Chapter 11: His Persistence
His Fame, Her Self
Genre: Drama/Romance
Summary- Rima Touya is a lower class girl with a scholarship in a rich elite high school called Knight Academy, filled with rich kids, who hate her! She just wants to finish her schoolwork to graduate high school and become an artist! Unfortunately, Senri Shiki, the most popular boy in the elite academy of snobby rich kids and the known world that has his face on a magazine cover, is interested in the outcast Rima Touya and kinda stalking her...for some reason. Could it be her oversized clothing attire, or her messy hair, or her thickly framed goggles? As she tries to be distant with Senri Shiki, her family and friends push her toward him. Could something start? Or just make the Touya female hate the rich society even more?
I'd like to thank the readers and reviewers of the last two chapters: .pUddiNg.x, shikixxrima, kawaii hime-sama, sangoyasha, sachiko haruki, princessxofxthexmoon456, Neko-Of-Love, xoxokittygirlxoxo, anon, kAtiE-lUvs-mcr, 13ismynumber, bL00dybLaCkr0sE16, xXDarknessofDeathXx, ChainedHs2rt
Once again I would like to sincerely thank everyone for the support and reviews, and hope you enjoy this chapter!
My mirror reflected a bespectacled, red-haired, blue-eyed, lanky and clumsy teenage girl. I wore a red tank top and a pair of dark shorts; nothing special. I sighed as my eyes glanced at the magazine cover of a 'perfect' girl before it clanked against the metal surface of a trash bin. Lifting the green hairbrush, I began to brush the tangles out of my hair.
Apparently there was no school today, this mild Wednesday mid-morning. I think it had something to do with repairs in the main building or a sort of holiday only rich people celebrated or knew about. Alone in the house is quite odd as Dad went to work; Masaru is at school and Umeki being Umeki. I placed the brush back on the dresser table's surface.
My attention was toward the dark frames as I attempted to clean the lens with the hem of my shirt. Apparently, everyone began to question why I began to wear my glasses again but I don't really care what they want me to appear. Everyone asked- Dad, Umeki, Masaru, Sachiko, Kazou, and even Hashimoto, but as always I ignored their questioning as I see it as pointless to repeat myself.
In order to make my house less empty, I placed my music player on the dock of a stereo system. I started skimming up and down my playlist in my music player until I was content on the recording artist and song I chosen. Before I could press play, my ears perked up at a small noise coming from my window. Turning my hair, I caught a glimpse of an object making the noise as it bounced off the glass surface.
I slowly walked toward my window, another object hit against the reflective surface and the barrage of objects halted as I opened my window. My fingers held the small mass the source of my attention, "A rock?"
,"Hey there Juliet!" My mane of yellow-red hair perked up at the voice. On my lawn, Senri Shiki stood with much pride as his hands were stuffed in his expensive jeans pockets. His usual smirk was painted on his face, "Want to sneak out of the castle?"
I sighed, "No, Romeo. Bye." Rolling my eyes, I pushed my window down and locked it for fear of him even thinking of coming into my room. His face fell as I heard a muffled 'Come on!' from the transparent surface.
Something compelled me to be less cold towards him as I opened my window again. I was already cruel to him at the Gala; I guess I shouldn't abuse his kindness- if one could call stalking and turning dear friends and family members against me as a sort of Good Samaritan action. My cheek rested against my palm, "I'm listening."
His eyes shined, "Want to grab a bite to eat? Or just hang out?"
My eyebrow rose as I moved my hand to push my glasses off the brim of my nose, "Why?"
,"I know you're lonely." My heart dropped. He grinned, shifting his footing, "And you are probably very bored without me." His eyebrows moved up and down playfully
,"Don't flatter yourself."
,"How about it then?" He nodded his head toward the limo parked in front of my house. Great! Nothing weird in the neighborhood, just a shiny, black limo parked conspicuously in front of a washed out white colored house! "We can just hang out and finish our game of 20 questions."
My fingers yearned to power drill my bedroom window, but it's considered a fire hazard for one thing, "I really don't want to go. " I honestly didn't want to be trapped inside my own house for the entire day, "But, why not?"
The male was completely enlightened by my agreement of downcast eyes and shrugged shoulders.
,"So, get anything from the menu, I'm buying." Senri peeked behind a pair of dark shades as he covered his face with the visor of his baseball cap.
