A/N: Hi! Good news! Finals are over, so I guess I'll have more time to write and type :) Sorry if this update's late, but I have a legitimate reasons:P May I just say, that I don't think Brad Pitt looks ugly. Why am I saying this? Read the story and find out! By the way, many, many thanks to the people who have reviewed this story :) I love you guys so much! And thanks to lurkers there who are reading too ;) Also, a big congratulation is in order! The archive is getting new stories and chapters! Hurrah!
Reviews, criticisms, and flames are very welcomed. But the review button down there's really lonely, so please show it some love:D Other than that, please enjoy chapter 18!
Disclaimer: I do not own Marimite or any of its characters. All belongs to Oyuki Konno.
Chapter 18: More Than Friends
"I'll be downstairs in a minute!"
Yumi finished making last second fixes on her pale blue dress. She looked once more at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. She didn't even know how she managed to put on that bridesmaid dress in the first place. Let's just say it took all her will power to actually wake up and make herself look like a human being presentable enough to attend a wedding. She must be the worst maid of honor in the history of maid of honors.
"Yumi would you please hurry up? We are going to be late!" Yuuki shouted from downstairs.
"I think we're just on schedule Yuuki." Yumi replied with annoyance.
"Well I'm going ahead. Kaoru arrived here just now to pick you up. He said he called for taxi not too long ago. I'll see you later. Bye!" Before she could answer back, a thud from the front door followed suit.
"Bye..." Yumi trailed off. Who knew her brother would be so excited to attend the wedding? She looked at herself at the mirror for the final time. She was wearing a light blue strapless dress with a faint white shawl around her. Behind her right ear was a white rose, and her auburn hair was cascading down just above her shoulders. She was wearing light make-up; light foundation and tone powder covering her face along with a hint of pink on both of her cheeks. Her eyelashes have mascara, therefore making them darker and longer. Eyeliner made her exquisite eyes sharper, bolder. More defined. She exhaled rather audibly once more
This was it.
This was the day, the day where her heart will bleed an ocean. Speak now, or forever hold your peace, will the priest say, and she'll just sit there like a lifeless doll and speak no words of protest. This was the day where she was powerless to do anything as the love of her life gets married to a guy who doesn't love her like a husband should, not to mention who's also gay.
Finishing her final inspection, Yumi went and closed her bedroom door behind her and began to walk her way towards the living room. As she went down the stairs, she can't help but think of worst case scenarios that would happen at the wedding.
Crying.
Painful crying.
She's afraid that she can't control her emotions and her body; those big. fat teardrops would start rolling down her cheeks as soon Sachiko's vocal chords produce those two, heart-wrenching words.
I do.
"You look beautiful Yumi-chan." A gentle voice startled Yumi away from her ramblings. A cheeky smile began to form on her face as Yumi replied with a laugh.
"And you don't look that bad either Kaoru-kun."
Yumi's comment made Kaoru snort."Pssh you know I don't look bad at all. In fact, I look like Brad Pitt with a handsome black suit minus the beard of course."
Yumi placed her hand on her mouth as to stop laughter from escaping as she stood in front of the young man."Oh God. Did you just compare yourself to Brad Pitt and told me your handsome?" Yumi incredulously asked while both went towards the front door.
Confused, Kaoru nodded. Yumi on the other hand couldn't contain her laughter anymore and started laughing like a complete lunatic. She continued laughing; ignoring the fake pissed off look Kaoru was shooting at her way. A minute passed before the young girl could even form coherent sentences. Kaoru just stared at her the whole time and tried to look angry at the girl, but failed miserably as he too, joined the former Rosa Chinensis in laughter. They were still at it by the time Yumi closed the door behind her with a click.
A few giggles here and there were heard as the two continued to walk down the path that leads to the neighbor streets."What's so funny about me looking like Brad Pitt?" Kaoru inquired.
"Well, if you want to know..." Yumi wiped her eyes as she continued."..you do know that he's not that good-looking anymore right? And the fact that he's not young anymore isn't helping."
"So you're saying all guys who are in their late-forties don't look good anymore?"
Yumi quickly shook her head in disagreement."No, no, no. It was funny because my mind just created a picture of a 47 year old Kaoru Sakomoto. And you do not want to see that. And would you quiet down? If you haven't forgotten we're at a sidewalk."
"And what's so funny about me looking in my late-forties 30 years from now hmmm?" Kaoru stopped and placed his hands on his hips.
Yumi turned to face Kaoru, pink lips curled into a pleasant smile once more." Let's just say you have a slightly huge belly like...hmm let's see...like Santa Claus'."
"For your information Ms. Fukuzawa by the time I reach 47 I'll have six pa-" He was interrupted in mid-sentence by Yumi's exclamation.
"The taxi's here!"
