I'm so sorry guys! This one's long... hhuhuhuhuhu I just hope you'll have the patience to finish this T_T But I promise this one's GOOD! It's up to you to judge later, so pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee review, okay? Thanks so much!


CHAPTER 8

Dance of the Roses


-o-

Chatters, puffy gowns, a court-side live music and different faces—all together they're making my head spin. If not because of this guy, I'm not gonna be here to keep myself busy on steadying my head.

"Mikan…" Kaname-senpai called, and because it's his voice, even if the music's loud, I heard it. I lifted my head to catch his eyes but I felt something cold on my wrist so my attention was stolen. My jaw dropped in the very moment I saw what was it.

"God, it's beautiful!" I exclaimed as I lifted my wrist nearer to my eyes. There's an ebony bangle with gems and roses in it, and in the middle lies a red gem, a ruby maybe, shaped as a rose. It's more than lovely.

"I'm glad you like it…" he said.

"Are you kidding? I don't like it…" I paused and look up at him. I smiled as he starts to put on a disappointed face. "I love it!" then I chuckled and he sighed in relief. But before I can even utter the 'thank you' words, a man approached us with a welcoming smile plastered on his face.

"I'm glad you made it here, Kaname…" he cheerfully greeted as they shook hands.

"It's an honor to be here, especially when I'm escorting the Chairman's daughter." He looked at me, and…I blushed. "Signor Hyuuga, may I present to you, Chairman Azumi's daughter, Yukihara Mikan…" he introduced me, handing my hands to Mr. Hyuuga who took it with much care as if I'm a fragile bird and kissed it. I'm putting on so much effort to suppress the blushing.

"Welcome to Roseville, milady. It's an honor to meet you finally." He said with a genuine smile. I can say that amidst his age, he looks healthy and handsome too. And as far as I know, he's the late president, Hyuuga Kaoru's husband.

"Thank you for the invitation Mr. Hyuuga…" I smiled at him and at myself too for not stammering. I can see Senpai's lips lifted in a smile. Bet he's proud of me, I thought. "You've got a nice place here…" I added. I looked around. I actually can't survey the place because of the crowd, and the faces of the guests are more intriguing right at this moment than the big chandeliers and crystal figurines. The first face that caught my eyes belongs to a sleek figure of a lady who stands maybe as tall as I am. She's got a pale skin as if the sun never touched it, red lips, and amber eyes with just too much mascara in it, but it still gave justice to her black gown. She's so pretty, and she's got dark hair with blue streaks on it. The other people seemed ordinary-looking. Men have white roses on their suits and most of them are in that book which sempai made me study weeks back. And then there's a crowd divided itself, as if making a way for a guy in the same dark suit but with a different eye color.

Eyes—

"I'll tell my mother-in-law about your compliments." Mr. Hyuuga said, making me look at him. But my eyes, as if it was stolen by that guy, looked back at his direction.

His face was like a big, bold title on a newspaper that will take your attention instantly, but more than that, I really think I saw it before. Maybe lately… or maybe some minutes ago. I don't know but it's like everything became black and white and the only colored one is him. My head hurts too. I can't understand anything.

He's so beautiful. More beautiful that that girl with amber eyes. But his face… I really think that I've seen it before. I try to remember names—celebrities, politicians, socialites…

Ouch! Darn, it's making my head hurt. What's worse is that I think I… know him.

Everytime I blink, I can feel in the tip of my fingers the smooth skin and the sculpted-like features of his face. And as I breathe I can take in a different scent of roses. And I think that belongs to… to him.

But he stopped midway when that girl with amber eyes went near him and greeted him with a kiss. I noticed that he didn't smile at her but his expression was somehow pleased.

From then on our gazes broke and I took the opportunity to get away since sempai's also trapped to converse with the old ones.

He's really weird. Just by looking at him, I forgot my dress, my aching feet, my plan to raid the dining table, and even my charming escort. My attentions suddenly stolen by that bas… —tard.

Wait!

I stopped walking and pressed a clenched fist on my chest. Am I having a heart attack? I think my heart just stopped.

What's wrong with that word, I mean… bastard?

WHOA!

It stopped again! And then my head just… started aching as if it's forcing itself to work. Even in my already-blurred sight, I was able to grab the edge of the terrace palisade to steady myself but to my dismay, my arm bangle fell.

Crap.

"Clumsy Mikan! Clumsy, ugly creature!" I scolded myself, poking my forehead as if I'll learn from that. O dear, I can't lose it! I exhaled and looked down. This isn't so high after all, maybe just a foot above the actual ground. I grabbed my shoes, cautiously glanced around and since no one's looking, I jumped down.

"Ouch! Ouch…God, owwwwrrrcchhh!" Argh. I hissed at myself when I felt the sharp stones underneath my bare feet. Worse is that the left one's sore because of the sudden weight that I caused it. I sat on the grass-covered ground for a while twisting my foot while looking around to see if I can find my bangle. Brr. I never knew Italian autumns would be this cold. My breath forms small puffs and I'm literally chilling. Shivering, I started to walk slowly around the area and then… my ankle snapped again making me fall.

