Review Responses:
pretty-on-point: Ah, no problem - thank you for reviewing! I hope you're staying positive and testing negative in this pandemic as well~! Oh gosh, what I meant to portray in the "I must have saved a nation or done something extraordinary in my past life to have you with me" is that Shun is telling Alice that in his past life, he must have done something heroic because he doesn't know how he deserved to have Alice. I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding! 〒▽〒 Now that you mentioned it, Shun really WAS the only one that Julie wasn't actively trying to pursue - besides Marucho, of course, LOL. And if you want to find out who Mr. Barodius' son is, I guess you need to read to find out. ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ
cherry-tree-of-life: Ooh, tarot readings! I have absolutely zero experience with tarot readings/cards so I don't think I would be able to write about it. I apologize for that! /_ \ But if you want to know what happens next, I guess you need to read to find out~ (￣_,￣ )
Innocent-Diamond: I honestly NEED a friend like Julie - because of quarantine, I'm starting to really surprise myself by how ugly I'm willing to look in public whenever I have to go out, LOL. (￣﹏￣；) LOL, that was the effect I was going for, actually, so I won't be attacking you! And I guess you gotta read this chapter to find out if anything is happening at the ball. ㄟ( ▔, ▔ )ㄏ
MagicxMusicxMelody: As Geoffrey Chaucer once said, "All good things must come to an end"...which will eventually happen in Shun and Alice's case. And, yep! The decision Alice made in choosing the green dress over the blue dress was to show that she will always choose Shun over Klaus. I'm really bad at writing symbolism so there isn't any other special meaning or anything like that, LOL, so don't worry. ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) Billy's whereabouts will be mentioned in the future chapters so please look forward to that! ╰(*°▽°*)╯
Chapter 8
"Ah, Mr. Kazami! I'm so glad that you could make it!" At the mention of his name, Alice's ears perked up as she looked up from her glass of champagne that she was sipping daintily to find her husband making his way towards her childhood lover. A grin nearly split her face in half as she made a vague excuse to the circle of women that she was conversing with - it was more of the other women gossiping to her while she nodded at the right times - and made her way over to the two men.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr. von Hertzon." Shun smiled politely as he shook Klaus' hand. "Mrs. von Hertzon." Her heart skipped a beat when he shifted his gaze towards her, his polite smile fading into that of a genuine one. "It is always a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, Mr. Kazami." She could hardly get out, lifting a hand towards him to which he took and placed a gentle kiss on her gloved hand, and it took all of her willpower to bite down on a grin that was threatening to split her face in half.
"Oh, Alice! I didn't see you there!" Her husband's voice snapped her out of her thoughts as she shifted her gaze over to him and the hand that Shun had kissed fell to her side in the process. "Oh, Alice, Mr. Kazami, you both have matching outfits again." The silver-haired male stated the obvious, eyes roaming over the emerald ballgown Alice bought the day she went shopping with Julie and the emerald suit jacket that Shun donned. "What a coincidence." He added, his voice never wavering from its' usual pleasantness.
"Oh, is that so? I didn't realize." Alice pretended to sound surprised at his observation, her eyes darting to meet Shun's eyes, and was unsurprised to find his eyes still on her. "What a coincidence, indeed."
Klaus let out a cheerful laugh. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you two had planned it out."
"Now that - that would be such a scandal, wouldn't it, Mr. von Hertzon?" Her childhood lover chuckled pleasantly as he winked playfully in her direction, causing her to blush and flutter about for her fan so that it would cover her pink flushed cheeks.
"But of course." The von Hertzon heir agreed, his voice still full of amusement. "But tell me, Mr. Kazami, what have you been up to these days? It's been quite some time since we last saw each other."
"Oh, the same old routine, Mr. von Hertzon. Nothing much has happened since the last time we met." The raven-haired responded, although Alice could see the mischief and mirth in his eyes telling a much different story.
"Is that so-" Klaus said the same time a voice called out Alice's name.
"Alice!" The three of them turned around to find the owner of the voice, only to find a cheerful Julie in a pastel pink ballgown making her way towards them. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Good evening, Klaus - oh, and who is this?"
"Oh, where are my manners? Julie, this is Mr. Kazami, one of my clients. Mr. Kazami, this is Miss Julie Makimoto, a childhood friend of mine." The silver-haired male introduced the two strangers to each other but all Alice could think of was what Julie would say when she realized that the man in front of her was the unknown object of her affections just a mere few weeks ago.
"Oh, so you're Mr. Kazami! It is so nice to finally meet you - Klaus has told me so much about you!" She chirped, excitedly.
"Likewise, Miss Makimoto. Mr. von Hertzon has told me quite a bit about you as well." The redhead wanted to laugh when she saw the grimace that was threatening to make its' way through his forced, polite smile.
"Is that so?" Julie giggled, her voice an octave higher than usual. "Good things, I hope?"
"I suppose." Shun said through gritted teeth.
"Forgive us, Julie, Alice, but I simply must show Mr. Kazami around - perhaps we can talk some time later?" Klaus intervened, a hand on Shun's shoulder, no doubt ready to usher him away from the two women.
"Of course! It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kazami!" The silver-haired female was practically glowing, most likely from finally have met the mystery man she was pining for for quite some time.
"The pleasure was all mine, Miss Makimoto." Shun replied coolly. He averted his gaze towards Alice and when their eyes locked, she could hardly breathe. "It was wonderful to see you again, Mrs. von Hertzon." He reached for her hand, lifting it as he pressed a kiss and the redhead could have sworn that she felt him slip her something in the palm of her hand.
