Love Potion No. 19: Chapter 11
Alicia Blade
A big thanks to Claidi, who actually threatened to EAT me if I didn't get the next chapter up soon. Oh, how I do adore my cannibalistic fans.
And to Storm, of course, and Nat-chan, and... oh, I could just go on forever. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. I really do appreciate every one of you more than these pesky author's notes could ever say!
First Love fans: As many of you know, Princess Destiny is taking over the archive and combining it with her own web site, but she would really appreciate some assistance loading the old stories to the new archive. If you're available to help out, please email her at princessdestiny at destinysgateway dot com. (Link also on bio page.)
Chapter 11
Love is Monkeying Around
"This is the place!" Minako squealed excitedly, pointing at a large wooden sign above the storefront.
"Señorita Leilani's Gifts and Magic Things?" Mamoru read speculatively, eyeing the gaudy sparkly letters and the large windows filled with scarves, tiaras, crystal balls, tarot cards, hand-carved instruments, and hypnotization pendants. "What were you doing in a store like this?"
Instead of answering, Minako harshly pushed him toward the door. "Come on, let's see if they have any more."
He grumbled, but willingly entered the shop, noticing a chime signaling their presence, and took a long look around. It was dusty, with poor lighting (due more to the scarves draped over the chandeliers than a lack of wattage), and it smelled like incense and marijuana. He coughed, wondering how Minako had talked him into coming here. The girl could be persuasive, and at the time it had seemed strangely logical. Another love potion could solve his problem. Of course it could.
But there was a voice nagging in the back of his head, and it only got louder as the room's smoky atmosphere invaded his senses. He suddenly knew that this would solve nothing.
He'd had two days to think about what had transpired since Friday afternoon. Two days without Usagi's presence to dull his thinking or effect his emotions. Two days should have been plenty of time to forget about her, the kiss, and the potion, and move on.
But, if anything, his feelings had only grown stronger. He had found himself mulling over every conversation he'd ever had with her. From their first argument about a bad test grade to her grateful acceptance of a Saturday night study session. And as he dwelled on every word, every action, every expression, a sudden thought had struck him breathless. A realization so obvious it bordered on stupid.
He remembered. He remembered everything she'd ever said to him. He remembered the exact date of their first meeting. He remembered the earrings she was wearing the day she hit him with her shoe. He remembered the brand of shoe she hit him with. He remembered the scent of vanilla she'd worn when she brought cookies to his apartment. He could see it all as clearly as though he was watching their own personal home movie.
And this realization boiled down to one inevitable conclusion.
He loved her.
And the more he thought of that, the more he knew it was true. His own actions and thoughts that he'd spent months trying to figure out—Why did he always loiter at the arcade during the after-school rush? Why did it irk him so much to see Rei using Usagi's nickname, "Odango," to torture her? Why did he feel the pressing need to comfort her when she was feeling bad about herself?—all these things became suddenly, painstakingly clear. The answer was staring him right in the face, and it always had been. It all made so much sense he had to laugh at his own blindness.
Of course he'd loved her all this time. Her innocence, her zest for life, her generosity, her adamant desire to show love and respect to everyone she met, all of these things were so attractive to him that overnight the girl had been transformed into a goddess in his eyes.
Or at least, overnight he'd realized it.
So when Minako had told him her idea of using another potion to make sure that Usagi was his, permanently this time, the idea was too tempting to refuse. So he'd been dragged down to this gypsy's store on a wild goose hunt for happiness.
But now, standing amongst the tiger's eye beads and table-top Zen gardens and large prints of Cirque du Soleil, he felt a painful lump settle in his stomach. His happiness wasn't lurking in some magic bottle. The hope he'd experienced so suddenly drifted out of him with a long sigh.
Minako didn't notice as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the back of the store, searching the shelves for a familiar crystal vial. "It was right around here."
"Minako-chan, I don't think this is really—"
"Ah! I see zat you have returned!"
They both jumped and turned to see Señorita Leilani, her long black hair pulled into a loose bun, and her two monkeys in their matching scarves perched cheerfully on her shoulders.
"And you have brought a handsome man vith you. Not surprising for one who has bought vone of Señorita Leilani's love potions."
Minako smiled cheerfully. "Speaking of your love potions, do you have any more?"
"Hm? Vhatever for, child?"
"Oh, er, I was just curious. The other one worked so well, I wanted to see what else you have to offer."
Leilani's eyes moved from Minako to Mamoru, where they took him in with one long glance that seemed to see right through him. He found himself unconsciously backing away, the wise expression unnerving him.
