A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE! You know, I'm probably gonna try to put on one update per month but don't get your hopes up high. I'm incredibly lazy and the fact that I have homework that I should do is evidence of that. Well, this chapter is incredibly long so I'm splitting it in two. Unfortunately, my computer is dying for some inexplicable reason so I'm only going to download one portion tonight otherwise I'm afraid it'll crash. I'll try to download the seoncd part tomorrow morning 'cause I have to go study (During break? I know what you mean. My teacher's didn't. But I do.). I'm doing this chapter in just about everyone's POV and skipping from one event to another. I really want to speed up this story. So help out and REVIEW!!
Meus Amor et Mea Culpa: My Love and My Mistake
Up in the Club (I)
"You sure you don't mind?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing…"
"But..?"
"Nothing, really. It's just that I could've ridden with Haruka instead of with you."
"Of course I don't mind." Seiya said admonishingly. "You're my sister. Plus, I don't think Haruka can fit all of you in that car of hers." He seemed to hesitate for a moment then asked. "By the way, are you really going to that party tomorrow night with that Kaitou guy?"
Rei gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes at the mention of the party. "Of course I am! And will you stop making it sound like I'm making a mistake here?" She demanded, getting annoyed. "I'm getting enough bad vibes about it from Mina."
"Smart girl." Seiya muttered. Sadly for him, Rei had very good hearing…and a good arm. "Ow!" He winced. "You know we could swerve off the road because you."
Rei rolled her eyes carelessly. "Boys are such babies."
"Even Kaitou?" Seiya teased. After all the man was only a year older than Sei's 21 years. The man was next in line in their father's footsteps. Sei should've been but certain…circumstances prevented that. Not that Sei was complaining. Rei blushed furiously and settled for glaring at him from her passenger seat, realizing that another punch to his arm could wind them up in the hospital. She tugged at her red, backless tank top, absentmindedly thinking it was longer the last time she wore it. Thankfully, her white pants still fit snugly on her figure. She then focused her attention on her teasing brother.
"Kaitou is not a boy." Seiya rolled his eyes at Rei's insistent tone. "He is a gentleman."
"And I'm Barbie." He muttered sarcastically.
"You always did have a fascination with dolls." Rei retorted dryly. Seiya mocked an arrow hitting his heart.
"That hurts baby sister. And, for your information, it was a female action figure." He corrected haughtily. Rei gave an unladylike snort and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah." Rei agreed teasingly. "With a dream house."
They continued to argue good-heartedly until they pulled up to the club. Seiya took Rei by the arm and two went around to the backdoor. Already, people were lining against the walls to hopefully get into the club and the siblings pushed their way to the front, Seiya hovering over her protectively. Seiya gave a mere nod of acknowledgement at the two bouncers holding off the crowds and they made a way for him. Rei glanced at the huge mass surrounding the entrances of the club and the intimidating bouncers at stood by the doorways with expressions that were as impassive as those of those guards in Britain but more muscle than furry hats. How on earth were the others supposed to get through? Seiya sensed her worry and smiled as the door behind him slammed shut.
"Don't worry." He said reassuringly. "I already put in their names on the list and they'll be able to get in with no problem."
Rei smiled back and nodded. Seiya was leading her to the bar now. She could make out a tall man behind the bar, putting on a show of twirling and juggling drinks before audiences. He had a charming face, very friendly and somewhat…a romantic flare. He had long, russet hair that waved down half-way down his back, tied at the nape of his neck to stay out of his way and dark blue eyes that pretty much drew you in for the kill. Seiya smiled and cut into the man's show, clasping hands with him and then gesturing to Rei to come forward.
"Hey man, this is my little sister, Rei." Seiya turned to Rei. "Rei, this is Nicholas Anza. He's one of our bartenders. Nick, any drinks ordered by her or her friends are on the house, okay?"
Nick laughed. "Sure thing, boss."
