Sunday, July 13, 2008
Edited: Wednesday, December 22, 2010
In the previous chapter: Takeru, hoping for a nice, relaxing weekened, quickly found himself in hot water after sticking up for Hikari on his date with Miyuki. Encouraged by a strange dream, Takeru decided to reconnect with his brother, Yamato.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I think I own Geemon though. :)
Enjoy Chapter 5 of All-American Girl.
All-American Girl
By ebacusta
Chapter 5:
Making Up and Making Out: Part 1
Fortunately, the rest of the weekend passed without incident. A miracle Takeru chalked up to the fact that he hadn't called Miyuki since their spat Friday night. She'd be fuming today at school, but he wagered a peaceful weekend would be worth it. It wasn't that he wanted to hurt her feelings, but he just hadn't felt like putting up with bratty behavior. Trying to get her to forgive anything was like nails on a chalkboard. Annoying and painful.
"One fifty-three, sir," a feminine voice said, cutting into his thoughts.
"Huh?" he muttered, disoriented.
"The total comes to one dollar and fifty-three cents," the barista said again. Oh, right. He'd stepped in to buy a bagel on his way to school.
"Right, sorry," he sighed, shaking his head. He quickly fished the money out of his pocket and handed it to her, their hands brushing in the process. She blushed and smiled bashfully, coyly tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and looking at him through full lashes. He blinked a few seconds and smiled back, confused.
"So, um… how's the day been?" she asked, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.
"Uh," Takeru said in a half-gasp, half-chuckle. "Well, considering I just woke half an hour ago, I'd say it's been pretty good."
"Oh really?" she giggled, and twirled a strand of her hair. "I got up six this morning."
Takeru stared at her, and she peered back expectantly. She wanted him to say something in response. But what? He didn't care that she'd been awake for over two hours. He glanced down at his hands, hoping that when he looked up again, the barista would be going on about her business as usual. But instead, she was still fluttering her eyelashes at him. He laughed nervously. "Really?" he said, finally, checking over his shoulder to see if he could find an escape route.
"Yeah. To be honest, I really didn't want to come to work this morning. But now I'm glad I did." She fixed her eyes on his, giving what he interpreted to be a meaningful stare.
He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm…uh… I'm glad. Can I get that bagel?"
"What? Oh, yeah, of course. Silly me. I forgot." She laughed as if she expected him to laugh along, but he didn't. Instead he stared directly at the bagel she was lifting and putting in a bag— "Forget the bag," Takeru interrupted suddenly. "I'll just take that. Thanks." He snatched the bagel from her hand and fled, trying to ignore the snickers coming from the people in line behind him.
"Come see me again. I work until five today!" she yelled after him, but he left the coffee shop as fast as his muscled legs would carry him.
"So I guess she thought a hand brush meant something, huh?" Ryuji said as he and Takeru walked down the hall towards the classroom. Takeru had just explained to his friend his unusual encounter at the café that morning.
"Guess so, but she was so weird. Way too clingy. We'd been standing in each other's presence two minutes, and she'd already put us in a relationship together. Creepy," he added in a slight singsong voice as he grumped into homeroom. The day had just begun, and he'd already been humiliated.
Ryuji dropped down into his seat and watched his friend huff around for a moment. "Oh come on, dude," he finally piped up. "So she thought a hand brush meant something. You're a good-looking guy. What girl wouldn't want to be with you? Don't be a baby. Man up."
Takeru winced. He was acting a bit like a primadonna. Like Miyuki did if one too many guys hit on her while the two of them were on a date. The blond leaned on his desk heavily and sighed. "Yeah, but I just don't like it when people make a big deal about my appearance."
Suddenly, a loud voice cut through their conversation. "So I told her that her purse was an obvious Gucci knock-off, and that she should take it back and get something more worth-while with her money, like a book a full of dieting tips." Miyuki and her entourage. Of course, as soon as she finished talking, her friends burst out into laughter and lavished her with praise.
"Oh, you are so right. Her purse was hideous!" Himiko said, flipping her hand over her shoulder as if to show she'd condemned the purse from the moment she saw it.
