The Date
Apparently, you had to bang your head pretty hard to induce a coma. So hard in fact that Yumeno, who was down on her luck sadly, didn't slam her head hard enough to knock herself out. Instead she was left with a nasty bruise, a forehead shaped indent on her dresser, and a throbbing pain that would last about an hour or two.
"Fuck my life, fuck arranged marriages, fuck using children for monetary and business advantages, and most of all fuck Kyoya Ootori and the fact that he exists" screeched Yumeno as she could feel her voice going hoarse.
Thank God Yumeno's bedroom was sound proof because if a passing maid heard the screaming going on in her room she would think someone was being a murdered or about to murder someone. The latter of the two may actually happen to a poor innocent servant if they happened to enter Yumeno's room, but lucky for the servants Yumeno hung a do not disturb sign on her door so she could have her rant in peace.
"Curse my damn luck. Why him?! Out of all people in the entire school I could've been married off to. Why does it have to be him" fumed Yumeno as she reached for the closest thing on her dresser she could throw.
She grabbed a $500 bottle of perfume she got from one her father's countless business partners trying to suck up to her and as she pulled back her arm ready to smash the damn thing to the floor she realized the fabric of her dress was restricting her movement.
"The hell is it now! Even my clothing is getting in my way today" Yumeno screeched as she looked down at the yellow monstrosity called her school uniform. "This is the probably the ugliest uniform in the world. I prefer that brown sack of a middle school uniform over this! Why can't our uniforms just mimic the boy's uniform at least their uniform has color variety and doesn't look like a daisy threw up on them!" Yumeno complained as she ripped her uniform off of her probably tearing a few seams in the process as she stormed into her walk in closet to find something less yellow to wear. She settled on a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants so her clothing could reflect her mood.
Afterwards Yumeno stormed into her way too huge bathroom to proceed to take off her makeup. As looked into her mirror, she noticed the swelling blueish purple bruise growing on her head. "I don't even know if I have enough foundation to cover this up for tomorrow." Yumeno sighed drained out of energy from her previous yelling session to be mad about the unsightly bruise on her forehead. "Whatever it's just another blemish on my life …. I'll deal with it tomorrow."
Yumeno finished washing off her makeup and looked in the mirror. She saw a girl that looked tired, that looked desperate, that look like she wanted to disappear. She saw a girl that could be drop dead gorgeous at a better time, but at the moment the girl was sick with life and too exhausted to protest against it anymore. She saw a girl with messed up, knotted, raven hair; with intense dark circles from late nights of studying and business deals; with stress lines that someone her age should not have.
"Guess what Kyoya Ootori you get to marry a broken girl who lives life through a façade! Aren't you happy!" Yumeno screamed at her reflection in the mirror as she began to laugh manically. Yumeno collapsed onto the floor and curled herself in a ball amongst the wreckage of her mental breakdown and began to cry in frustration…..
'Ok, calm down Yumeno. Sure you're stuck in a loveless marriage with a prick you would whether strangle than kiss, but that's ok. Let's stay calm and focus. You can't let anyone know you're opposed to marrying him. Think about it this way, you're marrying into a highly prestigious family whose business is at the top of their field and now you can use them to your advantage to expand your own business' Yumeno thought trying to calm herself down. 'You can do this, if you can live your entire childhood with a façade on, why not the rest of your life. You will not fail your parents, you will succeed in making this marriage go through.'
After a thirty minute pep talk to herself Yumeno finally calmed down and hauled herself off her bathroom floor so she could collapse on her bed. 'Who knows maybe Kyoya will turn out to be a decent person and not the fake façade wearing jackass you think he is' Yumeno hoped trying to encourage herself as she drifted off to sleep.
The light shining from Yumeno's curtains finally woke her up, and she was less than pleased. "Screw sunshine, why the hell is it so sunny today. Can't the weather read my mood and tell that this is not a joyous occasion." Yumeno grumbled as she rolled out of bed.
She trudged towards her bathroom to apply makeup to cover up the bruise on her forehead from last night's incident. Yumeno applied a light layer of foundation with exception to the bruised area which she emptied out half of her foundation bottle trying to cover up the bruise and then applied a generous amount of concealer to hide away her dark circles. Afterwards she applied a nude shimmer eyeshadow, some mascara, and then some lip gloss. She looked in the mirror and saw a well put together girl, the opposite of what she looked like yesterday. Yumeno finished off the look by loosely curling her hair and then went to her closet to find an outfit that didn't scream I want to kill myself right now.
