XXx Honey xXX
"You'll be fine," I assure Aya as the limo cruses the silent streets.
Her shoulders are stiff and tense, her hands curled in tight fists him her lap. I could swear I can hear her teeth grinding from where I'm sitting.
"If you say so," she replies, shrinking into the fabric of her oversized black hoodie.
Her voice is clipped and breathy all at the same time. Reaching over, I take on of her closest hand in mine. Her fist uncurls and allows me to lace our fingers together, but her grip is like a python. I try not to wince as it tightens when the limo cruses to a smooth stop.
"This is it," she mumbles.
Well, not technically. She requested that the chuffer drop her off a block away since I wanted to ride with her.
"You have nothing to worry about," I say before pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.
"How can you be so sure?" she mumbles as she fixes her gaze on her hands. "I'll be with a group of girls I barely know."
"Well, that's the whole point of doing this right?" I ask. "To get to know them better?"
"Yeah…" she sighs in defeat. "I just don't know if I'm ready."
"What's the worst that can happen?" I ask.
Her head snaps up and her eyes flash in fear for a second. She opens her mouth like she's about to say something, but the words get stuck in her throat, choking her off.
"Ok, forget I asked," I say quickly.
"I'm sorry," she whispers as her shoulders slump forward. "I'm acting like such a baby."
"More like a kindergartener on their first day of school," I say with a small smile.
"Same difference," she replies, but the smallest of smiles plays on her lips. "I guess I've just got to do what I did back then."
"Does this mean I have to pick you up and carry you inside?" I joke.
"No," she said with the beginnings of a laugh. "My Aunt Élise just…."
She suddenly trails off, a soft blush building up in her cheeks. Her eyes fix on mine as she curls up in her seat, hugging her knees with her right arm and holding her left hand up to her face. She exhales heavily before curling her fingers into a fist.
"It's this thing from a book she used to read me when I was little," she says in a small voice. "She would kiss the palm of my hand, so if I ever felt scared or lonely I would know she loved me…"
Smiling, I reach out and take her right hand. She looks at me curiously as I spread out her fingers and press my lips to the soft skin at the center of her palm.
"There," I say as I lower her hand from my face. "Now you have the both of us."
She smiles up at me, hazel irises shining brightly. Her hand twists around to grasp mine. She raises my hand to her lips and presses them gently to my palm. Her lips linger on my skin for a few seconds before she lowers my hand from her face.
"Thank you," she says as she picks up her backpack and slings it over her shoulder. "I'll text you in the morning, so don't tire yourself out to much."
"Alright," I reply. "Have fun."
"Is that an order?" she asks playfully as she opens the limo's door.
"Yes," I reply.
She smirks, and with half of her body already sticking out of the limo, leans in and places a swift kiss on my lips.
"Yes sir," she says with a mock salute before stepping out and closing the door behind her.
Scooting over to the window, I wait until she rounds the corner to let the driver know we can head back to the estate. But the farther away we drive, the more the warm feeling she gave me begins to fade. I raise my palm to my face, placing my lips just over the spot she kissed.
It's nowhere near as satisfying as having one of her real kisses. But it's enough to hold me over until she gets home tomorrow.
XXx Aya xXX
I take a deep breath as I look up at the large house looming in front of me.
I knew the Yoshida family was wealthy, I mean…how could Akina attend Ouran if they weren't? But I guess I really didn't realize just how much money ballroom dancers made. Much less a ballroom dancing couple on a reality TV show.
I nervously fiddle with the strap of my backpack as I step up to the gates. I haven't been invited to a sleepover since I was in elementary school, and all the memories of waking up with pink hair or being duct taped to the floor make my stomach churn.
These thoughts rage war in my head against my will. These girls really don't seem anything like those ones, so I have to have a little faith. I sigh and run my fingers through my damp hair and try to muster up the backbone to take a step forward and ring the doorbell.
"Alright ladies! Take five and then we'll run it a few more times."
The five of us trudge over to our duffle bags and collapse under the ballet bars.
"This is rough," Shiori gasps as she pulls her water bottle out from under her jacket. "How do you do this every day Akina?"
"You eventually get used to it," Akina says in a steady voice.
She tugs her rubber band out of her hair and readjusts her pony tail. We've been at this for almost three hours and she's hardly broken a sweat.
"Ok!" Setsuko huffs as she flops down in spread eagle next to me. "I hereby declare tonight's sleepover to be a spa night!"
"Seconded!" Aiko sighs as she leans back against the wall. "Your personal staff is the best Akina."
