Before Hitomi really knew what was happening, she and Millerna were on their way to the mall.
Hitomi had asked her friend why they were going to the mall (especially since Hitomi had not been feeling the best the past week) and Millerna had simply said, "Nothing better to clear your thoughts than window shopping."
Hitomi had merely shaken her head and gotten into her friend's Rolls Royce. Before no time, they were in front of the town mall and cruising down the walkway, Millerna commenting on the cute guys that walked past and Hitomi blushing when the boys would wistle back.
"Could you try to be a bit more modest?" Hitomi pleaded for probably the millionth time.
"Why? If you're beautiful, why not let everyone know?"
Hitomi stopped walking and sat down on the nearest bench. "Because if you're not beautiful, you don't want people to notice you." She explained in something close to a whisper.
"Hitomi? What do you mean?" Millerna sat next to her friend and tried to look her in the eyes, but her friend's head was lowered too far.
"You know, Millerna. I'm not pretty. You're the gorgeous one of the two of us and I'm just," she sighed in desperation, "ordinary."
Millerna took Hitomi's hands and forced her to look the blonde girl straight in the eyes. "Don't you get it Hitomi? You are beautiful. You're just as beautiful as me, maybe more. You just don't see it." She kissed her friend's cheek and wiped away the single tear that'd fallen down.
"How, Millerna? Amano doesn't want me. He's just being nice. Van's being nice too. Neither of them want me. No body wants me."
Millerna narrowed her eyes and slapped her friend across the face, hard enough to make her head snap to the side. "Don't you dare say that, Hitomi. You have to be totally clueless to see that Van likes you. Amano, well, I don't know so much about Amano, but I know Van is heads over heels for you. Why can't you see it?"
Hitomi was barely able to absorb her friend's words because of the shock from the slap. She'd never really been slapped before. Not that hard anyway.
"No. Not Van." She shook her head back and forth, faster and faster each time she said no. "No, he doesn't care. He's just being nice. No."
Millerna rolled her eyes and lifted her friend to her feet by her shoulders. She draped an arm around her arms and lead her back to the car, making a quick call to her butler to let him know they were coming.
Back at Hitomi's house, Millerna lead her into the girl's kitchen and sat her down on a stool.
"Want some tea?" She asked, moving around Hitomi's kitchen with ease.
"No." Hitomi whispered and laid her head on the counter. "Some ice maybe. My face still hurts."
Millerna winced and got some ice from the freezer. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to wake you up." She wrapped the ice in a wash rag and handed it to Hitomi. The brown haired girl laid her cheek on the ice pack and let the coldness seep into her skin and chill the stinging in her face.
"Sure you don't want some tea? Cocoa maybe?" Millerna offered again.
"No I'm sure. I just wanna rest." Hitomi yawned and laid her forehead on the ice.
"Suit yourself." Millerna said and pulled out a glass and poured some milk.
"Hey, Millerna?" Hitomi looked up with tired eyes.
"Yeah, Hitomi?"
"Could you call Yukari and Van over? I wanna talk to them."
Millerna's eyes widened a bit at the mention of Van, but she nodded nonetheless.
While Millerna was gone, Hitomi thought over what her friend had said in the mall. Did Van like her? I guess I was too absorbed into Amano to notice. How would she act around him now? Probably ditzy. She had a habit for doing that around the guys she liked. But did she like him? The more she thought it through, the more she realized, he was just a friend. Sure, he was cute, but she couldn't picture them together.
Millerna walked in a minute later, Van trailing behind, with an explination that Yukari was on her way.
"Thank you, Millerna." A rather sleepy Hitomi whispered and she looked up at Van who's mahogany eyes were filled with concern and worry.
"Uh, Millerna? Can Van and I have a moment a lone?"
Millerna nodded and walked out of the room, pink sundress and all.
Hitomi pat the seat next to her and rotated her neck to crack the stiffness away. "Van, what happened while I was asleep? You're the only one I trust." She reached out and touched his hands, making him blush.
He swallowed hard enough that Hitomi almost winced, and mumbled a few random words before clearing his throat once and starting over. So he does like me.
"Well, you hit your head at the party, bad enough that we took you to the hospital when you didn't wake up after a few hours." Hitomi's eyes widened with shock.
"Wait. What? After a few hours you took me to the hospital? What if I had gone into a coma?" Her voice and anger grew with each word. Van reached out and put a finger to her lips, silencing her.
"We had to clear everyone out first. Plus, most of us were too drunk to even notice you were out. I mean, I managed, along with Amano, to get you on the couch and try to wake you up, but when nothing happened, and your breathing was shallow, I drove you to the hospital, Amano trying to wake you up in the back." He lowered his hand, staring at his fingers as he set them on her hands.
"S-So, you managed to get me to the hospital. T-Then what?" She shook her head once to get over the blush creeping up her neck.
"When we got to the hospital, they put you in a private room, hooked you up to an IV and gave you some medication to try to wake you up, and all we could do was wait." He looked down and whispered something.
"What?" He mumbled a little louder. "Van, I can't understand you."
He looked her straight in the eyes and said, "and they had to stitch up the back of your head." Hitomi's eyes widened and her hand flew to the back of her head.
"Well that would explain my migraines." She whispered aloud.
"Yeah, you woke up a couple times during the week, enough to cry out in pain, and my brother, Folken, gave you some anesthetics to soothe the pain and you'd go back to sleep."
Hitomi lowered her hand and set it back on the table. She lowered her eyes and started twiddling her thumbs. "So that's it, huh?"
"Uh, Hitomi….there's something I've wanted to tell you, but…" Hitomi looked up at him and found those rubies looking back at her.
"Wanted to tell me, what, Van?" She urged him on, leaning slightly.
"I…wanted…to tell you…" he leaned more as well.
"Yes, Van?" They were close enough to rub noses with a breath.
"I…" but he was cut off by Yukari walking into the kitchen with a box of chocolates.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry." She turned to leave. "I'll go now."
Hitomi and Van sighed in unison. "No, it's ok, Yukari. Come in." Hitomi leaned back in her chair and scratched her hand while Van stood up to offer Yukari his seat. Yukari sat down and winked at Hitomi.
"How long were you standing there?" Hitomi hissed.
"Somewhere around him wanting to tell you something." She teased and slid her the roses.
Hitomi stared at the red flowers and raised an eyebrow to Yukari. "What're those for?"
"When Millerna called me, it sounded like you were depressed, so I brought you some roses." Yukari explained.
"Jee, thanks. You shouldn't have."
"Wow, Hitomi. You've almost mastered sarcasm." Yukari joked.
"Yeah, what ever." Hitomi growled.
"So whatchya need us for?" Van asked, leaning on the fridge. Hitomi had to look down from him because some very hormonal feelings crept into her mind when she looked him over.
"She just wants us here for support." Yukari exclaimed, grabbing Hitomi's shoulders and shaking the brunette roughly.
"More along the lines of bunk buddies." Hitomi added. "I want you guys to be here when my folks get home." She stole a glance at Van. "Though, I don't think they'd approve of Van being here, the rest of the mess would be explained if you two were over." She finished.
Van cleared his throat nervously and Hitomi saw he was blushing through his golden tan. She smiled and said, "You can sleep on the couch if you want, Van." He sighed, relieved and sat in front of the two girls, grinning.
"Shall we set up for camp?" Yukari asked.
"Let's do it." Van confirmed and followed Hitomi and Yukari into the living room to get out the sleeping bags.