Placing the colorful, laminated menu on the table, my hand cradled my cheek, "We're not in a big named five-star restaurant. I can actually afford to eat here!" Glancing at the menu, I sighed in annoyance.
A small diner was a few blocks away from Kokoro, with a well thought out menu and prices. Normally people wouldn't crowd around such a placid area, but during the afternoon weekends the restaurant was equivalently noisy and crowded as the neighborhood zoo.
A perky waitress about a couple years older than me came strolling by our table. Her blonde hair was in an odd hairstyle with colorful highlights that screamed of individuality and her brown eyes gleamed happily as though working at a diner part-time was better than going on a year-round cruise on a private yacht, "Hello, what would the nice couple like today?"
I ignored the comment as I pointed to a nice looking meal on the menu, "I would like the double cheeseburger with the side of French fries and a medium soda, please."
Her long fingernails grasped my menu as she jotted down my order with a swirly looking purple pen on a small note pad. She smiled at me, "Thank you." Her mahogany eyes darted to the disguised male across from me, "And what would the gentleman like?"
,"The same as my date, please." He returned his menu to the lady as he avoided my deep-set glare.
,"You're first time on a date?" She raised her eyebrows with curiosity and grinned wider as Shiki nodded, "Then I'll you lovebirds the special on me." Her blinding smile left in a rhythmic motion of her skipping towards a door with large black letters stating it was only for employees.
I reached my hand over forward as I attempted to hit the visor of Shiki's cap but managed to scrape my two fingers on the brim," Why didn't you tell her we weren't on a date?"
,"Well, we technically are." He adjusted his cap over his reddish-brown hair- I assumed to avoid being recognized and being almost hit by me again, "I mean, our first date wasn't really over since we answered only one of each other's twenty questions. So should I count that as your second question?"
The perky waitress returned with our drinks and as soon as she left I quickly mumbled, "Your turn."
,"What made you interested in art?" He placed his elbows on the edge of the table but leaned forward toward me, as though he was placing some secret national security upon our conversational game of 20 questions.
I sipped my soda, "I don't really know, but I starting drawing when I received a sketchbook from my Dad on one of my birthdays. But…I'm not sure how I began to pursue art as a passion rather than a hobby." I shrugged my shoulders in a vapid manner, "Don't think over it so much." Glancing up, I realized the hidden model was awaiting my question, "So…why modeling?"
,"It's a bit different yet similar from my parents' careers. It's a business but a kind of paralyzed acting, plus it's something no one in my family has." He laughed as he leaned in closer, "What about you? Why did you decide to model?"
Pushing the paper cup away from me, I placed a bored interest on the model in front of me, "I just wanted to relieve some financial issues. Umeki offered Masaru and I a couple of opportunities and we later began doing them more frequently under aliases so as no to intervene with our normal lives. Umeki also thought the modeling experience would give me some confidence but I'm just stubborn."
,"So are you planning to go to an art school after high school?" He continued, "You have a portfolio filled with your work, so why not show it off!"
,"What?" I crossed my arms and placed my eyes on the model with a bigger smirk on his lips than previously.
,"Is that another question?"
I glared a pair of daggers toward the grinning Shiki model,"No. But this one is: How did you know about my portfolio?"
,"You should already know. He has messy brown haired thirteen year old who just so happens to be related to you." He grinned, revealing the pearly rectangular row of teeth. I huffed angrily at I sipped my carbonated drink, "Why are you so against showing your art?"
"I'm not going to art school since it's too expensive for me to attend, and even with enough grants and scholarships I won't be able to be to a week into a single semester." His eyes burned into me vehemently as I diverted my eyes from his stare, "I don't like showing off my art as other people because it seems stupid to just draw, paint, or sculpt just to obtain praise. I love doing art because I love art, not the attention."
,"Five to three." He perked his eyebrow, "Why aren't you asking anything? And yes that counts as my sixth question."
Pushing my back to the red polyester seating I tediously placed my chin on my hand, "Girls talk about you constantly it seems it would be best not to pry too much into your personal life. I mean, those high fashion and popular magazine do it continuously at you, I assumed you would be upset at me wanting to ask questions." A Cheshire cat grin appeared on his face as I sipped my drink, "What?
,"So you do care about me."
