Hey everyone...
So, I edited some stuff with this story especially with the pairing. I just realized that I sucked royally in the grammar and I didn't know then that the tense is supposed to be past tense.
I didn't edit everything, mind you. I'm a loyal slacker so I guess you could see that in the story. I think I started in chapter 2 with the major editing...
Anyway, I've written two new chapters after a very long hiatus (sorry i didn't warn any of the guys waiting for almost a year-major problems came up in my family and school). Second year high school was hectic in Phil-Sci. At least in my third year this year, it won't be so hectic.
I'm done with promising you guys for a certain time for my update. I'm done with breaking my promises. I can't even tell you guys how sorry I am.
Since those who had been waiting for this story to update probably got sick of waiting, I'm just going to say sorry and i hope you'll forgive me. To those who had been reading my stories and making Story Alerts and some even gave a few reviews, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
P.S. : This note is just going to repeat from the first chap until the 22nd chapter of my story.
Chapter 12 – Better escape
"Let me get this straight," Koko said as we arrived at the bar. "You, Tsubasa Andou, are dating Equinox?"
Aniki only shrugged. "Yep, and loves every moment of it."
Okay, now, I wanna punch him in the gut. Yeah, I knew he's only acting for our sake but he did it in a mocking way that I wanted to knock his head off.
"Anyway," I cut-in immediately before it went deeper. Knowing Koko, he'd probably ask if we had some "private time" together. Okay, me and my brother? Just disgusting!
"How about you? I knew from someone that you returned to Gakuen Alice," I continued. "Seen anyone lately?"
Koko grimaced. "Nope, not a sight."
Especially if there's a gay waiting for you, I thought mischievously and cleared my throat to cover up my snickering.
"I did hear that Dawn and Lunar were you're batch mates," Hotaru asked. Innocent as she may seem, she's actually teasing Permy and Nonoko. I could see their shocked faces and our twitching faces mirrored in their eyes.
Yuu turned to Permy and Nonoko. "Were you?" he prompted.
"Yes, yes we were," Permy mumbled, trying to hide the fact that she's struggling to keep that "innocent" face. She also made sure she didn't emphasize the word "were".
"We transferred, though," Nonoko continued for her since she was more composed. "We didn't get to meet. And so, time passed and we found ourselves in a band."
We were already in our reserved table while we were talking. Since our table was a big half-circle, aniki was at the far right end, then me, Hotaru, Permy, Nonoko, Anna, Yuu, Kitsuneme, Koko, Ruka and lastly, Hyuuga.
I noticed that he was very quiet during the whole time. I also saw him frequently looking at aniki and emit a murderous aura.
Just then, a guy with hazel hair, violet eyes, leather jacket with a white shirt within, and black pants came up to our group and closed the phone he's been using to talk to someone, I presume.
"I'm going home early," he said. "I apologize but I have some personal business to attend to. I talked to John and he said he agreed to send Dark Sky and Blue Moon to your homes."
"Thanks, Reo," I said as I added a smile. "You're one handy guy."
Narumi just gave me a grin. "Nope, I'm just your manager."
He sped off leaving us.
"He's your manager?" Futon asked. He was also acting, but… since he got in some movies, he improved drama.
"Yeah!" Anna replied gleefully. "He's really nice and treats us well."
"He looks kinda gay…" Koko muttered.
"Not as gay as your fan," Hotaru whispered under her breath. I coughed out another snigger.
"Catching a cough?" Yuu asked.
I shook my head. "Nah, these are just side-effects from a concert."
They nodded in understanding as our orders arrived.
I had vodka since I was only acting and it was my first time to drink liquor. But then, in the sake of keeping our secret, I had to suffer. All of us had vodkas except for aniki. He had a red wine instead. I turned to look at what the boys ordered. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets as I saw two bottles of beer from Koko and Kitsuneme. Futon and Ruka had a wine like aniki. Hyuuga got a bottle of beer which surprised me. Of course, I knew from the looks of Koko and Kitsuneme, they expected Yuu and Futon to order beer instead of wine. Too bad, guys, they're descent.
"A toast," aniki began as he stood up. "For the success of the concert Blue Moon had."
We had a toast and drank our drinks. I almost gagged from the taste of vodka but turned happy when I saw my friends' faces. All of them had a tinge of green in their faces—which I was sure I had, too. I heard aniki chuckle quietly and got a chance to elbow him in the ribs without letting the boys knowing or seeing.
"That hurts," he complained under his breath. I just gave out a triumphant sound—quietly, of course.
