After about a week, it was the day before school started. I was ready to go to school; I was just about to head out the door when I received a call.
"All right… Thanks again. Bye." I said. I hung up and sighed. The store was closed today. I looked around my apartment.
Kyo.
I picked up the phone and pressed a button.
"GAH! What the hell was that? Who's there? Kenzi, you ass, if you're on the line I will seriously KILL you!" Kyo shouted on the other end. I winced slightly.
"Kyo?" I asked. He began bubbling around in surprised gibberish.
"An… Andrea?" He asked from his side. I laughed a little and I heard him sigh in relief. "I was just calling you."
"I was just calling you too to be honest." I said. "It's about that question you asked of me the night of the concert you guys had."
"Same here."
"Good… you can go first."
"No, no… it's all right. You go."
"Um… all right then." I said. I sighed in thought. "Well you see, I promised you that once I was ready I'd agree and we could go out for a bite to eat, and even though the last day of summer vacation isn't the best day to bring it up, I was wondering if we could go tonight."
A silence hung on the other end for a moment before he chuckled a little.
"Perfect. I'll come and pick you up. I have the perfect thing for tonight." He said. I grinned.
"Great! When should I be ready?" I asked.
"Um… how about five?" He asked. "Or five thirty?"
"No, no. Five o' clock is fine. I'll meet you then. Bye." I said. I quickly hung up and rushed off to the door. I put on a pair of shoes and put money in my pocket as I headed off to go searching for something to wear tonight. Now for me, if you knew me at all, you would know I hate shopping, but then again I felt like I needed to wear something a bit… new for the occasion… whatever it was.
I walked through with the nosey Tsukiko following around. She suggested different stores and different styles for things… until finally she just called up her mother. We waited at the park and soon a black limo drove up. An old woman hopped out. She wore a stylish black dress, along with heels. Her hair was short and was held in grey curls. Her dark red lips turned towards Tsukiko.
"TSUKI CHAN!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around her daughter and then smiling as she backed off. She frowned herself into a deep scowl as she eyed me. "Who is this beggar girl, dear?"
"Mother, you're sixty-eight and you still haven't taught yourself some manners." Tsukiko scolded. "This is the girl from America who's going to college here. This is Andrea."
"Ah!" She exclaimed, grinning and taking my hand. "Forgive my rudeness. I'm always up to appreciating foreigners. Call me Matsue… now Tsukiko dear; what did you need me for again?"
"Andrea here has a date." Tsukiko said. I felt my face heat up red.
"Tsukiko! I do not have a date; I'm simply going out for dinner with a friend of mine." I said.
"Oh? Who is this friend of yours?" Lady Matsue asked. I blushed harder and looked down a little.
"Kyo… Kyo Sohma from the band Cursed." I said. Lady Matsue grinned then giggled.
"I've heard that they are quite the players, and recently a young girl sang with them. Would that be, by any chance…" She said.
"Yeah… That was me, about a week ago." I replied. She squealed.
"Amazing! You simply must demonstrate for me, but only under one condition…" She began.
"Oh boy..." Tsukiko whaled.
"I must give you a makeover for your date tonight." She said. I grinned.
"Lady Matsue, you've got yourself a deal." I said. She smiled at each other and shook hands.
"I simply won't allow you to demonstrate like that though; you need your makeover first." She said. So off we went.
Lady Matsue dragged me around the town, getting me nice black slacks and a shirt with a tie, taking recommendations from the top young adult fashion style professionals she had connections with.
When she was done with me, I wore black leather strap on shoes with easy styled heels. The black slacks were free hanging over my ankles and hiding my feet. My shirt was a nice light button up dress shirt, with unbuttoned cuffs on the three quarter sleeves. A loose tie hung around my neck and I had my hair loosely pulled back with earrings. Light eye liner and mascara graced my face, along with cover up in certain places and anti-shine. I smiled when heavy duty mint tasting teeth whitener was used and starred at my hands as wrist-like accessories were there, along with plain black nail polish on my long nails. I smelled like a sweet perfume, instead of my normal vanilla spray.
I moved around in front of the mirrors. I grinned as I turned, rotating around. I looked in the mirror and saw Kenzi. I yelped and jumped down to hide.
"What's wrong?" Lady Matsue asked. I pointed to the door.
"It… it's his friend. I can't let his friend see me!" I whispered. Tsukiko stood.
"I'll distract, you react! Bye!" She said, before running off. Lady Matsue stood and held me directly in front of her. She smiled. She pointed. "Those doors… rush to it as fast as you can. Go!"
I sprinted to the doors and ran through, her following closely behind. She smiled as we stood in the back. I looked at what I was wearing and opened my mouth. She hushed me.