My initial reaction was completely shock at his question- or maybe statement- and almost chocked on my drink but managed to avoid drinking a large amount of liquid, "Don't flatter yourself."
The male model moved closer to me despite the protective barrier of the two feet by two feet area of the screwed wooden table, "I noticed you didn't deny it."
My attempts of disappearing into the bright ruby seat was a complete failure, "Who said I accepted it." My eyes shut closed as I began to ignore the existence of the silver-eyed male model.
Within a second, the sudden sensation of human contact snapped my eyes as wide as saucer pans. Shiki's hand was gently caressing my cheek as he forced me to stare into his silver-azure eyes, "You have yet to prove you don't want me in your life. You could have pushed me away during your first week or two at Knight Academy but you didn't. How am I not important enough to you when I fit perfectly in your life?"
I frowned at his attempts as I pressed my index finger and thumb against his cheek,"Ow, ow. Ouch!"
, "For the record, my family and friends pushed me into this situation. I accept your presence in my life since Minako could have done a better job at ruining my life than you." He massaged his cheek bone as I released my hand and reached for my carbonated drink,"Seven to three; What's your favorite movie?"
An ephemeral of silence filled the atmosphere as the Technicolor haired waitress arrived with our orders with a Sachiko-like manner, "Here are your meals and enjoy!" She strolled down happily back through the door.
The burger in front of me looked delicious even dipped in saturated fat and salt as I began to place my favorite condiments on the patty, "Did you use to have a boyfriend?" Good thing I didn't shove the burger in my mouth, otherwise I'd have been choking by now.
The score was twelve to ten and out of all the questions he would ask me for number thirteen he had to say that one, "Why is that important?"
,"I'm just curious. I always wondered if you were ever in a relationship." The look on his face and the tone of his voice told me the exact opposite of his curiosity.
,"No, I've never been in a relationship. To my surprise, I have been asked out in the past but declined. I never thought much about being in a relationship with a guy; it seems kind of pointless to me." The deliciousness of diner food made my taste buds go wild.
Senri Shiki's eyes didn't take his eyes off of me as I began to munch on my fries, "What if someone wanted to go out with you right now? Would you?"
Already fifteen to ten. My hand reached for my drink, "I highly doubt it. No guy in Knight Academy, let alone the world would want to ask me out." My face glanced at the model; his eyes were filled with half-confusion and half-amazement, "That counts as two questions."
His face scrunched in a disgruntled look as he dipped his greasy French fry into a small red pool of ketchup, "Fine. Who was it?" I noticed how violently he bit into the poor fry for a moment I though I heard it scream a small 'Help me!'
,"Why are you so nosy about someone asking me out?" His expression changed as he attempted to avoid eye contact with me, "Why is so important about my relationship status?"
,"It's Hashimoto, isn't it?" Bull's eye. His face turned darker as I stood silent, "Answer the questions."
,"Then answer mine." Sighed, I anticipated Shiki's reaction, "He asked me a while before the Gala and he wanted an answer from me but I haven't given him one." The score was sixteen to twelve, "It's your turn."
,"I'm not nosy about anyone," His hands fidgeted a bit as he grabbed a small handful of greased fries and dipped them continuously in the tomato mass squirted onto the surface of his plate, "I'm just concern about you. It applies to both your questions."
,"Then you won't mind telling me about your relationships?" I spoke nonchalantly as I bit into my burger while noticing the model fidget with the visor of his cap.
,"You read the magazines, so you already know." His tone and posture seem to indicate his guilt or embarrassment, as he avoided eye contact with me.
,"I hear people say you were interviewed in a magazine but never much details about what was asked or answered." His lifted his eyes at me, "Look, if you don't want to tell me it's fine. There are some things I don't want people to know about me, too." He blinked at me as I returned to eating the rest of my burger.
,"Two." I lifted my brow, "I was in two relationships before. The first was with an actress, but it was only for publicity in order for her to start off her career. I started falling for her but at that time she ended up breaking off our relationship- if you want to call it that- for a big named actor. Another was a rich girl I knew through my family, I liked her and vice versa but we never hit it off." My eyes were wide as Shiki he drank his soda. As he pulled apart to breath he looked back into my eyes, lifting his shades and gently winked, "Don't worry, it was only puppy love."