"Well my mom just has high priorities," Akina sighs as she falls into a typical teenager sprawl. "But that doesn't mean we can't take advantage of it. You guys wanna have a movie marathon while we're at it?"
"With an ice cream bar if you don't mind," Setsuko calls from her position on the floor. "I think I lost like four pounds that I'd like back."
I curl up next to my bag and munch on some goldfish. Sounds like fun.
But I don't do sleepovers. I've had the experience ruined way to many times. At my last one I woke up blue because one of the girls had put powdered Jell-O mix in my sleeping bag. It mixed with my sweat and stuck to my skin while I slept. It wasn't pretty.
"What do you think Aya?"
I raise my head to see them all looking at me like they expect an answer to something.
"Sorry?" I ask.
"What do you want for dinner?" Aiko asks. "Pizza or Fried Chicken?"
I guess my shock was plain on my face because they all start laughing.
"You are coming aren't you?" Setsuko asks.
I stare at them stupidly for a few seconds, which just makes them laugh harder.
"Come on senpai," Aiko says as she pulls her shimmering red hair into a knot. "We've adopted you, so say you'll come."
"Sure," I say, still somewhat bewildered.
"Great!" Akina exclaims as she pulls a slip of paper from her dance duffle. "Here's my address. You can drop by around six since we all need to head home for a bit after this."
"Alright," I reply, taking the paper from her with slightly shaking hands.
"So," Setsuko drawls. "Now that that's out of the way, onto the important stuff. Pizza or Fried Chicken?"
My finger trembles slightly as I press the doorbell. As soon as the tone sounds I snatch my hand back, trailing the tips of my fingers on my ripped black jeans.
Wonderful. What do I have to do to get paranoia to take a hike? A long hike.
My hand twitches on its own accord. I lift it up to my face, smiling down at it before curling my fingers around it and pressing it to my chest. A small smile crosses my face, and my nerves settle slightly.
After a minute, a maid answers the door. She seems surprised to see me, but nevertheless she invites me to come inside.
She leads me into a large entryway. It's painted a soft off white color and has a spotless white tile floor. On either side of me, a staircase leads up to the second floor. They meet in the middle, creating a little balcony that branches off into two hallways.
The maid leads me up the right one, but instead of going down either of the hallways, she leads me straight back from the balcony through an ornamental arch, and to a set of large glossy oak doors.
She knocks twice before stepping back.
The door flies open and Setsuko stands in the entryway, her long inky hair pulled up in a lopsided ponytail and holding a leg of fried chicken.
"Oh hey you made it!" she says with a toothy grin. "Thanks a lot Ran, I can take it from here."
The maid nods and leaves, and Setsuko ushers me inside.
Surprisingly, Akina's room is decked in shades of cream and antique bronze. Her bed is rather plain, with white and bronze bedding and pillows. It sits across from a white marble fireplace with a large mirror over the mantel. The rest of the room is sparsely furnished, with only a small set of cream colored drawers and a few plush chairs set by a small terrace that is framed by a set of rose gold curtains made of fine silk.
The other three are sprawled across Akina's bed, paper plates littered with chicken bones and pizza crusts laying in random spots across the room.
"There you are!" Shiori says excitedly as she bounces up to her knees.
Her copper hair bounces around her body joyfully, her large brown eyes practically glowing in excitement.
"We were getting worried you weren't coming," Aiko said as she pushes herself up off the bed.
Her ruby hair was free and flowing, neatly framing her face. Her eyes look almost uncharacteristically soft, the gold making them warm.
"I'm happy you came senpai," Akina spoke up.
Her long chestnut hair was pulled up in a bun, and she was fiddling with the baby hairs at the nape of her neck, trying to get them to join the rest of the styled locks. Her jade green eyes were smiling, even if she wasn't physically.
I smile softly. They really did look happy that I was there.
"We've got a few hours until mom's staff will be available," Akina says as she hands me a plate. "They shot a new episode of the show tonight, so she'll be using them for a while."
"So what do we do till then?" Setsuko asks as she me the bucket of chicken.
"How about some ice breaker games?" Aiko suggests as she hands me a few slices of pizza.
They were cut into small little squares, to I took five. I feel no guilt whatsoever. I earned it with that brutal rehearsal earlier today.
We all look over at Aiko as she brushes a lock of hair behind her ear. Jugging my plate in my arms I set my bag down on the floor next to three others.
"So long as it's not truth or dare I'm good with that," Setsuko responds.
"Seconded," I reply as I pick up a wine glass filled with what smells like cranberry lemonade from a small coffee table that is pushed against the wall.
