Disclaimer: I'm not good enough to own pot

Chapter 3: Party At Tezuka's House!

"Bye mom and dad!" I exclaimed as I ran down the stair at a "let's have a tennis match" speed.

"Mina be careful!" Dad warned

"My..my. Many people say my daughter is cute and ladylike but they never saw this side of her." My mother chuckled as she put her hand through my smooth chocolate brown hair.

"Haha the genetics are inherited. You guys are deceiving also! Daddy may seem like a kind boss but no one knows how stingy and messy he is!"

"Hey Mina!" my dad tried to catch me to tickle me but my tennis skills has given me the agility. I grabbed a carton of orange juice and headed toward the door.

When I exited my gate, Tezuka was already standing in front of his gate.

"Morning Tezuka Kun!" and looked at him with my usual smile as I approached him.

"Morning Aizawa san." His expression was stoic and indifferent, which I am used to by now.

"Aizawa san, today is my mother's birthday. She wanted to ask if you and your parents are able to come over."

"Oh I think my mother mentioned that to me." I scrunched up my face to recall if my mother said anything about it.

"Aizawa san can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure what is it?" I was surprised since Tezuka was always so independent.

"Can you help me select a gift for my mother?"

"Sure! I need to look for a gift for your mother also."

"Oh no it's fine. Please don't worry about it."

I tried to suppress my laughter but I couldn't.

"Aizawa san did I say something disturbing?"

"No" I breathed out while laughing. "Hahah sorry Tezuka kun you talk so polite it's hard to believe you're a guy! You don't have to be so polite or you'll become too girly!"

"…."

Though he was silent, I saw him smirk as he was looking down. I hope pretty soon he can show me his emotional expressions…

Time passed by quickly since I was busy for the whole day and it was time for me and Tezuka to buy gifts.

"Ah Tezuka kun turn right here." I said as I pointed to a small gift shop called Bouquet.

"Isn't this store cute? I saw it when I was exploring around the other day."

As usual, I received the silence as an answer so I searched through the shelf of stuffed animals first.

"Tezuka kun what do you think of getting her a bouquet of flowers?" I asked as my eyes wondered toward the flower cooler.

"I'm not sure. Can I leave it to you Aizawa san?"

"Okay but do you want it wrapped like that (points at the Hong Kong style wrap) or do you want it wrapped with cellophane and a bow?"

"I think that's nice. (points at the Hong Kong wrap)."

"Then what color do you want the roses to be dipped in? Red is for passion, pink is for innocent love and yellow is friendship. Ehh I suggest pink."

"Okay…"

While the flowers were being wrapped, I was staring at a stuffed animal shaped like a huge rooster.

"Aizawa san what are you looking at?" Tezuka said curiously eyeing my furry friend.

"Isn't this cute?" I exclaimed as I smiled back at his horrified expression. At that moment, I accidentally touched comb of rooster.

"You're so cute!" I told the rooster while smiling at it. "Ehh the top of the head is movable?" (Moves the comb again)

"I love you rooster!"

"Uh oh it recorded my voice…"

Tezuka gave me a grin that seems to show that I broke down his wall of insecurity.

While we stood there smiling, the salesperson said that she was finished wrapping.

"Hmm I think I'll come back with my mom to determine what your mom wants. Middle aged women should know the ideal gift for each other.

We walked back quietly as usual until we reached our homes

"Aizawa san did you know that the birthday party is formal?"

"Eh? I didn't know but I don't mind since my parents always have formal parties to attend."

"Ok see you at 6 then"

(Yawns) I was pretty tired and I didn't feel like attending the party. But of course, knowing my parents, they will drag me even if I was sleeping. I ended up dressing in my dark purple semi-formal dress that was decorated with glitters and flowers. I left my hair straight down my back since I just washed it and placed a glittering purple headband on my head. I didn't put any make up but I decided to curl my eyelashes. Tezuka's gates were open at 6 and I got to take a good look at his garden. Many fruit trees and flowers but what I saw most of was bonsai. I wanted to stay to look at the plants more but I decided to go in first with my parents to greet the Tezukas first. His house was exquisite. Floors and stairs covered with burgundy colored carpet that may be similarly served for a queen walking down the red carpet, white walls that gleamed due to the coat of wax over it and huge grand piano matched well with the red carpets.

