Chapter 3: The Plot of The Devious Three
A week had passed, Zoe hadn't noticed since the others had school and her friends kept bugging her about getting a new boyfriend or at least having a fling with someone. They told her that yesterday. She was outraged. The girls were touring the prefecture, and Zoe decided to stay home.
"That was so like her!" Lynn-z complained of Zoe's absence.
"Yeah, but hey! We can carry out our plan now!" Chassidy reminded Lynn-z of their secret plot that Zoe had absolutely no clue about.
"You're right!" Lynn-z yelled excitedly, throwing up her hands in the air, almost hitting the person behind her on the bus. Luckily, that person had ducked just in time.
"So, how are we gonna pull it off?" Jazlynn asked curiously. Cocking theirs heads to the side, all the girls placed their hands on their chins, making them look cutely intellectual. All the guys, even the married and taken guys on the bus, were staring at them.
"I think..." Lynn-z started, taking her hand off her chin and popping her fist into her other hand. "We should make some flyers and post them all around town."
"Yeah, and let her figure it out on her own!? I don't think so!"Chassidy screamed in outrage at her two friends who were staring at her like she'd gone mad. 'All the hard work to come up with this in secret be ruined!? Over my dead body!' She said it but not aloud, just in her head.
"Okay... I get the point..." Lynn-z spoke, quivering, thinking that if she said the wrong thing, Chassidy would bite her head off like a fierce pit bull with brutal training.
"But I still think the flyers are a good idea. We should place them where she wouldn't think about it..." Jazlynn spewed, looking innocent.
"That, is a well-rounded idea!" Chassidy placed her hands on her hips, leaned her head back and laughed maniacally after commenting Jazlynn. Lynn-z just glared at Chassidy while Jazlynn smiled worriedly, sweat dropping.
Meanwhile in the apartment...
Zoe was lying on her bed, this time she was listening to a song called Lian Ai Da Ren by Alan Luo (aka Show Luo or Luo Zhi Xiang) and Xiao S. The song is in Taiwanese but she didn't really care. It had a soft beat, and it was easy to pick up the lyrics without knowing the language very well. She got up and took a shower. After the relaxing shower, she took the CD out of the alarm clock, and placed it in her CD case on her floor. She took out her iPod and placed it on the night stand. She got dressed in a casual fashion. She was sporting blue, slip-on converse, a jean mini that stopped about mid-thigh or perhaps a little shorter, a grey top, and a blue hoodie to top it off. She also hadn't forgotten about her pendant, which was displayed between her (ahem!)cleavage, which was actually where it always was, due to the length of the chain it hung from. She grabbed her iPod, flipped to the song she wanted, and pressed lightly on the play button absent-mindedly. She plugged in the earphones, placed them in her ears and walked out of the apartment to do some well-needed walking around. And not to mention some thinking and window-shopping.
On the other hand...
Chassidy, Lynn-z and Jazlynn were now in front of the copy store. They were making the signs for their little plan. It was decorated with hearts and sparkles of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Just to make sure, Jazlynn and Lynn-z were standing behind Chassidy as she did so, that Zoe wasn't anywhere to be found and potential candidates wouldn't know anything in advanced. "Eureka! It's finished!" Chassidy sang as she clicked the 'Print' button on the top left of the screen. She changed the 'Number of Copies:' number to at least one hundred, if not more. Then she clicked print and the order came to the main computer. Now, while Chassidy is laughing up her evil storm, let's look over the girls, shall we? Lynn-z, as usual, has her hair in a new style today. Two little half-pigtails dangling cutely from each side of the top of her head, in turquoise blue scrunchies, matching her turquoise blue hair clips on the right side of her head, once again keeping her tiny, irritating bangs from her face. Her skirt is longer than the rest of her companions', not jean blue but still a blue. She had on a dull, yellow-orange, off-the-shoulder top on with a small red corset around her waist. The sleeves aren't long either, instead they're scrunched up, stopping at her mid upper arm, just before her elbow. But it's natural. On her feet were grey, backless converse, with a turquoise blue tongue and navy laces. She stood behind Chassidy, glancing back at her every now and again, worried that she was going to lose it any minute now by how ridiculously maniacally she was laughing at their devious plan.
Standing next to Lynn-z, was an equally worried Jazlynn. She's the most colorful one in the bunch today. A mint green spaghetti strap t-shirt, that cuts off at the mid-drift, under a short, navy blue jacket with a lighter blue trimming. Under her mid-drift lay a skirt, with a square design on it, two different colors on top of each other, switching places each time a new square began, with an auburn belt hanging over the skirt like a decoration, which it was. We'll stop at her left hand for a sec, she's wearing a silver pinky ring that was a gift from her parents. Onward, going to the feet, she sports a pair of magenta high-top converse, folded over at the top, with neon pink laces. Her hair fell into it's natural place, right in front of her left eye, covering half her of face from the world. She too, would glance back at Chassidy, though a little more frequently than Lynn-z, because her friend sounded like a dying cow, gasping for breath.
Chassidy had finally regained herself enough to stop laughing and retrieve the flyers from the clerk in the front of the store by the printer. She stood up and began to stroll over to the printer. Lynn-z and Jazlynn just followed her. As soon as they all laid eyes on the flyers, they all beamed with excitement. "They're perfect!" squealed an extremely mischievous and excited Lynn-z. Chassidy simply clasped her hands together, then started rubbing them together, mumbling under her breath. The girls paid for the copies and left the store.
"Next stop, a Staples!" chimed Chassidy. Her Turn...Chassidy, being the simple girl she is, sports a more tomboyish look than her friends. She's wearing a pair of dark green jean bermuda shorts, a maroon, v-neck shirt, with a mint green under shirt showing at the top of the v, the shirt cutting off at her mid-drift as well. This time her hair is in pigtails and she's wearing a pair of Sugar Smoking Cats (the closest name of the type of shoe I'm referring to, womens canvas)in a dark mint green color. The girls kept walking around the city, though they knew they had strayed from their little tour of the prefecture, they weren't lost. They found a Staples store and looked around for duck tape and (heh ironically)staples for the stapler they had brought with them. As they checked out, Jazlynn saw five familiar guys walking by the store, on their way to some kind of, what looked like, a...
Back with Zoe and her floating mind...
Zoe was now making her way to the subway. She paid her fare and boarded, heading towards the actual city of Tokyo. Earphones still in her ears, Zoe's eyes were closed, but she could tell that almost all the guys in the compartment were staring at her, either bewildered or in disbelief of who she really was. Then she could feel the subway stopping and she opened her eyes. The electronic sign read in bright red letters, Harajuku Station. 'Well, time to go...' she thought, closing her eyes again as she got up out of her seat and held onto the bar for support. The subway stopped and the doors opened to let passengers off and on. She opened her eyes again and got off the subway.
