So what's up my fellow readers? :D
Thanks to all those that have stuck by me up to chapter 5! I know, chapter 5 already?
I'd also like to say a big hearty THANKYOU to those we reviewed the last chapter. I can't believe I have 20 for 4 chapters already! Please keep reviewing, it means the world to me(:
Also, my school exams are coming up (I know, school sucks!) so I won't be updating as often BUT...I'M AIMING FOR 10+ REVIEWS IN THIS CHAPTER. IF THIS HAPPENS, I WILL POST BEFORE 14/11/10. (if not, I'll be updating in a few weeks or so, sorry. I need a big demand like 10+ reviews for me to write an extra chapter & upload it right after my exams)
Don't forget to review this story if you want it to be continued & not left on the Internet, all lonely and unfinished!
inspire-the-writer-x3
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Troop.
SYNOPSIS: After Hayley's heart is broken, there's no better thing to do but to immerse herself in monster hunting; especially when there's a rare but vicious monster on the loose. But what happens when she finds herself falling for someone she'd never expect?
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Chapter 5: Surprises
I sighed as I slipped into the perhaps, billionth dress I had worn that day as an attempt to bond with Keiko and Yuki. I glanced briefly at myself in the mirror and frowned. I normally loved shopping back at Lakewood, though the mall wasn't too big and the shops weren't bustling with the newest trends and designs. Tokyo's shopping centre was nearly as big as Lakewood itself! The mall was crowded with people and after waiting half an hour for a change room, the twins and I were finally, each in a change room, trying to find the perfect dress for the dance tomorrow evening. We had each picked out almost 6 dresses and every single one of them had something that allured us or caught our eye as a possible dress for the upcoming dance at Keiko, Yuki and Akira's school.
The only problem I had right now that was killing my mood was that I had yet to find a dress I was completely satisfied with. But every time I looked into the damned mirror, I saw that despicable purple mark a certain chocolate-eyed boy gave me. And the worst part? The boy wasn't even mine. He was Leanne's.
"Hayley, come out and let us see the dress on you!"
I shook out of my thoughts, making sure I got rid of all concerns for Jake. I hesitantly stepped out of the change room, pushing the door open as I saw Keiko and Yuki gasp and gawk as they saw me, even when they were hiding behind their change room doors.
"Do I really look that bad?" I laughed quietly, trying to not act nervous as they looked at me in shock.
"No, Hayley, you look absolutely beautiful!" Keiko exclaimed; the happiness radiating from her like she was the sun.
"I completely agree," Yuki squealed, "Look at yourself Hayley! No boy would want to take their eyes off of you!"
I blushed self-conciously, unaware of how I looked like because I had given up on finding the perfect dress, a few outfits ago. Reluctantly, I stepped aside back into my change room and just like Keiko and Yuki, I gasped at myself.
I didn't expect myself to be taken away by a dress. I knew I was girly and sure, I had fallen in love with many dresses, but this one...this one was the one. I could've gotten married in this dress and that would've been ok, even though it was mid-thigh. Ok...maybe that was a lie. I didn't want to married in a short dress. But nevertheless, the dress was absolutely exquisite.
The dress was made out of a shiny metallic white material, with a beautiful glow to it when in light- even under the dim lighting in the shopping centre's change rooms. It was strapless and had beautiful embellishments; sequins and beads of rich golds and gloomy greys, encircled the top of the dress, near the chest area. It clinched in at the waist, giving me an oddly curvier figure, as it flared out a little, with a few ruffles of creamy white lace and the same metallic white material.
"Wow..." I murmured, turning around to see the back, "This dress is amazing,"
"I agree!" Yuki screamed, as I began to chuckle, "Now since you have found your perfect dress, see if this one is perfect on me!"
I walked out of the change room and was met with Yuki in a one-shouldered emerald green dress. It had a massive frill at the area where the material fell from her shoulders, across her chest and around her upper torso. It was sleek as it skimmed her petite figure and ended in another matching frill around her knees. Yuki looked like a model.
