Notice about updating and the Next Chapter at the End.
I won't ramble on too much for now, since I'm sure a lot of people just want to get on with the chapter. So here you go:
The night waned on, until the sun rose the next morning. Somewhere in the corner of a darkened room, was a huddle of messy blankets curled up into a cozy ball, dozing off on a bed. And if you unraveled the layers of blanket for long enough, believe it or not, you'd find an innocent looking young woman with a tangled head of blonde hair, sleeping her blasted head off.
Or at least, that's what Athrun found when he woke up the next morning. At first he had completely forgotten why on earth he was IN Kira's apartment, and freaked out after waking up to the sight of a very unfamiliar ceiling. Gradually reviving his memory, he dragged himself off the couch and silently entered Cagalli's room
8:30 am... They had rehearsal in about an hour and a half. Deliberating whether or not to wake her but, he decided to let her rest for a few more minutes, at least until he made some breakfast. Of course, the smells and sounds of food on the stove ended up luring her into the kitchen anyways...
Turning at the sound of slippers padding softly across the kitchen tiles, Athrun turned around a smiled lightly. "Morning, sleepy."
"It's morning?" She mumbled, squinting in the light, her hands trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Well this isn't a midnight snack." He chuckled, strolling over and handing her a plate with some scrambled eggs on it. "Sleep well?"
"Like I would never wake again…" She sighed contentedly.
"Then why did you?" he asked, putting down the spatula in his hand and taking a seat across her on the table.
"My stomach disagreed." Cagalli said matter-of-factly, stabbing at a particularly large and fluffy piece of egg and popping it into her mouth. Athrun smiled and followed suit… with a smaller piece of egg, still caught in his thoughts.
As far as Athrun assumed, Cagalli has just wanted to get the matters of last night off her chest. In terms of whether or not it would be an issue that he would help her with... well he hadn't quite decided yet. If he intervened, chances were that she would get mad at him. If he didn't... well then he'd be mad at himself. For the moment, his self-hate was probably easier to take then full blown Cagalli rage... So he could hold himself back from doing anything... For now.
Suddenly Cagalli stood up, walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of ketchup. Athrun raised an eyebrow.
"Ketchup?"
"Yeah I always eat eggs with ketchup." She shrugged, the bottle poised to wallop and generous amount of the stuff. Athrun reached out and pulled the plate back hurriedly.
"You… You've got to be kidding me. I'm not eating eggs with ketchup!" He frowned, taking another bite. "Why can't you just eat it the way it is? All it needs is a bit of salt and pepper."
"It tastes better this way. Really." Cagalli insisted, hands on her hips with the ketchup bottle resting impatiently on her right hand. Reaching out for the plate, she tried it again. Again, Athrun withdrew the plate from her reach. Cagalli glared.
"Fine, here. " He gave in, dividing the remaining eggs with his fork. "This half is yours. This is mine. Do whatever you want with yours."
Satisfied, Cagalli squeezed a decent amount on the side, sat down, and continued eating. She looked up.
"Sure you don't want to try?"
"Positive."
"…You're stubborn."
"As are you."
Suddenly Athrun jumped back as a ketchup covered piece of egg was thrust in front of his face, waiting patiently on the prongs of a fork to be consumed.
"Just try it."
"No thanks."
Cagalli sat there, glaring at him fiercely. She could try to physically FORCE the food into his mouth, but then he might choke. Also… that involved physical contact with his lips. Suddenly she lost concentration, and started pouting a bit.
Meanwhile, Athrun was staring at the amusingly intense young woman in front of him, who was trying to look serious, yet seemed to childlike at the same time. Suddenly bursting into laughter, he almost fell out of his chair as the fork was pushed into his mouth as soon as it moved open the slightest bit.
"Well?"
"…Pretty good."
They drove to the theatre for rehearsal. As soon as they arrived, Cagalli hopped out of Athrun's car energetically. Athrun smiled, watching her bound towards the auditorium. Just one decent night of sleep and she seemed like the old Cagalli.
"Megan, my love!" A familiar voice sudden called out. Athrun stopped dead in his tracks. My... love?
