One minute she was ready to go berserk on those irritating fangirls, the next Cagalli found herself lip-locked with Athrun. And, shockingly, she was enjoying every millisecond of it.
Snap out of it, Cagalli. Use that bat and BASH his cute face in for this!
But her muscles were not responding. Instead the bat slowly fell from her hand.
His kiss was gentle, persuasive, and intoxicating. Every nerve-ending buzzed, every hair stood on end, and every part of her was drowning in the havoc his kiss evoked within her. Cagalli couldn't even summon the energy to move an inch. She was THAT stupefied.
Finally, Athrun pulled back, staring at her in confusion. It appeared he was affected by the kiss too. Then he shook his head and regarded his disappointed fan girls apologetically. "Right, so you see, we're officially a couple. Now would you all please stop following me around?"
His groupies were too busy bawling their eyes out to hear him. They couldn't believe their sweetheart, their darling Athrun, would pick the ugliest, most unfeminine woman in the universe to fill in the coveted role of his fiancé. It just wasn't natural! Not to mention unfair!
"NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!" One of the fangirls cried as she raised a fist into the air. "Athrun would NEVER fall for a hideous barbaric tomboy like her! I don't care! I'm going to save my beloved Athrun from that EVIL witch's EVIL plan to trap him into marriage! Who's with me?"
Every one of the Athrun enthusiasts raised their hands. "That's right!" agreed another fan girl. "I can't accept this! I'm sure that Wicked Witch from the West poured some kind of love potion into his drink and made him fall for her! I don't care what my darling Athrun says! I'm going to rescue him from the worst mistake he'll ever make in his life!"
"LET'S GET HER!"
But when the enraged fangirls turned to attack Cagalli with torches and pitchforks, they saw only an empty space where the blond once stood.
Athrun and Cagalli were gone!
While the fan girls had been knee-deep in their pep rally, the chairman and his fake fiancé had tip-toed away from them ever so quietly. When they felt they were out of harm's way from his lust-crazed groupies, Athrun dialed his cell phone and ordered his driver to come pick them up A.S.A.P.
"Okay, now all we have to do is stand here and wait," Athrun said as he closed his cell phone.
Cagalli looked behind him and sweatdropped. "Err...I don't think we have time to wait, Zala."
The chairman of PLANT followed her gaze and saw the Athrun-crazed fangirls shrieking like banshees as they headed straight for them. He groaned and slapped his forehead. "For goodness' sake, can't they leave me alone for even one minute?"
"L-O-V-E, WE LOVE YOU, ATHRUN!"
"BURN IN HELL, EVIL WITCH CAGALLI!"
Cagalli's face darkened and she grabbed a nearby rock the size of a washing machine. "No one calls me names and gets away with it!" she hissed as she stomped over to the fan girls with deadly intent.
"Cagalli, no!" Athrun grabbed the extremely ticked off blonde's by the waist and tried to hold her back. "Calm down! Violence solves nothing."
"Violence may solve nothing but it sure as heck would give me satisfaction!" Cagalli thrashed about, itching to tear the scalp off the stupid bimbos who DARED cross her.
"Master Athrun!"
The chauffeur had finally arrived and Athrun dragged her struggling body into the limousine. But instead of discouraging them, the swarming crowd of insane fangirls raced after the vehicle.
Cagalli was actually beginning to see a bizarre pattern here: Fan girls come. They run. Fan girls chase. They're trapped. Cagalli gets mad. Athrun acts stupid. And then the limousine comes to save the day.
"You know, this is quickly becoming a habit," she muttered as the limo headed for the mansion.
"I agree." Athrun stared at the rearview mirror and caught sight of the testosterone-high fanatics chasing after the limousine. He sighed and leaned back against his seat, wondering if this will ever end. "Now Cagalli, I know this is sudden but you'll have to stay over at my manor for the moment. I think those fan girls aren't overly enthusiastic with our 'engagement' and they might do something drastic. For your own safety, you have to---Cagalli?" He stopped talking when he realized the blond hadn't responded at all.
Her eyes were narrowed dangerously and homicidal vibes radiated off her---vibes that were directed at HIM.
Athrun gulped. Not good. Definitely not good.
"Athrun," she began in an ultra-calm voice, "since the moment we met, you've been constantly taking advantage of me in public, but I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. Exhibit A: You practically kidnap me and proclaimed to the world I was your fiancé. I could almost forgive you for that one, except later on there's exhibit B: You saw me naked. Again, I could almost forgive you since it was an accident. But then there's exhibit C: You kissed me...WITHOUT PERMISSION! Do you realize what this means?"