Following Yumi's line of sight, Kaoru indeed found a yellow car getting bigger and bigger as it came closer. The taxi slowed its speed and completely stopped in front of the two, as if already knowing its passengers. Being the gentleman that he was, Kaoru went towards the car, opened the door, and gestured for the lady to enter first.
"After you, Yumi-chan." Kaoru said with sudden formality.
"Arigatou Kaoru-kun."
Yumi made herself comfortable in the vehicle. The interior was as good as the exterior. It was all black leather, and it was very clean. The car was highly maintained indeed. Not a moment sooner the door on the other side opened and Kaoru took a sit beside her and closed the door.
"Where would you like to go?" The driver inquired while making eye contact with both of them through the back view mirror.
"Could you please take us to St. Mary's Cathedral?"
"Of course. Please fasten your seatbelts."
Both followed the driver's instruction for safety reason obviously. After that was done, the car started to move and gain speed. Soon, Yumi looked at the moving buildings through the window and sighed heavily. She felt her chest tighten and her throat threatening itself to close up, making it hard for her to breathe. Her heart was pounding like never before, and it was beating hard in a not so good away. Her dread was becoming bigger as they drew nearer and nearer to the destination. She was afraid, terrified even, that when she sees Sachiko on her wedding dress, she just might lose control and break down right there.
"...mi-chan?" Yumi broke away from her trance and turned her head to the source of the voice.
"Yumi-chan? Are you okay?" Kaoru asked worriedly.
"I'm okay. You don't need to be worried about me, really." Yumi replied with fake reassurance while sporting a fake smile. 'Am I that easy to read?'
"Oh, but I think I should be worried about you. Are you ready to face this?" Kaoru looked at her with eyes that said, Look at me and answer truthfully.
Yumi's pretend smile slowly vanished as she looked away, not wanting to face the person who can see through her feelings. She looked away from the only person who knew and understood what she was going through, because he was going through it too. They both were.
Then, Yumi felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and stared at Kaoru while he repeated the painful question.
"Are you ready?"
Taking a deep breath, Yumi exhaled slowly. Her heart was now on the verge of complete failure. It was as if, it was squeezing the life out of itself. It was that agonizing. The feeling of one's heart on the brink of self destruction was that painful.
"Yes. I'm ready to face and accept the fact that Sachiko-sama's going to get married, and hopefully I'll find it in my heart to smile, and say congratulations." Yumi whispered brokenly, her throat constricting terribly, making it hard or her to even breathe, much the less talk. Soon she felt an arm snake around her neck, then she was pulled into a kind of like side embrace, in which she didn't resist. She gladly leaned on the kind guy's frame as tears threatened to escape.
"It'll be okay. We'll get through this together. I promise." Kaoru breathed out soothingly."And please don't cry! I am begging you."
Yumi sniffed while trying to control her breathing."Why?
"Duh! Because of your amazing make-up. Don't want to arrive at the church with eyeliner running down our face do we?"
A playful punch from Yumi's fist landed on the chuckling guy's arm followed after she detached herself from his embrace. He does have a point though. And how can he change her mood from mournful to cheerful? Guess that's the power of having a friendship with a guy who's so gay and caring at the same time. Talk about conversing about make-up while trying to comfort her. But strangely she enjoyed it. She enjoyed his company, maybe because he understood what she was feeling. But seriously.
So gay.
"You do agree on my logical thinking right?"
"Don't get me wrong. I do but..."
"...but?"
Even though she was close to crying not too long ago, Yumi's lips managed to formed a cherished grin as she smugly replied."I'm wearing water proof eyeliner, which makes it impossible for it to run down if my face is ever wet."
Kaoru's eyebrows went up, the new information surprising him. But soon his surprised demeanor vanished away."That is completely false Yumi."
What?
"What do you mean false? I'm certain it said waterproof when I bought and used it." Now it was Yumi's turn to be confused as she racked her brain for memories of her make-up ritual earlier morning. Pretty sure the eyeliner was waterproof, for it said in black, bold letters in the container itself 'waterproof'. So how can water-resistant eyeliner not be water proof?
"And besides," Yumi added."How do you know if eyeliner is or isn't waterproof? It's as if you actually wore them before..."
Kaoru just gave her a smirk that said, 'Yes. Yes I did use eyeliner at some point in my life.'
Yumi's eyes widened, her eyes staring unbelievably at the smirking guy beside her while she cupped her mouth with both hands and started muttering 'No way.' over and over again. No way on earth did this guy wear eyeliner in his existence? Maybe he's just bluffing. But then again, the concept itself was entirely plausible because c'mon, we're talking about Kaoru here.
"When?"
Kaoru tapped his temple with his pointer finger, as he tried to recall the events that have transpired that horrible day. "One time, during my third year in Hanedara, we had a home soccer match against Takoda High. And let me tell you, they were good. Like really good. They were the only team who beat us four times in one season."
