Chapter 14
Gakupo and I walked out of our room only to find that everyone had already gone down to the hall. Though he didn't say it, Gakupo was clearly ticked off that they didn't wait for us. He almost ran down the stairs and to the hall, anger written all over his face.
As I was about to walk in, someone called out to me. Leaning against the wall in the dark were Yuma, Rook and Dell. Yuma beckoned me over and I walked over, like a dog.
"Sup Kaito?" Yuma greeted. Dell nodded a head of acknowledgement and went back to smoking. Rook's eyes flickered over me but he didn't make any effort to say hi. I think it had something to do with our conversation yesterday. Yuma, however, let out a snicker.
"You're looking mighty uncomfortable in that shirt, Kaito," he commented. I grimaced and pulled at the collar of the shirt. I miss my hoodie... And these jeans were kinda tight... Yuma and Dell were also wearing shirts but the lucky buggers had three buttons unbuttoned while I only had the top one. Rook was dressed simply in a black t-shirt and jeans. I kinda wished I was him. This shirt was beginning to get on my nerves.
"My roomate forced me into them," I moaned. Yuma nodded; he probably sussed out that I wouldn't get into a shirt of my own accord. He turned back to the dorms, checked his watch and sighed irratably.
"What's taking those idiots so long?" he muttered. Rook only shrugged but Dell glared in his direction, angry at him for calling Haku an idiot.
"Hey Yuma?" Yuma turned back from the dorms to face me. "Who you going with?"
He flicked his hair in a kind of over-confident, Justin Beiber way before chuckling. "Yuma flys solo, I don't need a girl clinging from my arm-"
He was interrupted by Rook snickering. "That's just a lame excuse. He was too chicken to ask out Mizki so he decided to play cool."
Yuma's face went red and he glared at Rook. "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all! No one asked for your opinion! Now, go see what's taking Haku, Neru and Lily so fucking long, I hate waiting..."
Rook and Dell walked off to the dorms, laughing with each other. Once they were out of earshot, Yuma turned to me.
"Kaito, do you mind if I dance with Lily for the first slow dance? It's just, she's my childhood friend and tradition and whatnot."
I shook my head quickly. "No, no. Y-You don't... like her, do you?" I asked hesitantly. I really didn't need to be in a fight with the leader of the gang over a girl.
Yuma laughed and shook his head. "No, ew. Besides, if I did, you probably wouldn't be attending the dance with her, would you?"
Best nod at that, sounds like a secret threat. Note-to-self: Never go out with someone Yuma likes; he might break your legs.
The weather was cold and nippy. I kept fidgeting, jumping from one leg to another in an attempted to keep warm, while Yuma stood still with his hands buried deep in his pockets. I think he's part snowman or something because he wasn't shivering at all.
Finally, Rook and Dell emmerged with the three girls. Haku had let her long silver hair down and it blew gently in the wind. She wore a purple halterneck that cut just above her knees. Neru had braided her hair and wore a simple grey dress. Lily wore a black dress, with a red ribbon wrapped around her waist. She smiled shyly and linked her arm through mine.
We walked into the hall together. I think I was supposed to have sports on Wednesday when I was... ahem... 'sick', so I didn't get to see the hall before now. Balloons were stuck on the walls and streamers hung from the ceilings. Over in one corner was the snack table, where Rook and Neru were already, and at the other was a stage. The middle of the hall must have been a strict dancing only zone as no one was on it. Lily pulled on my sleeve to try and grab my attention.
"I'm going to get a drink. You want one?" she asked. I shook my head and, after she had left, went on a search for Meiko and Luka. I finally caught sight of them in the corner of the room. Grinning to myself, I walked over.
Luka was sitting on a chair, burying her head in her hands while Meiko was trying to get her to sit up. Eventually, she gave up and turned, only to catch sight of me. She grinned evilly and dragged my arm so I was standing in front of Luka.
Meiko had straightened and styled her short hair so it framed her round face nicely. She wasn't wearing much makeup, just some around her eyes to make them look bigger. She wore a dark crimson dress with an oval cut out just above her chest and on her feet were delicate little black high heels.
"Luka is convinced she looks stupid," Meiko said, shouting a bit to be heard over everyone else's chatter. "Tell her otherwise, won't you? I've gotta find Miku..." With that she left me with Luka.