An evil smile slowly spread across her lips as her face loomed over his. "It means three strikes, and you're out!"
Athrun sweatdropped and slowly inched as far away from her as the limo seats could allow him.
"Err...Can't we discuss this over tea and biscuits like calm, rational adults?" he asked with a nervous smile.
The expression on Cagalli's forbidding face said she had no intention of having any form of discussion with him. With a battle cry, she suddenly raised her fist and lunge at him, ready to pummel Athrun's pretty face to a lovely shade of black and blue.
The result was NOT going to be pretty.
"HIIIIIIYYYYAAAA!"
………………………………………………………….
Undercover Fiancé Wanted, Desperately
Chapter Four
………………………………………………………….
It was one of those pleasant mornings when you think everything should be all right in the world. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing...and the alarm clock was getting FREAKING ANNOYING!
"Shut up already!" Cagalli covered her head with the pillow and tried to resume her blissful sleep. However, the alarm clock obviously could not comprehend the human language because it continued ringing her brains out. She gritted her teeth and glared at it through one open eye. "I'm warning you, mister! If you don't shut up, you're never going to ring for another morning!"
But the alarm clock persisted in taunting her. RRRRRRING! RRRRRRRRRING!
So really, was it HER fault that she grabbed that irritating alarm clock, threw it out the window and let it crash three-stories down into tiny, itty bitty pieces?
"That should take care of THAT garbage." She yawned and stretched her back as she slowly sat up in bed. Then she looked around her and frowned. Her bedroom looked so elegant, so refined, so CLEAN...when it should have looked like an atomic bomb had blown it up! Strange. Who does everything look so different from my old room?
Oh, right. Now she remembered. She had a sleepover in Athrun's mansion yesterday night. This was one of his guest rooms.
After taking a quick shower and changing into her regular shirt and jeans, Cagalli walked down the staircase like a drooling zombie as she headed for the kitchen for breakfast. As you can see, she was NOT a morning person and never will be.
As she passed by the dining room, Athrun Zala looked up from the newspaper and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Cagalli."
She threw him an irritated glare. How could ANYONE sound so cheerful in the morning? It's inhuman! It's illegal! It's...
Wait a minute.
"Good afternoon? But it's only---TWELVE THIRTY!" Cagalli's eyes nearly bugged out as she stared at the clock on the mantelpiece. "Zala, why didn't you wake me up earlier?"
Athrun smiled. "Because it's rude. Not to mention how tired you must feel after running around in circles with fan girls chasing you from behind."
Humph, typical Athrun. He was as considerate as ever.
"Oh, and I saw something strange a minute ago. I thought I saw an alarm clock dropping from the sky. And it looked kind of like the expensive one-thousand-dollar gold alarm clock I bought from Paris..." The chairman tapped his chin thoughtfully.
Cagalli coughed. "Err...must have your imagination."
He shrugged. "You're probably right."
She quickly changed the subject. "I still can't believe you managed to avoid every blow I gave you even though we were in restricted space. How do you do it? I was one of the best martial artists in my high school and I thought I'd hit you at least once!" The blond eyed his unharmed body speculatively.
"Oh, you're good. But your concentration was more on attacking than truly damaging me."
There was a glint of admiration in her eyes. "What are you talking about? I was seriously thinking of killing you and you evaded my every blow! You must have a black belt in martial arts!"
He sweatdropped. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment. I was trained in martial arts when I was younger, so I guess it comes in handy at times."
Athrun suddenly stood up and gently took her hand in his. The blond looked surprised and blushed slightly.
"Cagalli, I want to give you this."
From his pocket, he pulled out a beautiful diamond ring that looked like it cost a fortune and slipped it into her finger. She gasped.
"It's your engagement ring," he explained. "Today we're going on our first date, and I want everyone to see us as a real engaged couple."
"Wow!" Cagalli gazed at the sparkling ring in awe. "It's beautiful! I don't recall you going to a jewelry shop yesterday. Where did you get it?"
"Actually, it's a family ring and there's a special legend behind this thing," Athrun said. "You see, the ring was once blessed---or cursed, depending on whose point of view---by a priest more than a millennium ago. The Zala ring must be given to the woman a Zala male loves or bad luck shall befall on the family. Since then, it's been passed down from father to son, generation after generation..."
