CHAPTER SEVEN: MISTAKE
Misaki was sure that her actions had somehow visibly marked her. She felt as though the strangers she passed on her late night walk home could smell Rin on her. They could see his hands pressed into her waist and noticed how swollen her lips were. She felt as though her whole body was screaming out what had happened and began screaming louder the more she began comprehending her actions.
The door opened silently as Misaki was sure her parents were asleep by now. Hazel eyes scanned the lit up living room, noticing her mom sleeping on the couch. "Mom? Hey, mom?"
Brown eyes opened to look up at her daughter, a smile coming to Mrs. Takahashi's face, "Congratulations."
Eyebrow cocked as Misaki wondered what she could possibly be congratulated for. "You passed your math class," Mrs. Takahashi explained before pointing to something behind Misaki.
"Makoto brought them over earlier," a yawn escaped Mrs. Takahashi's mouth as she stood up and gave her daughter a hug, "He's such a nice boy. And you're such a smart girl I'm very proud of you."
Misaki barely felt her mother's hug as she stared at the beautiful glass vase that was on her coffee table. It was full of a bouquet of orange, yellow, and purple wildflowers and a small white envelope sat nestled within the petals. The sight should have brought a smile to Misaki's face but instead it shot a horrible sense of guilt throughout her entire being. Suddenly she couldn't stop thinking about Rin's lips on hers and just how much she liked it and how during all of that Makoto was here at her house bringing her flowers. He was at the flower shop probably asking all the employees what kind of flowers to get. He probably told them about his girlfriend who raised her math grade. His voice was probably filled with pride and love.
Nausea began rising up in Misaki's stomach as she mumbled a 'goodnight' to her mom who headed upstairs. The guilt made her shake as she walked towards the flowers and realized just how beautiful they were. Flowers like this weren't cheap yet Makoto probably hadn't even paid attention to price. A lump formed in Misaki's throat as she picked up the envelope and tore it open to reveal a sweetly written note.
To the most beautiful girl I know. Here's to a great summer break with no summer school! Let's celebrate tomorrow. How about dinner at my house? I hope these flowers made you smile- I love your smile and I love you –Makoto
Makoto loved her. And Misaki cheated on him. The thought made Misaki begin to tremble as she dropped the letter onto the table. Hands ran through her hair as she began pacing around the living room. What have I done? The question wouldn't leave her mind as she tried her hardest not to cry but she couldn't help it.
"Ugh," Misaki's knees gave out as they hit the wooden floor beneath her. She tried to stand but couldn't, the weight was just too much. The weight of her actions of what she had just done to the most kind-hearted person she had ever met. For months Misaki had been telling Makoto she loved him yet she was so quick to cheat on him.
Cheat. Misaki had cheated. She was a cheater. And now it was up to her to clean up the mess she had made.
"Misaki!"
If a stranger had seen the twins they wouldn't think they could scream so loud or run so fast. The door wasn't even fully open before they came barreling out of the house straight towards the noirette. Updates about their lives and questions over where she had been spewed out of their mouths so fast that it left Misaki's head spinning.
"Okay, okay."
His voice was light and airy and made Misaki feel sick. She slowly looked up to see Makoto leaning against the doorframe. His arms were crossed over his chest and a smile was on his face- a smile directed at Misaki. A smile she simply could not return.
"How about we go inside huh?" Misaki suggested to his babbling twin siblings who began feverishly nodding their heads before grabbing Misaki's hands to lead her inside.
"Hold on a second," Makoto said, placing a strong and gentle hand on Misaki's forearm, "You guys go on inside we'll be right there."
After a few whines from Ren and Ran the pair went inside, leaving Makoto and Misaki alone. Fear jolted through Misaki's spine as she wondered why he wanted to be alone. Although it was an irrational thought Misaki couldn't help but think that somehow Makoto found out and now he was going to confront her. Her mind immediately started coming up with petty excuses and long winded apologies. Regret mixed with dread was beginning to fill her body but instead of talking Makoto leaned down and grazed his lips against hers.
