My Best Friend's Brother

Written by: Jill Annette

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – BREAKING AND FITTING

"Come over."

He called her. He wanted her to come over. They needed to talk about things.

Minako slipped her feet into brown canvas shoes that matched her brown skirt. She fussed over her hair, flattening her blond waves straight – the way he liked. When he called her, Minako had been shopping, debating on what she could do tonight. There had to be a party going on somewhere. All of that did not matter, now that Mamoru had called. He wanted to reconcile things, why else would he call? Finally, truly put things back together the way they were.

Smoothing a brow, Minako checked her teeth and slipped out the door.

---

Some time had passed since Usagi had last seen Mamoru. Since she told him she would break her ties. Seiya was busy with his band, teaching the new singer their songs. Usagi was busy with preparing for the graduation ceremony. Time seemed to disappear when people were busy.

She knew he would be at Neptune and she really needed to talk to him – just to make sure. Usagi pulled her hair into a tight pony-tail, grabbed her purse and made her way to the club.

---

Mamoru paced the dining room and the sitting room in the front of the house, periodically (every minute or so) looking out the window. Minako took her time; that was for sure. He called her nearly forty minutes ago and it sure as hell did not take even twenty minutes from her apartment complex to the house.

"Ridiculous," he murmured. He turned from the front of the house and sat down on the couch in the living room.

Mamoru flipped through the channels, he couldn't focus on anything for too long. What was he supposed to say to Minako? What were they really?

A light knock at the door made him jump. Forgetting the television, Mamoru rushed to the door. Minako stood at the door: white t-shirt with yellow and orange palm trees gracing the front and brown skirt, hair straight, make-up and a smile on her face.

Hell, Mamoru thought, she dressed up.

He shut the door behind him, figuring the conversation would best be done outside. Her smile faded a bit and her eyes clouded with confusion as Mamoru took a seat on the bench away from her.

"Hey?" she questioned, stepping closer to him.

Mamoru nodded, not able to find the words just quite yet.

Instead of taking the seat behind him, she sat on the railing of the porch. She grasped the rounded wood for balance as she leaned forward and tried to make out what Mamoru called her over. Her excitement earlier slowly started to fade as she continued to watch the man before her.

"What do you expect from me?" he finally asked.

Minako found her confidence again, "You know what I want from you."

"No," He shook his head, hands running through his black hair repeatedly. Mamoru looked at her, "No, I don't."

She rolled her eyes; her head followed her eyes up and then back down. The floor suddenly became interesting. Did he want her to spell it out for him when she wasn't even sure herself?

"Well?" he asked.

With a sigh, Minako said, "I don't know exactly."

Mamoru nodded but didn't say anything.

"I mean, I'd like to try again, start over. Continue whatever it is that we have now."

"We don't have anything now."

"We don't?" Minako scoffed. "You take me out, buy me dinner. Kiss me for crying out loud!"

"We have a history," Mamoru said pathetically.

She nodded then mocked, "Yeah, history."

Mamoru sighed and for the first time in a really long time truly looked at her. Their eyes clashed in color, from the lightest shade of blue to the darkest. Both of them should have known from the beginning they would never fit together. "Nothing else."

Willing herself not to cry, Minako took in a shaking breath. "It's that little tramp isn't it?"

His eyes narrowed, "She's not a tramp."

"Of course not." Minako shook her head, not really meaning her words. Anyone who even tried to take her future away was a tramp. "Why her?"

He didn't answer. By now he wasn't even looking at her anymore, rather beyond her.

She choked, the first bit of emotion slipped past her wall. "Why not me?"

"We've tried, we have." Mamoru tried to sooth. "You told me a long time ago to leave. You didn't even want to see me again."

Minako inhaled sharply at the memory – salt in her wound.

"We were over a long time ago."

"I thought we were beginning again." Minako whispered, "You kissed me the last time we were together."

"I just," Mamoru started. "I was trying to figure things out."

"You used me." Minako wiped at her eyes furiously, she would not cry in front of him. "Asshole."

"There wasn't anything there, Minako." He pushed out the excuse – trying to right his wrong. "I did try."

"Liar."

"I did," he repeated. "But the sparks are elsewhere."

"So we're done."

Mamoru nodded, "Yeah."

"Okay," Minako's word was more like a puff of air, her lips barely moved.

Mamoru left her on the railing and shut the door behind him to block the view of the woman he broke.

---

Kakyuu was rail thin. Usagi noted that when she had first seen her weeks ago. Today, she noted how easy it would be to snap her in two like a twig. She was better than that, however, instead she would walk away, head held high and forget she ever saw Seiya sticking his tongue down her throat. Besides, the whole reason she came to Neptune was to officially break things off with Seiya even though they apparently had nothing to break. Nope, no loose ends here, everything is tied off.