"So," Kitsuneme began. "How did you guys meet?"
"We all met in a local contest for music," Yule replied. "Got in some sort of friendship after the contest and began a band."
"That's pretty coincidental," Kitsuneme commented as he took a swig. "How did you guys got in the famous lot?"
"Pretty hard to explain," Nonoko almost snapped at him because of his rude question. He made it sound underestimating.
"Your turn," I cut-in. "How did you guys meet?"
"We found each other, made a band, won a contest, got hired by a manager at some company, and bam! We're in," Koko answered as he took a big swig. It was obvious he was a bit drunk. "Of course, we're just returning to school to—"
"Catch up with the lessons so that we won't have to worry about getting dumb," Hyuuga cut-in before Koko could continue. To what? What was Koko gonna say?
I was also surprised that Hyuuga answered for Koko. I smell something fishy and it ain't my underarms. Must be aniki's. Don't tell him I told you that.
Just as I was going to take another disgusting sip of vodka, I heard something screaming. It's outside our penthouse bar. John came in our door and we got a peek of people screaming for an autograph.
"Really sorry, but we have to leave now," John rasped as he breathed for air. "It wouldn't be too soon when they'll break the door down. I don't think the guards are going to hold much longer."
I nodded at him and sighed. "I'm really sorry about this but we have to leave."
Ruka looked panicked. "How are we going to go out?" he asked, letting the word "safely" hang in the air.
"John?" Permy prompted.
"We go through the fire exit," John said and led us to the fire exit.
"Thank you for coming!" the waitress said, obviously wanting for an autograph.
We got out and ran down the stairs towards to safety. We reached the door to outside but stopped as John checked the mini-window on the door. He turned back to us with grave eyes.
"They've crowded the entire building," he said. "We could get out since they have their attention to the main door but if we aren't careful, we could get hurt."
"John," I said. "Where did you park the limo?"
His face scrunched as he tried to remember. "Near the tree. The tree is just 10 feet away from here behind the horde."
"Alright, here's what we're gonna do," I said as we huddled up. "We walk towards the car as quietly as possible and immediately jump in the car as John goes for it. I'm sure we'll be alright if stay in sync."
"I agree," Hotaru said.
"I approve," Yuu chimed in.
"We'll do it," Futon answered for his band. "Just don't let us get crushed."
I snorted. "You won't get crushed unless you're idiotic."
"Okay, when I say go, you get in the car as quickly as possible. John"— I turned to John—"you get the car ready but don't start the engine yet. Make it quick."
He nodded and gulped.
"Move out," I hissed and got out first. I ran without making any stepping noises and looked back to see them imitating me. We reached the limo and I got hold on the back seat door with aniki, Anna, Yuu, and Futon behind me. Hotaru got hold on the passenger seat door with Permy and Nonoko after her. Although I couldn't see much, I could get a view of Hyuuga getting hold of the other back seat door with the rest of his band mates behind him.
"GO!" I hissed as quietly as I could and could hear the clicking of opening doors and shuffling. John was already in the driver's seat and got the car ready. As the last persons got in, I yelled "NOW!" to John and he quickly revved the car to life. The screaming stopped and John quickly stepped on the gas pedal and sped off in safety of urbanity. I looked back to see the fans chasing after us in futile effort until they were just dots.
I relaxed in my seat as aniki took my hand—all part of acting innocent. Across me was Hyuuga watching me with bored eyes and his arms crossed. His crimson eyes looked confused and a bit angry for a moment and then turned emotionless.
"Where to?" John asked over the speaker.
"The mansion first, John," I replied. "Let's drop a-Tsubasa first."
Darn! I almost said aniki! Hopefully, they didn't notice. But it seemed fate made Hyuuga's eye twitch as he scrutinized us.
"Yes, ma'am," John quickly replied and got back to driving.
Yuu exhaled sharply. "Well that wasn't fun," he said after a moment of silence.
"Yeah," Anna agreed. "I didn't get a chance to relax."
"We're completely sorry about that," I said to the boys. "We didn't expect the fans to follow us. Quite frequently, actually."
They chuckled except for Hyuuga. "Well, it was good to know 'ya," Koko replied groggily.
"He has a low tolerance for alcohol," Kitsuneme explained. "Especially when he's hyper."
"So I noticed," Permy muttered.
"We would like to thank you again for coming to our concert," Yuu said. "It was a great for you guys to come to our gig."
"Don't mention it," Futon replied with a smile.
"We won't," I said with a wink.