"Yeah," Ruki agreed, nodding so fervently Takeru worried her neck might snap. Ruki always nodded. Her head was practically stuck in a constant up and down motion. He'd often though of her as a bobble head. Once she got started, she took forever to stop. "A dictionary full of dieting tricks wouldn't be enough to help her slim down." Ruki said. She and Himiko cackled again.
Miyuki wasn't listening. She'd fixed her gaze on Takeru, and he could read the expression in her eyes loud and clear. She was furious. He tried to plead with her through his eyes. Didn't she know how hard she was to get along with sometimes? I mean he tried! All the time. He gave her everything she wanted and more. What else did he have to give? All he'd done was defend an innocent bystander in one of her unfair tirades. Despite his pleading look, Miyuki's eyes remained hard and unforgiving. Clearly his eye appeals for her to forgive and forget weren't reaching her. He sighed, and opened his mouth to try and to explain…and she looked away. Turning back to her friends, who had just finished chortling.
His mouth hung open though he didn't say a word. She was giving him the silent treatment?
A sharp intake of air next to him reminded him of his best friend's presence. "Ooh, I saw that," Ryuji grimaced. "Shut down. What happened between you two?"
"It's nothing really. I just, uh… I just ye—we just had an argument," he reconsidered.
Ryuji looked at him like he was stupid. "Yeah," he said slowly. "When? Last night?"
"Friday."
"Yeah, okay. So by now, you would have made up already. What happened?"
Takeru glanced around the room. He knew how ridiculously obtuse he'd sound when he admitted the reason why Miyuki had decided to blank him. He knew that a phone call on Saturday morning would have fixed everything. But he hadn't wanted to call her. Why should he have to apologize? She was in the wrong.
But then again…he had walked out on her. And he'd degraded her friends into one nameless, mindless group, which was wrong—even though they acted like one sometimes. And he called her a jerk. He grimaced and hung his head in shame. "I didn't call her," he mumbled, half under his breath. Yep. It sounded just as idiotic as he thought it would. He prayed Ryuji hadn't understood what he said.
Silence. And then a disbelieving laugh. "Dude, do you have a death wish or something?" he asked, crinkling his nose. "I mean really. You could have called her this weekend, been ignored the first five or six times and then worked this out! But no. Now she's gonna complain about you to her friends, who in turn, are going to stalk you with these 'I-hate-you-so-much' glares until you wish you were either dead or a student at Sakura Prep, a fate worse than death. I mean, did you see what they did to Hikari on Thursday? That's going to be you."
Takeru shifted uncomfortably. "No. Miyuki wouldn't do that to me. Would she?" Ryuji fixed him with his own are-you-serious stare. Takeru slumped down in his seat. "She wouldn't do that to me. Just you watch." But he wasn't so certain himself anymore.
Hikari took the steps two at a time. Her short hair was (barely) pulled back into a ponytail. Instead of her usual school uniform, she wore her regulation gym outfit: knee-length shorts, a loose white shirt, and running shoes. On her wrist she wore a sweat band.
"Hikari!" a voice yelled out from behind her. She paused on the bottom step and turned. Rita appeared at the top of the staircase. "Are you going down to the track for practice?"
"Yeah. Do you want to come with me?" she offered.
Rita's whole body relaxed as a large, relieved smile spread across her face. "Oh, could I?"
"Sure," Hikari smiled. Rita bounded down the stairs like a child on Christmas Day and joined the girl on her trek to the track. They walked in silence a moment.
"Uh, um…" Rita began timidly, wringing her hands together. Hikari turned to the shy girl and watched her attentively. "Is… uh… Is your shirt… okay?"
"My shirt?" Hikari asked, glancing down at the one she was wearing.
"Yeah. The one Miyuki got that pen ink all over."
"Oh, yeah. No, it's pretty much ruined, but I have others, so it'll be okay," Hikari replied.
"But… Didn't you get reprimanded?"
"Yeah, I did. But I explained what happened, and he said he'd just let me off with a warning. Thankfully," Hikari said, adding a relieved sigh for emphasis.
Rita smiled. "That's good."
"Yeah," Hikari nodded. The silence settled back over them like a cloud. "So, how 'bout Geography today. Boring as usual, huh?" Hikari spoke up.
"Actually," Rita replied somewhat quietly. "I kind of like Geography." She hooked and unhooked her fingers together awkwardly, furrowing her brow as if speaking her mind might result in the Apocalypse.
