Hmm… sorry for the late update… my mum took away my laptop and naturally, I couldn't write coz half the chapter was already in it. I AM SO SORRY! Okay… there are some suprises in this chappie… hope you like it! So what are you waiting for? Read on! Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!
Chapter 10- Double Date
It was a boring Monday afternoon. Cagalli was in the lecture hall, giving a lesson on medicinal plants to first-year students. She hated lecturing and making these poor teenagers in front of her really bored. What she loved about being a lecturer was the satisfaction of passing on knowledge. She loved it when her students do well in their tests and exams. She loved it when they ask questions. She loved it when they were listening attentively to her speech. But because botany isn't as interesting as literature or geography or history, these students do tend to get bored really easily.
She had been up on her feet, pressing the 'enter' button to go to the next slide and talking and talking and talking for about an hour already. There was no break. But the end of the lecture was in half an hour. Yay.
At least she had something to look forward to later on. Athrun and Kira had planned something for her and Lacus later. There was a carnival nearby that had just opened. Maybe the boys wanted to bring them there.
Her thoughts drifted to Athrun. His emerald eyes, his 'gentleman-ness'. His 'Athrun Zala' charm. Maybe, just maybe, she was caught in it. Maybe, somehow his signature charm had gotten a hold of her. Maybe, just maybe, she liked him, like how she enjoyed her time with her during that dance.
"Miss Attha?"
"Huh?" Cagalli looked up. One of her students had called her. "Yes?"
"Um… can you go back to the last slide? Because you skipped it, miss. As in, you didn't give an explanation to it."
"Uh? I didn't ?" Cagalli pushed back her fringe and stared at her laptop. "Oh… right. Hmm… let me see…" She totally forgot where she had stopped. She pressed the 'backspace' key to go back to the last slide. "Right. Umm… the basil herb… okay. Uh…" Cagalli didn't know what to say. It was like, all those days studying about botany all went down the drain.
She scratched her head and sighed. I need to retire. All this crappy stuff about plants is driving me mad. I guess its time for the backup plan. "Well… the basil herb. Anyone care to volunteer to tell me what it is?"
"It's a plant, Miss," She emphasized on the word 'plant' a lot, as though she was telling Cagalli not to be a jerk and start using her head.
It was Yuka. Yuka Li. She had some sort of grudge against Cagalli. And she loved to flirt around with guys a million years older than she ever was.
But Cagalli was smart. "Yes, Miss Li. I'm glad that you are able to state the obvious characteristics of the basil herb. That's why you go to school, not to learn the obvious, but to learn in depth of the subject you wish to study. Or do you have another reason to why you attend school?" Cagalli smiled at her. A smile that said, "Spill it out, bitch".
Yuka smiled at Cagalli, and took out her notepad and started scribbling whatever that was on the slides. Cagalli, with renewed confidence, continued crapping about the basil herb until….
RIIIIIIING. The long-awaited end of the lecture came. "Woohooo!" Cagalli punched her fist in the air. "Okay, all of you do your homework by the next lecture!" She grabbed her laptop and ran out.
"Whoa. What is up with her?" Gwen Camp (A/N: Fran Camp, remember her? Gwen's her sis), Yuka's best friend, scratched her head as Cagalli ran out of the open doors to a blue haired man outside the hall.
That man looks familiar… like what sis described Miss Attha's date at her graduation.
"Hey Athrun," Cagalli smiled as she got out of the hall. Athrun took her laptop from her. "Thanks,"
"You welcome," Athrun eyed the 19-year-olds who were leaving the hall. "That's a hell lotta students to teach,"
"Yup. But I can manage," Cagalli went to a nearby vending machine and got herself and Athrun a coke each. "I thought you had work today?" She asked as she handed the can to her.
"Yah but, there was one bloody meeting in the morning and guess what?" Athrun opened the can and drank deeply.
"What?"
"They made me chairman of ZAFT,"
Cagalli nearly spat her coke out. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Athrun laughed. "Honestly, I have no idea. They made me Chairman just because it was in my dad's will. He wanted me to be Chairman of ZAFT as soon as I am older than 21,"
Cagalli was still confused. "Are you happy or sad?"
The question seemed to stump him. " Half happy, half sad. Really, it depends."
"Fine. The Orb council still wants me to be Head Representative and maybe go up to be Chairman or something. But I said no."
"Why?" Athrun threw away the coke and got into his car. Cagalli got into the passenger seat.
It's because I don't want to be your rival if there ever comes a war. Cagalli smiled at the thought, but out loud she said. "The lecture hall is my home."
Athrun laughed as he turned on the engine. "I take it that you love being in a hall full of post-pubescent teenagers half-sleeping during your lectures on… what do you teach again?"
"Botany," Cagalli muttered. "I can't believe you forgot that minor detail."
