A/N: hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I actually had some free time so I'm trying to update. I'm on break. So hopefully I can update all my stories and I want this one to be updated at least twice before break is over! Anyway. Please do enjoy this chapter.
THANK YOU TO ALL MY LOVELY REVEIWERS. YOU GUYS GIVE THE DRIVE TO KEEP WRITING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENCOURAGING REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL!
The A-List
Chapter Thirteen
Problems
Kagome walked into the kitchen in a hurry, trying to get ready for school. The others were calmly sitting down at the table, eating whatever they pleased. She gasped for air, in her hasten to get prepared, and looked at her friends as if they were crazy.
"Shouldn't you all be scurrying about trying to get ready for school?" she asked warily. The younger boys still had their pajamas on, Sango and Miroku were eating bowls of cereal at the table, and Inuyasha was waiting excitedly for his waffles to pop up.
"Slow your roll, love. We'll be plenty ready for school when the time comes about." He said calmly.
"Uh guys. It's 8:00. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't school start at 8:10?"
"Liar," Sango said with a carefree giggle, and then glanced at the clock to prove Kagome wrong. "It's 8:00 and we have OH MY GOD, 10 MINUTES TO GET TO SCHOOL!" she exclaimed in surprise and left her cereal on the table and went to go get her stuff. Miroku followed in his girlfriend's footsteps and Inuyasha just shrugged.
"Whateva."
Chaos ensued.
The physical education teacher blew his whistle to call the two groups of students over to him: boys and girls. Everyone jogged over and stopped chattering to hear what the teacher had to say.
"Okay class. I'm going to pair you off into groups and I want you to stretch before we go outside and play flag-football. Line up against the wall." He ordered. Everyone groaned for not having the option of picking his or her partner and walked over to the farthest gym wall and lined up.
"This will not be fun." Kagome complained smoothing the fabric of her shorts on her bottom. "We all know he likes to pick people at random, and chances are we'll be with people we don't like." She folded her arms like a five-year-old while the gym teacher started picking out partners on the farthest side of the line.
"Well, we know as a fact that he does pairs of the opposite sex, so maybe we'll be together." Inuyasha said, with a slight smile. He really didn't want some sleazebag like Kouga paired up with his girlfriend.
"Kouga! You and…let's see. You and Kagome!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes at how much the heavens deceived him and growled even louder when Kouga walked over with a leer on his face.
"Kouga, you touch her and you die." He stepped up in front of Kagome.
"Fuck off, mutt. If you didn't realize, I have to touch her to help her stretch."
"No you don't. You do yours and she'll do hers." Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arm and pulled him back, away from Kouga, because she knew a fight was about to break out.
"Stop it you two. Kouga, go get a mat, and I'll be there in a moment." She looked at him with cool indifference, leaving no room for argument, and he huffed walking off. She turned her gaze to Inuyasha biting her lip. "Look, I don't like this as much as you do, but that doesn't mean you have to get suspended for fighting to prove it."
"I hate him. So much. If he tries anything, I'm going to bash his face in."
"I love you too." She said with a smirk and squeezed his hand before walking off to go stretch. As she approached Kouga she sighed in sympathy for herself and calmly counted to 10.
"So Kagome, when are you going to leave that no life mutt to be in a world where all your dreams would come true with me?" Kagome blanched.
"That's called a fantasy. Yours in fact. I don't like you, so you can come off of it," she replied as she flattened herself out on the mat, on her back. Kouga looked at her with cold eyes.
"Bitch."
"Yes, I've been called that before. Now you can wait your turn while I stretch." She smiled in fake sweetness and Kouga was taken aback by the pleasant tune her voice had taken.
"Whatever." Kagome smirked to herself in triumph, as she pulled a knew up to her chest.
The school bell rang, letting students escape from the fetters of their teacher's watchful, hawk-like gazes. Doors slammed open and lockers clanged as the bagged-lunch students grabbed their food and headed towards the cafeteria, while others exchanged their books for the next two periods.
"Well if that wasn't boring, I don't exactly know what was." Miroku said, trying to retain a yawn and stretched his arms far above his head, his shirt pulling up a little. Inuyasha nodded in agreement and cracked his neck, while slinging an arm around Kagome's shoulders as they walked. She smiled as they bumped hips purposely in sync, on the way to getting to their lockers.
When the group of four finished up at their lockers, they headed toward the large cafeteria that was hustling and bustling with students anxious to get food and converse with their friends.
