Chapter 2: Is It Truly You!?
The girls got back to their apartment. "Z, are you going to bed?" Chassidy asked with curiosity.
"Yeah..." Z replied without looking back at any of them. She opened the door to her room, walked in and closed it.
The girls watched the door for a few seconds and then looked at each other and shrugged. The girls sat down in a circle. Just when Lynn-z was going to say something, her cellphone rang in her pocket. Jazlynn and Chassidy watched her as she took it out and answered.
"Hello?" Lynn-z answered cautiously into the RAZR phone.
"Hey! It's Takuya!" the voice on the other end rang through the top half of the phone like an out of control bell.
"Oh! Hey, what's up?" she replied, this time happily.
"Not much, the guys and I were thinking that we should take you girls out to dinner tomorrow night, what do you say?" Takuya, on the other end of the line, asked with a smooth tone.
"Let me ask the girls k?" Lynn-z replied with an amused expression. She lowered the phone from her ear and covered the speaker. She turned to Chassidy and Jazlynn, who had curiosity written all over their faces.
"He wants to know if we'll go with him and the others to dinner tomorrow night, what do you think?" she asked the two. Chassidy and Jazlynn looked at each other and looked back to Lynn-z who was brimming with excitement.
"I'd love to." Jazlynn replied with a smile plastered on her face.
"Sure why not." Chassidy then sang. The words began to sprout wings and travel to Lynn-z's ears, singing like birds in her head. She nodded her head, removed her hand from the speaker and held the phone up to her ear again.
"Okay, they said yes, so we'll see you tomorrow night around... what time?" she began to sing until she realized they hadn't picked a time or place.
"Oh probably around eight. More than likely at DEN Rokuen-Tei. Your friend, Z, should know where it is." Takuya stated simply.
"Okay, we'll see you then!" Lynn-z chirped with a huge smile on her face.
"Alright well I gotta go, see you tomorrow night!" Takuya's voice rang through the cellphone again.
"Right, night!" Lynn-z replied and then hung up the phone. She turned to the girls who were curious. "We're meeting them tomorrow night at eight at the DEN Rokuen-Tei. He said Zoe should know where it is." Lynn-z informed the two who nodded in agreement. Jazlynn piped up.
"Should we tell her?" the girls pondered on that thought until Lynn-z nodded her as in to agree with her thoughts.
"No, it should be a surprise!" she spewed. The other two just nodded, a little worried about what Zoe would say about this.
Zoe, in her room, turned on her light and took out her CDs. She popped one into the alarm clock. The song she played was her own song, Coming For You. She plopped down on her bed, deep in thought.
'Was it really Kouji? I mean, Kouji, Kouji!? That's just not possible... Or is it? I'm not even sure anymore! It's been too long since I've seen any of them! They've probably forgotten all about me anyways, so what's the point!?' she looked at the pendant in her hand. It was a golden diamond on a golden chain. Engraved on the back were the words, 'Don't Forget Us!'. It was a birthday present from, mainly Kouji, but everyone as well. She wore it all the time as a reminder.
'I had something to remember them by, but what about them!? Did they have anything from me to remind them of me!? I don't know... I'm pretty sure J.P. wouldn't forget about me though... Then again... Ugh! I need sleep!' With that, Zoe fell asleep.
The girls poked their heads into her room and saw her sleeping and then left again. The girls all went to their own rooms. Before getting into bed, they chose their outfits for their dinner outing and then went to bed.
Next Morning...
Zoe was the first one out of bed. She went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. She sat down with her cup on the sofa in the living room. She grabbed the remote for the television. She clicked it on and the weatherman was just about to do his report. Although the television was on, Zoe didn't hear it. She was in deep thought again. 'I wonder... should we go to the beach today? Or maybe go out to dinner tonight? I'll ask what they want to do.' Just as she thought that, Jazlynn came out of her room, looking very groggy.
"Morning..." she mumbled.
"Ohayou. What's wrong Jaz, not enough sleep?" Zoe propped her head on her arms on the left arm of the sofa, peering at Jazlynn with curiosity.
