OH MY GOODNESS. I JUST REALIZED THAT I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER.
When I typed in, "She walked with me, holding some papers I need to sign." (Second cut when she walks into her office) I REALLY MEANT "HE WALKED WITH ME, HOLDING SOME PAPERS I NEED TO SIGN."
And by "HE" I meant "Tsubasa." I AM SO SORRY! NO WONDER SOME OF YOU GUYS WERE CONFUSED.
So, yes. Tsubasa is gay.
NO KILLING OF THE AUTHOR. HE IS STILL AS HOT AND DAMN GOOD-LOOKING AS HE ALWAYS IS. JUST SLIGHTLY OOC. ACTUALLY, VERY OOC.
TEEHEE.
Now, to vent out my anger, I am going to go downstairs and eat.
I'm serious.
28 minutes later...
LOL, so now it's 12:18 PM.
LET'S GET STARTED.
:D
"Need I remind you that I am gay, Ms. Hotaru? You know... interested in men, likes long walks on the beach, likes to put the toilet seat down after usage..." Tsubasa explains. Hotaru just rolls her eyes.
"Yes, Tsubasa. I am very much aware that you do not like Mikan in that way." She replies, annoyed, but then smirks. "Which makes this all the better."
"How is that better?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
Tsubasa, catching on to her plan, nods excitingly.
"OMG, Ms. Hotaru. You are such a genius! I. LOVE. IT."
I sigh in frustration. "You guys are retarded!" I cross my arms stubbornly. "I would rather not go."
But then Tsubasa had to be all puppy-eyes on me.
He walks behind the desk, over to me. He kneels down beside my chair and looks up to me. My arms relaxed and I looked at him.
For the first time, I noticed his features. His fairly dark blue eyes were quite charming, his face was clear and obviously smooth, his jet black hair that shined brighter than my own golden brown hair.
Oh, and that cute little star tattoo that magically appeared on his face the day after he got super drunk.
You know, if I didn't formally know him and just saw him randomly walking down the street, he wouldn't look gay at all. In fact, I'm sure he caught a few girls' eyes. He is quite good-looking.
Not that I'll ever tell him that. Or anyone, for that matter.
"It's a great plan, Mikan. I mean, what is left to lose?" He says.
He's got a point there.
I sighed. "How are you so okay with this?"
He patted my hand. "Mikan, for the past three years that I have been working as your secretary, never have I once seen you go out on a date, or get roses, or even a phone call from anyone other than business men and Hotaru. Heck, even I have more romance than you do."
"He's right, you know." Hotaru mumbles out.
Tsubasa laughs. "The man and that harlot we are about to shove into an oven deserve it all. But you, Mikan Sakura, you don't. Not at all. It's about time that you start fighting for yourself."
If this were a movie, I would just about now hear music playing softly in the background. I looked into his eyes, and they told me to go for it.
I smile a little. "You're right. What's left to lose?"
And with that, Tsubasa stands up, straightens his clothes, and walks over to Hotaru and gives her a high-five.
Surprisingly enough, she high-fives back.
"So," Tsubasa puts his hands on his hips. "When is this high school reunion?"
"We have two weeks."
I sigh loudly, making them look at me.
"Well, I'm going back to work. So if you guys don't mind, I would like you to leave me in peace." I say sternly.
"Fine, but I want you to go to my house this coming Wednesday." She replies before walking out. Tsubasa smiles brightly at me.
"Call me if you need me, Miss Mikan!" He says, following Hotaru out the door.
When I hear the door close, I sigh in relief. Finally, some peace and quiet.
I then proceed to stare at my paperwork. I never realized how much work I need to finish.
I groan. "At this rate, I'll be up 'til morning!" I say to myself.
"Hotaru?" I knock. I'm in front of her brownstone. It's quite lovely, if you'd ask me.
A man in his late-twenties opens the door. When he recognizes that it's me, he smiles warmly.
"Mikan! Long time no see!" He exclaims. "What brings you here? Oh, please. Come in!"
