A/N – Oh my God, I'd like to say how utterly tiring all this is; Writing steps and making them sound less boring than they are is incredibly difficult and I have the biggest love/hate relationship with this story right now!! Ha! I would recommend that for the dance sequence to flow, you download the song mentioned with it – it is awesome and quite smexxi.
This is an early update because I did not expect so many reviews in such a short amount of time for my last chapter. I'm glad most of you liked it! (I chose samba as it is one of the most popular dances in Japan according to my sources) But I really was flattered with the kind words of my reviewers! It's the Easter weekend so due to my 4 day weekend you might have another update tomorrow or Monday :D Squee joy!
I own none of the songs or characters in this story aside from the O.C's that feature :D Anyway, on with the story! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 6 – THE BEIGE ENVELOPE OF DOOM
The day after the samba, Haruka made it clear to everyone that she was not going to repeat the samba with Michiru. Even though Setsuna begged, complimented the blonde to high heaven and even Hotaru gave the tomboy her puppy dog eyes and pleaded with her 'Haruka-papa'. And even after Michiru asked her Haruka was tempted to give in but decided against it. She couldn't let herself get dragged back into dancing with someone like that – just like with Keiko. But once everyone decided the stubborn blonde had made her mind up for sure, they all gave up. Haruka was glad, she had escaped the torture of being so close to Michiru and not being able to go further, little did she know that Michiru so desperately wanted the very same contact with the blonde again, as she desired it deeply.
The plus side was that since that dance, Haruka had become a little friendlier to Michiru and they had bonded deeply over a short period of time, joking, laughing, sharing dance tips and working in class well together.
However, it was two weeks after the samba in the dance class, the teacher was trying to get the class to associate the music with their bodies and their minds, to sync with the music, and usually Michiru would have found this easy if it wasn't for a certain short-haired blond standing against the wall, scowling, and looking down at the floor. Michiru hadn't seen Haruka that agitated since the tomboy spoke to Seiya and Keiko was mentioned. Michiru turned to her side and saw Seiya had a slightly disinterested look in his eyes today, almost as though he wasn't paying attention, or as though he didn't want to be there today. Before Michiru could think any further, Seiya smiled gently towards Michiru who politely smiled back and put her eyes straight forward, meeting the intense gaze of Haruka; she smiled to the blonde and Haruka weakly returned with her own smile.
"Miss Kaioh! Pay attention!" Michiru was instantly thrown from her reverie by the sensei, glaring at her clearly he had noticed she was not paying attention. Michiru mumbled out an apology and looked over to Haruka who seemed highly amused at the younger girl being scolded by the teacher.
Taiki, Setsuna, Yaten, Minako, Mamoru, Usagi, Seiya and Michiru were all standing in the middle of the classroom at this point. The rest of the club were sitting on the floor watching from the sidelines so to speak and in front of them stood their sensei, Mido-sensei. He was shaking his head.
"If none of you want to take this seriously, that's fine, but listen to me... the music is essential in your individual dances. This is not a joke. This is the Paso Doble. You need to take it seriously. Haruka, get the music and pair up with... um -" Just as the sensei's eyes fell to Michiru and her heart leapt for joy, the doors to the club opened and in walked a tall, beautiful girl with shoulder length red hair, she was in the school uniform for girls, but she had hitched her skirt up several inches and her shirt was unbuttoned to the middle, with only a strappy vest underneath to cover her modesty.
"I'm back, sensei, good as new." The girl smiled and half the girls in the room squealed and ran to her. The girls hugged her,
"Elza-chan!" Usagi screeched at the top of her lungs. The girls all dissipated as the sensei approached her, a deep frown across his face,
"Elza, you can't just barge in here!" She looked down and nodded her head,
"I know sensei, I'm sorry... but I'm still in this club and I've been memorizing music and steps! You can ask Setsuna, she brought it to me! And I've already missed one week because of my sprained ankle and I really need to catch up, sensei!" She bowed to the man and he pursed his lips and looked over at Haruka,
"Elza, there aren't enough boys to take part as your partner here." Elza sighed and looked over at Haruka who was trying to hide in the corner.