My cheeks felt warm as I moved my vision toward the checkered tiled floor, "Dream on, Shiki." I sighed, moving my hand to finish the small pile of fries on my plate, "It's not any of my business who you are interested in or go out with."
,"Really?" Flickering my eyes open to the male model, his elbows were propped on the table, "The score is sixteen to thirteen. I want you ask me some questions."
,"Why are you so interested in me?" He jerked his body- most likely in the remembrance of me asking this previously, "Please don't respond like you did last time. Tell me honestly."
,"You're quite persistent, Rima Touya." He lightly chuckled, " Unfortunately for you, my answer is still the same as before; you're different. But…" His arms reached over and glided my frames off my ear lobes, folded them and place them beside my plate. The shades hiding his gray-blue orbs were placed on the table as his hand reached over to lift my chin, "I will tell you, most guys don't like girls who put up a fake front; they like girls who are comfortable with themselves. Especially, the one you can't really sum up the words to describe them." My chin was pulled closer to the grinning model as my heart was beating furiously against my ribcage by the close proximity of our faces.
,"This is on the house!" The perky model came between us with a small bowl of ice cream cake as she pressed a pair of plastic spoons on Shiki's lips, "Well, looks like you really love ice cream! Would you like me to bring seconds?"
Shiki grabbed the spoons and gave a kind smile to the colorful-haired waitress, "No thank you. We appreciate the desert."
The waitress discreetly winked at me, as I silently mouthed a Thank You to her before she left. While placing my glasses back on my eyes I noticed a distasteful look on the aristocratic model as though he was anticipating something much to his internal disappointment.
,"I think I'll just walk." My feet moved but the persistent force held my arm from taking another step.
His limo was out of sight and it getting colder by the second. Though I managed to bring the model's large, unpronounceable coat, I wanted to get home before Umeki suspected anything.
,"Wait. I told Yasu to take the day off, so I could take you home." My eyes scanned the male model as he held out a black helmet with a screen towards me, "Besides, I bet you never rode on a motorcycle?" His brown mane shown as he titled his hat to the side and raised an eyebrow on his shades-free face as I reacted to avoid his vision.
,"No, but aren't they dangerous."
,"Only if the driver isn't focus, but I won't lose my focus if you're riding with me." He led me past a few cars until we stood in front of a red and black motorcycle on its kickstand. He moved toward it and sat in the seat as he motioned for me to follow his actions, "C'mon!" He held the helmet to me, again.
I bit my lip, contemplating on what to do, "Do you have a license to even ride this?"
He grinned slyly, "I'd like to say I passed the test."
,"Bye." I sighed, "I'm walking home."
,"I'm kidding, Rima." He held my wrist; "I promise I'll get you home quickly and safely." I gave in as I placed the helmet over my head and sat behind the male model. He kicked the kickstand and gripped the handlebars as to reveal the horsepower engine of his vehicle, "Hold tight."
,"To what?" Before I could react, the motorcycle had started going thirty-two in a twenty-five mile zone. As I reminded myself back to my Physics class, I realized the only thing to prevent me from becoming a human slingshot was to grip onto Shiki's back. I had no time to argue with myself about such a reckless decision I made, I already had an iron lock grip as I wrapped my arms around the brown-red haired model's waist.
Luckily no one was home when the silver-eyed motorcyclist parked in front of my home. I exhaled a breath of relief as I noticed Umeki's beat up vehicle not within my peripheral vision while I was making my way up the walkway with a certain Shiki model.
,"Thank you for taking me out and bringing me home but you don't have to escort me." My stepping became faster as I attempted to make by and through the door before anyone came home to realize I left on another date with the Senri Shiki who made girls swoon and drool and basically degrade themselves as the female human species.
,"What? So, I can't see you again until our next date?" He was now leaning against the front door, most likely to look very nonchalant or to avoid myself from escaping into the safety of my home- or rather both.
,"Next date?" I raised my eyebrow making him smile even wider than before, "I never agreed to another outing with you. I'm going to be kind of busy, so no more dates." My hand reaching to open the locked door was personally locked in the model's grip.
, "I see the game is now a score of seventeen and sixteen, so we'll most likely have to continue our day later on." He leaned closer to me, "We have to finish the game to finish the date. So whenever we both have time, we'll finish the date."
I rolled my eyes as he finally released my hand, "Fine. But no surprises."