Jazlynn squinted at Zoe and simply replied, "Uh-huh..." while nodding her head up and down. She crept up to the coffee machine and made herself a cup of coffee. As she took her first sip of the coffee, she began to walk over to Zoe on the sofa. She sat down next to Zoe and looked at the television. The weather report was over and a commercial was playing. Meanwhile, Zoe was just watching her friend walk around the two rooms. She was amused but at the same time, worried for her friend.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Zoe asked looking at the television, and away from Jazlynn. Jazlynn put her cup down and heaved a deep breath.
"Well... after you went to your room, we planned to go out to dinner tonight... But the daytime is free... I think..." Jazlynn replied, putting her hand to her chin, as if thinking hard about if the girls had planned anything to do before their dinner with the guys.
Before Zoe could reply, Lynn-z slammed her door open, waking Chassidy, who also stomped out of her room that instant. They tromped over to the television and stopped in front of it, blocking the girls' view of it.
Zoe and Jazlynn just stared at them in bewilderment. Chassidy and Lynn-z had their eyes closed and their eyebrows jutted downward toward their eyes, as if they were mad. Their hands were on their hips to top off the look.
"Man, the people above us do not know the meaning of an apartment!" they yelled, almost like a commander in the military. Zoe and Jazlynn just stared for a minute and then, out of nowhere, busted out laughing. Chassidy and Lynn-z shot open their eyes and stared at their laughing friends, then joined them.
About twenty minutes went by and they stopped laughing. Zoe and Jazlynn were heaving in their breath. Lynn-z was coughing and Chassidy was cooing.
As soon as they all regained their composure, Lynn-z cleared her throat. "I would like to go to the beach today!" she declared. Chassidy nodded in agreement.
"That sounds good." Jazlynn added. Zoe just nodded her head.
"Well, let's get ready to go! I wanna go right now!" The others stared at her.
"Alright." Zoe agreed. The others then stared at her. She looked over at them and nodded her head and they just shrugged.
"Let's get ready right now and go!" Lynn-z demanded. They all shot up and saluted. They all began to laugh again as they went to their rooms to change.
A few minutes later, they all came out in their suits.
Chassidy had on a string bikini that was sky blue and instead of her hair being up in a ponytail, she left it down to go swimming. The strings were a darker blue. The top had hearts in the middle of each side. She also had on a matching bracelet and anklet with heart charms dangling down.
Jazlynn's bathing suit was also a bikini. The top was a bandeau, each side connected in the middle to a ring. The bottom had rings connecting the sides as well. The whole thing was an orange color. She had on two matching bracelets on each wrist, orange cloth held onto her wrist by a ring.
Lynn-z's bikini was a little plain and boring, but it was all her. A halter top that faded from a darker green to a neon green. The bottoms faded from the neon green to the darker green. She didn't have on any accessaries either.
Zoe, in all her popstar beauty, had on a tube top that was like a corset. It was purple with white lining. And she had on a pair of extremely short shorts that were navy blue, and the golden buttons were undone, but you can't see anything. She had on lavender wristbands and an anklet to top off her look. She also had her hair in a small half ponytail in the back.
"Z where's your necklace?" Chassidy wondered.
"Oh, I don't want to ruin it by wearing it in the water..." she replied looking at her door, a little distracted by her thoughts. 'It was, after all, my first and only birthday gift from Kouji that wasn't a gift card to some shop...'
"Okay, well, what're we waiting for!? Let's go!" Lynn-z beamed.
"Yeah!" They all cheered in unison and headed out the door, to the elevator.
"So, Z, why were you so... let's see... Surprised? Is that right?" asked Chassidy, questioning her sentence structure and word placement.
"I think so..." Lynn-z answered the question with her hand in her chin in a fist.
"Okay, why were you so surprised at what that J.P. guy called the other guy... What was his name?" Chassidy questioned again, trying to think of the name J.P. had used.
