Happy New Year to all! Unfortunately, my new year's resolutions do not include updating my fics regularly... sorry. :P

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Chapter Four – Attempted Homicide

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Cagalli woke up at around half-past eleven.

She yawned very widely (and in a very un-ladylike way). As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, her stomach rumbled, demanding for some food. Not one to ignore her stomach's whims, she stood up and went to the kitchen where she searched for some food.

Her gaze fell on the brown paper bag lying oh-so-innocently on the counter. She recognized it to be the chocolate chip cookies that Athrun bought for her. She felt her lips curl up in a smile. Who'd have thought that Athrun, the snobby little brat, would grow up to be Athrun, the thoughtful gentleman?

'I wondered what happened…Well, I guess he just grew up. I mean, we all change when we grow up, right? Anyway, it's not in my place to pry.'

She grabbed the cookies and went to the living room to watch some T.V.; she turned it on as she settled on the couch. Wrinkling her nose in distaste at the mid-afternoon soap opera showing on the current channel, she hurriedly grabbed the remote and flipped to some cartoons.

After a few minutes, she was laughing at the stupid antics of Spongebob and Patrick.

'Breakfast-in-couch isn't so bad after all…' she thought wryly.

When the show ended, she turned off the T.V. and went to the kitchen to wash her hands. The cookies were delectable and tasted just like her grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies. She'd have to ask Athrun again for some more next time they go out for some coffee. Then, she felt her stomach flutter, the way that it did when she was getting excited.

She paused. 'Where the heck did that come from?'

Was she, somehow, looking forward to seeing Athrun again?

She stated her protest by shaking her head vehemently. 'Of course not! Er…I'm looking forward to the…the cookies! Not Athrun!' She rolled her eyes. 'I just got over hating his guts!'

After she finished washing her hands, she stepped out of the kitchen with a frown on her face. She went back to the bedroom to do her new hobby: ceiling-gazing. She collapsed on the bed and winced when her head hit something small and hard.

She reached behind her head for the offending item and then brought it in front of her eyes for closer inspection. It was her poor, battered cell phone. She turned it on and was not surprised that she had a dozen or so unread messages in her inbox. She rolled her eyes and erased it all without bothering to read it.

Not having anything intellectually-stimulating to do, she decided to give an annoying someone an equally annoying call. 'Hmmm… I think it's time for me to give Shinn his daily does of butt-kicking,' she thought with a smirk.

And as if on cue, Shinn answered the phone after half-a-ring. "Cagalli!"

Cagalli grinned at no one. "Who else?" She flopped back on the bed. "So, how's it going there? Kira and Daddy-dearest wet their pants, yet?"

She heard Shinn snort. "Very funny. You're quite lucky, you know that? They didn't want your fiancé's family to hear about your disappearance so they're keeping it quiet."

Cagalli laughed. "Lucky, huh? But that's not what I want to happen. I want them to cancel the engagement. Either that, or I'll do something even more drastic."

"Do you want me to tell them that?" Shinn asked dryly.

She rolled her eyes. "Duh! Of course not. You don't know anything, remember?"

"Ooh…I forgot about that! Thanks for reminding me!" Shinn answered in an obviously sarcastic tone.

She laughed in reply.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Shinn asked suspiciously. "You sound…giddy…"

Cagalli's smile was replaced by a frown. "What do you mean?" she snarled through the receiver, happy disposition immediately gone.

Shinn was obviously smirking – or perhaps fighting back fits of laughter. "Just like that. You sound happy. Did something happen?"

She growled. "What's it to you?"

"Call it a case of curiosity. Come on! Spill!"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Shinn. The same thing just might happen to you if you don't stop it," Cagalli hissed threateningly. Then she cut the conversation short.

Did she just call Shinn in the hopes of pissing him off? Well, the irony of it all! She was the one seething in uncontrollable rage. The nerve of that guy! How dare he imply that she was happy? How dare he sound surprised that she sounded happy!

'Giddy, indeed' she raged.

She wasn't happy – at all!

Was she?

Waitafreakingminute…

Why was she angry anyway? Shinn just asked why she sounded happy… Was that reason enough to bite his head off? She needed to solve this mystery…fast. She remembered something her professor taught her when solving problems: ask questions.

'Well, fire away.'

Were you feeling happy?

'Well, I was…before Shinn called,' she admitted grudgingly.

Why were you feeling happy?

She stopped at that. Why was she feeling happy, anyway? Last time she looked, Shinn was still alive and she was still engaged…so why the 'giddy' feeling? She racked her brains for any reason – any at all – why she was feeling that way.

Then it hit her. 'I was happy because I didn't have to scour for breakfast this morning.'

And why is that?

Pft. That was easy. 'Because Athrun bought me cookies for breakfast. He was so nice last night…this morning – whatever. He was so nice! It felt good talking to him. And he made me laugh – which is kind of a hard thing to do considering my current predicament. I wonder when we're having coffee again… I have to remind him to buy me cookies so that I'll have someth –'

She stopped. Did she just think -that-! Did she just imply that she was happy -because- of Athrun! There was only one thing to do at times like that.