"Ne, Haruka-san... you aren't hiding from me, are you?" Haruka instantly froze and grinned; similar to the one her dad had. To everyone else it seemed goofy, but to Michiru the smile suited Haruka, she looked adorable.
"No, Elza-chan, why would I be hiding from you?" Elza cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms while tapping her left foot on the floor,
"Jeez, I don't know... how about because you nearly destroyed my foot at the track over the summer?!" Haruka sweat-dropped and looked at Elza,
"Ah yes... that... er...sorry?" Elza laughed at her friend.
"I take it Mina-chan gave you my message?" Haruka frowned in deep concentration while Michiru had to bite her lip to keep her from saying anything out loud about how much she wanted to smother the blonde in her deep, passionate kisses because she thought Haruka looked adorable when she thought deeply. Eventually Haruka snapped her fingers and smiled.
"Yes! She told me that you couldn't wait to get your hands all over me." Elza looked over at Minako and burst into laughter,
"Well, she wasn't wrong. I can't kill you effectively unless I use my hands, Tenoh!" Michiru looked over at Minako,
"What happened between those two?" Minako burst into laughter and Elza turned around, Michiru bowed.
"Michiru Kaioh." Elza bowed back and she smiled in a friendly manner at Michiru,
"I'm Elza Gray... you want to know what this baka did to me, huh?" Haruka took offence at that,
"Hey, I'm no baka!" Elza held her hand up and silenced the blonde with a glare.
"Well, let me tell Michiru-san what you did to me, and we'll let her decide if you're a baka or not, huh?" Haruka instantly hung her head.
"I'm a baka." Elza giggled at Haruka's slight confession.
The heat is blazing all around, and it doesn't help Haruka to be in a heavy fire suit. She takes her helmet off and wipes her sweat away with a rag beside her car. A Honda. She's in the junior league known as Formula Nippon. Elza is sitting by her team of mechanics, with a headset on, she's in charge of operations here.
"Get your ass back in the Honda, Tenoh!" Haruka turns to her and glares,
"I'm boiling hot, is it ready to go? 'Cos I only want to get out there and race it." Haruka looked at Elza who checked several of sheets in front of her. She nodded but then added,
"We've tried something new out with the brakes, they may seem spongy but don't worry, they're just sensitive. Take a lap, see how you like it." Haruka grins widely before jumping into her car, all the mechanics and staff move out of the way and stand by, preparing themselves to be blown away by the skill of the young driver named Haruka Tenoh.
Haruka takes the first two bends easily and grins to herself as she easily takes an S-bend. Haruka taps the steering wheel rhythmically, seeming to thoroughly enjoy the speed of her vehicle and the calming effect it has on her. She approaches the pit stop again and as she is about to go in, she presses down o the brake hard, and at first feels no response, so she takes her foot off and looks down, and presses again but this time only the top part and as she regains control, she has stopped, butt five feet over her usual line.
"ARGH! Tenoh, I am going to kill you!" Haruka stares out of her car and looks down at Elza... only to see her front tyre has stopped over the last three toes of Elza's foot.
"Oh shit, Elza I am so sorry." Elza doesn't seem to have heard her, Haruka backs the car off of her foot and Elza grabs it in agony, two mechanics help her sit down and the medic rushes to her,
"Haruka, you baka, this had better not affect my track season!"
Michiru giggled at the thought of Haruka racing like some professional but she was shaken from her reverie when Elza glared at Haruka,
"Seven weeks... you idiot... seven weeks to heal my foot properly... three broken toes, if this had affected my track career I would have beaten you to death with my shoe." Haruka looked up and smiled sheepishly.
"I said sorry." The sensei growled in frustration and he stamped his foot, gaining everyone's attention,
"This is not a hang-out place. This is a place to dance! Talk about your broken toes outside of my lesson! In here you dance!" Elza grinned and took off her blazer, throwing it on the floor,
"With pleasure, sensei, it's why I came here... in fact, before I came in... I swear I heard the words paso doble." The second Elza stopped speaking she grinned but Haruka began to laugh loudly,
"You loser! You were totally hanging outside the door, waiting to make your grand entrance for the Paso!" Haruka grabbed her stomach as she laughed at Elza's reaction, which was a mixture between a death glare and utter embarrassment.
