"No."
"What do you mean no? I'm not leaving Noel in a pet hotel and I want at least two of my own bodyguards with us." I was standing next to the big black car in front of my house holding Noel's cage (cat inside) in one hand, the other was on my hip.
The sky was a deep, solid gray, completely different from the sunshiny blue I'd seen in the early afternoon as I'd come back from my trip to the mall where I had the encounter with the overly-affectionate short boy (I really didn't know what to make of that).
Kyoya had it in his thick head that I would just happily go to his beach house however he pleased, with his three body guards. I just thought it was a little unfair, I have three body guards of my own, thank you very much, and they've been in my family for years, I couldn't just wave them away and just trust other body guards, just like that.
Well, I could. But Kyoya had said "no" so forcefully that I just had to disagree.
That, and he thought I was going to leave Noel, who was at the end of his kitten years, in a pet hotel where he would bond with the vet or whoever and forget about me.
And I had menstrual cramps. There was no way I was going to lose this argument.
"There is the PetPlaza just on the way to the beach, I'll cover the expenses if that's a problem." He said, again trying to be bossy.
"No." I said, my cheeks flushing. Offering to pay like that is a major offense in the Rich People World. "Noel comes with me or I don't go."
His dark grey eyes were hard, "It's the cat or the guards." He said lowly.
I clenched the cage against my chest and glared at him, our eyes locked in a silent battle. Finally, because I needed to sit down before the worst of the cramps came, I looked away.
"Fine. Whatever." I climbed in the car to sit next to, the one and only, Hotta. The guy responsible for finding and giving my Noel.
I turned the cage facing him, and I'm pretty sure he was smiling somewhere behind those sunglasses. But, seriously, it was pretty dark considering the clouds and that it was late afternoon, how can they see?
"Scoot over, toroi." Kyoya said, climbing in.
"Stop calling me that, doke!" I snarled and tried the best I could, but when he closed the door I was wedged tightly between the muscly body guard and the long-legged Kyoya. Noel started meowing worriedly.
"Shh, shh." I soothed him, petting through the bars.
"If that thing poops anywhere inside the house-" Kyoya started.
"Relax," Noel calmed down and curled up next to my fingers, "He's sand-box trained. I brought everything he needs, too, so you don't have to worry about anything."
I turned my face to give him a reassuring smile. Then blushed at how close he was.
I cleared my throat. "Whoa. You look awful, Ootori."
He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes as the car started moving. He looked paler than the last times I'd seen him and he had dark circles under his eyes. He said nothing and started to massage his temple.
Pompous jerk.
I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable while being practically crushed (also partially my fault, Noel's cage was too big and didn't fit with our bags in the trunk), then leaned my head against the head-rest and closed my eyes, making a mental note to take an Advil as soon as we reached the beach house.
You know that feeling when you are sleeping that you know the position you're in is impossible but at the same time you don't want to move an inch because then the magic of resting would be broken?
That was me. I was still sleeping too soundly to make sense of my position, but I could tell my legs were trapped from all sides and whatever my head was resting on was warm.
"No, I won't tell you where I am…" a velvety voice slipped in my dreamless snooze, slowly dragging me from my sleep, a loud thunder sounded after that. I nuzzled my head on whatever it was resting, and felt something cover my shoulders carefully.
"Because then you'd come see me and I'm busy…" it's a nice voice, I thought sleepily, "I can't have you come and risk ruining everything..." soft and manly at the same time. "It's just until the end of the summer. Then we'll see each other in college, all right? I need to go now."
The car's movement finally managed to shift me and the magic was broken. Suddenly the sound of the rain pelleting against the hood was much louder.
Car? I tried moving, but my legs were trapped, Voice? I moved my arms and shoulders when I realized it was somebody's arm that was wrapped around me.
EH?
I opened my eyes and saw that I was resting on some guy's chest, I jumped, the panic making me flap my arms and legs around trying to get away from him.
"Aahck!" I screamed. Poor Noel's cage hopped on my lap and he started meowing in fear.
"Kotoku-san!" called Hotta.
"Ooph!" Kyoya exclaimed when my hand smacked his nose and the cage hit his ribs. "Calm down, Kotoku." He said calmly.
"Why were you holding me?!"
"What?"
"Aah! Sorry!" I said as I accidentally elbowed Hotta.
"Sorry? I wonder if there will there be a single time when I'm with you that you don't cause me some sort of pain." He complained over Noel's incessant meowing, holding his nose.
"Not sorry to you, doke!" I yelled, and opened the cage. The car had stopped.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kyoya demanded.
"Shut up, don't you see he's scared to death?" taking Noel in my hands, he held on to me with his sharp little claws, but stopped meowing.
"You obviously have some sort of mental condition. There's no way I'm staying a minute longer with you in here." He opened the car's door, a rain filled wind blew inside the car, the sharp, cold drops hit my face.
"No, wait!"
But it was too late. Noel saw the opportunity of freedom and he took it, he'd flown out of the car and into the rain before Kyoya had barely put his foot on the ground.
"Noel!" I climbed over Kyoya (probably kneeing him, too) and jumped out of the car. "Noel!" I called again, but it was useless, the rain was pouring down hard and thick so I could barely see the house that was right in front of me, and the roar made it impossible to hear any meowing, if any.
In the short seconds I stood in the rain before Hotta materialized next to me with an umbrella, I was already soaked to the bone.
Kyoya stood next to me, "Come on," he said, "let's go inside, Tachibana and Aijima will take our bags."
I looked at him I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "What are you talking about? We need to find Noel." I could feel pangs of loss inside my chest.
