Chapter 8
Finally another chapter! I have two more almost ready for posting, and I'm working on a third. I was in a strange mood for some of this chapter, the weird bits made me laugh while writing them. Very OOC, but hey, at least I thought it was funny! Please R&R, your comments are appreciated! Will try to update again sooner! Luv ya all, Amara, xx
Three weeks later…
Amara sat in the kitchen of her parents' house. Her mother, Carla was busy making her father, Jeremy's lunch. Carla was a fairly tall woman, with short blonde hair, and blue eyes. In many ways, Amara was like her mother.
"Do you want some lunch too, Amara?" Carla asked.
"No, I'm meeting Seiya for lunch in an hour, I'm ok till then." Amara replied.
"Seiya?" Carla asked. Amara nodded. "A friend?" Amara shook her head.
"He's my boyfriend." Amara said casually. Just then, her father walked in.
"Boyfriend?" Jeremy asked, and frowned. He didn't really like his little girl having boyfriends, even though she was hardly little anymore. Still, he was protective of her.
"Really? That's nice, dear." Carla said. Jeremy frowned again. Jeremy was a tall well built man, with teal eyes and light brown hair. He sat down at the table next to Amara. She looked at him, and she knew that he wasn't happy about her having another boyfriend.
"What's he like?" Carla asked.
"He's tall, with black hair, blue eyes, and he turns 22 tomorrow." She said, smiling.
"He's older than you?" Jeremy said.
"Yes, but not by much, dad. 3 years isn't a lot." She said, looking at her dad again.
"What does he do?" Carla asked.
"He's the lead singer and guitarist for the band the "Three Lights"." Amara said.
"I don't believe you, Amara." Her mother said.
"Honest! I'm not lying! I'm going out with Seiya Kou from the "Three Lights". No joke."
"Really?" Carla asked.
"Yes, really. Don't you read gossip magazines?" Amara commented. Jeremy just sat there, still unimpressed.
"Anyway, what I came here to ask is I want you to meet him sometime." Amara told them.
"Sounds good. What about next Friday?" Carla proposed. Jeremy mumbled to himself, and Amara looked at him, rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Next Friday should be fine. I'll let you know after I've spoken to Sei though." Amara told her mum.
"Nicknames, huh?" Carla teased. Amara blushed, embarrassed. "How long have you been seeing him, Amara?" She asked.
"Almost six months now." She said, kind of embarrassed that she hadn't told her parents sooner.
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Carla asked.
"I don't know… sorry…" Amara said sheepishly.
"That's ok, sweetie." Carla smiled at her daughter. Jeremy was still frowning.
"Well, I suppose I should be off to meet him now. Thanks mum, I'll let you know later on about Friday, ok?" Amara said, standing up.
"Ok then. It was nice to see you again, I wish you'd come and visit us more often." Carla told her.
"Don't worry, I will." She smiled. She hugged her mum, then her dad. "Dad, please don't be like this when Seiya comes over…" She said.
"I…I… okay darling…"
"Love you" She told her parents.
"Love you too." They both replied. Amara walked to the door, and called bye before leaving to meet Seiya.
She arrived on time to meet Seiya, who was waiting for her.
"Hi, sweetheart." He greeted her, and kissed her lips swiftly and gently. She smiled.
"Hey." She replied. The walked into the restaurant together, and over to their table.
"I spoke to my parents today," She said as she sat down.
"Oh?" He asked her. She nodded.
"They want to meet you next Friday, if you're free." She said and took a drink of water.
"They want to meet me?"
"That's what I said, didn't I?" He nodded, and rolled his eyes. She laughed at him. The waitress came over and they ordered their food and drinks.
"Is next Friday ok?" She asked.
"Next Friday's fine." He nodded.
"I'll phone my mum later to let her know." She said as their food came. They spent the rest of the meal not saying much, but looking at each other at every opportunity.