She arched an eyebrow. "But that's just a legend...right?"
"Well, ten years ago, I had an uncle who was in love with a penniless woman. Because he cared so much for money and social status, he married a rich socialite and kept the woman he loved a mistress. Then the bank he manages goes into bankruptcy, he lost all his investments and his wife ran off with another man. In the end, he shot himself to death and died in the arms of his mistress."
Cagalli stared at the ring on her finger, aghast. "Maybe I shouldn't be wearing this..."
"Hey, don't take it seriously," Athrun said, laughing. "Besides, it's not like we're REALLY going to marry. It's just for show, right?"
She forced a smile. "Right."
There was an awkward pause.
Athrun cleared his throat. "Err...so how about we have lunch now? Since it's our first date, you can pick the place you want to eat. Perhaps somewhere public..."
"Alright then!" Cagalli brightened. "How about we head to a McDonald's?"
He blinked. "A...McDonald's?"
"That's right. It's been so long since I've eaten there and I---" She frowned when Athrun wore a vacant look that said he hadn't a clue what she was babbling about. "You...HAVE heard of a McDonald's before, right?"
"..."
"What about KFC?"
"..."
"Have you heard of Pizza Hut?"
"..."
"Have you heard of ANY fast-food joints?"
The blank look on his face was all the answer she needed.
She slapped her forehead. "Boy, do we really need to brush up on your ignorance! Where have you been these past centuries? On Planet Jupiter?"
He coughed. "Not exactly..." Usually, he hadn't the time to eat outside his office, and even if he did it would be to an uptown ritzy diner. Not that he had any intention of revealing this bit of information. She probably wasn't used to the kind of places he was accustomed to.
Cagalli raised a determined fist and a fiery aura surrounded her. "Zala, that's all about to change. Everyone MUST at least ONCE step into a fast-food joint and eat junk food. It's practically one of the most basic rules of life! You're missing out on something too good to pass up here. Fortunately for you, I'm going to remedy that! Come on!"
Athrun silently prayed for his life.
His obsessive fangirls had set up camp outside the front gate, so after taking the secret backdoor behind the mansion, the two of them made their way past the courtyard quietly. It was under Cagalli's window that Athrun heard a soft crunch under his foot and looked down quizzically. It looked like broken shards of something mechanical...and round...and golden...
Something like the expensive one-thousand-dollar gold alarm clock he'd bought from Paris.
The chairman stared at the broken alarm clock and then looked at Cagalli.
She blinked innocently. "What?"
…………………………………………….
Miriallia stifled a yawn as she made her way to the coffee shop. She'd been working since yesterday night, trying to cope with the shortage of workers while keeping the customers happy. She'd come home late last night tired and awakened to a splitting headache and total exhaustion. At the rate I'm working I'm going to burn out sooner or later, she thought with a sigh. Still, it was her turn for the afternoon shift and she wanted to set a good example for her employees...
As she was stepping into the café, one of her most devoted waitresses suddenly ran up to her with a troubled look. "Miss Haww, we're in big trouble!"
Milly's eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of trouble?"
"Many of the waitresses and cooks quit working today. And they said they're not coming back until the boss increases their earnings or they're threatening to work for that new coffee shop across the street! They're also forming a mob in front of the café demanding higher wages. Oh, what are we going to do?"
The auburn-haired girl looked shocked. "WHAT? But today's Saturday! We have the most customers on Saturdays! It's the busiest time of the week!"
"I know," the waitress nodded sadly, "but they refuse to go to work. And I can't talk them into changing their minds, so we're short of about ten workers and the head chef is leading them. I'm so sorry, Miss Haww."
"It's not your fault. I know you tried your best," Milly comforted the girl. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out. Maybe we can recruit a few temporary workers..."
"I'll make the flyers right away!" The waitress raced into the restaurant, leaving Milly to contemplate on the new problem at hand. She frowned, trying to think of how best to solve the on-strike employee problem. It was fairly easy to find a temporary worker, but a head chef was another matter. Perhaps she should have a talk with Mr. Haww later and---
"Milly, did anyone ever tell you that you look remarkably unattractive with an upside-down smile?"