Zoe's head shot up and she immediately realized what they were trying to ask her. She bit her lower lip and watched the red numbers change as the elevator went to the lobby of their hotel. 'Oh, hurry up will you!' she hissed at the elevator in her mind. With that, it just seemed the elevator started to go even slower. Zoe sighed as the question came to proper formation.
"Why were you so surprised that J.P. called that guy 'Kouji'?" Chassidy asked with eagerness in her voice. Jazlynn just looked at Zoe worriedly.
Lynn-z just started chanting, "Yeah, yeah, tell us! Come on, spill!"
Zoe backed up, only to be comforted by the mocking corner. She bit her lip again and looked at the numbers. '2, good I can almost get out of here...' she thought in a panic. She really didn't want to tell them that she might know him. "It was nothing!" she blurted, trying to sound serious but totally failed. She was so hiding something.
But then the elevator rang as they reached the bottom floor. The girls moaned in disappointment. 'Yes!' Zoe thought, as her face lifted and lit up as she heard the bell ring.
"You truly are lucky Z, saved by the bell as always..." Chassidy sighed as she praised Zoe in an ungrateful way.
"Man! I really wanted to know too! You're telling us at the beach, you got that!?" Lynn-z yelled, Zoe winced at her friends' tone and voice pitch but then sighed and nodded her head.
Meanwhile...
Takuya was knocking on Kouji and Kouichi's apartment door. Kouichi answered brightly. "Hey Takuya, what's up? Why are you here?" Kouichi questioned with a smile. Takuya surveyed the background, and spotted Kouji slumping through the hallway over to the door.
"Well, J.P. and I talked to Tommy last night and he really wants to meet the girls, so we thought we'd take them to dinner tonight..." Takuya informed the twins, one getting a little excited and the other just glaring at him with the intent to kill.
"Where will we meet them?" Kouichi asked happily, even though he knew Kouji was right next to him and ready to kill someone.
'Why is he dragging me into this!?' Kouji thought while every few minutes glaring from Kouichi to Takuya.
"We're meeting the girls around eight tonight at the DEN Rokuen-Tei. And Kouji, before you start wanting to kill me, this was all Tommy's idea." Takuya answered Kouichi's question and informed Kouji that it wasn't his fault that Tommy wanted them all to introduce him to the girls.
Kouji just shrugged and started walking back towards his room. Kouichi watched and then turned his attention back to Takuya. "Thanks for letting us know, call us before you leave and we'll know when to go." Kouichi said and waved bye to Takuya. Takuya simply nodded and waved while he started to walk back down the hallway to the elevator.
Kouichi shut the door and went to his room. He was going to his room to pick out his outfit for the dinner. Kouji came out of his room just before Kouichi shut his door. Kouichi looked at Kouji quizzically. "What's up Kouji?" he asked, with his head cocked to the side. Kouji just shrugged and walked to the kitchen.
Kouichi, in his room with his door shut now, was picking out his outfit. 'Hmm... what should I wear? I wanna look like a gentlemen so, maybe some dress pants and a button down shirt?' Kouichi picked out a pair of black slacks and a light grey button down shirt with long sleeves. He laid them on his bed and put his fist to his chin, making him look like he was in deep thought. He was surveying the outfit he had picked out.
'That's good, but which shoes should I wear? I don't want to look too serious...' He picked out a pair of slightly dressy but casual grey tennis shoes. He put a pair of black socks inside the shoes. Kouichi looked at the whole outfit together with the shoes and nodded his head.
He left his room with his outfit laying on his bed, waiting to see some action. Kouichi sat down next to Kouji in front of the television. "Anything good on?" he asked his twin.
He looked over at Kouji and he just shrugged. "What were you doing in there?" Kouji asked Kouichi, a little irritated.
"I was picking out my outfit for the dinner outing." Kouichi informed Kouji, making him look at him in surprise.
"You must really like that girl from last night huh?" Kouji asked his brother, his expression turning from surprise to a small mocking look of amusement.
A small grin was on Kouji's face as he watched his brother struggle to reply. "W-well, I-I-I guess you could say that..." Kouichi answered Kouji's question without looking at his brother, because he knew what his face looked like already.
