Chapter Twenty
-Miku-
I wake up to the sound of my phone releasing its usual notification sound. My eyelids still heavy with sleep, I roll out of bed and walk up to my dresser to go get it. I take a quick glance at the time before typing in my passcode. 10:11. I yawn and stretch as Gumi stirs in her sleep.
Luka: Come to our house! We're all going to eat breakfast together!
I pull the phone up to my view as the message flashes across the screen. I quickly type in a reply.
Me: Alright. Gumi and I will be there in twenty. Bring Piko?
Luka: Of course! G2G! Sausage needs to come out of the oven!
I give a lighthearted smile at her response and place my pink iPhone down. As I cross over to Gumi, I am sort of surprised to see that she's already woken up.
"Hey," she mumbles, turning over and looking away from me.
"Good morning to you too," I retort with a laugh, "You've gotta get up and dressed," I tell her, "Luka is cooking breakfast and wants us over there."
"Piko too?" she asks, attempting to sit up and straighten out her messy green bedhead at the same time. I nod. "Alright," she says, yawning. "Give me a moment, okay?" she asks, "I get dressed slowly." Thank goodness I'm the other way around.
"You'd better hurry," I advise her, "I told her we'll be there in twenty minutes." Gumi groans, walking out of the room.
"I hate the mornings."
The moment we reach Luka's house, Gumi and Piko stand behind me as Luka stands in the doorway welcoming us. "Good morning," she smiles, "Rin and Len should be back in literally, like, one minute, so you guys go wash your hands." Gumi and I walk into the house as I catch her looking at Piko. "Piko Utatane? Miku and Gumi have told me a ton about you!" she laughs, "You look so different!"
"Yeah," he shrugs with a laugh, "So do you." He pulls his lips back into a broad smile. "So what are you doing now?" he asks, taking off his shoes.
"I just signed with a modeling contract," she starts, "I'm pretty much a youth model. That's part of the reason why we're in Paris right now," she explains.
"Really? I could totally see that," he admits, motioning to her. She half-blushes at the compliment. "What's the other reason?" he asks, taking off his shoes.
"It's Miku's birthday in two days. Did she tell you?" Luka answers.
"No!" Piko gasps with a chuckle, "Miku, come on, you gotta tell me this stuff!" he laughs, turning to me as the door opens again. Rin and Len both stomp into the house, Len with a fuming expression on his face, and Rin looking completely scared to death.
"Breakfast is on the table," Luka says, not seeming to take notice of the two.
"Len, talk to me," Rin cries, grabbing his shoulder as he shakes her grasp away. What the heck happened between those two? "Len!" she tries again as he trudges right past her and slams the bathroom door in her face. "Len!" she shouts, placing both of her fists on the door.
"R-Rin, are you alright?" I ask, walking up to her. Her frail, shaking body slides helplessly against the door as her face contorts into a crunch, trying to fight back tears.
"He won't talk to me anymore," Rin sighs, hiding her face in her hands. I kneel down beside her.
"What happened? What did you say?" I ask her gently.
"I… I wish I could tell you!" she suddenly bursts, tears streaming down her face. "Miku, please just understand!" she cries. My jaw slightly drops as her bottom lip quivers. I've never seen Rin like this… weak… defenseless…
"Rin…" I start, "Come with me to one of the upstairs bathrooms. We need to talk this out," I say, helping her up as she rubs her eyes desperately.
"I don't want to talk this out," she wails as we climb up the spiral staircase onto the second floor.
"Fine," I decide, "Just wipe your eyes, okay? You have to eat breakfast."
"Okay," she says, closing the bathroom door behind her. What happened to her? Why won't she talk to me? Why won't Len talk to her?
"What happened? Is Rin okay?" asks a voice from behind. I spin around, only to see Kaito standing in front of me… and really close to me…
I back up against the bathroom door as his eyes bore into mine quizzically. "Y-Yeah, she's just… a little um, upset, that's all," I say.
"Oh," Kaito says, his face scrunching up with worry. "You sure that's all?"
"Yeah," I answer simply. "So how's it been with Luka, Len, and Rin?" I ask. He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Don't even get me started on Luka," he chuckles, his eyes widening. I tilt my head. "We're supposed to share a bathroom now, and trust me, it's crazy. All her cosmetics and stuff- Gah, it's like she has ten drawers just for all of her bottles of nail polish," he scoffs. I force out a laugh.