"Sorry. It was too minor, that's why I forgot it," Cagalli glared at him, but he just laughed, although he couldn't see the warning glare, his eyes being on the road all the time.
About ten minutes later the two were at Cagalli's apartment. As Cagalli changed Athrun raided her fridge, seeing a bit of cold pizza, he heated it up and ate it. Needless to say, Cagalli took a long time, so the dude decided to watch some good old TV.
A book caught his eye. It was lying on the side table. Boyfriends and Best Friends. Apparently it was Cagalli's favourite book as:
The book was covered nicely with a plastic cover.
There was a cute bookmark stuck out from the middle.
It was from herself to herself (a note was proof of this).
The note was simple. It just said. To: The Princess of Orb, From: Cagalli Yula Attha. Happy Birthday to myself! LOL. Boyfriends and Best Friends… what's the difference? Like dad used to say, "Sometimes it's good to wait for answers to come to you instead of finding them." Oh well. I'm waiting. Meanwhile… I shall READ!
Athrun turned the back cover and read.
Rene and Jon were friends since the age of 8. Whenever something went wrong, Rene would always go to Jon for comfort and vice versa. For 12 years, their so called 'Best friendship' never faded or died. What happens when Jon sees Rene in a whole different light that he had never seen before? All unexpected happens from the day Rene's brother dies in an aeroplane crash, and Rene runs to Jon for comfort, just like any other time…
"Cagalli reads this kinda stuff?" He wondered aloud, and flipped to the page that was marked with a cute bookmark. The contents on the page were basically a poem that Jon had written to Rene but didn't dare to give it to her.
Without you, it would be like Christmas without presents.
Without you, it would be a Snickers bar without the nuts.
Without you is like a house without bricks.
Without you is like a car without gas.
Without you, money would be of no use.
And diamonds treated like crap.
Without you, winter would be without a jacket.
And summer with a coat.
Sea without the fish.
And beaches without the sand.
Life would be different,
Without you.
"Athrun, what do you think?" Cagalli twirled in a red tank top and a short black skirt, a big smile plastered on her face as her hair was blown by the wind from the open window.
Athrun looked up from the book. "Uhm… I didn't know you had skirts in your closet. But you look good in it. Really good," Athrun nodded and closed the book. "You wanna go now?"
Cagalli's grin widened to a size of that of a monkey. "Okay! You drive!" She pulled Athrun's hand and ran out of the house.
About half an hour later they met Kira and Lacus at (surprise, surprise) the carnival. Lacus looked exceptionally happy, being freed from her 2 months of jail term, which was reduced to about a week due to a bail. She was dressed in a pink dress that was the same shade of pink as her hair, which was in a messy plait and clutching on Kira's hand as though it was her life.
"Hey, Cagalli!" Kira waved with his free hand.
Cagalli pulled Athrun's hand towards the pair. "Hey, lil' bro! Hey Lacus!" Lacus waved madly at the two. Athrun smiled at her, but his face showed no sign of sadness at all. They ran over them.
So the two couples faced each other, silent as they didn't know what to say to each other. Kira scratched his head, not knowing what to say. Lacus twiddled with her thumbs, Athrun looked away at the cotton candy stall nearby and Cagalli stared intently at the roller coaster.
"Let's go on that!" The blonde screamed suddenly, grabbing Athrun's hand in her right hand and Kira's hand in the other. Kira grabbed Lacus' hand the foursome went towards the roller coaster. "I wanna ride that!" Cagalli hollered, and joined the queue of people lining up to take the ride. Noticing Kira's look of terror written all over his face, she sighed and decided to tease him a bit.
"Scared, baby brother?" She smirked.
"What? NO! You think I am scared of… that?" He turned to the roller coaster, and the bunch of cars that was on it, going faster and faster after every plunge, all its passengers screaming and waving their hands up in the air. The suspensions holding on certain hump wobbled dangerously as the cars ran over it, the people screaming louder than ever before. Cagalli's eyes lit up in awe. Kira swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't think so, Cagalli. I mean, the suspensions are not too good, aren't they?" Athrun snickered behind them. "Shut up, Athrun,"
"Playing mother hen, Kira?" Athrun poked Kira in the ribs. "Or are you seriously worried that that thing can break?" Cagalli gave a loud 'HAH!' as Lacus also backed out, her lips pursed to a thin smile.
"Why don't you and Cagalli go on the ride together? Kira and I will just stay here, and watch you guys have some fun, right, Kira?" Lacus nudged Kira, laughing as he asked her why and denied the fact that he was scared. But it was too late. The next ride was up and that was Cagalli and Athrun's. The twosome went on the same car. Cagalli gave a peace sign before they went off at top speed.
