20, while she was 18."

"Where?"

"The place was at her house. Outside the door."

"Outside the door again?" His friends looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, it was outside the door!" he insisted.

"Fine. With whom then?"

With a dramatic pause, and an even dramatic flourish, he peeled off the mask from his face and said, "I'm Michael."

Of course, this was followed by a lot of laughter and cheering and teasing.

"Damn you! Die you fool! Die!" The previous girl yelled, as she began to pick up whatever she could get her hands on and threw it at the guy.

Kioshi watched the whole scene with amusement. It's been quite a while since the last time he had so much fun.

When the commotion died down, the bottle was spun again, and who should be its next target but…

"Your turn at last!"

"Yes, big shot?"

Kioshi accepted his fate with a smile on his face. "Ok, ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, go on!"

"When? On my 21st birthday."

"Yeah…" Everybody listened to him with rapt attention.

"Where? A bedroom suite facing the sea."

"Wow!"

"How romantic!"

"How classy!"

"With whom? Even if I tell you, you don't know her," said Kioshi.

Before anyone could protest, Kiori interrupted the game.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Excuse me, bro, but I heard you're only 20," she pointed out.

With the revelation of his real age, everybody started booing at Kioshi and throwing stuffs at him.

"Can't I plan my next birthday gift for myself?" said Kioshi, defending himself.

"If what you're saying is true, that means you're a virgin!" somebody shouted out.

"Hey, Kiori, he's yours!"

"You're so foxy. Fox him!"

"Yeah, fox him!

Soon, everybody was chanting together. "Fox him! Fox him! Fox him!"

"Oi, cut the crap! I quit. Next one, next one!" shouted Kiori, as she waved her hands about. God, please don't let them see me blush, please don't let them see me blush!

Unfortunately, someone did.

Hmm… she looks kinda pretty when she blushes.

Tbc...

-

Sorry for the long delay… kinda got caught in exams and the other fic I'm working on. Anyway, thanks to those who had read and reviewed. Thanks a lot!