Amara sat in her room the following night, getting ready for the party for Seiya's 22nd birthday. She was a bit nervous, as his parents were going to be there, and she had never met them before. They could only make it for a while, because Seiya had told her that they were business people, and rarely managed to make time to see the three of them, and that he was lucky they could even come at all. She could tell that he wasn't very happy that they were coming, but was sure that he would probably be able to relax and have fun after they had gone. She had decided to wear a dress, to attempt to make a good impression on them. She applied the last of her makeup and got up, smoothing the front of the navy dress. She picked up his present, and headed downstairs.
Michelle, Trista and Hotaru were already there waiting for her. Trista was designated driver tonight, as they thought that Amara should be able to enjoy the party. (And that she may need a few stiff drinks after meeting Seiya's parents, from what he had said about them.)
"Ready?" Michelle asked.
"Yup." Amara answered.
"Nervous?" Trista asked.
"Definitely. What if they don't like me?" She asked.
"You'll be fine." Michelle said and rubbed Amara's shoulder. Amara smiled nervously, and headed to the car with the others. They drove in silence, because Trista's driving was rather scary at the best of times, without being distracted by conversation.
They pulled up outside the hall where Seiya's party was being held. Trista eventually reverse parked properly, after about fifteen attempts, stalling a few times and almost hitting a few expensive looking cars. Amara had offered to park the car, but Trista had declined, saying that there was nothing wrong with her parking. The girls got out of the car, and walked into the building.
As soon as Seiya spotted Amara, he came over to greet her.
"You look stunning! Thank god you're here! Thought I was going to die, I hate this!" Seiya exclaimed, while giving her a hug. Seiya's parents were rich, as his father was a very successful businessman. Naturally, this party was an excuse to get all the other rich businessmen there so they could all see how Seiya's father was more successful than them. Seiya hardly knew anyone at the party, and was bored of all the business talk. He led Amara to the bar and handed her a drink.
"Here, I think you're going to need a few of these." He told her, and got another for himself.
"I think so too." She grinned. She squeezed his hand, and scanned the room for anyone she knew. She spotted the rest of the girls and Serena's parents. Her father had been asked to take photos for his column in the paper. She also saw Yaten and Taiki at the other end of the bar; clearly looking like they'd had a few drinks already.
"Hey." Said a voice from beside them. They turned to see Darien.
"Hi." They both said, and smiled at Darien, who smiled back.
"Enjoying the party?" Seiya asked, sarcastically.
"It's…different." Darien replied.
"Very tactful!" Amara said, laughing. Seiya grinned. Darien got himself a drink, and took a refreshing swig of the liqueur.
"Happy birthday Seiya. I hope you have a good night, and are planning another, less formal party!" He said. They all laughed and chinked the glasses.
"Don't worry, there will be a better party than this! House party at mine with lots and lots of booze, then clubbing, I think!" he grinned.
"Sounds like a plan!" Darien said, hopeful. "I haven't been to a decent party for ages! Anyway, I'd better get back to Serena and the girls. I'll leave you two to it. See ya later." He said and walked over to the girls.
"Well, I suppose I'd better introduce you to the bain of my existence then." Seiya grinned.
"Ooh yay, the fun part." Amara said, and laughed.
They walked over to a crowd of important looking people.
"Wait here a sec." Seiya told here, and went towards the two people who were receiving all the attention. She watched as he said something to them, and led them towards where she was standing.
"Mum, Dad, This is my partner, Amara." He told them. She smiled, as he took her hand.
"Pleased to meet you, my name is Kotarou, and this is my wife, Miyoko." Seiya's father said.
"Nice to meet you." Amara forced as smile as she shook their hands.
"Seiya, you never told us much about this young lady." Miyoko said, with a slight frown on her face.
"Come to think of it, you don't tell us much really. I wish you would talk to us more, instead of leaving us to find things out about you from newspapers and magazines." She continued. Seiya sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Don't make that face at me, Seiya!" She said with a note of warning in her voice.
"Mum… I don't have to tell you everything about my life. Anyway, that's why I brought 'Mara to meet you." He whined. Amara grinned at this childish display between mother and son.