"Hell on earth." Kagome sighed in defeat and the four turned on their heels as quickly as they came and went up to the roof of the school to go eat their lunch. Inuyasha pushed the door open, him being the first up the stairs and they coupled off and sat in their own corners to talk.
Kagome settled in Inuyasha's arms, her back against his chest, his back leaning up against a wall on the roof.
"Such fond memories." She said with a light smile and Inuyasha kissed her forehead.
"Yeah. I remember when you walked up here that one day and asked for a ride cause you liked me so much." Kagome laughed and lightly hit him in the thigh.
"Shut up! That's not true. I was stranded."
"And you liked me," he said with casualty.
"Nope. I hated your very existence. You were like a bad disease." She said while laughing. Inuyasha poked out his bottom lip and feigned hurt.
"Damn Kagome. You know how to make a guy feel loved."
"Aw. You know I was just kidding baby." She turned in his arms and pinched his cheeks, making them turn slightly pink.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said with a cheeky grin.
"I love you." She whispered, wanting to make sure he understood.
"And I love you."
Kagome trudged up the steps instead of taking the elevator, up to her room that night. She just stopped into the kitchen to get a glass of water to drink before she went to bed and now she felt tired. Her bare feet made barely a sound as she traveled to her floor. She passed by Inuyasha's door, and paused, trying to shut out as much noise as possible, though there wasn't much since most were asleep, to hear inside. She was debating on whether or not to go inside, when the door opened lightly and he poked his head out.
"I can hear you, love." He whispered, and Kagome let out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding in her attempt to be quiet.
"I knew that. I was making my presence known." She said like she knew what she was doing, though on the inside her heart was beating above normal pace.
"Right…" he said with a smirk and grabbed her arm, pulling her inside. Kagome squeaked quietly and jumped inside to a carpeted floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist and they spun around slowly, stopping at the foot of his bed. Kagome smirked and pushed him on it, crawling on after, her eyes dancing. He was lying flat on his back, staring into her eyes and he winced only slightly because he knew she was up to something. He saw the glint of mischief in her eyes.
"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously. She hadn't said a word, just tilted her head to the side as she slowly crawled up to him. Now looking at her, she reminded him of a feline, stalking its prey. Maybe even a panther, elegant, smooth and sleek. Her black tresses fell from her shoulders like fine silk, shining in the moonlight emitted from his balcony windows. She had on a black tank top and black drawstring shorts. No wonder she looked like a panther…
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, her voice almost a purr. Her voice enveloped him in a haze and he felt his eyes closing only a bit. He looked at her with a child-like interest as she was soon on hands and knees above him. She smirked once more and bit her lip, before straddling his waist, both knees on either side of his waist. She flexed her fingers before moving quickly, swiftly and placing them on his sides, using her nails to graze lightly on his side. He woke up almost instantly, a smile playing on his features and trying to keep from squirming.
"No. Kagome don't." he protested lightly as her hands slide up his shirt, although still at his sides, only using feather light touches to caress his most ticklish spots.
"Come on Inuyasha. I haven't in a while." She said, tilting her head to the side once more. She started grazing her nails lightly still, but faster, up and down his sides till his eyes clenched shut and he was squirming beneath her. She giggled as he let out a laugh, before clamping his mouth shut, and trying to control his laughter.
"Kagome…stop…please stop…" he said in between giggles. Kagome stopped; her eyes widened just a fraction more.
"Did you just giggle?" she asked in light apprehension.
"No." he said shifting his eyes from left to right, wanting to make her believe that he did not, in fact, just giggle.
"Liar." She whispered fiercely as she tickled his sides once more and Inuyasha squirmed, before grabbing her hands suddenly and looking her straight in the eye. Communication: be quiet. His ears twitched and swiveled at every sound brought to attention and he looked around, till his eyes focused on his bedroom door. He heard footsteps. He heard Kagome hold her breath slightly, like she had done outside, and he gave her a blunt expression, telling her silently that it wasn't necessary. She nodded sheepishly and let it out slowly before focusing her attention on the door also. Now, along with footsteps, they heard light whistling. Inuyasha raised a brow puzzled, at why someone would be up at this our whistling (yet disregarding the fact that Kagome was in his room tickling him and making him giggle and that that was completely different). The whistling quieted down once more and the footsteps fell away silently and Inuyasha looked at Kagome.
"Who the hell was that?" he asked quietly. She climbed off his waist and they both got under the covers.
"A guard I'll assume. They walk the premises at night to make sure that everything's in order and that no one is up past their bedtime. She smiled at Inuyasha. "So I should obey that and go to sleep, as should you."
