AN: Okay, I know that you guys are really mad at me (or forgot about me) for not updating for so long…to be honest, there really is no LEGIT excuse for the long wait. T-T
I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY! I guess I was just lazy…got hooked on a Facebook game…and yeah it's just sad. But I'm sincerely sorry, I feel like a hypocrite because I often find myself complaining when an author doesn't update for a while and it frustrates me! *Kicks self*
To The Awesome People who reviewed!: (Scroll down if you don't want to read this!)
TheEndIsNearDN – Okay I liked all of your ideas EXCEPT the Meyrin making out with Athrun part…That is SO not happening LOL. xD But thank you for ur nice suggestions!
KazumiSakura – Well, right now I'm still not sure if Cagalli and Kira will be twins…Hmmm gotta do some brain storming!
AsuCaga4ever – Thank you for sending me that last review! It really got me off my lazy butt! (:
AngelfishXD – Aw childish? Lol I guess you're right haha :D
Lacus Yamato – I know what you mean gurlfrand…
Ren – I'm happy that you love my story ^-^ Sorry for the late update .
littlemsstrawberry – Yeah I like the idea of Athrun blowing up on Meyrin, but not just yet…it's still a little early since they're suppose to be good friends but I think I'll keep that idea in the back of my mind…I have a feeling that I'll be using it in the future! (:
rizacaga - *-* Ur review made me smile :D
Cagalli Haruka Zala – Lol oh yes they do…and yea ditto. Sorry for the late update T-T Hope you're still willing to read this…
ishasucaga - Thank yooouuu! (:
Maharlika96 – Oooh okay, it'll be ASUCAGA, Lacus/Kira/Flay, Stellar/Shinn, Dearka/Miri, Yzak/Shiho, Luna/Rey?, (Honestly, most of these are just the general pairings and I don't think I'll write anything that'll specifically focus on a couple other than asucaga :P
Jodeist – Unfortunately, this chapter might not be what you expect it to be D:
– Sorry I didn't update before New Year… T-T
1. I haven't decided on whether Kira and Cagalli will be related or not…but it'll be decided soon!
2. Yes, both Athrun's parent's are alive in this story…I think everyone's alive, I don't really like having people dead in my story D:
LOL! I like ur idea about making Athrun jealous xD
ONCE AGAIN! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I heart you all.
K on with the chapter!
DISCLAIMER: Yeah yeah we know the drill...I don't own GS/D blah blah blah...T-T
Cliques and Colors
Chapter 6
Library
Meer had insisted that Meyrin come up with a solid plan before going to Cagalli's house. Meyrin at first was against the idea of skipping her lunchtime with Athrun but reluctantly agreed since Meer did have a point, she can't exactly go to Cagalli's house with nothing planned. Thinking that Athrun might worry, she sent him a text saying that she'll be doing a research paper in the library.
They settled in a secluded area in the library where people won't notice or hear them.
"So, how are you going to make her miserable?" Meer cut straight to the point as they sat down at an unoccupied table. She set her purse down and took out her makeup bag.
Meyrin pondered for a moment. "Hmm…How about I trip her and make her look like a fool in front of Athrun?"
Meer looked bored. "How amateurish, but not bad. Just be sure to make it look like an accident."
Meyrin rolled her eyes. "Duh!"
"Whatever, anything else?" She asked as she took out her compact to apply some matte powder on her slightly oily nose.
"OOH maybe I can trip and fall on Athrun, ah right into his big strong arms…" Meyrin was almost drooling as she got lost in her day dream. She would give anything to be in his arms.
"Don't you have anything else that doesn't include tripping?" Meer asked with annoyance. This girl has no imagination.
"How about making out with him in front of that bitch? That'll sure make her miserable!"
Meer was getting irritated. "You think Athrun would be okay with that?" She narrowed her eyes at the red-head.
"Of course he will!"
"Right…"
"UGH whatever! What do YOU think I should do then?" She glared at the pink haired girl. She was tired of Meer criticizing her ideas.
Meer's face suddenly switched from bored to serious. "This is what you need to do. Dig up some dirt on that whore, something you can blackmail her with.
Meyrin looked interested. "But how am I going to do that?"
Meer wanted to smack the girl. Is this girl stupid? I can't believe she skipped 11th grade!
"There's this thing called the INTERNET? Have you heard of that? Geez were you living in a cave or something?"
Meyrin's eyebrow twitched. "NO. I know what the INTERNET is. But how do I look her up? It's not like she's famous or whatever!"
"I DON'T KNOW! Just dig something out! USE YOUR GEEKY HACKING SKILLS OR SOMETHING! GAWD!"
