(I apologize - I'm pressed for time and don't have time to do my individual
thank yous. But do understand that I appreciate each and every review I
receive and I will try to individually thank everyone who reviews this
chapter in the next one. Thanks for understanding!)
(Disclaimer: G Gundam property of Sunrise, the Sotsu Agency, and Bandai. Lucky bastards . . . *gripes*)
§~The Best Years of Your Life~§
by: Rayne Rhiana
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Chapter Eight: The Sea of Glitz & Glitter
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The second Rain stepped into the gym, she felt like she didn't belong there. Despite being latched to Domon's right arm and surrounded by their friends, she felt like an outsider. A duck among swans. Girls everywhere were dressed in shimmering gowns ranging from deep bloodred to the palest green. Sparkling necklaces glittered at their throats and diamonds the sizes of small rocks flashed in her direction from their fingers. Expertly manicured nails in all different shades, high heels that seemed to go on forever, and accessories that Rain never would have thought to have worn were everywhere. She felt belittled and quite foolish.
"Hey . . . Rain? You okay?"
Domon shook her arm a little and she was brought out of her thoughts with a start. "Yes. I'm fine. Just lost myself there for a minute. I guess I'm a little intimidated. So many gorgeous girls here . . . I never would have thought they could all look so pretty when I see them in school."
He seemed to immediately understand where she was coming from and, sensing her insecurity, pulled her closer. "But you're the most beautiful girl here. And that dress is gorgeous. Did I tell you that yet?"
He had, several times, but she never tired of hearing it. And telling her she was beautiful nonetheless! She was almost completely blown away but before she had time to register her shock, Domon was leading the group to a table.
"Argo! Sai! Hey!"
The two guys and their dates had already staked out a great table, right by the dance floor. Cecile jumped to her feet to hug Rain, Shirley, and Marie Louise. The guys started talking about how great the homecoming game was. Rain sat down at the table, looking around. A few couples were dancing, but the music was very mediocre. The actual DJ hadn't gotten done setting up yet and the regular colony radio was playing. The snack bar was quite busy with people hurrying to get popcorn and sodas. Sai and Chibodee soon joined the growing masses, attempting to get enough refreshments for the whole table.
It wasn't long before Domon plopped down beside Rain in the chair next to her. She couldn't help but smile - even in a tux and looking all snazzy, Domon was still Domon through and through.
"Hi," she greeted, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Hey." He glanced around for a second, waved to someone behind Rain, and then turned his attention back to her. Then he laid his hand on top of hers, which was perched on her knee. "You okay?"
"I'm all right. Just observing." She smiled at Cath and Bunny in the distance, who were giggling flirtaciously over the same guy. Then she watched Sai and Chibodee juggle six sodas and eight bags of popcorn over to the table. "Everything just seems so much more interesting tonight."
"You can say that again." The seriousness of Domon's words made her turn back towards him. He was watching her, barely a hint of a smile on his face. She was slightly confused and, noticing she obviously didn't understand the inside meaning of his comment, shook his head. "It's nothing."
Before Rain could begin to interrogate him, the DJ suddenly finished the setup and her voice suddenly blared over the speaker system. She was a pretty twenty-something year old girl with bright pink hair that hung down to the middle of her back. "Heyyyy Federation High!!" she called out, causing a bunch of students to cheer. "You all ready to PARTY?!!!"
More screaming. Rain laughed and looked at Domon. "Is it always this crazy?" she shouted, trying to be heard over the shouting.
"Most of the time, yeah!" he yelled back. Then he let out a loud whistle accompanied by three more from different parts of the room. What a madhouse. Rain hated to admit it, but she was already missing her quiet bedroom. But just a little bit because Domon still had her hand.
And he was pulling on it.
"Want to dance?" he asked, tugging her to her feet as he asked.
"Well, I don't know if I can and - " She didn't have a chance to finish because she suddenly found herself in the midst of a crowd. Marie Louise and George, who'd gotten up with them, were nowhere to be seen. She trailed after Domon, her lifeline their clasped hands. Rain held his hand desperately, afraid to be torn away and lost in the endless sea of glitter and starched shirts.