"What was that for?" Kira glared at her. Lacus just pulled him closer to her, smiling and waving at Athrun and Cagalli.
"I just want Athrun to get over me and go with someone else," Lacus giggled and took out a pair of binoculars.
"Yah. But by going out with my sister?" Kira wondered why Lacus was laughing. He grabbed her binoculars and gasped as a cry rang through the air.
"AAATHRUUUN!"
Cagalli and Athrun POV
Cagalli waved merrily at Lacus and Kira as she pulled Athrun right to the frontmost car. Pushing the protective gear down, she gave a thumbs up to Athrun. "Ready? I heard this roller coaster was the BEST!"
Athrun nodded. "I heard the same. Dearka nearly fainted when he took this with Miriallia. So…" He took Cagalli's hand and held it tightly., smiling at the bewildred blonde as he did so. Cagalli didn't flinch or let go. She held his hand back and nodded. Then the roller coaster took off.
So up it went, up one really, really high slope. "This… this is what you call SCARY!" Cagalli laughed at the blue haired coordinator, who shook his head and pointed in front of them. A slope. Nearly vertical.
"No. NO way," Cagalli shook her head as the car plunged down in great speed.
"AAATHRUUUN!" A cry rang through the carnival.
Kira was laughing madly at the state of his sister, who was shivering from head to toe and clutching Athrun as though it was for dear life as they got off the roller coaster. Apparently, after that plunge, Cagalli was too shock to say anything, not even scream. She just sat there, eyes closed, hugging Athrun's arm as she the car rose and fell and looped and goodness knows what next. Athrun was a bit worried, so he hugged her back.
"Cags, are you okay?" Kira stopped laughing after Athrun and Lacus gave him a stern look. Athrun sat her down on a bench but she still didn't let go of his arm, so he sat down next to her.
Kira snickered and took a few steps back. "You two look like a really cute couple," He commented. Athrun glared at him and pulled Cagalli a little closer. "You really love her, don't you?"
The green eyed guy raised his eyebrows. "She had a shock. Leave her alone,"
Lacus pulled Kira's arm. "I'll go get some hot dogs. Coming, Kira?"
"Uh? Oh. Okay," He gave a thumbs up to Athrun before Lacus dragged him away.
"Cagalli… are you okay?" Athrun ran his fingers through her messy hair so that it lay flat. Cagalli nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine now. Thanks," She looked up at him, and he smiled. "I guess I was playing the fool,"
"It's okay. At least you learned something!"
"Huh? Learned what?" She shot him a what-the-hell-are-you-taking-about look.
Athrun snickered. "That you shouldn't ride a roller coaster without ME!"
Cagalli's eyes widened. "WHY YOU!"
"Hey, you got me really worried there. I mean, how many people sit on a roller coaster grasping their boyfriend's hand and closing their eyes-"
Cagalli held up a hand to stop him. "Grasping their –what– hand?"
Athrun turned a deep shade of maroon. "Uhm… I uhm… uh… best friend's hand, Cags… uhm, yeah,"
She raised an eyebrow. "Right. But I was so scared! How can I possibly scream! I was so scared I was praying,"
Athrun looked into her golden orbs and smiled. "We're on stable ground now, it's okay," He hugged her again, and this time she hugged him back.
So there they sat, enjoying each other's embrace until…
CLICK!
Athrun and Cagalli broke apart immediately , and saw Miriallia standing in front of them.
"Milly!"
"Nice pic I've got here!" She said with a smile at the shocked pair. She handed them the polariod. "Keep it for memories!"
"Milly! Why were you…?" Cagalli began.
Miriallia blushed. "Well, it's my hobby! By the way… did you see Dearka?"
They shook their heads, and Milly sighed and stalked off to find him.
"She is weird…" Athrun whispered as Cagalli kept on staring at the polariod.
"HOT DOGS!" Kira cried as Lacus sat down next to Cagalli. She hnded them a hot dog each.
"Thanks, Lacus!" Cagalli smiled and took a big bite.
Kira caught sight of the Polaroid sticking out of Cagalli's pocket. He grabbed it and nearly chocked. "OH MY GOD! You-" He pointed at Athrun. "hugged her! WOW!" He sat down next to Athrun. "Well done, mate,"
"SHUT UP!"
"Who took this, man?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
"Was it Milly?" Cagalli grabbed the polaroid and stuffed it in her pocket.
"Leave it ALONE, Kira," She shot her brother and angry stare.
When the foursome had finished their hot dogs, they decided to go for ride together. Lacus pointed at one nearby. "'The Sea of Love', how about that?" She smiled at Cagalli. "It's not fast…"
"Hmm… I guess," Cagalli smiled, and pulled Athrun's hand towards the entrance of the ride. The ride was made of swans which you were supposed o sit in, and travel through a real aquarium, namely, 'The Sea of Love'.