Yumi nodded her head; signaling for the story to continue.
"Then BAM!" Kaoru smacked his closed fist against his open palm, startling the wits out of the former Rosa Chinensis." I had this most outrageous strategy on how to beat them. Get ready, for this is the part where the eyeliner comes in."
"I still don't ge-"
"Do not interrupt my story please, for I am not done yet." Kaoru raised his hand; his palm facing Yumi, gesturing her to hush and listen.
"Anyways, I told the guys that we should wear liquid, waterproof eyeliner on the day of the game!"
"..."
"Oh, and you can talk now."
Yumi's mouth went slightly open. "What kind of strategy is that?" Kaoru's amazing game plan completely threw her off. "What were you trying to do scare them out of the field?"
"You can read minds?"
All the mocha-eyed girl did in response was face palm herself in disbelief. "...my guess was right? You guys wore eyeliner so that you can scare your opponents into forfeit?" She knew that one was coming. What else could you do in the field with eyeliner on? Bat your eyelashes and seduce the opposing team?
Kaoru's eyes glistened with pride as he replied. "Exactly."
"So did you guys win the game?"
"Sadly, no. The plan kind of backfired." Kaoru answered with a slightly depressed tone.
Yumi's head cocked sideways, confusion once again evident on her face. "How did it backfire?"
"We were doing well during the first half of the game. You should have seen the other team's faces." Kaoru snickered. "They were so freaked out because every time I had the ball, I'd stare at my blocker's eyes, and then he'd stare back at me with this disturbed expression. I would then either shoot or pass while he was distracted. Pretty much worked every time until the start of the second half."
"Well what happened during the second half?"
Kaoru couldn't help the grin that was forming on his face. "By the time the second-half started, we were sweating like crazy. As the ball was being passed to me, my eyes started stinging a lot. I started crying and I had to call time out. Soon all of our team was crying out in pain because of our irritated eyes. Turns out eyeliner were running down our faces, and some got into our eyes, making them red and painful to even see."
Yumi cringed at the image that suddenly formed in her head. Imagine black liquidized pigment mixed with sweat seep into your eyes. Sweat itself was enough to prick if it ever got into your eyes, and if eyeliner joined it...
Ouch.
"So you guys have to forfeit the game because your eyes were stinging so badly you can't even open them." Yumi concluded quick-wittedly.
"Yeah. Lesson learned here? Never trust waterproof eyeliner because they are not water-resistant in any way, and never, ever wear eyeliner when you're going to be physically active. I could tell you're going to take this advice by heart from the way you flinched earlier."
Yumi patted his arm assuringly as she replied jokingly."I will take the advice; otherwise I would end up with eyeliner prickling my eyes like some smart one here."
Fits of merriment erupted from the two as they laughed at the young girl's smart retort.
'Everything's going to be alright.' Yumi thought to herself as sounds of her own glee and laughter resonated in her ears. It has been such a long time since she heard her warm voice in joy. She realized she wasn't alone all this time. She had her brother, family and friends who stood by her, who supported her, who caught her when she fell, and who helped her on her feet again. She wasn't alone at all.
'I'm going to be okay.'
Take a deep breath,
And exhale.
Take a deep breath,
And exhale.
Oh Maria.
She was nervous. Ogasawara Sachiko, the perfect student, the undefiled and feared ice princess in her high school days in Lilian Academy was nervous. Oh, she wasn't nervous because of the marriage that was going to commence in an hour. Trillions of butterflies flipping in her stomach were doing just that because a certain brunette wasn't by her side at the moment. Yumi wasn't here with her, and it's making her anxious.
"She's late."
Sachiko paced around the grand fitting room in the mansion. It was already 1:40pm, and Yumi was supposed to arrive at 1:30pm to help her with her dress and make-up, just like any maid of honor should do. But, the difference in this case was that the one who was going to help her put on her white, elegantly decorated satin wedding dress was her secret love.
It's not normal to have your true love help you get ready for marrying a person that's not her.
"Would you calm down Sachiko-sama? She'll be here, alright?" Touko replied, quickly annoyed with the bride-to-be's impatience.
"But she was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago. What if she doesn't show up?"
"Why do you think Yumi-sama won't show?" Touko inquired.
"I don't know."
"I think you do."
"What do you mean?"
"You're afraid she won't show because it's your wedding day."
"I don't understand." Sachiko's eyebrows furrowed.
Touko sighed. Sometime's the older girl could be incredibly dense when it comes to her own feelings. "Then I guess I don't know either. Are you anxious to see a certain brunette?"
"God, I feel like I haven't seen Yumi in weeks." Sachiko's lips started to form a small smile; her face going from a nervous wreck to instant calm.
