Love Potion No. 19: Chapter 10
Alicia Blade
Hahaha, so now I know that the ultimate way to get reviews is to throw in an angst-ridden chapter! lol, thank you all, and yes, Mamoru the Poor Cad. Aah, what more damage can I do...
And to those of you who care about my life, I'm starting classes toward my MA degree in Publishing on Monday! eek! Wish me luck! (Is this a prelude to not getting chapters out as quickly after LP is done? Maaaaybee...)
Loves to all reviewers, my lovely editor Stormlight, and dear Leena-sama (who is now in the know, but I hope the upcoming chapters will be happy and fluffy enough to put a smile on your face anyway).
Chapter 10
Love is Back to Square One
Mamoru slammed the door to his apartment and fell back against it, raking a hand through his hair.
"I don't care," he muttered through teeth that were clenched so tight his jaw was beginning to hurt. "It doesn't bother me. It's fine. I'm fine." He sucked in a long breath and held it, squeezing his eyes shut and tensing his shoulders. When his lungs began to hurt, he released the breath in a rush. A moment later, when he felt slightly more in control of his emotions, he opened his eyes, scowling.
"You're being so stupid!" he yelled at himself, slamming his head back against the door. "She's just a stupid girl! I don't care!" His voice continued to rise, but he didn't notice as he dragged furious palms over his face. "She's just a stupid, stupid…!"
As quickly as the tantrum had started, it melted away and he sunk down to the carpet, whispering, "Stupid, stupid girl."
And there he sat, ignoring the growing hunger in his stomach and the stretching shadows across the floor. He didn't cry, but, for the first time in many years, he wanted to. And he hated himself for this sudden weakness, but even that damaged pride couldn't tear his thoughts away from her.
Mostly, he thought of the kiss.
That heartbeat's moment in time stretched out in his memory and took over the span of his life, as if he'd been born to live that moment and now that it was over, he would live out the rest of his days trapped in its memory.
Her tiny hands gripping his hair.
Her abdomen pressed against him.
A hint of perfume, mixed with the taste of salt and something unfamiliar. Lipstick? Gloss? Perhaps the taste of her.
Her muffled sob.
His own gasp.
Fingers clutching.
Cotton beneath his hands and the briefest touch of skin—the smooth, unblemished, forbidden skin of her waist.
So much passion.
So much yearning.
So much desperation—as if her sanity resided in that moment.
And the brief moments preceding it—the most intense and frightening and hopeful moments of his life—her whisper and her tearful eyes looking up at him and her shaking body collapsing into his arms and her confession…
Mamoru jumped at a knock from behind. Ripped harshly from the fantasy, he found himself staring at a twilight-filled room.
Nervously, he climbed to his feet and wet his lips before opening the door.
Minako stood before him, her hands clasped and her lips pursed with worry.
He slammed the door shut.
"Mamoru-san!" she screamed, pounding on the door again.
Sighing, he straightened his shirt and opened it again. The girl's anxiety had been replaced with annoyance.
"Yes?" he asked, displeasure evident in his tone.
"I have to talk to you."
He leaned expectantly against the door frame.
Her blue eyes glanced curiously over his shoulder. "Can I come in?"
Rolling his eyes, he gestured for her to enter. After shutting the door behind her, he thrust his hands into his pockets and made his way to the glass door that looked onto a balcony and the city beyond. Minako cleared her throat nervously behind him, but he ignored her.
When it became obvious that Mamoru wasn't going to be hospitable, Minako inhaled a deep breath and said, "Mamoru, there's something you should know about what happened today."
He said nothing.
"The other day, when Usagi poured that milkshake on you, well… that milkshake… it had a love potion in it."
His face was completely devoid of expression. Minako found it hard to look at him as she pressed on. "I know because I put it there. And that's why she's been acting so strange toward you lately. Because… she…"
"Go away," he grumbled.
"Mamoru, it's true! I know it doesn't sound believable, but you have to admit it explains everything, and—"
"Whatever, just go away."