"Here you go!" The guy at the controls opened the door to one of the swans. Cagalli and Athrun step inside and they were off. Lacus and Kira went into the swan behind them and sooner or later they where whizzing amongst the fish.
Nothing much happened later. They took more rides, until all of them were famished. And yet, the real excitement has yet to come.
In the evening, the four decided to go for a fancy dinner, at the poshest, most expensive restaurant, Exoticka. The guys were paying, of course.
"Table for four," Athrun told the waiter.
"Why of course," He took four menus. "Come with me,"
He led them outside the restaurant, a beautiful garden filled with roses and even a fountain. Cagalli gasped. It was so beautiful. Dining al fresco, under the stars. The waiter waved a hand at a table nearest to the fountain. "I'll come back in a while to take your orders,"
The guys pulled out chairs for the girls and they sat down, each holding a menu. It was brown in colour and had a golden border. The dishes were all in either French, German, or Italian.
"My god. I don't understand whatever is on the bloody menu!" Cagalli flipped the menu upside down and realised that there was an English translation under each other-language dish. The Athrun and Lacus laughed while Kira was busy shuffling his feet under his chair. They wondered what was wrong with him but decided to leave it alone. At long last he put down the menu and put on a fake smile, the fakest smile in the whole, entire world.
The waiter came back, this time with a PDA in his hand.
"Uhm… I think I'll have the beef lasagne," He muttered. "And a summer cocktail,"
"I'll have a baguette vegetarian special, and a coke lime," Cagalli smiled and closed her menu.
"I'm sorry mademoiselle, but we do not have any coke, would you like a cocktail instead?" The waiter pointed at the wide selection of cocktails.
"Uh… okay then. In that case I'll have uh… sky juice," She smiled. The waiter raised and eyebrow and jotted down the order.
"I'll take ze pasta a la magnificent," Lacus spoke with flawless accent, as Cagalli tried to stifle her laughter. "And sky juice as well, but make mine warm, okay?"
The waiter smiled. "Very well, madam," He turned to Athrun, who was still deciding. "How about you, sir?"
"Me? Oh… I'll have the Italian seafood fettucini… and a chunky monkey… yeah," He handed the waiter the menu. The waiter was confused. Chunky monkey was a chocolate-and-banana milkshake made for kids, not grown men. But waiters weren't allowed to budge into the customer's orders. He bowed and left.
"Kira, what the hell is wrong with you?" Cagalli asked, confused.
Kira shook his head. Now or never, Kira, she ain't gonna go to you… you've gotta go to her. He took a deep breath and dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small, white velvet case.
"I knew it! Gogogogo, baby brother!" Cagalli whispered. Athrun laughed and Lacus, confused, was staring at the box wondering what the hell it was, for she had no idea.
Kira, still sitting down, not bending on one knee or whatever, gently took Lacus' hand and opened the white box, revealing a shiny diamond ring. He took it and carefully slipped it on Lacus' finger. He looked straight into her eyes, and took a deep breath. Just grit your teeth and do it, Kira, come on!
"Lacuswillyoumarryme?" The words came out so fast that none of them could catch what he said. Lacus giggled, and examined the ring on her finger.
"Pardon?" She smiled at him, urging him to try again.
Kira took his third deep breath and said slowly. "Lacus, will… will you…uhm… uh… marry me?"
Let's take a moment to guess Lacus' reaction. If you think she cried and said, "Of course, Kira! I will marry you in sickness and in health and even death won't do us part!", then you are wrong because what she really said was:
Lacus punched her fist in the air and hollered. "WOOHOO! I THOUGHT HE WAS NEVER GOING TO ASK ME! Miriallia, you owe me ten bucks!" She hugged Kira, and kissed him in her excitement. "Of course I'll marry you, you big oaf!" She let him go, and looked at him. "So… when are we gonna get married?"
Cagalli threw her head back and laughed. "Whoa. That was romantic," She paused, and her expression changed. "Lacus! I wanna be your bridesmaid!" Athrun raised an eyebrow, and laughed along.
So that day was, but Kira's best day of his life. He got his girl, which he thought he wouldn't have due to his best friend. But now, he proposed to her. He actually proposed! And their wedding was in two months. And as their food came, he thought, of what life would come after marriage, kids, maybe? A house full of crazy little Lacus and Kira look-alikes running around, or maybe a happy, peaceful anti-child life? Only time will tell, but the decisions he makes will interfere.
Oh… I love this chapter. Hope you do too. I couldn't help but add the last bit in. Haha! The next chapter will be all about a double wedding! Kira and Lacus, yes, but who are the other couple? Find out in... Chapter 11: Double wedding. Please please please R&R!
i.inspire
xoxoxo