They chuckled except for Hyuuga and Ruka.
Ah, I loved the wonderful silence—minus Koko humming and hiccupping. 15 minutes passed, we'd come across thick foliage of leaves that greeted us as we went to the mansion. John halted the car and walked briskly towards the door where aniki was at. He opened it and waited for aniki to step out.
The mansion had a big territory complete with swimming pool, a hedge maze, a wide garden, a horse ranch, a helpers' house, a garage, a lawn, and last but not the least, a mansion (duh). Due to the dim light, I couldn't make out the colors and figure of the house, but I could see some windows with their lights on.
"I'll miss you," aniki said and hugged me.
"Same," I muttered darkly but sincerely since I couldn't blow this act… again.
Okay, here's the big thing: we had some kind of plan to make things "for real". Know what it is?
Aniki leaned towards me and I closed my eyes as he kissed the side of my mouth but to others point of view, it looks like a peck on the lips. I suppressed the urge to purse my lips and grit my teeth. I could tell he didn't like this plan a bit. Did you know who suggested this? Two words: Ice Queen.
I could hear a silent clicking from a camera. I opened my left eye and saw Hotaru taking shots quickly… and a sharp intake of breath from someone. Aniki leaned back and smiled (which was a grimace) at me and jogged towards the house. He had an arm over his face which I'm sure he's using to wipe his mouth. Good thing he was.
John revved the engine back to life and quickly drove away from the mansion.
"Does Koko needs some help for his hangover tomorrow?" I asked.
Kitsuneme looked at Koko dismissively. "Guess so. Big D just got bonked in the wits."
I couldn't understand him but judging from Koko's face, he probably meant "Koko's gonna have a big headache."
I twisted my trunk towards the compartment near the door and used this opportunity to wipe my whole mouth on the leather cover of the seats without the members noticing. I quickly grabbed the pills and put them in a sealable baggy. I threw them to Kitsuneme and he caught it expertly.
"It'll heal his aching head," I explained and got back to resting.
I noticed that we were all quiet. Kitsuneme was constantly looking out of the window, Koko was asleep, Futon was sleeping, too, but he only has his head bent down and arms crossed unlike Koko who was resting his head on the head of his seat while squirming every now and then. Ruka was playing with his fingers while looking down. Hyuuga was weird. He was emitting a dangerous aura while he sort of glared towards the window with his jaw clenched and arms crossed. I decided to call his attention 5 minutes later.
"You okay, Hyuuga-san?" I asked, having a hard time not calling him Hyuuga.
He didn't seem to hear me so I cleared my throat and asked him more loudly—since, (thankfully) almost everyone was asleep—meaning, only Hyuuga and I are awake. Again, I did it with futile effort. So I sighed and reached out to shake his leg. He turned his attention to me with a scowling face and suddenly went tense. Okay, his face was closer than I expected it to be and I almost gasped in surprise when I saw his crimson eyes. I've got to admit, this guy had beautiful eyes. I quickly withdrew my hand and relaxed in my seat. I sighed in exasperation.
"Geez, I've been calling you for 3 times already," I said as his face turned emotionless. He just cocked an eyebrow.
"I just wanna ask you if you're alright," I explained. "You seemed pretty busy sitting there."
"So?" he snapped. He's making me mad by the second.
"Just concerned," I fired back. "I was worried that you might commit suicide," I added in a mocking way.
"There's no need to," he said in a monotone. "Mind your own business."
Say that to yourself egghead, I thought darkly. You've been stepping into my privacy since you got to school.
I shrugged, crossed my arms, and bent my head. I was about to doze off when John's voice interrupted my happy place.
"Where would the others go, Equinox?"
I looked at Hyuuga as he looked back.
"Hyuuga Manor," he replied coldly.
"Yes sir," John's reply quickly arrived.
I felt the car turn to the right and finally slept. Actually, I'm just half-asleep. I could still feel the car and hear the constant humming of the engine but my mind and my body is at rest. But that didn't mean I couldn't feel a stare boring on my body.
"It's rude to stare," I muttered without opening my eyes and without turning my head to him.
"You're not my mother," he said coldly.
"Does that mean you're really staring?" I now looked at him with amused eyes. He narrowed his eyes and looked away.
"You're cold," I muttered.
Sigh, this guy's really a man with few words. Where did he learn his vocabulary? Oh right, from a monkey with red eyes (and I didn't mean Kaoru-san and/or her husband).
Hmph, I really like him better before, I thought with a bit of sadness. I do hope that he'd be back to what he was before. I'm sure the girls are gonna love him, I laughed internally. But I think the laugh was forced and hollow.