"Ok then," Aiko says as she gets up and walks over to her bag. "Everyone in a circle on the floor."
We obey and take a seat on the plush cream carpet. I find myself sitting between Setsuko and Shiori. Aiko returns and sits between Akina and Shiori, a pair of dice in her hands. She sets one aside and sets one in the center of the circle.
"Ok, so this is what we'll do," she explains. "We each take a number, and one of us rolls the dice, and whoever's number lands right side up has to answer a question or do something the other person asks.
But keep things appropriate."
She glances over to Setsuko after her last statement, and Setsuko just smirks.
"Since there's five of us and six sides of the dice, if someone rolls a six then the last person goes again."
We all nod.
"I'll take one," Shiori says as she munches on her pizza crust.
"Three," Setsuko calls out as she gnaws on her tiny plastic juice straw.
"Two," I mutter.
"Four," Akina whispers as she pulls a pillow into her lap with her right and a juice pouch with her left.
"And I'm five," Aiko says as she pulls her half empty plate towards her. "Now that's settled, let's try it."
She rolls the dice. It lands on three.
"Do your worst," Setsuko challenges as she shoots Aiko a confident smirk.
"OK, monologue for us," Aiko says mirroring it almost perfectly. "Let's see your wicked acting skills."
Setsuko sighs like this is going to take up to much energy and tosses her empty juice pouch in a small trashcan before dramatically pulling herself to her feet. She rolls and pops her shoulders and neck before turning her back to us.
"This is going to be good," Shiori giggles.
Setsuko whips back around suddenly, her blue eyes big and watery. Her shoulders shake and she runs a worried hand through her hair.
"Your children are just unhappy little marching machines.
Take Liesl for example. Liesel isn't a child anymore! And if you keep treating her as one, you're going to have a mutiny on your hands! And Friedrich - Friedrich is afraid to be himself - he's shy, he's aloof, he needs your confidence!
Brigitta could tell you about him. That's because she notices things. She always tells the truth - especially when you don't want to hear it.
She gets more exasperated, her voice trembling and shaking.
Kurt - Kurt is sensitive, he's easily hurt, and you ignore him! You brush him aside just like you do all the others!
I haven't finished yet! She snaps suddenly, and begins stalking furiously after someone who's not there.
Louisa, Louisa wants to have a good time. Oh please Captain, let her have a good time!
Marta - Marta I don't know about yet but someone has got to find out about her! And Gretl, oh little Gretl just wants to be loved!
Oh please captain, love them, love all of them, they need you!"
Her chest is heaving by the time she's done. She straightens up and bows, her usual smug smirk on her face when she stands straight again.
"Damn…" I trail off as she sits back down beside me. "That would have gone so good with popcorn."
"I was in the Sound of Music for a summer tour when I was in my first year middle school," she explained with an indifferent shrug. "I was too young to play Maria, but that's my favorite monologue from the entire play."
She picks up the dice and rolls it. Three.
"Ok Shiori," Setsuko drawls. "If you were an ice cream flavor what would you be and why?"
Shiori goes silent for a minute and begins to gnaw on a chicken bone. Then I can practically see the light bulb flash above her head as she straightens up.
"Wild 'n Reckless," she answers. "Cuz I'm sweet, colorful, I love pastel colors, and I only appeal to people who are kids at heart."
We all giggle at her logic, but I have to admit it makes…some sense. She's still laughing as she picks up the dice and gives it a toss. Two.
"Ok Aya," she says as she pulls the meat off another leg. "I wanna hear you sing. In French."
I gulp quickly.
"Really?" I ask, setting down my juice pouch.
"Yup," she replies with an evil grin. "A capella if you don't mind."
I sigh and rack my brains quickly and come up with a piece from an elementary school music event. I only really remember the first half of it, but they don't need to know that.
I lick my lips clean of grease and straighten my back.
Mon coeur se recommande à vous, (my heart is offered still to you)
Tout plein d'ennui et de martyre; (full now of woe and deep despairing)
Au moins en dépit des jaloux (but not to consistency untrue)
Faites qu'à Dieu vous puisse dire! (say one farewell, my sorrow sharing)
I cringe as my voice almost cracked on the beginning of the last line. My cheeks heat up and fly to my face.
I hear the rest of them start laughing again and I find myself joining in.
"Oh god that was terrible," I gasp.
"No, no," Aiko denies through her gasps for breath. "It was great!"
I pick up the dice and toss it. It lands on six.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" I shriek as I rock backwards. "That's so not cool."
"The dice has spoken!" Aiko says as she tries to keep herself from laughing. "Anyone have any good ideas?"