Domon finally reached his desired location and waited for Rain to squeeze past another couple. When she finally reached him she took a deep breath. "Wow, it's so crazy!" she cried.
"It's insane," he agreed. "Let's dance."
The fast songs the DJ played as a warm-up proved to be great fun to dance to. After about twenty minutes of constant dancing, Rain was about ready for a break when the DJ, who'd been introduced as Kassie, announced a 'cool down session' or what turned out to be a few slow dances. And, as Rain discovered, Domon wasn't about to let her skip out on those.
He pulled her close, right up to him. One of his arms wrapped around her waist. The other hand rested gently on her back. Unsure of what to do, she followed her instincts. She slowly traveled her hands up to his shoulders. Then she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Slow dancing was so strange, she thought. Just a lot of swaying and closeness. Maybe that was the point . . .
She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even realize the song had stopped until Domon's arms were wrapped around her tightly. Confused, she opened her eyes but was unable to see his expression. Suddenly, she felt his mouth right next to her ear. And the whispered words, "Rain, I think I'm falling in love with you."
She didn't know what to say or do. Domon Kasshu . . . the most popular guy in school. Top notch football player, quarterback of the football team . . . Admitted he was -falling in love- with someone like Rain Mikamura, the lowly brainiac who got straight A's in everything and had been at the bottom of the popularity food chain since kindergarten?
~No . . . this wasn't happening.~
His face was suddenly in front of hers, staring at her intently. His chocolate eyes were searching her wide blue ones. For a reaction, an answer, an -anything-.
Instead, he got a shove in the chest and the words, "No . . . No!"
Confused, he reached towards her. "Rain . . . wait, what's wrong?"
"No," she repeated, shaking her head and trembling. Then she did the only thing she knew to do. Turned around and plunged into the crowd. She barely heard her name called twice, the second time more urgent and loud. Instead, she sprinted across the dance floor and through the gym doors, barely catching Marie Louise's shocked expression before she disappeared into the hallway.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ach, dances were stupid. Michelo had been smashed the moment he arrived and Sierra was nowhere to be found. Allenby found herself bored out of her mind. She was leaning up against the wall in one of the corridors, in the science wing, smoking. It had been a long time since she'd seen the halls this quiet. She glanced down at Michelo's passed-out form. He'd been drunk before they'd even gotten here and was of absolutely no use. They'd come down here to smoke a little before crashing the party and upsetting Domon and his new girl, but he hadn't made it past the first drag.
The sound of someone in heels approaching very fast startled Allenby. She dropped her cigarette and mashed it out with the spike of her heel before pushing herself up off the wall and peering around the corner.
WHAM!
Someone coming from the opposite direction crashed into her full-force and knocked her sprawling to the ground. She heard her black minidress rip and grimaced. Then she turned around with a growl on her face to the human battering ram on the ground some ten feet away.
And who better to be ran into than Ms. Perfect Rain Mikamura? Especially when it looked like the girl had been . . . crying? Ahh . . . the night had seriously improved! Allenby picked herself up and clacked her heel impatiently. Rain struggled to stand up in her dress and heels, righting herself only by using the wall for support. When she turned and saw Allenby, her expression got even more distraught.
"Well, Geek-amura, what got you running down the hallway in full panic mode?" Allenby asked, crossing her arms. She was fully aware that her minidress, already revealling to begin with, now had a sizeable slit up the side that made the skirt look more like an apron. Rain was gawking but managed to pull herself together.
"That's none of your business. I don't want any trouble. I'm leaving, so just leave me alone for once."
Allenby shook her head. Foolish little girl. "Your little sprint-in-heels down the corridor caused my $250 dress to be ruined. Look at this! I think you owe me some money, Miss Priss."