Misaki was sure that once his lips hit hers Makoto would pull away in disgust. She was positive that the taste of Rin still lingered on her mouth and that Makoto would be able to tell that those lips he had captured so many times before had just recently been taken by someone else. Instead he ran his fingers up Misaki's cheek before burying his hand in her raven hair. Then he rested his forehead on hers and whispered three words that nearly broke Misaki's façade.
"I love you."
Arms that had been hanging by her side flung themselves around Makoto's neck. Weight shifted to the balls of her feet as she kissed him. No words left her mouth instead she continued to try to erase the mark Rin had left. Soon her lips would be swollen and pink from kisses shared with Makoto. His cologne would transfer onto her clothes and his touch would soothe the burns Rin's hands had left on her body.
"I love you," Misaki mumbled against Makoto's lips and she tried to fill it with as much honesty as she could. She tried to transform those three words into 'I'm sorry' but no apology would lift her shame.
The smile that came to Makoto's face made Misaki's stomach clench with guilt. A cheater like her shouldn't be able to make him smile like that. His lips were soft and wet as they met hers once more but before the act could continue a loud string of 'ewwww's rang out from inside the house.
"Guys," Makoto sighed as he looked to see his siblings shouting out things like 'gross!' and 'ew!' at having caught him and Misaki kissing.
At hearing the commotion Mrs. Tachibana was quick to appear in the doorframe behind her youngest children, "Ren, Ran, leave your brother and Misaki alone. Oh and Misaki! Congratulations on your math grade. "
Makoto began to rub the back of his head as Misaki sent him a look that asked 'you just had to tell your whole family didn't you?'. "Thanks Mrs. Tachibana."
"Makoto you should probably check the pasta so it doesn't overcook."
Misaki's eyebrow rose as she looked up at her boyfriend who was telling his mother that he'd be right there. "You're cooking?"
"I wanted to cook for you," his shoulders raised into a small shrug, "Hopefully it tastes okay."
Misaki took a moment to stare at the young man standing next to her. He was undoubtedly attractive. Every girl in their grade could admit that and also could admit to being jealous of Misaki for having shared her first kiss with him. Little did they know that Misaki was also Makoto's first kiss. He was the ideal boyfriend. He was caring and always put Misaki above himself. The only thing Misaki had done was get a C in math yet Makoto found it necessary to buy her flowers and cook her dinner in celebration. Misaki was marveling at how wonderful Makoto was when her mind began replaying the feeling of Rin's rough hands running up and down her bare sides.
"You okay?"
Misaki knew that she had visibly flinched as she tried to get the image out of her head. "Yeah," she muttered, looking up and giving Makoto a reassuring smile, "Let's go inside and make sure you didn't burn our dinner."
The dinner wasn't burnt but it also wasn't necessarily good. Apparently years of watching Haru make a disgusting amount of mackerel didn't help Makoto's cooking skills. As they were doing the dishes Makoto even told Misaki that Haru had texted him today saying he could come over and help Makoto make dinner if he made mackerel. Makoto denied and reminded Haru that Misaki hated mackerel to which Haru texted back 'she just hasn't had enough of it yet'. At hearing the story Misaki let out a groan followed by a laugh. If Misaki had a dime for every time Haru tried to force her to eat mackerel she was sure she'd be a millionaire by now.
After cleaning up, the couple was harassed by Ren and Ran who wanted to play video games with them. All Makoto could do was open and close his mouth while looking at Misaki for guidance. The boy had never been good at saying 'no' to not only his siblings but to anyone. Lucky for the twins Misaki loved them like they were her siblings and was quick to agree to spend some time playing with them.