Scream.

And that was exactly what she did.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Then, her shrieking voice was joined by the shrill ringing of her phone. Cagalli stopped screaming and answered her phone in a snappish manner. "What!" she yelled through the receiver, her voice a little hoarse from all the screaming that she just did.

"I know what you did last night…" a creepy voice breathed.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Nice try Shinn, if it weren't for the caller I.D. on my phone, I'd have felt a chill run down my spine." She snarled. "What the hell do you want? Bug off!" Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And what do you mean by that?"

Shinn laughed mockingly. "Just that. What? Was that too hard for your puny brain to process? How was coffee with Athrun?"

"What the –? You bastard! How the heck did you know that?" Cagalli seethed. "It was for free, so I agreed!"

"Ha! So that's why you're so happy!" Shinn cried triumphantly. "Geez, I didn't think that was all it took for you to be like that!"

"Do I sound like I'm happy!" she demanded sarcastically.

He snorted. "No…you sound deranged." Then he let out a snigger. "Geez! That was all it took for you to feel all bubbly! Coffee? Hah! Remind me to tell your future husband!" She heard snickers. "…or are you happy not because of the coffee…but because of Athrun?"

"Shut up!" she yelled. Cagalli wanted so badly to wring her cousin's neck. "Shinn! Stop it or I'll kill you!"

"Whatever. I still know what you did last night…" He finished teasingly in the same mock-creepy voice that he used earlier. How he managed to sound creepy and mockingly, she can't figure out. He laughed insultingly one last time and then hung-up.

Cagalli counted off from one to ten, her breath coming in ragged huffs. She was so mad! So mad that she could cheerfully murder Shinn and then perform a jig in front of his rotting carcass. So mad that she could gut Shinn and hang his intestines for the entire world to see. So mad that she could claw Shinn's unusual, red eyes out and then make nice dangling earrings out of them. So mad that she could…

And as her thoughts became creepier, bloodier, more sadistic and more violent, she proceeded to unconsciously tear Shinn's blue pillowcases in her bare hands.

After she ran out of pillowcases to rip apart, she decided to take a shower to cool down.

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It took Cagalli a very long shower to cool down and by the time she had finished, her stomach was rumbling again. This time, it was demanding for a late lunch. She grabbed her keys and wallet and left the house for some fast food.

The elevator was still old and rickety and the lobby-lady still glared at her. Her stay there was fast becoming a routine. She exited the building and walked in the direction to where McDonald's was located.

Now that her mind was cleared because of the shower, she wondered why she acted the way she acted when Shinn teased her about Athrun. She rolled her eyes at that.

'It wasn't even that bad. I've received – and endured – far more worse from Shinn…so why did I get so upset?'

Cagalli fought the urge to groan. She over-reacted, that was a given.

And she had no idea why. 'Must be PMS…'

She pushed the thoughts in the deepest recesses of her brain. One thing to deal with things like that was denial. She'll just forget it ever happened and that was that. But, fate – or damned destiny – had other plans. As she turned on a corner, she saw the familiar form of Athrun staring at a window shop.

Cagalli froze. She so wanted to go the other direction but her feet were firmly planted on the ground. She looked down to see if she stepped on some sort of super-glue and when she looked back up again, Athrun waved at her.

She inwardly cursed her dumb luck as she waved back half-heartedly.

Athrun approached her and smiled. "Hey! Did you just have lunch?"

Cagalli opened her mouth to say 'yes', but her stomach decided against it by vocalizing its thoughts (if it had any). She blushed and shook her head. "Actually… I was just about to have lunch."

Athrun coughed to hide a smile that had made its way on his lips. "Well, you told me how much you hated fast food, so why don't I treat you somewhere else?"

Cagalli was torn. Her mind said no but her stomach was screaming 'yes'! And not one to go against her stomach's wishes… "Sure. That sounds great." She smiled weakly.

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Athrun never ceased to amaze her. Once again, he had taken her to a restaurant that suited her tastes. It was as if he knew -exactly- what she wanted. The atmosphere, the people, the staff – heck, even the smell of the place itself – just made her inwardly beam in approval. It had a homely appeal, but still radiated with class and elegance.

Since it was already half-past one in the afternoon, the place wasn't full of customers. They were seated on a booth beside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. They could clearly see the street outside. But they hardly paid attention to it.

They had each other to keep them occupied, after all.

The waiter handed each of them the menu and proceeded to wait for their orders. She scanned it and was slightly relieved that the dishes weren't too pricey. She glanced at Athrun, waiting for him to give his order to the waiter.

Athrun smiled indulgently at her. "Ladies first."

Cagalli shrugged. "Always the gentleman, huh? Well, I'd like to have the spaghetti with meatballs and a glass of iced tea, please," she said as she handed the menu back to the waiter.

"I think I'll go for the chicken Alfrédo," Athrun stated, returning his menu as well. "And bottled mineral water," he added as an afterthought.

