a/n: I'm sorry for disappearing for a while! I moved back to uni and I've been busy settling in and getting used to being back. I'm going to try to update next week if I can!
Soon November turns into December.
I haven't spoken to Itachi since that night.
I tried calling him when I was drunk and alone, only to find my number had been blocked. In hindsight, it was probably for the best since no one wants to receive a drunk call from a girl that rejected them.
Even though I know Itachi and Tsubaki are fake, I still can't bare to see any articles written about them. Or see the adverts of them together. The media is really using the news of them being engaged and the public's interest in it to their advantage. The pair have been models for so many different products.
Everywhere I look, I see them.
It hurts. It hurts so, so, so much.
"I can't have you moping about anymore. You need to move on, and the best way to move on is under another man." Yuki says and sips her green tea. I glare at her, not wanting to hear her attempts to get me to move on. I wish she'd just leave me be.
"I don't want anyone-"
"Else, I know. Aki, you need to get revenge at least. Show Itachi you're better off without him."
"I don't need to get revenge."
She sighs. "Aki." She places her mug down and looks at me sadly.
"I regret not telling him how I feel, Yu. Maybe we'd still be friends. Maybe he'd understand more." I admit. I look down at the mug in my hands, the liquid contained untouched.
"Have you tried telling him that you like him?" She asks, her voice calmer and quieter than before.
"No. I never see him anymore, and he blocked my number."
Yuki sighs. "I'm sorry, Aki. I really am."
LNLN
As soon as Rin sees me, she stops packing things into a bag for the customer she's serving and glares at me. She then continues and once the customer is gone and the shop is empty, she pounces.
"How dare you let Itachi get away like that!" She demands.
"He has a girlfriend… uh fiancée. I can't do anything." I say defensively. She doesn't know that Itachi confessed, nor about my feelings for him.
"I was really hoping you'd manage to convince me otherwise. Don't think mum didn't tell me about you being his personal assistant." She frowns at me and places her hands on her hips.
"I'm not anymore." I correct her and she sighs.
"What did you do? When did that happen?" She questions, her frown turning into a puzzled expression.
"It was only supposed to be temporary, didn't mum tell you that? As soon as his new assistant had been trained I'd go back to Izumi." I explain carefully.
"Oh." Another customer enters the shop and Rin goes to serve them. I use this as the perfect opportunity to make my escape and go see if mum and dad are upstairs.
Sat in the living room on her own is my mother.
"Where's dad?" I ask her and she turns to me. She stands up and pulls me into a tight hug.
"He's out seeing an old friend." She pulls back from the hug and I look into her blue eyes. The very blue eyes that gave me mine. I smile at her.
I sit down next to my mum on the sofa and begin to spill everything that happened. Including Itachi's confession about Tsubaki and his feelings for me. She scolds me for not telling her sooner, but I just explain that I wanted to tell her in person rather than over the phone.
"I didn't tell him how I felt." I admit, my eyes falling to my lap in shame.
"You like Itachi?!" Rin gasps as she bursts into the room. "Oh, mum. The shop is getting busy."
"Well, I should head downstairs to help your sister out. Help yourself to tea or coffee." I watch as the pair leave the room and make their way back to the shop below.
Mum's advice circles around my head.
"Don't let it get to you. What's meant to be will be. Just live your life and don't let it get you down."
LNLN
"I told you I don't want to meet anyone else!" I hiss at Yuki. She waves her hand and laughs.
"Come on, just go with it. You need a night out." She pushes me down in a chair and begins playing with my hair. "I have a plan. We need to make Itachi see what he's missing."
"I don't think this will work, Yu." I say honestly. I let my back rest against the chair and I let out a sigh. "Wouldn't this just prove that I have no feelings for him, it will push him away."
"True, but you need to cheer up. The best way to get over one man is to be underneath another."
"Yu! I'm not going to sleep with anyone else!"
"It worked with Hajime, who says it won't work with Itachi?"
"I was over Hajime when I slept with Itachi, and I don't remember that incident either!"
Yuki laughs and puts her hands on my shoulders.
"Just let me get you ready and enjoy tonight. Kakashi is a great man."
"He's not famous, is he? If I can get through tonight without Itachi finding out… Oh God. I sound like I'm cheating." I put my head in my hands.
"He's not that famous. His dad was." I look at Yuki and glare at her.
"You could have picked anyone else!"
"Kakashi, is great, you'll love him."
I frown.
LNLN
Yuki leads me inside the restaurant and pushes me towards the back.
"Go on, you'll be fine. He's lovely." I frown at her. She gives me a reassuring smile.
I sigh and then make my way to the back, where I see a man with long, spikey silver hair. He fits Yuki's description very accurately, except he's not wearing a mask.
I walk to the table and he stands up.
"You must be Akira, it's nice to meet you." He bows and then pulls out my chair.
"It's nice to meet you, Hatake-san." I say with a bow and sit down in the chair. He tucks it in for me before sitting back down in the seat opposite. I pick up the menu and browse through the drinks, before settling on a glass of white wine.
"So, where do you work?" I say when I place down the menu.
"I work at Tokyo High School, what about you?"
We continue to exchange small talk, the waiter arrives, and we order our drinks.
When drinks arrive, I begin to sip my wine immediately.
He's nice, I can't ignore that. But he's not Itachi. I don't think anyone will replace the raven-haired man.
"What was going on between you and Itachi Uchiha?" Kakashi abruptly asks. I wave my hand.
"Ah, nothing. We were just friends. We don't talk much nowadays." I say honestly, leaving out my feelings for Itachi. Yuki is right, I should try to move on. He's going to get married and I'll never have a place in his life. It's time to face the music and stop living in the past.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"We just grew apart, I guess. He's been busy with his fiancée."
Kakashi nods.
The waiter arrives once again, and we order food.
The rest of the night passes by quickly. Kakashi and I end up joking and laughing about all sorts of things, and before we knew it, it was time for us to go home.
Kakashi walks me to my taxi, my hand on his arm as he leads me through the restaurant.
"I had so much fun tonight!" I say cheerfully. He smiles at me.
"I'm glad." He leads me to the taxi that's waiting out front and stops us, turning to face me. He presses his lips to my cheek before leaning back.
I smile at him. "Thank you for tonight." I pull out my phone. "Can I have your email?"
We exchange emails before I go into the taxi.
I ignore the nagging feeling of something is missing.