Author's Note-
OMG IT'S FINALLY DONE *sags* Seriously, this chapter took FOREVER to write Dx It's the longest one, too, at almost 3k! Speaking of which, the whole story is at... *checks* 9k WORDS ALREADY?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!
But anyway, here's my review replies, as usual.
Crashgirl701- I know they are! :D
tsunachii Sorry if I made it too hard to figure out :c But I'm glad you like.
Lyric22- All are correct c: Good job! Uh... did I list a prize for winning? No? There should be! Help me think of one please. Also, thank you so much for liking my plot :D
Troubled Windchimes- You didn't fail! In fact, all of those are correct! XD And I'm really glad that you like my story so far.
Guest- O_o Well... I appreciate your enthusiasm xD Here's your update!
~*~Act 5: I Like You, I Love You~*~
"Perfect," Rin says after a moment, nodding like a bobblehead.
My shoulders sag. "Finally!" I groan jokingly. "I thought you'd never agree to one."
She winks. "I was bound to agree on this one. I made it. Take a look."
The shorter parts in my hair are in two tiny, low pigtails tied with light gray bands. The longer pieces in front are curled. I'm wearing a light orange, translucent, billowy shirt that comes to the bottom of my ribs. It's off my right shoulder. Underneath is a white spaghetti-strap top. Around my right wrist is a silver charm bracelet with no charms. I also have on a light orange skirt that flows to my knees and black ballet flats. Over my left shoulder is a little orange purse.
In short, Rin has made me look like a modern goddess.
"Rin, you're amazing," I say, looking at myself in the mirror and twirling.
She blushes. "Thank you. I want to be a fashion designer someday, you know."
I grab my friend's hands. "Rinny, that's fabulous!" I grin.
She smiles back. "Now go change out of that, you. You don't want to get it messed up before your date!~"
Sunday morning at nine. I call Luka in a state of complete panic.
"Who'reyouandwhadoyouwan?" I hear her grumble after the phone rings several times.
"Luka!" I whisper-scream. "It's Gumi! This is an emergency! A makeup emergency!"
I hear a loud thump, followed by rustling sounds and another thump. "Luka?" I say worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"What do you need me to do?" Luka's voice is suddenly much clearer.
I exhale. "Bring your green-eyes makeup kit over to my dorm as fast as you can."
"I'm on my way," she says confidently and hangs up.
I guess I should explain. Luka doesn't have a dorm. She, her older brother Luki, and her parents live in a huge mansion near the school. Her parents co-own Crypton Media with the Hatsunes, so they're very rich. Our school is an extension of Crypton Media.
A few minutes later, I hear a knock on my door. "Come in!" I call from where I sit at my dresser, curling my hair in front of the mirror. Luka enters with her makeup bag in hand.
I finish curling my hair and unplug the iron. "Good, you're just in time," I say.
She nods, looking me up and down. "Cute outfit. Rin make it?"
"Naturally." I beckon her over.
"So, what's the special occasion?" she asks, setting her pale green bag marked Green Eyes down on the dresser.
"Date." I reply, blushing.
Her eyes widen. "Gakupo-san?"
I shake my head. "Kasane-senpai," I confess.
Luka stares at me. "Teto's brother? You like him?"
I blush even darker. "No! He asked me, not the other way around! I'll tell you while you do my makeup, okay?"
She shrugs and starts rummaging through the bag. "Whatever you say."
Luka does my makeup and I have to say, it looks fabulous. Slightly red-glossed lips, gentle pink blush, and light brown shimmery eyeshadow with tinges of violet along my crease. She also curls my eyelashes. Add a thin dark line of liquid eyeliner and mascara, and I'm done.
"Oh, my gosh. I look perfect," I say. "Thank you!"
"No problem." My pink-haired friend winks at me. "So where are you and lover boy meeting, anyway?"
"Uhh..."
Luka rolls her eyes. "Then call him and ask him, carrot-brain!" She picks my phone up off my bed and throws it at me.
I catch it, laughing. "Hey! I'm not a carrot-brain!"
Hey K-senpai, just a quick question – where r we meeting?
"You so are. You even have a carrot charm on your phone," she snickers.
I lean over and grab hers. "Well, yours has a tuna fish!"
She blushes and snatches it back. "I-it's not the same!"
"Whatever. Now we're even." I say. My phone dings.
How about that sakura tree on the way 2 the girls dorms? and were still meeting at 11, right?
I text him back, feeling my heart beating faster.
Sure, see u then :)
"Gumi, you're blushing!" Luka says suddenly.
"No, I'm not!" I say, before I catch sight of my red face in the mirror. "I stand corrected."