"Seriously?" I ask, my face growing warmer.
"Yeah. I guess Len's okay. I mean, dinner kind of gets annoying having to sit there and listen to him flirt with Rin all the time," he chuckles.
"What?" I ask, my laugh now becoming real as we walk down the steps.
"And Rin, I mean… Really, she's surprised me. I always thought that she was more like you and Luka, or maybe like Gumi, but nope. She's always so grouchy all the time," he laughs. Suddenly, his face falls. "But I've never seen her cry," he says. "Are you sure she's fine?" he asks.
"Yeah, Kaito. She'll be fine in a second, just watch," I say, "She's really resilient." He nods with a swallow.
"Wow, Luka. You really outdid yourself," Kaito chuckles, looking at the breakfast set with seven placemats around the rectangular table. I walk with him as we go to the bathroom and wash our hands. I knock on the closed door. Hopefully Len isn't still in there… What is up with him?
"Just a second," Piko's voice hums as I hear the sound of a water faucet turning off through the door. Thank goodness. Kaito quickly inches closer to me as the door swings open, revealing Piko with a paper towel in his hands. "Oh, hey," he smiles. I grin back at him. Suddenly, I notice that a little strand of his hair stands up right at the top, giving him that shota look that he was so infamous for.
"P-Piko," I giggle, "Your hair…"
"My ahoge is back, isn't it?" he asks. My shoulders start bouncing in laughter as Kaito turns to face me in confusion.
"What? Do you like, cut that thing off?" Kaito asks, pointing at it in disgust, only for me to laugh even harder.
"Yeah," Piko admits with a shrug, "I can never seem to lose it."
"Why not?" Kaito asks, shaking his head in disbelief. Piko shrugs with a laugh, dismissing the question.
"Just go hurry up and get a roll before I eat them all, shota," I tease, standing up on the tips of my toes to ruffle his ahoge. He scoffs and rolls his eyes, walking away from me.
"What was that about?" Kaito asks, turning on the bathroom light as he washes his hands. I shrug, shaking my hand.
"You know Piko and his ahoge problems," I giggle, shoving him aside to wash my hands. He laughs in protest and flicks water at my face. "Hey!" I shout, punching him playfully in the shoulder.
"Your fault for pushing me," he laughs with a shrug. I open my mouth to say something, but instead close it as I see a very cheery-looking Gumi in the doorway.
"Why hello there," she says, looking into my eyes with a smile… that's somewhat creepy. I swear I just saw her wink at Kaito. Kaito laughs, drying his hands on a paper towel. "How's it going Kaito?" she asks with a tilt of her head.
"Fine. Sometimes you are so pushy, Gumi," Kaito says, tossing the paper towel in the trash bin.
"What?" she demands, "All I did was ask how you were!"
"No," Kaito counters, raising his eyebrows, "You said 'How's it going?'", he laughs. Gumi rolls her eyes. "I know what that means," he tells her. What the heck? What are they even talking about?
"Sorry you had to hear that, Miku," Gumi laughs, turning on the sink. I furrow my eyebrows as my lips curve up into a silly smile.
"What was that about?" I ask once Kaito has left the bathroom.
"You know Kaito and his social problems," she giggles. Woah, déjà vu.
"Can you pass the jam?" Piko asks politely. Kaito reaches across the table, grabbing the glass jar of grape jam and slamming it down… a little bit too hard. Everybody looks at up Kaito, who rubs his neck guiltily. Piko, whose ahoge is now gone, looks at him with a strange concerned look on his face. Kaito just shoves his fork down in his scrambled eggs. What just happened there?
"Luka, this is really good," says Gumi, shoving a roll in her mouth. Luka smiles warmly, putting a little bit of syrup on her pancakes.
"Thanks. I'm glad you like it," she says. I notice Luka's plate.
"Is that all you're eating?" I ask her, staring at the two feeble pancakes.
"I'm not very hungry," she replies with a shrug.
"You're not even going to eat any bacon?" I ask.
"I'm a vegetarian," she replies quickly. I raise my eyebrows once as if to say whatever and take a bite out of my pancake.
