Hey, everyone! It's Hannah again! Natalie did a great job with the previous chapter, as usual. Now it's my turn to write a chapter again. Natalie and I are starting to get excited because we're drawing closer to the main event/conflict of this story. Let me just say that the drama will continue. Read on and enjoy!
Alissa brushed a wayward curl behind her ear as she stared at the multiple sheets of music in her lap. She let out a small yawn and rubbed at her eyes. She had been looking at music for the past four hours and her eyes were starting to get tired.
"Here's some tea, Lissy," Alister replied, walking into the living room of their apartment with a mug full of hot tea.
Alissa couldn't help but smile at his cute nickname for her.
"Thanks, Ali," she replied, taking the mug from him and returning her gaze to her sheet music.
"How's the search going?" he asked, taking the place next to her on the couch and slipping his arm around her waist to pull her closer.
"It's not going at all. I have no idea what my song set for next week should be."
She tossed her sheet music onto the coffee table in front of them, took another sip of her tea, and leaned back until her head was resting on his shoulder.
"Well, what's the theme for Tuesday's set?" he asked, picking up some sheet music that she had discarded onto the arms of the couch.
"It's the end of the month so it's anything goes night."
"Why don't you do crowd favorites? That way you won't have to transpose anything."
"You know I hate reusing material."
He reached forward and grabbed the stack of sheet music she had placed on the coffee table. He slowly began to flip through the music, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"How many songs are supposed to be in your set?"
"Ten."
"How about Fix You by Coldplay?"
She grabbed the sheet music from his hand and shifted through it.
"Yeah, I guess that's doable."
"Okay. So that's one down."
"And still nine more to go." She let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed the sheet music she had discarded again. She gave the magenta haired male a questioning look when he took the sheet music from her hands and put it back on the table.
"Why don't you take a break to finish your tea? You've been at this for hours, maybe some time away from it will help you think."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She paused to pick up her mug and take a sip of her tea. "Thanks again for the tea, Ali."
"You're welcome, Lissy. I figured you'd need it."
She sipped her tea and sighed contentedly as he brushed his thin fingers through her curly hair.
"What time do you work tonight?"
"Three to eleven."
"Ah. I'll miss you at the party tonight."
"I'll make it up to you, tonight."
"I know you will."
She leaned in and gave him a small peck on the lips. When she pulled away, she set her mug down and grabbed her cellphone from the table.
"Okay, well it's one thirty now. That gives us a little more than an hour before you have to go to work. What do you want to do until then?"
"I can think of a few things."
The glint in his eyes made her heart start pounding as their mouths smashed together in a hard kiss. She let out a small moan of approval when his tongue slipped into her mouth. They parted briefly to take a breath before connecting their lips again. She mewled in surprise when she found herself being lifted up from the couch and carried back into her boyfriend's bedroom. The couple collapsed onto the bed and their lips finally parted.
"I love you, Alissa Todd," he replied, his breath dancing across her lips.
"Just keep kissing me," she breathed before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into another rough kiss.
xxx
"Hey! Where the heck did you come from?" Mokuba asked with a pout as Sakura's Rosalina passed his Yoshi.
"From behind you," Sakura answered with a grin as she watched her Rosalina pull ahead to first place.
"Damn! I want a rematch!" Mokuba declared when the race finished with him in third and Sakura in first.
"Sure! It's your turn to pick a stage. Oh, and no Rainbow Road."
"Fine," Mokuba said with a pout as he scrolled through the track options. The video game playing duo was in the middle of the Mushroom Gorge course when the front door opened and the elder Kaiba strode through with his briefcase in hand.
"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba greeted without moving his eyes away from the screen.
"You two are playing Mario Kart again?"
"Yep! And I'm kicking Sakura's butt!"
"Hey! I'm not doing that badly. I've beaten you at two races."
"Yeah, out of seven."
Sakura playfully nudged Mokuba in the shoulder before returning her attention back to the game.
"How was work today, Seto?"
"Hmph, average I suppose. My employees are idiots, but there were no major setbacks."
"Well, that's a good thing right?"
"Hn, I suppose."
"Oh, Seto! I almost forgot! We got an invitation today!" Mokuba remembered suddenly.
"An invitation for what?"
"Hold on." Mokuba paused the game before reaching for the coffee table and grabbing the envelope that sat on top of it. He handed it to the brunet with a smile.
"Yugi is having a party at the Game Shop. He wanted us to come. He said we could bring anyone we want."
"You know how I feel about parties."