"Regardless, Haruka-san... I have come here to dance and I think you owe me. Don't you?" Haruka raised her eyebrow and approached Elza, standing about two feet away;
"You want to dance with me?" Elza raised an eyebrow and shook her head,
"I said you owe me... not that I wanted to." She grinned and Haruka smiled.
"Shall we Paso, senorita?" Elza giggled as Haruka held her hand out. The sensei stepped forward and puffed his chest out a little trying to assert his authority,
"I never said you two could dance." Haruka grinned at her sensei.
"You want to show this sorry bunch how to do it right, right?" The sensei grinned,
"Fine, Tenoh. I choose the music. Make it look how I expect from you." Haruka didn't reply but instead she held Elza's gaze for a moment, and she flickered her eyes to Michiru. The sensei was rummaging through several CDs for music, and Usagi became ecstatic.
"Wow, I can't believe we finally get to see Haruka-san's Paso... and with Elza-chan... I heard that even though Haruka and Keiko danced well, no-one can top this Paso. I've heard this has so much chemistry between the two!" Usagi clapped her hands excitedly. Seiya scoffed then he spoke quietly but loud enough for Michiru to hear,
"Well, it's not hard to dance Latin when you're screwing each other for real." Michiru's eyes widened and she looked over to Haruka and Elza and was shocked at what she saw. Elza had her hands around Haruka's neck already and the two were laughing at some form of private joke. Michiru looked away, instantly frowning. Setsuna looked down at her,
"Michiru, what's wrong?" Michiru refused to raise her head,
"Nothing, I just have a headache." How lame, thought Michiru to herself, but before Setsuna could question her obvious lie, the sound of distorted scratching and soft trumpets filled the air... this was Paso music? It was too modern, thought Michiru. Haruka listened for a moment and a gentle smile formed on her face, Elza stepped away from her,
"Remember this, Elza-chan?" Elza nodded gently,
"The night at Hachi's." She said, more to herself than anyone else. Haruka moved so she was standing about six feet away from her when the trumpets were accompanied by a teasing yet commanding chime, beautiful, elegant and passionate in all its glory.
"Espana Cani, this song is perfect for their Paso." Setsuna spoke in a matter-of-fact tone and this further intrigued Michiru although she now found it hard to even look at Haruka. Seiya scoffed again and looked away from the dance in disgust. Michiru found her eyes making their way back to the blonde and her new dance partner.
Haruka and Elza sharply joined their hands four beats into it, their heads moving in perfect synchronicity when they jerked from side to side, in perfect tandem with their arms, guiding their every step. Haruka had her eyes closed and took two deep steps forward with Elza, whose legs seemed elegant when stretched behind her body, following Haruka's every lead. The blonde seemed to be thinking deeply about something and she let out a low growl which caused Michiru to almost forget her jealousy and go back to desiring the blonde's supple flesh but this desire was quickly squashed when the aqua haired teen saw how close Haruka was to Elza. Her eyes flashed with envy and anger as she saw Elza and Haruka were practically chest to chest while their hands on the left side where raised up, their right at shoulder level. As soon as the two dancers were pressed close together, they tore away from each other, their flamenco taps each executed to perfection while still they remained the very essence of Paso. Haruka was in her element thought Michiru, the Paso is a dance created for Haruka, her personality; Cocky, arrogant, self-assured, she was challenging Elza and Elza was challenging her. Haruka was proud and tall in this dance but she was being controlled by the compliance of her partner. Elza was haughty yet flirtatious, everything Michiru thought right then that Haruka wanted in a partner.