Making her way out of the station, she was greeted with the bright sun and a cool breeze. 'I haven't felt this good in a while...' Zoe thought, sighing in disappointment. She kept going, walking by the stores with the song repeating on her iPod, since it was the only song she had by Alan Luo. She stopped by a dark, bronze-tan building with black glass doors. The bold, black letters on the side of the building read, "Pony Canyon Video And Recording Industry". She entered the building through the black glass doors and approached the secretary at the wooden counter before the hallway. She paused the song on her iPod and cleared her throat to get the secretary's attention. The secretary turned around with a smile on her face.
"Yes, may I help you ma'am?" she questioned, overlooking Zoe as if studying her closely, trying to figure out who she was.
"Uh yes... I'm looking for Mr. Kawashima. Is he available today?" Zoe questioned, looking around the office, stunned by all the pictures hanging on the walls.
"Yes, Mr. Kawashima is in today. Do you have an important issue you need to discuss with him?" the secretary was eyeing her suspiciously, thinking she was here to just waste time.
"Yes, it's about my music video recording that I had delayed until further notice." Zoe stated, still looking around the office.
"And what is your name, ma'am?" the secretary sounded like she was a little irritated, this caught Zoe's attention. She turned her head sharply to the secretary as soon as she heard the irritation in her voice.
"Zoe Orimoto." She stated plainly, ready to glare at the secretary if she told her to go home because she didn't believe her.
"Zoe Orimoto? Do you have an alias?" the secretary's voice was dripping with venom and sarcasm. This caused Zoe to stare at her.
"Z." she replied to the sarcasm, dripping with ten times more venom than the secretary could even dream of. The woman stared at the popstar.
"Oh, Z! Yes his office is down this hall and the fifth door on the left..." the secretary spoke hurriedly and apologetically to Zoe as she just nodded and headed down the hallway.
Mr. Kawashima's door was wooden, cherry oak colored, had a sturdy office latch for a handle, and a black plaque on the door that read "Kawashima, K." in white letters. She knocked on the door three times, to notify him that she was there. A muffled voice was heard from behind the door. "One minute please!" it said. Zoe took a step away from the door and to the side if anyone was coming down the hallway, they could get past her. She heard footsteps a few minutes later and then the door slowly opened, revealing a man in his late twenties, in a business suit that, Zoe imagined, cost about three thousand yen at the least. He looked up at her and she came forth, with her hand extended towards him. His eyes widened in shock as he took in her figure and features, slowly figuring out who she was. He extended his hand to meet hers and shook her hand as she smiled brightly.
"Hi Mr. Kawashima, I'm Zoe Orimoto. Also known as Z in public." she informed the bewildered man in front of her as he just stared at her. "It's nice to finally meet you sir."
"Ah, the pleasure is all mine Miss Z. I take you're here about your music video recording...?" he greeted and asked her as he looked at her quizzically.
"Yes, I am." she smiled sweetly, as they released their hands.
"Please, step into my office." he motioned her into the office like she was a princess entering a castle. She nodded her head and looked around his office, admiring the hint of homey touches in the room. He closed the door behind himself so they could talk together about what her ideas were for the music video part she and her mother had asked him to record for her.
Back with the girls and their plan...
Jazlynn stared in disbelief as she saw Kouji, Kouichi, Takuya, Tommy and J.P. enter a café...? 'Why are they going to a café?' She thought then dismissed it and turned back to her friends and their plan to get Zoe a boyfriend.
"Alright!" Chassidy chimed, as they stepped up to the crosswalk. "Let's put these babies where all the guys usually hang out, or pass by!"
"Yeah, good idea Chass!" Lynn-z agreed, putting her hands in the air.
"We should start with that café over there, and then we'll go over to the night club and other mens' stores. Got it!?" Chassidy ordered, placing a stack of posters in each girls arms. They saluted and headed off in separate directions.
In the "Little Star" Café...
Takuya, Tommy and J.P. sat on the left half of the booth and Kouji and Kouichi were on the right half. It was the time of the week where they would get together and talk about what happened during the previous week and other things as well.
"Man! I still can't believe we saw Zoe last week!" Tommy exclaimed, still in disbelief that their female teammate was actually in town.
"Yeah, that was unexpected alright." Kouichi agreed, sipping his coffee. Kouji looked at his twin and then looked over to the T.V. hanging from the ceiling. The girl at the bar asked the cashier to turn up the volume on the T.V. From it, the hosts' voice boomed through the café.
"Well, that was w-inds Hanamuke at number 3. We have a special video for all those who love the international popstar, Z! It's her newest video, Anything. Enjoy." The screen went from the host to a video. In the bottom corner it displayed the name of the singer, the name of the song, the name of the album, and the name of the record company. On the screen, you could see a t.v. in the background with the band Toto on it singing the beginning. Then it switches to Z in a half-sized button down shirt with a tie around her neck, short plaid shorts, knee-high boots and a hat on her head. In the video, she's dancing to the beat and snapping her fingers. Then she begins to sing. The picture changes from her in the first outfit to her in another outfit which consisted of a pair of dark marsh green cargo pants, a bandeau top with a summer jacket over it, a pair of converse and a military hat on her head. That's mainly the whole video. At the end, it shows her in the first outfit turning around in slow motion and walking away from the screen.
While the video was playing, all the guys in the café couldn't take their eyes off the television. She looked so appealing. 'Was that really the Zoe we know?' Kouji wondered in silence after seeing the music video for one of Zoe's extremely popular songs. Meanwhile the show had gone back to the host.
"There you have it! That was Z with Anything. Now, I just heard from a very reliable source that Z is in town and is looking forward to shooting part of her music video here in Japan. Although, most sources haven't seen the American popstar around town, doesn't mean she isn't really here. Now for number 2 in our countdown..." the host kept going, but the cashier turned the volume down again.
"Man, I can't believe that was Zoe! She looked so... good!" Takuya bursted while blushing madly thinking of their teammate in the outfits from her video. "I wonder if she brought those outfits with her..."
"Taki, you're thinking out loud again..." J.P. whispered in Takuya's ear, though he wasn't paying attention.
"I have to admit though, she was really hot in that video there..." Tommy added his own little say in the matter Takuya had brought up.
"I wonder what the rest of her music videos will be like?" Kouichi wondered out loud. The rest of them looked at him. J.P. smirked.
"Well, her music video for 'Fairy Tales' was kind of interesting. She was a devil, an angel and the narrator. Let me tell you, she was fine! In her music video for 'Leave (Get Out)' she was pretty casual. Mini skirts, tank tops, halter tops. The normal for an American female her age." J.P. informed the rest in a know-it-all fashion. They all sweat dropped when he was finished.
