Chapter 19
A/N: Guess what? I'M NO LONGER GOING CRAZY!!!!!!! …Okay, so I'm no longer going crazy trying to think of ideas to keep this fic afloat. It's all the same. Because I'm not insane at all…nope…the voices in my head tell me so…and I trust the voices…except for that one time when they told me that the social project was due another day…evil little voices…they betrayed me…T.T
By the way…for those who haven't yet read the very important announcement on my profile page, I have…well, an important announcement. Der. I'm just going to announce it on this fic, seeing as more people tend to read it…well…*deep breath*
I've got a job. Part-time as a receptionist-person for my grandpa's RV shop (…he was the only one hiring…in my deadbeat town, there are practically NO jobs for a struggling teenage girl…). This is good, seeing as now I can get money. And I like money. It enables me to get the things I need to sustain me…like root beer, yam fries and manga. Unfortunately, it means less time to work on my stories…and less chances to update, seeing as my 'work day' starts at five and ends at eight during weekdays, and I still have homework to worry about. But…I'd still have, like, an hour and a half before bed for writing. And I don't have any social life, so that helps.
So yeah…just felt as though you people needed to know that…hee…MONEY!
CloneGirl: Oh, my LOOOOOO-OOOOOOVE! Come be a dear and sayeth the disclaimer for me!
Masquerade: …Are you going to randomly scream about pillows again?
CloneGirl: Of course not. I'm over that now, my brain is functioning normally again.
Masquerade: …I see…well then…CloneGirl does not own any rights to Bakugan…
CloneGirl: ATTACK OF THE RABID PILLOWS!
Masquerade: …*glare*…
CloneGirl: …It was rabid pillow…not just pillow…there's a difference…
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey Runo!" Julie said cheerfully as Runo logged on. "How're you?"
"I'm good," Runo mumbled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. How great it would have been, to get more sleep last night…she was so tired, she couldn't even remember where she had put the piece of paper… "Business was just a bit slow today…"
"Oh…well, that sucks. Hi Alice!"
"Hello, Julie," Alice greeted, looking over Runo's shoulder and smiling at the faces in it. It seemed as though everyone was there…except for… "Where's Dan?"
"I believe he said he would be going to the restaurant," Marucho said, from the same screen as Julie. "He was on about fifteen minutes ago."
"Oh great," Runo muttered, crossing her arms. "He'll be here soon."
Sure enough, it was right then that they could hear Mr and Mrs Masaki downstairs welcoming someone in, telling him that Runo was just upstairs. The bluette groaned as they heard that someone pounding up the stairs, the door banging open, revealing the brown haired boy.
"What do you want?" she snapped, looking away from the door.
"Runo…" Alice murmured, looking nervously between the two.
"Maybe I just wanted to see you," Dan retorted, crossing his arms in a way that mirrored Runo and crossing the room, standing by the bed. "I'm allowed to check up on my friends every once in a while…"
"Or maybe you just want to come and harass me more about the…the…the thing!"
The phrase, 'oh dang, really should leave' would pretty much summarize everyone's thoughts at the moment.
"Oh, I think Marucho's parents are calling us down for supper!" Julie exclaimed with a nervous giggle. "We'll talk to you later, then! See ya!"
Shun didn't even bother to give an excuse; he just logged out with Julie and Marucho, leaving Runo's computer screen empty. Cowards.
"Maybe you wouldn't think that I was worried about that if you hadn't been canoodling with that creep!"
"Daniel," Drago said warningly from the boy's shoulder, taking note of the flush spreading across Runo's face. If he didn't stop antagonizing her now, who knew what kind of mortal injuries he could be facing…
"I told you, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! And newsflash, no one says 'canoodling' anymore!"
"Well…YOU WERE KISSING MASQUERADE!"
"I WAS NOT!"
"YES YOU WERE!"
Alice very wisely shrank back against the wall as Runo jumped up and stomped towards her bookcase. For a moment, the bluette experienced a brief flash of déjà vu as she pulled out a book, the same book she had first thrown at him, no less…
Unfortunately, Dan wasn't quite as lucky as Masquerade had been. The book connected to his face with a satisfying crack and a yelp as he fell back into her bed, clutching his nose. Drago bounced to the floor, quickly rolling away beside Alice for…cautionary reasons.
"What the hell?!" he shouted, trying to stop the flow of blood that was leaking from his nostrils. (A/N: …That…is actually kinda gross…if I think about it…nostrils…ew…) "You didn't have to…"
Before he had another chance to speak, Runo was pushing him off her bed and to the floor, picking up her pillow and began viciously attacking him with it. (A/N: See? ATTACK OF THE RABID PILLOWS!) No one noticed a white scrap of paper flutter up from it's spot from where the pillow had been, or saw it as it slowly drifted down to the floor.