The music began to speed up, and Haruka seemed to be throwing Elza about in the dance, but Elza was pushing herself away in their steps; twists and a coup de plique, she was resisting Haruka. The music paused momentarily, then the two took their stance, Haruka gave in, she danced towards Elza, her only desire in this dance, as the matador was to have the affections of her partner, Haruka began to follow Elza, to demand her every step with her intensity, their arms interlocking, Haruka's gaze intently fixed on Elza, every stomp their feet made, demanding attention, Elza's especially, she was in control of the dance now.
Haruka suddenly went back on a toe lead, then a heel and Elza followed suit, Haruka grabbed Elza's right hand, held it high and turned her three times. The two barely had their hand touching, but all this was enough to send Michiru mad with desire to be that close to the blonde again. Elza finally took Haruka's hand, as she pressed herself closer to the blonde, that arrogant smile suddenly making itself at home on the tomboy's face. Haruka kept her hands placed at shoulder height on Elza's back, holding her close, while her eyes closed, almost seeming to be lost in the dance. Then Haruka pushed her away. Elza spun deliberately away and Haruka pushed her to the floor as the music came to its climax, Elza had given in to the matador. Simple, effective... beautiful. That was the only way to describe the dance Michiru had just seen.
"Not bad, Tenoh, but I've had better." Elza said smugly as she stood up. Haruka rolled her eyes,
"Liar." Haruka stood, a little out of breath and looked to Michiru to say something, but found the girl looking at her with a mixture of awe and... jealousy? Haruka scrunched her face in confusion. Mida-sensei however spoke before anyone else had the chance to.
"It's like the old pro's say... it's like riding a bike… once you learn, you never forget." Taiki laughed,
"Or once you've perfected it that's all there is to it." Haruka smiled at Taiki.
"It's just a fun dance." Haruka replied non chalantly. Michiru took this opportunity to take some revenge on Haruka,
"You seemed to enjoy that dance, that's for sure. I couldn't fault you." Haruka looked suspiciously at Michiru and she said nothing. Michiru continued to speak, "Technically that is. It seemed to lack... a certain je ne sais quoi... passion perhaps?" Haruka looked at Michiru then smirked, much to the younger girl's annoyance,
"Perhaps. Perhaps dancing the Paso with a friend can be a little inhibiting to the senses that really want to let go."
"So you don't always dance with passion to every dance?" Haruka's smirk disappeared, and in its place a genuine half-smile, it almost melted Michiru on the spot.
"It depends on the partner more than the dance." Michiru was silent and everyone looked at their exchange of words in confusion. Haruka coughed, to clear her throat,
"I'm going to get a glass of water." She went to leave the room and Elza made sure to follow her.
"Hey Haru-chan, what was all that about?" Haruka took a cup from the water dispenser and gulped it all down. She ignored Elza, who could only sigh,
"If you don't answer me, I'm going to just have to ask louder aren't I?" Haruka turned to face her speaker and she was frowning again,
"It's Michiru... san. I just reminded myself I have to teach her how to tango with Seiya... with passion. Gross." Elza contorted her face into a look of empathy,
"Hai, and I have to see Seiya dance with passion to another woman that isn't me." Haruka shuddered,
"Life is made even grosser that you like him. He's a waste of space." Elza shrugged,
"I've liked him for a long time, Ruka-chan." Haruka shrugged,
"Still... I know he's not going to show up at the Winter Comps... just like at the Grand Finals. It's what he does! And Michiru... kami-sama, she'll be so upset, the girls have been telling me how much she's looking forward to the comps. And just like last time, it will be up to me to pick up all the pieces." Haruka sighed deeply as she contemplated the entire possible play of events in her head.
"Now what reason do you have to think like that, Tenoh?" Elza and Haruka whipped their heads around and saw Seiya standing in the doorway. He quietly closed the door to the classroom behind him. Haruka stood, her nostrils flared,
"You know exactly why I think that. My reason came in the mail today... just like yours." The blonde spat every word with anger. Seiya simply cocked an eyebrow and he opened his jacket pocket, revealing a beige envelope. He held it up and waved it teasingly, he grinned as he saw Haruka look away.