"Where's Rin?" Kaito suddenly asks. Everybody except Len takes a look around the table, searching for her. There's an empty seat right next to Len, the silverware and plate remaining untouched.
"I'll go get her," I say, placing my hands on the table and pushing myself up. "Len, you want to come with me?" I ask, giving him a look. A small noise escapes his throat. "What was that?" I ask, intensifying my glare.
"No thanks," he replies, not looking at me. Seriously, what happened between them that Len doesn't even want to look at anyone anymore?
"Alright, suit yourself," I say, tossing one of my teal twin tails behind my back and leaving the room. I job upstairs and knock on the bathroom door. "Rin, come out," I say. The door suddenly opens to reveal Rin with tears still in her eyes.
"Are they eating already?" she asks. I nod my head.
"Rin, what took you so long?" I ask her, stepping back as she starts walking down the stairs. What happened?!
"I don't know," she answers weakly, descending down the curvy staircase. I shrug, not wanting to bother her with any more questions. "Sorry, guys," she says once she slides down into her chair in between Gumi and Len.
"Where were you?" Luka asks.
"Just in the bathroom, that's all," she answers quietly. The only sounds to fill the air next are those of forks clinking against ceramic plates as everyone finishes their breakfast, too busy eating to say anything.
"I think I'm done," Len groans, pushing his plate away from him.
"You hardly ate," Luka says, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Neither did you," he points out, standing up.
"Len…" she trails off, watching his back as he turns around to walk away from us and out of the dining room. That was… cold. "Rin, do you want to check on him?" Luka asks, turning the attention to Rin as she stares out the window.
"No thank you," she says in a limp, monotone voice, not losing her daze.
"None of you?" Luka asks, putting her glass down in irritation. I've known Luka long enough to know that she doesn't like it when you don't eat her food.
"Luka, I think it's okay," Gumi says suddenly, "I'm done too." At least Gumi has a clean plate. She stands up from the table and puts her dish in the dishwasher. "It was really good," she adds, before leaving the room.
"So… um," Kaito starts, changing the subject. "Miku, I still feel like I haven't gotten to know you very well," he admits. I look up at him. "Do you think we can hang out later?" he asks casually.
Suddenly, Piko turns to look at me, as if it's instinctive. I can't help but furrow my eyebrows as I swallow down what feels like a rock in the back of my throat. Suddenly, an acrimonious taste fills up my mouth. Piko's eyes soften. I simply blink back at him, not wanting to say anything. I raise my water glass up to my lips as the clear fluid streams into my arid mouth.
As I take a drink, it seems like forever as I am lost in my thoughts. Piko's right here. Kaito, this is the worst, worst, worst timing ever. I need to calm down, it was only casual. He's not asking me out on a date or anything… right? I think it's better not to ask if he is- it'll sound like I want one.
"Sure, I guess," I shrug, not meeting Piko's eyes. Just in case, I give a light smile as I let out a sigh.
"Cool," Kaito grins, "Yesterday I saw this little ice-cream shop. You wanna try it out?" he asks. Ice-cream. I should have guessed.
"Yeah, sounds fun," I smile. He chuckles. "Should we go later?" I ask.
"Yeah, why not?" he says with a nonchalant shrug.
"Okay. I'll meet you around lunch-time, okay?" I ask. The corners of his lips curve up into a slight grin as his azure eyes meet with mine, twinkling in pleasure.
"Alright," he nods, standing up, "Luka, that was really good. Thanks." I can't help but smile as thoughts begin pouring into my cluttered mind.
Now's your chance. He just asked you to hang out with him! Why not give it your best shot? Suddenly, my eyes dart to Piko. Oh, I guess that's why.
Oh, Miku, so... clueless. Thank you for all the reviews and things that keep me going! Alright, so I am starting this new thing for every chapter I post (I'll try, okay?)
Eating: Gum
Drinking: Nothing
Doing: Publishing, listening to music
Homework: None
Listening to: Meteor (Hatsune Miku)
Quote time: "You know Piko and his ahoge problems." - Miku
Sorry for the late updates! FanFiction was being derpy and it wouldn't let me post. As soon as I saw it was up and running again, I got right to publishing! :)
Enjoy the next chapter!