As we walked in, we caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Tezuka chatting with their acquaintances and Tezuka around his tennis friends: Kikumaru Eiji, Fuji Syusuke, Oishi Syuichiro, and Kawamura Takeshi and Inui Sadaharu.

I had no idea they were so intimate outside of school. They seemed to have noticed me but I walked up to greet Mrs. Tezuka first since it was her birthday. Following my mom, I greeted her with a hug and wished her a happy birthday. She introduced me to her husband, who was as rigid as her son but also courteous and sincere. Just as I turned around, I came face to face with the red head Eiji again.

"Mina Chan come over here to talk to us!" Kikumaru cheerfully said as he gently tugged on my arm.

I gave a small bow as I walked up to the group of class mates. I noticed Tezuka was wearing a lavender shirt and three stoned amethyst necklace that was the exact color as my dress.

"Thank you for awhile ago Aizawa san. My mother loved the flowers."

"Oh no problem, you decided most of it anyway."

"Nya I told you guys Tezuka was keeping Mina chan to himself! They already went on a date already!"

Tezuka turned into a shade of burgundy while the rest of us chuckled.

We chatted about tennis or more like we listened to Kikumaru and Oishi talk about tennis, until my mother called me.

"Mina can you play the piano for Mrs. Tezuka? We were talking about you and she was interested to hear you play."

"Ehh in front of everyone?" I whispered in horror.

"(nods) you should be used to it. You've had recitals since you were 8."

I wouldn't have any problem if the group of guys were not there…

"Honey this would be a personal present to Mrs. Tezuka from you"

"ok…ay" I reluctantly agreed because I saw Mrs. Tezuka looking at me from 2ft away.

Mrs. Tezuka looked content as as she saw me walk towards the piano and she sat on the chair next to the piano.

Everyone stared at me and became silent when I sat on the piano bench. I felt nervous but I covered it up with a smile towards Mrs. Tezuka. I felt the seigaku boys' gaze on me like nails being driven on my back. Painful yes, but I hope I can get this over with fast.

So I played the piece I had memorized recently: Nocturne in E flat major by Frederic Chopin. When I started to play the piano, nothing was going through my head except for the next music note. The duration was 4Minutes and 5 seconds. I pressed hard at times to emphasize the crescendo and pressed softly to change the dynamics. In what felt like 30 seconds, I was done with the piece. Everyone started clapping and when I stood up, I gave a small bow facing Mrs. Tezuka.

"Nocturne in E flat major by Chopin isn't it mina chan?" Mrs. Tezuka questioned me, her eyes slightly filled with tears.

"Hai."

"I used to love that piece! I used to dance to it very often!" she said nostalgically.

"I'm very impressed. Though you are young, you played that piece as though a shadow of Chopin was with you." Mr. Tezuka said in a bass voice.

Wow that's how Tezuka kun got his deep voice.

"I'm honored" I gave another bow towards the Tezukas.

"Talk about dance shall we all dance?" Mrs. Tezuka said cheerfully.

To my astonishment, all of the guests exclaimed "Yes!"

Dance music was heard throughout the huge living room such as Waltz, Polka and Samba.

Not knowing what to do, I tried to walk back to my parents. I was surprised at myself for being so anti-social. Usually, I would walk around trying to get to know as much people but I couldn't help it. I felt extremely shy around the Seigaku boys. Unfortunately, to get to my parents, I had to walk by the Seigaku boys.

"Aizawa san you were great!" Oishi complimented which gave me the impression of a mother hen jumping up and down.

"Yeah you looked like a pro!" Kawamura was calmer without a raquet.

"Good Data…good data…" Seigaku's data machine mumbled.

"You look so hot sitting there with that serious expression nya!"

"Kikumaru Eiji!" Tezuka, Fuji and Oishi exclaimed at the same time.

"Then I'm honored" I laughed at Kikumaru's remark I felt relieved that they liked my performance.