"Right zis way," she finally said with a gesture, turning toward the cash register.
"What's with the monkeys?" Mamoru nervously whispered to Minako, who shrugged and inched toward the glass counter.
Slowly, the shopkeeper reached into a hidden cupboard and pulled out a small wooden chest, no larger than a shoebox, with silver hinges. Engraved on top was a Greek symbol. Minako recognized it as the symbol of Venus, the Goddess of Love.
Leilani pulled a necklace from the collar of her dress, dangling from which were a handful of keys of all different sizes and metals. She wasted no time in selecting the right key, a small silver one in the shape of a heart, and inserting it into the box's lock. It clicked and opened. Minako and Mamoru leaned forward to peer inside.
Four tiny crystal bottles sat among a bed of velvet, each with a different colored liquid inside: pink, blue, red, and green. They glittered in the room's dusty light, their liquids splashing around inside as Leilani turned the box to give her customers a better look. Beside each vial was a hand-written card, indicating them as Love Potions #1, #22, #14, and #9.
"Hey, I thought you said you didn't have Love Potion #9!"
"I never said that," Señorita Leilani said pointedly. "I merely told you that #19 is much more affective. Vas it not?"
Minako and Mamoru blushed simultaneously.
"Yes, it did exactly what you said it would."
"Then vhat is ze problem?"
Mamoru cleared his throat and pretended to be fascinated by the four vials as Minako shuffled her feet. "What do these all do?" he asked, saving the blonde from having to admit her embarrassing mistake.
Pointing to each with a manicured nail, Señorita Leilani explained, "#1 is ze standard love potion zat most people think ov when zey hear about such tings. It makes a person fall in love vith ze first living thing they see. Perhaps you are familiar vith Villiam Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream?" Mamoru nodded in understanding, remembering how the fairy queen fell passionately in love with an actor disguised as a mule in the famous play, but Minako only stared blankly. Leilani sighed and shook her head and continued. "#22 is a truth serum. It vill force the drinker to confess to any number of concealed emotions vith very little prompting. #14 is ze opposite of #1. Instead of ze drinker falling in love vith ze first person they see, ze first person that sees them vill fall in love vith them. And #9 is, ov course, ze infamous kissing potion immortalized by Ze Searchers so many years ago. Until zis potion wears off, ze drinker vill feel compelled to kiss anything and anyone zey see." She grinned secretively. "Do any of zese help you?"
Mamoru fidgeted, staring helplessly at the bottles. "#9 does sound nice," he muttered, and Minako giggled knowingly. "But then it would wear off and we'd be back to square one. #14 is pointless since I'm already—" he glanced at Minako and felt a blush creep into his cheeks. "Er, it just wouldn't change much."
"What about #1? If we got her to drink the whole bottle, that would be that, right?"
He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "No. I don't want to change her feelings. If she's going to fall in love with me, I want it to be for real. Otherwise I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if she would really hate me if she'd been given the choice."
"Mamoru, she doesn't hate you."
He frowned doubtfully.
"Fine, then what about #22?" Minako prompted. "We could just have a tape recorder ready and ask her what she really feels about you. When the potion wears off, we could play it back, and then she wouldn't be able to deny that she loves you."
"You're assuming that she loves me in the first place."
The shopkeeper cleared her throat. The monkeys on her shoulders copied her, clearing their own throats and standing up very tall as if to give a speech. "Perhaps if you tell me vhat is ze problem, I can assist with your decision."
Mamoru looked speculative, but Minako nodded vigorously at her offer. "So I gave the potion you gave me to a friend of mine, Usagi, and she only drank about half of it, but then for three days she was completely, head-over-heels in love with Mamoru. And I mean desperately in love with him. She thought her life would be over without him! But then the potion wore off and now she doesn't remember any of it, and she completely denies having any feelings for him at all. But now Mamoru realizes that he loves her. Right, Mamoru?"
He looked down, his ears turning pink, and shrugged. Minako rolled her eyes. "Obviously he does. So we need to find a way to get Usagi to admit to her true feelings! What do you think we should do?"
Señorita Leilani looked slowly between the two, her face expressionless. The monkeys remained silent, as if they, too, were pondering the situation. Finally, Leilani drew her brow down and closed the box of love potions. With a snap, it was locked and shoved to the other end of the counter.