She sighed. "I know it must be hard to comprehend, but she really was—"
"Fine, I believe you, alright? I don't know how you got a hold of a working love potion, but alright, you did, and Usagi drank it and for three days she believed she loved me, but it's over now and she doesn't, and that's that. Now leave me alone!"
"But Mamoru, it isn't… it wasn't what one would normally think of as your typical love potion. You know, the whole 'falling in love at first sight' bit? It's not like that."
He calmed noticeably and looked at her, unmoved, but while his silence was making Minako increasingly uncomfortable, she continued.
"What it does, and I quote, 'it amplifies feelings of affection. Friendship becomes devotion. Attractions becomes lust. Adoration becomes love. And love becomes air.'"
Mamoru's shrugged. "I don't get it."
"You know, air. You can't live without it? Anyway, the thing is, if Usagi really hated you like she pretends to, the potion wouldn't have changed her attitude for you at all. But instead, she—well, you saw! And today was just the straw that broke the camel's back. You should have seen her the last few days! I've never seen anyone so miserable. Just last night she was overcome with tears and she just kept saying over and over that her life was ended because you would never love her back and how much she needed you and…"
"What's your point?" Mamoru snapped.
"My point is that with the potion, you became air to her! She needed you! Which means that even without the potion, she's still in love with you!"
Mamoru found himself clenching his teeth and glowering at the window pane, and while Minako's words almost stirred something inside of him, he smashed the feelings down when he remembered Usagi's hateful denial.
"Why are you telling me this?"
There was a long hesitation and when she spoke again, the words were barely above a whisper.
"Because I saw your face when she denied it."
Mamoru's glare faded away as he saw the first few stars appear above the horizon. Gulping, he murmured, "Go away, Minako."
"Mamoru, I want to help you. If she loves you and you love her, then I can help…"
"Go away!"
She gasped and ducked her head. A thickening silence consumed the room as she shifted from foot to foot. Mamoru didn't move after his outburst but stood like a statue silhouetted against the cityscape.
Sighing, Minako turned to go, but paused when she reached the door. "I just want you to know that I wouldn't be doing it for you. I'd be doing it for her."
Usagi walked into her house with a loud sigh. As she slipped off her shoes, she could hear her mom bumbling around in the kitchen and she considered sneaking past her and disappearing into her bedroom for the rest of the night. She could hear her bed calling her name, though she wasn't sure why she felt so exhausted.
She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. The events of the past hour still had her head spinning.
Three days. Three days, completely wiped from her memory.
But what could possibly have happened in just three days? Certainly, her friends were playing a practical joke on her, what with this silly kissing business. Besides, Mamoru himself said that it wasn't true, and he should know, shouldn't he? If he was, after all, the recipient.
She felt an unwanted blush creeping into her cheeks and shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts. It was impossible. Amnesia or not, she would never have kissed the world's most conceited jerk. She wasn't a glutton for punishment.
"Usagi, is that you?"
She plastered on a smile and walked into the kitchen. "Yeah, hi, Mom."
"Hi sweetheart. How was your day?"
"Um. Fine." Considering I can only remember the last sixty minutes, it can't have been too terrible.
"Did you see that boy?"
"What boy?"
Ikuko glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow, then giggled mockingly. "What boy," she said with a snort. "What boy do you think? The boy you wouldn't stop talking about all weekend!"
Usagi stared at her, her palms beginning to sweat.
"Did you ever find out if he liked the cookies?"
She furrowed her brow. "What cookies?"
Heaving an exasperated sigh, Ikuko eyed her daughter speculatively. "What's with you tonight? You act like you've had a memory lapse. You've had a stressful few days, haven't you?"
Usagi inhaled shakily. "Mom, what boy and what cookies? What are you talking about?"
They stared silently at each other a moment, Ikuko trying to judge if Usagi was serious. Finally, she placed a hand sternly on her hip, frowning. "That Mamoru boy, of course. And the chocolate chip cookies we baked, that you took to him Friday night, after drafting some elaborate plan to make him fall in love with you. Any of this ringing a bell?"