"Aizawa san do you dance?"

"Yes but I haven't danced in a while…" I answered as I stared into the crystal blue eyes that rarely opens.

"Okay then can I have the honor to dance with you?"

Before I could answer, Fuji dragged me on to the dance floor. I heard Kikumaru yelling something but I couldn't hear the exact words since a samba song was playing. Great, this involves a lot of spinning…I should have waited for waltz or something…

As I predicted, I was forced to spin one after another but I noticed Fuji kun was a great dancer. His grip on my hand was not too tight or loose, he placed his hand firmly on my waist and his quick foot work led me easily.

"Wow Fuji Kun you're a great dancer!"

"Thank you. So are you. My sister loves dancing and she practices with me whenever she needs to go to a party or a ball."

"Oh you have a sister? What is she like?"

But before Fuji was able to answer the question, I felt a hand pulling me away from Fuji. By the glimpse of red hair I figured out it was Kikumaru. Oh my..this guy is too energetic.

"Hoi time to switch Fuji!" Fuji smiled and let go of my hand.

"Hi Kikumaru kun" man I'm tired…"you dance also?"

"Of course I'm a pro danya!"

And the words Pro and energetic was the exact words to describe Kikumaru. On a cha cha cha song, his energy fit perfectly and he furiously spun me around and in addition, he performed a 360 spin.

"Kikumaru kun do you…"

"Just call me Eiji everyone does except for Tezuka"

"Oh then (hesitates) Eiji do you dance waltz? Seems like with your characteristics, you don't like waltz?"

"Ehh? Why nyat? That's Kikumaru special!"

And sure enough he proved me wrong when the next song turned out to be waltz. His lively characteristics seem to have evoked the real quality of waltz. It was a lot of fun to dance with Kikumaru since he was so carefree. However Oishi was next in line.

"Aizawa san may I have this dance?"

I nodded along with a smile and let go of Kikumaru's hand. Looking at his bangs made me have the desire to tape it up on his head. Carefully, I suppressed my giggles as I stepped back to avoid stepping on his foot for the Polka. Oishi was not a great dancer but he was a gentle man that fits the image of Polka. His foot work is slow yet so accurate that it was easy for me to follow, making our movements more graceful.

"Oishi kun, how do you know how to dance?" I questioned to tear his gaze away from his feet.

"Being Eiji's friend has many benefits including dance skills."

"Oh wow you guys sure have a strong friendship. So who leads when you two dance?"

"We take turns since I need to learn how to lead also."

"Oh I see… (grins devilishly) which role do you like better?"

"Aizawa san! Are you trying to say I fit the female part better?"

"(LOL) I'm just asking you Oishi kun…"

"(blushes) I think the female part since I don't have the responsibility of leading."

After his response, we both bursted out laughing. I had a feeling his response was what he had said.

Tired and thirsty, I walked back to where the Seigaku boys were sitting and Fuji handed me a cup of fruit juice.

"Thank you. No wonder you're known as a tensai, you're so psychic!" I retorted as I sat down next to him. (Noticing Inui and Kawamura were missing)"Oh? Where's Inui kun and Kawamura kun?"

"Hoi too bad he was taken by that woman, Shiba san, I think from Monthly pro tennis I told him he can take Mina chan next and Inui was kidnapped by one of Mrs. Tezuka's daughter."

"Wow Inui kun is mote mote!" ( Mote mote means easily liked by the opposite gender) I laughed as I gazed at the back of a black haired girl and a nervous looking Inui. The girl's head came to Inui's chest, symbolizing great height difference. But even so I thought they made a cute looking couple.

Just when I thought I'll rest my brain from figuring out what dance the music asked for, my eyes fell on Tezuka. Tezuka kun had been standing there the whole time…he must be bored. I felt obligated to dance with him since I danced with everyone else except for him and Kawamura kun.

I got up slowly and walked toward Tezuka and took hold of his hands.

"Tezuka kun will you dance with me?" I inquired with a soft expression as I looked into his chestnut brown eyes.

"(Hesitantly) But Aizawa san aren't you tired? Besides, I don't really know how to dance."