"Well, has she made any other music videos yet?" Takuya questioned Mr. Know-it-all-about-Z.
"Well, rumor has it that she started making two others, but has yet to finish them. What that host guy said might actually be true. I mean about her finishing one of her music videos here in Tokyo..." J.P. replied, looking down at the table. He knew they thought he was a stalker, but then again she is their friend so it makes sense that he knows a lot about her.
'Man, he really needs to get a life...' Kouji thought while watching the outside world.
"How did you find out all that J.P.?" Tommy asked, just out of curiosity.
"Well, my boss at work is really good friends with a guy named Kawashima at Pony Canyon Video And Recording Industry. It turns out that the Kawashima guy knows Z and she had an appointment with him that was delayed until further notice. It was for a video recording session." J.P. answered the question thoughtfully, thinking he shouldn't have said that in this particular café, or in public for that matter.
'Wow, he knows someone that high up huh?' Kouji thought in surprise. He averted his eyes from his friends and out the window again. He wouldn't have said anything to anyone if it weren't for him catching the sight of Jazlynn, taping a poster up across the street. "Hey, look over there. Isn't that Z's friend, Jazlynn?" Kouji questioned his company and motioned across the street to where she was. They all gasped in shock.
"Yeah that is her! I wonder what she's doing with that poster..." Kouichi answered Kouji's question, only to come up with one of his own.
"Hey, let's go check it out after she leaves!" J.P. suggested and Takuya agreed by nodding his head. Kouji and Kouichi shrugged while Tommy too, was vigorously nodding his head up and down with excitement.
As soon as Jazlynn got up and ran down the street, the guys paid their bill and went to go check out the poster. Before they could get there, however, the small piece of paper had attracted a hell of a lot of the male population's attention. As they neared the small item taped to the wall, Tommy was the first to be able to read it.
"Men Wanted, The American Popstar Z needs a boyfriend! If you wish to participate, meet us at Bunkamura! Help Us Find Her Soulmate!" Tommy recited the contents of the poster.
"When is that going to be?" Takuya asked the boy.
"It says... This Friday! Sign ups are throughout this week." he read them the rest of the poster aloud.
"Well, I guess I'll volunteer for fun!" Takuya had a mischievous smile plastered on his face, while he was cackling evilly.
"Yeah me too!" J.P. added.
"I think I'll just sit and watch you guys humiliate yourselves..." Tommy said plainly while sweat dropping at the older two.
"I'll just go to tell her I came as a friend..." Kouichi made his decision while also sweat dropping at Takuya and J.P.
'I guess I can have some fun with her. This can be my excuse...' Kouji thought deviously, keeping his thoughts to himself. Kouichi just glanced over at him feeling like he was up to something.
Back with Z and Mr. Kawashima...
"Well, what are your ideas for this part of the music video for...?" Mr. Kawashima questioned Zoe from behind his desk.
"I was thinking of doing the rest of 'Let It Rain' on top of some kind of building. Just me singing." Z stated her idea for the remainder of the video.
"What about the rest of it?" Mr. Kawashima asked her out of curiosity.
"Oh, that's already been recorded. This is all that's left for that video." She answered, smiling.
"Alright, well where did you have in mind?" he asked again, but this was important.
"Maybe the Westin Hotel... Something like that. I was hoping you could think of some kind of place for that... I'm not the greatest at thinking up where it should be." she smiled shyly as she explained.
"Oh... Well I think the Westin Hotel will do fine then. You go home and get ready for the recording session, and I'll call you before we head over there Okay?" he suggested, standing up to lead her out of his office.
"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you so much." she nodded and left his office.
"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours." he waved goodbye as she slowly disappeared down the hall and out of the building. After he couldn't see her anymore, he went back into his office and closed the door behind him.
As Zoe neared the secretary's desk, she lifted her head towards her and waved. The secretary waved back and smiled. "Have a wonderful day, Miss Z." she spoke just as Zoe had opened the doors and left the building, turning her iPod back on.
Zoe headed for the subway station again with her iPod still playing the same song by Alan Luo. She paid her fare for the second, but not last, time today. As soon as the next subway pulled up to the platform, she boarded and got a seat. She sat there with her eyes closed. 'I wonder how their tour is going... I bet they skipped out on it for something stupid. That's just like them... Oh well. I hope they aren't back yet though. It would be bad if they knew I was doing this on summer vacation. I'd never hear the end of it!' she thought about what her friends were doing and mused at some of the possibilities. Then someone else entered her mind. Surprisingly for the first time the whole day. Kouji. 'I... I wonder what he's doing right now...?' she wondered sadly, reliving their hug at the DEN Rokuen-Tei the week before.
Back with the guys...
Tommy had to go home, and J.P. had to get to work. Takuya had to run home to get some change for the subway and Kouji and Kouichi decided to go home as well. On their way, Kouji and Kouichi walked in silence. Kouichi kept glancing at his brother, who seemed entranced in his own thoughts. 'I wonder what's up with him...' Kouichi thought worriedly. He'd seen his twin acting this way the whole week before. It was kind of scary.
"Kouji, you okay? You seem... I don't know if this is the right word to use but, disturbed." Kouichi asked with great concern. Kouji looked at him and then looked back down at the ground. He opened his mouth to begin.
"It's Zoe. I can't... I don't know what it is, but she's got me... It's hard to explain." Kouji tried his hardest, Kouichi could tell by the look in his eyes.
"Don't worry. Jazlynn has me the same way. I can't stop thinking about her. She's a great person." Kouji looked at Kouichi again in surprise that he actually liked someone.
"Wow, I had a feeling you liked her though." Kouji stated, changing his view to straight ahead of him.
"Well, this makes us even because I could tell you liked Zoe a while ago. After we had dinner with them, you would be dazed during class. What happened?" Kouichi was a little skeptical, knowing his twin liked someone, anyone for that matter.
"Well... she... she was crying as I confronted her... but... I couldn't help it. We hugged... more of a... an embrace than a hug actually..." Kouji didn't want to spill his guts to his brother, especially not in public. All Kouichi could do was stare at him in surprise.
Zoe back at the apartment...
Zoe entered the apartment living room and headed towards her room. She opened the door and closed it as soon as she stepped inside. Before pausing her iPod, she grabbed her CD case and pulled out a CD that had 'B4-4 Single: Endlessly' written on it. She placed the CD in her alarm clock and pressed the play button on it. She paused her iPod, pulled out her earphones from her ears and heard the song playing through her entire room. She put her iPod on her night stand and walked over to her clothes in the closet. She pulled out a halter top vest with a zipper in the front, a short black jean mini skirt and a pair of heels.
Suddenly, her cellphone rang. She searched for it and couldn't find it. When she found it, it was by her laundry pile inside her pants pocket from the day before. She sweat dropped at her stupidity. Then she flipped it open to see who it was. It said Unknown Caller.