"Ha! And there was me thinking I could outdo you for once, Tenoh-san." Seiya locked eyes with the blonde as she finally raised her head,
"At least I won't be letting anyone down Seiya, no-one needs me there at Winter Comps. You know this now and you're still going ahead with this... even when you know that –" Seiya chuckled gently causing Haruka to abruptly stop speaking, he walked towards her as he spoke,
"You're not really that blonde are you? Look at the time? The event should be over at 4pm. The dance is at 6:30pm. I'll make it in time." Haruka shook her head at the boy before her and spoke quietly but angrily,
"No, you won't. It's a three hour drive, even for me, Kou-san!" Seiya scowled as Haruka said that,
"Listen to me, Tenoh... I know that you are just dying for me to fuck up... I'm not giving you that satisfaction, got it?!" Seiya finished by crossing his arms, and scowling. Haruka stood up, and went to talk back into the classroom, before she did, she stopped, standing beside Seiya but not even bothering to look at him,
"If you let her down, Seiya, I will hurt you. You understand me?" Haruka went to move but the sound of Seiya chuckling caught her attention, she looked to Elza who shrugged she didn't have a clue why he was laughing either.
"Oh, I get it Haruka," Seiya's voice was filled with malicious glee as he continued to speak, "You like her... am I right? Too bad you don't have the guts to compete again. It seemed like she really wanted to dance with you."
Haruka could feel her jaw clench, she closed her eyes, to focus and mostly to prevent her fist from making contact with his jaw, after a moment she opened her eyes and looked at him, and anger filled her entire body,
"At least, if I was her partner, I wouldn't let her down." Seiya turned to Haruka,
"So you do like her?" He smiled as Haruka failed to respond. Elza cleared her throat.
"We should get back inside. We don't want Mido-sensei to be pissed at any time-wasting, right?" Elza looked to both of them, both seemingly unyielding in their positions. Elza placed a hand gently on Haruka's shoulder and this jerked the blonde from her trance. She was about to make her way into the classroom after Seiya but Elza jerked her backwards with a firm grip on her arm. Haruka yelped loudly but Elza quickly led her to the nearest empty classroom.
"Ow! Elza! Dammit, next time not so rough! And didn't you just say that you didn't want to waste anymore time?" Elza completely ignored the blonde and she bombarded her with questions.
"What is going on? What'd I miss? What's the deal with you and Michiru? What's that envelope about?!" Haruka rubbed her temples. Sometimes Elza was a little too much at times. The blonde sighed and leaned against the closed classroom door. Elza sighed audibly.
"You know as well as I do, I'm just gonna sit here and wait for you to spill the info I know you're hiding from me... but I do have other things to do, so just talk to me." Haruka looked out of the window and sighed deeply,
"I think she's pissed off at me. I'm not sure why. And all those questions about passion and dancing!"
"Have you danced with her?" Haruka nodded at Elza's question,
"Yeah. At my home, I invited her for dinner and my parents love her. My mum and dad showed her their samba. It kind of weirded me out seeing my parents that close again but never mind about that... we danced samba and she danced like no-one I had ever danced with before, no offence, Elza,
but I had to hold myself back from dragging her up to my room and – and well, I'm sure you can imagine what I wanted to do with her in my room." Elza stifled a giggle and stood once more, approaching Haruka and stood beside her, her back now against the classroom door too.
"Have you told her all this?" The blonde laughed loudly at Elza's question and shook her head.
"Hell no! Why would I do that?" Elza threw her hands up in despair and as she brought them down she smacked Haruka at the back of her head,
"You're an idiot and you're making my life much more difficult than it needs to be!" She looked at Haruka's confused face and she shook her head gently, "Why haven't you told her?"
"Um, 'cos, it's obvious she's into Makoto. And I'm not interfering in that drama."
"Are you sure she's into Mako-chan?" Haruka nods defiantly,
"Oh yes! I saw how the blush crept up her face every time she saw Mako-chan." Elza giggled,
"Ah, even if that's true, what would Ami say huh? 'Um Michiru, I'm kinda in the closet except for when I'm with all friends, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped hitting on my girl?'" Haruka laughed with Elza, then she stopped, suddenly her features became downcast. Elza didn't need to guess but she was sure that Haruka was thinking of her situation with Michiru and Seiya.