Oh I see now you don't know how to dance! Is that why you're so hesitant right now?

"(Laughs) I'm fine and I'll show you how to dance. It might be helpful for other parties that you would need to attend."

While I held onto his bony hands, I slowly pulled him to the dance floor. We caught the guests' attention since they mostly thought of Tezuka as an anti-social boy.

"Tezuka kun the basic hold position for (Pauses to determine what type of dance it is) …rumba is put your back straight."

My left hand smoothed his back to urge him to straighten his back. I felt his back twitch by the way. Your left hand holds my right hand and your right hand on my waist.

He nervously placed a hand on my waist but due to his insecure feeling, his fingers tickled my waist.

"Ahhh ….Sorry Tezuka kun I'm sort of ticklish…don't move your finger too much. Oh and relax…I won't hurt you so don't hold on to my hand too tight."

He obediently released the tension on his hand

"Okay then in rumba, the female leads so follow me. (Puts the right foot back and he follows though with a wrong foot)

Oh my…this will take awhile…Tezuka has no music rhythm inside of him…

After about 2 songs, he had stepped on my foot three times

Me: Tezuka kun did you want to try leading me for awhile?

"Sure but Aizawa san how is your foot?"

"(Laughs) Oh it's fine don't worry about it. I was worse when I started."

"When did you start?"

"(Stepping up to follow him) mmm like when I was about 7 because my parents had to attend parties for business negotiations and stuff like that. My father taught me how to dance but he had a hard time since I was really ticklish." I chuckled at my childhood memories.

Tezuka smirked again and he motioned for me to spin and pulled me in afterwards.

"Wow Tezuka kun when did you learn to do that?"

"I was watching the other guys dance with you."

"Oh wow A+ students can just watch and learn huh? You must be a natural born dancer. Oh I love this song!"

"This song?" he questioned as he tilted his head to listen to the song.

"Yes, it's from a movie titled "Innocent steps" and the song is called Thousand Years by Kang Eun Soo."

Moment, you came to my heart just by chance to me…

you don't seem to be a stranger
It was so long for you to finally find me

For 1000 years I've been waiting for you
More than million tears fall in eternal love
Remember forevermore,
We will stand for 1000 years

Sometimes I know it will not be easy with you
Until then I will pray for our true love
Don't ever forget, my love
We will be together

For 1000 years I've been waiting for you
More than million tears fall in eternal love
Remember forevermore,
We will stand for 1000 years

Don't say I don't want to hear you say good bye
Please promise me you will always be my love, my love

For 1000 years I've been waiting for you
More than million tears fall in eternal love
Remember forevermore,
We will stand for 1000 years

As I listened to the song, I gently spun and placed my head close to Tezuka's shoulder.

Mean while…

"Hmm this looks like a matter of time…" Kawamura blurted out.

"Cuteness can sure melt the bitter part off a bittersweet person." Fuji added, his eyes concealed.

"Oy Should we be gossiping? What if Aizawa san doesn't think of Tezuka that way? She danced with all of us also except with Taka san and Inui. What if she just didn't want to leave out Tezuka?" Oishi, the mother hen fluttered around.

"That might be true…She's sweet but she doesn't seem as simple as she wants us to believe." Of course the tensai always had to give an "I know something you don't know" comment to maintain his nickname.

"Nya? Me confused but like she's one of the best girls I've ever met."

"Yeah, she's so fun and talented." Oishi chimed in.

"She might be just the one for Tezuka. Any one want to bet on how much time it takes for them to get together?" Oh how Fuji loved to bet.

"Hmm she does look good with Tezuka but hoi I want her too! (pouts)"

"I think within 2 years. (Smiles that sadistic smile)" Tensai was sure loving this.

"Hmm 50 chance they'll get together in junior high year. 50 is any time beyond that. I can never predict Tezuka right" the data man huffed and puffed from his dance.

While the tennis boys were having fun betting and gossiping at our expenses, Tezuka and I slowly danced in a circular motion to my favorite song.

Review Please! I really want to know your opinions! So who would you guys want to dance with if you were given the chance?