After that, Kouji got up and headed toward his room. Kouichi, realizing his brother's movement, looked at his brother's back and simply asked, "Where are you going?". Kouji pointed to his room.
"I guess I'll pick out something too since I have to go..." Kouji put it bluntly and then opened his door and closed it after he was inside. Kouichi just shrugged and grabbed the remote.
Kouji, in his room, was looking in his closet for his outfit for the dinner tonight. 'What would she like me to wear if it really was her!? Oh how about this!' Kouji grabbed a long sleeved jacket, a t-shirt, a pair of grey cargo pants and his converse. 'It's a lot like what I used to wear when we were in the Digital World... perfect.' Kouji laid his outfit on his bed with his socks inside his converse next to his bed. He came out of his room and sat down with Kouichi.
Tommy had school today, so he wasn't at home to pick it out at noon. He was sitting at lunch, thinking about what would be appropriate. 'I could wear a t-shirt and a pair of jeans since we're going to the DEN Rokuen-Tei... But I wouldn't want to look like some down-beat high schooler in front of four foreigners, especially when Takuya and J.P. said they were extremely hot. J.P. even heard Kouji say one of them was gorgeous...! That's something to take into consideration. I guess I'll be casual dressy tonight. Slacks, a t-shirt with a jacket and a pair of tennis shoes that look appropriate...' Tommy thought. After that he ate and the bell rang for lunch to be over. He packed up his lunch and grabbed his bags. He threw away his trash and headed to the hallways.
J.P. was at work, on lunch break at the moment. His boss was with him. Him and his boss were quite friendly so he decided to ask about the dinner.
"Hey, Kai, what do you think I should wear if I'm going out with my friends and some really hot foreign chicks?" J.P. asked his boss before taking a bite into his sandwich. Kai just looked at him like he didn't believe him.
"Come on J.P., you know you're not supposed to lie to your boss." He said half jokingly.
"But I'm not lying! They're some girls from America! We're taking them to dinner tonight at the DEN Rokuen-Tei." J.P. blurted to his boss, almost screaming but not quite. This time, his boss just blinked.
"Well, I'd say... wear something that's a little casual and a little dressy. You don't want to make a bad impression." Kai instructed J.P. and J.P. just nodded his head.
"Okay! I'll go home and figure that out later. I just wanted an opinion. Thanks Kai!" J.P. praised his boss as he finished his lunch and stood up to go throw away his trash.
"Anytime J.P., anytime." Kai just nonchalantly walked out of the room and back onto the set, throwing his trash out on the way. J.P. followed.
Takuya finally got back to his apartment. He opened the door and walked in, taking his shoes off in the process. He walked into his room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to his dresser, pulled open a drawer containing shirts of all kinds. He pulled out a polo shirt, with the design of fire on the bottom half. 'Now for the pants...' he thought as he closed his shirt drawer and opened another drawer, containing pants. He pulled out a pair of faded out blue jeans. He closed the drawer and walked over to a shoe rack that was close to his door. He picked up a pair of Puma tennis shoes that were grey, black, red and white. He stuffed a pair of socks into one of the shoes. 'That looks perfect for tonight.' he thought, staring intently at the outfit he picked out. He nodded his head and then left his room. He went to the living room and turned on the television. He looked at the guide. The time read 1:34 pm. 'It'll be awhile before we have to leave... maybe I'll take a nap...' And with that thought, he dozed off on the couch.
Around 7:30 pm...
Zoe, and the girls got back from the beach. "Man! That was so much fun!" Lynn-z yelled with excitement.
"I still can't believe you might actually know those guys, Zoe." Chassidy reminded Zoe as she walked into her room.
"But you have to promise me you won't say anything to them! I kind of want them to figure it out on their own..." Zoe pleaded to her friends from her bedroom doorway.
"Sure, no problem!" Lynn-z agreed.
"I won't I swear." Jazlynn reassured her with a smile.
"Alright, I won't say anything..." Chassidy mumbled, a little disappointed.
