Chapter 16
"AH-" I started to scream but two hands covered my mouth.
"Shut it!" two voices whispered/shouted.
I turned around and it was just Utau and Atsuko.
"You guys scared the hell out of me!" I whispered back.
"We just wanted to ask you how it went in there." Utau said, smirking.
"Utau. Leave the smirking to Atsuko and Ikuto." I whispered, scared she'll turn into her siblings.
"Nope!" she whispered, smiling evilly.
"But how did it go in there?" Atsuko whispered excitedly.
"I thought you shipped me with Mahiru." I whispered, deadpanning.
"That's exactly why I'm asking!" she whispered.
"Well nothing happened." I whispered. "I'm leaving now."
I took their hands off my shoulder and ran to the front door. I silently opened it and left. Cold winter air hit me and I shivered. I speed-walked to my house and went through the front door. I went upstairs and into my room.
I collapsed on my bed and grabbed my phone from my pocket. I pressed the on button. It was currently 1:28 AM. I put my phone on my bedside table and went to sleep.
~Time Skip to Morning~
*ring ring* *ring ring* *ring ring*. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was 7:21 AM. The person calling me was Atsuko. I answered the call.
"How dare you call me and wake me up at this ungodly hour?" I asked venomously.
"'Cuz I knew you wouldn't wake up in time so that we could exchange presents!"
"When was that supposed to happen?" I asked yawning.
"In about 20 minutes."
"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!" I asked, jumping out of bed.
"I've been calling you for the past 5 minutes." Atsuko said.
"Give me a bit. I'll be there soon." I said, entering my bathroom and hanging up.
I brushed my teeth and hair and walked to my closet. I chose to wear a red christmas dress with a 1 inch white border line on the bottom of the dress, a black belt and gold buckle, a matching shawl with a hoodie. They both had a white borderline and I wore red knee-high heels with white border at the knee part. I grabbed a big bag and neatly stacked the 2 presents inside. I rushed down the stairs and out the door. I ran to Atsuko's house as fast as I could.
I knocked the door and the door opened.
"Ayaka, you're late." Ikuto said.
He looked fine but had bandages on his face, and no doubt on his stomach too.
"Well sorry little perverted kitty cat, but because of you waking me up at the middle of the night I couldn't fall back asleep until 5:00 AM!"
"Sorry." Ikuto said.
"~sigh~ I'm putting the presents under the tree."
"Ok, everyone's upstairs. The guys are in my room and the girls are in Atsuko's."
"K."
Then after I put the presents down, I went towards Atsuko's room.
When I passed Ikuto's room I saw Mahiru talking to the guys about something. He looked a bit desperate and Sebi and Makoto looked like they were teasing him. I walked passed them and into Atsuko's room only to be greeted by the girls and their questions.
"Have you figured out what Mahiru's present is?" Kaori, Atsuko, and Amu asked.
"Did your 2 presents?" Rima, Utau, and Lulu asked.
"WHY WERE YOU LATE AYA-CHII?" Yaya asked.
"First of all, I have figured out Mahiru's present. Second, I did bring the 2 presents. Third, I was late because Ikuto woke me up in the middle of the night." I said, closing the door behind.
"Ikuto-chi woke you up?" Yaya asked.
I blushed a bit. Wait. WHY AM I BLUSHING?
"Did I say that? I meant that.. Uh…-"
"She meant that a stray cat came into her house and somehow found it's way up to her room." Atsuko interrupted me. "And the stray cat reminded her of Ikuto."
"Yup! That's exactly what I meant. The cat licked me and it scared me." I said.
"How do you know that Atsuko?" Lulu asked.
"She told me over the phone when I woke her up." Atsuko said.
"Oh, makes sense." Lulu said. Everyone else agreed and they bought our story.
"Soo~, what'd you guys get for your 2 people?"
"WE'RE NOT TELLING!" they all said.
"*sigh*. Fine~." I said. "Atsuko did you make any food? I'm starving."
"Mhmm. It's in the kitchen downstairs." Atsuko said.
"Ugh… It's so far!" I groaned.
"Fine, fine. I'll get the food ready and come down whenever you feel like it." Atsuko said leaving the room. "And remember we're exchanging gifts as soon as we're done eating."
I plopped down onto Atsuko's bed.
"Ah~ it's so soft."
The girls laughed at my actions but I just layed on her bed. One by one the girls left and left me alone. I laid on that bed for 10 minutes before I got up and headed downstairs. Everyone was sitting at the dining table already eating.
"Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakes!" Makoto teased.
"Shut up and let me eat." I said, taking an empty seat between Atsuko and Utau.
Atsuko made pancakes and I shoved it into my mouth. After about 5 minutes, I devoured the pancakes. And I looked at the people still eating which is everybody.