"Dance."
I look down at Setsuko. She smirks widely, her blue eyes alight with mirth.
"What am I supposed to dance?" I ask cautiously.
"Anything," she says with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just make it entertaining."
Glancing back at Aiko, Shiori, and Akina, they all nod. Biting the inside of my cheek, I pull out my phone and scroll through my playlist. What do I have that has a fairly impressive dance? Do I really want to impress them? I'm hit with a pang when I realize that…yes, I do.
Quickly glancing up, I see four pairs of eyes looking at me with curiosity, and despite the fact that I should feel nervous, I begin to feel more excited than anything. My scrolling stops and I pick a song. Standing, I take a few steps back, and adjust the volume to the loudest setting before setting my phone down.
I had seen this dance workshop a few months ago, and we fascinated with the idea of leaving all the impressive moves to the upper body while leaving the lower body mostly stationary. It had taken me a long time to learn and even longer to completely memorize. It's a short piece, but the amount of control required is hard on me.
I finish, and they just stare at me blankly for a second in complete silence. The food is left entirely forgotten.
"You've got to show me how to do that!" Akina shouts as she jumps to her feet.
I'm almost taken aback. This is the loudest she's ever spoken. Her eyes gleam, as if she's never seen this style before. And now that I think about it, it's entirely possible that that's true. This is not exactly a ballroom style.
"S-sure," I stammer. "Which part?"
"How about like, the whole thing," Setsuko says as she gets to her feet. "I liked it."
"Yeah!" Shiori gushes. "But I think we might need more room."
"Shouldn't the studio be free right now Akina?" Aiko asks as she pulls her hair into a ponytail.
Akina nods enthusiastically and races to the door. I laugh and follow her down the halls. She leads us down the stairs into the main entryway and through the gap between the staircases . We take a right, bypassing the sitting room, and are met with a large spacious dance studio made of pale wood. An entire wall is just mirrors, and an impressive sound system sits in the corner along with a large water dispenser and a few towels.
"Well," Akina asks, looking up at me. "We're ready when you are."
I smile and take off my hoodie. Adjusting the straps of my grey tank top I study them and put them into a V formation behind me.
"Ok," I say, taking my place at the point. "The first eight count goes like this…"
XXX
"OK, can I see it without me?"I ask as I turn to face them.
"I think so," Setsuko says as she pushes her bangs from her eyes.
"We have Akina, so we'll be fine," Shiori jokes as she elbows Akina in the ribs.
Akina blushes and laughs nervously, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"Alright," I say as I plop down in front of the mirror. "Make me proud girls."
I give them an eight count of the track to prepare themselves and lean back against the glass.
A grin breaks out across my lips as they dance. It's amazing, they learned it in only under two hours. But they look like they've known it for as long as I have. Or like they've actually been to the dance workshop where this was taught. I'm proud before they even get two eight counts in.
As I watch them, I begin to wonder why I was so afraid to come here. We've really…clicked (for lack of a better term).
When the song ends I bounce to my feet.
"I'm impressed," I admit.
They all smile at me, and before I know it, Shiori tackles me in a hug.
"GROUP HUG!" she giggles.
I'm surprised that the rest of them actually enforce it. I'm surrounded by taller than me bodies, but for the first time it doesn't really bother me. I'm just glad that my arms have been pinned to my sides by Shiori to have the pressure of having to hug back just yet.
"Excuse me," a new voice says, interrupting our moment.
The maid from earlier is standing in the doorway. She gives a quick curtsy before speaking again.
"The staff is available for use now," she says. "And your ice cream bar has been set up as well."
"Alright!" Setsuko cheers. "I've got some weight to eat back so let's go!"
I notice Shiori, Akina, and Aiko share a cringe and an odd look. I can't help but feel like I'm missing something. Something rather important. But Setsuko's already halfway down the hall, so they quickly drop it before taking off after her.
"Setsuko I swear if you eat all the cherries again I'm never helping you write another essay!" Aiko threatens as she runs after the black and blue blur that is Setsuko.
XXX
By eleven forty five we had gotten shiatsu massages, facials, hair masks, a head to toe exfoliation, eyebrow shaping, a detox body treatment, and mani pedis, I was feeling more relaxed than I've ever been in my life.
We had chosen not to have our nails painted so we could play another game.
We dumped all the polishes we had available into a basket and had one person randomly select one. They then spun the bottle on its side and whoever the cap pointed to when it stopped had one of their nails painted that color.