"Good, now where are we going tonight?" Zoe asked with curiosity.
"We're going to the DEN Rokuen-Tei." Lynn-z answered simply, not giving away the surprise.
"Okay..." Zoe said as she turned around slowly to go into her bedroom and change.
The other girls did the same.
About fifteen minutes later, Jazlynn came out of her room in a simple outfit. She sported a pair of yellow heels with a pair of tan kapris with zippers on each pant leg running from top to bottom. And an orange spaghetti strap shirt on. She also had on her favorite lipstick, her Golden Shine.
The next one out of her room and into the living room was Lynn-z. She wore a pair of light green boots that come up to her kneecaps, with her darker green jean pants inside the boots, bunching right above where they end. She had on a pine green bra that showed through her first shirt, which had one tie, right by the middle of the bra front. The shirt had dark green lace as a border and the rest was a see-through mint green color. She also had two green clips in her hair and had her hair in a half ponytail wrap. The last thing she put on was her favorite lipstick, Bright Pink Princess.
The two sat on the sofa.
Right after they sat down, Chassidy came out of her room. "Wow you two! I thought you would be super fancy about this! I guess not..." Chassidy spewed, almost blowing the secret, surprised by her friends' attire.
She had on a pair of sky blue heels, blue jeans that went down to her ankles, a spaghetti strap sky blue shirt under a navy blue long-sleeved short jacket. Her hair was tied together at the bottom. She had on her favorite lipstick, Cherry Blossom's Pride.
She sat down in the chair next to the other two who had their fingers on their mouths to shush her.
The last one out was Zoe, who had a little trouble picking out something to wear. 'I wonder if Raiv still works there... will she recognize me as me, or as Z...?' Zoe thought as she picked out her outfit for the dinner outing. She shrugged and picked out the shirt she had an eye on the whole time, a cool pair of pants and one of her favorite pairs of shoes.
She walked out of her room a moment later, all the girls looked at her and their mouths dropped to the floor. They couldn't believe their eyes.
Zoe was wearing a spaghetti strap shirt (fat straps). It was kind of like a corset but not really, the cloth was folded, making it look tight on her, but it was very snug. It was two different colors, striped vertically, with a good amount of space for both colors. A light pink and a dark reddish-pink. She also had on her necklace. Her pants were navy blue and looked a lot like her bikini bottoms, but were buttoned up and a pair of pants. They had zippers starting at the mid-thigh. They were zipped up to just before her kneecaps. The inside of the pants were lavender, you could see them when she walked because the pants flared out. Her shoes went up to about mid-calf. They were white and blue. They kind of looked like a pair of tennis shoes extended, but they were boots. The ties went from the top all the way down to just before her toes. On the middle part of the bottom half, there were blue stripes on the side coming from the tongue. She wore gloss on her natural lips.
The girls regained composure.
"Well... what do you think?" Zoe asked the girls, a little embarrassed by her friends' reactions to her just stepping out of her room.
"You look gorgeous Z!" Jazlynn chimed, jumping up from her seat on the couch.
"Yeah! Of course, you always look good!" Lynn-z chirped like the fangirl she was, also jumping up from her seat on the couch.
"Now you probably can get that guy, Z!" Chassidy mocked Zoe, mentioning Kouji at a time like this. Zoe's face flared a dark red. She hung her head low and mumbled a soft, almost inaudible, 'thanks guys...' to them before they headed out of the apartment. It was 7:55 pm.
Guys, quick run through...
Takuya was just getting fully dressed. He dressed himself in record time, two minutes... 'Now I just have to call Kouichi and Kouji...' he thought, grabbing his cellphone out of his pocket. It rang twice and Kouichi picked up.
"Hello? Takuya where are you!?" he didn't sound too happy.
"Um, on my way why?" he wondered since he was asking.
"We're all already here, you get to pay this time, don't you forget that! Don't be too late! You're just lucky the girls aren't here yet!" Kouichi said, almost sounding hurried.
"Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes, see ya!" He hung before Kouichi could. Takuya ran through his front door and down the street, lucky he was on the first floor. A few minutes later, he was in front of the DEN Rokuen-Tei. 'Just in time...' he thought.
The girls had just arrived in a limousine right after he got there. It stopped right in front of the restaurant but no one got out yet.
Takuya, in his Puma tennis shoes, fiery polo shirt and his faded blue jeans, peered over to the limo.
Kouichi, who was wearing a pair of black slacks, a grey button down shirt and a pair of tennis shoes, also peered at the limo with curiosity.
J.P. was wearing a pair of dark blue slacks, a yellow polo shirt and his pair of Diesel tennis shoes.
Tommy also had on a pair of slacks, a mint green shirt with the kanji for hope on it and his pair of Diesel Paralex tennis shoes on.
Kouji on the other hand, was wearing a long sleeved black jacket with a white stripe down the side of the arms, a light grey t-shirt under the jacket, a pair of grey cargo pants and his pair of navy blue converse. He had his hair in his delicate little ponytail at the base of his neck, as always, and sported a beanie.
The girls finally decided to get out of the limo.
First out was Chassidy, in her blue entourage. She walked up to the boys in a sophisticated fashion. "Hello, boys." she spoke with a hint of attitude.
She turned around and stepped out of the way for the next person out of the limo, which was Lynn-z. Her and her nature green colors made the guys gape. She walked over to Takuya and grabbed his arm, squeezing it as if claiming him.
"Hey guys, sorry we're a little late..." she said in a semi apologetic tone.
The next one out was Jazlynn, in her orange casualness. She strode over to Kouichi with pride, but when she got to him, she shyly looked at him and muttered a simple 'Hi...'.
Zoe had slipped out and to the other side of the limo to talk to the driver.
The others looked over at the open door.
"Is there anyone else?" Tommy asked peering from one girl to another.
"Yeah, but she'll join us in a minute, we can go in. She's a little busy at the moment." Lynn-z reassured the guys and they all headed into the restaurant.
Zoe stood up straight as they left and waved to the driver of the limo, walking around to the other side and closing the door. She stepped on the sidewalk and the limo drove away. She turned around and headed towards the restaurant.
As everyone entered, they came to the podium. A girl with fiery red hair in a low wrapped ponytail stood, tallying up another customer's bill. Takuya cleared his throat and the girl looked up, first in irritation, then in surprise.
"Takuya!? Kouji, Kouichi, J.P. and Tommy!? Am I seeing right!?" the girl exclaimed with excitement.
Takuya and the others just nodded their heads in unison.
"Hey Raiv, we haven't seen you in a while!" J.P. exclaimed, moving to the front of the group, next to Takuya and Lynn-z.
"Yeah, it took you guys a good ten, almost eleven years to come back and see me!" Raiv yelled, as if a mother, punishing the guys.
"Sorry, we kind of got..." Takuya started and Kouji finished for him.
"Distracted." he put it simply.
Raiv looked around the group, noticing someone missing and a few new faces.
"So, who are these lovely ladies you've got with you?" Raiv asked with suspicion in her voice. "Are they what had you so 'distracted'?" Raiv questioned as all the guys reddened.
"No!" They all shouted in unison.
"Hi, I'm Lynn-z! Me and my friends just met them last night. I'm from America, it's nice to meet you." Lynn-z held her hand out towards Raiv, who looked at her in surprise and then extended her hand to meet with Lynn-z's. They shook hands.
"I'm Raiv, it's nice that Takuya finally found himself a girl." Raiv said slyly, peering at a beet red Takuya. Raiv and Lynn-z just let out small laughs.
Chassidy came up to the podium and extended her arm to Raiv as well. "Hi, I'm Chassidy, one of Lynn-z's friends. It's nice to meet you." Raiv shook Chassidy's hand.
"It's nice to meet you too." Raiv just simply replied with a smile.