"Oh really?" Hikari asked arching an eyebrow. They reached the first floor of the school and hung a right, heading towards the practice fields behind the school.
"Yeah," Rita nodded. Hikari waited for her to elaborate but she didn't.
"Why's that?" she asked, trying to prod an answer out of the girl.
Rita shrugged. "I think it's cool to learn about other countries, you know? And about their cultures. It's like traveling without ever leaving the comfort of your seat. I like to travel," she added, though the statement was unnecessary. Hikari could tell. They pushed through the doors into the mild warmth of the outside. Hikari saw most of the class had already gathered on the track.
She tilted her head and thought a minute. "Yeah, you're right. I'd never really thought about it that way." She flashed Rita a large smile and continued, "Guess I'd better think that way the next time I start drifting off in class, huh?"
Rita smiled back, though her smile was kind of shaky. Almost as if she was walking the edge of a cliff, unsure whether the rock beneath her feet would crumble and send her tumbling to her death or hold her. "Yeah," she agreed with a firm nod. Her smile became steadier. "Yeah," she said again.
By this time, they'd joined their classmates, standing on the track and chatting with their friends. Hikari sorted through the crowd. Still missing a couple of people—Miyuki, Ruki, Yumi, Asuka and Miss Kinoki to name a few. Hikari was glad to know she and Rita hadn't been the last to arrive.
"If you're wondering where Miyuki and them are, she always has to appear fashionably late," a voice said behind her. Hikari jumped and whirled around, ready to fight off the guy if he turned out to be a creep. His face held an almost childlike innocence. Though in shape, his face was narrow, it seemed full of emotion with his—big, expressive brown eyes, perfectly shaped nose ('Not too pointy, not to round, not to narrow, not too wide,' she thought), and soft-looking, kissable mouth. His mouth curved as he smiled sheepishly, only allowing her a peek of what looked to be perfect, white teeth. Hikari felt heat trying to rush to her cheeks (how could she ever have thought of this guy as creep?), but she forced it back down and relaxed. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He took a step towards her and extended his hand. "I don't think we've met before. Namida Ryuji."
"Uh, nice to meet you. Yagami Hikari," she said, shaking his hand. "But I guess you already know that, huh?" she added, mumbling.
He laughed. "Indeed, I did. But it's always nice to hear it from your lips."
Hikari hesitated a second, as she stared at him in wonderment and then smiled, giggling herself. "I suppose that's true." They smiled at each other a moment, as Hikari's mind raced, trying to think of something to say to him. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the arrival of Miss Kinoki and Asuka.
"Sorry, I'm late," Asuka exclaimed sprinting towards the group as fast as her legs would carry her. "I was waiting on the practice schedule for the Sports Fest. We're signed up for Mondays right after school, Thursdays right after school, and Wednesdays we get the late shift, so it's probably going to be after sports practice."
"What? Three practices a week?" someone complained from the other side of the crowd. "Why so many?"
Asuka folded her arms, looking slightly annoyed. "As Miss Kinoki indicated last week, we have a long way to go. Now shut up and let's begin practice."
"Ugh!" a disgusted grunt came from behind Asuka. "I can't believe you were going to start without us." The class turned their heads. Miyuki and her entourage—of course—standing, or rather, posing on the short flight of stairs leading down to the track. Miyuki's own hand was propped up on her hip, which was cocked to the side, one knee bent, her expression of mix of slight irritation and sass. "Perfect way to start an activity dedicated to fostering class unity."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "I figured I'd set things up so you could make your dramatic entrance." She drummed her fingers on her bicep, waiting for Miyuki and her friends to join the rest of them. The class snickered.
"Good one," Ryuji said, grinning at Asuka. She smirked back as Miyuki walked saucily down the steps swiveling her hips from side-to-side in her typical 'figure eight' fashion. "Miyu, if you run the way you walk, you're going to dislocate a leg," Ryuji quipped.
Miyuki tensed immediately. Her head snapped around, looking viciously at her fellow classmates as they hid their laughter behind their hands and hair. "Who said that?" she demanded. Ryuji chuckled quietly. "Who?"