Come to think of it… what was he before? I didn't remember a single thing about him… did I?
Anyway, thinking of all these is making my head hurt and woozy. I was again half-asleep with the same position as before. 30 minutes later, I felt the car stop and a door open. I heard shuffling of feet and dragging of them. Just as I thought everyone got out of the car, I felt a hand caress my face and was gone. I opened my eyes and looked up towards the newly closed door. I saw Hyuuga's stiff back facing me as he walked towards his old home.
Huh, I guess Jerky Hyuuga has some of the old Natsume I knew deep down inside. But, he didn't know who I was. Now that made me guilty. I didn't know why, but I suddenly want to sigh sadly. Either way, I smirked in happiness and returned to my half-asleep state. I then heard a shutter click.
"You know, Hotaru," I began as I narrowed my eyes at Hotaru's smirking face. "You're already rich and I could get you sued for blackmailing."
She just raised an eyebrow.
"And who's your lawyer?" she asked rhetorically.
"You," I admitted in defeat. "But still, can't you get enough? I mean, you'll earn millions by just selling the picture of me… much more if you sell copies of aniki kissing the side of my mouth! How about picturing your own face? Does the phrase 'billions of money earned' sound good?"
She looked up as she thought about it. "Until the trees are gone, never," she replied monotonously. "I'm camera shy."
"Harsh," I mumbled. "You're camera shy but you use a camera on me," I added in a mumbling way.
"That's the way I am," she replied and sat back in her seat. "By the way…Hyuuga likes you."
What?
"I could see he's jealous of you," she continued. "He got angry when he saw Tsubasa kiss you. Didn't you see?"
I did see… but I won't think of it as he's jealous. And who suggested the idea, again? That's right, the monkey with wings on his butt!
"Idiot, you're as dumb as you are on lovey-dovey things. He's just not that good of hiding his emotions well… just like you not speaking her thoughts out loud."
"Oh," I murmured. "Ugh, Hotaru, can we just drop it for now? I really need to rest. Besides, that guy is a playboy. You know I don't go for guys like him. Let's just give it a rest for the time being. My head is aching, too."
Hotaru only grunted and got back in her seat while fiddling with the camera she was using.
The Hyuuga now and the Natsume I knew were way different. I would wait for the day Natsume would come back from his shell, I thought and became half-asleep again. Why am I thinking that I knew Hyuuga before? What's wrong with me?
Time passed, and I felt the car stop. We were already near our secret hiding place and John moved to open Hotaru's door and mine. I shook Yuu and Anna to wake them up. They looked up at me groggily.
"We're here," I murmured and got out of the limo.
I inhaled the sweet scent of the night breeze and reached into the duffel bag I carried. I took out a white envelope and gave it to John.
"Here's your payment for a job well done," I said and he received it with a "thank you, ma'am". "It has your tip, too, since you helped us escape," I added and I saw his brows furrow as he started to give it back. "Take it as a gift."
I followed the gang as they entered the trap door. Permy was the one who got her hand and eye scanned. We followed her in the Room and flopped on the couch (in our "usual" places).
"A job well done guys," I said. "No wait, a job great-done guys."
Yuu chuckled. "I'll reconsider the grammar but true, we did great out there."
"Now, we'll focus on our task at hand," Permy chimed in. "Did you finish the devices, Mikan? Or should I say, Equinox."
I snorted. "I'll finish it tomorrow. I can't just stay up all night doing it you know."
"Right…" they said. Then, a thought struck me.
"Where's Snowbelle?" I asked and quickly looked around in alarm. They looked alarmed as well and started calling for Snowbelle. "Come here, girl! Where are you?" I called out as I made a hissy-like sound to call her (do you know what sound the yellowish liquid makes when you piss? That sort of sound).
Just then, a ball of pure white fur ran up to me and jump in my arms. Snowbelle then let a meow escape her mouth.
"Naru did a great job as a manager," Nonoko said.
"I bet he fed her with some yummy food," Anna said. "For cats."
We just grinned at each other and bade goodnight. I went in my room with Snowbelle in my arms. I laid her on my bed and went in my mini-restroom. I washed my face and my feet with some cold water and got out. Snowbelle was just sitting where she was and I slipped out of my gig clothes and in to my pajamas. I sat on my bed Indian-style first and said a small prayer of my own.
I tucked myself in. Snowbelle lied beside me and I clapped my hands three times. The lights were off and I was off to Dreamville.