Kouichi had to drag Jazlynn up to the podium as Chassidy went back to the back of the group. "Raiv, this is Jazlynn, one of the girls we met last night." Kouichi introduced the now hiding Jazlynn. She toughened up and held her hand out to Raiv with a sweet smile on her face.
"Hello." She simply said, as if to reinforce Kouichi's introduction.
"It's nice to meet you too." Raiv said, shaking Jazlynn's hand. She wiggled a finger in front of her face, telling Jazlynn to come here.
"I think you two make a really cute couple." Raiv whispered in Jazlynn's ear, only loud enough for her to hear it. Her face lit up as she leaned back towards Kouichi.
"Th-thank you..." was Jazlynn's only reply to the statement. She dragged Kouichi back to their spot in line.
"You have a reservation for a table for... nine? But there's only eight of you." Raiv said in confusion.
Just then the doors opened and they all looked back to see who had come in. Raiv's face had shock written all over it. She couldn't believe her eyes. Zoe walked up to the podium. "I'm the ninth member of this group. Hi, I'm Z, nice to meet you." Zoe said in a positive way. Raiv could only nod. Zoe walked back to the back to stand by Chassidy. 'Hopefully she remembers me...' Zoe thought.
"R-right this way." Raiv led them to their reserved table.
They all sat down, girls on one side, guys on the other. Raiv took drink orders and left towards the kitchen. "Why don't we mix up this seating arrangement?" Takuya suggested. J.P. and Lynn-z nodded in agreement. Lynn-z sprang up and pointed at Kouji.
"I want to sit where Kouji is!" she spouted, pleading a little for Kouji to trade her spots. Kouji stood up and moved out of Lynn-z's way. She sat down next to Takuya. Kouichi got up and walked over to Chassidy, who was next to Jazlynn.
"Can I sit here?" he asked Chassidy, who nodded and got up so he could sit down. Tommy was at the end of the table next to Zoe, by Kouji, who was forced into sitting next to the popstar.
He couldn't bring himself to look at her and she wasn't looking at him either. The song 'Style' by Se7en was playing in the restaurant. Lynn-z was on the other side of Kouji, next to Takuya. On the other side of the table, Tommy was next to Kouichi. Jazlynn was on the other side of Kouichi, looking down at her lap. Next to Jazlynn was J.P. and next to him was Chassidy. Tommy inspected the American girls, especially Z. Raiv came back with their drinks.
"What, are you guys playing musical chairs or something!?" she exclaimed setting down the drinks in front of their proper owners.
"No, we just decided to switch around the seating arrangement a little that's all." Takuya answered Raiv's question and she just laughed.
"I think we'll need a few more minutes to think about what to order..." Kouichi said to Raiv. She nodded her head and walked away.
Kouji couldn't stand it anymore. 'I'm going to ask her!' he thought. He stood up and grabbed Zoe's forearm.
"Can I speak with you in private for a minute?" he asked the semi frightened popstar.
She nodded her head in understanding.
"Excuse us..." Kouji said to the others while walking away, Zoe following him.
As soon as Takuya knew Kouji couldn't hear him, he leaned up to the table. "Should we spy on them!?" Takuya asked with mischief written on his face.
"No, Zoe would kill us if we did." Chassidy explained simply.
"D-Did you say... Zoe!?" J.P. asked in total surprise.
"Yeah! That's her first name, why?" Jazlynn explained in a simple fashion.
"It's just, we knew a girl named Zoe a long time ago..." Tommy explained sadly.
"Well, I'm not too sure if she's the Zoe you guys knew, but she isn't really American... She came from Italy about seven years ago... but I'm not sure if she's from anywhere else than that so I can't be of much help. Sorry." Lynn-z stated as the other two nodded in agreement even though they really did know that she was indeed their Zoe.
The guys all gaped then looked at each other.
Kouji and Zoe were away from the others. Kouji felt it was safe to ask her here. His back was to her face. She looked at him with sadness, as she clutched the pendant he gave her years ago in her hands.
Kouji opened his mouth, "So, is it truly you? Or are you someone else?" he asked her with suspicion in his voice.