Her back stiffened and all her problems faded into nonexistence at the sound of that infuriating voice from behind her. With a chilling glare that could rival even the temperature of the South Pole, Milly folded her arms over her chest and scowled at the newcomer. "Hello, Elthman. You're a parasite for sore eyes. Have you come back to try and bring more sunshine and joy with your impotent existence?"
The cretinous simpleton who was living proof that evolution CAN go in reverse grinned. "At the moment, no. I'm just here for my lunch. I'm a loyal customer of your café, after all."
"Well, I'm afraid I don't serve food to homicidal killers who try to murder me."
Dearka flinched, recalling yesterday's fiasco with the flowers. "That was an honest mistake, Milly. I had no idea you were suffering from allergic rhinitis. I had no intention of trying to kill you."
She scoffed in disbelief. "Hah! Feed those lies to my lawyer. You're just lucky I'm currently too busy to take legal action against you."
"Too busy? Doing what?"
She sighed, exasperated. "If I throw you a stick, will you leave?"
"You're not getting rid of me that easily. So what's bothering you?"
She grounded her teeth together and hissed, "I'll tell you what's bothering me---your face, your neck, your hands, your limbs, and, to save myself the trouble of mentioning the points in detail, EVERYTHING about you bothers me! SO GET LOST!"
"Milly, stop being so stubborn..."
"Why don't you head on over to the coffin maker's shop across the street? I hear he just invented a new coffin just for you that goes over the head. It's for people who are dead from the neck up!"
"MISS HAWW!"
Before Dearka could further aggravate the auburn-haired girl, the waitress earlier had returned carrying an armful of colorful leaflets. "Miss Haww, the flyers are done. So when do we begin our search for more waitresses and cooks?" she asked.
Dearka took one of the flyers and stared at it. "You have a staff shortage?"
"So what's it to you?" Milly snatched the flyer from his hand.
"Well, perhaps I can provide you with help."
"Don't worry. If I need help, I'll get it from people who aren't walking experiments in Artificial Stupidity." She cocked her head and tapped her chin. "On second thought, you're right. Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence."
He shook a finger and tsk-tsked. "Milly, you need my help and you know it. Where are you going to find employees willing to work for you at such short notice?"
She scowled, hating to admit that he was right. But she wasn't THAT desperate...was she?
The mob in front of the café burst into a noisy uproar as the head chef raised a fist. "WHAT DO WE WANT?"
"HIGHER SALARY!" yelled the crowd of ex-employees.
"WHEN DO WE WANT IT?"
"NOW!"
For the sake of her father and for the coffee shop, Milly swallowed down her pride and turned to the blond. "Fine, you can help me. But where can you find a head chef in less than thirty minutes?"
"Don't worry," Dearka smirked. "Just leave it to me..."
…………………………………………….
Wide-eyed, Athrun gazed up at the McDonald's building in front of him. The full-size model of a funny clown with bright red hair, thick make-up and gigantic shoes clutching a huge signpost stood two feet away from him. Crowds milled around them, mostly made up of parents and children.
"So...this is a McDougal?"
"McDonald's! It's a McDonalds!" Cagalli sighed, rolled her eyes and then pointed at the huge signboard the inert clown was holding up. Athrun scratched the back of his head sheepishly, feeling incredibly stupid. "I'm sorry, I didn't read the sign," he said.
"Well, don't just stand there like a half-wit with your mouth agape. It's time to eat! I'm starving!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the building.
A perky-looking girl stood at the counter with a big smile. "Welcome to McDonalds. What can I get you?"
Cagalli read the menu on the counter and ordered, "I'd like two extra large French fries, plenty of salt. Two chicken drumsticks and two wings and, err, a coca-cola please."
Athrun's eyes rounded. His arteries were clogging just listening to her rattle off her list of cholesterol-loaded food choice. He quickly grabbed the menu from her and studied it. "Don't they have ANYTHING that doesn't involve dead animals?"
Cagalli blinked. "Huh?"
He waved the menu in her face. "Chickens, hamburgers, beef steaks...How could you eat them? They're all made from animal flesh!"
"Zala, don't tell me you're a vegetarian."
His face reddened. "So what if I am? Do you know how much calories animal meat possess? And remember, animals have lives like humans too. They don't deserve to be slaughtered to fill an empty stomach when we can always resort to vegetables!"
She stared at him incredulously. "Human beings didn't fight their way to the top of the food chain just to become a vegetarian. Besides, if we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?"
He opened his mouth but found he couldn't argue with her logic. Still, he crossed his arms stubbornly.
