"So, how was your vacation?"
Just like that, Misaki and Takumi found themselves stuffed back into the van, luggage in the trunk and an extra bag by their feet.
It was hot, stuffy, uncomfortable, and most definitely not the ideal situation for them to be stuck in. To make matters worse, they were forced into the car with that same peach-haired devil of a lady as their driver.
"It was nice," Misaki replied, deciding not to give any more detail than asked for. Takumi nodded in agreement.
"Well," she started, reaching her hand up and adjusting the mirror to make eye contact with Misaki, "it better have been worth it, since you two idiots decided it'd be an oh-so-lovely idea to resolve the whole reporter and media issue by kissing. Do you know how hard it was on your director and I?!" she scolded. Misaki flinched, while Takumi smirked upon remembering the entire fiasco.
"Uh, yeah," she laughed nervously in the back. "I apologize for that and—"
"To be completely fair, I don't regret it one big and see no reason as to why Misaki should be apologizing," Takumi stated. "If we hadn't done that, even more rumors would be cooked up and the situation would've gotten out of hand."
The driver pulled over the car, before turning around in her seat and staring at Takumi. "I do see where you're coming from, but I don't make mindless accusations without doing my research, Walker."
Said blonde man arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
She cleared her throat, turning back around in her seat and hitting the gas petal. "Well, that's not for me to say. Why don't you go ahead and search it to see for yourself?"
Misaki glanced at the two of them, a confused look on her face. She had no idea what the driver was talking about, and by the looks of it, Takumi didn't either.
Quickly pulling his phone out of his pocket, Takumi tapped his screen a few times before pulling up a page. His face morphed from one of confusion, to shock, to nervousness. This made Misaki quite skeptical because Takumi was never nervous.
Leaning over and snatching the phone out of his hand, she scanned the screen. The headline almost made her drop the expensive device. What the hell was this?
"...Takumi Usui cheats on girlfriend with new rising star Misaki Ayuzawa."
She read it aloud in a dull tone, flashing Takumi a look that clearly said "this better not be true or I'll beat your ass and then hers".
Takumi made a face. "Don't look at me like that. We both know it's not true."
They held eye contact for a few moments, before Misaki looked back down at the phone. The words shined up at her in a taunting way, her finger hovering over the screen, ready to scroll down and read the rest.
But, instead, she took her thumb and hit the power button on the side.
"I trust you," she said. "I don't even need to read this silly article to know that." Misaki tossed the phone back into his lap and glanced up at his expression. He was smiling.
She watched as he opened his mouth to say something, but an alert expression immediately replaced his happy one as a loud screeching noise made everyone in the car go half-deaf.
Misaki only had a second to look ahead through the windshield, in which all she saw was a car spinning towards them and the peach-haired driver frantically turning the steering wheel, before she felt her head hit something and the entire world go black.
-o-
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Misaki woke up to a beeping noise and a throbbing headache. She opened one of her eyes, only to wince at the bright lights. Remembering vaguely the previous events, she could only guess where she was.
The hospital.
She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. There were fuzzy memories of them being swerved into by another car. Takumi was showing me that article on his phone...then—
She suddenly sat up in the bed, looking around. "Takumi?" she asked, her voice coming out in a croak. She cleared her throat before trying again. "Takumi…"
The door opened, and she somewhat expected Takumi to walk through, only to be let down when seeing a man in a white coat walk in. A doctor.
"Miss Ayuzawa, you're awake," he stated. She internally rolled her eyes. Wow, I didn't notice. Thanks, Captain Obvious.
"Uh, yes."
The doctor wrote something on his clipboard. "Well, as you could probably tell, you're perfectly fine. I'm sure you're wondering about Mr. Usui and Honoka, am I right?" he inquired. Misaki nodded her head eagerly. She never quite got the driver's name, but she assumed it was Honoka.
He handed her the clipboard and a pen. "I'm just going to need you to sign right at the bottom so I can discharge you," he explained, "then I'll bring you to the others."
Misaki nodded, quickly scribbling her signature where she was told to. The doctor tucked her form behind some other files before unhooking her from the IV machine and gesturing for her to follow him.
They got out of the room and she was soon lead to one where Takumi lay.
She cracked open the door, immediately spotting him on the bed. She sighed in relief upon seeing his eyes open. He was awake, which eliminated any chances of him being in a coma or dead.
She pushed open the door a bit more "Taku—" she stopped mid-sentence. Someone was beside his bed, talking to him. And it wasn't Honoka, nor did they seem like a doctor.
"Explain to me why you're here again?" Takumi asked the woman.
Her lips curled up in a small, almost mocking, grin. "I wanna meet this girl that you're 'cheating with!'" she exclaimed excitedly. Takumi sighed disgustedly.
Deciding not to eavesdrop any longer, she knocked on the side of the door, clearing her throat and making her presence known. The two blondes looked up at her in surprise.
"Yeah, I'd like to meet her, too," Misaki told him, placing a hand on her hip. Her face was scrunched up in anger. So this is my competition.
The blonde woman chuckled. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were Misaki Ayuzawa, correct?"
She nodded. "Indeed. And you are…?"
"Maria. Maria Miyazono," she introduced. The lady caught a quick glance at Takumi, then averted her attention back to Misaki, before adding, "Takumi's girlfriend."