"You shouldn't be down here in the first place," Rain contradicted, trying to pretend like she wasn't afraid of Allenby. But this girl had a reputation and Rain had definately noticed Michelo, snoring away in dreamland. Hangover or no, Rain knew he could seriously injure her if he decided to.
"I'll go where I damn well please!" Allenby snapped. "Think you can boss me around because your new squeeze is Domon Kasshu? Think again. Domon's always had a flair for the different. First a punk, now a geek. Next week it'll be a goth. You're old news already, Rain. Besides, you must have had some fight. You've got a mini black Nile River running down your face. Mascara should always be waterproof."
Rain could tell the punk girl was enjoying tormenting and belittling her. "So what if we had a fight . . . which we didn't. It's none of your business. The relationship I have with Domon is not your concern. Quit holding onto the past."
"Holding onto the past? Is that what you think this is about? Look, Missy, Domon Kasshu is nothing more than a piece of gum stuck to my shoe. Annoying and sticky and just not going away." Allenby shook her head, a harsh laugh escaping her mouth. "You think he cares about you, don't you?"
"I don't want to listen to this," Rain muttered, turning to leave. "You don't know anything about me."
"I know," Allenby contradicted, her voice shaking slightly. "Because I felt the same way, once."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Where is she? Where did she go?"
Shirley and Marie Louise reappeared from searching the girls' bathroom. George watched them approaching, Rain-less, and sighed. He'd seen Rain go dashing out of the gym. Confused, he'd looked for Domon but it had taken him much longer to distangle himself from the crowd. Soon afterwards, he and Chibodee ran off to the parking lot to look for Rain there. Nastasha and Argo had wandered the entire gym watching for Rain, in case she'd snuck back in. George had remained with the table while his date and Shirley had gone to the bathrooms to search.
Sai's question didn't go unheard, but it did go unanswered simply because George didn't know how to reply. Cecile shook her head sadly.
"Poor Rain. I wonder if she and Domon had a fight."
The Federation quarterback had refused to provide an explanation as to why his date had suddenly gone running out of the gym but it was generally suspected that he and Rain had gotten into a fight of some nature.
George shook his head, sick of the chaos. "Someone go look in the halls! The classrooms! Anywhere!"
Nastasha and Argo agreed to go hunt through the west wing of the school. George and Marie Louise went for the east. Sai Saici, Cecile, and Shirley remained at the table in case Rain, Domon, or Chibodee returned.
As they wandered through the halls, Argo noticed that Nastasha was looking even more ticked off than usual. "What's wrong?" he asked gruffly, not used to asking such a question. Nastasha, who wasn't altogether used to receiving that question, faltered for a moment.
"I guess I can somewhat understand perhaps why Rain left," Nastasha replied, surprising Argo a bit. "Before I started going out with you, I was a nobody. It took me a long time to get used to the limelight. Rain, being Domon's girlfriend, is in an even worse situation since Domon is coming out of a rather turbulant relationship himself. And it doesn't help that Saette . . ." Nastasha suddenly halted her irritated meanderings and fell silent.
"What about Saette?" Argo asked, confused.
The female didn't say anything for a moment. Then she decided to place her trust in Argo, knowing that Rain would probably do the same if she knew the guy as well as Nastasha herself did.
"Honestly, Rain should be used to it by now. She's coming out of a high profile relationship previous to this."
Argo looked confused. "I didn't know this."
"You should. She used to go out with Saette you know. They used to be serious. Real serious." Nastasha shook her head. "Everyone thought they were one couple that had a future. But then . . . one night, it all changed."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~I have RETURNED!!! *waits for cheers and applause* I apologize endlessly for the extremely long time it took for me to update. I didn't get around to continuing this story until a few days ago. I've been quite busy with my own "Domon" (Aaron, you're a sweetheart 3) Hope everybody had a good Valentine's Day even though it was a couple of weeks prior to now . . . ^_^ I plan on updating more frequently if possible and maybe spinning off some short stories for G Gundam and POSSIBLY some other genres. Anyway, I know you were all dying for this thing to return and it has. Hope you liked it.