,"How about only one?" I blinked a few times before glancing at the towering model, "Close your eyes." I hesitated at first but followed his directions. By two seconds I felt something dangerously close to my nose, "Open them." As I opened my eyes, I caught sight of the single red rose brushing against my face, "I'm no Houdini but it's a personal accomplishment."
I smiled, "Thank you. For the date, the ride and the flower." I noticed he was still staring at me, "What?"
He appeared to be snapped out of a trance as he blinked continuously and scratched the back of his head, "It's nothing. I'll see you at school, tomorrow." He slowly took a couple steps back only to move two steps forward to me and pull me into a hug. The smell of his cologne was overwhelming but for some reason I didn't bother to push him away.
,"Shiki?"
He pulled away quickly and saluted his two fingers from his forehead in my direction, "It looked like you were cold, sorry for surprising you." He grinned, "Have a good night!" His footing stopped and turned around about a yard from where I stood. He lightly pointed at my dark frames, "Oh, Don't worry about what other people say or think. You look good to me, no matter what appearance you have on." His cool image was topped off with an arrogant wink and crooked smirk before walking back towards his two-wheeled vehicle.
Luckily the porch lighting was dim and his back was towards me, otherwise a bashful, scarlet tone lightly burning my face would have been noticeable.
,"So, he gave you this?" Sachiko held the single rose in the air as though the flora was going back to its mother ship or as though she considered canonizing the plant life I received by Senri Shiki.
I placed the hardcover book in the back on the shelf as I huffed away Sachiko's million-dollar smile, "Yes, now can we just look for that one book I'm searching for."
Once I returned home from my day out with Senri Shiki, I laid comfortably on the soft sheets of my mattress, my cell phone rang to Sachiko's number as she bombarded me with questions and momentary ear-wrenching squeals as I distanced the ear piece away from my ear drum. I never really discovered how she figured out I was out of the house, let alone, going out to eat with Senri Shiki but I assume it's because her five calls went straight to voicemail.
In the usual bookstore, Sachiko and I were searching a novel I had been hoping to read for the past couple months but have yet to find it. It was a sunny Friday afternoon, as I glanced at Kazou eating the large buffet on his plate filled with pre-packed saturated foods and carbonated drinks that will be unable to rot his enamel despite the large amount consumed by the dyed haired teen.
,"He really likes you, Rima!" She bounced from one isle of books to the one I was desperately searching for a certain author's last name. I pushed my glasses back on my nose as I was searching a shelf, only to have Sachiko thrust the flower into my line of vision much to my chagrin, "This proves it!"
,"Your over exaggerating, Sachiko." My arm lowered Sachiko's hand as I turned around toward the other shelf and began my search, "Shiki doesn't like me, or have you forgotten our conversation back at Kokoro?" I could feel the sour expression painted on her facial features behind my back, "I highly doubt an aristocratic entertainer would find anything intriguing about a proletariat classmate." I reached over toward the book with a red cover and glanced at the back of it and realized it wasn't the book I was looking for.
,"But didn't he say he was interested in you." The book fell on the carpeted floor, as I glanced at Sachiko's distinguishably sweet grin, "And you didn't seem to mind playing the question game, Miss Antisocial Touya."
,"Shut up," was the only thing I was able to respond once I leaned toward the fallen book and placed it back in its original space on the shelf.
Sachiko's widen her blinding smile, "I think you should be with Shiki. There is a sort of connection between you two, unlike that Hashimoto guy." Her sweet demeanor reverted to a distasteful look while I tiptoed to a shelf I was unable to reach a blue-covered book. She noticed my struggle as she twirled the rose around her fingers, "I'll go get an employee to help you." Within a second, she disappeared from my side as I continued to grasp the book with the silver lettered letters along the spine.
A hand appeared in my sight and grabbed the book I intended to get, "Here." The teen's black roots was visible from his red dyed hair as he handed the book to me, "Don't you regret telling Sachiko stuff like that?"
I glared at Kazou before flipping the book to glance at the back of the cover, "I keep everything I say understated, but then she calls you and you put scenarios in her head and she later figures out what happened." He leaned against the bookshelf as he rebuffed my comment, "But you're a big softy when it comes to her." His dark eyes widen for a moment before briefing looking at me and began staring at the books aligned on the shelf.