The blonde man sat up quickly in his hospital bed. "Mari—"
"Hmm," Misaki hummed thoughtfully. "I guess that makes two of us," she laughed, surprisingly calm in such a situation. Almost too calm. She simply shrugged and took her hand off her hip, allowing it to now hang at her side.
"I'm off to Honoka's room, now. Forgive me for worrying about you," Misaki said, a venomously sweet tone coating her words. She spun on her heel and left the room without a second glance back at either of them.
Once the raven haired girl was out of hearing range, Takumi glared at his cousin.
"Honestly, what was that all about?" he asked, now starting to lose his patience. Maria responded with a deceivingly innocent giggle.
"I just thought it'd be interesting to see her reaction...and I was right. She's quite the girl," she observed. Takumi raised an eyebrow.
"She's not a toy for you to just play around with," he stated. Maria nodded in agreement.
"I know, I know…" she said, averting her eyes to the wall, a look of admiration coming over her face. "But did you see her expression when she laid her eyes on me?! Takumi, dear, I think she loves me!"
"I'm pretty sure that was her face of pure resentment and jealousy."
Ignoring his discouraging comments, she continued on. "And did you see those breasts? I just wanted to squish her and e—"
"Maria."
"Oh, yes? Were you saying something?" she inquired, snapping back into reality. Takumi sighed.
"Maria, this is my girlfriend we are talking about," he informed her. Maria smirked.
"Getting jealous now, are we Takumi?" she taunted.
"Maria cut it out, seriously."
-o-
"Thanks for coming to check up in on me. At least you cared enough, unlike that other brat in the car with you."
Misaki shook her head. "Oh, no, it's my pleasure. I'm just so glad you're not hurt," she smiled.
The same doctor that came in to discharge Misaki arrived in Honoka's room in no time. She watched the peach haired lady sign the papers and get up out of bed.
"You're still here, Miss Ayuzawa?" the doctor asked her.
"Well, yeah. I had to make sure my…" an image of emerald eyes popped up into her head. "T-that my work partners were okay."
Honoka, sharp as ever, instantly caught her particular use of words. "Work partners?"
Misaki gave a pained smile. "Well, yeah. You and Takumi, right?" she asked as if it were obvious. Honoka pressed her lips tightly together.
"Yeah…"
-o-
Misaki left the hospital with Honoka, realizing that they were back in the big city she was used to. Well, of course they were. That's where the biggest hospitals were, after all.
"So, what's up with you and lover boy?" Honoka inquired. Misaki jumped in surprise.
"L-Lover boy? I have no idea who you're talking about," she replied, shrugging a shoulder. Honoka rolled her eyes.
"Takumi. Takumi you stubborn woman."
"Ohh, him!" Misaki laughed nonchalantly. "I wouldn't know. Maybe you should ask his girlfriend." she hissed, before quickly clasping a hand over her mouth in realization at what she'd just said.
"Girlfriend?!"
"Err—I meant, um…" she racked her brain for a plausible excuse, but could fine none. "Well...yeah, I guess you could say he was kinda, sorta, cheating on me." she almost flinched saying the words herself. It sounded loads more awful coming out of her mouth. She could almost see the headlines now. Rising star Misaki Ayuzawa cheated on by incredibly hot and rich boyfriend, Takumi Usui.
"Why did I even think I had a chance with him in the first place…" she muttered to herself. Gathering a bag of her belongings saved from the car crash, she turned to Honoka. "Come on, let's go. I can get a taxi, or—" she stopped talking once she realized she was talking to herself. Honoka was gone.
"Honoka?"
-o-
Honoka raged down the hallways, searching for Room 37. After a solid minute, she stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath to calm herself before twisting the doorknob and roughly shoving it open.
Takumi and Maria both stared at the door, obviously surprised to see this person of all people. They'd secretly been waiting for Misaki to return, but for their driver to come back? This sure took a turn.
"You cheating skank," she blurted. "I don't care if you're some famous actor or whatever, you do not have a right to cheat on—"
Click!
All their attentions turned to where behind Honoka was standing, right at the door frame. A young man stood there, a large camera in his hands. He had a mic hanging out of his bag, which luckily didn't look like it was on at the moment, and a notepad.
"This is quite the scoop," he chuckled, jotting a few notes before taking off. The three simply stood there, still in shock.
"Oh fucking hell. Misaki is not going to like this. First her boyfriend cheats on her, and now—"
"Honoka, listen. I didn't cheat on her," Takumi cut her off quickly. "This is my cousin, Maria Miyazono."
She grinned sheepishly. "I accidentally told Misaki we were dating...I thought she'd stay long enough for me to be able to explain, but she ran off."
"Well, then tell her that, you lousy scums!" Honoka exclaimed. "That poor girl is outside feeling like shit right now and you're taking your sweet ol' time in that bed."
Maria and Takumi exchanged a glance.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't need to..." he murmured.
"Pardon?"
Takumi smiled nervously. "Just, can you bring Misaki up? I really need to talk to her," he requested.
Honoka looked surprised by that. "I'm sure that can be done. Give me a moment…" she said, leaving the room wordlessly and heading back downstairs. She only hoped Misaki didn't leave already.
-o-
Woo! Next chapter is chapter 30 aren't y'all excited? I know I'm excited. I actually have a wooonderful idea for the next five or so chapters and I'm hyped to start writing them :DD
ALSOOO my bae bee (aka ArrowBee) and I will most likely be starting a collab soon, so bee sure to look out for that! (do you see what I did there...BEE sure…okay I'll stop ahaaa)