Cagalli sighed. "Fine, order a salad for yourself."
A few minutes later, Athrun carried a tray laden with death-by-cholesterol to their table. His lips twisted in disgust as he set it down in front of her. "Here's your dead chicken, French fries cooked in goo, and coca cola, which can also take varnish off floors." The look on his face clearly said he expected the spirit of the chicken to appear at any second and cluck accusingly in Cagalli's face.
The blond refused to be intimidated and bit off a huge chunk of her chicken wing. "So what if I die early from cholesterol overload? At least I'll die happy! You've probably never eaten junk food in your life!"
Athrun refused to be intimidated either and ate his salad. "Well, at least my lifespan will last for a few extra years and my health would be assured!"
"Lighten up, Zala. I never knew you were such a health nut. It's not as if I'm forcing you to eat meat. But you should really try the French fries. You'll regret it for your whole lifetime if you don't try it. And don't worry, it's made of potatoes, which are a type of vegetable I think."
He stared at the French fries doubtfully. Well, if it was vegetables...
"Don't be shy. Go ahead and dig in." Cagalli pushed the plate closer to him.
Hesitantly, he picked up a piece of French fry, dipped it into tomato sauce and popped it into his mouth. After slowly chewing it, his green eyes lit up and he grabbed another French fry. "That tasted delicious! Where have these French fries been all my life?"
He continued munching on more of the French fries until he felt her drilling holes into his head. Athrun looked up and raised his eyebrows. Cagalli was staring at him with the weirdest expression on her face. "What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"
"No, no. It's just...you look so cute when you chew." As soon as the words escaped her, she mentally slapped her forehead.
"Huh?"
"I said, these French fries taste good, don't they?" Cagalli gave him a huge plastic smile and quickly devoured more French fries, leaving a trail of tomato sauce all over her mouth. Please just ignore my comment, she inwardly pleaded.
He did, but only because of the intrusion from an unexpected visitor...
"Cagalli!"
"Eh?" The blond looked up, startled. A young man with dark brown hair was waving his hand as he hurried over to their table. Her amber eyes widened in recognition. "Ahmed, is that you?"
"In the flesh," he replied, totally ignoring Athrun's existence. "It's been so long. How have you been?"
"Oh, I'm fine. So you're working in McDonald's now?" She pointed to the McDonald's uniform he was wearing.
"Oh yes. It's a part-time job while I study for my course in engineering. What about you?"
"Oh, the usual..."
Bla-bla-bla, bla-bla-bla...
The chairman lifted up a finger and opened his mouth to introduce himself but both of them ignored him. It was like they had entered a universe of their own and he was an outsider from Planet Invisible. Athrun sighed and regarded the uncomplaining, untalkative French fries. "Tell me, am I so forgettable? They barely even notice I'm alive!"
The French fries wisely refrained from comment.
…………………………………………….
Yzak was busy typing on the computer when he heard the door swinging open. Without Dearka even opening his big mouth and inserting his foot, the Joule could already sense whose aggravating presence it was. "Why are you here, Elthman? Didn't I already curse you to hell?"
The tanned blond looked puzzled. "Since when did you curse me to hell?"
"Five seconds ago when you opened my office door."
Dearka put on a pitiful expression on his face. "Yzak, I need your help..."
Yzak's spine instantly stiffened. There it was again, the famous five words that always spelled déja bull: the feeling that he'd heard this bull before.
"Oh no. I refuse to star in another one of your psychodramas. Whatever it is, my answer is no!"
"But it's just a teensy weensy little favor---"
"No."
"---and all you have to do is---"
"No."
"Can't you wait until I finish my sentence?"
Yzak's undivided attention was still super-glued to the computer screen when he replied flatly, "Even if you complete your long-winded request for help, you'd still be wasting your breath because my reply will still be 'no'. If that mountain pile of paperwork and my current typing status doesn't tell, I'm too busy working and I don't have time to solve whatever mess you've created. So what's the point?"
"Well, I still want you to hear me out," said Dearka, stubbornly. "See, Milly's employees are revolting against her father, and as a result, her café is suffering from a shortage of workers. So I offered to help and to find for other volunteers. And when I tried to think of someone who could cook and clean, I immediately thought..."
"You immediately thought: Hey, wouldn't it be fun if I made Yzak's life more miserable by forcing him into degradation and working as an employee of a coffee shop?" The silver-haired man rolled his eyes. "Well, if you actually believed I would say yes, then either the mental hospital tested too many drugs on you today or you ate a brain tumor for breakfast. Take your pick."