"So Amara, what does your family do?" Kotarou asked. Seiya rolled his eyes, it was just like his father to want to know what kind of family she came from, to make sure she was good enough for anyone in his family.
"Well, my mum's a cosmetologist, and my dad's a racer." She told them.
"Are your parents here, dear?" Miyoko asked.
"No, they're not here tonight." Amara replied.
"That's a shame, I would have quite liked to meet them." Miyoko continued.
"What kind of racing does your father do?" Kotarou continued, ignoring his wife's interruption.
"Mainly motorcycle, but he does Formula 3 car racing as well." Amara answered.
"And you?"
"I like to race too. My father taught me when I was young, much to my mother's disapproval."
"Ah, I thought I recognised you. Tenou, isn't it? I've read quite a bit about you and your father in the papers. You are both really good on the racetrack." Miyoko put in.
"Yes. I'm not that good though, the papers tend to exaggerate." Amara said modestly.
"Jeremy Tenou's daughter? Ah, I see the resemblance now. My company is one of the sponsors of the track." Kotarou told her. "I've heard quite a bit about you from the track bosses. They say that you are very talented."
"She is very good at racing." Seiya told them, smiling, and put an arm around her.
"I think racing is a more stable career than singing though, Seiya." His mother said disapprovingly. Seiya just sighed and glared at her.
"Well, I suppose we should tell everybody to take their seats for the meal." Kotarou said.
"If you would like to sit at the front table, Amara, and we'll just borrow Seiya for a moment." She nodded and took a seat. Yaten and Taiki joined her.
"So how'd it go?" Yaten asked her.
"Ok I think." She replied, and let out a long breath.
"They were smiling, which is a good sign." Taiki put in.
"They really don't like Seiya being in a band though, do they?" Amara said.
"No, they think he's just living off us. Everything he does is wrong, and then they wonder why he doesn't talk to them very often. Truth is, though, he's the one that made the band work, not us. He put in the hard work, not us. But they think he's useless, just because he was never really good in school. Don't tell him I said this, but, he's the one with the most talent, and if it weren't for him, me and Taiki would probably have desk jobs in Dads Company." Yaten told her. She smiled.
They looked up at the podium as they heard Kotarou ask for everyone's attention.
"If you would all like to take your seats at the tables, the meal will begin in a few moments. I'll hand you over to Seiya who has a few words to say to you all."
Seiya moved up to the mike, looking rather nervous.
"He's nervous!" Taiki whispered. "Give him a concert hall filled with fans and he's fine, but put him on the spot now, and he gets nervous." The three of them laughed quietly.
"Taiki, you're horrible!" Amara whispered, and elbowed him.
She smiled as all the girls sat at the table with them. Seiya had requested that they could all sit at the same table, and his parents had decided to join him and his friends at that table, instead of sitting with their associates. She noticed Michelle's parents come over and sit with her too. She had no idea that they were going to be at the party, and Michelle hadn't known either. She grinned and stuck her tongue out at her aunt and uncle, while Taiki, Yaten and the girls gave here a strange look for doing so, except Michelle who just grinned.
Seiya cleared his throat.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming this evening, it means a lot to me. I'd especially like to thank Amara for coming, you're always there for me, and that makes me love you more. "Amara blushed when she heard this, and everyone turned to look at her, making her blush even more. Seiya winked at her before continuing.
"I hope you all have a good evening, and enjoy the meal, and, more importantly, the free bar!" He laughed before getting down of the podium, and everybody clapped.
He slid into the vacant seat next to Amara, who playfully punched his shoulder.
"I can't believe you just did that to me!" She laughed, and mock pouted. He kissed her cheek, and grinned at her.
"Bastard!" she said in his ear, and they both laughed.