She looked up at the back of his head in shock and then back down at her hands and nodded with a small sob as the song 'Deny' by w-inds. rang through the restaurants' speakers.
Kouji turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw her with her head hung low as the song began. He turned around fully. She looked up at him a little and began to cry harder, biting her lip.
She held out her hands and opened them. Kouji looked at the pendant in shock. He grabbed it and turned it around.
Sure enough, what he read were the words, 'Don't Forget Us!' on the back of the golden diamond. All he could do was drop the pendant and look at her in shock as she continued to cry. His face softened and he advanced toward her without her knowing. He wrapped his arms around her, his left hand grabbing her waist on the right side and his right hand on her left shoulder. She lifted her head in surprise. She looked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"I've missed you, y'know!" He barked in her ear, his breath tickling her neck and ear. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms under his forearm and gripped his shoulders. She spoke softly through her tears.
"I'm just glad that you remembered me..."
Kouji couldn't believe she said that. They let go of each other. He looked her dead straight in the eyes.
"How could I forget you!?" Kouji said, looking a little offended. This caused Zoe to laugh. 'I'd love to kiss her right now, but I think that would be going to fast for her...' Kouji kept his thoughts to himself as he watched the blond in front of him laugh. She stopped and looked him in the eye.
"Well, you didn't say anything to me yesterday, so I thought..." she looked down. Kouji just embraced her. This time, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a few minutes, Kouji and Zoe returned to the table. Jazlynn noticed her tear stained face and gave a look of curiosity and worry. Zoe just closed her eyes and shook her as if to say "It was nothing". Jazlynn nodded and understood immediately. Chassidy noticed this and wrote something on a napkin and passed it over to Zoe. She opened it and read, 'Did he figure it out?'. Zoe looked over to Chassidy and nodded her head. Chassidy looked over to Lynn-z and nodded her head. Lynn-z looked over to Zoe.
"So, you really know who she is after all huh?" she asked Kouji slyly.
The other guys didn't understand what she was getting at.
"Yep, I figured it out." Kouji answered dryly. Kouji looked over at the blond next to him and smiled gently. Zoe blushed and smiled back at him. Takuya looked over at the two.
"Figured out what!?" he asked in confusion with the other guys nodding in agreement. The song 'I Will...' by Sowelu came on.
"Should I tell them?" Kouji asked for permission. Zoe nodded, giving him permission to tell them who she really was.
Just before Kouji was going to say it, Raiv was walking up to their table.
"It's Zoe. From before." he said, with a hint of excitement in his voice. The guys and Raiv froze where they were.
J.P. sprang up with his hand in the air. "I knew it!"
Tommy looked over to Zoe. "It's great to see you again." he told her, with a sweet smile on his face.
She nodded and leaned over to him, giving him a small hug. Nothing like what Kouji got though.
Takuya could only stare in disbelief.
The girls all smiled.
Raiv ran up to Zoe and bent down next to her. "I can't believe it's you, Zoe!" She cried as she hugged her.
"Well, believe it! It's me!" Zoe told her, hugging her back.
"Well, why don't we order already!?" Takuya exclaimed, causing the two girls to break apart.
"Then order already!" Raiv yelled at him, tears in her eyes.
After dinner, the gang separated. Zoe and the girls got into their limo and were taken off to their apartment. Takuya headed home rather quickly. Kouji and Kouichi walked home together in silence. J.P. walked with Tommy, until they're paths changed. That night though, all Kouji and Zoe could think about was their hug...
That's Chapter 2: Is It Truly You!?
Hope you like it. Sorry Syra Dylan, I didn't see your review until a few minutes ago. I'll make some changes to the way I write in the next chapter. ^.- And thank you for the praise about Zoe not being Emo. I liked that. I really liked your story too. I think I read it yesterday or the day before... oh well! Anywho, the next chapter only has a name, and I've got some ideas in my head for it so, yeah. Oh and Raiv, the girl from the restaurant, her name's pronounced Rave so... Next chapter: Chapter 3: The Plot Of The Devious Three hope you wanna read it!