"What'd he say?!" She grabs my phone just as it beeps again. I lean over her shoulder to read the new text.
k. cya, megpoid :) don't b late!
"He calls you Megpoid?"
"So?" I look at her. "What does that mean?"
Luka's the resident boy expert in our little circle. With her long, silky pink hair, sparkling crystal-blue eyes, and calm, relaxed attitude – not to mention her ability to like pretty much anyone – she's had more boyfriends than me, Teto, Rin, and Miku combined. Of course, Rin and I don't count, since we've never dated anyone before...
Luka bites her lip. "Well... he's a bit of a troublemaker, like you, right? So it might mean he sees you as a friendly source of competition. That or he likes you."
I blush harder. "He-he doesn't like me!" I demand, too loudly.
"Then why'd he ask you out?" She raises one pink eyebrow.
I grab my phone back and shove it into my purse. "I told you. To apologize." I'm aware of how weak that sounds.
Who am I kidding? Not Luka, and definitely not myself. Ted likes me, and there's no denying it.
"Okay, Gumi. Whatever you say," she says slowly.
I stand up. The clock says 10:15. "I should get going," I say, walking towards the door.
She follows me out of the dorm building with her makeup bag. "Good luck, and have fun," the pinkette says.
I nod, unable to meet her eyes. "Thanks. See ya."
She winks at me. "See ya." Twirling on her heel, she walks away in the direction of her parents' mansion.
I walk to the sakura tree and lean against the trunk as I wait. Len texts me, and our conversation goes as follows.
hey, gumi-chan! Whatcha doin? :D
yo, Len-kun! waiting 4 a date, u?
whoa! my gumi-chan, on a date?! spill gurl, whos the lucky guy? Your oniichan needs to know!
Kasane-senpai
ted-senpai? Len-niichan approves! ;) hes a good match 4 u. btw, did u ask or did he?
He did, he said he wanted 2 apologize for some stuff that happened between us. But Luka-chan says he likes me 4 real, and Luka-chan isn't usually wrong
hm, maybe! that would explain the hints he gave me and Hatsune-chan about the girl he likes: cute, feisty and she didnt know about it
Hmm, you could be right, Len-kun.
Of course, my dear imouto-chan, im always right ;D btw how long have u been waiting? ted-senpai should not keep a girl as sweet as u waiting too long
since like... 1020, but it's ok cause we're supposed to be meeting at 11. I came early, paranoid that I'd be late lol
well it's 11, I should let u go c; u 2 have fun on ur date :heart: luv u, imouto-chan
love u too, Len-niichan :heart:
I may have known Piko my whole life, and Len only since we were in fourth grade, but Len and I are so close we're practically brother and sister. I've never even considered liking him as more than just a brother, but I see what great boyfriend material he is. Whoever the girl that gets him is, I know she'll be lucky.
I check the time on my phone. 11:01.
"BARK!"
I look up and scream.
Three huge dogs – German shepherds, I think – are running towards me, tongues lolling out and teeth gleaming. They look like they're about to tackle me. I shove my phone into my purse and run for my life.
I know, I know – it's dumb that I'm running from a couple dogs. But I have cynophobia, the fear of dogs. My feet pound against the sidewalk, and my eyes are wide with fear. "KASANE-SENPAI!" I yell.
Suddenly I crash into something. A pair of strong arms wrap around me, and I flush red in spite of my state of panic as Ted's odd but distinctive chocolate cake smell floods my senses. "Kasane-senpai?!" I gasp, my voice cracking.
"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice muffled by my hair.
"Th-the dogs!" I cry.
Ted looks up and sees them. "Oh. Are you afraid of –?"
I nod into his shirt, and he picks me up without another word and runs.
He runs for about a minute and thirty seconds before stopping and setting me down. "Are you okay, Megpoid?" he asks, dropping to his knees and taking my hand. Breathlessly he presses it to his lips.
I blush again. "Y-yes. I'm sorry I panicked."
"No, I'm sorry," he replies, gently lowering my hand and rising to his feet. "I should've gotten there on time. But Teto was pestering me, and... I'm so sorry."
"Kasane-senpai, really, it's fine. It was just a couple dogs, nothing serious." I hug him reassuringly.
He blushes as I pull back. "I'm just glad you're okay," he says.
In the silence that follows, I get my first good look at him today. He's wearing two white hairpins on his left side, his black glasses, a white T-shirt with a red plaid collared shirt unbuttoned over it, dark denim shorts, and black Converse. His hair is in its usual ponytail, but curled at the end, which is weird for a guy but I find it adorable.
Wait – did I just say adorable?
No. No. Kasane-senpai is NOT adorable!
"W-well, shall we go?" he says after a moment.
"Sure," I reply. He takes my hand and we start walking.