"You look great, Yuki!" I complimented honestly, "I think this is the best dress you've tried on and I'm not just saying that because I just found my perfect dress. I'm saying it because the colour and the texture look really good on you,"
"Thank you Hayley," Yuki grinned, "That means a lot. I do like this dress too. I think I should buy it,"
"I think so too," I replied as Yuki gave me a hug.
"Hey Yuki, Hayley, what do you think of this dress?"
Yuki and I turned around and we saw Keiko twirl around in a bright dark blue halter-neck dress with quite a deep V-neck that showed off a little of her chest, but not too much so it was still classy but fun. A black sash was tied sewn onto the dress as it emphasised her tiny waist. It then sort of flowed down to her knees; the sides of the dress being a little longer than the front and back.
"It is so cute!" cooed Yuki as she analysed Keiko up and down.
"Really?" Keiko said questioningly, "I was not sure about the colour. Is it alright?"
"I think it's lovely," I smiled, "Seriously Keiko, don't overthink this. Does the dress feel comfortable? Does it make you happy? Is it in your price range? If the answers are yes to all 3 of them, I don't see why you should hesitate to buy it,"
"You are right, Hayley," Keiko giggled, "I think it is time for us to get out of here and go home to prance around in our new dresses til the dance starts!"
In a matter of minutes, we had changed and exitted the change rooms. As we left, I noticed there was an even longer queue for Japanese customers trying on potential clothes to go in their closet. I gave a sympathetic look to all of them before Yuki ordered us to give her our dresses. She would go pay for them as Keiko went to get the car. I tried to protest and ask to come again some time when I had the chance to change my American money into Japanese Yen, but they just brushed it off as a 'Welcome to Japan' present. I couldn't thank them enough for buying me the dress of a lifetime.
Everything was going alright for a day until my stomach growled in the car. The twins just laughed it off, as Yuki looked at her new green dress adoringly. I was curious on how much the dresses had costed and I kept insisting to see the reciept, but Keiko just told me that it was nothing they couldn't afford.
"Your stomach just told me it was hungry again," Yuki said, turning around to smile mischveiously at me.
"I know," I sighed in defeat, "I haven't eaten properly since I got off the plane this morning,"
"Oh my god, you are right!' Keiko exclaimed, as she forced the car to a sudden stop to do a large u-turn, "You have not eaten for the whole day! You are coming with us to get some food for you before you starve!"
"It's really not necessary Keiko, I mean-"
"Keiko is right," Yuki cut me off politely, "You need to eat. Let's go Pancake Palace ok, Keiko?"
"Sounds great Yuki," she answered, "You know how much I love the strawberry-"
Then everything happened so fast. There was a loud thump that had crashed into the back of our car. There was an ear-piercing scream. There was a split second where Keiko had commanded us to do something but I was in shock to hear it. Someone pulled on my hand, tugging our shopping bags too and led us out of the car. We ran and ran then jumped onto the sidewalk, as the car we had been in previously had exploded into a million pieces.
"What...what happened?" I murmured; my eyes brimming with tears.
"That was insane," Keiko whispered numbly, looking up to me, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, "Well I think I'm fine. Any idea why the car just exploded?"
"Maybe they can explain," Yuki squeaked, as we got up and turned our heads to see Felix, Akira and Jake.
"Are you guys alright?" Felix screamed, as the 3 boys started to run towards us.
We all briefly nodded and we saw them relax a little.
"Yuki, Keiko, I am sorry I did not inform you about this earlier," Akira apologised calmly, "We were unaware of the situation until Jake had come to my house. The monster attacks were getting stronger and-"
"What about Hayley?" Jake spat, "Where's your sorry to her?"
"I think that is your fault. I am not responsible for her. I have my own team to look-"
"That's a load of rubbish and you know it!" Jake argued, his face turning slightly red from anger.
"Look guys, it doesn't matter who wasn't informed earlier or informed now. Can someone just tell me what in the world is going on?" I sighed frustratedly.