"Hey! Wha…ow! Stop that! Crap!"
It was now that Tigrerra decided to speak up, after sulking in her dollhouse for so long. "Milady! What are you doing?! Milady, you have to stop this now!" Privately, she thought about what a wimp Dan must be to get beat by a pillow…poor Drago. God knows the humiliation he must be feeling at the moment.
It was only to be expected, for Runo to ignore her Bakugan, caught up as she was. "I! TOLD! YOU! IT! WAS! AN! ACCIDENT! SO! SHUT! THE! HELL! UP!"
Words separated into different sentences. This was even more severe that anyone had originally thought.
They could do nothing but watch helplessly as Runo continued her assault. It was several minutes before she had finally stopped, panting and giving him the evil eye. "It…was…an accident…got it?"
"Yeah…" he mumbled, not looking anyone in the eye. With a contented huff, Runo threw the pillow back down onto the bed and threw herself on top of it.
"Well, what did you come here for?"
"Uh…I just wanted to tell you…" Either he didn't want to reveal his reason for coming in fear for another brutal beating, or it had caused memory loss. "Er…a kid in my class was beaten by Masquerade…" He cringed, just in case she took insult to him saying that name, but Runo didn't react.
"Really? That sucks."
"Yeah…poor guy was nearly crying when he told me…" Dan's voice trailed off as he noticed the piece of paper that had settled by his hand. "What's this?"
Alice stiffened and Runo jerked her head up as he picked it up, a mildly curious look on his face. Now, now of all times she remembered where she had stuck it…under the pillow…great hiding place.
"Don't!" Runo blurted as Dan frowned, trying to snatch it back. He yanked his hand away, the small frown turning into a full-scale glare of terrible death.
Alice could only handle so much pressure at a time. This…this was just so way beyond her that she felt as though she might be frozen in the cold, tense silence that was now filling the room. "I think I'll just go see if there's anyone more in the restaurant…" she murmured faintly, inching away as fast as she could without seeming as cowardly as the others.
"…What does this say?" Dan shook the piece of paper in his hand, as though she wouldn't have known what he was asking about. "Wha…what's this mean?"
"…" How should she answer? Deny that it was even there, perhaps say that it was Alice's? As much as Runo wished she could do that, there was no way she could dump this on Alice. Not after how much she had done for her…perhaps say it was Tigrerra's? That could work, except for the fact that she had no opposable thumbs to write with… "It…it was the monster under the bed. It's in love with him. I think they'd make a good couple." Perfectly believable.
"I'm not stupid, Runo," he said, voice dangerously close to breaking point. She was sorely tempted to ask, Since when? However, that wouldn't help the situation.
"Look, you don't understand…"
"He was kissing you! You guys were canoodling! You…you wrote his name! In girly writing!"
"It's only a part of it," she pointed out weakly. "And…and that could mean anything. As far as you know, I could have been writing…Masqu…er…Masquerama."
Amazingly enough, Dan didn't buy it.
"I can't believe you!" He was climbing to his feet, ignoring the pain of the many bruises that Runo and her pillow had inflicted upon him. "Don't you know that he's our enemy?! That he's helping Naga destroy both Vestroia and our world?!"
"I know that," she mumbled, sliding off her bed and backing up, arms crossed defensively. "But you don't get it, I don't like him. That…it was an accident, I didn't mean to write that…"
"Oh, sure! And you didn't mean to kiss him, either! I bet you were the one passing him along all that information!"
Drago and Tigrerra quailed in the sudden, tense silence that fell, wondering why Alice didn't think to take them with her and save them from this situation.
"You think," Runo said slowly and softly, uncrossing her arms and balling her hands into fists as the fury on Dan's face waned into frantic apprehension, "that I would watch everything be destroyed…because of a boy? Because you think that I might like him? Is that what you think?"
"Well…it's just that…Masquerade could be using you…" He was scrambling for the words he needed to rectify his mistake, vainly trying to make her understand what he meant. "You don't…he could be tricking the information out of you or something…"
"Oh, so you think that I wouldn't be smart enough to think that that was what he was planning?! I thought of that the moment he gave me his stupid offer! Do…do you really not trust me so much to think that I'd betray you all?!"
"No, no, I do trust you! I…I can't help but be worried! I mean, you were hiding the whole thing from us, and that kiss, and this paper…"
"I've had enough of you!" Furiously, Runo jumped towards a cringing Dan and ripped the paper out of his hand, with a loud tearing sound. A good chunk of it remained with him; however, she had the word in her half. "Just get out! OUT!"