"I think zat you have been vasting my time!" she spat. The hair on the monkeys bristled and they tittered while Mamoru and Minako took a few startled steps back. "Ov course ze girl already loves you, stupid boy! Zat is what ze potion is made for: to increase feelings of affection. If the effects were that strong on her, zen she must be truly in love vith you even as we speak. You do not need a love potion. You need a backbone!"
Mamoru blinked, stunned, then shook his head. "No, you don't understand the relationship I have with her. We'd never had a decent conversation until this last weekend. All we ever do is fight and argue and—"
Simultaneously, the woman and the monkeys all rolled their eyes exasperatedly. Reaching behind her counter, Leilani pulled out a rolled up magazine and firmly whapped Mamoru on the head with it. "Vill you listen to yourself? You call yourself a man? Answer! You love zis girl?"
Mamoru hesitated for only a moment. "Yes."
"You vant to be with her?"
"Yes."
"You felt complete ven you believed zat she loved you too?"
"Yes."
She whapped him again.
"Ow!"
"Zen stop looking for a miraculous fix to zis situation and go get her! Happiness does not come in a potion. Soul mates are not ze product of a magic spell. You must do zis on your own. Now, my potions do not lie. If zis girl thought you were ze very air that she breathed, then she loves you. Plain and simple."
Mamoru opened and closed his jaw a few times, trying to find words, but a painful smack on his head stopped the attempt.
"Go!" The monkeys joined in, chirping and pointing toward the door.
Taking the hint, Mamoru grabbed Minako's sleeve and high-tailed it out to the street.
"What a wacko," Mamoru mumbled as he and Minako collapsed into a booth in the arcade. She nodded her agreement tiredly, then perked up when she saw Motoki walking toward them.
"Hey, you two crazy kids," he greeted, sliding into the booth beside Minako. "Where have you been all afternoon?"
"Oh, around," Minako answered with a vague wave of her hand. "Have any of the girls come in?"
"Nope, haven't seen them. Are you hungry? I can go put in an order for you."
"Oh, sure! A burger would be great!"
"Extra mustard, no tomato?" he asked with a wink, and she felt herself blushing while her smile grew.
"You memorized my order?"
He shrugged mysteriously and turned to Mamoru who was watching them with a suspicious smirk. "Anything for you?"
"Just coffee."
"Sure."
As Motoki walked away, Mamoru leaned over the table and thrust his thumb toward his retreating friend. "What was that all about?"
"What do you mean?"
"That… that! Were you just flirting with each other?"
She laughed and looked away with a shrug. "Yeah, so? What's wrong with that?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Just making an observation."
"Oh, here they come!" Minako said, willing her blush away as four girls entered the arcade. Makoto saw her first and quickly ushered them toward the booth, but Usagi seemed to be hiding behind the tall brunette as they neared the table. She loitered behind the group, desperately trying to look invisible, or at least completely disinterested.
"Hey girls!" Minako cheered, scooting over to make room. Makoto and Ami quickly slid in beside her, leaving Rei and Usagi huddled beside the table. It was obvious that Rei was trying to get Usagi to sit next to Mamoru, and just as obvious that Usagi was avoiding just that. Finally, Rei sighed and sat down. Usagi quickly joined her.
"Hi Minako-chan, Mamoru-san," Rei said, leaning back so that there would at least be a line of sight between Mamoru and Usagi, but Usagi quickly leaned back along with her. Then Rei leaned forward, but Usagi followed suit. Rolling her eyes, Rei sat comfortably, folding her arms. She wasn't sure if Mamoru noticed the charade, but when she glanced at him, he was frowning and analyzing a dessert menu that he'd probably read a million and two times. "Didn't mean to interrupt your guy's lunch together," Rei added, hoping to spark the jealousy effect. Having trained herself to be sensitive to the flow of chi in a room, she thought that she felt Usagi bristle beside her, but couldn't be sure.
"Oh, we just got here," said Minako, oblivious to Rei's attempts.
"You've been out together?" she said with an insinuating glance, but Minako didn't catch on.
Nevertheless, the blonde responded, "Just did some shopping is all."
Rei grinned, leaning back proudly. "Oh, that sounds fun. Where did you go?"
"We went back to that same place where—"
"Where I got my jacket," Mamoru interrupted. "I wanted to see if they had any more."
Usagi stiffened, remembering the milkshake and the strange dry cleaner's bill. Slowly, she leaned over the table to peer around Rei and met Mamoru's eye. He noted that she looked drastically pale.
"What's wrong with the old one?" she squeaked, then cleared her throat in an attempt to hide her nervousness.