Next chappie: Rain and Saette's previous relationship revealled! w00t.
Rayne~
(Disclaimer: G Gundam property of Sunrise, the Sotsu Agency, and Bandai. Lucky bastards . . . *gripes*)
§~The Best Years of Your Life~§
by: Rayne Rhiana
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter Eight: The Sea of Glitz & Glitter
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The second Rain stepped into the gym, she felt like she didn't belong there. Despite being latched to Domon's right arm and surrounded by their friends, she felt like an outsider. A duck among swans. Girls everywhere were dressed in shimmering gowns ranging from deep bloodred to the palest green. Sparkling necklaces glittered at their throats and diamonds the sizes of small rocks flashed in her direction from their fingers. Expertly manicured nails in all different shades, high heels that seemed to go on forever, and accessories that Rain never would have thought to have worn were everywhere. She felt belittled and quite foolish.
"Hey . . . Rain? You okay?"
Domon shook her arm a little and she was brought out of her thoughts with a start. "Yes. I'm fine. Just lost myself there for a minute. I guess I'm a little intimidated. So many gorgeous girls here . . . I never would have thought they could all look so pretty when I see them in school."
He seemed to immediately understand where she was coming from and, sensing her insecurity, pulled her closer. "But you're the most beautiful girl here. And that dress is gorgeous. Did I tell you that yet?"
He had, several times, but she never tired of hearing it. And telling her she was beautiful nonetheless! She was almost completely blown away but before she had time to register her shock, Domon was leading the group to a table.
"Argo! Sai! Hey!"
The two guys and their dates had already staked out a great table, right by the dance floor. Cecile jumped to her feet to hug Rain, Shirley, and Marie Louise. The guys started talking about how great the homecoming game was. Rain sat down at the table, looking around. A few couples were dancing, but the music was very mediocre. The actual DJ hadn't gotten done setting up yet and the regular colony radio was playing. The snack bar was quite busy with people hurrying to get popcorn and sodas. Sai and Chibodee soon joined the growing masses, attempting to get enough refreshments for the whole table.
It wasn't long before Domon plopped down beside Rain in the chair next to her. She couldn't help but smile - even in a tux and looking all snazzy, Domon was still Domon through and through.
"Hi," she greeted, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Hey." He glanced around for a second, waved to someone behind Rain, and then turned his attention back to her. Then he laid his hand on top of hers, which was perched on her knee. "You okay?"
"I'm all right. Just observing." She smiled at Cath and Bunny in the distance, who were giggling flirtaciously over the same guy. Then she watched Sai and Chibodee juggle six sodas and eight bags of popcorn over to the table. "Everything just seems so much more interesting tonight."
"You can say that again." The seriousness of Domon's words made her turn back towards him. He was watching her, barely a hint of a smile on his face. She was slightly confused and, noticing she obviously didn't understand the inside meaning of his comment, shook his head. "It's nothing."
Before Rain could begin to interrogate him, the DJ suddenly finished the setup and her voice suddenly blared over the speaker system. She was a pretty twenty-something year old girl with bright pink hair that hung down to the middle of her back. "Heyyyy Federation High!!" she called out, causing a bunch of students to cheer. "You all ready to PARTY?!!!"
More screaming. Rain laughed and looked at Domon. "Is it always this crazy?" she shouted, trying to be heard over the shouting.
"Most of the time, yeah!" he yelled back. Then he let out a loud whistle accompanied by three more from different parts of the room. What a madhouse. Rain hated to admit it, but she was already missing her quiet bedroom. But just a little bit because Domon still had her hand.
And he was pulling on it.
"Want to dance?" he asked, tugging her to her feet as he asked.
"Well, I don't know if I can and - " She didn't have a chance to finish because she suddenly found herself in the midst of a crowd. Marie Louise and George, who'd gotten up with them, were nowhere to be seen. She trailed after Domon, her lifeline their clasped hands. Rain held his hand desperately, afraid to be torn away and lost in the endless sea of glitter and starched shirts.