The rest of the meal and party went quite smoothly, and Amara felt a little more relaxed around his parents. Finally, the party ended, and the girls (and Darien) all went back to the house Seiya shared with his brothers. They all continued drinking, and got changed, ready for the rest of the party. Trista handed out fake ID to all the inners, who were all quite pissed by this stage, due to lack of drinking experience, and they all headed out to a club.
Yaten took his camera, and got lots of amusing pictures of the inners, and lots of Trista, who's really funny when she's drunk, and also lots of pictures of Amara and Seiya dancing together and kissing during the slow songs. Yaten ended up pulling Michelle, and Amara made sure she stole his camera, and got photo evidence of the two. They ended up having a great night, before they got kicked out of the club, as Amy was sick all over the dance floor. Darien took all the inners over to his house, so their parents wouldn't know that they had been clubbing and drinking, while the outers and the Three Lights headed back to Seiya's house for more drinks, and a house party. Trista ended up snogging Taiki, while Yaten took more sneaky photos. It was 5.30am before they all finally went to bed, as the neighbours had complained to the police about the loud music, and the police had came over to the house and asked them to turn it off. By that point Taiki had fell asleep on the sofa, Trista was dancing about, absolutely rip roaring drunk. Amara was sat on an armchair with Seiya, the pair of them laughing hysterically about something that probably isn't funny when you're sober, and Michelle was drinking neat vodka from a bottle with Hotaru, leaving Yaten to deal with the police. All in all, the party had been a success.
Friday.
Amara picked Seiya up at his house. She could tell he was nervous instantly. She squeezed his hand as they walked to her car.
"It'll be fine, Seiya." She told him. "Mum will like you. My dad will act like he hates you to try and scare you, but ignore that, because he does that to any guy I ever take home, even friends. He'll get over it."
"That really makes me feel better." Seiya said sarcastically.
"Hey! At least I'm giving you an advance warning here!" She smiled, and got into the car.
"True. Thanks." Seiya got into the car too.
"He just worries about me, that's all." She said. She started the car, and drove to her parents' house. She parked her car in the usual spot in the driveway. They both got out of the car, and Amara locked it before taking Seiya's hand. She kissed his cheek gently, and they walked up to the front door.
The door was opened by Charlotte, who ushered them in to the living room, Amara still holding Seiya's hand. Amara's dad noticed this as soon as they walked in, but didn't say anything.
"So, this is the young man you've been telling us about, Amara." Charlotte said.
"Yes. This is Seiya. Sei, this is my mum, Charlotte, and my dad, Jeremy." Amara introduced them.
"Nice to meet you." Seiya said, still obviously nervous.
"Nice to meet you." Jeremy said, and shook Seiya's hand. It was obvious that he wasn't happy that his daughter had a boyfriend, and had brought him home.
"Nice to finally meet you too. We've heard a lot about you." Charlotte said, smiling. "All good though, don't worry!" She continued. Seiya smiled.
"That's good to know." Seiya said, and smiled.
"Want something to drink?" Amara asked.
"Coffee please, 'Mara." Jeremy said.
"Seiya? Mum?"
"Coffee please." He smiled at her.
"No thanks, sweetie." Charlotte shook her head. Amara made her way into the kitchen, knowing she'd be best to make the drinks, because Charlotte's coffee tasted like dish water. She knew that firsthand. She set about making the coffee, and got some orange juice for herself. She didn't notice that Charlotte had followed her into the kitchen.
"He seems nice, Amara." Charlotte said, making Amara jump.
"Mum, don't leave him in there alone with dad!" Amara exclaimed.
"They'll be fine, sweetie." Charlotte retorted.
"No they won't, you know what dad's like with boys I bring home!"
"Your father approves of Seiya. I'm sure of it. He won't say it yet, but I know that he does, sweetie." Charlotte told her daughter smiling.
"If you're sure…" Amara said, and picked up the drinks, and carried them through to the living room where Seiya and Jeremy were sat. She gave Seiya his coffee, and then her father his, before sitting down next to her boyfriend.
Jeremy noticed that Seiya received his drink before he did, and scowled slightly. Charlotte sat down in the vacant chair. Amara drank some of her orange juice.
