apportioning blame... LOL
Jan. 9th, 2011 07:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angelshill okay... i think i was going to blame Psych, you know, the US series, for this momentary lapse of attention but i realized that it's not actually Psych's fault that i was up till around 4 this morning although it was what i was watching... it's more of my best friend's fault for giving me the series just yesterday meaning that i just started having a Psych marathon just yesterday too... But then again, i was the one who told him about the series so it might actually be my fault...
anyway, i actually sort of forgot what today was, or is... Mao-chan's birthday of course...
so... while i'm still not late...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAO-CHAN!!! :)
so i haven't actually prepared a birthday fic beforehand (which, if you sort of noticed, i've done to the rest of Arashi... Sho's one is still coming though, ever since i started writing fanfics...) i managed to scrape one just in time though... but if you think something's kinda missing or it's a bit odd, most probably because it's rushed...
^_^V
TITLE: Forced Confession
CHARACTERS: Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Ueto Aya, Aiba Masaki w/ mentions of Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma
PAIRING: Jun/Mao
RATINGS: PG
GENRE: a world that is kinda different to ours and theirs... AU
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: this was kinda rushed (concept and story started and done this day only) so for anything weird, awkward, off, or the like, i'm sorry...
SUMMARY: it's Mao's 20th birthday and her best friend thought it's about time she confesses her feelings... will she? or will she not?
“Please tell me you have confessed to him already…”
“What?! No!” Mao whispered worriedly, looking around hastily to make sure that no one heard what her best friend, Aya, just cried.
The two of them were just watching their university’s basketball game as per normal when Aya suddenly pulled her down from the bleachers and dragged her to side entrance, near their school’s dug out.
Okay, maybe not exactly so sudden. Something happened before she dragged her down there.
They were seated there at the bleachers like normal, cheering on their school’s basketball team, well not at that moment since the first quarter just ended, when they both heard a male voice calling Mao’s name. When they turned around, they both saw who it was.
Matsumoto Jun, baseball team captain and one of the most, if not the most, popular guy in the university, who also happens to have Mao as his private English tutor, passing by with two of his best friends, Ikuta Toma and Oguri Shun.
“Thanks for putting up with tutoring me last night… Practice was really tiring…” he said with a smile.
Mao simply nodded and smiled, turning back to the game quickly before her face could betray her and show him her blush. That’s when Aya pulled her to the side entrance.
“Why not?!” Aya continued to insist, although her voice is considerably lower. “You’re with him at least 2 hours a day, 3 times a week! You could have, should have, confessed already!”
“No I don’t!” Mao cried back. “I don’t have to do anything…”
“Oh really…” Aya exclaimed in exasperation. “You’ve had a crush on the guy since 5th grade… You’re turning 20 tomorrow! I say it’s about time you do something about it!”
Mao opened her mouth to contradict her but then closed it again and sighed. “I don’t know… I don’t think it’s a good idea…”
“Why?” Aya asked, a frown replacing the exasperation visible in her face earlier.
“Because I think he doesn’t expect that from me…” Mao replied in a small voice after a while.
“Really…” Aya said, a small smirk forming on her lips. “Someone like Matsumoto Jun-kun doesn’t expect that a girl could or would pop up and confess to him on any given day… He’s just the single most sought-after guy in school! Well, followed closely by his friends of course… And I’m pretty sure he sees you as a girl! You’re not a tomboy or anything… Why, in hell, would he think that way?”
The honest answer to the question is “Because he told me that he appreciates that I’m not like all those other girls who’re just pinning for his attention…” because that was what he told her all of a sudden, one night, during a break from their tutorial lessons. But she couldn’t tell her best friend that, simply because Aya would come up with another sort conclusion that would somehow make sense but still doesn’t.
“Just because…” she said instead.
Aya sighed. “Look, tomorrow’s your 20th birthday and I know the celebration wouldn’t be until this weekend, but tomorrow, you’d be an adult… And adults make tough choices, one of which is to step up or let go… You have to make a choice on this issue already, it’s long overdue…” she said reasonably.