He adjusted his glasses, "Kotoku, it's raining too hard and that cat is too small, it's almost getting dark, we won't be able to find him." He looked at me, and maybe there was something in my eyes that made him add, "Cats have good instincts, it probably already found somewhere dry and warm to curl under. Now come on." He finished impatiently.
"I'm going to go look for him." I shouted, stepping out of the umbrella, "He's just a little kitten, you monster." I turned away before seeing his reaction to my words.
My feet sloshed over the grass that covered the house's garden, my hair was glued to my face and my wet jeans made it hard to walk, I could barely see with the water hitting my face all the time, but I walked on, "Noel!" I called, "Here, kitty, kitty… Noel!" I kneeled down to check under the hedges. But slipped and fell faceforward on the mud.
Great.
I sniffed, the pain in my chest was growing and threatening to make me cry.
"Noel!" I stood up again and went to check the backyard.
As time ticked by my search began to feel more and more hopeless. And just for the cherry on top, a memory came back to haunt me. Back when I was at the end of my second year in high school, when I used to keep my hair all the way down to my waist, back when I loved making friends with everyone I met and didn't second guess everyone.
Back when I truly believed that people liked me for who I was, not because of the company I represented. Back when I thought that everyone I considered a friend also thought of me as a friend. Back to the day I learned how very wrong I was.
I stopped walking and wondered, not for the first time, if I would be happier if I hadn't learned that lesson. That shutting people out is safer than letting them in. I felt warm tears mix with the cold rainwater on my face.
"Kotoku-san?"
I swiveled around and found Hotta holding an umbrella. He took a step closer to me, placing the umbrella over me, "Ootori-san has asked to call you. He found the kitten."
Relief melted inside me. "Thank you." I sighed.
"Thank you, Kotoku-san. For taking the kitty in." Hotta said, without looking at me.
I smiled then my cramps came back with full force, "Aah…" a whimper of pain escaped me and I shut my eyes.
"Kotoku-san, are you all right?" Hotta asked concerned.
"Yeah, I just need an Advil." I said following him inside the house. "Maybe two."
I decided to take Hotta's word that Noel was safe and sound inside the house and went straight to a long, warm shower. I put on a pair of half-length pants, a striped blue t-shirt and a hooded sweater, then took my much needed Advils and I blow-dried my hair.
Just as I was done and decided to go after Noel (he needed to be fed and all), I heard a knock on my door.
I opened and saw Kyoya, he was all wet, but not dripping as I'd been when I came in the house, his shirt was clinging to him and the sleeves were folded up and he wasn't wearing his glasses. I felt myself blush, it was starting to annoy me how much that was happening, I mean, sure he was cute, but blood needed to circulate more fairly.
He was holding a puffy haired Noel in his hands.
"Your cat." He said curtly.
"Noel!" I exclaimed smiling, I took him from Kyoya, noticing how cold his fingers were, "What did you do, stick him in the drier?" I asked, since even though I was smoothing him, his fur kept puffing back up.
When Kyoya didn't answer I looked up at him, he looked tired and angry, "Next time remember not to take that cat out of its cage inside a car." He said, barely containing his annoyance.
"Wha-" I said indignantly, "You're the one that opened the door!"
His eyes flared "As it escapes your memory, you were attacking me."
"Because you were holding me!"
"I—", he stopped himself, then said, "My arm was feeling numb because you fell asleep on top of me. I didn't mean to touch you."
I felt my cheeks burn. He didn't have to say that as if it were the most repulsive thing on Earth. I didn't answer back and I watched as his shoulders slumped and he looked down.
"I won't be having dinner with you tonight. But it should be ready in ten minutes." He turned and walked away.
At any other time I would've slammed the door shut, just to make a point. But then Noel wriggled against my hold and I remembered why Kyoya had come to my door in the first place, I put the cat down (he went inside to explore my new bedroom) and took a step forward. My feet felt stuck. My pride had been wounded, I didn't want to go after him.
I took a deep breath through my nose.
"HEY, OOTORI!" I called.
"What?" he called back, he didn't sound too far away. Boy, is he a slow walker.
Without looking at him I said, "Thank you for finding Noel and drying him. Obviously you're not a monster, I was wrong to say that."
If there was one thing my grandparents taught me was to never be too proud to admit you were wrong.
Even if you don't feel sorry.
Kyoya was quiet at first and I thought he was ignoring me, then he said, "Who says I'm the one who did any of that?"
That made me look at him, my eyes were wide with surprise.
"I never said I'm the one who found the cat." He said in a bored voice, "What if I told you I'd just ordered Aijima and Tachibana to find it and wash it? All I wanted to do was get you inside the house."
"Jerk!" this time I did slam the door.
But later that night, when the painkillers were dutifully killing the pain, after both me and Noel were properly fed and I decided to go to bed abnormally early. I caught myself wondering, if what Kyoya had said was true, that he'd just given orders, why was he still wet when he'd had time to shower? And why did he bring me Noel personally?
I scratched Noel's head as he settled down next to me on top of my covers. Then I turned and faced the ceiling, a flash of lightning shone through the window illuminating the room for short seconds.
But then again, if he had saved Noel, why would he lie?
A/N: In a lot of hurry so quick response to reviews and sorry to say that updating will be in longer intervals now due to horrible internet connection to come.
etzelg: Thanks, but the cuteness is all on Honey, you know, I know. He's just adorable.
Extended Experience: I know! I wanted something original for her to come up with... And yeah, the flowers are a must-have.
TheDarkestTimeline: Thank you! I hope that opinion doesn't change as we find out more and more about her.
P.S.: I know, very lazy title. But it sort of grew on me.