"Well Jake decided to come over to visit me and Akira after you girls left to go shopping. After a while though, Akira suggested we should just walk around the city and make sure there wasn't any suspicious or dangerous behaviour or activity in the neighbourhood, so we decided to tag along. We took a few weapons along with us and did a basic patrol. Suddenly though, the Vortex comes out of nowhere and spits a few Bombballs out in the city," Felix explained.
"Bombballs...? I do not remember ever encountering that monster, Felix," Yuki whispered, tipping her head to the side in confusion.
"Well that's because someone has manipulated the Vortex and it's beginning to give out new creations- ones we are unable to know about. Someone is controlling the Vortex and we're getting annoyed at whoever's doing this. Even when this isn't my city, I'm pretty peeved off," Felix snorted as he rolled his eyes.
"Well what do these, uhh...bombballs do?" Keiko asked curiously.
"Didn't you just see what it did to your car?" Jake chuckled lightly, "It does exactly what its name implies. It pretty much just blows up stuff. We saw it running down the street and then it rolled into a ball and attatched itself to your car. Luckily though, someone was smart enough to get all of you out of the car before you guys were toast,"
"The monsters are gone now anyway, so let's go back home and relax a little but be completely alert and ready tomorrow, ok?" Akira suggested with a small smile on his face, "I am truly sorry to everyone that we were unable to capture the Vortex, although we did get rid of the Bombballs that were released,"
"Sounds good," Jake yawned as his eyes flickered over to my glazed ones, "But I think we should get some food first. I just realised Hayley probably hasn't eaten since this morning,"
We all nodded in agreement and walked over to Pancake Palace and sat down at a corner booth. Keiko and Yuki placed our shopping bags under the desk as they dragged me along to the bathroom. There, I was still silent and shocked and...just surprised that one more second in that car would've made me burnt and dead. I felt vulnerable and weak and useless. I didn't help the guys at all today and what was I doing instead? Trying on damned dresses.
I splashed water on my face, trying to clear whatever this uneasy feeling was. I noticed the hickey was starting to fade and I let my hair cascade around my neck so it wouldn't be too noticeable. I realised I had dark circles around my eyes, making me feel extremely tired. I washed my hands and waited for Yuki and Keiko to come out from the bathroom, before we walked back to the booth.
"We ordered for you while you were gone. I know your favourites Keiko and Yuki. And Hayley," Akira said caringly, as he placed one of his hands on mine, "I ordered a classic for you that everyone loves and I hope you enjoy it too,"
"Thankyou," the three of us chimed as we sat down in our spots.
Everyone was busily talking about their day and the monster fights and I had tried to talk to them, honestly I did. But my interest soon diminshed when my head floated to a different place and I found myself leaning on one comfortable shoulder for support.
"Hayley?" Jake whispered huskily, nudging me a little as he lifted his shoulder.
"What?" I mumbled sleepily.
"Are you alright from the explosion and everything? You seem really shaken up," he replied.
"I am really shaken up," I admitted bashfully, turning to face him, "I don't know what's gotten into me. I'm usually never like this. I actually feel scared and useless,"
"No way; Hayley...scared?" Jake chuckled softly, "You're not useless Hayley. You're actually the complete opposite and don't let any monster tell you different,"
"Thanks," I grinned, as I stared into his chocolate orbs, then made my gaze travel down his face and somehow, my eyes ended up on his lips.
"Food's here guys!" Felix announced, as a few waiters came over and presented plates of fancy looking pancakes in front of us.
I was suddenly snapped out of my trance, blaming it on my empty stomach and exhausted brain. I looked around and saw the various plates and colours located around me. Keiko and Yuki had the same order- strawberry pancakes, no doubt, with a strawberry syrup and strawberries and whipped cream on the side. Felix, being the odd boy he was, had ordered something that smelt like orange pancakes. Akira had plain looking pancakes with a few tan-coloured bits all over the place. They sort of looked like walnuts. I glanced at the menu and realised that they did sell walnut pancakes, so I assumed Akira had that. Then, I observed the boy next to me, eating his already half-gone pancakes. Obviously, Jake had chocolate chip pancakes, with chocolate chip ice-cream as the side. I looked at my plate and saw the same.
