Chapter 7: White Horse
I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale,
I'm not the one you sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell,
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town,
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down,
Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around...
"Echizen-san." A painfully familiar voice spoke quietly from behind the prince. He stood stock still, but did not turn around, already too aware of who was speaking to him.
"What do you want?" He bit out angrily.
"Look, what happened yesterday-"
"Stop talking about it." Not even looking at her, he turned away. Sakuno stared after him, wondering what happened to him. What did I do? she stared forlornly at his diminishing figure. I'll talk to him later, when he calms down a bit.
Meanwhile, Ryoma sped on, trying to escape any sort of confrontation with Sakuno. Maybe I should apologize...but I can't...I just can't. I don't want to talk to her...his face reddened and he pulled his cap down.
It was just too humiliating and shameful to even look at her right now. Not that he would admit that, even if threatened with a gallon of Inui Juice.
* * * * *
"Echizen-sa-"
"Bye." Ryoma dashed off.
* * * * *
Later, Sakuno spotted Ryoma at his locker, talking to some freshman she didn't know.
She stealthily tiptoed up from behind, but her hopes were crushed when the other freshman waved a hand and said brightly, "Hi, Ryuzaki-san!"
Ryoma left without a word, walking briskly off and leaving a confused "other freshman" and an angry Sakuno.
"What's with him?" the other guy mused. He got no response from his companion.
You know what? Fine. Sakuno bristled. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she roughly rubbed them away. I am not going to cry because of him. I will not cry. I will not cry. As she said this, however, tears once again began to sting her eyes. "I have to go." With that, she turned and sprinted over to her own locker and grabbed her backpack. Without taking even one more look at the other freshman, she began running out of the school.
He, on the other hand, watched as she became a smaller and smaller figure in the distance, blinking with a blank look on his face. "...What's with her?"
She did not stop running until she got home and into her room. Flinging herself onto the bed, she vented out two days' worth of frustration and sadness and sobbed her heart out. "I'm such an idiot! I was so stupid to even think he cared. He doesn't care about me at all! He didn't even want to listen! Heck, he didn't even apologize! Why do I even like him..."
She sat up and stared at her pillow which was slightly wet from her tears. "I actually thought that he was a bit more than just an amazing tennis player. But there's absolutely nothing in that empty heart of his. I'm not even sure if he has a heart."
She sunk her face back into the pillow, her voice muffled. "Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't I have fallen for...Fuji-senpai? He's at least nice, even if he is kinda creepy. Momo-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai actually have a sense of humor. Tezuka-senpai at least has a heart. Oishi-senpai is really nice even if he is so awkward and perpetually nervous. Even Kaidoh-senpai is a better person then Ryo-Echizen-san."
"Sakuno?" Suddenly turning around, Sakuno found her grandmother staring at her with concern.
"Obaa-chan?" She wiped her tears.
"Are you all right? Did something happen?" Her grandmother came over and sat on the bed.
"No, I'm fine!" Sakuno replied in a falsely bright voice. "I'll...go do my homework now..."
"Sakuno, hold on." Her grandmother stopped her, holding her back. "What's wrong? Don't try to tell me that nothing's going on," she added when Sakuno opened her mouth to protest. "What did he say today?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," Sakuno said, averting her eyes.
Sumire Ryuzaki only had to give her granddaughter a look to get her to spill the beans.
Sakuno pursed her lips. "Nothing. I tried to explain why I was so happy Tezuka-senpai was back, but nothing. He didn't say anything. I don't even think he cares." Even in the middle of this sentence, her voice cracked and next thing she knew, her eyes were filling up again. Annoyingly enough, these were the sort of tears that multiplied every time she tried to wipe them away.
Her grandmother looked at her sadly. "Hey, come here." She opened her arms, and Sakuno sank into them. A fresh flood of tears flowed onto Sumire Ryuzaki's shoulder, and her own heart ached for her poor granddaughter. "There, there, now, let it all out."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Coming!" Sakuno's grandmother let her lie down on the bed, went downstairs, and opened the door. Tachibana Ann stood there, smiling at her. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Ryuzaki-sensei. Is Sakuno here? I wanted to make sure she was OK after everything that happened yesterday."
"Sure, she's right inside. I think she'll be glad to see you." Coach Ryuzaki smiled at Ann and led her to Sakuno's room.
For An, it was totally not what she was expecting. She gasped when she saw the state Sakuno was in. "Oh, Sakuno!" She ran and flung her arms around the heartbroken girl. "What happened?"
"I...I wish I could kill him...UGGH!"
Oddly enough, Ann knew exactly whom she was talking about. "What's he done now?" she asked sympathetically. "Tell me where he is, so I can go and get Takeshi to yell at him."
Sakuno waved away her offer and let out another strangled cry. "He didn't even care enough to apologize. He keeps just getting mad at me. I'm so tired of being tossed around like this. I wish he would stop getting my hopes up, I really do. I thought for once that I wasn't pursuing a hopeless idea. I thought he liked me too!"
"What sort of encouragement has he given you? In the past, I mean? You've never mentioned anything..." asked Ann.
"He bought me Ponta all the time, he offered to help me with tennis, he told me once that I was actually getting..." Sakuno began sobbing again. "...better..."