By the end of the game, the nails of my right hand were painted and iridescent bluish purple, a bright red orange, a deep red with black glitter, a fuchsia with silver glitter, and white with gold glitter. My left was a bright cyan, a neon pink, a deep sapphire, a deep garnet red, and a muted tea rose pink.
We were now laying in the large circular couch in the far side of the spa, sipping smoothies and watching cliché romantic comedies. Every once in a while we would criticize the dialogue, or a giant hole in the plot, or just things that just didn't make any sense.
"That was sooooo bad," Aiko moans as she adjust the pastel yellow top of her pajama set.
"It had its moments," Shiori argued.
"Your right," Setsuko sighed from her seat. "Just not enough."
"I still want to know who cast the leading lady," I grumble as I place my empty cup on the table in front of us. "She needs to have her acting license revoked."
"Agreed," all four of them chorus.
"If my dad had produced this movie she's never made it past the first round of auditions," Aiko moans.
"Let's just pretend that movie never happened," Setsuko groans as she gets up from her seat and smooths out her loose fitting green shirt before lifting her cup. "Anyone up for another? I'm making a run."
There's a chorus of responses, and Setsuko just says she'll bring the pitcher back from the bar's fridge. Aiko, Shiori, and Akina go to pick out another movie.
My phone took that moment to ping, and forced me to get up and walk over to where it was.
Judging by the lack of complaints I take it you're having a good time?
I snicker softly.
All thanks to the universal peace maker…fried chicken. But really, it's great. Really worried for nothing.
…Again…
Shut up :p
I'm glad though. But I'm calling it a night. See you in the morning.
Night. Love you
"Who're you texting?"
My back goes ramrod straight as I jump to my feet. Setsuko regards me curiously as I scramble to hit the power button and hide the messages. But my face is burning like a stove, and I can only see the curiosity building up in her.
"What is it?" Aiko asks as she tosses three DVD cases on the table.
"You're blushing Senpai," Akina observes.
"Come on!" Setsuko whines. "Who is it?! Your boyfriend?"
If at all possible, I think my blush doubled. And all it did was widen her eyes. A spark of disbelief passes through her eyes. But it's quickly replaced with her scariest smirk.
"Whoa," she snickers. "Is it really? I was just kidding…"
"Drop it Setsuko," Shiori suddenly snaps.
Everyone in the room flinches at the sudden edge in her voice. She makes eye contact with me, and her eyes trial slowly down to my ring finger where the blue diamond rests. And in that moment I know that she knows. My mouth goes dry.
"I don't get it," Setsuko counters. "What's wrong with asking-"
"I said drop it!" Shiori says again, her eyes hardening.
"Shiori!" Akina scolds, stepping in front of a shocked Setsuko. "What's gotten into you?"
"What's this all about?" Aiko asks, suddenly sounding scared.
"Nothing!" Shiori insists, crossing her arms over her chest.
My head bows in embarrassment. Shit. I can't believe I was that careless. But the thing is, I'm not wanting to keep secrets from them. Only a few hours and I'm wanting to tell them the secret that I hold closer than anything. It's scary.
"Its fine Shiori," I mumble, raising my head back up. "I'll tell them."
"Are you sure?" she asks softly, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.
"I-I want to," I stammer. "I really like the four of you…and after tonight, if we aren't already, I want to be friends with you all. So I won't keep secrets."
The four of them all have different expressions on their faces. Shiori gives me a soft smile. Aiko still looks confused, and she looks irritated at the simple fact that she's missing something. Akina's face is patiently waiting for me to explain what's going on. And Setsuko…Setsuko looks conflicted.
"I think we became friends in the dressing room."
I glance over to Akina. She's looking at me with a certain fondness in her eyes very few people have ever given me. I find myself smiling back at her, and oddly choked up.
"And I only let my friends see me cry," Setsuko says quietly.
"I already told you earlier today, or well yesterday now I guess…we've already adopted you," Aiko says with her oddly soft gaze. "You're family now."
"And family watches out for each other," Shiori says as she takes a step closer to me. "So no matter what happens now, the four of us have your back."
"Wow," I reply. "Thanks guys…"
I run a hand through my hair, and watch the light glint off my ring.
"Well, since you are my family now," I sigh dramatically. "You were bound to find out about this eventually."
"So you do have a boyfriend?" Setsuko asks.
"Yeah," I reply sheepishly. "Well more than that actually."
"Who?" Aiko asks as she sits down on the couch again.
I bite the inside of my cheek and take a deep breath.
"Mitsukuni Haninozuka."
XXx Author's Notes xXX
Wow new content…
Who knew I had it in me after so long?
Lotsa love, Krystal