I knelt down in front of Luka, placing my hand on her lap. She looked up to meet my eyes and I smiled a (what I hope was) comforting smile.
"You gonna show me your dress baby girl?" I asked soothingly. Luka shook her head, placing it back in her hands. "Come on!" I whined, like a two year old spoilt brat. I kept pleading and begging until she silenced me with one of her scary glares and stood up, arms crossed over her chest.
Luka's dress was black, with a red ribbon that was tied in a large bow around her waist, similar to Lily's. The collar was lined with frills, as was the hem. A little blue pendant hung loosely around her neck. Her hair had been brushed and straightened and looked silkier and smoother than ever. Someone had applied makeup to her face, making her look even more flawless than usual. I couldn't believe that I was standing in front of Luka Megurine, the mute girl who people made fun of and talked about behind her back. I think I was talking to a goddess or something.
Luka noticed I was staring and went to hide her face again but I caught her arms before she could bring them back up to her face. "Don't," I ordered firmly, moving her arms away. "You look beautiful. Don't let no one tell you otherwise."
Luka's cheeks went a charming pink, a smile blossoming on her face. It disappeared quickly when she saw something over her shoulder. I looked over to see Lily smiling, half coldly and half sweetly. Luka backed away slowly before running to find Meiko and Miku. I wanted to stop her but Lily's accusing glare stopped me.
"Why do you bother with her?" she asked coldly. 'I will not snap, I will not snap...' I thought over and over again.
"What have you got against Luka? She's actually really sw- nice. Really nice." Yes, I was about to say sweet but I decided against it at the last moment.
Lily didn't say anything, she only looked down and bit her lip. Then she shook her head, smiled at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me over to Yuma and Neru. She basically ignored me and tried to change the subject. I decided to drop it, the last thing I wanted was a fight.
Neru and Yuma, who had both gone single, watched all the other couples dancing. I had actually thought that Neru had gone with Rook but, when I searched aroun the room, I found him dancing with a girl who looked remarkably similar to him. She had brown hair (that looked like it had been back-combed) tied in two twintails with one strand of blue hair. Neru was glaring at her with a lot of hatred.
"Okay, can everyone pair up for the first slow dance of the night!" I reconize that voice. I looked up at the stage to see a familiar waitress holding a microphone, getting ready to sing. Mizki smiled as everyone cheered. I had to sneak a look at Yuma, who glared harshly at me, hoping it would hide the obvious blush on his face, and grabbed hold of Lily's arm. Neru sprung into action, marching over to Rook and pushing the other girl out of the way. I held back a chuckle before beginning my search for a certain pink-haired girl.
I finally caught sight of her. Smiling to myself, I walked over to where Meiko, Miku and Luka were sitting dejectedly. Miku caught sight of me first and smiled. She was wearing a black halterneck and her hair was held up in two twintail with a butterfly clip on each one.
"Hey Kaito. Aren't you dancing with Lily?"
I shook my head and sat down beside her. "Nah, Yuma wanted first dance. Something about childhood friends and the like. Why aren't you dancing?"
Meiko crossed her arms across her chest and scoffed. "No one even came up and asked us. They saw Lulu and ran off."
Just as she finished talking, two boys came up. They both looked like carbon copies of Meiko and Miku. I actually looked to see if the two of them were still beside me.
The boy Miku smiled shyly at his girl version, causing her to blush. "H-Hey Miku... U-Um, I-I was wondering... D-Do you wanna..?" He gestured towards behind him, where the other couples were all getting ready. Miku shot a look at Luka, who nodded to her, grinning. But she turned back to him with a sad smile.
"S-Sorry Mikuo but I'm-"
"Honored," I cut in. Miku shot me a look but I ignored it. "She'd love too." Then I pushed her to her feet. Turning to the boy Meiko, I gave him a harsh glare.
"You ask Meiko to dance now and nothing will happen to you," I threatened. He looked at Meiko, who was totally and utterly confused.
"Meiko, you want to dance,?" he asked nonchatlantly. She nodded slowly, getting to her feet and following him out. Luka watched her friends go out, a faint smile on her lips. I took this oppurtunity to stand up and hold out my hand to her.
"Come on, you didn't think I shoved them off so you could just watch, did you?" Luka smiled shyly and hesitantly took my hand. I smiled and pulled her out behind me. When we were on the floor, I turned and rested one hand on her hip and took her small, cold one in the other. Luka put her hand on my shoulder and smiled softly.