"Hayley, you have barely touched your plate," Akira stated, clearly surprised, "Is everything ok? Do you not like chocolate chip pancakes, because I thought it was an all-time favourite and-"
"Sorry, I just spaced out for a second," I smiled shakily, as I took my fork and knife and cut myself a piece, placing it in my mouth, "It's delicious!"
And it actually was. The pancake was fluffy and soft and the chocolate chips added a special touch of sweetness to it. They were almost as good as my aunty's chocolate chip pancakes when I had spent the Summer with her at her French cottage at Marseilles.
After everyone had been satisfied with the delicious food, my stomach was in heaven as my tastebuds were content with what I had just eaten. We said our goodbyes at each other as Felix and Akira walked up the street back to their house. I didn't miss the look of disgust on Jake's face as he said bye to Akira, and I certainly didn't miss the look of disapproval from Akira to Jake.
Yuki had called her mum and she had, very kindly, come and picked us up at Pancake Palace. In a matter of minutes, we had arrived back at the twin's house. We thanked her mum deeply for helping us out, especially when Keiko's car had exploded. Keiko and Yuki had a bit of a hard time explaining to their mother how the car had disappeared, but they settled for a false connection within the vehicle. I don't think their mother had bought the idea, though she let it drop anyway. When her mum told us she was going out with some of her friends from work, we all said bye to her, as she left for the door again.
"Phew, that was a close one, right guys?" Keiko sighed as she plopped down onto the sofa.
"I agree," Yuki giggled, "I have never lied to mum before though..."
"I guess it's just part of our job, yeah?" I smiled, patting Yuki on the shoulder, "Sometimes, we need to make sacrifices, no matter how much they hurt you,"
I glanced over at Jake and he was looking at me with a pensive expression. I looked away before Keiko and Yuki could notice we were staring at each other again.
"I think we have had a long day so maybe we should sleep," Keiko suggested, handing over a shopping bag with our dress in each, "Here are your dresses, Yuki and Hayley,"
"Thanks!" we replied excitedly, automatically lifting the serious mood of before.
"What are the dresses for?" Jake asked, casually but still curiously.
"Uhh...well Hayley can explain that!" Yuki answered for me, nervously, "Bye Hayley, we are off to bed!"
Behind me, I could hear Yuki and Keiko rush up the stairs. I changed my standing position to twirl around to see them as Yuki pulled on Keiko's hand.
"What did you do that for?" Keiko hissed.
Yuki murmured something to her that was too quiet for me to hear. The two ended up giggling and I scowled a little as they flashed a grin at me and ran up the remainder of the stairs.
"Wasn't that weird?"
I turned around to see Jake's brows furrowed, as he rubbed his neck with his hand- an gesture he always did when he was nervous or got awkward about something. I smiled at him to get him to relax and soon, his fidgetting had stopped and his grin matched mine. Something within my stomach flipped and I found myself getting nervous as I realised Jake was staring at me quite affectionately. I immediately tore my gaze away from him and from the corner of my eye, I saw Jake sigh.
"So are you going to tell me what the dresses are for now?" Jake asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"Well, Keiko, Yuki and Akira's school have a dance tomorrow and they've insisted us all come. As a treat, they took me shopping to find something I could wear," I stated, until I had to stop to yawn.
"You must be tired from all that shopping and whatnot. You girls do a lot of things and I have no idea how you manage," Jake smirked, "But let's go upstairs into our room before you collapse from fatigue,"
"Not everyone's lazy like you," I laughed, as we walked up the stairs, "And thanks for your concern, I guess, but I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all,"
"I guess I am pretty lazy, but at least I accept the invitation," Jake said, as we finally made it to our room.
"What invitation?" I questioned, clearly confused.