"Runo," he said, bewildered, as Runo pushed him towards the door and shoved him out. "I…I didn't mean…I don't think you'd betray us on purpose…"
"Just go!" She was so sick of this; angry tears sprang to her eyes as she bent down and snatched up Drago. With the force that only a very offended girl (or a football player) could muster, she flung the poor Bakugan at his head and slammed the door shut. "I NEVER WANT TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN, DANIEL KUSO!"
* * * * * * * * * * *
Mr Masaki and several other people looked up at the ceiling that the angry shout had rang down from, worried. Alice cowered by the door, half way between wanting to go upstairs and make sure that everything was okay, and staying down here where she was safe.
"Do you know what's going on?" Mr Masaki asked her, frowning. "Did he hurt my daughter? Do I have to beat Dan down?"
Alice blanched. "U-um, I don't think you need to go that far…"
* * * * * * * * * * *
It had been a day since Dan had left, ashamed and upset, but Runo still hadn't come out of her room, locking herself in there for the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday. Alice had ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room, much to the discontent of Runo's parents. But she hadn't wanted to disturb her…but perhaps, just perhaps, it was safe enough to go up there now…
Alice knocked softly on the door. When she didn't receive an answer, she shyly pushed it open, poking her head in. There was the bluette, sitting on her bed with her head resting on her knees and back to the door, a knapsack next to her and binder set in front of her, but closed.
"Runo…?"
"What do you want?"
Her voice was raw, as though she had a sore throat from crying too much. Hesitantly, Alice took a step inside. "Are…are you okay? Do you need to talk?"
"No. I need to finish this homework." Runo tapped her binder, not turning around. Slowly, she opened it up. "Fol…Folman is as stupid as ever. Can't give us a break once in a while."
Math homework. There was no way that this could possibly make Runo feel better. "I can help you," she offered, taking another step.
"No! I can do it myself!"
She recoiled and quickly stepped back out the door. "Well…if you really think so…if you need any help, you can always call for me…"
"No, I told you. I can do it on my own."
"O-okay…" She faltered, and wondered if now would be the best time…but it wouldn't do to blow Julie off… "And Julie called earlier. She was wondering if we wanted to go to the mall or something with her tonight. I told her that we could…if it's okay with you…if you don't want to, it's fine…she'll be here in about fifteen minutes or so…"
Alice thought about how wise it would have been not to spring this on her on such short notice…
"Fine. I'll just try to get some questions done, and then I'll get ready."
She blinked in surprise as Runo dug around in her bag for a pencil. Who knew that it would be this easy? "Well…okay then. I'll…see you later."
The room was silent again as Alice left. Tigrerra watched as Runo stared at the textbook, a scowl on her face. "Milady, if you need me at all…if I could help in anyway…"
"It'd be great if you knew the theorems to figuring out if two triangles are congruent or not."
Avoiding the real issue. Typical. "I'm sorry milady, I don't know very much about Earth mathematics…"
"Well, there's Side-Side-Side, if all the sides are equal to the sides of the other triangle, the most obvious one really. Side-Angle-Side, where two sides and the angle between are equal to the other triangle's, and Angle-Side-Angle, with two angles and the side between them being equal to, of course, another triangle's. Help at all?"
Runo snapped her head in the direction of the voice, an inexplicable, almost excited shiver running down her spine. Just like before, all of those times before, there had been no warning as to when he had appeared. He was just suddenly there, leaning against the wall and smirking as he had that first day.
"Miss me?"
A/N: I know that I sure did. ^.^ An entire five-four chappies since they've been in the same room…huh. Ooh, can't wait till next chappie…which might be rather long or short, it all depends. I think it might be rather long, just because I want to make it…extra-special…*shifty eyes* Heh heh…can't wait…course, it could always end up short…by the way, I was learning about congruent triangles in math a few days ago, so that's why Runo's suddenly learning about them…
Just out of curiosity, do you think I made Runo's reaction to what Dan said too…strong? I find it perfectly reasonable…she must be rather fed up with him saying that she's 'canoodling' with Maskerado-kun…seeing as she's IN DENIAL! I JUST KNOW IT! Of course…I'm supposed to know it…Runo is a deny-er person-thing…(don't you dare say it takes one to know one!)
And with the betrayal comment, if I were her I would most certainly yell at him. I mean, how could he ever not think that I was helping to destroy the world? …Of course, that's just me. -_-" Heh…LATER LATER! LOVE YALLS!