She settled on a flowy knee length white dress with lace embroidery and coupled it with a pastel pink jacket and a pair of white ribbon wedges and gold diamond studs. "Kyoya Ootori I swear I better be mistaken, and you better be a decent person, or else I swear to God this relationship will be the most manipulative one the world has ever seen" Yumeno muttered through her teeth as she practiced her winning fake smile in the mirror one last time before she headed out her bedroom door.
As she walked down the stairs, she stopped Mrs. Sato who was passing by and inquired what was for breakfast. Mrs. Sato gave Yumeno a sly raised eyebrow look and stated to her "Didn't you know Yumeno your date with Kyoya starts from morning to night. You'll be having breakfast with him at your favorite café."
"What" Yumeno low-keyed whispered yelled "I have to spend my entire day trying to be civil with that prat."
"Oh Yumeno, you'll be fine just use that fake façade thingy you have, and everything will turn out great." teased Mrs. Sato
"Quit mocking me! You of all people know how much I despise him, and how easily my facades falters when I'm around him!" fumed Yumeno.
"Dear, everything will turn out fine you know what they say there's a fine line between love and hate" Mrs. Sato laughingly stated as she walked away to complete the rest of her chores. Yumeno could still her Mrs. Sato's laughter in the distance as she stomped (as delicately as she could) down the stairs "she just loves to mock me" thought Yumeno.
Yumeno arrived at her favorite French café, and as she got out of the car she could hear Mr. Lee tease her "Good luck with your future husband!" he shouted after her.
"You and Mrs. Sato both love to poke fun at my sadness don't you all." Stated Yumeno exasperated.
"Not love it Yumeno dear, we live for it. Have fun on your date!" Mr. Lee told her as he drove off leaving Yumeno by herself with nothing but her future standing in front of her.
'You can do this Yumeno. Remember winning smile when you enter the café, clasped hands when you're sitting down to prevent choking yourself or the jackass sitting across from you, and a polite and demure tone when speak to him.' Yumeno recited to herself as she pushed open the door and stepped into the café.
She was automatically greeted by a cheery young blonde waitress who asked if she had a reservation. Yumeno replied "Yes, I do I think it's under the name Ootori" paying special attention not to throw up as she said his last name. "Oh Yes, I found it" the waitress responded "the other half of your party has already arrived I'll show you to your table".
The waitress led Yumeno through a throng of tables until they finally reached a beautifully set table in the corner of the café that had a beautiful view of the outside. There was a beautifully crafted flower arrangement at the center of the table, and just to the left of it sat Kyoya Ootori.
"I'm sorry I hope you didn't wait to long." Yumeno apologized to Kyoya as she flashed her winning smile at him.
"Oh, I didn't wait long at all. I'm glad you're here now. It's already quite late in the morning already why don't we order." Responded Kyoya politely.
"That sounds like a great idea Kyoya." Stated Yumeno "I'll have the eggs benedict with a lightly tossed herb salad and a glass of freshly squeezed dekopon juice." Yumeno told the waitress. As Kyoya told the waitress order, Yumeno took this time to observe him.
'Honestly he is not that terrible looking, and he greeted me nice enough in the beginning. Maybe my first impression of him was just blinded with hatred and cynicism. He's probably a great guy Yumeno. You have nothing to worry about.' Yumeno reassured herself in her head.
As they waited for the food to brought Yumeno decided to ask Kyoya what his primary role in the host club was. "I am the host club's vice president. I primarily manage the host club's finances, and I am what you would call the "cool type" when it comes to hosting" responded Kyoya with a cheery smile.
"Fascinating" replied Yumeno with an even bigger smile "I can't wait to help you and the rest of the club members as your manager!"
The rest of their meal proceeded in the same polite manner: a polite inquiry about something happening in one or the others' lives, an equally polite response. The entirety of their talk during breakfast was all quite vapid and held no content of real substance, but this held no importance to Yumeno.