"But---"
"No."
"But I really---"
"No."
"If you'll only listen to---"
"No."
"Yzak, PLEASE! You're one of the best chefs cum housekeeper I know! You clean up after yourself, for God's sake!"
Yzak stopped typing and gave the blond a glare of death. "I suggest you look up page 496 on the Oxford Dictionary of Basic English for Idiots. Then MAYBE, just MAYBE, a person with your room temperature I.Q. will understand what 'no' means."
"Yzak..."
"No."
Dearka threw up his hands in frustration. "Can't you say ANYTHING but no?"
"Hmm, let me think about it...No."
"But it'll only take a few hours of your time..."
"Well, this is a big old fat NO!"
…………………………………………….
"...Remind me again why I'm doing this."
Yzak Joule crossed his arms over his chest, a huge tic throbbing on his forehead. He was dressed in his usual immaculate business suit, only this time with a flowery pink apron tied around his waist and a white scarf over his head. Suffice to say, he had never felt more ridiculous in his life!
Dearka, the brains behind the silver-headed man's latest humiliating episode, waved his hand airily. "Okay, I'll remind you. You're doing this for your good friend (a.k.a. me) and for all those poor, unfortunate souls who don't have the time to cook their own meals."
The Joule scoffed. "You mean, I'm doing this for the sake of those pathetic fools who are either too lazy to cook themselves or possess zero culinary skills."
"Don't think so negatively, Yzak! Think of it instead as a service to the general community. Besides, the apron looks quite flattering on you."
Yzak's face darkened. "I've got only one nerve left, and you're getting on it."
While the silver-haired man glared rat poison and toxic fumes at the calmly smiling blond, Milly was watching them interacting with a sweat drop. With friends like these who needs enemies?
"Umm, so your name is Yzak Joule?" she asked.
"That's right. And you must be Miriallia Haww, the latest victim of Dearka's unfortunate attentions." Yzak eyed with interest the auburn-haired girl who was responsible for making his friend lose what was left of his brains and go gaga over her for a whole month.
"Well, thank you for lending us a hand," Milly said with a smile. "We need all the help we can get...even if the helper IS an intellectually challenged moron." She slanted a glare of doom in Dearka's direction.
Dearka looked hurt. "I feel so unloved..."
Yzak's lips curled wryly. "He's not a moron. He's just among the world's best chef on culinary catastrophe and producing offensively putrid food."
"HEY! Of course I can cook!" Dearka crossed his arms and glared at his so-called 'friend'.
"So you can cook, huh?" Milly raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Somehow I don't believe you. Why don't you prove it and cook me an omelet?"
"No problem. You'll have it before you can even say 'omelet'."
Dearka remembered from some TV show that chefs always used some kind of instrument to begin cooking. He looked around and pointed to the odd-looking cooking utensil hanging on a hook. "Yzak, can you hand me that, uh, that...uh, thingamabob?"
Yzak's eye twitched. "It's a spatula."
"Oh, right. Hand me the spatula."
It was with great reluctance that Yzak placed the spatula (and probably the fate of the entire kitchen) into Dearka's doubtful hands. Then the blond proceeded to grab two eggs and used the spatula to smash them.
Milly narrowed her eyes. "Elthman, do you even know what you're doing?"
"Of course I know what I'm doing..."
Half an hour later, Dearka was mixing some kind of green gooey mixture into the pot, together with the egg shells floating on top and some kind of dog-food looking thing on the side. The fire was too high and the brewing pot threatened to blow up any minute now.
Milly twitched. It looked as if it was some kind of poisonous pig-feed from a culinary nightmare!
His mind already visualizing the disaster rapidly looming over them, Yzak held out his hand warily. "Dearka, give me the spatula before you hurt yourself."
Dearka waved his hand airily. "Relax. Everything is under cont---"
BOOM!
The pot finally exploded and a thick cloud of acrid smoke filled the air. The three of them coughed and pinched their noses to ward off the stench. Through the haze, Miriallia managed to grab the fire extinguisher and doused the fire. When the smoke finally cleared, three black-stained faces blinked, and then the other two hurled lethal glares at the sweatdropping blond.
Dearka laughed sheepishly. "Err...Oops?"