Ann's face darkened. This was clearly getting out of hand. "It was horrible of him to give you that much hope. He's never been that nice to anyone, ever. I don't blame you for hoping at all. That's just cruel. He's playing with your feelings!"
"I was an idiot to hope. I'm never going to like a guy ever again."
Ann was flabbergasted. "Sakuno-chan!" She grabbed her friend's shoulders so that they were eye-to-eye. "That's ridiculous! You can't throw away your entire life's happiness because of one guy! You have to move on! Show him that you don't need him, and that you never did!"
"Easy for you to say! Momo-senpai can't seem to get enough of you!"
Ann blushed but chose to ignore that rather pointed statement. "What I mean is, just act like he doesn't exist. You don't care about him anymore, OK? Show him that you don't need him to be happy. That will be the biggest blow. If anything, you'll get over him." Ann smiled at Sakuno. "Don't worry. The others and I will be here for you no matter what."
Sakuno, her flow of tears gradually decreasing, began to see some sense in what her friend said. I don't want to make him think I care anymore, she thought. What's the point? I can't bear to have this happen again. She's right.
"Arigato, Ann-chan." Sakuno wiped her eyes and gave her friend a hug. "I'll try. I really will."
"Hey, no problem. So are you free now? You want to go somewhere? It'll take your mind off things."
"That would be really nice." Sakuno gave her a somewhat watery smile, feeling much better than she did a few seconds ago.
"Awesome. I'll wait downstairs, you get ready." Ann gave her a smile and left the room.
A few minutes later, Sakuno walked downstairs, her countenance a little lighter. Ann slipped her arm through hers. "Let's go!" she said in a singsong voice. Sakuno couldn't help but smile at her friend's cheerfulness. "Yeah!" she cheered along.
Ann dragged her out of the house and over to the mall. "Remind me where we're going again?" Sakuno asked.
"Right, about that. Fudomine, Rikkadai, and Seigaku are having a combined dance next week. We're going dress shopping!"
"What?" Sakuno looked at Ann, eyes wide with alarm.
"That's right!"
"I wasn't even going to go...Ryo-Echizen-san might be there..." Sakuno caught herself mid-word.
"No worries. Knowing him, he would never come to a dance willingly. Don't worry. Besides, you can meet other guys."
I guess not, thought Sakuno. Besides, I haven't been dress shopping in a while.
The two girls first stopped at a cafe (Sakuno decided that she needed a double-chocolate mocha latte to get an energy and confidence boost) and then strolled to Prada.
"What would you two young ladies be looking for?" the clerk asked them with a smile.
"Evening dresses." Ann told her.
"Right this way." The clerk led them to the far right of the store, where they were surrounded by several dresses of different sizes and colors.
"Fitting rooms are to your left, and let me know if you need anything." she smiled again.
"Thanks!" With that, Ann began rummaging through the first rack and pulled out a short dark blue halter-top dress. "Sakuno, this one's really nice! You want to try it on?"
"It is, but it'll clash with my hair. It might work for you, though."
"No way, I would look horrible in this. Besides, I like light colors better." This sort of conversation went on for about half an hour as Sakuno and Ann searched for "the perfect dress".
"How's this one?" Ann walked out of the fitting room, wearing a lovely lavender spaghetti-strap dress that fell just below her knees. "I found two other ones, but..."
"No. Get this one. It looks absolutely perfect on you!" Sakuno exclaimed. "You look so beautiful!"
Ann smiled. "You really think so?"
"Momo-senpai is going to faint." Sakuno gave her friend a wink.
"Sakuno!" She smacked her shoulder playfully and blushed. "OK, let's find a really nice one for you!"
For Sakuno, it took a much longer time to find a nice dress. Several of the dresses were the perfect size, but they were either too pricey (come on, they were at Prada), or they clashed with her hair.
In frustration, Sakuno sprinted to the dressing room and sat inside, wondering what to do. It's already really late, so I can't go to a different store...when suddenly she looked up in surprise.
Someone had left the prettiest dress she had ever seen hanging on the doorknob.
"It's beautiful..." she breathed, wistfully reaching out and grabbing it. Taking off her jeans and sweatshirt, she slipped the lovely dance creation on. It was a perfect fit.
Walking outside, she stood in front of the dressing room door. "An?" she called. "How's this?"
Ann turned, and her jaw dropped. She could not help but stare.
"What's wrong?" Sakuno glanced down at the shimmering skirt. "Do I look horrible? Does it have a stain?"
"No, no! You look gorgeous! This is the perfect dress for you. You have to buy it." Ann said decidedly, running over to where her friend stood. She felt the filmy fabric of the dress. "It's stunning..."
"I'm glad you approve. Shall we go?"
"Sure." Sakuno changed back into her clothes and stuck the dress back onto its hanger. The two friends walked over to the counter, paid for the dresses (which were surprisingly cheap considering regular Prada prices) and started home, talking and laughing about random things. Clearly, this outing had improved Sakuno's mood dramatically, and she actually felt like she had a life again.
They both could tell that the dance was going to be pretty exciting. Whether or not that's a good thing, we have yet to find out.