Asuka watched silently, perfectly content to let Miyuki keep tossing her head from left to right for as long as she was willing to make a fool out of herself. However, it was not meant to be. Miss Kinoki put the fun to an end with two sharp claps. "Enough. Let's begin." Her voice was sharp, daring anyone to defy it and laugh. The class remained silent, though several people were still grinning. "What's the first event, Asuka?"
"Er… um… why don't we start with the 100-meter dash," she suggested, consulting her clipboard. "Let's see… That's Hikari and Aoichi."
"Me?" Hikari asked, pointing at herself, surprised. She'd hoped she'd get a chance to see the others run first. She wasn't quite certain how this whole Sports Fest thing worked yet. She hadn't been in one since second grade.
"No, the other Hikari in our class," Miyuki snapped. "What are you? Dumb?"
Hikari regarded her a moment with her mouth hanging slightly open, almost as if she were sizing Miyuki up, mentally preparing a couple ways to beat her into a bloody pulp. But instead, Hikari brushed her bangs from her eyes and clipped them back with a smile. "No. Just making sure." The class parted, creating a path to the starting block.
"Why don't we go one at a time today?" Asuka suggested, her index finger resting lightly on her chin. "It will give us a chance to see what we need to work on." Hikari looked at Aoichi, expectantly, but he gestured for her to go ahead, adding, "Ladies first."
"Oh, such wonderful manners," the brunette sighed, kneeling down, and carefully placing her feet in the starting blocks. The class seemed to be holding its breath, eager to see what she had to offer.
Asuka pulled out the stop watch, and readied herself to press the button. "Ready…" Hikari raised her body into the air, so that she was perfectly poised to get a good start. "Set…"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'Focus on the goal,' she said in her mind. 'My goal is the finish line.' She opened her eyes again and tensed her body for action.
"GO!"
She shot off the blocks with such explosive power that the class couldn't seem to do anything but gasp, as if a shockwave from her powerful start had knocked the wind out of them. Her slender legs moved at what seemed to be the speed of lightning but held the grace of a swan as she raced for the finish line, her feet pounding rhythmically on the tartan track. She crossed the end point and slowed to a stop, breathing only slightly faster than she had been twelve seconds previous. The class' mouths stood open in shock.
Finally, a feeble voice managed, "So fast."
"Just like her swimming." Hikari chose to take the comments as compliments.
"I can't believe she runs so fast," Ryuji gushed, his voice bubbling with excitement and amazement. "I mean, she was like the wind!"
"I can't believe we have basketball practice after our sports fest runs," Toshi complained shouldering his athletic bag.
"Hear, here," Takeru added, nodding to Toshi. His thoughts exactly. "And Wednesdays we're gonna be running for like four hours straight"
Toshi grunted. "Yeah. At least Mondays and Thursdays we skip half of basketball practice for sports fest practice." Together, the trio exited the locker room and headed towards the street.
Takeru nodded, and changed the subject. "But, you're right, Ryuji, she does run extremely fast." He glanced towards the swimming pool below as they passed. The water was still, the evening sun reflecting off the surface brightly. It blinded him. Even though it hurt his eyes, he looked at it a moment longer, until he finally couldn't stand it and turned away. "I guess now we know what that 'other sport' she does is."
"Huh?" Toshi looked at him, quizzically.
"Remember? Last week, we were talking about her swim time, and we thought maybe she was a dancer too?" Takeru tried to refresh his friend's memory. The conversation seemed to be dawning on him. "Well, now we know where the muscle comes from. She runs track."
"She doesn't have that much muscle," Toshi sniffed.
"Nobody's threatening your manliness, Toshi. You have more muscle than she does. Calm down," Ryuji replied. They walked in silence for several minutes before Ryuji said, "Say, Toshi. Did TK tell you about his new not-so-secret admirer?"
"Ryuji, don't!" Takeru exclaimed.
Toshi looked at Ryuji curiously. "No he didn't. Tell me."
"Don't!" But Ryuji grinned and shoved the blond boy aside, his mouth moving a mile a minute. Ten minutes later, Takeru's face was red with embarrassment, and his two friends were clutching their sides from laughter. "It's not funny!" Takeru yelled. "Stop laughing."
"I… I can't," Toshi gasped, still shaking with laughter. "I've… I've gotta get home. Oh, lord, that's just too rich."