"OKAY OKAY! FINE! I'll try!"
"Good, you go noodle with that* while I go make a move on Athrun." Meer smirked.
"HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT HE'S MINE!" Meyrin hissed.
"Says who? Anyways, later biaatch." She blew her a kiss before walking out of the library.
"Ugh!" Meyrin had no choice but to get on a computer and get to work. The first thing she did was typing in "Cagalli Yula" in a search engine.
Nothing came up about the blonde.
Next she hacked into the PLANTS database. (AN: I don't think anyone can do something like this but let's just pretend okay?)
'No Cagalli Yula in record'
That's weird, how can there be nothing on her? Wait! Didn't she say that she was from ORB?
She quickly navigated to the Orb Database but it was heavily protected.
A challenge huh? This should be fun. Meyrin smirked before popping her fingers.
10 minutes of hacking later…
AHAH! Finally in! Let's see Cagalli Yula…huh? No Cagalli Yula but there's a Cagalli Yula Athha?
She clicked on the name but instead of showing a profile of 'Cagalli Yula Athha', it redirected her to Uzumi Nara Athha's profile.
Meyrin stared at the computer screen in disbelief.
Isn't this the Representative of Orb? She'd seen his pictures on newspapers and magazines, as well as television appearances.
She took a closer look at a picture on the profile, it was a picture of the Representative and a young blonde girl.
SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE YULA! Could it be? Could she be the Representative of Orb's daughter? A PRINCESS? But that's…not possible! I've never heard of any news about the Representative of Orb having a daughter! No…no way.
Something else caught her eye.
'Princess' Status: Missing'
A smirk slowly crept onto Meyrin's face. "Interesting…"
After School
Dearka yawned and stretched as he and the crew walked towards the parking lot.
"Hey guys, who wants to come to my house tonight for pizza and movies?"
Milly turned to him, and shrugged. "Sure, I think the girls and I are free, but no horror or gory movies, got it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Lacus, Shiho, Stella and Luna nodded, agreeing with Miriallia.
"Sorry but I can't, I have to finish some homework tonight." Cagalli said as she smiled sheepishly at them.
"Aww that's too bad Cags, can't you just skip it like I do?"
"Nope! Unlike you, I actually care about my grade."
Dearka pouted and sighed. "Fine…how about you guys?" he turned to the guys.
All but Athrun agreed. "Well I won't be going either, I'm helping her." He said as he pointed a finger at Cagalli.
The gang stared at them incredulously.
"Uhm…Yeah, I'm not really good with math." Cagalli confessed with a small blush.
The guys couldn't help but smirk while the girls tried to suppress their giggles.
"Oh reeeeally now?" Dearka asked with a sly grin.
"Yes really!" Athrun and Cagalli replied simultaneously, their cheeks turning a darker shade of red.
"Oh alright, you two have fun then."
"It's not just them two, I'm going too." Meyrin suddenly spoke up.
Saved for Athrun and Cagalli, everyone was surprised at what she said.
Luna narrowed her eyes at her sister. She's up to something…
Lacus, Miri, Shiho, and Stella exchanged uneasy looks. They were well aware of Meyrin's feelings towards Athrun and they know that he and Cagalli are getting close. Having the three of them together would surely turn into something ugly.
"Oh…Man why are you three making plans without us?" Dearka whined.
Cagalli shrugged and patted his back. "Sorry Dearka, but you're not in my math class."
"Even if he was, he wouldn't be any help anyway." Miri laughed.
Dearka gapped and sputtered. "Hey! I'm pretty good at math!"
Yzak and Shinn snorted. "Yeah you keep thinking that."
"Thanks guys…I love the support." Dearka said with sarcasm as he lowered his head.
Cagalli's Apartment
"Welcome to my humble abode." Cagalli bowed theatrically as she welcomed Athrun and Meyrin into her apartment.
"You weren't kidding when you said that it was small, but I like it, it's nice." Athrun complimented with a chuckle as he toured around.
The place was homey with a modern touch. A kitchen can be seen to the left as you walked through the entry hall with marble counters acting as a divider for the kitchen and living room. There was a small dining area just a few feet ahead of the kitchen completed with a small glass dining table and dining chairs. The living room was nicely equipped with a couch, a couple of sofas, a bean bag chair, a small coffee table and a medium sized flat screen TV on a makeshift TV stand. To the right of the living room is a glass door covered by curtains that lead to a balcony. And further north from the entry hall were two doors, Cagalli's room was on the right while the left was the bathroom.