When Mao simply smiled helplessly, Aya added “And you could think of it as your gift to yourself… Because if you don’t give that as a gift to yourself, I’m seriously considering giving it to you myself…”
“Aya-chan!” Mao exclaimed, gaping at her. It’s not that she didn’t understood what she meant, it’s just that she never expected her to issue an ultimatum like that.
Before Aya could do more than just chuckle, they heard footsteps running towards them, or the entrance to be exact. A few seconds later, it became evident who it was.
“Aiba-san!” Aya exclaimed, taken aback at the sight of the good looking basketball player heading from the dug out. “What are you doing there?”
“Oh…” Aiba laughed good-heartedly. “I had to make a quick dash to the men’s room before the 2nd quarter starts…”
-----
‘Do I really need to confess?’
Mao kept asking herself that as she made her way through her special day, smiling and bowing and cheering as her friends and classmates greeted her “Happy birthday”. She didn’t really need to deal with the question immediately, mostly because she wouldn’t have to meet up with Aya until after lunch, but also because the only class she had with the recipient of that possible confession wouldn’t be until her last class for the day but she couldn’t keep it off her mind.
Prior to Aya’s confrontation, she had already thought that the good relationship she had with Jun would be enough gift for her. She wasn’t really the type of girl that likes confrontations and she sure has never confessed in the past. Sure she’d given him chocolates in the past during Valentines but she never owned up to giving those chocolates, except, of course, during those times when she was given the opportunity to give it to him personally, but all were hidden under the pretense of friendship.
Besides, it’s not like he would notice her chocolates specially, not when there are dozens more he’d receive for the occasion. And she did think she’d get over him soon enough.
But time came and went and the golden opportunity for her to get over him arrived when their English professor told her after class that there’s someone who’s searching for an English tutor and since she’s the best in class, she might want to take up the offer, which turned out to be from him. But instead of getting over him, she thought she’d find some unlikeable traits of him during the course of their sessions to turn her off, he just simply seemed to reel her in.
But Aya may have a point.
-----
“So, what are you gonna do?” Aya asked the moment she handed her a wrapped birthday present.
Although that question was quite general and could apply to anything under the sun, Mao knew immediately what Aya was referring to.
She sighed, but it wasn’t a helpless sigh. It was actually quite determined.
“I’ll do it…” she told her. “This afternoon, after class…”
Aya beamed. “I knew you’d make the right choice! Good luck Mao-chan!”
Mao smiled, thankful for the encouragement and the support.
-----
She didn’t really have a plan. Well, she had some sort of a plan but it’s mostly how she’d run away quickly the moment she blurts out the words.
She knew that Jun usually hangs back in their room when the bell rings to avoid the corridor traffic that usually ensues when a class finishes (and maybe to avoid causing further and longer traffic because his admirers would flock around him the moment he leaves the room). She’d decided that that would be the perfect timing. She could simply just blend in the crowd the moment she confesses.
It may not have been the perfect plan, but it was still a plan.
She couldn’t put it into motion though the moment she realized that Jun wasn’t coming in to class, 15 minutes after their professor started her lecture. Jun would occasionally be late, but he’d never enter later than 10 minutes.
She couldn’t help but sigh when she peeked at her watch and saw that. Maybe it’s not meant for her to confess to him.
-----
She was still feeling a bit down when she headed towards her locker to leave some of her books before she goes home. Sure, she wasn’t really very enthusiastic of confessing her feelings, but she’d been worked up the whole day about it already that it was kind of a let down when he didn’t appear. Plus, of all the days that she wouldn’t get to see him, it had to be on her birthday.
It wasn’t to be the case though, when she saw a group of girls a few feet away from her locker, fussing over someone. When she looked closely, she realized that it was him.
That brightened her up marginally, she still got to see him after all, but not entirely because she knew there’s no way she could confess in front of all those girls, especially since all those girls are vying for his attention too.
He looked a bit harassed though, and she realized why the moment she saw that those girls are the queen bee wanna be’s of the school and that they’re all trying to practically cling to him.
