Crazy. She's absolutely crazy.
Athrun took a deep breath and silently counted to ten. "Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND? And, for the love of God, what does my fiancé have to do with your brother?"
His kidnapper blinked. "You mean...you don't know?"
"Know WHAT?"
So Lacus didn't tell him about her secret liaison with Kira...Was that a good thing?
She shrugged. "I'll explain everything later...right after I make myself some coffee."
Athrun felt a migraine coming up. "Look, Miss Cagalli, I don't care if you're the Queen of England. I don't want to spend a second longer in your presence and if you don't let me go, I'll...I'll scream!" He mentally killed himself. That had got to be the dumbest, most girlish idea he had thought up yet!
"I don't think so, Zala," Cagalli said confidentially. "You're a guy. And according to the universal rules of egotistical males, guys hate to reveal any sign of weakness...especially in plain public."
She ignored the 'drop-dead-now' glare from him.
"Dammit, I have an important meeting with my fiancé right now and I'm not wasting my precious time with a crazy cowgirl maniac who has enough sense to fill a teaspoon like you!"
"Well, whether I make sense or nonsense, I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Not forever, thank God, but just a few hours will suffice." She paused. "Do you like instant white coffee or black?"
"Black."
"Sorry, I only have white."
Scowl. "You asked that question for the sole purpose of annoying me, didn't you?"
Smirk.
Eye twitch.
XXX
Chapter Three
I will survive. I will make it through...And right after I endure this torture to the very end, I will have her arrested and landed safely behind bars for escaped lunatics.
Athrun smiled tightly as he sat beside the blond who had kidnapped him. It had been an hour since Cagalli had kidnapped him and dragged him to the park bench. Now they were sitting together –she blissfully drinking coffee, he shooting death glares at everything and everyone in sight.
"You know, you should smile more often," Cagalli said after a while.
"I AM smiling," he hissed through gritted teeth.
"You call that a smile? Hah! That 'smile' of yours inspires fear and terror in the soul of the faint-hearted and the little children! Why do you think we're all alone in this park?"
"Well, I WOULD smile a REAL smile if SOMEONE would release me and end this whole ridiculous scenario!"
"This 'ridiculous scenario' would have ended hours ago if SOMEONE didn't struggle so hard and made me drop my shopping bag, in doing so forcing me to spend more of my last hard-earned money on a cup of hot coffee to save my sanity, thereby defecting the funds needed to buy your black coffee too."
"How was I to know you have some shred of humanity in that insane mind of yours?"
"It's still your fault in the first place."
"My fault? My fault!" His blood –and temper– was reaching its limits. "If it weren't for you, NONE of this would have happened in the first place! Release me NOW!"
"Unfortunately, I can't do that, Zala." Cagalli paused in mid-sip and looked at him solemnly. "As mentioned, I'm rather pissed off that your fiancé Lacus would choose you over my wonderful brother. So I came over all the way from Japan to see you face to face; and so far I'm not impressed. In fact, you remind me of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – with you starring as Grumpy, only you're three feet taller..." And definitely more gorgeous, she almost said but caught herself in time.
His green eyes narrowed. "I'm flattered. However, what you think of me matters little to me. What I want is for you to set me free this instant before I report you to the police and have you rotting in a dark and cold prison cell somewhere in Nebraska!"
"Are we back to THAT again?" Cagalli rolled her eyes skyward. "You're not going to scare me off, Zala. I'm made of tougher stuff. Besides, didn't I already tell you I'll free you in a matter of hours after I did some thorough questioning?"
Athrun sighed, resigned to his fate. "Fine, so ask away."
"Of course...right after I finish drinking my coffee."
If his hands weren't tied up, he would have cheerfully murdered her.
XXX
Cagalli couldn't understand what was so attractive about Athrun Zala. Granted, the guy had killer looks...but who cared about that if all he could do with his beautiful green eyes was glare. Okay...so she was partly at fault. But hey, where's his sense of humor?
She thought it pretty funny to lead a bureaucrat around the city like a sheep being steered by a shepherd. Even funnier was that everyone believed her bogus story on cowgirls and green-eyed guinea pigs as tourists attractions concocted by the government.
Too bad Zala didn't view his predicament positively.
"Hey, where exactly are you taking me?" Mr. Grumpy grumbled as he stumbled when she dragged him over a big hole in the road. "You've been leading me around in circles for hours and I'm hungry!"
She sighed heavily. "It's only been half an hour..."
"Keyword: Hour."
"Fine, Your Royal Crabbiness, we'll settle on some unfortunate restaurant somewhere soon...A-ha! Perfect!" Cagalli stopped in front of a restaurant bearing the name '24 HOUR BISTRO' on its signpost. As she reached out to open the door, a drunkard was kicked out, hiccupping all the way as he landed facedown on the ground, singing something that sounded like '...sing to me only with thine eyes...". Behind him, a pot-bellied man was shaking his fist as he slammed the door closed.