"Hm yeah it's cute!" Meyrin mentally rolled her eyes. Psh this is like the size of my garage!
"Thanks," She was mostly talking to Athrun. "Make yourself at home, you guys want anything to drink?"
"Anything's fine with me." Athrun gave her a small grin.
"Prune juice?" Cagalli raised a brow.
"Y-yeah, sure I can drink that! I love that stuff…" Athrun laughed nervously as he tried to mask his horror.
"Okay! I'll make sure to pour you an extra big glass." She made her way to the kitchen.
"Oh…you really don't have to Cagalli…" He almost begged.
Cagalli turned to look at him. "You sure?"
Athrun responded by nodding furiously.
That did it. Cagalli burst out laughing. "Oh my god Athrun! Your expression is s-so FUNNY!" She said between giggles.
Athrun just looked at her with a confused expression, still pretending to be unafraid of drinking prune juice.
"It's okay Athrun! I'm not going to make you drink prune juice! Ew…"
"Oh…" Athrun breath a sigh of relief before giving the still laughing Cagalli a how-could-you look. "That's not funny!"
"Yes it was! Anyways, Sprite?" She took out a green 2 liter bottle from the refrigerator.
"You so get me." The previous prank was totally forgotten.
Cagalli laughed. "You know, if you keep drinking this, it'll make you fat." She looked at him seriously.
Athrun shrugged. "You'll still love me." He grinned slyly as he watched her pour the fizzy drink into a tall glass.
She blushed at the nonchalant-ness. "In your dreams ZALA!" She almost shoved the glass into his hands, fortunately nothing spilled.
"Eyy…First name please." Athrun chided.
"OKAY! Can I get a glass of ice tea with lemon please?" Meyrin finally decided to cut in. Athrun and Cagalli both paused and turned to her, suddenly remembering that there was another person with them.
"Um, I don't have that." What the hell? This is a house not a damn restaurant!
Meyrin gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, sprite for me too…"
Cagalli's eye twitched. Rude Bitch. "Alrighty then." She went to get another glass.
"So where should we study?" Athrun took a sip of the cold drink.
The question was directed at Cagalli but Meyrin grabbed onto his free arm and dragged him to the living room. "Let's do it on the couch!" She plopped down and set her backpack on the coffee table. She looked at Athrun and patted the spot next to her, gesturing him to sit.
Athrun scratched his head and turned to the kitchen. "Hey Cagalli, is it alright if we study on the couch?"
"Sounds good!" Cagalli hollered as she put the sprite bottle back in the fridge.
"Alright." Athrun sighed as he took a seat on the area Meyrin patted, but tried to keep a gap in between them. Recently, he's been feeling uncomfortable being near her.
Meyrin noticed the gap. Not close enough! She scooted closer to him.
"Uh…Let's get started." He unzipped his backpack and took out a Pre-Cal textbook and a notebook.
"OKAY!"
Cagalli was walking to the living room when she saw Meyrin scoot closer to Athrun. She rolled her eyes. Why is she being so obviously desperate?
She walked to them and handed a cup to Meyrin and set her own down on the coffee table.
The couch was big enough to fit three people and thankfully the last spot was not next to Meyrin.
"So where should we start?" Cagalli asks as she took a seat next to Athrun, much to Meyrin's dismay. DAMN, I should've sat in the middle!
"Hm…We shoul—"
Before Athrun could finish his sentence, Meyrin shoved her worksheet in front of his face. "Athrun! Help me solve this one! I don't get it!" She whined as she blindly pointed to a question.
"Okay…Let me look at it." Athrun looked at the problem and raised a brow. "Uh, Mey? This one's already solved. This whole worksheet is done!" Even though Athrun was a calm person by nature, he was getting irritated.
Meyrin turned red with embarrassment. "Uh…T-that's right! I just wanted you to check to see if they were right!" She couldn't help but stutter.
Athrun sighed. "Alright but we should help Cagalli first, she barely got half of her worksheet done today." He shot Cagalli a teasing grin.
"Hey! I tried my hardest!" Cagalli pouted.
"I know." He chuckled and petted her head.
"HEY! What am I a dog to you?" She shouted before slapping his arm, blushing ever so slightly.
"Ouch! Well no, you act more like a cat." Athrun grinned.
"Gee THANKS." She crossed her arms.
Athrun just chuckled. "Okay let's get started on finishing this."
"Okay…" Cagalli sighed.
Meanwhile, Meyrin is just sitting there enviously glaring at the couple next to her. UGH! Athrun isn't even paying any attention to me! What should I do? Hmm…OH I GOT IT!