"Sleep is for chumps." Kagome rolled her eyes and buried her face in her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Let's go to sleep anyway." She felt him nod and he kissed the top of her head sweetly before wrapping an arm around her and falling asleep peacefully.
Kagome walked down the corridor to her father's office, like she had done so many months before and when she came to the big oak doors, she knocked, waiting for a response inviting her in. When she received this, she pushed the heavy doors open and swept inside, glancing with dislike at the two figures behind the big mahogany colored desk.
"You asked for my presence father?" she greeted with cool indifference, the same she had treated Kouga with the day before and raised an eyebrow casually.
"Yes. Actually I did. But," he said making a sweeping motion with one of his hands, motioning for her to take a seat in one of the plush seats; which she took, somewhat cautiously. "Please, have a seat. We're waiting for one more guest." He said mysteriously, causing Kagome to stand where she was, alert and almost rigid.
"Who might that be, father?" as she finished saying this, a knock came to the door, and when her father called out a come in, another person entered the room just as she had done moments before. Kagome turned around to be greeted by the site of her silver-haired lover and turned back to her father, only standing now.
"You called for me, Mr. Higurashi?" Inuyasha asked with politeness, but before Kagome gave her father a chance to respond, she came with a retort of her own.
"What's the meaning of this?" she asked, backing towards Inuyasha and looking at her father, then to Rikku, and back to her father.
"Kagome, dear. Must you always be on edge?" he folded his hands on top of his desk, and Rikku placed an owning hand on his shoulder. 'Wrapped around her little finger…' Kagome thought. But she paused. He knew. And he was up to something.
"Again, I'll repeat for you. What did you want us in here for?" Inuyasha, who had been silent this whole time, placed a hand on the small of her back, a comforting gesture.
Wrong move.
Kagome's father's eyes snapped to him in that motion and he clenched his teeth, unknowing to the teens standing quite a bit away.
"We wanted to speak with you," Rikku said, her voice almost purring. Kagome's eyes narrowed as they snapped to her.
"My words were solely aimed towards my father, Rikku." She bit with a chilling tone.
"Oh, Kagome my dear. Don't be a brat now. I'm going to be your mother-"
"Stepmother." She cut her off. She could never replace her mother.
"Nevertheless," Rikku bit out, her teeth clenched at the insolent brat's attitude. "I'll be one to respect. And I expect that from you, Kagome,"
"Bite me," she muttered, turning her attention back towards her father. "We're going to leave in five seconds if you don't address the topic at hand, daddy." Kagome said, with dislike.
"Find a place for your little beach party to be held at."
"How about the beach?" she asked sarcastically, meaning she asked in a way that made it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Don't get smart, or it won't happen." Kagome clenched her jaw and leaned in closer towards Inuyasha. Her father growled lowly. Or at least it seemed like it.
"The beach outside of the mansion, father." She said quickly and straight to the point.
"Fine. Is the party planned? It is this weekend."
"It's getting there," she lied. She could whip it up tomorrow with Yumi and Eri, that is if they still talked to her. Her father nodded his head, seeming as if something was still amiss.
"That's all with that. Rikku and I are getting married in two months. Preparations are being made as we speak and if I'm not mistaken, we have a meeting with the reception planner. Get back to me with the details – tomorrow." He said, and the conversation was over, as it seemed.
"Whatever. Don't send me an invitation." She said with a fake sweetness, and it surprised both adults, before making them angry. Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and pulled him out of the office quickly. When the teenagers left, Kagome's father slammed his fist into his desk.
"Calm down honey. It'll all fall into place in due time." Rikku said reassuringly. "Should we plan to break them up soon?" she asked, with a hint of malice towards her stepdaughter and her street rat boyfriend.
"No. Let her have her five minutes of defiance. Like you said. It'll all fall into place in due time." He said with a smirk that could have made even the toughest bikers shiver.
Kagome let go of Inuyasha's hand, once outside the office and stormed down the hall in a moody haze. Inuyasha shook his head and caught up to her before wrapping an arm around her waist, and leading her towards one of the exits leading away from the mansion.
They walked slowly, hand in hand down the sandy beach, next to the salty ocean tides washing up on the beach. The moon bathed the whole Cliffside in moonlight, a silvery light illuminating everything in sight. They seemed to be closed off from the world, only the ocean's waves and other nightly sounds enveloping them.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered her name quietly and slowed them to a stop. He could tell that his girlfriend was still upset from the meeting with her father, even though it occurred not to long ago. They were actually a good distance from the mansion, coming into view of another one, down the shoreline.