'Huh, that's weird. I never get unknown calls...' she thought. She closed her cellphone and placed it next to her iPod on the night stand. She walked over to the bathroom and took a shower.
Meanwhile at Kouji and Kouichi's Apartment...
Kouji was in his room, thinking again. Kouichi was out in the kitchen, making them lunch. Kouji, sitting at his desk in front of his computer, was thinking deeply about a certain blond girl he's known for a very long time. 'I still can't believe that music video was really hers. I have to agree with Taki and J.P., she was drop dead gorgeous in that video. If I weren't a sane man, I'd have jumped onto the screen and started kissing it or something... though I'd never do that.' Kouji mused to himself. 'Maybe she told the girls to put up those posters as a joke? Nah, that's just not something she'd do. I still want to kiss her. That look in her eyes is just irresistible... Wait till I see her again.' Kouji was still thinking about her while doing his assignments for school and eating lunch with Kouichi. Though it was safe to say that Kouichi was occupied with thoughts of a girl as well. Neither of them talked to each other for the remainder of the day.
At Zoe's apartment...
The girls got back to the apartment after Zoe went out to do her video recording with Kawashima and his crew. The girls checked her room. When she wasn't in there, they sighed in relief.
"She must've gone out..." Lynn-z stated the obvious.
"Yeah, but I wonder where to." Chassidy wondered out loud. The only answer she got was a shrug from her two friends.
The girls sat down and watched t.v. for about three hours. It was about 5:30 p.m. and they were just about to make dinner when Zoe walked in the door with a towel around her neck, body and hair dripping wet from the hose they used on the set for the video. The girls stared at her in disbelief.
"What the hell did you do!?" Chassidy demanded an answer to her question.
"I'm not telling you, you'd kill me!" Zoe shot back, making her way to her room. "Now, I'm going to take another shower, so please don't bother me for a while okay?" she asked politely, trying to de-emphasize the another, listening for no answers to her question, shutting her door and locking it from the inside.
"Wait a minute Z!" Lynn-z ran to her door, trying to open it, but failed. She turned back to her two companions, with her eyes closed and sweat dropping(--' like that). "She locked it."
The other two sweat dropped as well and turned back to making dinner. When dinner was ready and being served, Chassidy knocked on Zoe's door. "Zoe, dinners' ready! Are you hungry?" she asked, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Give me a few minutes alright!?" Zoe answered from behind the door, so it was a little muffled.
"Alright!" Chassidy spat back, walking back to the kitchen to ready her own plate.
A few moments later, Zoe came bursting out of her room with loads of energy. She happily picked up a plate and filled it with food. The girls just stared at her like she was high. Zoe walked into the living room with her plate in hand and plopped a squat on the couch. Setting her plate on the coffee table in front of her, she put her hands together as if to pray. 'Itadakimasu!' she thought, not saying out loud. She dived head first into her dinner and wolfed it down. The others were staring at her. When she was finished, she put her hands together again, and, this time out loud, said words of worthy praise to the cook. "Gochisosama!" she said with a happy smile and trotted into the kitchen to wash her plate.
"Are you okay Z?" Jazlynn asked her friend, eyeing her worriedly. At this question, Zoe just turned around and smiled at her friend.
"Yeah, why?" Zoe knew what she was trying to get at but she was trying her hardest to hide her inner thoughts. Apparently a little too hard...
"Zoe, you're acting like you're high or drunk or something!" Chassidy explained, noticing the forced smile Zoe was wearing. "What are thinking about?"
"..." Zoe was silent, and blinked at her friends' question. She looked down at her feet.
"Well!?" Lynn-z interrupted Zoe's pondering on if she should answer the question truthfully or not.
"Um..." was all she could say before trying to walk to her room. Chassidy stood up and blocked her before she got there.
"What did you do this afternoon?" Chassidy asked another question, this time trying to force Zoe into answering the question with a hard glare. Zoe was used to glares like that, courtesy of Kouji and the Digital World, so it didn't faze her. She just stood there with a blank stare of her own. The silence grew. Chassidy sighed. "Please?" she pleaded. Zoe sighed in defeat by pressure.
"I... finished a music video." Zoe confessed and waited for the harsh words of her friends about how this is time to relax and play around, not do work.
"Why!? You're supposed to be relaxing!" Chassidy chastised Zoe until it was about eight.
At eight, they all went to bed. But Zoe lay wide awake on her bed, thinking about what had happened earlier today. The call. The yelling. Her iPod playing one song over and over again. All of it. The next thing on the list was... Kouji. Her thoughts of Kouji came back to her mind. She would have enjoyed musing to herself about him yelling at Kouichi or studying hard for a test in school, but her cell phone rang again.
"Unknown Caller again?" Zoe asked, no one in particular.
At that time, Kouichi was calling Jazlynn. She picked up her cell phone and saw it was him. She flipped it open and answered quickly.
"Hello? Kouichi?" Jazlynn answered her phone nervously.
"Yeah, hey Jazlynn. I was wondering if you could tell me what Z's cell number is?" he asked shyly. She had a thoughtful look on her face, thinking before she asked him what for and decided to give him her number.
"It's... 212-896-3458. Why did you want to know that though?" Jazlynn asked him after she gave him the number just to be safe.
"It's for my brother, though he didn't ask. Also because I'm her friend. So did you want to talk or do you need to sleep?" Kouichi questioned shyly, while bending down. She could here him grunt while trying not to drop the phone out of his hands.
"Uh, sure we can talk... Are you giving your brother the number?" she said with a quizzical intention.
"Yeah, just slipping it under his door." Kouichi answered while standing back up.
"Oh, well... What do you want to talk about?" Jazlynn, nervous as hell, couldn't think of anything. She heard a soft chuckle from Kouichi on the other end.
Right then in Kouji's room...
Kouji heard Kouichi talking to someone on his phone. He ignored how close it was to his room and kept working on his assignments. He looked over at his door as he heard Kouichi chuckling, then the sound fading. This made him irritated. He got up and opened his door, only to find a little piece of paper on the floor. 'What the!?' he bent down and picked up the little piece of paper and read it's contents. His eyes widened in shock and he immediately shut his door. 'Is it really what it says it is? Or is he playing around?' Kouji pondered, walking over to his bed and plopping down on it. 'Should I?' Kouji swallowed hard, picked up his cell phone, dialed the number and put it up to his ear.
It rang four times and someone picked up...
Right then in Zoe's room...
Zoe's phone rang again. 'God, I'm popular tonight...' she thought sarcastically, sweat dropping at her luck. She flipped open her phone for the second time that night. The caller ID read... 'Minamoto...!?' her eyes widened as she read the name over and over. On the fourth ring, she came to her senses and answered the phone.