As I step into the house, a little surprise came running at me.
I laugh in response. "Aw, when did you get this adorable puppy?" I ask, crouching down to play with it.
"We just got Roxy two days ago," He replies, shutting the door behind us. "She was a gift."
"Oh, yeah? From who, Ruka?" I asked, standing up, but Roxy still insists that we should play. ADORABLE!
"Uhm, no. That's not what I meant," Ruka tries to explain. "Her mother died while giving birth to her, along with four other puppies. This little one right here was the only one that survived."
I patted his shoulder. "That must have really hard on you."
He touched his heart dramatically, feigning deep hurt. "Yeah, it broke my little veterinarian heart." He then smiles. I slap his cheek jokingly.
"Weirdo."
"Idiot, is the other idiot there yet?" A voice is heard from upstairs.
I roll my eyes. "The other idiot you're referring to is actually pretty smart!"
"You wish," Hotaru replies, descending the stairs. My eyes the focus on the items she's carrying.
I point at the items. "What're those?" I ask skeptically.
She shoves them into my hands. "Drink them before every meal. Preferably hot,"
I pick up one of the boxes. "Herbal weight loss tea?" Not this again. "I thought I was through with this?"
"It's only for two weeks. You can tolerate that," She replies indifferently as she walks to her husband's side. Ruka gives her a small kiss on the cheek and smiles at her. She remains as stoic as ever, still looking at me. Ruka groans in surrender.
"Yeah, but why? Don't you think I'm already thin enough?" I jog twice a week, I eat oatmeal every morning, and I hardly eat meat. What gives?
Ruka nods. "I think Mikan's fine the way she is." Ruka already knows Hotaru's plan, and he's still lukewarm about it. But what can he do? It's Hotaru's plan. He's in no position to object to her wants, even though he is her husband.
Sometimes I wonder if Ruka has ever tried to contact Natsume, after all these years. Or the other way around. Don't they miss each other? They were best friends since who knows how long. But it was awfully thoughtful of Ruka to defend me from Natsume.
That takes guts.
I smile at the weird couple bickering. Even though I am quite pissed that they are talking and arguing about my waistline and so on, I can't help but smile a little. We may not be related at all to each other, but we're still a family. They followed me here because they love me, and they're still here for me.
Yes, we're a family alright.
"You're at least a size five right?" Hotaru asks me, already knowing the answer. "See, Ruka. The women Natsume dates are like half her size."
A vein pops out. Just because we're a family, that doesn't mean I have to love them all the time.
"But Mikan's way prettier than all those anorexic girls."
"That is quite true..." She trails off. Then she turns to me. "Yeah, one look and that Hyuuga will be down on your feet. Or staring at you at least,"
"Gee, thanks Hotaru." I say sarcastically.
"You get do better than that, Mikan!" Tsubasa shouts encouragingly over at the sidelines.
OK, so the past week has been pretty much hell for me.
Hotaru insists on making me lose more weight.
And I can't believe Tsubasa agrees.
So here I am, running laps like a runner in a competition.
"I'll have you fired by the time I'm through!" I shout back as I run my last lap.
I throw my hands up as I reach the finish line. I collapse on the nearest bench.
I was grasping for air. It was like someone ripped my lungs out of me, and I was desperately trying to find oxygen.
My body was on fire. I grabbed onto the metal handles of the bench in effort to cool myself down.
It wasn't helping much.
A fantastic looking water bottle comes into view. I grab it without hesitation and a squirt some water onto my head.
I melt into the seat in satisfaction.
"You want an extremely healthy sandwich?" Tsubasa asks, handing me one. I ignore it.
"You're," I paused as I drink the beautiful water. The feeling of the cool water running down my burning throat was sensational. "You're fired."
Tsubasa merely laughs at what I said. He takes a seat beside me, shoving the sandwich into my mouth. "I know you don't mean that. Besides, who else will take my place as your awesome assistant?"