She grabbed her glass of sprite from the coffee table and quickly chugged it down, she almost coughed at the burning sensation as the fizzy drink rushed down her throat and felt a big burp coming up. But she managed to suppress it.
"Hey Cagalli, can I get a refill?" Meyrin pointed at the now empty glass.
Cagalli raised an eyebrow. Dang, how did she drink that fast? "Sure, the Sprite's in the fridge, help yourself." She shrugged and turned her attention back to Athrun and her worksheet.
Meyrin masked her scowl. Damn, that didn't work…
"Thanks…" She sighed and made her way towards the kitchen. She took out the two liter bottle from the refrigerator and was about to pour herself another glass when another idea popped into her head.
Athrun and Cagalli were almost finished with a problem when a loud sound of something breaking came from the kitchen.
"What was that?" Cagalli asked before they got up and went to the kitchen. There they see a shocked Meyrin with bits and pieces of broken glass next to her feet.
"What happened? Are you okay Meyrin?" Athrun asked.
Meyrin quickly latched onto Athrun as he got closer. "Y-yes, I'm okay, it was an accident! I'm sorry Cagalli!" She managed to stutter, but was snickering in her head.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." Cagalli bend down to pick up some big pieces of broken glass, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling she was getting when she saw Meyrin hold onto Athrun so closely. She didn't even realize that she accidently cut her finger in the process.
Athrun instantly noticed. "Cagalli what are you doing!" He quickly pried himself away from Meyrin and pulled Cagalli's hands away from the glass. "You're bleeding!"
Cagalli's eyes widened at the sight of blood running down her fingers.
"Oops." Was all she managed to say as she smiled sheepishly at Athrun.
Athrun gave her an incredulous stare before dragging her towards the sink. Once there, he started shuffling through the kitchen cabinets. "Where are the band-aids?" He asked with a hint of impatience.
"It's okay Athrun, it's just a small cut." Cagalli sighed as she opened the drawer next to the cutting board and took out a small box with her uninjured hand.
Athrun rushed over to her and took a band-aid out of the box. "Go wash your finger." He instructed as he ripped off the plastic on the small band-aid.
"Eesh, someone's bossy." She feigned annoyance as she ran her right hand under cold water.
Athrun could only roll his eyes. He noticed that Meyrin was still standing in the same spot. "You're not hurt anywhere are you Meyrin?"
"Oh, u-um no, I'm fine." She stammered with a blush.
"Good, do you think you can clean the glass up? Don't use your hands, the broom is over there." Athrun instructed as he pointed to a corner.
Meyrin was a bit shocked. She couldn't believe that Athrun was pretty much ordering her to do something, she almost wished that she DID get hurt so he can worry over her instead of Cagalli. But knowing better than to whine, she complied.
"Sure…I'm on it."
"Thanks."
"My finger's washed." Cagalli said as she wiped her hands with a paper towel.
"Okay, hold out your finger." He then carefully and delicately wrapped the small band-aid around her cut. "Better?"
Cagalli wiggled her finger. "You know, you should become a nurse or something…"
Athrun laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I don't know about that…"
Meyrin could only sulk as she watched them from the corner. Damn that stupid bitch, I might just have to use my last resort…
"Okay I think we have to get back to my homework now…" Cagalli suggested. Suddenly, her stomach growled.
Athrun stifled a laugh. "Do you have a platypus living in there or something?"
Cagalli blushed furiously. "HAH you are so funny. Besides, you can't blame me for being hungry, it's already 6! Aren't you hungry?"
"Well…Yeah, now that you mentioned it." Athrun chuckled sheepishly.
"See?" Cagalli smirked. She turned to Meyrin who was now putting away the broom and dustpan. "How about you Meyrin?"
Meyrin who was too immersed in thinking about her plan that she barely even paid attention to what they said, she looked at Cagalli in confusion. "What about me?"
"Are you hungry?" Cagalli repeated.
"Oh! Yeah I'm starved!" Meyrin gave a bogus laugh.
"Okay, so Chinese or pizza?" She took out her phone from her pocket.
"Both?" Athrun gave her a hopeful look.
Cagalli shot him a glare. "Pick only ONE piggy!"
Athrun snickered. "I was kidding, let's get Chinese."
"How about you Meyrin?" Cagalli turned to the redhead. Why am I even being nice to her?
Meyrin shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever."
"Okay Chinese it is!"
8:30PM
"YAY WE'RE FINALLY DONE!" Cagalli cheered as she held up her completed worksheet with joy.
"I can't believe it took us two hours…" Athrun groaned as he rotated his head and stretched.
"Do you know how long it would have taken me BY MYSELF?"