"Tsukiko will pay for it while she's out there, so don't worry. Let's go to your apartment then, shall we?" Lady Matsue suggested. I nodded and we continued.
We entered my apartment and I showed her around quickly before I walked off towards the bedroom. She followed me in and smiled at me as I turned around.
"Are you sure that I can take it? I mean… I'll pay for it if you'd like." I said. She waved me off.
"No, no, no dear." She said. "Now let's finish making you gorgeous for your date!"
When Tsukiko arrived, it was only time for the last minute touches on my appearance. I was given money for those 'just in-case' moments. Since I wasn't partial to purses or hand bags, I simply stuffed it down my shirt.
I spent the rest of the time brushing my teeth to make sure they were as good as they could've gotten. Then the door bell rang and I yelped. I quickly spit the toothpaste out and rinsed my brush, wiping my face and adjusting my earrings.
"We're going to leave now! Don't keep him waiting too long dear!" Lady Matsue called.
Kyo's POV
The door opened and I straightened my posture to see some old hag and that lady that owns the place walk out. I looked at them expectantly as they smiled. The lady looked at me as she followed the hag and grinned as she left the door open.
"Go on inside, she's just finishing up in the bathroom." She said. I nodded in thanks and the two gave posh strides down the hall. I took a deep breath and walked into the apartment, closing the door behind me. I walked slowly into the living room, taking a seat with a quiet "Hey!"
"Hey! I'll be right out, so make yourself comfortable." She called from the bathroom. I sat there and looked at the flowers in my hand. I looked at the bathroom door then quickly ran off to the kitchen and put it in a glass, leaving it there before venturing back to the living room and sitting on the couch.
Andrea's POV
I opened the door to the bathroom and stifled a laugh as I heard Kyo scattering to his feet. I looked up from the floor and say him standing there, his face completely red. Instead of his normal rock star clothes, he had black pants that didn't have any holes in them, sneakers, and a baggy t-shirt that looked like it was new.
I blushed a little, but still walked up to him and smiled. He smiled back and we began out the door.
"You luh… nice… too neigh..." He said. You luh.. Oh! You look nice tonight. I blushed and smiled at him as he began to try to say it clearer. "You luh…"
"Thanks." I said simply. He tensed as he continued walking next to me out to his car. "You look really nice too, Kyo."
He mumbled something I figured was thanks. I smiled and we got into the car, then drove off toward the… wherever that he decided we should go.
I looked down in my lap for a while, twiddling my fingers and doing different things with my hands to keep my mind off of how close this was to being a date.
"You okay?" He asked. I looked over at him, as he looked over at me a bit concerned. I smiled
"Yeah, just a bit… excited I suppose you'd call it." I said. Then mentally kicked myself. Hard.
"I see. If you ever want to go home, just… let me know, all right? This is a celebration thing for you." He said cautiously. I nodded and looked out the window.
"Where are we going anyways?" I asked. He gave a mischievous 'hm' sound and I could just imagine him grinning. Sure enough, when I looked over, he was.
"It's a surprise." He said. I smiled, and then decided to tease him. I leaned over closer to him.
"Aww Kyo, you're no fun. You should know by now that I love surprises." I said, grinning at his face turning pink. "Just tell me… "
"Sorry. It's a s-secret. If I told you it wou-wouldn't be a surprise then." He said. I sighed.
"I can't believe you denied the adorableness that is my poorest attempt." I said. I pouted. He kept his eyes on the road.
"Pouting won't work." He said. I sighed again.
"You're tough. My dad would've been explaining today's schedule by now." I said. He chuckled. My chest tightened and I looked out the window. What was… that?
"We're here." He said. I put down my crossword and undid my seatbelt without looking up. He got out and so did I, then looked ahead of me.
"An AMUSMENT PARK?" I exclaimed. He chuckled, his face tinting pink again.
"I take it you like it?" He asked. I nodded quickly before leaping at him in a hug.
"I LOVE IT! I… I LO- WORSHIP YOU!" I exclaimed. I squeezed him tightly and he just put his arms around my waist. I looked up at him with a slightly teary grin and his face turned red before he became concerned.
"Why are you crying?" He asked. I wiped my eyes with my palm.
"I haven't been to an amusement park in forever, and never been to a Japanese one before. I just… love it!" I smiled. He turned and side hugged me before leading me up to the front, his hand tugging at mine. My chest tightened and my heart pounded as I followed him. He turned to me with a childish grin on his face before going and buying us tickets; letting go of my hand. I felt it all burst into one giant chest knot until it faded away. Was I… Do I lo-
"Hey, come on!" He said. I looked over at him and rushed up to him. He put a hand on my shoulder. "Space Cadet, where do you want to go first?"