"Hello...?" she asked cautiously.
"Hey..." came the deep, nervous voice of Kouji Minamoto, Lone Wolf.
"Hey." she replied, far more nervous than he was by a long shot.
"So, how have you been lately?" he asked, desperately trying to start a conversation.
"Good. And you?" she looked down at her lap, blushing. She could feel it.
"Good... What are you doing right now?" he questioned, seeming like he was preoccupied.
"Uh... just sitting on my bed, bored. And you!?" she asked a little outraged by the lack of privacy.
"Oh, doing my assignments for school." he replied casually, unaffected by her little outburst.
"Then why are you calling me if you're doing something so important!?" she was totally angry at him for calling her while he was doing something so life-determining.
"Relax, it's just an assignment..." he seemed amused by her irritation.
"Well, I hate for you to get a bad grade because of me..." she said, guilt in her voice.
"Zoe..." this made him mad. "Stop, it won't be your fault. I called you remember?"
"Yeah but still.." she started again but he cut her off.
"No 'buts'! I called you, it's my fault for not finishing them, if I don't." he found himself almost yelling at her. She jumped a little at his voice level.
"..." she didn't say anything, just hung her head down. She heard him sigh.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to seem angry." he tried his best to comfort her.
"It's okay... I was acting a little rash. I should get some sleep and so should you. Call me tomorrow when you get the chance okay?" she tried her hardest to keep her sobbing to herself, for him not to get angry at her again for crying. She wiped her cheeks off.
"Yeah, I guess that would be better huh? I'll call you tomorrow after classes. Bye Z." he hung up.
She took her phone from her ear and held it out in front of her face, it droning. She just stared at the screen for a moment, then closed it. Placing it on her night stand, she crawled under the comforter on the bed and tried to sleep.
Kouji after he hung up...
Kouji sighed as he flipped his phone shut and looked back at his assignments in front of him. They were all finished. He sighed again as he covered himself with his blanket and tried to sleep. But it would be hard to know she was depressed and the conversation ringing in his head. But he managed to fall asleep.
The Next Day(Wednesday)...
Kouji, Takuya and Kouichi were walking around town, looking for a place to eat lunch. Kouichi saw one of the posters and a thought popped up in his head. Kouichi looked at Takuya, who was on the other side of Kouji. "Hey, did you manage to sign up for that contest yesterday, Takuya?" he asked out of curiosity. Takuya looked over at him and then back at the sky.
"Yeah, though I was almost not able to make it there in time." Takuya replied, triumphantly.
"I think I'll go today after classes..." Kouichi looked straight ahead of himself, thoughtfully.
"I want to be last." Kouji said, though not intending to say it out loud. The other two just stared at him in surprise. But he didn't care anyways.
The other two, seeing Kouji wasn't really fazed by their surprise, shrugged and turned their attention back to the path ahead of them. Still looking for a place to eat lunch.
Chassidy, Lynn-z and Jazlynn at the Bunkamura...
There was a line out of the front of the building. Starting at their little sign up table, and heading out of the room, down the hallway, down the staircase, and outside. Each one of the girls were asking one guy at a time, all the questions for qualification. And if they qualified for the competition, they got a number and were told to come back on Friday around noon. They were on number 233. The next three guys were asked to come up to the table. Lynn-z was with a guy the age of thirty-three, with black hair and glasses. Jazlynn was with a guy that was about nineteen, with brown hair and blue eyes. And Chassidy, was with J.P., one of Z's biggest fans. Chassidy just sweat dropped.
With Zoe...
Zoe was in the living room of their apartment, watching television. It was about 2:30 pm. She flipped through the channels to find something interesting. She finally found MTV Asia. The countdown was on, number nineteen. 'Well, at least I didn't miss much...' she thought. The music video that was on was 'Kibou No Kakera' by Nana Kitade. As the video went on, Zoe found herself singing along with it.
"Dakedo zenbu to iwasete!" she sang lightly. She got up and went tot the kitchen to fix herself some lunch. "Dakara waratte itai yo." She came back to the couch with her sandwich and sat down. "Dakara imasugu waratte yo." she sang as the song finished and the image on the t.v. went back to the host.
"That was Nana Kitade at number nineteen with 'Kibou No Kakera'. That video is always fun to watch. Our next video on the countdown is 'Aozora No Namida' by Hitomi Takahashi. I hope you like her and her vampire ways." with that the image changed to the video. Zoe found herself singing this one too.
"Hitori kiri kuroyami no naka kimi no namida no imi o shitta
Egau basho umi dashita kedo dare mo kizutsuketaku nakute
Umi o wataru kaze wa kyou mo mayowazu ni ashita ni mukau no ni
Kokoro wa doushite ugoki dasenai
Donna unmei ga matte irundarou
Kuyamitakunai yo umareta koto
Kanashimi no naka ni yuuki ga aru
Kagayakitsu ka muto shinjiteiru
Furishi kiru aozora no NAMIDA
Itsu no hi ga egao ni kaeru yo
Hisogi aji oritaketa kaze yumi no aida o zuri ruketeku
Shinjiru koto mada kowai kedo todo maru koto wa mou shinai
Tsuki ga sotto kata o tadaki mina mo utsushite kureta kiro michi
Mayou koto sae wasurete yuku yo
Nani mo nai asu ga matte itemo
Nani ka o umi dasu te ga aru kara
Kimerareta michi mo kaete yukeru
Tsuyoi omoi ima komi ageteru
Koboreteta aozora no NAMIDA
Ashita ni wa kitto areru kara
Miageta saki e to aruki daseru hazu
Doko made mo yukeru jibun nakusanai nara
Donna unmei ga matte irundarou
Kuyamitakunai yo umareta koto
Kanashimi no naka ni yuuki ga aru
Kagayakitsu ka muto shinjiteiru
Furishikiru aozora no NAMIDA
Itsu no hi ka egao ni kaeru yo"
She sighed and began to eat her lunch during the commercials. When the show came back on, she stopped and watched, waiting for the next song. "Well, the next one is pretty Heart warming, number seventeen, 'YURA YURA' by Hearts Grow. Enjoy." The video started and Zoe sang this one too. She was unstoppable.