Takeru poked his lip out and cross his arms. "Just go already. I'm sick of seeing you."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going. See you guys tomorrow," Toshi sighed, straightening, and turning down the street they stood at the corner of. "Tell me how it goes when you go visit your new girlfriend, TK."
"Wha—shut up!" Toshi had already resumed his chortling. "SCREW YOU, TOSHI," Takeru yelled after him, fighting the urge to raise his middle finger in salute to the boy's retreating figure. Turning back to the front, Takeru stomped across the street, heading for home as well.
"So what are you going to do?" Ryuji asked speeding up to catch up with the blond.
"Huh?" Takeru asked, slightly puzzled by the sudden change. "About what?"
"About Miyuki. Didn't I tell you she'd freeze you out like that? What was it like?"
"Hell on Earth," Takeru admitted. "I have never felt like such a horrible person in my life. All those angry glares and snide not-so-quiet 'whispered' remarks. I don't understand how Hikari manages to put up with it."
"So what are you going to do?" Ryuji asked again.
"Grovel like there's no tomorrow, because if she doesn't forgive me tonight, I swear I'm going to throw myself out my bedroom window. I cannot take another day feeling like I just massacred a bunch of puppies or something."
Ryuji smirked at the metaphor. "Well, since you waited this long, you're gonna have to call at least twenty or thirty times before she'll answer at all. Then another couple times where she'll pick up, yell at you, and then hang up before you can defend yourself. And finally, when you sound so desperate, you're like verge of tears, she'll hear you out, and after you begging for forgiveness for a couple hours, she will eventually do as you ask and forgive you."
Takeru blinked at his best friend. "Er…"
"That'll take at least five or six hours. You'd better get started right away," Ryuji added.
"What?"
"See you tomorrow!" Ryuji exclaimed, cheerfully, waving as he split off and began heading down the street towards his house.
"Huh?" Takeru didn't even have a chance to process his departure. Instead, he stood in the middle of the sidewalk trying to understand before he staggered home in a state of confusion.
It wouldn't seriously take five hours to get Miyuki to forgive him, would it?
"Hmm… well I suppose the quicker I get this over with, the better it will be," he sighed, reaching for his phone and pressing speed dial one. The ringing in his ear was deep and monotonous—almost melodic in tone. And it went straight to her voice mail. "Er, hey, Miyu. It's TK. Hey, listen. I'm sorry about Friday night, and I'm sorry that I didn't call this weekend. I got wrapped up in some family stuff. Um… I hope you're not busy. I think we need to talk. When you get a chance, call me back, okay?"
He hung up, and bit his lip. He knew she wasn't at Cheer. There wasn't really any reason she should have missed his call. She always had her cell with her. The only thing he could think of was either she got to the phone too late, in which case she'd call him right back after listening to his voice message, or she truly was ignoring him. He sighed and prayed to God it wasn't the latter. But after waiting twenty minutes for her to return his call, he was forced to swallow the bitter pill of reality: he was being ignored. Still. It appeared it really was going to turn out just as Ryuji predicted. He pressed speed dial one again and listened to the deep, rhythmic ring. Again he got her voice mail.
"Hey, Miyu, it's me again. Listen, I know you're mad, but I really want to talk to you. Please call me back. Okay? Love you. Bye." He hung up and waited. He tried to do a little homework in between phone calls, but he was too distracted to do it well, so instead, he took to pacing back and forward across his room, irritably.
:o:
8:47
"Listen, Miyu. I'm sorry. I know you probably want some space, and I'd give it to you, only thing is, I can't get you off of my mind. It's bothering me. You didn't talk to me once all day. Please, let's not do this."
:o:
9:25
"Miyu? TK. This is like message number fifteen. Please call me back. I really want to talk to you, okay?"
:o:
9:41
"I get that you're mad at me, but I'm trying to apologize and you aren't giving me a chance. I am truly sorry, Miyu, and I will make it up to you in whatever way I can. I promise I will. Just please, call me back."
:o:
9:53
"It's almost ten and you haven't called. This is like the 30th time I've called. Please stop ignoring me. I'm sorry, okay? Really, really, really, really sorry."
:o:
9:54
"Really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry!"
:o:
9:55
"I don't think you realize just how sorry I am. But you would if you'd just call back!"