Alice smiled when her hand was released, her hand clutching whatever it was that he gave her. "It is always lovely to see you as well, Mr. Kazami."
...
"Oh, Alice, you were right - Mr. Kazami is awfully handsome!" Julie gushed as they sipped glasses of champagne on the balcony which overlooked the massive rose garden. "It is such a pity that he is in love with another woman. How I do wish I could have courted him."
"There are many men here who would love to court you, Julie." Alice laughed slightly, ushering to a small group of men that were shyly glancing at them from time to time. "See?"
The younger woman crinkled her nose before sighing. "I suppose so. Oh, if only they were handsome."
"Appearances should not matter at all, Julie." Alice chided, gently.
Julie jutted her lower lip in a pout as she let out a sigh. "That's easy for you to say, Alice - Klaus is practically perfect! He's handsome and he's well-off!"
"He isn't perfect, Julie. No one is." The redhead refuted, silently shuddering at the mention of Julie describing Klaus as 'perfect'. "Have you got a chance to talk with Mr. Barodius' son, Gill, yet?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, I've tried to, but it's just so hard!" The silverhaired female whined. "He's always around his father and he hardly pays attention at all to any other woman! How infuriating!" She fumed. "How am I supposed to get close to him if he doesn't even look my way?"
"Perhaps he is shy?" Alice offered.
"Oh, I - I don't know." The younger sighed dejectedly. "If he is, then Mr. Bariodius should have known better than to throw him a ball like this." At this, Julie sighed once more. "At this rate, I won't even be able to dance with anyone-"
"Uh - um...Miss - Miss Makimoto?" The two turned to find a stuttering brunet. "M-May... I have this dance?"
"Oh! Um..." Julie threw a glance in Alice's direction. "I really don't want to leave my friend alone-"
"That's all right, Julie. I've been meaning to get something to eat, anyways." The redhead smiled encouragingly.
"Oh, well, then, yes, I would like a dance." The silver-haired female smiled politely at the brunet.
He let out an audible sigh of relief. "Oh, th-thank you, Miss Makimoto." He gave her an arm, to which she accepted with a 'thank you' as they made their way over to the dancefloor. Alice watched as Julie's back disappeared from her view when it hit her suddenly about the possible item that was slipped in her hand. Opening her closed fist, she found that Shun had, indeed, slipped her something - a folded piece of paper, to be exact. Unfolding the paper, she found a small note:
Meet me in the garden. - S.K.
...
"That was hell."
"Don't say that." Alice giggled, nudging him playfully as they ventured deeper into the lush garden. "It's not all that horrible." She reassured, which earned her an incredulous snort from him.
"Really, Angel, I think being introduced to a group of women when I am already in love is rightfully considered to be torture." Shun feigned a dramatic sigh as she giggled at his words.
"Is that so? It doesn't seem like it, Mr. Kazami, especially when there were all of those women who were all making eyes at you just then." Alice teased, tearing her gaze away from him towards the glimmering moon.
Shun chuckled at her antics. "I apologize that you had to witness that, Miss Gehabich, but rest assured," At that, he took her hand in his, bringing it up so that his lips would gently brush against her knuckles, "I do not care about their eyes on me; I only care about yours."
"Must you always be this charming?" She let out a breathy laugh, as she turned back to look at him, her smile widening.
"But of course." He smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "That's why you love me."
"Hmm." She hummed. The two fell into a comfortable silence as the orchestra began playing a waltz. "Do you remember when we were younger and we would sneak out at night to dance to no music?" She smiled gently at the memory.
"Of course. It took me so long to get to our spot because of how much of a light sleeper my grandfather is." He chuckled. "Would you like to dance?" Shun asked as he bowed in front of her, one arm behind his back as the other hand rested over his heart.
Alice smiled, gathering her skirts into a curtsey. "It would be my pleasure."
The redhead had always heard of the phrase of 'dancing the night away' but never knew what it meant but in that moment, she finally understood. The feeling of one of his arms on her waist and a hand holding hers whilst he led them into a slow waltz and the way that he kept his eyes on her...it was all so much. Because in that moment, nothing else mattered but the two of them. Not the stupid ball, not the dozens of admirers that Shun had acquired, not her marriage to Klaus, nothing. Everything was right in the world and just for a little while, she really did believe that they were sixteen again, sneaking out at midnight to meet each other and steal kisses...until an all-too-familiar voice broke her away from her blissful daydream.
"Alice?"
End of Chapter 8.
Note: Contrary to popular belief, I am not dead...yet. I apologize for being so inactive - I was incredibly stressed out for a LONG time. During late October to November of 2020, I was STRESSED out about the U.S. elections - any U.S. citizens out there that can relate, LOL? - and from December until now, the severity of quarantine and the pandemic in general just got to me. While things are looking up, the news of a COVID delta variant is swirling around and I just - AHH. I really can NOT handle another lockdown right now. (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) So here's to hoping that things will look up soon.
DUN DUN DUN! A wild cliffhanger appears once more! Anyways, talk about Klaus being DENSE. I know that a lot of people are dense, but come on. This is a bit too much. I really don't have much to say in this author's note, haha - I like how everything's going so far. Also! I want to know; do you think the teasing between Shun and Alice is a bit OOC? I personally find it cute - then again, it's probably because I'm being biased since this is my work, LOL - but I want to know what you thought. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and I will see you in the next one! Goodbye~! ┗(｀・ω・´)┛
*this is just me promoting myself, LOL, you can skip if you want*
I have a Tumblr! You can go bully me there to update my works - but not too much, as I don't have a lot of self-esteem left, LOL - or you can ask me questions on just about anything you want! No pressure, though! (●≧ω≦)9