Still, there was a little something – had to be. Seiya hit on her, called her constantly – up until a few weeks ago when their band was always practicing. Usagi smirked, practicing what exactly was what she wanted to know. She laughed at herself, at the jealousy she could feel so dominantly rushing through her veins. She had come here to break. Things. Off. Usagi had to keep reminding herself that. There was someone better, someone she truly wanted behind another door.

Backing away from the scene before her, still not quite able to tear her eyes away, Usagi ran into a chair. How perfectly placed that chair was for her to hit, for it to scratch across the floor, making a sound a bit less annoying than fingernails on a chalkboard, before it toppled over, crashing onto the cement floor. The multiple sounds echoed of the wall repeatedly: scratch, crash, scratch, crash.

Usagi cringed, tried to disappear within herself. Stupid chair.

Of course, their attention was averted to her. Both with lost looks for a moment before they realized someone else was in the room. Sheepishly, Usagi smiled, waved, then ran.

She had rounded the corner before she heard her name called, another before she heard her name again with a plea to stop. Her limbs never registered the command, at least not until her arm was grabbed and she had no choice but to stop or lose her arm.

"Look," Seiya said, taking in a few gulps of air. "I'm sorry. I should have called, let you know… something."

Usagi shook her head. "It's okay."

Heavy breath. "It's just, there's nothing between you and me right? Both of us notice it." Seiya finally straightened up, his even breathing returned. "With Kakyuu, it's amazing. There's just, this, this fire!"

Usagi nodded.

"I mean, whatever we have is just a friendship. There's no fire, no spark, no electricity."

"Seiya, it's okay," Usagi insisted. "The whole reason I came to Neptune was because I was tired on waiting for you to return my calls. Besides, I just wanted to let you know that I there was never going to be anything between us because there's someone else for me too."

"Really?"

"Yes," Usagi said. A slight smile spread across her face, "Sorry if I interrupted anything important."

Seiya scratched the back of his head but he didn't say anything.

"So I'll see you around?" Usagi asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," he agreed.

Usagi turned on her heel and walked away. Looking over her shoulder she said, "Let me know when you guys have a show."

He nodded and watched as Usagi rounded yet another corner.

---

She didn't make it off the porch before she collapsed. Her entire body was shaking, she couldn't believe she set herself up for this kind of disappointment again. With her head bowed, her platinum hair hid most of her face, her hands hid the rest as her upturned palms caught her tears and muffled her sobs.

Minako knew she should have given up on him years ago whenever she practically shoved Mamoru out her front door. For some reason though, she kept a small place for him tucked deep within her heart – only for it to get ripped out, stomped on and fed to a younger blond.

"Are you okay?" a sweet voice called out to her.

Minako peeked through a crack of her fingers, speak of the devil. She shook her head.

Without saying anything more, Usagi sat beside her and rested an arm on her shoulders.

The minutes passed as this stranger, this young beautiful stranger who took her future – whatever it may have been – away from her, smoothed Minako's back with the palm of her hand.

"Want me to beat him up for you?" She asked.

Minako dropped her arms on her knees and looked at this mystery beside her. Her voice rasped, "You took him from me."

Usagi nodded, not really saying anything for a moment: then, "Are you sure you ever really had him?"

Gasping, Minako leaned away from her. Finally she shook her head, no, she never truly had Mamoru. If she did, she would not be where she was now: shoulders sagging, both her hair and her skirt hanging heavily and smearing her mascara with tears on his front porch. She couldn't fathom a reason why he would be attracted to this girl sitting beside her. Yet, the truth hurt.

She stood up slowly, escaping the slight touch of Usagi's fingers. "Take care of him, okay?" she whispered, head tilted. "Don't make me regret allowing this."

Usagi, making no attempt to move, nodded. "I will."

Minako turned her back on Usagi and strolled away with whatever was left of her heart.

---

He was afraid to look outside. Minako had still been sitting on the front steps an hour after they talked. While Mamoru was curious about Minako, wondering if she was all right, he could never find the courage to just open the door and ask her. What right did he have anyhow? He had just carved a hole in her heart.

Mamoru felt horrible; there was no way he felt like a better man. No way he felt like he deserved the entire reason he made sure Minako had no hope for them. He rested his elbows on the bar and sunk his head into his hands. How could he even begin questioning himself now? Usagi just felt right. There were no other words. Okay, so maybe there were other words but they all amounted to feeling right. He would just have to stick to his gut feeling.

The front door creaked open without anyone knocking. Mamoru heard a shuffle of footsteps into the house before the heavy oak door latched closed again. He dropped his hands from his face and looked up; coming into view was the very person who he decided he lived for.

Usagi smiled and stepped closer to him. Impatient, Mamoru marched across the room and gathered the slender blond in his arms, holding her as if he might never get the chance to do so again. She returned the embrace, her arms slid around his neck. Their bodies melded together and they made a solid fit.

Leaning back far enough to gaze at Usagi, Mamoru brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Hey."

She nodded, "Hey."

---

THIS IS NOT THE END. Not exactly. If I can find the damn time to write, it'll be up quickly. )

Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out.