Cagalli turned to her right and laughed. "Ian, my darling!" She responded. Athrun was absolutely paralyzed as he watched Derek jog up to Cagalli and hug her fondly, Cagalli showing no signs of resistance. As they broke free, Derek turned to Athrun.
"What do you think, man? Is it believable?" He grinned. Athrun blinked.
"Yeah... totally." he stammered, still mildly confused.
"It's our classic greeting now." Cagalli explained. "It helps us get in character before we rehearse... Well not really since this is completely out of character. But it's a fun way to say hi, huh?" She laughed.
Athrun smiled weakly, checking to make sure his heart had started beating again. "It's interesting all right. But I've never seen you guys do that before..."
"That's because as soon as you get here you start practicing with Meer, and you always come a little after me, so you miss it." Cagalli shrugged, trying not to put too much emphasis on Meer's name.
"But that's the end of that. Today, we start rehearsing all together. And guys, I want HONEST evaluations on how much we suck." Derek said in mock-serious tone. Just then another voice joined the conversation, from within the auditorium.
"I'm sure that you'll be great. All of you." Lacus encouraged, leaning on the doorframe. "So get in here so we can get started. The sooner you guys get in here, the sooner we can finish."
The three of there obediently began to walk in, when suddenly Athrun felt something tap his arm. Looking down, he smiled a bit, just missing Cagalli's slight change of expression, as her smile narrowed a bit and her gaze dropped to the floor.
"Hi Meer. How's it going?"
"Pretty good." She beamed. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, after rehearsal though. I want to get out of here early." Athrun laughed, walking forward and taking his place on stage.
"Ready?" Lacus checked, as everyone took their appropriate places.
"Let's get started."
(Quick refresher: MeganCagalli. AaronAthrun. AnnaLacus. ShiriMeer. IanDerek)
Megan stormed furiously out of Anna's office, as Anna rushed helplessly after her.
"I can't believe this!" Megan cried disgustedly. "He's getting married ALREADY! To-to HER!"
"I... am SO SORRY Megan!" Anna pleaded. "I was going to tell you, but I just couldn't seem to find the right time to. They got engaged on the 7th... and came to our agency immediately. I heard from word of mouth-"
"How long have you KNOWN!" Megan asked. Anna lowered her gaze guiltily.
"It... has been..."
"Is there something wrong here?" A voice called from offstage. Calmly, Ian entered from the left, holding a portfolio. Upon seeing Megan in tears, he rushed over immediately, dropping the folder in Anna's hands. Anna slunk back, knowing that her words wouldn't help anymore.
"Megan, what's going on here?" Ian asked caringly turning her to face him. She looked up bitterly.
"And how long have YOU known!"
"About what?"
"About how that stupid bastard of an ex-fiancé is ALREADY ENGAGED AGAIN?" She sobbed, tears glossing over her eyes and running down her face.
"I... I didn't know at all... I'm so sorry." He murmured, pulling her towards him and holding her, resting his head on her shaking figure. He turned towards his sister, who could only sigh and shake her head sadly.
"Anna! How are you?" A voice suddenly called. All three people on stage visibly tensed, and Megan's head immediately jerked towards the right, where Aaron entered, arm in arm with Shiri.
"We're here to deliver your invitation to the wedding. Apparently half of the ones we mailed weren't received, and so we're just hand delivering a few." Shiri explained in a chirpy tone, bouncing along happily. Suddenly, the happy couple froze as the cold stare of a teary-eyed woman bore down on them.
Aaron moved Shiri behind him protectively, fully aware of his former fiancé's temper. Taking a step forward, he tried a shaky hello.
"What? No invitation for me?" She spat out bitterly, suppressing the violent urges rising inside her as Shiri gripped Aaron's arm, and he clasped her hand tightly. Rushing forward, Ian grabbed Megan and pulled her offstage. Anna gave a final look at Aaron and Shiri, then left as well.
A roar of applause echoed through the forum, as the rest of the cast clapped. For the first run-through, all five of them had acted so naturally that a few women even had tears in their eyes. Cagalli strolled back on, wiping her cheeks a bit.
"I hate force crying." She laughed. "Because I can't stop for a while, and my eyes still get all red and stuff." Derek laughed and handed her a tissue. Athrun let go of Meer's hand and stepped towards Cagalli, leaving Meer with a forced smiled, as Lacus walked back on stage as well.