Darn. Why on earth am I so unlucky? Do I really have to get a head-banging headache, lose my bracelet, strain my feet and fall face-down on the ground all in one night? If Hotaru's here I'm sure she'll assert more about my inborn just-a-natural-moron-syndrome than being unlucky.

But maybe not so unlucky at all.

I'm in a party with my sempai and he gave me a beautiful bracelet which I lost and now… "YIPEY! I Found it!" Whahahaha! I'm such an idiot but I can't help chuckling and kissing the bangle. Ahihihihi!

"Hey…"

My celebration's up, I guess. I flinched at the voice—it's an authoritative and…familiar voice—and I can't move. I can feel a pair of eyes watching me from my back and it's making my goosebumps worse.

"Who are you?" it asked again. It was a man's voice. Deep but smooth. It's emotionless… and a bit rude, may I add.

"My apologies" I said as soon as I found my own voice. "I just tripped while looking for something and—"

"I never saw a person chuckle and rejoice over tripping and falling on the ground. Well, not until now…" he said.

Or you can simplify that statement by calling me crazy or something synonymous? I thought. Is he here to help me, or to bully me without further reasons? Arg. I'm still not facing the owner of the voice but the familiarity seems so natural that I am tempted to retort. But I restrained myself. I promised sempai that I will watch my mouth as much as I can and he should give me more credit later because this is not an easy thing to do. Maybe I should just ignore this voice and walk away.

I slightly looked over my shoulder to acknowledge the presence of whoever he is. "Again, signor, I apologize…" then I balanced myself, or tried to, so I can walk away but my foot disappointed me. I almost fell again, but he managed to grab me to make me steady.

And the moment he touched me… my world seemed to stop spinning.

The touch… the scent…

I gather my courage in midst of the crazy beating of my heart… to face him.

What's worse than the earth stopping its rotation? How do you call that?

Eyes… red eyes…

It's as if someone tore a page in my book of thoughts and threw it away and what's left is a blank page—a blank page where no one can write anything— not me, not anyone, not even the author.

It's weird, really. It's as if I have a poor recollection problem and weird feelings and it's like a virus and this very moment, I know I passed it already to this guy. It's more weird than creepy because he's looking at me the same way, but I know he looks far better than the way I look.

His eyebrows furrowed and he gave me a deep, questioning gaze. "Who exactly are you?" he asked, gripping my arms hard. But thanks to that, I got my sanity back so I was able to push him away from me.

Every inch of my body seems distracted, even my abnormal neurons and brain cells. Who is this guy, really?

It's like he's an eyesore but I can't take my eyes off him. I pushed him away but I want to take another step closer to him; I want to shout at him but I can't. Who is he! Why am I reacting like this?

"Who are you!" he asked again. But this time, it sounds like a demand than a question. I can tell that he's as curious as I am, but I'm not sure if what I feel right now is the same thing that bothers him.

"I have the right to speak not of who I am." I told him firmly. Why should I tell him in the first place? If he's demanding an answer just because he helped me to stand up, then, "Thank you for helping me…" I said, and started walking away.

My heart didn't calm down even inside the warm ball room. His voice and face just keeps popping on my mind and I can't think properly. I can't even eat.

"Mikan, the dance of the roses will be starting soon. Get yourself prepared…" Sempai whispered.

"What the hell is that dance about? I'm not even in the mood…" I whined.

"That's a custom event in formal gatherings here in Roseville. All guests are entitled to join. Girls stay in the inner circles while the guys takes position outside then they exchange partners every now and then to get acquainted with everyone. You see the roses on our left chests? These will be given to the favored dance partner later."

"It's just a dance…" I murmured. I love dancing but I'm totally not in the mood because of that rude guy. And my mind won't stop thinking about him. Worse is that I know he's just here, and the moment I see him again, I know I will be distracted as hell again. "I'll skip." I told him as I started to turn away. But sempai caught my wrist and his grip suggests that he's not letting me go. I raised my head so I can see him.

"Darn, Sempai... You're making me sick! Don't use those puppy eyes on me!" I know I can chuckle anytime but thank God he cut the crap out and replaced it with a genuine, charming smile. A smile I can't refuse. Tsubasa-sempai's right—this guy knows how to use his charms for his advantage.

"Calling all attentions..." the emcee called. "Our dear guests please take your respective positions now so we can start the dance." And then everyone gathered around in the middle part of the room. Kaname was my first partner. After every turn, my hand lands on another man and it went on like forever. If I'm in my default goofy state, I will be conversing on each one of them but since my ankle hurts, and my head too, I just smiled and nod and tried to dismiss conversations as fast and politely as I can.

"Buona note, signorina!" A smiling dark-haired guy greeted. Half of his hair's tied and the rest falls just below his shoulders. Blue-violet eyes, Italian nose and flawless skin. He's handsome. "Whoi Mikan-chan? Don't you recognize me?" he chuckled while eyeing me expectantly.

"Do I know you?"

"Aww… that's frustrating! The little girl I used to dance with forgot me!" he said, dramatically with a hand on his left chest. I looked at him again. This time, I examined every inch of him.