Athrun curled his lips in distaste.
Cagalli walked forward.
"We're eating here."
"You're crazier than I thought if you think I'm setting foot in this dump sight you call a –"
"...I wasn't kidding about the closet."
"You wouldn't DARE."
She smiled sweetly.
And she dragged him inside the restaurant, with Athrun muttering something about 'crazy cowgirls'.
XXX
An hour later, after heaps and heaps of empty plates licked clean courtesy of Cagalli, she was leaning against the cubicle in total satisfaction. Her emerald-eyed companion looked torn between impressed and disgusted. She had such a big appetite for such a small woman.
I wonder if she eats for two people...
Still, something bugged him since the moment they stepped into the bistro and the curiosity got to him.
Athrun cleared his throat.
"I have a question for you, Ms. Kidnapper."
"What's that?"
"How are you going to pay for all this, since you said you wasted your last dime on coffee?" he asked eloquently.
Cagalli's eyes rounded in shock.
"Oh, why in blazes didn't you tell me that before we entered this restaurant?"
"Don't blame me for you lame memory skills!" he snapped. "Now how are you going to dig us out of this mess, hmm?"
"Well, don't you have any money on you?"
Athrun's eye twitched. "I was heading to a restaurant that took credit cards. And I don't think this bistro knows WHAT a credit card is."
Before she could utter another word, Mr. Pot-belly walked out of his office, looking absolutely harried. "Oh boy, my singer isn't coming for his evening gig. Damn, why this evening of all evenings he chooses to have his appendix operation! And I promised everyone a spectacular entertainment today! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy..."
A light-bulb clicked on inside Cagalli's head.
She twiddled her forefingers together and looked up at Athrun innocently. "Umm...I don't suppose you know how to sing...do you?"
"Well, I got a few pointers from Lacus and –Wait a minute! You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Oh, I was just thinking that...you know, if you can sing and it'll really help if you can also play the guitar, maybe you can..."
When her implication sunk into his befuddled mind, Athrun was seeing red all over.
"No way! You're the kidnapper and you should take on the responsibility!"
"Oh, come on, Zala! Please?" Cagalli turned puppy-dog eyes to him. But he was determined to put a firm foot down.
"I'm not going to do this, and that is that!"
XXX
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
Athrun hated puppy-dog eyes. They would be the death of him.
"Oh, don't be such a party pooper, Zala. This is going to be fun!" Cagalli's wide, golden-brown eyes danced merrily. Athrun had to stop himself from staring too long and too deeply.
Hmm...Pretty eyes...
"Alright, people! Let's get this show on the road!" Cagalli pumped a fist up in the air.
Too bad they're wasted on a psychotic maniac.
He rolled his eyes.
"So have you chosen what song you're going to sing?" she asked him as she dumped a guitar into his hand.
"Sure I have. London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down," he intoned sarcastically.
"ZALA, this is SERIOUS! Think of something better!"
"Well, I can't think of anything!"
"WHAT? Haven't you listened to the radio or watched music channels like MTV?"
Athrun blinked. "What's a...'MTV'?"
Her jaw dropped. "Aren't you marrying a pop star?"
He scowled. "Stop LOOKING at me like that! I don't have time to listen to music when I have paperwork to do, contracts to sign and negotiations to make!" he said in irritation.
"Well then...use God's gift of brains to you and make something up!" She froze when the pot-belly man walked to the microphone on the centre stage and made his announcement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry to announce that Mr. Lobo couldn't make it here tonight due to his appendix operation."
Boos from the crowd.
"I know. I'm disappointed too. But we have a fine proxy to replace tonight's gig. Please put your hands together for Mister..." Mr. Pot-belly leaned to Cagalli and hissed, "What did you say his name was?"
"Oh, it's Athrun Za –Just Athrun," Cagalli mentally slapped herself. She had almost let his full name slip by her lips! Mental note: Look before you leap.
Mr. Pot-belly looked at her weirdly but continued, "Mister Athrun!"
As Mr. Pot-belly walked down the stage, he threw Cagalli a warning glance. "Remember, if his performance ruins me, you two are going to work for me for as long as you breathe on this planet!"
Cagalli smiled tensely.
On cue, Athrun reluctantly walked to the center of the stage, guitar in hand. He shot Cagalli one last glare before clearing his throat. "Good evening. As you know, my name is Athrun –"
"Holy, but he's gorgeous!" One of the women in the audience swooned. "And he looks so much like our darling Athrun Zala! He even has the same first name! Sigh, I think I'm in love."