I chew and swallow. "There are hundreds of applicants who would kill to have your job." Not really kill, but close enough. It's actually a really good-paying job. And it has benefits.
Like life.
"Ah, but where are you going to find a loving, supportive Japanese who would love to replace me in New York city? Not to mention, you need me for that revenge thing." He replies slyly.
He's got a point. "Whatever."
He laughs again. "C'mon," He says as he stands up, and extends a hand out to me. "We have got to get you all cleaned up."
I ignore the hand. "Why?"
"We're going to shopping!" He squeals out. Sheesh, he more girly than I'll ever be.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. "Nonsense. The clothes that I have are fine."
He puts his hands on his hips. He gives me a horrified look. "Girl, have you seen your clothes? All you have are corporate outfits. Pencil-cut skirts. I don't doubt that sometimes you use them as pajamas."
I scowl at him. "I have plenty of non-working clothes! I have jeans and floral blouses!"
"From the eighteenth century?" He asks sarcastically. I scowl some more. He smiles at me.
For a moment there, the way he smiled at me kind of reminded me of someone.
The way his eyes seemed so calm and relaxed.
The way the sun was setting behind him.
The way his shiny hair danced along with the wind.
"Do I have something on my face?" Tsubasa asks. I then realize that I have been gawking at him for the past several seconds.
"Uh..." I stumble on what to say. "Yeah. Your big fat smile. I'd like to wipe that off." Nice save, Mikan. I virtually high-five myself for that.
Tsubasa rolls his eyes. "Don't you dare fall in-love with me. You know it would sort of break my heart if I break yours." Tsubasa jokes. I almost vomit.
Not believing what I just heard, I stand up and nudge him on the shoulders. "That's gross, Tsubasa! Don't ever make a joke like that again!"
Tsubasa raises his arms defensively as he gives off a big smile. "Alright, alright. But," His expression then turns a bit serious. Bi-polar idiot. "What were you thinking about just then? The look on your face was just... painful to look at. I almost feel guilty, like it's almost as if it's my fault. It's not my fault is it?"
"Of course it isn't," I reassured him. "It's just that... your smile kind of reminded me of Natsume."
He looked shocked. "The bastard?" He takes a deep breath before asking me, "Are you still in-love with him?"
I look up at the clouds, as if trying to find the answer. "No, of course not." I say, looking back at Tsubasa.
But honestly, I don't know.
It's a day before our departure, and I have made phenomenal progress.
"Wow," Hotaru says as she measures my waist. "Congratulations, Mikan. You are now a size two." I let out the air I was holding and smile.
Tsubasa squeals in delights, clapping his hands exitedly. "You look fantastic!"
In sweatpants and a tank top? Yes, I am beauty queen, Tsubasa.
"Are you guys done packing everything you need? Our flight is at 6AM tomorrow." Hotaru says, letting go off me. I groan. That's so freaking early.
"I still have a few hours." I say, shrugging. Hotaru whips me with the tape measure.
"Idiot. We need to be there at least 2 hours before the flight. It's international." I slap my forehead.
How come I sound stupid when I'm in front of Hotaru, but in front of everyone else I don't? It will forever remain a mystery.
I whine. "Alright, alright. I finish packing." I say, walking up the stairs. "Both of you. Get out of this house."
"See you tomorrow, Miss Mikan!" Tsubasa shouts as he walks out the door.
"Pack a dress, the red one we bought. You'll need it. We'll be here by 3AM, to make sure you're ready." She says, shutting the door behind me.
It's going to be one heck of a day tomorrow, that's for sure.
"Ugh, 3AM!" I scream, as I let bury my face into my pillow.
(End of Chapter)
Okay, so I wasn't really satisfied with how I ended the chapter.
Good thing the story isn't done yet. :D
So, guys, please review! Tell me what you think, because I really want to know what you guys think.
About the chapter I mean. :p
And thank you so much for everything, guys. For supporting me and this story. I appreciate it. :D
Hm, so that's about it, yeah?
Well, see you next chapter!
Ish. Bye!