"Who said anything about Yumi-sama?" Touko smirked. Sachiko's face heated up, but she turned her head away to prevent from getting caught. First, she was anxious like hell, and now she was feeling so stupid for getting tricked like that.
Touko shook her head and went towards Sachiko; placing her hands on the raven-haired girl's shoulders, insisting her to sit down on the couch. "Don't worry Sachiko-sama. Yumi-sama will be here."
Sachiko just nodded as she inhaled deeply and a wave of serene washed over her, instantly calming her down. This was one of the many reasons why she chose Touko as one of her bridesmaids. Aside from the fact that she was her closest cousin, Touko was also the kind of company you'd want to have on your wedding day. To others, she may seem rather judgmental and rude, but there was this side of her that was composed, collective and caring.
Upon deciding her next course of action, Sachiko requested her cell phone which was on the dresser table be brought to her. The cellular device was handed over to her by a puzzled-looking Touko.
"May I ask who you're going to call?"
"I'm going to call Yumi. This is a much better idea than being hysterical about her location yes?" Sachiko placidly replied as her thumb pressed that all-too familiar series of numbers. Pressing it close to her ear, Sachiko heard the ringing of the connecting call as she waited for her maid of honor to pick up. She may be less hysterical now, but she's still worried for her.
'Please pick up your cell phone Yumi. Please'
Great.
Just great.
They were so late! Why? Because of a street construction earlier at a bust intersection that's why. But isn't this what she wanted? To not arrive there in time for the 'I do's?' But this was Sachiko's big day, so enough of her selfishness. Wanting to get to the cathedral as soon as possible now, Yumi couldn't help herself as she obliged the taxi driver to put the metal to the pedal pronto.
She moved towards the space in between the two front seats."Would you be so kind as to drive this vehicle as fast as you can? We're in a tight schedule here." Yumi politely instructed.
The car rapidly gained speed in response.
Yumi laid back against the black, leathery seat; relief washed all over her face. "Thank you."
"Yumi, would you calm your tits and stop worrying? Look, we're just a block fro-" Kaoru was once again cut-off in midsentence, but not because of Yumi, but because of her cell phone.
"One sec." Yumi hushed out. Opening her matching purse, she fished out the tune-singing phone and looked at the I.D. caller. It read out Sachiko O.
Yumi groaned in her mind. 'Oh great.' Why does Sachiko want to talk to her? Probably because she was late that's why. Flipping it open, she braced herself for the princess' famous scolding. But no lecture came, and instead a calm voice spoke out.
"Where are you right now? I'm getting worried here." Sachiko anxiously asked.
Her former onee-sama's warm and caring voice made Yumi smile without her even realizing. She looked through the window towards where they were heading and spotted a traffic light blinking bright green. They were going to go ahead at the intersection by the time Yumi answered.
"I'm one block away so don't worry. Oh and the taxi's crossing the intersection so I'll arrive there mome-" Yumi quickly halted her sentence.
She was frozen. Her whole body was frozen with fear. Out of the corner of her eye, Yumi spotted a light grey Mercedes Benz rushing forwards from the left, and it was going at a terrifying speed. Worst of all, it was heading straight at them.
"Hello? Hello Yumi are you there?" Sachiko's voice was more worried now.
Then, for a split-second the terrified girl realized.
The taxi driver was going to die. Kaoru was going to die.
She was going to die.
Not sparing any precious seconds, Yumi conveyed what her heart felt for the raven-haired girl for almost 4 years. She also presumably spoke out her last words too.
"I love you so much Sachiko. More than friends are suppose to."Yumi whispered lovingly as she felt something heavy lifted from her chest. She slowly closed her opal eyes, as she welcomed death without regret, and with a gentle smile gracing her angelic face.
Sachiko's tone was filled with fear as she stammered. "W-what? Yumi?"
The phone line buzzed for a second before the line went dead.
Tire screeching and the crunching sound of metal and steel clashing together was the last thing Sachiko heard.
"YUUUMIII!"
To Be Continued...
A/N: Surprise surprise? Am I getting better with cliffhangers or what? JOKE I know I still suck at it ^^ Sorry if Yumi seems OOC, or if anyone else seem OOC T.T. The eyeliner story is a true story from yours truly, and I might need a teeny bit more time to work on the next chapter because let me tell you.
Typing the next chapter would suck the life out of me.
Anyways, please review or P.M. me if you have any questions regarding the story, or if you just want to say hi :)To those who have never, ever reviewed yet, please do, I want to see EVERYONE's saying on how the story's going to end. But please no sappy endings ok?
Hope to hear from you soon,
AsulNaRosa
P.S. If you are confused about the car accident, I have an explanation posted in my biography. I'll have a picture of some sort on how it happened.