Ignoring her mother's sarcastic tone, Usagi turned on her heels and stormed up to her room, slamming the door behind her. Ikuko sighed and shook her head. "Why did my daughter have to turn out to be so strange?"
In her room, Usagi took a moment to gather her thoughts. Certainly her mother wouldn't join in on the stupid prank, would she? But if she wasn't in on the joke, then she was telling the truth, and that was unthinkable! Maybe the girls had gotten to her, and talked her into playing along. Yes, that must be it. She didn't know why it was suddenly so important for everyone to act as though Usagi had feelings for the jerk, she could only guess it was another one of Minako's stupid schemes, but obviously it was some great joke at her expense.
Because it simply couldn't be real.
Nodding, content with her logical deduction, she tossed her book bag onto her bed and set about undoing her hair buns and slipping into her pajamas. It wasn't until she went to crawl beneath the covers that she saw an unfamiliar pink book slipping out of the open pocket of her bag. Frowning, she sat down and pulled it toward her.
"How to Make a Man Fall in Love With You, by Tracy Cabot, Ph.D.," she read. "I don't remember buying this." Flipping through, she noticed some sections highlighted, and some hand-written notes in the margins, in her own recognizable handwriting. "I don't remember reading this!" Setting it aside, she grabbed her bag and dumped out the contents. At first it all looked familiar: the same school books and pens and notepads. But, in digging through the pile, she soon found a dry cleaning pay stub for "One wool blazer (green)." Gulping, she reached for her notebook and was shocked to find three completed homework assignments that she was sure she hadn't originally planned on completing; but there they were, every question answered and legible, and they even looked right!
But what really shocked her were tiny hearts and doodles strewn throughout the notebook's inside covers. Hearts filled with initials.
TU + CM Love 4-Ever
"CM?" she breathed. "CM? But I don't know anyone with…" Her heart leapt into her throat, and she stuttered, "Chiba Mamoru." Dazedly, she slammed the book shut, but as she did so, a folded piece of paper came tumbling out of the leaves, looking worn and creased as though it had been opened and closed and re-opened a hundred times.
She nervously picked it up, hoping it was just some silly note from Naru that she'd forgotten about, but that hope was washed away when she opened it and read the first line.
"My elaborate, complicated, and psychological plan to win Mamoru's heart." Leaning back against her headboard, she stared dazedly at the ceiling, her thoughts swimming. It was her handwriting. It couldn't have been planted by anyone else. And her mom had said so. Her mom knew!
But… but… why? Why would I ever want to make Mamoru fall in love with me?
A sudden tingling in her stomach itched its way up her spine and her face flushed with the sudden thought of Mamoru loving her. An undeniable wave of longing crashed into her and for a moment she had to struggle to breathe. Painfully, she forced the feelings away. "No. I don't like him. I can't like him. He's… he's despicable. He's rude and arrogant and mean and heartless."
Frowning, she looked down at the list again, hoping to find some sort of clue there.
Cookies. Check.
Apology. Check.
Show him your domestic/would make a good wife side (cooking,
baking, ironing, vacuuming, dusting, foot rubs). In progress.
Pry info from Motoki: What type of girl does Mamoru like anyway?
Show him that you're unique.
She pursed her lips together, shaking her head, and quickly crumpled the paper up and tossed it toward the trash can. It bounced off the edge and rolled innocently to the center of her carpet.
But Usagi had already forgotten it, because in that moment of tossing the dreadful, insane list, she'd taken note of her fingernails.
Her rounded, buffed, glossy, pale pink nails.
She stared at them a long time as if someone had replaced her limbs with those of a robot. A very vain robot.
On a whim, she pulled off her socks, to be met with callous-less feet and pink toenails. And it was only a matter of time before she noticed her legs.
Her long, pale, shapely legs, which she always tried to keep well-shaven as it was, now felt like silk. And she knew only one treatment could make legs feel like that.