"Why won't he turn up? What's in the envelope, Haru-chan?" Haruka sighed and reached into her jeans back pocket and passed a white envelope over to Elza. On the envelope was a letter from 'Formula Nippon'; the Japanese F2 racing board. Elza opened the letter and read its contents carefully as Haruka made her way to the empty teacher's desk and sat on it. Elza looked at Haruka, eyes widening and she screeched,
"Haruka, this is great! You've always wanted this! I remember you always said that you were gonna be the first Japanese person to win the Nippon series more than once since Satoshi Motoyama! And Ralf Schumacher was the last person to go straight to F1 after winning it in '96! And - ... and why aren't you happy?" Elza only now took in her blonde friend's expression. It was sorrow like she had never seen on Haruka. The racer sighed, and spoke softly,
"I know... it's all I ever wanted... but did you read all of it? The date of my sponsor meeting? How long I'll be away from Japan?" Elza looked back down at the letter and her eyes softened as she looked at her friend,
"Haru-chan, it's Fuji Speedway... it's an honour and it's in a month's time, then after that Suzuka Circuit for sure... this is the stuff that dreams are made of, Haruka. Hey, I know what you're thinking, and no-one would think you're bailing out on them."
"Don't you see? I am bailing!" Haruka almost yelled. "If I pass Fuji Speedway, I go to Suzuka for time trials on the 24th and regardless of what happens there, I travel the F1 circuit, the letter pretty much says that Honda have asked for me! I'll be gone for a whole year... away from everyone and I have less than a month and a half!" Elza looked Haruka in the eyes,
"Haruka, speak to me. What is worrying you so much that you've told no-one but me this?"
"If I'm gone for a year, then - then I'll have lost my chance with Michiru and I can't go! I needed to at least try." Elza, touched by her friend's sensitivity and honesty, smiled. She chuckled gently,
"You know Haru-chan, maybe you should go and talk to her. Grab your chance now. She seems to value you... so stop sitting here sulking like some sad, mopey teenager and go be the horny Haruka we all know and kind of love! Go!" Elza shoved Haruka off the desk and caused the blonde to fall straight on her backside. She stood up instantly rubbing her ass to emphasize her 'pain.'
"That hurt, Elza!" Elza sniggered and jumped off of the desk and opened the classroom door,
"Get over it, you're a big girl." Haruka rolled her eyes and walked out of the classroom with her friend, almost instantly bumping into a smaller figure. As Haruka looked down, she saw that the figure she had in fact bumped into was Michiru. Haruka could only think about how bad her day was going.
"Gomen, Michiru-san." As the tall blonde leant down to help the smaller girl up, Michiru greeted her with that heart-melting smile.
"It's okay, Haruka-chan. How are you?" Haruka opened her mouth to respond but it seemed as though her brain had gone into shutdown mode. She couldn't think of a thing to say. Seiya smirked at this and put his arm around Michiru's waist, the younger girl jolted at his touch and looked at Seiya, a look of shock plastered across her features. Haruka seemed to have snapped out of her state and looked at the two.
"Haruka, if you are going to waste our time, then do so when we are not trying to rehearse... Michiru, let's go over the steps in another classroom." Michiru managed to get out of Seiya's grasp and she smiled politely. She looked to Haruka; Haruka had changed, she had her arms folded across her chest, her head turned the other direction and her seemingly common scowl was on her face again.
"Haruka, are you okay?" As Michiru stepped forward to check her friend, Haruka stepped around her, arms still folded.
"I'm fine." Haruka moved back into the classroom to collect her things, leaving Elza to grin nervously and shoo away Haruka's action to the completely dumbfounded Michiru and well aware Seiya.
"Er... Haruka is just very stressed right now." Elza smiled as she looked into the classroom. Michiru took a deep breath and looked at Elza,
"Well, I hope you look after her well, she's lucky to have you Elza-chan. You seem loyal and... very loving." Elza's eyes doubled in size.