"You wouldn't have done it." He gave her a sly smile.
Cagalli smacked his arm for the nth time that night. "Jerk!"
"I'm kidding Cagalli! Man you hit hard." Athrun complained with a pout.
"You're such a baby!" Cagalli rolled her eyes and rubbed the sore spot on Athrun's arm.
Athrun felt his cheek heating up but managed to calm himself with a sigh. "So…What should we do now?"
"I don't know, we can watch a movie?" Cagalli suggested.
Athrun considered it for a moment and grinned. "Hmm…Sounds good."
However, Meyrin wasn't so psyched for the idea. She's been thinking of a way to leave as soon as possible so her plan can go into action.
"Um, Athrun? I should be getting home, Luna's called me twice already." Meyrin nervously asked him.
Athrun furrowed his dark eyebrows. "C'mon we can stay another hour, I want to relax my brain."
"But…She said Mom wants me home." Meyrin insisted.
Cagalli mentally rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe you guys should get going, it's almost 9 and we still have school tomorrow." She sighed and gave Athrun a nudge.
"Alright…" Athrun looked dismayed but slowly got up from the couch. Cagalli also stood up and stretched.
Athrun took this opportunity to gently pull Cagalli towards him and enclosed her in a warm hug. "See you tomorrow." He whispered in her ear. He didn't know how he suddenly became so bold.
Cagalli was blushing hard. Although this is not the first time they hugged. She can't help but feel flustered each time. She felt comfortable and safe in his arms. "Yeah, goodnight." She mumbled against his chest.
Meyrin watched them as she stood by the door. Her hands curled up into a fist as she trembled with rage. She glared at Cagalli with hatred and promised herself, this will soon be over.
Athrun pulled back and slightly ruffled Cagalli's hair. "Night, don't let the bed bugs bite."
"Hey stop that!" Cagalli pouted and started pushing him towards the door of her apartment.
Athrun could only chuckle as he stumbled. "You know I can't help it!"
"Whatever!" Cagalli opened the door and pushed the still laughing Athrun out. She stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door.
Bringing both hands up to cup her face, she can still feel the warmth from the blush. She sighed and made her way towards the coffee table to clean up the mess of Chinese takeout boxes but something caught her eyes.
"Hm…Isn't that Meyrin's jacket?" Cagalli pondered.
Athrun and Meyrin were taking the second flight of stairs down when Meyrin suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" Athrun turned and asked.
"Yeah, I forgot my jacket! You go on ahead and I'll get my jacket really quick!" Meyrin said in a hurry before running back up the stairs.
"Sure…" He was tempted to go get the jacket for her so he can see Cagalli again, but decided that it wasn't such a great idea since he can still feel the blush from before.
Meyrin raced up the stairs to Cagalli's apartment door, she was about to knock on it when it swung open revealing the blonde holding a jacket in her hands.
"Oh hey you forgot your jacket! Here…" Cagalli handed the jacket to Meyrin.
"Um…Thanks."
"Alright, uh bye." Cagalli stepped in and started closing her door when Meyrin suddenly stopped her and shoved her way inside. Cagalli was shocked.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be going home?"
Meyrin narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Shut up, I'm actually here to tell you to stay the hell away from Athrun!"
Cagalli's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, who the hell does she think she is?
"You heard me! Stay away from him! He's mine!" Meyrin repeated, this time louder.
"You're kidding right? Who gave you the right to tell me what to do? And Athrun is not yours, you don't own him!" Cagalli yelled angrily.
"HAH, you think I'm kidding? Well what if I told you I know who you REALLY are?" Meyrin smiled sadistically.
Cagalli was stunned. "What are you talking about?" Her heart raced, this can't be happening.
"Don't play dumb with me, Cagalli Yula ATHHA." She spat as she emphasized the last word. "I know you are the missing Princess of ORB, so unless you want your Daddy to find out about your little vacation in PLANT, I suggest you do what I say!" Meyrin hissed.
"How? How did you know?" Cagalli stared at Meyrin in disbelief.
Meyrin smirked with triumph. "I have my ways, all you have to do is stay away from Athrun and your secret will remain a secret." With those last words, she shoved past Cagalli and walked out of the door.
Cagalli could only stand rooted to the spot. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Meyrin found out who she was…and she's blackmailing her…
Suddenly her nightmare came rushing back.
Athrun…
*That phrase was taken from the Disney Channel series Suite Life on Deck.
AN: So what did you guys think? Please review! I'll take anything, say whatever you want! Rant, complain, praise, throw rocks at me, suggestions, etc...I'll still lub joo *-*