Disclaimer: I don't own FLCL

A/N: Just Swing is what I had initially named the story, but had decided to change it. That's why in the previous chapters it says just swing I or just swing II. Sorry if there was any confusion. Also, for those of you who haven't noticed, I'm basing this story partly on the Anime and partly the manga. They're different you know!

Say 'Cheese'

III

It was somewhere around 10:00a.m. when I finally opened my eyes, only to be blinded by the beams of sunlight cascading into my room. I'd told Haruko that she could sleep at my place since she was an outlaw, but that had been an awful mistake.

She'd snored all night, keeping me trapped somewhere in between sleep and awareness. Not pleasant. Each time I would finally doze off into somewhat of a slumber, I was jerked awake by a sudden snort.

I slowly sat upright while rubbing the sleepiness from my tired eyes, and swung my feet off the bedside. I blinked once or twice before climbing shakily to my feet, opening my mouth to give a monstrous yawn. When I opened my door, I found my mind wandering off to Haruko's offer again. I'd thought about it for a long time, and still hadn't made up my mind.

As I walked down the hall, the low hum of voices pounded on my sensitive head. I could already imagine my dad trying to hit on Haruko, and my grandpa doing his usual routine on whining about the food. I think I was pretty much used to the noise by now though, so I wasn't surprised to see exactly what I'd envisioned when I stepped into the dining room.

Grandpa sat glaring at the breakfast meal while mumbling something poison, while Dad leaned close to Haruko, purring to her seductively. I was personally glad to see her look of disgust.

I guess I eventually caught her attention, because she turned to meet my gaze, that warm, familiar smile plastered on her face. "Ta-kun!" she beckoned sweetly, roughly shoving my dad out of the way. "You're finally awake, you sleepyhead!"

I glared weakly. "You're the one who was snoring all night!" I accused. "I didn't get any sleep at all!"

"Really?" she asked while feigning shock, batting her lashes prettily.

I just grumbled under my breath as I took a seat across from her. Really, I was happy she was here, even if I didn't exactly show it in the most obvious way. Maybe it was just me.

I looked down hesitantly at my scrambled eggs. "Eat up! Before it gets cold!" I heard her coo, and I wondered if Grandpa actually knew what he was talking about, the poison'n all.

Cautiously I scooped some of the eggs on to my fork, watching as it merely leaked back on to the plate. It vaguely reminded me of mucus, and at that moment something churned in my stomach. Through my sudden nausea, I could make out Haruko's distant voice.

I looked up to see her staring at me expectantly. "What?" I asked stupidly.

"I said, have you made your decision?"

Damn. I was hoping she wouldn't ask so soon. Frantically I shoveled some eggs into my mouth and couldn't help but grimace. They felt like mucus, too.

But sadly, this didn't save me, and I knew I'd end up having to make my decision right on the spot. Dammit.

I quickly ran through my thoughts, weighing the benefits and consequences of saying yes. It was sooo tempting. I mean really, how many times did someone get this chance? Probably one in fifteen trillion; me being that one. But still, would I ever be able to come back home if I wanted to? What if something bad happened and I never saw anyone again? Or worst of all, what if Haruko was lying? What if she only wanted me to help her with a crime or something, something that would make it impossible for me ever to be safe again?

But it would be the adventure of a lifetime . . .

I sighed as I slowly met her hopeful eyes. "I have decided . . . and— I'm not going."

The table grew disturbingly silent as I said this, and I found it unnerving that even though I knew my father and grandpa had no clue what we were talking about, they still stared at me with a 'how-could-you-pass-off-a-chance-like-this' stare. Meanwhile, Haruko's grin had fallen into a confused frown. I knew that's not what she'd expected me to say.

The doorbell cut through the silence like a keen cleaver, and I was the most desperate to escape the tension. I stood up without meeting anyone's gaze. I hated Haruko looking at me like that. I just couldn't take it.

Next thing I knew I was at the front door. And as I opened it, my heart fluttered in the most unexplainable way. I found myself at a loss for words.

"M-mamimi?"

It'd been so long since I'd seen her, I'd almost forgotten what she looked like. She smiled crookedly. "Ta-kun!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck. "I came to visit, Ta-kun!"

It'd been so long since I'd heard that voice. Speaking of voices, I think I lost mine.

She leaned back again to look me over, and that's when I noticed the camera that dangled around her neck. "Also, Haru-san told me she was in town, too, and wanted to ask me something."

At this, my eyes widened in horrified realization. I turned my head slightly toward the kitchen, where I could see Haruko leaning nonchalantly on to the table, her eyes gleaming deviously, a smirk on her lips. She'd known Mamimi was coming, hadn't she? And was it just me, or was she planning something that she knew I wouldn't like? All I knew was that I had a bad feeling about this.

"Ta-kun!" Mamimi's voice jerked me from my daze, and I spun around. "Say 'cheeeeeeese!'"

A flash followed the order, and I found myself suddenly blinded. "H-hey! What was that for!"

I think she smiled, but I couldn't tell. "I wanna remember the look on your face when you opened the door!" she explained happily, releasing the camera to let it settle on her chest again. It was obvious she'd become quite the photographer over the past three years. I wasn't so sure it was a good thing.

As soon as my vision cleared, I led Mamimi to the dining room, occasionally rubbing my eyes to rid of a few more spots.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind I invited Sameji!" Haruko called as we entered. "Now it's a real re-union!"

As we sat down, Haruko shot me another mischievous smirk. I wondered silently as conservation once again erupted, what the hell was going on. Why she'd invited Mamimi over, why Mamimi had said Haruko wanted to ask her something, and why I was starting to feel nauseous.

To be continued . . .