"You guys aren't done yet?" I asked.
"The real question is how you're done before Atsuko." Utau said.
I looked at Atsuko and she was half a bite from finishing.
"What do you guys mean?" I asked.
"Usually Atsuko finishes first." Amu said.
"So I'm eating at what seems like an impossible speed?" I asked.
They all nodded and went back to eating but Atsuko kept glaring at me.
"Tell me when you guys are all done." I said.
"Ok." Mahiru said, his face stuffed with pancakes.
About 5 minutes later everyone finished, Amu being the last to finish.
"LET'S OPEN PRESENTS!" Yaya shouted, heading to the tree in the living room.
"Wait for me!" Atsuko said, running after Yaya.
We followed them to the living room and sat in a circle.
"Let's see. These two presents are for Amu-" Atsuko handed Amu two presents. "These are for Ikuto-" she handed Ikuto his presents. "For Mahiru-" she gave Mahiru his gifts. "Rima-" she tossed Rima her gifts. "Nagi…"
~Some Time Later~
Everyone finally had their presents and we started opening them. What saddened me was that everyone but me had two presents. I opened my one present, which happened to be an envelope, and inside was 50 bucks. I was extremely happy to get it, but my mood dampened a bit when I remembered I only have one present. Atsuko got a phone case with a cat on it and a new sewing kit. Amu got a gothic-punk outfit and punk combat boots. Rima got a clown hat and a book of jokes. Kaori got a little violin statue and a violin music book. Yaya got a cute outfit and a stuffed ducky. Utau got a picture of Kukai napping (probably from Atsuko, that stalker) and a coupon for a ramen place for 2 people. Sebi got a stuffed cat and a homemade cake with a picture of Atsuko making a peace sign at the camera. Kukai got a pair of new soccer cleats and a new soccer ball. Tadagay got a crown and a king's cape. Kairi got a samurai sword and a book about samurais. Makoto got a new pair of swimming trunks and swimming goggles. Nagi gets new headphones and dance shoes. Ikuto got milk and cookies (from me) and a music box with a cat picture. And finally Mahiru got a journal (again, from me) and a wrist sweatband.
"WHA! THIS OUTFIT IS SO CUTE!" yelled Yaya, jumping up and down.
Everything turned to chaos. Tadagay somehow Chara Changed, Nagi was completely ignoring it and playing with his new headphones, Kukai was outside playing with the soccer ball, Utau fainted from a nosebleed, Makoto disappeared somewhere, Sebastian was eating the cake, Ikuto was eating the cookies, Kaori was reading the violin book, Kairi was swinging the sword around, Amu just sat there looking dejected because everyone went crazy, Rima was laughing while reading the book of jokes, and Atsuko was… sitting there happily looking at what's happening.
Then I noticed Mahiru looking at my gift for him confused.
"Um. Thanks?" he said when he saw me staring at him.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "Read what's inside it."
He opened the journal and read what I wrote. I remember exactly what I wrote. I even had to get help from Akame and Asuna after a while. It wasn't even very long. It was a simple 'Merry Christmas' and uhm… I blushed bright red when I remembered what I wrote. 'I love you.' God, what did I let my Charas tell me to write that? Suddenly Mahiru came up to me and gave me quick peck on my lips. That caused everyone to stop and stare. Even Tadagay who was still Chara Changed. Even Utau who woke up at the exact moment, but I was too focused on Mahiru to notice. Apparently Atsuko knew about it and had a mistletoe tied to a stick with a string and hung it over us.
"AH." I screamed, covering my mouth and I felt my face redder than a berry on a mistletoe.
I looked up at Mahiru and he was also blushing like crazy and then Ikuto stood up. He walked over to where Mahiru and I was and I saw Utau grin brightly out of the corner of my eye. When the hell did she wake up?
Mahiru glared at Ikuto and Ikuto glared right back at him. Only it looked a little funny because Mahiru was a bit shorter than Ikuto. Next thing I knew there were two mistletoes and one of them was over me and Mahiru while the other was above me and Ikuto. I can't WAIT to kill Utau and Atsuko.
Then suddenly I felt 2 lips on top of mine. TF?!
After half a second Atsuko and Utau were screaming on the top of their lungs. Kaori ran outside and I swear I could see tears in her eyes. The 2 pairs of lips parted from mine and Mahiru and Ikuto continued glaring at each other until Ikuto noticed that Kaori was gone.
"Learn to notice other people's feelings Mahiru. Not just your own," Ikuto said, smirking before walking outside towards Kaori.
"Wait what?!" Mahiru said, looking confused and pissed at the same time. Then he looked outside and saw Kaori with her face buried in her hands. Ikuto headed over to her and comforted her. They couldn't hear what Ikuto was saying though.