"What?" she asked, just as quiet, and looked up to him, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"Forget about your dad. And that bitch Rikku," he paused to watch her smile, only slightly, then continued. "You know, that as long as you have what's important to you, everything will be okay." He said, wiping away a lone tear that escaped the barrier she had made.
"I know. It's just. He makes me so angry. He doesn't really care about Sota or me. His heart turned cold when my mother died. And now he's trying to replace her with Rikku. I hate him for that." She said, her voice full of sorrow. She stepped closer to him and buried her face into his shoulder. "H-how do you do it?" her voice a murmur and tremor. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Do what, love?" she leaned her head up and kissed his neck, before he grabbed one of her hands, one arm still around her waist, in a waltzing like pose.
"How do you keep so strong? How are you so incredible?" she whispered as he swayed them softly, even though no music was playing anywhere.
"I wouldn't say I'm so strong. Nor am I incredible." He smiled a wistful smile and looked down at her. "I'm just me, Inuyasha. But I have you. You keep me strong, as corny as that sounds."
"Doesn't sound corny at all." She hugged him closer and let herself calm down. All she needed was Inuyasha and her friends and Sota and she'd be fine. Her father didn't bring her happiness. Inuyasha stopped their waltzing and gazed down at her.
"You'll be okay. We'll be okay. Everything will be okay. I promise." She nodded, not really believing, but wanting to. She knew her father was up to something rotten, but she didn't know what. "Kagome…" he tilted her head up towards his face and kissed her. "I promise." Then he kissed her again, longer this time, and didn't let go until they both needed air…
Only badly that is…Kagome walked up to where Yumi and Eri were sitting with their new friends at lunch the next day and asked them aside.
"What do you want?" Yumi asked coldly.
"Don't be a bitch. I have a favor to ask." Kagome said, looking at her nails.
"Oh. So now you want to be all chummy? Look, we don't help traitors."
"Yumi, take the stick out of your ass. I betrayed you in no way whatsoever."
"Wait, wait, wait. Eri? Did she just say she didn't betray us?" she asked. Eri looked at Kagome with a cool calculating gaze.
"I believe she did," she agreed.
"Let me break it down for your traitor ass. You decided to take those low-life B-list wannabes as your friends and dumped us. They have no money, no popular social status and they aren't in the least bit interesting. Where the fuck do you come off?" Kagome smirked and disregarded looking at her fingernails.
"Where the fuck do you come off?" Kagome got into her face; so close their noses were almost touching. "The only explanation I have to give you about being their friend, is all the reasons you listed just now. They're real friends. They don't go and pick on other people because of money or some stupid shit. I've seen the light bitch. I hope you find it sometime soon. Screw you and what you have to offer. I'll find someone else to do the job. And don't talk about my friends the way you just did, or you'll regret it." Kagome glared and turned on her heel, not even looking back at her old friends and thinking about whom she was going to get to do the job now. She didn't have a lot of time, considering she needed to get it planned by tonight.
"Shit," she whispered. Then she thought back to one of her mom's best party planners when she was alive. The lady had to be in her late 30's by now, so she was still as good as ever, she assumed. She just hoped everything would work out in due time.
Click.
Kagome set the phone down in its cradle and smiled to herself, as she was happy that her party outline was planned and read to give to her father. Now all she had to do was get all the details straightened out, like food and decorations. Stuff like that that they could buy.
"Everything okay now?" Inuyasha walked up behind her and placed a glass of water down on the counter in front of her, then moved to her shoulders to give them a massage. Kagome moaned at the feeling of her tired muscles being able to relax.
"Yes. Thank you." She took a sip of water, and then leaned back into his warmth. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her form and gave her a light squeeze.
"That's good. It's late though. You should be heading up to bed."
"Yes Inuyasha, sir." She said smiling as she finished off her water and put it in the sink. Then she went over to the kitchen lights control and turned off the lights and heated floors before heading out into the hall, Inuyasha on her tail. They came to his door and stopped. She kissed him goodnight and then went over to her room. "So tired." She sighed and got undressed quickly, before throwing on a tank top and some shorts on. Then she crawled into bed and pulled the covers to her chin, before turning off the lamp on her bedside table.
Not too late after, she felt her lover slip in beside her to cuddle, and both fell asleep peacefully in each other's arms.
A/N: whew! Sorry for not updating in so long. I'm sooooorry. But here it is. Please enjoy!
Later Dayz, TaintedMunkeyz