:o:
By ten-thirty, Takeru had given up all hope that Miyuki was going to hear him out that night. Flopping on his bed exhaustedly, he glanced out his window. "I wonder if jumping is the best way to go…" he mumbled, absentmindedly. He didn't understand why she was so mad at him. He'd called what seemed like fifty times. He'd called so many times, in fact, that there wasn't any space left in her voice mail box.
He felt utterly humiliated.
The girls were the ones who were supposed calling every five minutes until the voice mail box was full. The girls were the ones who were supposed leave slightly hysterical-sounding messages. The girls were the ones who were supposed to lie on their beds, contemplating whether it might be easier just to end everything and forget about contacting the significant other. Yes, the girls were the ones who were supposed to be worrying like this in the relationship.
It was the boy's responsibility to be sexy, rugged, and completely inaccessible most of the time, listening to his girlfriend's messages and laughing about them with his friends, perhaps only remembering his 'taken'-status after a long afternoon of skateboarding, when he tosses his phone on his bed and notices the text message and voice mail icons as he's stripping off his clothes to go shower. Yes, that was the boy's role. Something he was not doing right now. The realization devastated him.
In other words, Takeru Takaishi had become the girl in their relationship.
His face burned with mortification. Hesitantly, begrudgingly, almost angrily, Takeru dialed Miyuki's number again and raised the phone to his ear. Needless to say, he was surprised when the deep ring tone was interrupted by Miyuki's voice.
"Hello?"
"Miyuki!" Takeru exclaimed, the relief flooding his voice. Oh great. Now he sounded like the desperate one too. Why did she get to win all their fights like this?
"Takeru." She didn't sound too happy to hear his voice. Nowhere near how relieved Takeru had been to hear hers.
"I've been calling you all night," he sighed.
"You have?" Miyuki asked coldly. "Sorry, I didn't notice."
"Look we need to talk—"
"I'm busy right now, Takeru. Can we talk later? Thanks. Bye." And she hung up before he could even so much as grunt in protest. He stared at the ceiling in disbelief as the dial tone rang loudly in his ear. It sounded so loud, he feared his ear drums might burst at any second. So he pulled the phone away from his head and snapped it shut. It was just as Ryuji said it would be. He knew Miyuki wasn't busy like she claimed to be. She was making him suffer. As if he hadn't suffered enough already.
He waited another moment and then dialed her number again.
"What, Takeru? I told you I'm busy."
"Well, whatever you're doing can wait, Miyu. We really need to talk—I really need to talk to you." And now he sounded like a girl too. This day just kept getting worse and worse.
"Yeah? Well maybe I don't want to listen."
"Miyuki, wait—" The tone drowned out the rest of his sentence. His mouth remained open, though no words came out. Slowly, he took the phone away from his head and dialed Ryuji's number.
"Yo! This is the Ji-man speaking," he said, cheerfully. "How's your penance going?"
"It's not," Takeru grunted. "She won't even give me a chance to say anything."
"What'd I tell you? How many times have you actually gotten to speak with her?"
"Twice."
"Ah. One or two more calls and she should be ready to hear you out."
Takeru frowned. "That's all fine and dandy, but what I want to know is how you knew so accurately what would happen."
"Weeelllll, what can I say? I've had a lot of experience in the groveling department."
"Oh? And what girl did you piss off?"
"Um… just about every girl I've dated in the past like two years or so—"
"Oh?" Takeru asked, his voice going up even higher, showing his astonishment.
"—but this isn't about me. This is about you and Miyuki. And you are so close, so you should get off phone and go call her."
Takeru scoffed as his eyebrows bent further in together, thereby deepening his frown. "Yeah, but if this is how she's going to act, maybe I don't want to apologize to her anymore. This is frustrating. I've wasted my entire night just trying to hear her voice. This isn't what I should be doing in this relationship."
"Huh? What are you talking about, TK?" Takeru could practically see the expression of confusion and disbelief on Ryuji's face. His voice was heavy with the two emotions.
"I'm not the guy in this relationship. Girls are the ones who pull this call fifty times in one day crap." Takeru poked his lip out and crossed his arms as he balanced the phone on his shoulder. "I'm the freakin' girl!"