Seiya smiled and planted a kiss on Rei's forehead before leaving to attend to his duties. Rei glanced around the club, taking in everything. It was still a bit early but people were already flooding in. A soft smile of pride touched Rei's face. Seiya had really done well with the place. Even despite what their contradictive father had said about his ventures, Seiya had certainly proved him wrong by establishing one of, if not the, most hottest club in the entire town.
"Great place, huh?" Rei turned around and nodded at Nicholas. He gestured over for her to sit and she complied, grabbing one of the stools in front of him. "Your brother and his friends have really turned this place around."
Rei beamed. Her brother totally kicked ass. "Yes, they have. This place was a dump before they started renovations." Her nose wrinkled as she thought of the building B. T. (Before Twilight). Rei shuddered. It wasn't pretty. Mold and rats and walls looking ready like they were going to crack with one more pigeon flew into the building. She had even scoffed at the idea of turning the place around but the trio had proven her wrong. She then turned her attention to Nick. "How long have you been working here? I don't remember you since the last time I was here."
"About a little over five months." Nick replied after calculating. "But I'm just doing this as a cash flow while I'm studying…"
Rei talked to him for a while. He seemed pretty nice and sincere and a charming personality. Rei watched Nick deliver a set of drinks to a couple of girls on the other end of the bar. She quirked her lips in amusement as she noticed that those girls hadn't even touched the drinks he had previously sent over. Looks like she wasn't the only who noticed just how attractive he was. Nick was studying to be an astronomer as a nearby university and fell into a conversation involving the theories of predestination and fate and contraries to those theories. Rei had been at the bar, talking and amusingly having a good time conversation with Nick for half an hour until she noticed her friends (finally!) enter the club. As expected, she was able to pinpoint their arrival with their newest companion.
~*~
Serena's silvery-blonde mane caught the blinking lights of the club, the beams of artificial light creating halo effects that enriched her already mystic-looking exterior. Naturally she stuck out well enough for Rei to single her out. She stepped away from the bar and moved to her friends. As she made her way to them, she noticed that Serena's long hair was pulled into a high ponytail, wearing a silvery halter-top that dove to the depths below at the front. A silver armlet was laced around her upper arm and bracelets dangled from her wrists. A chain rattled softly in comparison to the booming music of the club at the girl's waist, the belt strung around her curvaceous body atop her black pants. Elaborate earrings dangled from her ears, swinging about as Serena looked through the mass of people in search for Rei. By her side was Mina in a …bra?
What the..?
As Rei got closer, she realized that it was a tube top but it might as well have been a bright blue, strapless bra. An orange flicker of her belly ring flashed occasional in the light stroke right above her low-rising jeans that had a crisscross pattern at the side seams that showed over a bit of her skin.
"Took you long enough!" Rei laughed, hugging her friends in greeting. The tall, blonde female behind the teens rolled her eyes, replying,
"We would've gotten
here sooner if someone," Haruka
glared at her little sister. "Hadn't insisted on trying six different outfits."
"As if," Mina retorted, waving
a dismissive hand airily. "If the speed demon over here wasn't trying to get us
killed by trying to cut in front of every single god-damned car then we
would've gotten here faster without that wonderful interruption from the nice
officer who gave her the ticket."
The sarcasm in Mina's voice made Rei laugh. Michelle and Haruka excused themselves and the teens were left on their own. Rei turned and led her friends back to the bar. Nick just handed a drink to someone and caught her eye.
"Hey Rei," He looked over her shoulder at the others. "These your friends?"
Rei smiled and nodded, turning to her friends and passing around the introduction. "Girls, this is Nick. Nick, this is Serena, the blonde's Mina, then that's Ami, and Lita."
"Nice to meet you." Nick said, flashing them a warm smile. Lita suddenly felt a lump at her throat as her heart seemed to skip a beat. Ami noticed and turned towards her tall companion.
"Lita?" She questioned, concerned. "Are you okay?"
Ami received silence as her answer.
Nick had turned to Serena, his eyes narrowing. "Haven't I seen you before?"
Serena frowned and shook her head 'no' and an idea popped into her head. "Wait," she called over the music of the club. "Do you happen to know Kunthan Tsukino?"
