Hi~! I'm happy everyone seemed to like the last chapter so much! I was afraid I had added too much...stuff that happened to poor Mai haha. But thank you to the 31 reviews for the last chapter! :) And the 335 followers, 237 favoriters and a total of 521 reviews! Yay!
And to Guest (the one who asked about that picture...), Hehe if you want to see the picture of Naru shirtless, then go to CaseyShibuya-Davis9697's page... It's her profile pic! ;)
Disclaimer: Nope... I'm just a sad girl, who doesn't own Ghost Hunt!
Mai's POV
'I'm so stupid... I'm such an idiot! I can't believe I did that! I ruined everything...'
It's been about twenty minutes since I've been on the balcony, sitting on a bench, beating myself up about what happened. Naru or anyone else hasn't come to look for me, and I'm kind of glad about that. I can't face anyone right now so it'd be perfectly alright with me if I could just stay here until they're ready to leave and go back to the Davis' house. The other part of me is a little hurt that no one seemed to be looking for me though. Although I can't say I blame them—look at what I did. All of the other guests must be ridiculing me behind my back... Oh, who am I kidding? They could talk about me right in front of me and I wouldn't know what they were saying. I don't even want to imagine what Naru and his family are thinking right now. They're probably so embarrassed and ashamed of me. And I bet you anything Naru's mad at me.
I let out a sigh, closing my eyes momentarily, as I looked up at the night sky. It's not really cold considering it's May, but it is kind of chilly outside. And me wearing a strapless dress with a large slit in it isn't helping me stay warm any. I started rubbing my hands up and down my arms to just get the chill off.
Suddenly I felt a presence behind me. I whipped my head around so fast I was surprised I didn't get dizzy. With wide eyes, I stared at a guy who looked to be around the same age as me. He was probably as tall as Naru, his hair was a few shades lighter than Monk's, and his eyes were forest green. All in all, he seemed pretty cute. He looked a little surprised to see me; I guess he wasn't expecting anyone else to be here, especially me considering how I ran out like that... He must think I'm a total idiot. Nonetheless I smiled—weakly, but it was still a smile—and tried to be friendly.
"Umm... Hi..." I gave a small wave. The atmosphere already felt really tense.
"Hi." He replied. "You're that girl who kept having those disasters during dinner, right?" He asked. I swallowed thickly before lowering my gaze, looking away from him. Yup... can't understand him... Nothing's awkward here...
"Geez, Mai, what are you thinking? You can barely say a sentence in English, you can't hold up a conversation in it! And now he's probably looking at me like I'm insane because he can't understand a word I'm saying!" I mumbled quietly to myself in frustration. A laugh cut through the silence after a moment, causing my eyes to snap upwards on to the guy behind me.
"Actually I can understand you..." He moved his hand up to cover his mouth when he chuckled again. I stared at him in shock as he spoke, my mouth gaped open. "I can speak Japanese quite well, I think."
"You can?!" Relief was evident in my voice as it flooded me. "Oh thank goodness!" I breathed as my shoulders relaxed some. The guy walked around the bench so he would be in front of me now. He gave me a complementing look before speaking again.
"You're Oliver Davis' fiancée, right?"
My eyes widened in shock.
"W-Wha... What?" I sputtered out. Where the heck did he hear that from?! "N-No, I'm just his girlfriend... Why would you think that?" I asked. The boy shrugged before sitting on the other end of the bench.
"I've heard some of the people talking about you two before we had dinner. They had said you were engaged." He told me nonchalantly. My mouth practically dropped open, and I knew my face had to be red.
Rumors. They escalate so quickly.
"Ah, no... That's not true at all." I corrected him. I can't believe people are thinking that...
"I'm sorry, I'm being rude aren't I? Talking to you like this and you have no idea who I am. I'm Luca Evans, a good friend of Michelle's." He introduced himself, offering an apologetic smile. I laughed a bit at the first thing he said. Then I inwardly grinned at the way he said Michelle's name—it had a certain warmth to it. A 'good friend' indeed.
"I'm Mai Taniyama... but you probably already knew that, didn't you?" I smiled sheepishly, looking away. I'm pretty sure everyone here knows who I am by now, especially with Luella introducing me to just about everyone and apparently with these rumors going around. To confirm my suspicion, Luca nodded.