"Dude, Miyuki is always the guy in her relationships. That's how it always is, and that's how it always has been," Ryuji grunted, dismissing his disgruntled friend's complaints. "I don't know why you're so surprised."
Takeru felt his face flush. "Still, it's so degrading. I don't even know she's worth it. I don't think I want to apologize anymore."
"Whoa, hold on there, man. Those are dangerous words. Don't say them out loud! The walls have ears. Do you want to endure days like today for the rest of the year? For the rest of your life even?" Ryuji's voice seemed to hold an expression of sheer panic, perhaps even fear.
"Well, no. But she makes even apologizing hard, it's annoying. I mean, isn't she mad at me? Doesn't she want me to apologize?"
Ryuji ignored him and went on, "Well, of course she does. Don't be stupid. But that doesn't mean she won't make you work to do so. She's testing your loyalty, especially after the stunt you pulled on Friday. Defending Hikari like that, and then not calling all weekend. That's like the most insulting thing you could do to girl, nevermind Miyuki. You completely defied her. So, unless you want your life to be a living hell, I suggest you keep calling and calling until she listens to you."
"Why are you so interested in the outcome of this fight?"
"Because, you know it doesn't take long for part of the blame to somehow jump to the best friend." Ah, so that was the reason he was panicking like he was.
"I really don't think you have anything to worry about. It's not your fault."
"Well, of course it's not my fault. You know that and I know that. But girls are crazy, especially those girls who are part of Miyuki's inner circle. They'll say I told you to do it or something. Like I would influence you to make the worst mistake of your life." Takeru snorted and crinkled his nose. Ryuji ignored him. "No, I wouldn't, but I would help you correct it, which is what I'm doing right now. Stop talking to me and call her."
"But it's nearly 11:30," Takeru whined.
Ryuji's response was unsympathetic. "Then I guess you'd better hurry."
Takeru sighed. "Fine."
"That's a good boy!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Tell me how it goes!" Ryuji hung up before Takeru could respond. Instead, the blond heaved a sigh, and sullenly dialed Miyuki's number.
A sleepy groan echoed through the silent room as pages rustled beneath the mop of blond hair covering them. The rustling stopped, and slowly, blue eyes opened and adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
"Gnngh?" Takeru grunted, sitting up and rubbing the drool off his cheek. He was seated at his desk, his homework skewed across the surface. Why was he sitting at his desk? 'Oh yeah. I was trying to finish my homework last night. I wonder how I did.' "Hnngh spleehh." He yawned and stretched luxuriously, before pushing his desk chair back and standing up.
Lazily, he swung his eyes across the room to the alarm clock on his bedside table. 8:41. He nodded… and then did a double-take. 8:41? "I'M LATE!" he yelled, flinging the chair out of the way as he leapt across his room to his closet, hastily pulling his school uniform on. After zipping his pants and buttoning his shirt, he haphazardly pushed the papers on his desk into his book bag, shoving the books in after them. "Damn it, why didn't my alarm go off?" Dashing from his room, he put on his shoes and grabbed his jacket out of the hall closet. With only one arm in the green garment, the other struggling to hold his athletic and school bags, and a breakfast pastry stuffed in his mouth, Takeru Takaishi sprinted from the apartment.
"Hikari, I can't believe you're so good at sports," Rita said, propping her head up with her hand. Her elbow was supported by Hikari's desk.
Hikari smiled and shrugged. "I'm not good at all sports. Just track and swimming."
"Like it matters. You're fast enough, you could play soccer or basketball or something," Rita said. "All the boys look up to a girl who can hold her own in a sports game. I can't even hold the ball, much less kick or shoot it or whatever it is you're supposed to do with it."
Hikari laughed. "Well, I tried soccer once, my freshman year in high school. Let's just say I found out soccer involves more than just running around a big field."
Rita cocked an eyebrow. "Freshman year? Isn't that, er…"
"Um… the equivalent of Middle School third years, I think," Hikari muttered. Rita nodded. At the front of the classroom, the door slide open and Miss Kinoki entered.
"All right class, to your seats, to your seats," she said, waving her portfolio around slightly. "Hurry, hurry. We've got lots to do as today, as you know."