The Joule twitched. For the sake of his physical wellbeing as well as to prevent the customers from dying agonizing deaths courtesy of the blonde's questionable cooking skills, Yzak snatched the spatula from his hand and fought very, very hard against the overwhelming urge to bash Dearka's skull with it.
Yzak gritted his teeth instead. "Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them. And you, Elthman, are No. 1 on the Most Wanted list. From now on, stay out of the kitchen or I won't be held responsible for the obituary you'll have tomorrow..."
…………………………………………….
Athrun drummed his fingers on the table with an irritated expression on his face. For a whole hour, he'd been looking from Cagalli to glaring at Ahmed and then back again like he was watching a ping-pong match. And for a whole hour, he'd been ignored like the French fries he'd set aside.
"...You've changed a lot since high school."
"I have?"
Athrun narrowed his eyes. For some strange reason, he didn't like that look of tenderness in Ahmed's eyes and he didn't like how close Ahmed was to Cagalli and he didn't like...
Actually, the chairman didn't like ANYTHING about Ahmed.
"Yeah," Ahmed was saying, "you've grown up. You look prettier and---"
As soon as he heard the other man compliment Cagalli, something inside Athrun completely snapped.
"My name is Athrun Zala, Cagalli's fiancé," he butted into the conversation and smiled---or more like, snarled as he placed his arm possessively around her shoulders. "Isn't that right, Cagalli?"
She stared at him strangely. "Err...right. Ahmed, this is my fiancé, Athrun."
The chairman continued to smile, but the look on his face clearly said: BUZZ OFF, BUSTER. SHE'S MINE!
Ahmed's face fell. "What? That's news. Well, I guess congratulations are in order. You are one lucky man, Zala."
"I know." And I'll feel even luckier if you'd leave us alone.
Unfortunately, the persistent man decided to stick around. "Hey, Cagalli, I'm free this afternoon. If you have time, maybe we can catch up on old times and---"
"Oh, look at the time! We have to leave now. See you later, err, Ahmed!" Athrun grabbed Cagalli's arm and hauled the dumbfounded girl out of McDonald's. When they walked through the entrance, Cagalli shook off his hand and glared at him. "Athrun Zala, why the heck did you do that? You were rude and obnoxious to Ahmed!"
Athrun rolled his eyes. "He deserves it! He was flirting with you like I wasn't even there!"
"Flirting with me?" she choked. "Your overactive imagination astounds me! He was just being friendly since we haven't seen each other since high school!"
"You call wanting to ask you out on a date 'just being friendly'?" Athrun looked incredulous. "You're either blind or ignorant. As your boss, I forbid you to have any contact with this fellow."
"YOU forbid ME?" Cagalli was beyond outraged. She placed one hand on her waist and pointed a finger to his chest. "Listen, Mr. I-am-your-boss-so-you-have-to-do-whatever-I-say, you have no right to forbid me to do anything. So what if I want to see him? Ahmed is my friend."
"Friend?" he snorted. "You two sure don't ACT like friends..."
She threw up her hands. "Ugh! You're acting like a...a...I don't know, like some kind of jealous boyfriend!"
"Of course not! I just..." He paused, realizing there was a crumb of truth in what she was saying. He WAS acting like some kind of overprotective boyfriend. He couldn't understand why he was acting so irrationally either. Why should HE care if she wanted to date Ahmed? It wasn't as if...
As if I have feelings for her...
Athrun sighed. "Look, I just don't want you to blow our cover. As my 'fiancé', it could potentially ruin my reputation if you're seen fraternizing with other males." It was the only logical reason he could think of. Why else would he feel so angry, so...resentful?
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't contact Ahmed. Are you happy now?"
Athrun was almost ashamed to admit he was happy. Almost. Except he had a nasty feeling he would do it again if she had any more so-called 'Boy. Friends.' somewhere out there.
Her voice was still laced with anger when she growled, "Alright, let's put that behind us. We still have a date to finish. Where to next, Mr. Boss?"
She crossed her arms and pouted, looking adorably cute and making the tomato sauce leftover on her face more pronounced.
Athrun couldn't take it anymore. Of its own violation, his fingers reached out and gently wiped away the leftover tomato sauce on her mouth. Cagalli's jaw dropped wide open in shock.
"There," he said with a smile. "I've been meaning to do that..."
Her eye twitched. "Good. And I've been meaning to do THIS!"
PUNCH!
…………………………………………….
(TBC)