"I've been practising," I whispered to her. She raised an eyebrow but grinned anyway. I could hear the music starting. And when Mizki began to sing, we began to dance. I had actually been practising and glided along at Luka's pace with ease. Luka's eyes lit up when I twirled her under my arm and she giggled silently when I picked her up and spun her around. The song ended too quickly and a strong arm firmly tugged me from Luka's grasp. I turned to find an angry Lily.
"Sorry Megurine, he's my boyfriend. Get your own," she spat but then paused, as if reconsidering her words. I watched her mouth curl into a cruel smile and she pointed a finger straight at Luka's scared blue eyes. "Oh, I forgot," she began, with fake sympathy. "No one likes you. Because you're a freak!"
Luka's face crumpled. Tears began to gather at the sides of her eyes and no matter how many times she wiped them, they were always replaced. Seeing her in such a state reminded me of Kaiko. I looked at Luka and saw my sister, her short blue hair littered with mud and her dark blue eyes full with tears. My hands clenched into fists and I saw red. I tugged my arm away from Lily forcefully and glared at her.
"Fuck off Lily. No one likes you either. Because you're a bitch." With those words I took Luka's arm and manuevored her outside. Once out of the stuffy hall, she buried her face in her hands and cried. I guided her over to a wall and sat down, pulling her onto my lap and rocking her back and forth. I stroked her long pink hair and gently shushed her.
"There there baby girl. Don't cry. You're alright, I've got you," I muttered into her ear. Luka's sobs gradually slowed down and soon she wasn't crying anymore. Her head rested on my shoulder and her hands clutched the front of my shirt.
"Luka!" Both Luka and I looked up to see Meiko and Miku running towards us. Well, Miku was. The boy version of Meiko had an iron grip around her waist, preventing her from running anywhere. He saw me giving him a funny look and stuck his tongue out maturely.
"Luka, what happened?" Miku asked, taking Luka's hand. Meiko looked worried but made no effort to stray from her twin's side. When Luka only buried her face into my shirt again, both girls looked at me for an explanation.
"Lily," I replied, short and simple. Miku's eyes darkened and I could feel the evil aura coming from Meiko.
"Why that... I'm gonna... How dare...!" Meiko was getting more wound up by the minute. I jutted in before she punched someone.
"I took care of her," I said. Then I stood up and took Luka's hand. Turning to Miku and Meiko I said, "You two can go back in. I'll look after Luka." Meiko went to protest but Luka gave her a kind smile and followed me.
When we were back in the dorm, Luka led the way to her cubicle. She ordered me to wait outside and went in to change. When she was done, she opened the door and let me in. Luka and Meiko shared a cubicle and you could tell immediatly whose side was whose. Meiko had a red duvet that was lazily thrown over the bed and clothes and socks littering it. Notes were stuck on post-its all over the wall. Luka's side was much, much cleaner. The bed was made, she had posters of various people who I didn't reconise neatly stuck on the wall and her suitcase and pushed under her bed.
Luka got under the covers of her bed and snuggled down into it. I think she expected me to say goodnight and leave because she looked surprised when I sat on the bed beside her.
"Hey, baby girl? I was wondering..." I began slowly. Luka looked at me with interest and sat up a bit in the bed. "It's my sister's birthday tomorrow and I was going to go visit her in the hospital. Do you wanna come? I just think she'd really like to meet you and-"
I was interuppted when she put a finger to my lips quickly, a grin on her face. She nodded eagerly and searched around her bed for something. Pulling out a notebook and a pen from under her pillow, she opened and wrote something.
"I'd be honoured to meet your sister, Mr Kaito. I'd love to come, thank you so much!"
I let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her. Then I pushed her down gently and pulled the blankets over her. I stroked her hair and hummed softly until she was fast asleep. Watching her sleeping face was like looking at an angel. It was completely devoid of worry and anxiety, with a small smile on her lips. I ruffled her hair gently, left the room and flopped onto my own bed. Fatigue took over and I fell asleep quickly.
... Well hi there. Let me start off by saying I am so so so so so sorry for not updating! The worst part is that I don't really have an excuse. And I can't say that this chapter was 'worth the wait'. Hopefully I'll get back in the swing of this and we'll get our chapters! Yay!