At that same moment, the door at the back of the classroom slammed open. The entire class shifted its attention to the blond racing into the room, looking rather disheveled, sweaty, and exhausted. He was gasping and gulping air like the room might empty of oxygen at any moment. His jacked was rumpled, his shirt creased, and his hair looked like it hadn't been combed in years. But Takeru seemed oblivious to all that. With a relieved sigh, he sank into his seat and emptied his school books into his desk (also messy looking with folded, crinkled papers sticking out of every book at awkward angles).
"Good, glad that everyone's present and accounted for," Miss Kinoki said with just a hint of sarcasm. "I trust that everyone rested well last night, because it's time for our first Math test of second term," she added with a smile as the kids groaned. "Everyone please take out your pencils."
A light bubble of speech filled the room as the students retrieved their writing utensils from their bag or desk. All except one person. Takeru Takaishi. Hikari regarded him curiously. All the blood had drained from his face, leaving him ghostly pale, his blue eyes held a deer-in-the-headlights look, and his mouth hung open in what she interpreted to be shock, surprise, or abject terror. His hand trembled.
The Math test. He'd been so busy with Miyuki last night that he'd completely forgotten to study. "Oh no," he whispered.
o-o-o-o-o
Thanks to all who reviewed: Ashley Porter, Laury-KOS, butterflyangellover14, twiinklestar, Pebbles, TopazledHannah-kun, Final Genesis, Storyteller of dimensions, joeshen, Takerus Lost Angel, and Shire Folk. Ahh! And so many new faces. Thanks so much for your reviews. I appreciate them all.
Laury-KOS: Yes, the drama is tiring. I'm sorry if it's a bit too much for you. All the high school things I've read have drama, so maybe I'm going a bit too over the top. I'll try to do better in the future (though, heads up, this chapter might fall under the super dramatic category). I'm not quite sure who those other characters you were talking about are though. Could you enlighten me? (Unfortunately, there aren't going to be too many Takari moments in the next two or so chapters, but they are coming, I promise.)
twiinklestar: Thank you so much. That compliment means a lot to me.
Pebbles: Hardly inconsiderate, I say. And things in my life are quite well. Extremely busy, but I'm having fun. And, I'm really happy, which is good, because I was worried I might be really stressed! Though, since Friday I have been rather tense as my neck and shoulder muscle will attest. Unfortunately, a family friend died recently and the funeral was Friday afternoon. I've been jumping through emotions. On a different note, I'm so glad you like Miyuki's character. The girl's a censored as you put it, but her character is so much fun to write (and I hope a lot of fun to read). But now, the true question becomes: how are things in the life of Pebbles?
TopazledHannah-kun: Haha! Yeah. Who doesn't have friends like that? As far as the part in Chapter 4 after the Wii playing, I take it you're talking about when Daisuke and TK are out walking on the street. They were sent out to get food. Sorry that wasn't clearer. I'll try to fix that before I repost Chapter 4. And it's good that long chapters don't bore you. I think sometimes I get a little carried away. Haha. -sweatdrop-
Storyteller of dimensions: Sorry. Like I just told TopazledHannah-kun, I get a bit carried away sometimes, and really focused on getting through everything I have planned for a chapter. I stop paying attention to length. And you are so right. I could have split it and used the extra time. Why didn't I think of that? But I'm following your advice this time around (even though Part 2's not written yet, so I'm not sure it's the same at all). As far as TK and Hikari finding out their siblings are best friends, don't you worry. I've got that scene all planned out. I think you'll like it.
joeshen: Haha. Forgive me for laughing, I actually am sorry that your last date went like TK and Miyuki's did. How awful that must have been! (Unless you got to storm out as triumphantly as he did?) And I know what you mean. Something about long blocks of italicized text draws me in too. As far as the missing part between the restaurant and the dream sequence, consider it done. I hadn't thought about that, but it makes sense, so as I am adding that scene in while editing Chapter 4. Thanks for the suggestion!
Shire Folk: I think you're the only one who noticed that. And yes, the hangovers are never fun.
Preview of chapter 6: Hikari gets to know Ryuji better and reconnects with an old friend. Meanwhile, Takeru and Miyuki reaffirm their relationship, having finally made up. However, Takeru's still feeling a bit uneasy about their relationship and some shocking news and advice from Akari causes him to reconsider it.
Coming soon!