"Whu-what? Loving? Loyal? What are you talking about Kaioh-san?" Michiru's face tinged a slight pink and Seiya gulped nervously, he knew this conversation was not going to go the way he would have liked. Michiru cleared her throat,
"Well, it's just that you two are so close... and as her lover I hope you can help Haruka with whatever it is that's troubling her." Michiru waited for a response, then lifted her head only to find a mortified Elza having to lean against a wall for support before she fell over in shock.
"Michiru we should go and practice –" Seiya was cut off by Elza's shriek,
"LOVERS?! Where the hell did you get that idea from?" Michiru looked at Seiya who avoided her gaze, then Michiru felt her face burn intensely, Elza started to laugh heartily though.
"Oh my God, Haru-chan is going to die when she hears that one! I don't know who told you that one Kaioh but that's funny... I'm just Haruka's friend, nothing more!" Elza was still giggling, Michiru fought the urge to smile at the news; Haruka and Elza weren't lovers! Yes! But – but why did Seiya tell her that? Michiru looked up to Seiya who was still avoiding eye contact. Elza fially controlled herself.
"Haha, oh man, that was good, I needed that laugh, thanks Michiru-san! I better go back tot he class, but that was good!" Elza stumbled into the classroom still laughing. Hard.
In the classroom Haruka was grabbing her CDs, her jacket and bag while grumbling under her breath. Suddenly she heard Elza giggling as she approached her, Elza wiped a tear from her eye and smiled brightly,
"Oh man, wanna hear something funny?" Haruka didn't respond but Elza carried on speaking, "Your little girlfriend thought we were lovers!"
"She's not my girlfriend! She – wait! What? Lovers?! What the hell did you say to that?!" Elza cocked an eyebrow,
"I told her she was right and oh baby how we do it every single night." Haruka instantly threw a disapproving look as she heard the monotonous tone Elza used to speak to her.
"Shut up, Elza! Still, it's not funny... where did she hear a rumour like that?" Elza shrugged but before any of them could think any further, Setsuna spoke from behind Haruka, almost appearing from nowhere,
"I heard Seiya say a crude remark during your Paso. Maybe that was the cause?" The blonde could feel her anger rising all over her body,
"Seiya? I should have known. Trust him to try and wreck every reationship I have with every girl."
"Relationship?" Elza smirked as she pointed out that word to Haruka who instantly sweat-dropped,
"I meant as in friendship! Screw this, I'm going home!" Haruka began to walk to the exit, slowly Hotaru and Setsuna followed her.
"I hate him, so very much." Haruka didn't really bother about the volume with which she spoke this statement, which probably explains why Setsuna and Hotaru heard them as they were exiting the dance class.
"Haru-chan, you shouldn't speak so ill of people." Setsuna sounded like a mother scolding he child, Haruka turned to face Setsuna and she shrugged.
"I don't care... It doesn't matter. I won't have to put up with it soon." Without explaining anymore, Haruka decided to just ignore everyone and walked away, not knowing how to deal with the situation placed in front of her. Should she stay involved as Michiru's friend but ignore the inevitable that Seiya would let her down? If Haruka stayed close, even if she acted on her feelings, as the end of the day on the 24th she wouldn't even be there to comfort the girl when the inevitable happened, when Seiya would wreck the Winter Comps for her. And where would Haruka be? She too would be off somewhere, 'oh God, I'd be letting Michiru down either way' the tomboy thought to herself. Haruka made her way swiftly to her car, followed by a panting and breathless Hotaru and Setsuna as they tried to get their ride home too.
The ride home was quiet though as Setsuna and Hotaru knew that Haruka needed some time to think; Michiru had affected her greatly and now Haruka seemed torn on something. Haruka needed some solitude. She needed to feel safe and be with her own thoughts right now, more than anything.
A/N 2 - Ha! If you're not bored and made it this far then R&R - my ego needs it.
A quick note - I'm removing The Way She Does to do some much needed rewriting to it, but should have it reposted and back up to scratch in about May though!