"Aw, come on, Seto! It could be fun!"
"There's nothing fun about sitting in a room and talking with people who I dislike."
"Come on, Seto. Mokuba is right, it could be really fun."
"Sakura, Mokuba and you are welcome to go but I'm not wasting my time at a get together with the nerd herd when I could be using that time to work."
"Seto, this isn't about Ali-."
"We aren't bringing that up, Mokuba!"
The harshness in the brunet's voice shocked Sakura. In the month or so that she had been dating Seto, she had never heard to him be so short with Mokuba.
"I still have work to do. Try not to be too much of a distraction with your games."
"Okay, Seto. Sakura and I will keep it down."
The duo watched silently as the tall CEO strode up the stairs and slammed the door to his home office upstairs.
"Is he okay?" Sakura asked in concern. She wasn't sure what exactly set him off like that, but it had her concerned.
Mokuba shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. He probably wouldn't want me telling you this, but you're dating now so you have a right to know. He had a really bad breakup about seven months ago. They had been dating for more than four years."
"Oh."
"But don't feel bad!" Mokuba said quickly, realizing that his confession made Sakura feel a little awkward. "He has you now. You make him happy. That's something he hasn't felt since his breakup." An awkward silence fell between the two. After several seconds, Mokuba broke it.
"But, hey. Let's forget about it and get back to the game. I still want a rematch!"
"Okay, Mokuba. Pick a stage."
Soon, the room was filled with the sound of clicking buttons and racing sounds. As the duo played, Sakura couldn't stop her mind from wandering to what Mokuba had said. Was his breakup with his ex what caused him to be so closed off with his feelings? She tried to shake herself from those thoughts but she couldn't stop herself from fixating on Seto and his past lover.
xxx
"Hey, Yug! Where's the alcohol going?" Alissa asked as she carried several bottles into the living room where the party was taking place.
"Uh, just put it on the table with the red Solo cups!" Yugi called from the kitchen.
"Alright, Yug!" She placed her armful of bottles onto the table and headed back into the kitchen.
"Thanks again for coming over early to help set up, Alissa," Yugi replied, emptying a few large bags of potato chips into a few bowls.
"No problem. Do you need me to do anything else?"
"Could you put more ice in the cooler by the TV please?"
"Of course!" She opened the freezer and grabbed the bag of ice before walking back into the living room and emptying it into the cooler.
"Alright, I think that's everything," he replied, entering the living room with a couple bowls of chips.
"Awesome. Should we crack open a bottle?"
"Of course, Alissa. Be my guest."
She reached for the bottle of Absolut Vodka and opened the cap.
"Want a shot, Yug?"
"Sure, Alissa."
"Do you need a chaser?" she asked as she poured some of the alcohol into the shot glasses that were on the table.
"Yeah. I'll grab myself one. Do you want one as well?"
"Pft, nah. I'm good with just the shot."
"Okay, Alissa. If you say so."
Yugi grabbed one of the red Solo cups and filled it with soda before returning to Alissa's side and grabbing one of the full shot glasses.
"Alright, what are we toasting to?"
"That depends. Do we want something witty or sentimental?"
"Let's save the sentimental toasts for when everyone else is here."
"Witty it is then. Okay, let me think for a minute." Alissa paused before smiling and raising her shot glass. "To nipples. Without them, boobs would have no point."
Yugi chuckled before lightly tapping his shot glass against Alissa's. The two friends touched the shot glasses to their lips and tossed it back. He made a face and reached for his cup that was filled with soda.
"That tasted awful!" he replied after he had taken a long sip of his chaser.
"It's straight vodka. It's not supposed to taste good."
"Why do you and Tristan do these?
"Because they're fun as fuck. You want another?"
"No thanks, Alissa. I'll wait for the rest of the gang to get here."
"That's a good idea, Yug. You want a mixed drink while we wait?"
"I'll make them, Alissa. Why don't you set up the stereo?"
"Sure thing, Yug."
Not long after the stereo system was set up, the guests began to arrive. Tea was first to arrive, bringing four large pizzas and a bottle of red wine. Joey and Mai showed up shortly after her and Duke and Tristan followed behind them. About half an hour into the party, the doorbell rang again.
"Oh, I'll grab that, Yug!" Alissa called as she headed to the stairs. "Pour me another shot, okay?"
"Sure, Liss!" Joey called as Alissa descended down the stairs.
"Thanks, Joey!" Once Alissa reached the front door, she opened it to reveal a light haired brunette holding a bottle of white wine. Alissa smiled as she recognized the girl at the door.