"So, do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself?" Charlotte asked Seiya.
"Well…I turned 22 last week, I live with my two older brothers at the moment, and I'm a singer and guitarist in me and my brothers' band." He said, still nervous. It amazed Amara that he didn't seem nervous before a concert, yet was nervous in front of her parents. She smiled a little at this.
She noticed her dad still looking rather displeased, and called him to the kitchen for a word with him in private. She sat on the kitchen counter.
"Dad, can you please stop it." She said through gritted teeth, glaring at him.
"Stop what? And how many times have we told you not to sit up there." Amara rolled her eyes at this.
"Can't you ever accept any of my boyfriends?" She asked.
"Well, the last two didn't treat you very well, and how do I know that he's not the same?" Jeremy asked.
"Exactly my point. How do you know that he's the same if you don't get to know him? Trust me, he's different. He's also nervous enough about meeting you for the first time without you acting up and making things worse and harder for him." She glared at him again. "Don't you trust my choice?"
Jeremy looked at the floor.
"Well?" Amara demanded.
"Of course I do! I just don't want you to be hurt. You never seem to understand that we want the best for you…"
"I know you do, but I need to make my own decisions. Honestly, what do you think of him?" She asked.
"He seems like a nice boy…" Jeremy answered. "Are you really serious about him, Amara?"
"I am. I really love him, Dad."
"Well, I really hope that he is as different from the others as you say he is then. I suppose I could get used to him." Jeremy told her.
"Thanks dad." She hugged him. "No matter what happens, you won't lose me."
"Good…" He replied, still hugging her. "It's a shame that my little girl has to grow up though…" He let go of her.
"Well, shit happens." She said and laughed.
"Hey, language!" He scolded her, but then laughed with her. They walked back into the living room, and sat down in their respective places. Jeremy picked up his coffee, and went to take a sip of it.
"My coffee's cold now, thank you Amara." She rolled her eyes. Charlotte excused herself to finish the dinner and make Jeremy another coffee. Amara smirked.
"What are you grinning at?" Jeremy asked her.
"Mum's going to make you more coffee!" she said. "Or should I say dish water?" She laughed.
"I'm going to die…" Jeremy laughed.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Seiya asked.
"It can, and it is." Amara said. "Her coffee is disgusting; I have no idea what she does to it." They laughed about Charlotte's coffee making skills for a while longer.
"Seiya, I'm sorry about before, acting the way I did." Jeremy apologised.
"It's ok," Seiya said. "If I had a daughter, and was meeting her boyfriend for the first time, I think I'd be the same." Seiya visibly relaxed now.
They continued talking and laughing through dinner, up until Amara and Seiya decided that it was time to leave. As they were getting ready to leave, Jeremy pulled Seiya aside.
"Take care of Amara for me please." He said.
"I will, don't worry." Seiya promised.
"Thank you." They both smiled and shook hands again.
After exchanging farewells, Amara and Seiya left in Seiya's car.
"Amara told you off, didn't she?" Charlotte asked, and Jeremy nodded. They were watching Amara and Seiya leave from the window.
"She was right though. I think he's good enough for her." Jeremy said.
"Good, so do I." Charlotte replied, and smiled at her husband. She watched Amara and Seiya holding hands, cuddling, and sharing a quick kiss. "Do you remember when we were like that?" She asked. Jeremy just nodded.
Amara and Seiya arrived back at Seiya's house. They went inside together, and sat down on the sofa. Amara leaned her head on Seiya's shoulder, and sighed happily.
"That went better than I expected it to." Seiya said.
"I knew they'd like you." She informed him.
"So you said before." He teased.
"I know. I'm glad I was right though." She smiled.
"Me too." He said before kissing her. They stayed on the sofa for a while, before deciding it was time to go to bed. They slept happily in each others arms.
So, what did you think? Longest chapter I've written in a while, sorry about the weird OOC bit! Comments appreciated, Loads love, Amara xx