"Yura yura to yuganda sora e
Kimi no moto e tonde yuke
Konna ni mo chikaku ni kanjiteru
Futatsu no omoi
Zutto soba ni ita kara
Aita suki ma ookisugite
Namaiki na kimi no sunao na henji
"Mata ne..." ga sabishii
Minarenai machi de naiteru nara
Soba ni inakutemo egao wa todoketai
Yura yura to yuganda sora e
Kimi no moto e tonde yuke
Konna ni mo chikaku ni kanjiteru
Futatsu no omoi
Hitorikake no sofaa
Mannaka wo toriatta ne
Itsumademo mukiatte iru tame ni
Futari wa ganbareru
Miageta yozora wa kumo ga harete
Yume ni mukatteru hitomi wa kawaranai
Kirakira to kagayaku hoshi wa
Ima mo kimi wo terashiteru
Deatta hi to kawaranu sora no shita
Hitotsu no chikai
Hanasu toki ni kami wo sawaru kuse ga utsutte iru
Hitorikiri de nemuru
Mune no itami sae kitto kizuna
Yura yura to yuganda sora e
Kimi no moto e tonde yuke
Konna ni mo chikaku ni kanjiteru
Futatsu no omoi
Kirakira to kagayaku hoshi wa
Itsumo futari utsushiteru
Deatta hi to kawaranu sora no shita
Hitotsu no chikai"
The host was back on the t.v. "Well, wasn't that a nice video? Well, our next one is a bit different from that one. Number sixteen is 'Kirikirimai' by Orange Range." the image changed once again from the host to the video. Zoe didn't sing this one though. She just watched and nodded her head to the beat.
After the video ended, it went to a commercial again. This time, Zoe went into her room and took a shower. About an hour and a half later, she came out into the living room with a bath robe on and sat down on the couch. "Well, that was w-inds 'Hanamuke' at number three. We have a special video for all those who love the international popstar, Z! It's her newest video, 'Anything'. Enjoy." The image changed to her video, 'Anything'. She smiled at the video and all the memories that came back to her from the creation of the video. She once again, found herself singing along with her own song.
"(It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do)
Yo I don't know
What you do when you do what you do boy
But baby baby baby baby
I don't even care no more
You've got me so
Caught up in ya spell, it's voodoo boy
Well baby baby baby babe
I wanna be there for sure
Cause every time that we rendezvous
I don't wanna go back home
And every time that I'm holding you
There ain't no way to let you go
You're shining down boy the game is through
I don't wanna play no more
Cause the only one that I want is you
So tell me what you wanna do because baby
Cause I just can't stay away
There's nothing that I can do
And baby you can have your way
Just as long as I can have you
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
Now I've been told
That you got you a few and you ain't sure
But baby baby baby baby
You gon wanna let em go
Cause I've been sold
On you, I don't check for dues no more
Cause baby baby baby baby
You the way I wanna roll
Cause every time that we rendezvous
I don't wanna go back home
And every time that I'm holding you
There ain't no way to let you go
You're shining down boy the game is through
Listen I don't wanna play no more
Cause the only one that I want is you
So tell me what you wanna do because baby
Cause I just can't stay away
There's nothing that I can do
And baby you can have your way
Just as long as I can have you
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
I'm down anything, boy you and me
It's the way you know it's supposed to be
Cause I would do anything for you baby
I'm down anything, boy you and me
Should be doin what comes naturally
Baby cause I
Cause I just can't stay away
There's nothing that I can do
And baby you can have your way
Just as long as I can have you
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
Cause I just can't stay away (Ooh no)
There's nothing that I can do
And baby you can have your way
Just as long as I can have you
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya
And I'd do anything baby, do anything for ya"
The video ended and the host was back on the screen. "There you have it! That was Z with 'Anything'. Now, I just heard from a very reliable source that Z is in town and is looking forward to recording part of her music videos here in Japan. Although, most sources haven't seen the American popstar, doesn't mean she isn't really here. Now for number two on the countdown, we have a special person who isn't from Japan but nonetheless, is taking a lot of the girls' hearts, Se7en with 'Hikari'.". The image changed to a video with a man in his early twenties, dancing around and singing. Zoe could only stare at the Korean version of the American Usher.
Zoe walked back into her room and changed into her everyday wear. She grabbed her iPod and walked out the front door, turning off the t.v. on her way.
Kouji, Kouichi and Takuya at Lunch...
The guys had finally found a place to eat lunch. They stood in line at a Subway. After about ten minutes, they got their food, paid, and sat down at a booth. Takuya sat opposite of the twins, who had gotten almost the same exact sandwich.
"Hey Takuya, did they ask you questions as to why you wanted enter the competition?" Kouichi quizzed him, looking a little sly.
"Uh yeah, but it wasn't much. Just things like how would you treat her, what song would you dedicate to her, and things like that." Takuya answered the first question looking a little worried and suspicious of Kouichi's intentions.
"Uh-huh. And what did Lynn-z say about you entering?" Kouichi now had a sly grin on his face that mocked Takuya to his inner core.
Takuya gulped before answering and looked away from the face across from him. "She was busy with someone else, so I don't know what she'll have to say about it..."
"Well, just don't take the competition too seriously then." Kouji stated after swallowing a bite of his sandwich, his eyes closed.
"Huh!?" Takuya shot his head quizzically toward Kouji, a look of surprise etched on his features.
"Show Lynn-z that you like her more than Zoe by not taking the competition too seriously and trying to win it head on." Kouji stated calmly, slowly opening his eyes in mid explanation. Kouichi Looked from his brother to the befuddled Takuya.
After taking in the information slowly, Takuya averted his gaze from Kouji to his sandwich. He closed his eyes and picked up his lunch. "I guess you're right Kouji..." and he took a bite of the tasty sub.
"Do you really intend to enter that competition, Kouji?" Kouichi now turned his quizzing on his brother.
Kouji simply continued to eat his sandwich, ignoring his twin's question. Kouichi grunted and turned to his sandwich as well. They ate in silence afterwards. Nothing but the sound of chattering and music around them.
Chassidy, Lynn-z and Jazlynn at the Bunkamura once again...
It was almost four in the afternoon. The sign up for today is almost finished and the girls are wiped out. As the last six guys were divided, the girls all sighed at the same time. Things weren't looking too hopeful for their plan.
'I can't believe that out of all the guys in this whole district, hardly any of them... Zoe wouldn't take any interest in any one of them! Especially not her friends...' Chassidy thought while questioning the two in front of her one at a time. The guy on her left-hand side was tall with brown hair and sea green eyes. He wasn't too bad looking. The guy on her right-hand side however, was about thirty years old and almost every hair on his head was gray!
Next to dear Chassidy, leader of this wonderful project, is Lynn-z. The guys with her were a little more reassuring. Both of them were about twenty, and quite handsome. One had black hair with dark brown, almost black, eyes. The other had dark brown hair with light orange streaks, and light blue eyes. 'Even if they look this handsome, Zoe still won't like these two...' Lynn-z sighed again and continued to question the two.
Last, but certainly not least, is sweet miss Jazlynn. The final two guys with her weren't what you would call graceful... One had messy blond, almost orange, hair with teal eyes. And the other had equally messy hair, though his was an auburn color, and plain blue eyes. 'These two are absolutely hopeless cases...' Jazlynn thought, in her mind crying twin waterfalls.