Nick smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. He lives over at the dorms. I have a couple of classes with him." He studied Serena, taking in the white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes that he was sure he had seen before. "You related to him?"
Serena giggled and nodded. "Yup! He's my brother."
Nick laughed. "I thought you looked familiar." His eyes then trained to the tall brunette of the group. She was clad in a tight-fitting tank top that came a couple of inches above her belly button and her low-rising jeans bared more skin as a tasseled belt swayed with Lita's every hip movement. Her wavy, russet hair was almost red, held up in a half-tail that revealed twin, quartz roses on her ears. He felt a buzz in his stomach as he took in her Amazonian-like appearance but his gaze hardened and he pushed such thoughts away.
'Don't even think about it, Nick.' He said to himself, smiling briefly at Lita's way. 'Don't even think about it."
"Hey!" Everyone turned at Mina's sudden exclamation. A huge smile had exploded on her face and she raised her arm, waving. "Zachary! Over here!"
The others followed her gaze and turned toward the massive crowd in the club where a bright, blonde head was slowly emerging. He was smiling, looking sharp thought slightly haggard. He raised his head in greeting and walked over to them. The others greeted him with 'hello's, Serena giving him a brief cheek kiss.
"Hey Zach. How'd your emergency go?"
Serena's question caused Zachary's lips to tighten to a forced smile. "It was nothing." He said smoothly as his face broke into a grin. "But hey, why dwell on that when we're here?"
Mina then turned to Nick and said, "Nick, this is our friend…"
"Zachary. I know." Nick said dryly.
The girls turned around and noticed the hard look on Nick's face. His bright eyes had darkened and were trained at the apprehensive Zach. An uneasy smile crept on Zach's face as he gave out a helpless shrug.
"Good to see you again, Nick." He greeted. Nick's glower did not waiver.
"Wish I could say the same." Nick replied coolly. Zachary gave out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.
"Nick, Nick, Nick…" He tsked, trying to break the ice. "Haven't you missed me?'
"After the last time you were here," Nick said. "No one would blame me if I said 'no' to your question."
Zachary rolled his eyes. "Really, Nick. You gotta have a little more faith in people. Look, I'm just here to dance and have fun with these gorgeous ladies." He gestured to the giggling girls.
Nick sighed and shook his head. When he opened his eyes, there was a trace of a somber emotion in the blue depths. "I highly doubt that."
Zach caught the pitying gaze and held his temper in check. He shrugged. "If you really think that, I can't change it." He grinned. "I guess I'll just have to prove it to you." His hand reached out and took hold of Rei's wrist. "C'mon, Pyro." He laughed. "Let's show these idiots how to really dance."
Rei laughed and followed, eager to dance away her stress with a platonic male friend. She waved to her friends and soon disappeared into the crowd. Nick watched Zachary and Rei disappear, shaking his head sadly and muttered something under his breath in Italian. He then waved over one of his co-workers at the bar and told them something. His co-worker's face hardened and he looked at Nick in disbelief. Nick only nodded solemnly and his co-worker shook his head and then went off, stopping to talk to another bartender. Serena, Lita, and Mina watched this with confusion. Ami merely glanced at the scene and took another sip at her drink calmly. Granted, her peaceful demeanor at the confusion did not go unnoticed by her remaining companions.
"Nick, what was that all about?" Serena asked innocently. Nick paused from staring at the bar in front of him and looked over at them.
"You guys haven't been friends with Zach for very long." It was statement more than a question. They all nodded and Nick gave out a tired sigh, rubbing his temples shortly.
"It's not my place to talk about so I'll let him, "He nodded in the direction Zach had gone to. "Explain whenever he feels like it."
~*~
Rei watched Nick motion over to her and Zach. The blonde's arms were around her waist and hers were around his neck.
"What the hell did you do here to piss them off?" Her voice was strong and he heard the words perfectly amidst the booming of the speakers. Zachary laughed.
"Long story, Pyro." He replied obscurely with a grin. Rei titled her head challengingly at her dancing partner.
"I'm not going anywhere soon." He replied. Zachary peered at her, amused and annoyed.