Oh my goodness! How can I forget this guy!

"Tono-sempai! You idiot dance tutor who made me spin in the air when I was a kid!" I laughed. He was laughing too and the other guests are now looking at our direction.

"Ahahaha, you little girl! I thought you've already forgotten me."

"Sorry. I did, but just a little. I'm a bit distracted, you know…" I told him. And then the time to turn and change partners came again. My normal self seems to come back again because of Tono-sempai and now I'm ready to smile at my new partner.

But my smile turned into a… scowl. The ugliest scowl of it all with these stuffs: nervousness, confusion, headache, stomachache, all the rest of the aches in the world and… irritation.

"Hey Nat—" I heard Tono-sempai but this guy in front of me threw him a warning gaze and he just went dancing with his new partner while I was stuck with this guy. This red-eyed, rude guy.

"We meet again…" he said, calmly this time.

"Obviously—ouch!" I glared at him. It's because he just stepped on my foot. It's not even a full one-minute and he'd already stepped on me. He shouldn't be dancing here if he doesn't know how to make simple dance steps!

I was about to let it pass but… "Ouch!" I hissed through gritted teeth this time and heaved a deep sigh. I can't help rolling my eyes at him. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"No…"

"Then please stop stepping on my foot." I told him with a glower and I resolved to myself that I keep my foot away from his as much as I can. My plan worked but as time passed, I noticed that he's been my partner for quite a while now.

"Aren't we supposed to change partners?" I asked him, trying to ignore how intimidating his face is while trying so hard to keep myself calm because my heart won't stop pounding hard and my brain feels strained and all. And he keeps glaring at me as if I'm the one who stepped on his darn foot. He didn't even apologize yet. How shameless.

"I'm not letting you off unless you tell me who you are." He bluntly asked. For the very moment I felt scared. What if he's a kidnapper who wants to abduct the chairman's daughter? Then I'll be dead if I tell him who I am. But Tono-sempai knows him and everyone in this room seems to acknowledge him.

"Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are—"

"I'm one of the hosts of the party—"

"Then you should know me since I was invited here…" I said in a rush, certain that I just caught him there.

"I wasn't here when they organized this party." He glowered at me again. Duh, bloody eyes.

"I'm not gonna tell you anything about me then. I'm sorry."

"I don't accept apologies…" he said, still holding my hands while I turn around.

"Figures." I snapped at him when I was facing him again. "…since you don't know how to give one too…" he seemed insulted with the last words I let out that his frown became worse.

"Everyone, it's time for the sweet dance… Feel free to choose your partners…" the emcee announced again. I tried to get my hands away from him but he just gripped it harder. I met his eyes which are intently looking at me.

I suddenly felt frozen in place. His emotionless eyes suddenly held so many emotions… so many familiar emotions… but all of them are vague.

He pulled me closer to him, and we stood there in the middle of all the swaying couples. It's like we're enclosed in a wall of smoky glasses that I can't recognize anyone around anymore. It's just him… and me.

...

What day is it? And in what month?

This clock never seemed so alive

I can't keep up and I can't back down

I've been losing so much time

...

His eyes suddenly softened as the music started and his hands just loosened its grip but he still held my hand, sliding his fingers in the spaces. It fitted… as if it his fingers were intentionally made to fit there. His other hand went gently on my lower back. I have to gulp to clear my throat so I can breathe.

...

Cause it's you and me and all of the people

With nothing to do, nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

...

We're not even moving. We're just staring at each other's eyes and all I can hear are the song and my heart beating with it.

...

All of the things that I want to say

Just aren't coming out right

I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning

I don't know where to go from here

...

I can't understand anything. It's as if I know this feeling… as if I held the same person before, felt the same thing before… but I don't know what part of 'before'.

...

Something about you now

I can't quite figure out

Everything she does is beautiful

Everything she does is right

...

"Tell me who you are…" he whispered. When I lifted my gaze, his face was just inches from mine and it left me… numbed. All that I can do is breathe and take in his scent which burns me inside. "Have we met before? Tell me…" I can hear desperation in his words. I want to answer, but I can't. I kept my head down because the more I see him, the more my head aches. No matter how deep I think, I… don't know him. I want to ask him the same questions. I'm dying to know too…

...

Cause it's you and me and all of the people

With nothing to do, nothing to lose

And it's you and me and all of the people

And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you

...

"Please…" he said, almost inaudibly. My heart leaped, trying to get out of my chest and when I lifted my head again, my nose was already touching the tip of his nose.

"Find me… Get me back… Make me remember everything…"

I flinched. It's my voice. I… I don't… I can't understand anything!

My head starts aching so hard it's worse than a migraine now. I'm breathing hard, pressing my fingers on my temple. "Why are you so desperate to know me! Who are you? I'm… I'm sorry but… I don't know you." And with that I pushed myself away from him and walked off of the ball room. I saw Gus, the chauffeur and immediately asked him to bring me to the hotel.

I can't calm my heart down. Who is that guy? Why… am I like this… with him?

-o-


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Please?

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