She had closed her locker door quietly and was about to turn around, content that she at least got to see him, when he turned around himself and saw her.
“Mao-chan, right on time!” she heard him cry as he extracted himself from the grips of those girls. “I’m sorry girls... My tutor has arrived and she doesn’t really like waiting… I have to go now…” he told those girls before gripping her wrist and walking briskly out of there.
Mao had no choice but to follow, her steps trying to match up to his, realizing that it was just a ploy. He wanted to get away from those girls, fast. The relief that’s quite obvious in his features told her that, and the fact that their next scheduled tutorial wouldn’t be until tomorrow.
From behind them she could still hear the girls talking, though they were slightly blurred by the loud beating of her heart from the body contact.
“Who the hell is she?!” one of the girls demanded, put out for being brushed away.
“Oh, that’s Inoue Mao, Jun-chan’s tutor…” answered another girl. “Don’t worry about her, she’s not his type…”
“Of course not!” exclaimed yet another. “She’s too… Plain!”
-----
“Wear this!” Jun ordered, handing her a spare helmet when they stopped abruptly. She hadn’t realized that he’d dragged her to the parking lot already since her eyes were fixed on the floor as she tried not to trip. Jun had not let go of her hand, or slowed down even, despite the fact that they were out of sight of those girls already.
“Oh, no… No need…” she smiled, pushing back the helmet in his hands. “I know it was just a ploy, no need to drop me off somewhere or anything…”
“What are you talking about?” he smiled, looking at her and that made her heart jump again. She’d always loved his eyes, and his smile. “You’re coming with me…” he added as he placed that helmet on her head.
But even as he moved to ride his motorcycle, Mao stood rooted on that spot.
“What’s wrong?” Jun asked, turning around, his helmet already on too.
Mao swallowed hard as she stared at his favorite mode of transportation. “I—I’m afraid of those…” she admitted after a while, nodding at his motorcycle.
She could swear she heard him chuckle but when he spoke, amusement wasn’t part of it.
“Come on, I won’t drop you… Just hold on tight…” he told her encouragingly.
------
Mao had her eyes tight shut the whole time as her hands clung onto the back of his jacket as if it’s her last line to living, which it technically was. She had always been afraid of motorcycles, since she was a kid, ever since she saw her favorite dog get run over by one.
She never liked it as flashes of that dead dog and blood kept on flashing through her eyes. But there was something reassuring with Jun’s voice when he said he wouldn’t drop her, and she believed him. And there was something comforting about him too, actually, especially when she sat behind him. It must be his perfume, it’s comforting her.
Though it still didn’t stop her from clinging to his jacket like she’s clinging for life itself.
“You can let go now…” she heard him say and she realized that they were no longer moving. When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were already parked and that made her remove her grip from his jacket.
He was assisting her off the motorcycle already when she had the chance to look around and realized where they were parked; outside her favorite bakeshop, just a few meters away from her house.
“What are we doing here?” she turned to him in confusion.
“I was thinking of driving you home but I got a bit hungry…” he smiled. “I hope you don’t mind…”
“Of course…” she said immediately, convinced that it must be just coincidence that he stopped by that place. He couldn’t have known that it’s her favorite.
-----
When Jun instructed her to go find them a table, she obliged without hesitation, even though he hadn’t asked what she would want for herself. But when he came to their table, bearing a tray that bore their orders, she couldn’t help but be shocked (and slightly amazed).
It had two slices of strawberry cheesecake, her favorite, and two fruit shakes.
She was still staring at the food items when Jun sat down that he had to ask “Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no…” she shook her head immediately as she started helping him remove everything from the tray. “I was just a bit taken aback by your order…”
“Oh… You do like these, right?” he asked. “It’s just that I always see you ordering cheesecakes in the cafeteria so I thought you like these… We could order something else if you like…”
“Oh…N- no… This is fine… I do like cheesecakes…” she said, slightly flustered of the fact that he notices her at the cafeteria, even more that he notices what she orders.
“Good…” he smiled.
They sat there silent for a while as they sampled their orders, something she had done a million times in that store already.