"Sakura? Hey!" She dragged the light haired brunette into a hug. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"
"Hey, Alissa," Sakura greeted, briefly returning the hug. "I'm doing great. How are you?"
"I'm doing pretty good. Do you still work at Burger World? I haven't seen you there in a while."
"Yeah, I work Thursday through Sunday."
"Ah, that must be why. They moved entertainment night to Tuesdays. Here, come in." The ebony haired girl stepped out of the way to allow the brunette entrance before shutting the door.
"Thank you."
"So how do you know Yugi and the gang?" Alissa asked as the duo climbed up the stairs to join the party.
"Oh, I met them through one of my friends Mokuba."
"Mokuba? Like Mokuba Kaiba?"
"Yeah. You know him?"
"Of course. I used to-." Before Alissa could finish telling Sakura that she used to date Mokuba's asshole brother, the doorbell rang again. "I'd better get that. You can just head upstairs. Alcohol goes on the table by the window."
"Okay. Thank you, Alissa."
Alissa approached the door as Sakura climbed up the rest of the stairs to greet the party guests. When Alissa opened the door, she found Mokuba standing outside.
"Little Kaiba!"
"Hey, Alissa!"
The duo wore broad smiles as they dragged each other into a tight hug. They had grown very close in the time that Alissa and Seto were dating and since the couple's break up, they hadn't seen each other.
"I haven't seen you in so long! How are you, Mokuba?"
"I'm doing great. How about you, Alissa?"
"I've been pretty good. We need to go out sometime, Mokuba. It's been too long."
"Yeah, it has. I really miss hanging out with you, Alissa."
"I miss hanging out with you too."
"You should come over soon. We can play Super Smash Bros. like we always used to."
"I'm sorry, Mokuba but I can't. I just can't be around your brother."
"You know that he didn't really cheat on you right? It was some hoax."
"I don't believe that, Mokuba."
"Why? Don't you trust him?"
"Look, I don't really want to talk about this now okay? Let's just forget about everything for tonight, okay?"
"Okay, Alissa."
The duo headed up the stairs towards the party.
"Little Kaiba is here!" Alissa called as she reentered the living room.
"Hey, Mokuba!" Yugi greeted. How have you been?"
"I've been great, Yugi. It's good to see you guys!"
"It's good ta see ya too, Mokuba," Joey replied with a smile. "Alrighty, are we all ready for anotha' shot?"
The group of friends that were legal cheered and reached for their shot glasses.
"Liss, would ya like ta do da honors?" Joey asked, raising his shot glass.
"Sure. To good friends and good times."
The friends echoed her and lightly clanked their glasses together before chugging the shot. The doorbell rang again about an hour later. Alissa volunteered to get it again and headed down the stairs. She opened the door and grinned at the red head on the other side.
"Ali! I thought you had work?"
"One of the new employees set the oven on fire."
"Oh my God!"
"Don't worry, no one got hurt and nothing was damaged. My boss just decided it would be best to close up early to prevent people from getting sick from the smoke."
"Well I'm glad you're here." She pressed a chaste kiss and lead him up to the party.
"Guess who got off early!"
"Alister! I'm glad you could make it!"
"So am I, Yug."
"Do you want anything to drink?"
"I'd better not. I'm driving."
"Alright. If you change your mind, let me know and I'll get you something."
"Thanks, Yug."
The party was in full swing with the friends drinking, dancing, laughing, and sharing stories. The sound of someone knocking on the door cut Alissa off in the middle of the story she was telling Tea and Sakura. Yugi made to get up to get the door but Alissa stopped him.
"Don't worry, Yug! I'll get it. You just keep hosting!" The sounds of the party faded slightly as she walked down the stairs. She opened the door and the smile on her face dropped. She pursed her lips before slamming the door in the face of the tall man outside. The door didn't get far before a strong hand stopped it from closing all the way and pushed it open again.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"I'm here for my brother. Move out of my way."
"Your brother is nineteen. You seriously can't let him enjoy himself without you hovering over him, Kaiba?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but Mokuba requested me to stop by before I went to KaibaCorp-."
"You're going to KaibaCorp? You realize it's almost midnight right?"
"We have a conference call scheduled with the California branch that Mokuba requested to be a part of. Now move out of my way."
"I'm not letting you in."
"Tch, it's rather ill-mannered to answer the door to someone else's home," he replied coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And it's rather ill-mannered to show up where no one wants you."