"Everyone is talking about you... especially after what happened at dinner." He answered, making me groan and bury my face in my hands. Did he really have to remind me? However, what he said next made me blush. "After you ran out, some people started saying... ah...certain things about you. Then your boyfriend gave everyone a murderous glare that actually silenced the whole room. He said something to his parents, I believe, then he walked out the room. I'm assuming he's still trying to look for you." He cocked his head towards me.
Naru...did all of that?
"If he finds me, I'll probably get the scolding of the century." I muttered dubiously. I rubbed my arms again to supply a little bit of warmth. Luca laughed and shook his head.
"No, I don't think so. I caught a glimpse of him before he left the room and he looked pretty worried." He said. "Michelle said she was going to look for you too... then she ordered me to help also. I didn't really care so I just walked around... I didn't expect to actually find you." He shrugged, looking out at the view in front of us. I stared at him in disbelief. 'Geez, blunt much?' I thought. He talks a lot too... And says things that's kind of unnecessary. He's actually a perfect match for Michelle if you think about it.
"Wow, thank you sooo much!" I responded, sarcasm dripping from every word. I rolled my eyes.
"And I thought you'd just want to be by yourself after what happened." He admitted. I snapped my gaze to him in surprise before slowly lowering it.
"Yeah... I did." I said softly.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. I know I just met you and all, but you don't seem to just be after money to me... so don't let what anyone here says get to you. Or anyone in general for that matter." He advised causally. My eyes widened and I felt tears prick around them.
"They...they really think I'm after Naru's money...?" My voice was barely audible, but since it was so quiet outside, Luca heard it clearly. He looked alarmed though.
"I-I'm sorry, I said too much." He apologized in guilt. Hastily, I shook my head.
"No." I insisted. "I'm glad you told me. I knew they were talking about me, but I didn't know what they were saying exactly."
"W-Well, I only heard one person say that. The other person who they were having the conversation with immediately shot down what they said, saying Mrs. Davis talked very highly of you and that you're not that kind of person who would do something like that." Luca tried to assure me. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. My mascara is probably ruined now.
"Oh..." I breathed in relief then I gave a smile. "You sure do eavesdrop a lot, huh?"
Luca gave me a lopsided grin.
"My specialty!" He exclaimed proudly, causing me to laugh abruptly. I covered my mouth with my hand. After a few minutes of silence I decided to ask him something.
"You're English..." I began. He cocked his head towards me again when he heard my voice. "How do you know Japanese so well?"
"My mom... She just loved the culture and everything about it. We even lived in Japan for almost three years when I was younger." His voice seemed so distant even though he was sitting beside me. His eyes stared off also, slightly glazed over, as if he was in a daze. He used past tense—she must have died.
"That must have been nice..." I replied softly. I shouldn't have even asked that question. I know what it feels like. Before I could say any more, a very familiar voice cut through the quietness.
"Mai."
Luca and I both turned around and saw Naru standing behind us. He looked slightly out of breath, but it wasn't that noticeable unless you were really looking. His eyes kept flicking back and forth between me and the guy beside me with a look that I couldn't tell what it was at the time. As he began walking towards me, Luca stood up and smiled at me.
"Well, I think that's my cue to leave. See you around, Mai Taniyama." He said before walking away. When he passed Naru, he gave a flick of the wrist as a greeting. Really, what a strange guy... Best of luck to you, Michelle.
"Who was that?" Naru suddenly demanded, his eyes sliding on to me after he watched Luca leave.
"A friend of Michelle's." I answered briefly, shivering a bit. I kept my gaze down, still too embarrassed and ashamed to face him. Naru sighed after a moment, taking his blazer off and draping it around my shoulders. A mumbled a quiet 'thank you' before wrapping it more tightly around me, snuggling into its warmth. Then he sat down beside me but closer than Luca had been. I didn't mind though—it felt comforting being able to be so close to Naru lately. And what was even more, he didn't seem to mind either. I wanted to smile at that.
"Mai..." Naru spoke, his tone was gentler than before. "You're an idiot."
I couldn't help but huff. "Look, if you're going to yell at me, then go ahead and do it. I know you're angry with me and all—"
"Why would I be angry with you?" Naru interrupted me. I paused.
"B-Because of everything I did at dinner—"
"Do you want me to be mad at you?" He raised an eyebrow. Finally, I looked up and met his gaze.
"W-What? No, of course not! Why would—"
"Alright then, stop assuming I am." He stated. I puffed out my cheeks in frustration.