Mamoru stuttered, holding her gaze. "Uh, nothing," he breathed, recalling how she'd all but begged to let her take it to the cleaner, recalling how she'd brought it back looking crushed and forlorn until he'd invited her to stay and study. "Nothing's wrong with it. Just—nothing." He shrugged, as if the gesture answered the question better than words.
It seemed to suffice as Usagi nodded and sat back against the bench again. An awkward silence settled over the table and finally Usagi spat, as if to relieve herself of whatever thoughts she'd been having, "Darn." The girls looked at her. "I thought for sure that milkshake would have destroyed it for good. What a shame."
The girls directed their gazes back to Mamoru, whose lips curled up ironically. "Sorry, Odango, but I think it's virtually indestructible."
They looked back at Usagi. "Well, you can't blame a girl for trying."
"Can't I?"
"Really, if it had been ruined, I would have been doing you a favor. It's got to be the ugliest piece of clothing I've ever seen."
"And what's your sudden obsession with my wardrobe, Odango?"
She snorted. "For your information, I don't obsess over a single thing you do. Never have, and never will."
"That's not what it sounded like two days ago."
Makoto felt like she was about to give herself whiplash. Minako suddenly understood the saying "you could cut the tension with a knife." Rei felt very stuck in the middle. Ami, strangely enough, was thoroughly fascinated by the argument.
Not one of them dreamt of interrupting.
Usagi's eyes widened and she leaned over Rei to stare at him. He met the look casually, not quite angry, not quite proud.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, you've forgotten. How convenient."
"You know I have amnesia from this weekend! It's not exactly my fault, you know."
"Well it's not exactly mine, either."
"Besides, you said nothing happened!"
"Well maybe something did happen!"
"Like what?"
"Like—" Mamoru clamped his mouth shut, remembering the moment stuck in time, her lips against his. He turned away to glare out the window.
"Like nothing," Usagi concluded for him. "Nothing happened! And I wish you would all just drop this stupid charade!"
The girls dropped their gazes, feeling guilty though they knew they'd been telling the truth.
"Right. I need to go," Usagi mumbled, standing from the booth.
"How'd your history test go?"
She turned back to see Mamoru staring at her, an unfamiliar expression in his haunted gaze.
"How'd you know about my history test?"
"You told me about it."
"When?"
"When you were studying at my apartment Saturday night."
Four pairs of eyebrows shot up. The girls looked curiously at each other, then Minako piped up, "She was at your apartment?"
And Ami added, "Studying?"
Mamoru kept his gaze glued to Usagi, but slowly nodded. "And we ate the cookies that you'd baked. For me."
Makoto's jaw dropped. "Usagi cooked something?"
And Rei included, "And it didn't kill you?"
"This is all, of course, after you tried to do my dishes, and after you apologized for the shake incident a million times, and after we came to the arcade together and I bought you hot chocolate."
Mamoru watched Usagi, her face pink and her jaw clenched, as she deliberated on some sort of response. She wanted to deny it, but couldn't, because she'd seen the evidence of his words in her own book bag. She had no arguments for him, and, if she admitted it to herself, she really had a hundred questions to ask him. He seemed to be the only person who could help her fill in the blanks of the missing three days of her life.
But she wasn't sure she wanted them filled in. She was afraid of what she would find in them.
Finally, she shook her head, pivoted on her heel, and walked determinedly out of the arcade, refusing to look back.
When she had gone, Mamoru's strength crumbled and he put his head in his hands, methodically rubbing his temples to ease the headache he could feel building.
The girls sat in uncomfortable silence until Motoki appeared with a burger and a cup of coffee.
"Hey girls! Where'd Usagi-chan go? I thought I saw her come in with you."
"She had errands to run," Ami said, hoping to avoid the subject completely.
"Oh, alright. Here's one hamburger for the pretty blonde, specially made by yours truly. Can I bring the rest of you anything to eat?"
They quickly placed their orders and as Motoki wandered off, all turned their attention to a chipper Minako as she began gobbling up the French fries.
"Minako-chan!" Makoto said in a scandalous tone. "What's with you two these days?"
She giggled, blushing, eager to tell them all the accumulated gossip, but paused when her eyes landed on Mamoru sitting across from her so dejectedly.
"Er… say what, you guys, why don't we have a sleepover tonight?"
"On a school night?"
"Sure, why not? We won't be up late. We can even bring our books to study or something. How about my apartment at seven? I'll tell Usagi."
Makoto shrugged. "Well, anything for the pretty blonde!" she joked mockingly, and the date was set.