"The invitation to the stupid dance," Jake chuckled as he rolled his eyes, "No one has even mentioned it to me yet. So I guess that was what Felix was talking about when he asked me what I was wearing tomorrow night...I thought he was asking me out on a date or something,"
I couldn't help but laugh so damn hard when Jake had suggested Felix was gay. As if anyone would turn gay for Jake! I almost stopped laughing when I realised that guys might actually have turned gay for Jake if they got the chance...I mean, Jake was funny. He was hot and cute and nice and competitive and caring and...
Before my mind could've listed any more compliments about Jake, I felt two hands encircle my waist and start to tickle me. I couldn't help but make a slightly strangled sound as laughter, as his fingers tickled my sides and began to torture me, til there were tears in my eyes.
"Stop...Jake!" I screamed as I tried to back away from him but he kept his grip firm as he walked along with me til I hit a wall.
"Yes, Hayley?" he whispered smugly, "Want me to stop?"
"Of...course!" I huffed out, as his tickling grew more and more intense.
"Well you started laughing first," Jake frowned playfully, "I don't like being assumed that I'm gay. Does the fact that I'm dating Leanne mean nothing to you?"
When Leanne was mentioned, I felt my happiness instantly drop; the rapid beating of my heart due to how close I was with Jake stop and the giant smile and infectious laughter on my face completely dissolve. Without warning, I grabbed the hands on my waist and with all the courage and strength I could muster at this particularly painful moment, I pushed his hands off me. I quickly grabbed my pyjamas from my suitcase- which was just an oversized white shirt, and hurriedly ran to the bathroom to get changed. I just had to get out of there, because my chest felt like it was constricted and the places on my waist where his hands had held me felt like they were burning.
After I had changed quickly out of my clothes, I folded them up and opened the door to see Jake, already lying on the bed with his back to me. I stepped out quietly and placed the clothes into my suitcase. Sensing the cold and limited lighting, since the main lights were now closed and the only source of light was from a small lamp allocated on one of the accompanying tables that matched the bed, I walked over to the bed and slid in, trying to not make a sound. I realised that there was quite a bit of space between Jake and I, yet I could still feel electricity run between us due to the simple statement that Jake was practically sleeping right beside me. I tried to ignore the incredible thumping of my heart as I lay down and rested my head on a soft pillow.
As I attempted to fall asleep and forget about the rotten nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach for not being brave enough to stand up to Jake when he mentioned Leanne, though it was none of my business what the two of them did, I felt a wave of emotions overcome me. The feelings of terror and worry and doubts like what if I didn't survive the explosion? came rushing to me and I felt even worse. My body shook with fear as tears leaked out my eyes, and I before I had any self control, a scared whimper escaped my lips. I predicted that this would've been the worst sleep of my life.
Without warning though, I felt someone press into my back, as a hand shot out and grabbed mine. I winced and started to panic but was stopped as a warm, husky voice was heard. My heart started to flutter.
"Hey Hayley, it's ok," Jake whispered, "You're going to be fine because you're here with me now and I'll protect you to the end, even if it's the last thing I do,"
I automatically relaxed and snuggled closer to Jake, as he kissed my hair and murmured reassuring words to me til I fell asleep. All tension in my body disappeared and I felt at peace with myself as I let go of the emotions- anger, disappointment and regret, I had stored before.
And I was wrong; that night was already turning to be one of the best nights of my life.
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Oh, so the adventure heats up! Finally, the Vortex makes an appearance aye? ;D
Please tell me what you think of this chapter in a review and if the story is what you expect it to be!
REMEMBER: I'M AIMING FOR 10+ REVIEWS IN THIS CHAPTER. IF THIS HAPPENS, I WILL POST BEFORE 14/11/10. (if not, I'll be updating in a few weeks or so, sorry. I need a big demand like 10+ reviews for me to write an extra chapter & upload it right after my exams)
So please review if you want more of "There You Go Again"!
Love to hear from you soon;
inspire-the-writer-x3