Domon finally reached his desired location and waited for Rain to squeeze past another couple. When she finally reached him she took a deep breath. "Wow, it's so crazy!" she cried.
"It's insane," he agreed. "Let's dance."
The fast songs the DJ played as a warm-up proved to be great fun to dance to. After about twenty minutes of constant dancing, Rain was about ready for a break when the DJ, who'd been introduced as Kassie, announced a 'cool down session' or what turned out to be a few slow dances. And, as Rain discovered, Domon wasn't about to let her skip out on those.
He pulled her close, right up to him. One of his arms wrapped around her waist. The other hand rested gently on her back. Unsure of what to do, she followed her instincts. She slowly traveled her hands up to his shoulders. Then she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Slow dancing was so strange, she thought. Just a lot of swaying and closeness. Maybe that was the point . . .
She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even realize the song had stopped until Domon's arms were wrapped around her tightly. Confused, she opened her eyes but was unable to see his expression. Suddenly, she felt his mouth right next to her ear. And the whispered words, "Rain, I think I'm falling in love with you."
She didn't know what to say or do. Domon Kasshu . . . the most popular guy in school. Top notch football player, quarterback of the football team . . . Admitted he was -falling in love- with someone like Rain Mikamura, the lowly brainiac who got straight A's in everything and had been at the bottom of the popularity food chain since kindergarten?
~No . . . this wasn't happening.~
His face was suddenly in front of hers, staring at her intently. His chocolate eyes were searching her wide blue ones. For a reaction, an answer, an -anything-.
Instead, he got a shove in the chest and the words, "No . . . No!"
Confused, he reached towards her. "Rain . . . wait, what's wrong?"
"No," she repeated, shaking her head and trembling. Then she did the only thing she knew to do. Turned around and plunged into the crowd. She barely heard her name called twice, the second time more urgent and loud. Instead, she sprinted across the dance floor and through the gym doors, barely catching Marie Louise's shocked expression before she disappeared into the hallway.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ach, dances were stupid. Michelo had been smashed the moment he arrived and Sierra was nowhere to be found. Allenby found herself bored out of her mind. She was leaning up against the wall in one of the corridors, in the science wing, smoking. It had been a long time since she'd seen the halls this quiet. She glanced down at Michelo's passed-out form. He'd been drunk before they'd even gotten here and was of absolutely no use. They'd come down here to smoke a little before crashing the party and upsetting Domon and his new girl, but he hadn't made it past the first drag.
The sound of someone in heels approaching very fast startled Allenby. She dropped her cigarette and mashed it out with the spike of her heel before pushing herself up off the wall and peering around the corner.
WHAM!
Someone coming from the opposite direction crashed into her full-force and knocked her sprawling to the ground. She heard her black minidress rip and grimaced. Then she turned around with a growl on her face to the human battering ram on the ground some ten feet away.
And who better to be ran into than Ms. Perfect Rain Mikamura? Especially when it looked like the girl had been . . . crying? Ahh . . . the night had seriously improved! Allenby picked herself up and clacked her heel impatiently. Rain struggled to stand up in her dress and heels, righting herself only by using the wall for support. When she turned and saw Allenby, her expression got even more distraught.
"Well, Geek-amura, what got you running down the hallway in full panic mode?" Allenby asked, crossing her arms. She was fully aware that her minidress, already revealling to begin with, now had a sizeable slit up the side that made the skirt look more like an apron. Rain was gawking but managed to pull herself together.
"That's none of your business. I don't want any trouble. I'm leaving, so just leave me alone for once."
Allenby shook her head. Foolish little girl. "Your little sprint-in-heels down the corridor caused my $250 dress to be ruined. Look at this! I think you owe me some money, Miss Priss."
"You shouldn't be down here in the first place," Rain contradicted, trying to pretend like she wasn't afraid of Allenby. But this girl had a reputation and Rain had definately noticed Michelo, snoring away in dreamland. Hangover or no, Rain knew he could seriously injure her if he decided to.