,"I guess." His black and white high tops moved to the bookshelf as he organized the books.
,"You know you like her Kazou, why not tell her?" I felt his attention directed to me from the corner of my eye as I realized the book I chose was not the one I had wanted, "You and I know you've been fawning over her since second grade when you noticed you received a large box of chocolates that could rot any teeth or upset any stomach except yours."
He slipped a chip into his mouth, while he held a bag of chips apparently filled with a ranch flavor according to the pre-packed logo, "I'm nice to her but that's just about it."
,"You're never nice to any girl." I placed the blue covered book on the aligned surface of books one shelf row below its previous location. Kazou began to distract himself into a book entitled with wrathful grapes, "You don't like that book." With bored shadowed colored eyes, the sixteen-year-old continued read where he supposedly left off.
,"It's good to try new things." He beat me to the punch line, "So, why not give Shiki a chance?" A smirk grew on his lips, as I started searching for my book again, "He isn't physically unappealing, stuck up, annoying or stupid- which basically checks everything on your checklist."
,"I'm not right for him." I intended to have him not hear my whispered reply, but unfortunately he caught it before I could change the topic about the weather or school.
,"What makes you say that?" He was now looking at a book with the most confusing lines Dickens' could write about the cities of France and England. He stopped his movement of turning the page and looked at me in the eye, "Did he say something? Or did someone cloud your judgment?"
,"I just know we are not for each other unlike Sachiko and you." My smile was hidden as the tinge of pink appeared through his scarlet bangs. I lightly laughed.
,"You laughed?" His dark eyebrow was raised towards me as his hand aimlessly went to pick up any book with a cover and title. His mouth was agape-like he was a fish that discovered it had the ability to breath oxygen and his eyes were as wide bewilderment as when Sachiko gave him his Valentine's Day chocolate back in elementary.
,"So?"
He blinked a few times before warily glancing at me, "You're never laughing. Mostly scowling and sighing like a middle aged woman." The angered look on my face must have been hysterical as Kazou's shoulders twitched a few times-probably to restrain himself from laughing his internal organs out.
I scowled as I began to search for my book in the bookshelves in front of me as I pulled the spine of a gray colored book out, "Hey there!" A soft whisper came from the bookshelves only to have a pair of silvery-blue eyes and mane of reddish, brown replace the empty space where the book once was. I held in my breath as I gripped the spine of the literary work. He grinned brightly at me, "Come here often?"
,"Did you say something?"
,"Nothing." Kazou's voice made me react quickly as I shoved the book back to its original empty area; hiding the male model's face. Kazou's confused look told me he didn't believe me, "I thought this was the book I was looking for but authors' coincidentally have the same last name." The way his eyes became more calm was a sign that he believed me now, "I'll go look for the book in the other isle."
The male model rubbed his nose with his fingers to lessen the pain, "You know, you should never have a book in your hand. It could be considered a deadly weapon or a blunt object in the evidence given of a homicide case."
,"What are you doing here?" I took swift and quiet steps toward the aristocratic Knight Academy stalker. The bookstore was my personal haven where I can happily read any book I desire and it known as a force field against snobby, rich people. I crossed my arms over my chest, "Umeki said you were going to be at an exclusive photoshoot with another famous female model in the next town."
Apparently Shiki must have taken my words in a different light as he coolly leaned against the wall and stared at me, "Jealous?"
,"No, I just wouldn't expect the bourgeois model to be taking the time to hide in a neighborhood bookstore." He fidgeted a bit- losing his cool, I bet- and diverted his eyes to the carpeted floor.
,"It was only a lie to get the paparazzi out of the way." He pushed his spine off the white wall and walked toward me, "I wanted to spend more time with you. You're much more fun than that model. All she does is complain about everything not going her way, have the spotlight on her and more make-up on her face."
,"So she's a third of me in an aristocratic, snobby version?"
,"No, you're better."
I rolled my eyes, but my heart still wouldn't stop beating in my chest.
,"Hey!" A dissonance reply came from behind me; one in a high, enthusiastic tone and the other a deeper, monotone voice. Sachiko and Kazou standing together and looked over my shoulder as I turned around.
,"Hello, Shiki!" Sachiko's bouncy personality had ricocheted her to Shiki's arm as she vehemently shook the male's hand.