Makoto and Misaki figured they'd play one or two games with the twins but those one or two turned into two hours of Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. Misaki always played as Pikachu though Makoto suggested that maybe if she played as someone else she wouldn't lose so much. The girl simply wouldn't listen and instead when she lost she would yell out 'thunderbolt!' and punch Makoto in the arm. Ren and Ran would then follow suit, totally forgetting about the game so they could hand on Makoto while yelling out random Pokemon attacks. Soon the twins had to go to bed, leaving Misaki and Makoto sitting alone on the living room floor with the Brawl theme playing from the TV speakers.
"I can't believe they beat me," Misaki pouted, referring to how Ren and Ran consistently outperformed her in the game. Arms stretched up momentarily before Misaki lay back, resting her head on Makoto's lap.
"Maybe you should-"
"No!" Misaki reached her hands up so they touched Makoto's cheeks, "Pikachu fo life."
Makoto let out a chuckle as he placed one hand on Misaki's stomach, his other hand twisting strands of Misaki's hair around his index finger. "Then you'll just keep losing."
"Shh," Misaki placed one finger over Makoto's lips before letting out a sigh and dropping her arms away from his face, "Why are you so attractive?"
"Huh!?"
Misaki couldn't help but giggle at the light blush that came to Makoto's face and how his mouth hung open for a few seconds before snapping shut. "And tall. You're so tall."
"That's an odd question to ask," Makoto muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't think I'm that attractive."
Both eyebrows rose as Misaki raised one arm and tapped Makoto's nose, "You're also very humble."
"Well what about you," Makoto tapped Misaki's forehead, causing her eyebrows to knit together, "Why are you so beautiful?"
She wanted to laugh because in her mind she wasn't beautiful at all. She was too plain to be beautiful. There was nothing about her that screamed out 'beautiful'. She was a solid five feet five inches which was basically around the same height as all the girls in her grade. Her hair was plain old black and hit her ribs. Without styling it was wavy but Misaki made sure to straighten it almost every day. All in all Misaki was average, not ugly, not beautiful just plain average. Soon the mocking laugh leaked through Misaki's lips as she rolled her eye, "I'm not."
"Yes you are." Had anyone else said it Misaki would have thought they were lying because who would look her dead in the eye and call her ugly. But when Makoto said it, with that twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips, Misaki knew he was being completely honest. He thought she was truly and wonderfully beautiful.
"You're blushing," Makoto pointed out, gently touching Misaki's right cheek, "It's cute."
"Stop it," she muttered, pushing Makoto's hand away from her face, "I'm not blushing."
All Makoto could do was smile before leaning down and kissing her. The first kiss caused Misaki to lean up, the second had her in a seated position, and the third had her straddling Makoto as he rested his back against the front of the couch. Misaki was perfectly content with her lips on Makoto's as he gently ran his fingers over her back. She could have stayed like this forever but the low ping of her phone brought her out of this bliss.
"It's probably Azami," Misaki whispered as she kissed Makoto once more before digging her phone out of her back pocket.
Misaki had managed to suppress her guilt and simply enjoy her time with her boyfriend. She had been foolish enough to think that she could ignore what had happened last night. The text she just received immediately brought back all the guilt as the thought of Rin's hot breath up against her ear resurfaced in her mind. It was only one word. A simple 'hey' that managed to cause Misaki's breathe to get caught in her throat.
"Who is it?"
"No one," Misaki answered much too quickly as she tore her gaze away from Rin's text and gave Makoto a forced smile. She quickly locked and silenced her phone and then slid it across the floor, trying to get it as far away as possible. Misaki was still straddling Makoto as she leaned in and softly kissed his neck causing his breath to hitch and his mind to wander away from whoever had just texted his girlfriend. Her teeth grazed over the smooth skin of his throat as she continued telling herself the lie she had just told Makoto. It's no one.
Author's Note: Did this chapter make anyone a MakoSaki shipper?
InsomniaticActs:are you rooting for Makoto a little more now? And yes! there are so many questions but they will all be answered in due time
HellOnTheEngine: ah I'm so happy that you like my OC! I do try to make her as non Mary Sue as possible and to keep everyone in character so your compliment means a lot to me.