And with those six finished with their quiz session, they were given their numbers and the sign ups were closed for the day. "Now to head home!" the girls gleefully exclaimed in unison, walking out the front doors of the Bunkamura.
Zoe walking around the Shibuya District...
Zoe had on her headphones, as usual, her iPod playing and she was wandering around aimlessly. At five o' clock, she stopped at a restaurant to have something to eat. She found herself in a McDonald's. 'It's okay I guess...' she thought, a little disappointed in her own decision, and ordered her meal. After about three minutes, she got her food and sat down in a booth alone, watching out the window with her iPod playing once again. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, but then again she didn't have to be paying attention to know what was going on around her. A lot of the guys were staring at her.
As soon as she finished her Big Mac, she left the restaurant and headed for the main square. She stood by the cross-walk and stared at the giant television that was displayed on the middle building. She sighed, lifted herself off of the pole she leaning on, closed her eyes, and headed for home. It's around seven o' clock now. 'They're probably wondering where the hell I am right now...' Zoe thought with an amused smile.
Kouji and Kouichi's apartment...
Kouji and Kouichi are sitting at their small, two seater dining table, in the middle of the empty space between the kitchen and living room that they call a 'dining room'. As the two finished their meal in unison, Kouichi perked his head up and looked toward Kouji. "You never answered my question back at lunch..." he stated.
"And?" Kouji wasn't planning on telling his brother and Kouichi knew that he didn't want to.
"You can tell me, I won't tell Takuya or anyone else." Kouichi got serious, giving his twin a stern look of worry.
Kouji looked emotionlessly at Kouichi and sighed, closing his eyes while picking up his dishes to take them to the kitchen, which was right behind him, and calmly explained to his brother, "I plan on taking it a little seriously, but I don't really intend to win. If I do, then so be it. Takuya likes that Lynn-z girl, so he shouldn't really be entering the competition, but it's just for the fun of it and also a little support for a friend." and with that said he left for his room and shut the door, making all conversation a 'not-going-to-happen' sort of thing.
Kouichi sighed, grabbed his dishes and brought them to the kitchen. After he finished washing his dishes, he watched television for a little bit. After about a half hour, he went into his room.
Kouji, lying on his bed, staring up at his cellphone, in his room, was debating whether telling Kouichi the truth was a good thing or not. His phone and alarm clock both blared the same time, 7:30 p.m. Kouji closed his eyes and sighed once more. He had been doing that a lot lately, sighing. He looked at his phone quizzically, since it was vibrating. 'Who the hell...?' and his eyes widened when he saw who that text message had came from. He sat up immediately and almost him his head on the night stand. He opened the message hastily and read.
'Kouji, I'll see you tomorrow if you'll meet me at the park at noon for lunch, okay?'
Kouji shook his head and read the message about ten more times before actually believing who had sent it and replied.
Zoe returning home...
Zoe had just sent the text message before entering her apartment. As she opened the door, she saw the three of her friends watching the television in silence. She opened it fully and let herself in. As they heard the door close, they all turned their heads to find Zoe standing there with her eyes closed and clutching her cell phone in her right hand.
"How was your day, Z?" Chassidy asked with a small smile on her face.
Zoe's head shot up and she plastered a smile on her face. "Oh, it was fine and you?" she replied, inquiring that her friends were up to no good.
"Oh, it was uh..." Lynn-z struggled to find the words and looked to Jazlynn for help.
"It was great!" Jazlynn finished and the other two sighed in relief.
Zoe raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. "Well, that's good I guess."
"Where are you going? Aren't you hungry?" Chassidy asked, but only got a shake of the head as an answer. With that she shrugged and Zoe entered her room and locked the door from the inside again.
Just as she entered, her phone, which she was still clutching firmly in her right hand, began vibrating. She jumped a little due to surprise and then lifted the phone up so she could read what the reply was. Her eyes widened out of joy and she jumped around, then plopped on her bed hugging her phone. The message read:
'Hey Z, yeah sure. I'll meet you at the park for lunch. Where do you wanna go?'
After calming herself down with a sigh, she began to reply to the message, but was stopped, because she had to think of a place to eat that was appropriate to go with this person. 'Not romantic...' she thought, scowling, remembering why her friends always bugged her. 'Maybe a Subway or something...' and with that thought she texted the idea to this person and sent the message, awaiting the reply.
The Next Day(Thursday)...
Zoe was at the park, standing at the edge of the lake in the middle of the park, admiring the scenery and the wind stroking her face gently. It was a little before noon and Zoe was a little nervous.
Flashback ripple ripple
Zoe had been waiting for a reply to the previous message she sent, and her phone began to ring. Startled, she looked at the caller ID. 'He's calling me...?'she thought and answered her phone. "Hello...?" once again, nervous of talking with this certain person.
"Hey..." he too, apparently, was nervous as well.
"So, where do you want to go?" she asked hastily.
"Huh? Well, Kouichi, Takuya and I had Subway today for lunch so... Maybe a Ramen shop." he answered, seeming to have calmed down a little.
"A ramen shop huh? Alright. We'll meet up at the park, and then go to have lunch. How about that?" She asked the person again, feeling a little happier.
"Yeah. It's getting a little late, sorry I didn't call you earlier. We were busy over here." he apologized, but it more calm than anything else.
"Alright, I'll just see you tomorrow at noon. Night Kouji." she waited for his farewell patiently.
"Night Z." and with that, they both hung up and went to sleep, waiting for their meeting the next day.
End of Flashback
It was five minutes before noon and Zoe was just standing there with her eyes closed, letting the wind strike her from the front and sooth her uneasy mind. Her eyes were closed for quite some time. A lot of the guys that were going by, eyed her as they passed. They were either on their way to the Bunkamura for the competition that she was clueless about, or they were heading to get something to eat. None of them had the nerve to approach her.
About ten minutes passed and so did many guys. Eyeing her and not approaching her as they passed. She opened her eyes, took out her cell phone and looked at the time. 'It's ten minutes after twelve... He's late...' she closed her eyes again, shut her cell phone and put it back in her pocket. She looked sad. Right after she sighed, a hand fell on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around with wide eyes and stared at the face of her friend, Kouji MInamoto.
He had an amused grin on his face, due to her surprise. She sighed out of relief. Then she pouted to him playfully. "You're late Minamoto...!" She stuck out her lower lip like a child would. He chuckled a little.
"Sorry, Kouichi kind of made a mess in Chemistry class. We had to clean up and it took longer than I expected." he apologized, still amused by the look on her face.
"But you don't look like there was a mess..." she trailed off, overlooking him, and blinking stupidly. He chuckled again.
"Come on, I'm hungry, aren't you?" he asked, turning around, threatening to leave her behind.