"You're very persistent." He commented. "It's quite damning."
"If that were an insult, I would be wiping the floor with your ass in ten seconds." Rei merely let out a devilish grin. "Be grateful that I'm taking that in as a compliment Pretty Boy."
The girl gave out a laugh at the disgusted look Zachary gave out. To be blunt, he looked like he'd been fed blindfolded and then informed he'd just eaten squirrel guts.
"'Pretty Boy'?" He demanded, scandalized. "Good God woman! Just slay me where I stand if that's what you really think. Really," He ranted jokingly. "You do realize that to feminize a man in any way is not just mean but out rightly cruel."
He didn't bother to pull away from the incoming slap on his arm and only laughed.
"For your information," Rei said teasingly. "You feminized yourself with that hair of yours."
To her surprise, Zach stuck his tongue at her in a childish manner then smirked. "Don't be jealous 'cause I'm cuter than you."
~*~
"Wonder what he just said." Lita murmured thoughtfully, watching Zach get another slap on his arm by their fiery companion.
"Knowing his attitude and Rei's temper," Mina said dryly. "It could be anything."
"Amen!" A new voice called out. They all turned to the source of the newcomer and caught sight of someone with sandy-blonde hair.
"Jaden!" Mina's voice was alight with laughter and surprise. After she had hugged him, she demanded. "What are you doing here?'
He shrugged easily. "Sei invited me so I decided to drop by." He looked over at all of them. "What's your excuse?"
"Rei invited us." Ami piped up. "And Seiya already put us on the list so here we are."
Jaden's eyebrow quirked. "Really? And where is the she-devil herself, now?"
The oldest and only Aino male and child was suddenly attacked by four punches in four different directions from the good friends of the raven-haired harpy.
"Jeez," He pouted, annoyed. "Can't any of you take a joke? Not my fault she hates me." He muttered.
"Yes it is." Jaden glared at Mina, who sipped her drink sweetly.
"What'd I do to her?" He demanded. Mina gave him an incredulous stare and rolled her eyes.
"I think the real question is, 'What didn't you do to her?' You crashed her sweet sixteen last year with that stolen car of yours." She shook her head in annoyance. "We had a hell of a time explaining to the cops about that mishap."
"Hey! For one thing, I didn't even know that it was stolen." Jaden said defensively.
"Jaden, the news had the cops chasing after you on the highway for almost an hour."
"Details, details." He muttered in the Aino fashion. He then noticed Nick and grabbed a stool by the girls and glanced around at the glasses and bottles. "Let's see…"
"Jaden!" Mina suddenly cried out. "You're not going to order anything are you?"
It was not so much as the question that the blonde asked as the way she had asked it. Horror and desperation was laced into Mina's voice and fear embodied her eyes. Jaden's small smile was dropped as he took in Mina's anxious expression. If it wasn't for her provocative clothing, her expression suddenly reminded him that she was still his little sister. The same little sister that had to see some things she shouldn't have at a very young age. He reached out his arm in a familiar fashion and was engulfed in a hug from the youngest Aino child. He stroked the blonde mane comfortingly, murmuring some words of encouragement under his breath. By the time he pulled away, Mina was rubbing aside some things that look suspiciously like tears.
"…don't worry, kid." Jaden was saying. "I'm not gonna get anything here."
"It really wouldn't matter if you wanted to." The siblings turned to Nick, who looked uneasy at breaking what was obviously a sentimental moment. He sighed, looking over at Jaden. "Sei ordered the bartenders here to never serve a guy named Jaden Aino anything."
"What the…?" Jaden's eyebrows quirked into something resembling annoyance. "What if I gave you a false name?"
"No dice." Nick grinned apologetically, shaking his head. "He already showed us a picture on the day we started."
Now both eyebrows were raised and an amused expression flooded his face. "You know, if I didn't know him since we were kids, I'd assume that he hates me."
TBC
~*chickay*~
I think the basic fluff ends in the next chapter. I'll let you guys decide. The next chapter will be up the second my computer stops being stupid.
PS. REVIEW!