It felt awkward though, she never really been with him without books or notebooks in front of them. And then of course, there’s her planned confession that she had officially scrapped the moment she heard what those girls back at the locker area said.
“Uhm… You were absent earlier, weren’t you?” she started, trying to be casual to bridge the awkwardness in the air, as she looked at him cautiously half way through their food.
“Yeah…” he said. “Uhm... Something suddenly came up…”
“Oh, okay…” she managed to say before her vocal chords stopped working. She looked down on her plate again.
“Actually…” he said all of a sudden, his voice a bit stronger. “I did that on purpose…”
“Oh, you did?” was all she could say, braving her way to looking up again.
“Yeah…” he nodded, looking straight at her eyes when she did finally look up. “I kinda heard about your friend forcing you to confess and I didn’t want that to happen…” he added quickly.
Mao’s eyes grew wide, her jaws dropped as she looked at him.
“Aiba-chan kinda overheard you and your friend after last night’s first quarter…” he explained, answering the unspoken question in her head.
She could actually feel her face heating up at the realization of what he said and what he implies and she could slowly feel her heart breaking. She didn’t like her, that’s the only reason why he would be absent from class just because he heard she’s planning to confess.
“Oh…” she gasped as something huge seemed to have moved up to bloke her throat, choking her with emotions. “I—I’m sorry about that…” she managed to say in a very small voice as she looked down again.
“Because I didn’t want you to confess to me just because you’re forced…” she thought she heard him say.
She looked up suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed, unsure if she heard what she heard or not.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” Jun continued as his hand reached out to the shake’s straw and he started playing with it. “I would want you to confess out of your own free will…”
“What?!” she blurted out, not understanding what or where things are going.
“I’ve always known you liked me… Or hoped at least…” he started. “And not just because you were different from all those girls around me… And I have always hoped you would confess…”
“Why?” she asked before she could stop herself. She’s not entirely sure she’s absorbing what he’s saying at the moment even.
“Because then it would mean that you feel the same way for me too, and that I’m not just imagining things…” he admitted after a moment of silence. And then he chuckled. “I’m pretty silly, sorry…”
Mao blinked furiously for a couple of times as she tried to digest what she was just told. Her head’s not cooperating much at the moment though, since it seems to be spinning.
“Wait… Are you saying you like me?” she asked eventually.
Jun looked straight to her eyes as he bit into his inner lip, a telltale sign that he’s nervous. “Yeah…” he replied. “The moment you rode my bike, I figured I could do the confessing this time, and not become the one being confessed too…”
Mao felt her jaws dropping, and then she gasped. “You actually like me?!” she could help but blurt out again as blood rushed to her face.
It made Jun chuckle a bit though as he smiled when he said “Yes, Inoue Mao-chan, I like you… Since the first time I saw you in 3rd grade although you never seem to notice me…”
Mao didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to say. But when she looked into his eyes and nodded with a smile on her lips, the way he beamed told her that, somehow, that’s enough.
-----
“Uhm, I think we better walk to your place…” Jun chuckled the moment they stepped out and saw her looking at her motorcycle apprehensively. Mao nodded gratefully and smiled.
Before she could make more than a couple of steps to head towards her place though, she felt him slip his hands next to hers to hold it.
She couldn’t help but chuckle although it was making her feel really giddy.
So, does this mean we’re kinda some sort of a couple?” she couldn’t help but ask, trying to gauge what they really are at the moment.
“No…” Jun said sternly. “Not kinda. We really are…” he added with a smile.
She couldn’t help but smile too as she felt him entwine their fingers.
Aya’s going to demand a lot of answers tommorow.
-----THE END-----
so that was that...
how was it? :)
bricks are allowed... :)
anyway, i actually sort of forgot what today was, or is... Mao-chan's birthday of course...
so... while i'm still not late...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAO-CHAN!!! :)
so i haven't actually prepared a birthday fic beforehand (which, if you sort of noticed, i've done to the rest of Arashi... Sho's one is still coming though, ever since i started writing fanfics...) i managed to scrape one just in time though... but if you think something's kinda missing or it's a bit odd, most probably because it's rushed...