By the time it was late, we had consumed several hotdogs, popcorn bags, cotton candy bags, and pizzas… that was with the occasional soda of course.
"They're going to close the place soon." He said. "Where's the last place you want to go for the night?"
"How about we keep this in line with the stories." I suggested, and determinedly pointed to the one place couples go at the amusement park. "The Ferris Wheel."
The two of us turned red as we boarded the buggy. We sat a decent distance away from each other, practically cuddling the wall. Our hands were close together though. If we moved our hands they'd touch. My face heated up and I looked out farther. We gradually got closer to the top. I looked down at my feet. He looked down at his. There was clashing barriers in between us… or something. I could feel it. We were all alone at night on the Ferris Wheel and just sitting there.
"So…" He began. I have to give him credit for his bravery. "Nice view out, huh?"
I looked outside and held in a gasp as I looked in the distance at all of the lights. It was quite the sight.
"Yeah. Perfect for a nice night like tonight, huh?" I asked. He nodded.
"So…" He began, moving his hand and it touched mine. He quickly retracted and looked away. "Sorry…"
"No, no. It's all right." I said. I looked over cautiously as he nervously put his hand down again, only on mine. I moved my hand a little closer to him and was then starring down at our hands as he gripped it slightly. My chest tightened and my stomach fluttered as my face heated up. I looked up at him, to see he was just inches from my face. We both darkened in a blush and my heart began racing.
Was I… Was I really in…
I am… I'm in love with…
Him…
Her…
Our faces drew closer… closer… closer… and then-
"Out you go!" The Ferris Wheel Conductor said. Kyo and I quickly backed away from each other and rushed out of the compartment, awkwardly walking around the amusement park. We took a breather at an empty bench, me sitting at one end and him the other. I continued inhaling deeply, but exhaled quietly so it didn't sound like I was sighing.
The park will be closing in five minutes.
We stood and I smiled at him, but he didn't even look at my face as he grabbed my wrist and brought me alongside him and we began walking to the car. I shivered at the night wind as it whipped through my hair. I got a little bit closer and he pulled off his jacket and put it around my shoulders.
"Thanks." I said. He gave a hum in return as he put an arm around my shoulders, clutching firmly to my arm. I put a hand on his and leaned against him a little as we made our way to the car.
"Are you tired?" He asked. I nodded slightly and he opened the back door. He pulled a pillow out of the trunk and gestured for me to get in. I did, sitting in the middle. He put the pillow down on the edge and took his jacket for a moment. I laid down on the pillow and snuggled on the seat. He leaned over me and put his jacket on me for a blanket. He smelled good.
Kyo's POV
"Here you go." I said, covering her up and shutting the door as gently as I could. I went to the driver's seat and started up the car, backing out and driving off. I put on some soft music, and kept it quiet. I looked back almost any chance I could at her. She looked so peaceful.
I couldn't help but think of the Ferris Wheel incident on the way to her place. I mean… if you almost kissed someone, wouldn't you remember that? She was leaning in too, and she didn't mind when I held her hand so I wasn't doing anything wrong… was I? No…
Though one thing is for sure. I know for a fact. I love her. Does she return it? Possibly. I'll just have to wait and make sure.
We walked up to her apartment instead of taking the elevator. It seemed… nice to hear the patting of our feet on the stairs instead of the ever so quiet humming of a box hanging on strings.
"I had a really nice night tonight." She said. I looked at her and smiled.
"I'm glad." I said. She fiddled with her keys, biting her lip as she looked down then stopped when she looked up at me.
"Thanks for tonight." She said.
"No problem." I said. I mentally body slammed myself. I could've said anything romantic… but I spew 'no problem' for poetry. Either way, it's now or ever.
I inhaled quickly and began to lean in.
"Taro! This is our honeymoon!" A woman shouted, causing me to straighten up and look over. A door was wide open and a woman was in a baggy nightdress, screaming at someone inside as she began tying her bathrobe. She turned to us and smiled. "Sorry if I was disturbing anything kids, but my husband wants to watch late night football instead of doing romantic, honeymoon things."
She mumbled something in English and Andrea said a few things in English to her, before the woman grinned, hugged her and walked off to her room and shut the door.
"What did you… never mind." I said. I smiled at her. She smiled back. I began leaning in again… somehow I didn't realize I was doing it until-
"Oh! Sorry again dears! Thanks again sweetie!" The woman shouted down the hall before shutting the door again. I backed away, hunched over. I growled, and looked over at her.
"Well… thanks again Kyo." She said, and yawned and gave me a quick smile before opening her door and stepping inside.
"Sure thing…" I said. She smiled as she shut the door and I grumbled as I walked down the hall.
I had several chances… okay not several but I had TWO big chances and I blew it. People just can't leave people in peace.