What mattered the most to her, is that Kyoya Ootori had turned out to be a decent guy. Maybe a little dull and overly polite and something about him, struck Yumeno as not quite genuine, but she brushed that off as nerves, as she was just grateful he was not the complete jackass she thought he was.
The rest of their date passed in the same polite yet boring manner breakfast did. He brought her to a world famous aquarium on an island nearby Japan. They exchanged polite banter, neither of them mentioning a topic that seemed too serious or too personal, and Yumeno, the entire time, took careful precaution to make sure her façade did not crack.
There was one moment at the aquarium that Yumeno found a bit odd. When she was walking toward the jellyfish exhibit, she felt an unsettling stare focused on her. The sensation was similar to an animal stalking their prey before they attack, or a businessman determining the best way to take down his competitors. But when Yumeno turned around to find the source of this unnerving stare all she saw was Kyoya and his permanently glued on smile, so she decided that the late nights of business deals and no sleep were finally getting to her.
Kyoya and Yumeno were walking down a well-lit city street as their date drew to a close, and as she was about to wish Kyoya a good night she felt herself suddenly pulled into the nearby alleyway and her back slammed against a wall.
As Yumeno was about to knee her assaulter in the balls and try to rip out his jugular with her nails, she looked up and saw her assaulter was none other than Kyoya Ootori and he had her in none other than the famous kabedon position. Kyoya's eyes no longer resembled the soft polite ones she saw in dinner, and instead they seemed more intense, more calculative, more manipulative.
'I knew there was something not right about this bitch. He seemed too fucking perfect during our date. I knew it! But keep calm Yumeno and keep up the façade. Let's see how we can twist this situation to our advantage' thought Yumeno to herself.
"Umm Kyoya… What are you doing?" questioned Yumeno making sure to add a slight quiver to her voice.
"Oh, drop the act Yumeno. I've seen your momentarily lapses of composure at school whenever you think no one is looking. How you secretly cuss under your breath; how you secretly want to join the black magic club; how you glare at me with hatred every time I score higher than you on a test." Responded Kyoya as he jutted her chin upwards moving their faces even closer together. "Honestly, your polite act today was quite amusing. It was like watching a mutt trying to learn tricks for the first time."
The moment Yumeno heard those last words something in her cracked and before she knew it her façade shattered to the ground. "DA FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!" screamed Yumeno as she grabbed Kyoya's collar, unintentionally bringing their faces even closer together than before.
"Heh, what did I say nothing but a façade. But honestly as repelling as your true personality is I still don't mind marrying you. You looks aren't half-bad; I can see that underneath your incredibly vulgar personality there is a deep drive for success; your ability to trick most people with your façade is commendable; and you're another great asset to utilize to achieve a goal I have in mind. So what do you say Yumeno Takahashi, will you marry me?" sneered Kyoya as he pulled out a gorgeous 24 karat diamond ring surrounded with rubies.
"Listen here Kyoya fucking Ootori, You are one of the most repulsive people I have ever met. But honestly this marriage is going to be a lot more interesting than a polite boring one I would have with some other man. Also just as you have a use for me, I have a use for you too, and your face isn't half bad either. So I'll accept your proposal Kyoya." Yumeno spat back at him.
Before taking the ring, Yumeno kicked one of Kyoya's leg out from under him, so he landed in a kneeling position. "You know men really should kneel when they propose" Yumeno mockingly stated at him as she plucked the ring from his fingers and slipped it onto her ring finger.
"Till death do us part honey." Kyoya called back at her as Yumeno walked away.
Yumeno was sitting in one of her countless Roll Royces as Mr. Lee drove her home as she held up her ring to the car light and watch it glitter in all of its splendor. The ring screamed wealth, but the cold polished gems that adorned it lacked a feeling of love to them. It was as if the ring was a tangible representation of Yumeno's future marriage.
Sorry, It's been a long time since I've updated, but hey I've been busy. AP exams, ACT, SAT, and finals don't study for themselves. Since it's summer now I'll try to update more often, but yeah... we'll see how well I keep that promise. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review telling me what you thought about it. I know the grammar in this story is not the best, but you know I'm trying. Also yes Yumeno refers to herself in third person when she talks to herself in her head and there is nothing odd about it except everything about it. Till next time Yumeno Out!... REVIEW...