She'd been waxed.
Usagi wasn't naïve. She knew there was only one reason next to bikini-season that a girl ever got her legs waxed.
It wasn't bikini season.
Usagi had been trying to impress a boy.
And she was pretty sure she knew which one.
With an agitated groan, she shoved the evidence off her bed and clambered beneath the sheets, shutting her eyes tight.
I don't like Mamoru. I don't like Mamoru. I don't like Mamoru.
She chanted these words until they blurred in her head and she finally fell asleep.
The following evening, a half an hour before closing, the Crown Arcade was almost completely devoid of patrons. Most of the normal high school customers had cleared out hours ago and the few stragglers had left when the sun went down.
Minako was the only one remaining, sitting at the counter, shoving a straw into a cola that was made undrinkable after an hour of the ice melting. Motoki sat beside her, having already finished up his closing duties, sipping at his own cup of coffee. They each stared silently into space, pondering and worrying over the events of the past few days.
"Mamoru didn't come in today," Motoki mused, breaking the quiet. When Minako had no immediate response, he added, "Neither did Usagi."
She sighed.
"I think they're avoiding each other."
"Yeah, probably," she affirmed.
"It's just so weird! It was like one moment everything was normal, and the next they were coming in here together, joking and acting like buds, and the next she was kissing him! And now this. It feels so Twilight Zone. None of it makes any sense."
Minako slumped down, trying to make herself smaller, and squeaked, "Actually, I can explain it."
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "You see, Usagi, er, drank a love potion."
"A love potion?"
"Uh-huh."
He was silent a long moment, then mumbled, "Actually, that does explain a lot. I didn't know such things existed."
She shrugged.
"Why did Usagi-chan drink a love potion?"
Flinching, Minako jabbed her straw extra hard into the slush in her glass. "Remember that milkshake that she dumped on Mamoru's head?"
"How could I forget?"
"It was in there. I think because she only drank half of it is why it only lasted for a few days." She sighed. "And now everything is such a mess."
He hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I never would have suspected before, but I think Mamoru might have actually felt something for her, too."
"You think?" she asked sarcastically. "Of course he did. His face when she kissed him… Not to mention when she denied kissing him. I think it was the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life."
"The strange thing is," Motoki mused. "I think they'd be kind of cute together, really. Complete opposites and all, but they could be good for each other. He could help to ground her when she needs grounding, but she could help him loosen up when he gets stressed about stuff. Yeah, they might be good together."
"If only we could find a way to get them together. You know they would fight it every step of the way. Usagi's so adamant about not having feelings for him that I think she may have even convinced herself of that. And Mamoru's so embarrassed about being caught enjoying her advances that it'll be a long time before he lets himself get carried away like that again."
"What about another love potion?"
"Hm?"
"What if we gave them another love potion? Or even just one of them?"
Minako furrowed her brow and pondered the suggestion as a slow ray of hope filtered into her thoughts. "That's… not a horrible idea," she breathed, her imagination quickly carrying her down a hundred paths of possibilities.
"Say, Minako-chan?"
"Yeah?" she asked, almost irritated at being pulled from her reverie.
"How do you know all of this?"
"Because I put the love potion in her shake."
Motoki hesitated, tapping his fingers against his drink. "But wasn't that milkshake that she drank supposed to be mine?"
Minako flushed, her eyes widening, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Um, well… er… I really should get going. You know, if there are any other potions left, I want to grab one before it gets—"
Her rambling was cut short by a sudden, gentle kiss on her temple. She gasped and turned wide eyes to a smiling and blushing Motoki. Her eyelashes fluttered in disbelief.
"All this talk about love, you know."
She grinned, her heart beating loudly in her chest.
"If there's anything I can do to help," he continued, "don't hesitate to ask."
She nodded dumbly and slowly got up to leave. "I won't," she managed and, feeling brave, leaned forward and placed a tiny kiss on his cheek before skipping from the arcade.
Two more to go, darling readers!