After we've been walking for a little while, I've worked up the courage to speak. "Um, Kasane-senpai, where are we going?"
He smiles down at me. "You'll see."
Ted leads me through the streets, which get narrower and narrower as the woods begin to surround us, until we come to a trail leading up a mountain.
"What's this?" I ask, looking at the pathway.
"You'll see," he says again.
We go up the trail, past a shrine, through the woods, up onto the mountain. The whole trek only takes about five minutes.
"We're here," Ted says suddenly, stopping.
I tilt my head. "It just looks like a bunch of – Waah!"
Ted has pushed aside some branches and led me through the pathway he's made. Through the pathway is what seems to be a little house. Trees bend over the grassy clearing, their branches twisting together to form a sort of roof. There's a smooth gray rock that rises to about my waist on the left side, presumably for sitting on, as well as a cooler beside it that probably contains food. Several boards are driven into the soft earth at the edge of the flat clearing, with another nailed across them at the top, forming a sort of railing across the open side of the mountain. I walk over to it and look out.
I can see the whole town from here. "Oh! Look! There's Crypton!" I say, pointing at our school building.
"Do – do you like it?"
I turn around to look at Ted, who's standing by the rock with a light pink flush across his cheeks. "I mean, it's really not much of anything, but –"
"I love it," I interrupt, walking over to the rock and sitting down. I reach out and take his hand, pulling him down to sit.
"Kaito-kun, Len-kun, Rin-san and I made it together," he admits. "When we were younger. We would always play kingdom... Kaito-kun was the brave knight who protected the princess, Len-kun was the prince, and I was the dragon." He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment with his free hand.
I laugh and squeeze his hand gently. "That's cute." I say without thinking.
He looks at me, startled. "Did you say... cute?" His blush deepens.
I blush too. "Uh... Did I?" I mumble.
He grins, and my heart starts to pound again. I look away.
Before, seeing Gakupo's smile made me giddy. My heart would begin to race, I would blush and smile, and sparkles would form in my vision. But now it's Ted that makes me feel this way.
So... oh wow, I'm in love with him then?
Kasane-senpai...
I consider the name and its meaning. My best friend's older brother. Someone I hardly ever noticed before. I'd heard his name occasionally – a girl's secret desire, squealed in barely contained excitement in the hallways – but never really associated the name with the person. I'd seen him before at Teto's house, of course, however I never spoke to him. I was too obsessed with Gakupo to see anyone else. But now...
I look back at Ted. This adorable boy, holding my hand. He's real. He probably started liking me long before now, but I was too blind to see that he liked me. I was too blinded by a fake love, a counterfeit attraction, to see one that's real.
Ted is real.
"Kasane-senpai." I hear myself saying, before I can stop myself.
He looks at me. "You, um, you can call me Ted-kun," he tells me.
My eyes widen. "Only if you call me Gumi-chan," I blurt out.
He smirks. "So what did you want to say, Gumi-chan?"
"I-it's nothing," I say quickly, turning my head away again as a blush tints my face. I just can't say it.
Kimochi tsutae ta iyo anata ni kono. Kimochi doushite kurushii no?
"We should get going," Ted says quietly.
"Y-yeah."
I thought this was the end of the date, but Ted takes me out for lunch. We get sushi, onigiri, and later ice cream. Ted insists on paying, which I eventually – but reluctantly – agree to. Then he walks me back to my dorm.
"Well, see ya," he says, smiling at me.
He's turning to go when I say, "Kasa – um, Ted-kun, wait."
He glances back at me. "Yes?"
"W-w-will you... u-um..."
He tilts his head.
"Will you kiss me?" I burst out, squeezing my eyes shut. I feel blood rush to my head and hear my heart pounding in my ears.
A moment later, I feel Ted's soft hands cup my chin. Light as a feather, his lips touch mine. My hands move up to hold his shoulders, and we stay that way for a moment.
He pulls away and opens his eyes. I hug him tightly, feeling tears stream out of my eyes.
"Gumi-chan? Are you okay?" Ted sounds puzzled.
"I'm just happy," I whisper, grinning like crazy. "You were my first kiss."
"I-I was?" He hugs me back suddenly, with such force that he pushes me back against the wall.
I let go, startled, and look up into his red eyes. I'm unable to reply, captivated in those eyes.
He blushes, pulling back and leaning against the wall next to me. I feel the gentle pressure of his warm fingers against my palm, and I smile.
Ted speaks after a few moments. "Gumi-chan? Will you be my – my girlfriend?"
I look over at him, smiling wider. "Of course."
Author's Note-
I HATE THE ENDING OF THIS CHAPTER *A* I feel like it's so dumb.
Song is I Like You, I Love You by Rin Kagamine.