"Excellent choice," the waiter said. And with a smile and a slight bow of his head, he went and disappeared behind the swinging double doors that most likely lead to the kitchen.

After the waiter had left, an unusual silence filled the air between the two of them.

Cagalli, unused to the silence, racked her brains for anything to say. "Um… so… how was the killer test?" She mentally congratulated herself for choosing a 'safe' topic.

"It went okay – as okay as killer tests go," Athrun answered jokingly.

"Had a hard time?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah," he said truthfully. He didn't seem bothered at the very least.

She felt something heavy at the pit of her stomach. At first she thought it was just hunger but then, there was that nagging feeling that came with it. Guilt. She sighed. "I'm sorry I kept you up until morning."

Athrun brushed the thought away. "Come on! Don't be silly. I studied for it ages ago and my brain was demanding me for some sort of break." Then, he leaned closer conspiratorially. "And, honestly, I just used you as my escape ticket," he whispered jokingly.

She glared in mock anger. "I knew it! You fiend!"

And then they burst out in laughter.

Afterwards, Cagalli bit her lip hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. If it was your fault, do you think you'd be here getting free lunch?"

She felt her eyes widen at that. "You're paying for my food – again?" Then she shook her head in protest. "No, this is -my- treat. For the milk and cookies."

Athrun put on a mock-shocked face. "I never let the ladies pay!"

"Oh, come on! This isn't a date!" Cagalli chided nonchalantly. But deep inside, her heart was ramming in her ribs. 'A date! Where the heck did that come from! Of course this isn't a date! …Is it?'

Athrun's only reply was a smile. Cagalli expected him to elaborate more but then their food arrived. For the next few minutes, they ate their food in silence. Athrun was right – the food was great! She wondered why Shinn chose to eat the junk that fast food chains pass as food when there was comfort food haven in the vicinity. The saying, 'you are what you eat', was true after all.

As they ate their food in companionable silence, there was a nagging thought at the back of Cagalli's mind that refused to go away. She pondered hard on it. She had something she wanted to ask Athrun…but what was it? Then she remembered.

"So," she began in what she hoped was a casual tone, "Shinn called me up and it looks like he knew about our talk over some coffee and milk last night. Did you tell him?"

Athrun's brow furrowed. "Shinn…? Didn't he tell you? He was the one who gave me the idea to take you out for coffee."

"Oh?" Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "Really now?" she asked calmly. But her mind was working full-time digesting the newly-acquired information. 'So…it was the little brat's idea, huh? One more wrong move, Shinn, and you'll find yourself lying lifeless, facedown in a gutter somewhere…' she thought darkly.

"Erm…? Cagalli? Are you okay?" Athrun's worried voice cut through her morbid thoughts.

"I'm fine," she answered cheerfully – a little -too- cheerfully, but Athrun didn't seem to notice – or chose not to. She sipped some of her iced tea. "The food's great, by the way."

Athrun grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

Cagalli, despite murderous intent directed at Shinn, found herself grinning back. "And remember, I haven't paid back that coffee that I owe you."

He blinked. Then he smiled again, this time wider and happier. "I'll put that in mind."

Once again, Athrun's actions piqued Cagalli's interest. Always the vocal one, she decided to finally ask the one question that had been plaguing her mind. "So…what happened?"

His brows furrowed confusedly. "Huh? 'What happened' what?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You know, I don't mean to be rude, but… how did you become so… nice?"

As usual, Athrun took no offense. He chuckled softly. "Oh…that. Well, to tell you honestly," he dropped his voice in a whisper, but it did not mask the excitement that he obviously felt, "I met someone."

"Someone?" she echoed, puzzled.

Athrun nodded. "Someone very special."

"O-Oh," was the only reply that she could muster. In all her years of hanging out with guys like Shinn and Kira, 'someone -very- special' always meant 'someone female'. Cagalli couldn't explain it but she felt a dead weight settle at the pit of her stomach – and something told her it wasn't just the spaghetti and meatballs that she ate.

Someone?

Very special?

A girl?

A girlfriend?

So…he had a girlfriend. Well, it wasn't that surprising. Athrun was a cute guy with the right attitude to match. He must have a girlfriend or something. It didn't shock her at all.

But that still didn't explain why she found the love-struck look on Athrun's face sickening, to say the least.

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Author's Notes: Dun-dun! Haha. Just who is that mystery girlfriend? I hope it didn't seem too clichéd. A girlfriend, huh? (snicker) If you have any comments and suggestions, don't hesitate to tell me. But if you're just going to complain that this fic isn't very thought-provoking... haha.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! And to these guys in particular: Kandida, MXC - the show - rocks my socks, purple1, Maryam Khanoom, TT, duel-gundam, The Angels' Princess, Miss Peeps, thousandbirds,CelicaChick, Craze Izumi, Eternally Asuka, Yukimi noh Daoimoru, MyouseiSeed, i.inspire, andanimeluver461.

And of course, this fic wouldn't be complete without theusualspecial thanks to my best friend/critic: Lee (Lia lostsmile)