You don't know how close you are to the truth, he scowled. "Right, I'll just get right down to the songs. This one is called 'Goddess'." He paused and strummed the guitar gently.
Late summer night, with a piece of you
My heart stirred
'Cause I have you near
In my wandering smiles and heady clouds
I feel you
I see you
And I long to have you in my arms again
Aphrodite was the goddess of love
You might just be more to me
So if you play it right
You could sell me words and I might just buy them
You could sell me heaven and I might just buy it
We could stay up all night
If we just stay quiet
Athrun's voice was soft and seductive, the lyrics slipped from his mouth like sweet honey. Cagalli glanced at he crowd and cringed. Oh yeah. All the women in the audience looked absolutely mesmerized by him.
At eleven you're still not satisfied
I think I'll let you go
On to my photograph fancy
You're beginning to love
You're beginning to bloom
Don't stare at me with your lonely eyes
My door is always open for you
Cagalli found she wasn't immune to him either. Her body temperature was rising rapidly. Who knew Mr. Grumpy's voice could be so...sexy?
Aphrodite was the goddess of love
You might just be more to me
So if you play it right
You could sell me words and I might just buy them
You could sell me heaven and I might just buy it
You could be my goddess
'Cause I just might need one
So please grant me one wish
That you might just be the one
My goddess...
The song ended and he waited for their reaction.
Silence.
And then all hell broke loose.
"CAGALLI, HELP!"
Athrun looked terror-stricken as his fan girls doubled –no– tripled before his very eyes and seemed intent on crushing him under a stampede of rushing feet.
"OH I JUST LOVE YOUR SONG! PLEASE BE MY BOYFRIEND!" One brunette tugged on his arm and nearly tore that particular body part out in the process.
"GAH, HE'S MINE, YOU WITCH! MINE!" A redhead grabbed onto his other arm and pulled him her way.
And that was just two of them!
Cagalli watched them pull and twist him like a human rag doll from a distance, lips twitching in amusement. But when one girl tried to slap a kiss on Athrun's lips, irritation kicked in.
What the –Why the heck do I feel so damn irritated for? It's not as if I'm jealous! I don't even know the guy, for God's sake!
Nevertheless, she stormed on over and pushed the woman away forcefully. "Alright, folks, break it up! Show's over! Mr. Singer here needs some rest after his gig!"
His startled fan girls shot lethal looks at her. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? ORDERING US AROUND?"
"Well, I'm his manager, so I guess that makes it my job to boss people around. Now, vamoose before I give you a reason to REALLY scream!" Cagalli's eyes glinted with promises of broken bones and decapitated heads.
The girls took one look at her enraged expression and quickly scattered like pigeons in her wake. But not without a parting remark from the redhead who was the last to leave.
"Humph! What kind of sane male would ever find you attractive with your bossy attitude, you Amazon Pig?"
Cagalli's first instinct was to jump on her and inflict some bodily damage. Then she paused in mid-stomp, stunned to discover that the remark had hurt. Was that girl right? Was she just too bossy, too Amazon-like to be attractive to any member of the opposite sex? Could that be why even the lecherous Yuuna had turned his attention to other women?
And why in blazes was she asking herself such STUPID questions?
"Hey, are you alright?" Athrun felt concern wash over him when he saw the troubled look on Cagalli's face.
"O-Of course I'm alright!" Cagalli snapped, turning her head. "Well, you did okay for a first-time singer. You have a very..."
Sexy as sin voice! Oh heck, I got turn on just because of a voice!
"...a very nice voice," she finished awkwardly. "Where did you get that song idea anyway?
Athrun shrugged. "Singing is sort of a...hobby for me."
"I bet you sing in the showers for practice!" she teased.
He reddened. "Shut up."
"So, how much money did the pot-belly man give you?"
"About a hundred...and he also offered me a permanent job here performing gigs," he replied wryly.
She smiled. "Wow. I guess that means we can pay for the food and still have some money to spare...You can have the extra."
"I don't need it. Here, you can keep it." He pressed the cash into her hand.
She stared at it for a moment, then smirked and put the money into her pocket. "You're right. I deserve to keep it since I just saved you from the evil clutches of those screeching banshees."
Athrun sighed, exasperated. What an impossible woman!
But now was his chance of escape. He inched away. "Well, now that that's over and done with, I guess it's time we part ways and –"
The next instant he was tied up again and towed out of the bistro with Cagalli leading the way. "You're not pulling a fast one on me, Zala. With this entire hullabaloo going on, I still don't know a thing about you. So I'm taking you someplace nice and relaxing so we can have a long, uninterrupted chat..."
Her victim sighed, feet dragging across the floor.
XXX
TBC
XXX
Note: I do not own the lyrics. They are copyrighted to Jordy...I only tone it down and mixed up the lyrics at certain places.