"That was... FANTASTIC guys! I can't believe that was just the first run-through!" Lacus swooned happily. "This is amazing."
"So realistic." Several of the techies on the side remarked in awe. Athrun couldn't help but agree. Watching Cagalli cry, he considered tying himself to a chair to stop himself from running out, pulling her out of Derek's embrace, and comforting her himself. As for Cagalli, she seemed to be able to find an odd irk, after watching Athrun step in front of Meer protectively.
And Lacus... She had no difficulty playing the role of an awkward fifth wheel at all! Watching Athrun and Cagalli glare at each other, for a while she was able to stop acting and genuinely worry about them.
Derek turned towards Cagalli. "YOU made me skip like... five lines, because you cut a part and so I lost my cue."
"I know, I'm sorry. We'll work on that... I guess we really have been goofing off too much." Cagalli laughed. Gradually everyone began to return to their individual work, with Lacus pulling Derek and Cagalli over to the side and checking the angles.
"You're at too much of an angle Cagalli. We can't even see you, and your face is crucial at that moment. So turn to the left a little. Yes, that's perfect! Remember that... and Derek, at this moment..."
Athrun and Meer watched attentively, as Lacus gave her stage directions. Suddenly, Meer spoke up,
"Hey Athrun? That was a great run-through!" She cheered. Athrun smiled, not looking at her.
"It was. Great job."
"Would you mind having dinner with me today night?" She blurted out. Athrun blinked and quickly turned his head to face her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, it's just that... I feel like I don't know you well enough to actually act intimate. There's only so much acting I can do... I just can't pretend to be in love with a stranger." She explained quickly, trying to keep her blush down. Athrun shrugged.
"Makes sense. If you're having any trouble, we can do that. When and where?" He asked, beginning to gather his stuff together.
"Um... 'The Grey Swan' at 7pm?" She suggested.
"Sounds good." He agreed.
Not when she said it...
Not when he dropped off Cagalli...
Not even when he was getting ready to meet Meer...
Not until he started driving there, amazed at how familiar the roads seemed to him, did he realize what 'The Grey Swan' was.
His eyes widened, and he immediately pulled to the side, so that he wouldn't have a heart attack while driving.
"Oh god... Cagalli!"
Lacus sighed, punching in 1 on her speed dial for her video phone and smiling as soon as the face she wanted to see most appeared.
"Lacus! How are you doing?" Kira quipped, from the other side of the world. She smiled.
"I'm fine. Dead tired, but fine... We had our first whole cast rehearsal today."
"Oh? How'd it go?" he inquired curiously.
"Great. Athrun and Cagalli are just amazing, through and through. They almost broke my heart." Lacus sighed. She looked at him and grinned. "Even if YOU aren't sure about this, I am. It's obvious that Athrun likes Cagalli, and I want to help him." Kira nodded.
"Did they seem uncomfortable watching each other during rehearsal?" He asked.
"Not in the least, but we both know how well they can act."
Kira smiled at her. "Don't worry so much. You're going to tire out to easily. They can deal with their own problems."
Lacus bit her lip. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. "I know... I miss you." She said earnestly. Kira's calmly smiled and closed his eyes longingly for a moment.
"I miss you too... Out of curiosity, where are they?"
"Cagalli's at work, and Athrun's out to dinner." She drabbled.
"With?..."
"Meer." Lacus responded. Kira gaped.
"Athrun's on a date with Meer?" His eyes bore through the screen.
"No, no. It's just a 'get to known my co-actor better' thing." Lacus brushed off the possibility.
"Oh I see... Sounded like a date to me. Where?" Kira asked, a queasy feeling tossing in his stomach for some unknown reason.
"'The Grey Swan' I think?" Lacus replied uncertainly, her finger on her chin. Kira suddenly lurched forward, almost spitting out the mouthful of soda he had just tried to drink.
"WHAT!"
"What, what's wrong?" Lacus panicked instinctively, looking left and right frantically, her face clearly worried. "Oh for goodness sake... Find someone to pat you on the back or something! Are you okay? Kira!"