"Hn, I have as much a right to be here as you do. Your dorky little friends invited me too, but I decided that I had better things to do with my time. Now, don't make me repeat myself again and move out of my way." He didn't wait for her to respond before he pushed his was past her and into the game shop.
Alissa was about to respond but the sound of someone calling her name pulled her attention away from her dark haired ex.
"Hey, Alissa?" Sakura called, making her way down the stairs. "The gang is doing another round of shots and wanted to know if you wanted one as well. Should I tell Joey to pour one for-? Oh, hey, Seto. I didn't know you were here. Mokuba! Seto's here!"
Alissa froze when she heard Sakura call Seto by his first name.
"Did she just call you Seto?"
"Oh, do you guys already know each other?" Sakura asked after hearing Alissa say Seto's first name.
"Oh, yes. We know each other quite well. We were together for more than four years."
Sakura was slightly taken aback. Alissa is Seto's ex? The sound of several footsteps pounding down the stairs pulled Sakura's attention away from Alissa, though Alissa's gaze stayed focused on Sakura and Seto.
"Lissy, are you okay?" Alister asked, coming to stand behind Alissa and lightly grabbing hold of her arm. Everyone knew that Seto and Alissa's breakup was still a rather sore spot for the dark haired girl, and Sakura had unwittingly added fuel to Alissa's hate filled fire.
"Just peachy," Alissa answered with a fake smile, pulling her arm out of Alister's grasp. "So you guys are dating now?"
"Yes, we are," Sakura replied, an innocent flush staining her cheeks.
"Aw, how sweet," Alissa cooed through tightly gritted teeth. "How long have you guys been together?"
"A little over a month."
"How cute. We'll just have to see how long before his eyes start to wander."
"Alissa!" Mokuba cried in shock.
"Watch yourself!" Seto growled.
"What? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, stunned by Alissa's words.
"Has he ever talked about me, Sakura? No? Want to know why we broke up?"
"Stop talking, Alissa!"
"Alissa, maybe you shouldn't do this," Alister said gently, grabbing hold of her arm again in an attempt to guide her away. Alissa glared at her boyfriend and pulled her arm free again.
"No. Sakura deserves to know exactly what kind of person she's perusing a relationship with. Seto and I broke up because-."
"Alissa, I'm warning you!"
"He cheated on me. And I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before he cheats on you."
The room fell silent. For several moments, no one dared to break the pregnant pause. Eyes flashed between Alissa and Seto, waiting for one of them to explode.
"Mokuba. Sakura. We're leaving," the brunet CEO hissed out through tightly clenched teeth.
"Seto? Is that true?" Sakura asked.
"Of course it's not true. Don't be as stupid as Alissa is."
"If it isn't true then why are you running away?" Alissa asked heatedly.
"I'm not going to waste my time arguing with a child."
"Call me a child again, Asshole!"
"Alissa don't," Alister said soothingly, grabbing hold of both of Alissa's shoulders this time. "He isn't worth it."
"Hn, so I see Alister is acting as your rebound once again."
Alissa balled up her fists and growled. How dare he insult Alister! The fucking prick!
"For your information he is not a rebound. We've been together for three months and he's a better boyfriend than you'll ever be. He isn't too much of a coward to show me that he cares about me and he protects me better than you ever could!"
"I wouldn't trust someone to protect me who couldn't even protect their own brother."
Alissa's next move was so sudden that no one could react in time to stop her. Using the entire force of her body, she swung an open palm into Seto's cheek. The force of the slap was so great that it sent the brunet stumbling back a couple steps.
"Seto!" Sakura cried in shock and concern.
"What the hell, Alissa?" Mokuba asked angrily.
"What's wrong with you, Alissa?"
"What's wrong with me? Your boyfriend is a fucking asshole, that's what's wrong with me, Sakura!"
"You didn't have to hit him. That was uncalled for!"
"Listen, bitch. The only thing that was uncalled for was what he just said to Alister! He had that slap coming since the day he cheated on me!"
"If he said he didn't cheat on you, then he didn't cheat on you. It's not his fault you're too insecure to trust him."
"Say that again, bitch ass!"
"Alissa, don't!" Alister wrapped his arms around Alissa's middle, trapping her arms by her side. "Be the better person, Alissa. This fight isn't worth it."
"Let me go, Alister! I need to punch this bitch!"
"Alissa, calm down."
Sakura turned to Seto who had been silent since the slap. His cheek was bright red and his eyes were frozen in a harsh glare.
"Are you alright, Seto?"