"I'll go where I damn well please!" Allenby snapped. "Think you can boss me around because your new squeeze is Domon Kasshu? Think again. Domon's always had a flair for the different. First a punk, now a geek. Next week it'll be a goth. You're old news already, Rain. Besides, you must have had some fight. You've got a mini black Nile River running down your face. Mascara should always be waterproof."
Rain could tell the punk girl was enjoying tormenting and belittling her. "So what if we had a fight . . . which we didn't. It's none of your business. The relationship I have with Domon is not your concern. Quit holding onto the past."
"Holding onto the past? Is that what you think this is about? Look, Missy, Domon Kasshu is nothing more than a piece of gum stuck to my shoe. Annoying and sticky and just not going away." Allenby shook her head, a harsh laugh escaping her mouth. "You think he cares about you, don't you?"
"I don't want to listen to this," Rain muttered, turning to leave. "You don't know anything about me."
"I know," Allenby contradicted, her voice shaking slightly. "Because I felt the same way, once."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Where is she? Where did she go?"
Shirley and Marie Louise reappeared from searching the girls' bathroom. George watched them approaching, Rain-less, and sighed. He'd seen Rain go dashing out of the gym. Confused, he'd looked for Domon but it had taken him much longer to distangle himself from the crowd. Soon afterwards, he and Chibodee ran off to the parking lot to look for Rain there. Nastasha and Argo had wandered the entire gym watching for Rain, in case she'd snuck back in. George had remained with the table while his date and Shirley had gone to the bathrooms to search.
Sai's question didn't go unheard, but it did go unanswered simply because George didn't know how to reply. Cecile shook her head sadly.
"Poor Rain. I wonder if she and Domon had a fight."
The Federation quarterback had refused to provide an explanation as to why his date had suddenly gone running out of the gym but it was generally suspected that he and Rain had gotten into a fight of some nature.
George shook his head, sick of the chaos. "Someone go look in the halls! The classrooms! Anywhere!"
Nastasha and Argo agreed to go hunt through the west wing of the school. George and Marie Louise went for the east. Sai Saici, Cecile, and Shirley remained at the table in case Rain, Domon, or Chibodee returned.
As they wandered through the halls, Argo noticed that Nastasha was looking even more ticked off than usual. "What's wrong?" he asked gruffly, not used to asking such a question. Nastasha, who wasn't altogether used to receiving that question, faltered for a moment.
"I guess I can somewhat understand perhaps why Rain left," Nastasha replied, surprising Argo a bit. "Before I started going out with you, I was a nobody. It took me a long time to get used to the limelight. Rain, being Domon's girlfriend, is in an even worse situation since Domon is coming out of a rather turbulant relationship himself. And it doesn't help that Saette . . ." Nastasha suddenly halted her irritated meanderings and fell silent.
"What about Saette?" Argo asked, confused.
The female didn't say anything for a moment. Then she decided to place her trust in Argo, knowing that Rain would probably do the same if she knew the guy as well as Nastasha herself did.
"Honestly, Rain should be used to it by now. She's coming out of a high profile relationship previous to this."
Argo looked confused. "I didn't know this."
"You should. She used to go out with Saette you know. They used to be serious. Real serious." Nastasha shook her head. "Everyone thought they were one couple that had a future. But then . . . one night, it all changed."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
~I have RETURNED!!! *waits for cheers and applause* I apologize endlessly for the extremely long time it took for me to update. I didn't get around to continuing this story until a few days ago. I've been quite busy with my own "Domon" (Aaron, you're a sweetheart 3) Hope everybody had a good Valentine's Day even though it was a couple of weeks prior to now . . . ^_^ I plan on updating more frequently if possible and maybe spinning off some short stories for G Gundam and POSSIBLY some other genres. Anyway, I know you were all dying for this thing to return and it has. Hope you liked it.
Next chappie: Rain and Saette's previous relationship revealled! w00t.
Rayne~