"Yeah, wait for me!" She jogged to catch up to him. When she did, she slung her arms behind her back, catching hold of her right arm with her left hand. She looked up at him innocently and smiled.
They headed for the nearest Ramen shop in mutual silence. And they arrived at one that was quite small and quaint, but had great food nonetheless. They decided to have ramen here and after they finished ordering, they sat down at a table. She stared down at her hands nervously, knowing he was watching her.
"Hey, how is America?" he asked, just to start a conversation.
"It's, okay I guess. You could say it's really fun." she answered with an extremely nervous smile displayed on her features.
"Hmm. Well, when are you supposed to go back?" he questioned, a hint of oncoming depression in his voice. Knowing that the answer was one he wouldn't like.
"Actually... I leave in about two weeks..." she answered his question, not facing him, but staring down at her hands, fighting back the tears.
Kouji was just about to complain about that but their food was ready. He got up, retrieved the tray with the two bowls on it and headed back towards their table. Zoe looked up as he handed her the bowl that was hers. "Thanks..." she muttered, receiving the bowl, their fingertips making seconds worth contact. A shiver was sent spiraling down her spine, as if threatening to make her dizzy herself.
After about ten minutes of silence and slurping, Kouji and Zoe actually made eye contact. They stared at each other over their bowls for at least two minutes before her head dropped down, her focusing on her food again. Kouji's brows furrowed and he closed his eyes. He sighed and returned to eating. She glanced up at him. 'I invited him out so I should talk to him at least...' she mentally slapped her hand on her forehead, then whacked herself on the head.
"So... how's school?" she asked after swallowing.
He looked up at her, chopsticks in mid-air with a few noodles caught between them. "It's fine. Nothing special." his reply was cool and calm, as he slurped up the noodles hanging from his chopsticks.
"Are you on a sports team?" she wanted know if he was the athletic type. She knew he was a kendo student, but not much else.
"No, that's Takuya. Though, Kouichi surprised me and actually joined the basketball team..." Kouji looked thoughtful with the last bit.
"Oh..." she was speechless.
"And what about you?" now the tables had turned. She was looking at him with her chopsticks in mid-air with noodles hanging in between the two wooden sticks.
"It's alright. My major is Drama." she shrugged and slurped up h the hanging noodles.
"No sports?" he quizzed again.
"Well..." more noodles hanging.
"Well what?" Kouji looked almost irritated.
"I'm the captain of the volleyball team at my school..." she smiled sheepishly and almost dropped her noodles in the process of being embarrassed.
Kouji's eyes widened. "Wow. You're that good huh?" he smirked at her slyly.
"My teammates think so but I'm not too sure." She pouted a little and then ate some more of her ramen.
They finished their ramen lunch and headed back to the park. It's about three now. Kouji looked at Zoe and she was watching the lake again, just as she was when she was waiting for him. Guys passing by would still look at her in awe and not try to approach her. Kouji was glad of that. 'Only an hour left...' Kouji thought sadly. Thinking of departing with her once again pained him.
Her back was facing him and her eyes were closed. Feeling the wind brush against her skin, tickling her neck like soft kisses or perhaps, another person's breathe, flowing through her hair like fingers of another, and caressing her hands as if trying to comfort her, to fight her oncoming depression. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to face Kouji. 'He looks troubled...' she began to wear a worried mask.
"What's wrong Kouji?" she asked, the worry drenching her words like hot wax falling on your finger.
"It's nothing." he shook his head and looked away. "I've got somewhere to be in a little bit. It'll take me a little time to get there." he looked back at her. His facial expression was almost apologetic.
"Oh, if you want to go right now, I won't stop you. I mean it's important, right?" she looked down at the grass, trying her hardest not to cry, knowing that he couldn't stay with her forever.
"..." he couldn't say anything.
"Go. I'm not going to stop you, so go." she plastered the most fake smile he had ever seen her present since he'd known her. She turned away from him again.
"Alright, I'll call you later Z." he placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look over her shoulder at him. She nodded with a small smile. And he left. After that, she made a bee line straight home.
At the Bunkamura...
Once again, it is almost time for the sign ups to end. And this time for good. This is the last day that anyone can even think about entering this competition. It was 4:35 p.m. and the girls were ready to go home. Today had been no better than the day before. There were eleven guys left in line. But that changed after the next six were told to come up to the tables for registration. Kouji came through the doors, up the stairs and down the hallway. And took the final place in line.
By the time the final six were called up, Kouji was to be questioned and registered by Jazlynn, his brother's secret crush. Jazlynn was befuddled when she saw him. All she could do was gape. He was the last person she, or Chassidy or Lynn-z, had expected to show up for this competition. 'Kouji!? Of all people!?!' she yelled in her mind.
Chassidy had two guys who were about thirty years old and just not fitting for the role of Zoe's boyfriend. But, she did her job. After all, this was welcome for anyone. Chassidy sighed and looked over at the two others. She hadn't noticed Kouji yet. 'This might be the most hopeless day of them all...' she mentally sighed.
Lynn-z sat with two twenty year olds. To be exact, she was dealing with twins. Identical twins. The only difference between them? Their hair partings. But they were just a little too perfect for Zoe. 'Another shot in the dark...' she thought as she sighed and glanced over at Jazlynn's table. It was meant to be a quick glance, but something, or someone, caught her eye. Kouji. 'What the hell is he doing here!?' she exaggerated inside her head, inner self grabbing her head and swinging her body form side to side.
Jazlynn tried her best to keep a straight face while questioning the two in front of her for their registration. After she handed them their numbers, the first guy got up and shot out of the room immediately. Chassidy and Lynn-z were also done with their two guys. As they left the room, Kouji was just standing up and getting ready to walk out with his hands in his pockets. Chassidy, right then and there, had finally noticed him. Her mouth dropped. Sh gaped at the sight, finally came to her senses and turned to the two next to her after he had left. "Did I see right!?" she asked, sounding like she had just been tricked. The two simply nodded their heads, and all Chassidy could do was hang her head.
The sign ups for the competition were complete, and the girls could go home. "Now, let's get home and sleep! I'm wiped out and we have to get here early to make preparations." Chassidy ordered and the other two simply nodded in agreement. With that said, they headed home. Tomorrow would surely bring about fun and maybe a little bit of anger, but mostly fun.
Possibly my longest chapter ever... well I hope you aren't disappointed. Sorry it took so long, writers block for a while there. I had deleted a chapter from my original plans. Hehe. Oh well. I hope to have my mini chapters up soon too. Don't worry they're still with this story, just mini. Anywho, I also hope that I did a little better with the dialogue... hope you can forgive me for being so clumsy before! TT.TT Next Chapter: Chapter 4: Chit Happens. Hope you'll wanna read it! Oh and hontou arigatou for the reviews and faves from Acting On Impulse