"THAT'S WHERE CAGALLI WORKS!" He gasped, trying to recover.
Lacus almost fainted.
Meer paced back and forth at the entrance. She had come almost 20 minutes early, but she wanted to make sure that she was on time. Carrying a purse and dressed elegantly yet simply, she waited for Athrun to arrive.
She wanted to call this a date... with every fiber of her being. Something about the mysterious blue-haired young man had simply captivated her...
Suddenly, his car pulled up. He burst out frantically, tossing his keys to a valet he seemed to know very well, and walked straight towards her.
"All right, so let's grab a table, preferably not by the window!" He blabbered. Meer stared, and looked at the section he was pointing to.
"That's the smoking section." She frowned., clearly not a fan of second-hand smoke.
"That's okay!"
"Do you smoke?"
"Absolutely! A pack a day!" He blurted out instinctively.
"...Do you have cigarettes on you?" She raised an eyebrow.
Athrun was speechless, staring at her blankly for a bit.
"...Non-smoking it is!" He exclaimed again, dragging her in. He looked around, then breathed a sigh of relief. The only empty table wasn't in Cagalli's section!
"Cover my tables for a second Cagalli! I'm taking my break!" A co-worker called out, handing her two menus. "A couple just walked it, so give them those."
Cagalli nodded, heading over to her friend's section...
Suddenly she felt the menus start to slip from her grasp as she stared blankly at the new customers...
The "couple" who had just walked in...
Who she had to provide service to...
Athrun? And, Meer?
A small part of her died. Or went comatose. Either way, something went MIA, because suddenly her brain couldn't function anymore. To bystanders, the stunned waitress seemed to have lost the ability to blink. Staring at the scene before her, she bit her tongue to check if this was some sort of bizarre dream.
But no. A sharp pain pulsed as she nipped the tip of her dry tongue confirming the fact that she was awake.
And at work. And now it was going to be her job, to make sure they had a nice and pleasant evening. Yet no matter how professional she tried to convince herself to be, a mental barrier rose and stopped the knotted feeling inside her from dropping.
Unconsciously, her body betrayed her, as waitress instinct kicked in and she strolled over to hand them their menus.
Well then, any guesses as to what Cagalli might do? What about Athrun's reaction? And finally, what about Meer?
Only way to find out is to check out the next chapter: "Awkward Confrontations". Because when the unexpected catches you off guard… Just play it off.
Now, about that notice: Funny story. When I first started writing this chapter, I was sure that it would be a long one. I had a lot I wanted to cover, and just the basic outline was already pretty long. After I finished filling I up with details, and checking it over, editing etc. I found that I was right!
The FULL "Chapter"… was almost twice as long as anything I have ever written before.
Given my tendency to babble, I knew there was something wrong now. So instead of updating early as planned, I took an extra day to chop the chapter up into about 3 and a half chapters. Since I planned this to be just one chapter, and I have to work on a schedule, so that the story runs on real-time, I have decided to update in 3 to 4 days time. (I'm hoping that the end of this chapter still has enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat though)
Finally, the essential thank you to all my readers and reviewers. Last chapter, for the first time ever, I tried out reply system and wrote an e-mail back to almost every single person who reviewed (Sorry, to the anonymous reviewers but I have no way of contacting you). For those anonymous people, or those who may not have received the thank you letters, I will continue listing all my wonderful reviewers here:
Nicole, koali alolao, lil kagome 13, Astrocosmos, ichigo kagura, imuzuok, asga, AnimexMusica, Moonee, KiraFreedom, daisukechibi, Milky Way, cottongreentea, Unknown, mehmehbaaaa, Joy-phoenix-dragon, The Angels' Princess, Athrun-n-Cagalli, Smoke-Angel, IYGU, SasukeLuver678, kura52, Maryam Khanoom, XxbuffyxX, Kintora, purple1, rain angst, animeluver461, Eternally Asuka, animemistress419, stuntsheep, MXC - the show- rocks my socks, Cagalli Yula Athha Fangirl, gseedlover, ANONYMOUS, Craze Izumi, cloudy mind
I'm so pleased that you all decided to review, and hope to hear from you again!
So then, until the next update,
Periodic-Prose