Kazou grinned, walking forward, "Hey!" He stuffed his hands into his jeans pocket in a Shiki-like manner. Before I could say or react to anything, Sachiko had already invited Shiki to come to our afternoon get together.
,"You really like it." Shiki's words stunned me as he held the cord to my left ear bud he removed from my ear. I listened to my music player as I waited on the benches outside of Sachiko's favorite store, convincing Kazou to come with her. I was confused until he glanced at the two teenage figures in the store, "Hanging out with your friends?"
,"Yeah. I've known them for a long time so we get along very well." Sachiko held up a hanger with a decorated red dress toward Kazou -most likely asking for his opinion and like always – he commented while shuffling his feet and playing with a few strands of his dyed hair. Internally, I smiled to myself otherwise Shiki will comment on our deal, "Don't you like hanging out with your friends?"
, "Of course." He leaned back and nonchalantly placed his arms behind his back with an all-knowing expression.
,"Then, why bother hanging out with us?"
A grin appeared on his face and I followed his peripheral vision of Sachiko making Kazou try on a pair of neon colored glasses that resembled a monkey, "It's fun to be in this kind of light hearted atmosphere. My friends kind of restrain themselves from doing the things your friends do." He laughed and peeked at me, "How does Sachiko become unaffected by you?"
Everybody questions our opposite personalities but like magnets Sachiko and I are very close to each other and hard to pull away from, "You can say opposites attract but I often feel like her positive energy trumps my negative energy. She really is unaffected by my pessimism." My arm moved to place my ear bud back to my ear, only to have the male model yank it away from me again but this time place it in his ear, "Yes?"
,"I'm just wondering what you're listening to." His face was filled with concentration as he tried to figure out the artist or song, "Stereo Pony?" I nodded as he smiled in victory, "I kind of guessed you would like them." He blinked as he started to lean in closer towards me, "Water mist and cherry blossom?" The name of the shampoo and conditioner I use. I nodded; he continued to shift closer to me causing me to feel some warmth across my face as he laughed, "You look cute."
To prevent my heart from bursting out of my chest, I pushed the red haired model's shoulder about a safe arm's length distance only to have him intertwine his fingers with mine. My throat was dry as I was speechless by Shiki's continual bold actions. His grip was gently strong as I was making an effort to pull away my hand away from his. Being as articulate as I can, I spoke, "W-what are you d-doing?"
With a swift a movement, his lips were on my cheek and I couldn't say a word as I caught a bright, white flash in the corner of my eye as well as the daring acts. As he pulled away, I gingerly brushed my fingers across my cheekbone and timidly glanced at his grinning visage. Avoiding the situation, I attempted to distract myself to find the person who was inane enough to not shut off their camera's flash, "Why do you do it?"
,"Do what?"
,"Kiss me." My eyes were preoccupied with the floor, "Why do you kiss me? We're not in a relationship, so why bother showing affection to a girl who is indifferent to you when you can be someone who will be willing to be with you?"
His silvery eyes forced me to look up at him and became aware of his relaxed position had changed into a more attentive position in a lackadaisical manner towards me. His hand contacted to my kissed cheek, pushing aside a piece of my hear behind my ear, "Because they're not like you."
A high-pitched whistle-like sound came from beside me as we both glanced at the smirk on the dyed-haired teenager's face, "You two look cozy."
A million-dollar smile was painted on Sachiko's glossy pink lips as she viewed the screen of her digital camera, "So adorable!" Her mahogany eyes playfully looked at Shiki and me, "Both of you look very good together. I can't wait to show Yumiko, I wonder what she'll think about it?"
,"Give me the camera."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and would be satisfied with it!
Sorry for the wait and length of this chapter, but there has been an ephemeral lack of inspiration during the last time I updated and a couple weeks ago. Also my birthday come and gone, I've realized it's been a year since I've started this story! I actually finished this on my birthday but was unable to upload it!
With CST Testing and AP Testing over, there is less stress on me but I'm freaking over finals! I hope I'll make it to my senior year with less hysteria and anxiety than I currently have!
Anyways, don't forget to review! With reviews come replies and replies encourage new chapters!
There is a new poll on my page, so give it a try! I like to hear every individual's opinion! Thankz! Also a small word of wisdom:
"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
-Ingrid Bergman