"I'm fine. Let's go, Sakura. Mokuba, come. We're leaving." The brunet turned over his shoulder and approached the door with Mokuba and Sakura at his side.
"Enjoy your sloppy seconds, Asshole!" Alissa shouted.
"Hn, and you enjoy yours, Alissa."
Alissa saw red as she tried to squirm out of Alister's arms again but his grip stayed strong.
"Asswipe!" She strained against Alister's hold. At this point, she knew going after Seto and Sakura was stupid. She just wanted Alister to let go of her.
"Alister, I'm fine! Let go!"
Alister resisted for a couple seconds before reluctantly letting her go.
"Are you okay, Lissy?"
Alissa turned to look at her friends, a slight blush covering her cheeks. That was the first time she and Seto had seen each other since their breakup. She hadn't meant for things to get that much out of hand. A wave of emotion suddenly settled over her and she had to fight the urge to cry. Sure, she was angry about what happened, but a large portion of that anger was used as a cover for the hurt and betrayal she really felt.
"I want to go home."
"Of course. Let's go home." Alister paused to turn to Yugi and the group. "Thanks for having us, Yugi. We'll see you guys around, okay?"
The group nodded as Alister gently guided Alissa out of the game shop. The couple climbed into the red head's car and drove down the road in the direction of their apartment. The ride was silent except for the sound of the running engine. As soon as the car was parked in front of their apartment, Alissa stormed out of the car and up to their apartment. The red head sighed before climbing out of the car himself and heading up to the apartment. When he entered the apartment, he could hear clattering coming from the kitchen. He strode into the kitchen to find Alissa scrubbing viciously at a pot sitting in the sink.
"Alissa? Lissy? Are you okay?"
"Fucking excellent," she snapped back.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"No," she answered tonelessly as she scrubbed another dish in the sink.
"Alissa-."
"I said I don't want to talk about it!"
He set his jaw in irritation. He should have known that she'd avoid the problem. He reached into the sink and grabbed the dish scrubber from her hand.
"Can you stop?" she snapped, attempting to grab the scrubber back. "Alister, seriously! I'm trying to get the dishes done!"
"No, you're avoiding the problem."
"I told you that I don't want to talk about it, Alister!"
"Distracting yourself from the problem isn't going to make it go away, Lissy."
"You think I don't know that? I know ignoring the problem isn't going to do anything. I know that. But sometimes I like to at least try to pretend that that asshole didn't rip my heart out and step on it!"
He surprised her by pulling her into a tight hug. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him tightly in return.
"I hate him," she said quietly.
"He never deserved you, Alissa."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore."
He pulled just far enough to kiss her on the forehead.
"We should get to bed alright? We'll do dishes in the morning."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Some sleep will probably make me feel better."
He moved his hand up to cup her cheeks. He leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
"I love you, Lissy."
"I love you too, Ali." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers in another searing kiss.
xxx
"What is wrong with her?" Sakura asked heatedly as the limo drove down the road. "Who does she think she is treating us like that?"
"Hn, just ignore her," Seto replied, resting his chin on his palm in a bored manner.
"You want me to just ignore her?"
"That's what I said."
"No! We can't just ignore what happened! She struck you, Seto. Doesn't that bother you?"
"Hn, not really. Alissa never was that great at controlling her temper."
"And that makes her behavior alright?"
"Just drop it, Sakura."
"Why are you defending her?"
"I am not defending her. I'm just explaining to you that you shouldn't take her behavior personally. That's just the way she is."
"Do you still care about her?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said, Seto. Do you still care about her?"
"Tch, don't be stupid. My relationship with Alissa is in the past where it belongs."
The brunette sighed. She hadn't meant to accuse him of still having feelings for his ex.
"I'm sorry, Seto. The way she treated you just made me so angry!"
"You have nothing to apologize for."
"I guess."
The limo pulled up in front of Sakura's home.
"Well, I guess I'd better head inside."
"Yes. Mokuba and I need to get to the office."
"Goodnight, Mokuba," she replied turning her head to the younger Kaiba as she climbed out. "Goodnight, Seto."
"Goodnight, Sakura."
The brunette leaned her head back into the limo to place a soft kiss on Seto's lips. The kiss lasted a few seconds before the couple separated.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Well, there we have it. Chapter five of ASTF. This took me forever to write, which I feel bad about since Natalie is always on top of her shit. Life just kind of hit me with a lot of shitty things the last month or so. But, things are getting better which is always a positive. Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed. Let us know what you guys think and Natalie will be writing the next chapter. Until next time, peace out girl scouts.