"Will you let me speak, you jerk?!" I snapped. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards into a smirk; I blushed after a moment. Seeing the amusement in his eyes, I realized he was just doing that so I'd stop being embarrassed and finally face him. The jerk...
"I give you time to speak and now you say nothing?" He questioned.
"Naru!" I shouted, hitting his arm half-heartedly. I tried not to smile, but it didn't work out so good. After a few moments it started to disappear though. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened..."
"No." Naru insisted firmly. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm not angry at you, Mai—I'm angry at myself. I should have thought to teach you about etiquette dining and everything you needed to know about tonight—or at least asked Mother and Madoka to do it. Although they should have thought of it to begin with." He scowled at the last part. I couldn't disagree with him there though. "And I should have helped you with your English. But you knew more than I thought you would."
I smiled sheepishly.
"I didn't at first... When we were on the plane, Luella decided to teach me some while you were asleep... everyone helped, too." I explained quietly. Naru gave me a curious look.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Luella told me not to... She said it should have been a surprise for when you actually heard me." I rolled my eyes slightly. Naru just nodded. But of course the only reason Luella wanted to 'surprise' him was because she thinks I'm his girlfriend and he'd be proud of me... Naru doesn't really care though.
Several minutes after my gloomy thought, Naru suddenly held out a hand for me. I stared at it before shifting my cinnamon brown eyes to its owner and giving him a questioning glance.
"Let's go back inside with everyone else." He stated more than suggested. Upon hearing that, I vehemently shook my head and tried to push myself further away from Naru. The color from my face instantly drained away.
"No! I-I can't go back in there! Are you crazy?!" I demanded, petrified. There is no way I can go back in there! Who knows what people will say then!
"Mai, are you really going to let the one thing I taught you go to waste?" He asked, giving me a steady gaze. The dancing... He wants me to dance with him in front of everyone.
"Naru, I can't dance with everyone there! I'll mess up, I know it—and then I'll make an even bigger fool of myself!"
"Do you really care what people, whom you never met before, think of you? Answer honestly, Mai." Naru ordered, but it seemed he already knew the answer. To be honest... no, I didn't care... I've had a lot of people judge me in the past, I didn't really care anymore. Right now I was only trying to protect Naru and his family from further embarrassment.
"But what about you—"
"I don't care." Naru cut me off, reassuring me. "And neither does my parents. Stop worrying about it, Mai."
Ah...he saw through me again.
Naru nudged his hand closer to me. We stared at one another before I looked away and sighed.
"Fine..." I whispered, reaching my hand out to meet his. As soon as our hands touched he held on to mine in a firm but gentle grip. Then he began to lead me back to where the party was being held. Before we walked to Naru's parents, Madoka, and Lin, I took off Naru's blazer and handed it back to him. I wasn't cold anymore, but I immediately missed its warmth—for different reasons.
"Oh, Mai! There you are!" Luella and Madoka came running towards us as we approached them with Martin and Lin calmly walking behind them. They developed me into a suffocating hug. "We were so worried about you!"
I smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run out like that."
"That's quite alright, Mai. We understand." Martin replied with a fatherly smile.
"And it was most entertaining." Lin smirked. I glared at him slightly for that comment.
"Maaaaiii!" I suddenly heard Michelle's voice. She ran into me, hugging the life out of me, causing me to stumble back before I could even see her. Thankfully Naru steadied me before I fell down. "Oh, Mai! Thank goodness, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"I'm sor-ry, Mi-cherre." I apologized, bowing my head out of habit. She smiled at me.
"It's alright. I'm just happy you're okay now."
Naru translated what she said to me. But soon enough she got whisked away by one of her friends. My 'boyfriend' took that chance to pull me on to the 'dance floor' where the other guests were dancing.
"N-Naru..." I tried to protest, but Naru simply ignored me. He positioned his right arm around my waist while his left hand encased my right.
"Just remember what I told you before." Was all he said before he began to lead me into a dance. I thought for sure I'd mess up, but Naru told me to just focus on him and I surprisingly didn't mess up at all. The blush never left my face the entire time we kept dancing.
As the night carried on, Naru and I took a few breaks between dances to rest some. However a guy came towards me almost every time and asked if he could dance with me. Even though I was going to refuse each one, Naru immediately shooed them off, refusing them for me before I could even get a word out. I kept asking him why he was doing that and not letting me speak for myself, but he just ignored me every time.
Okay, so, I really didn't want to add another character of mine, but Luca is kinda necessary in the next chapter or two lol. Please review! ^.^