^_^V
TITLE: Forced Confession
CHARACTERS: Matsumoto Jun, Inoue Mao, Ueto Aya, Aiba Masaki w/ mentions of Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma
PAIRING: Jun/Mao
RATINGS: PG
GENRE: a world that is kinda different to ours and theirs... AU
DISCLAIMER: The only thing i own in this story is the plot...
AUTHOR'S NOTE: this was kinda rushed (concept and story started and done this day only) so for anything weird, awkward, off, or the like, i'm sorry...
SUMMARY: it's Mao's 20th birthday and her best friend thought it's about time she confesses her feelings... will she? or will she not?
“Please tell me you have confessed to him already…”
“What?! No!” Mao whispered worriedly, looking around hastily to make sure that no one heard what her best friend, Aya, just cried.
The two of them were just watching their university’s basketball game as per normal when Aya suddenly pulled her down from the bleachers and dragged her to side entrance, near their school’s dug out.
Okay, maybe not exactly so sudden. Something happened before she dragged her down there.
They were seated there at the bleachers like normal, cheering on their school’s basketball team, well not at that moment since the first quarter just ended, when they both heard a male voice calling Mao’s name. When they turned around, they both saw who it was.
Matsumoto Jun, baseball team captain and one of the most, if not the most, popular guy in the university, who also happens to have Mao as his private English tutor, passing by with two of his best friends, Ikuta Toma and Oguri Shun.
“Thanks for putting up with tutoring me last night… Practice was really tiring…” he said with a smile.
Mao simply nodded and smiled, turning back to the game quickly before her face could betray her and show him her blush. That’s when Aya pulled her to the side entrance.
“Why not?!” Aya continued to insist, although her voice is considerably lower. “You’re with him at least 2 hours a day, 3 times a week! You could have, should have, confessed already!”
“No I don’t!” Mao cried back. “I don’t have to do anything…”
“Oh really…” Aya exclaimed in exasperation. “You’ve had a crush on the guy since 5th grade… You’re turning 20 tomorrow! I say it’s about time you do something about it!”
Mao opened her mouth to contradict her but then closed it again and sighed. “I don’t know… I don’t think it’s a good idea…”
“Why?” Aya asked, a frown replacing the exasperation visible in her face earlier.
“Because I think he doesn’t expect that from me…” Mao replied in a small voice after a while.
“Really…” Aya said, a small smirk forming on her lips. “Someone like Matsumoto Jun-kun doesn’t expect that a girl could or would pop up and confess to him on any given day… He’s just the single most sought-after guy in school! Well, followed closely by his friends of course… And I’m pretty sure he sees you as a girl! You’re not a tomboy or anything… Why, in hell, would he think that way?”
The honest answer to the question is “Because he told me that he appreciates that I’m not like all those other girls who’re just pinning for his attention…” because that was what he told her all of a sudden, one night, during a break from their tutorial lessons. But she couldn’t tell her best friend that, simply because Aya would come up with another sort conclusion that would somehow make sense but still doesn’t.
“Just because…” she said instead.
Aya sighed. “Look, tomorrow’s your 20th birthday and I know the celebration wouldn’t be until this weekend, but tomorrow, you’d be an adult… And adults make tough choices, one of which is to step up or let go… You have to make a choice on this issue already, it’s long overdue…” she said reasonably.
When Mao simply smiled helplessly, Aya added “And you could think of it as your gift to yourself… Because if you don’t give that as a gift to yourself, I’m seriously considering giving it to you myself…”
“Aya-chan!” Mao exclaimed, gaping at her. It’s not that she didn’t understood what she meant, it’s just that she never expected her to issue an ultimatum like that.
Before Aya could do more than just chuckle, they heard footsteps running towards them, or the entrance to be exact. A few seconds later, it became evident who it was.
“Aiba-san!” Aya exclaimed, taken aback at the sight of the good looking basketball player heading from the dug out. “What are you doing there?”
“Oh…” Aiba laughed good-heartedly. “I had to make a quick dash to the men’s room before the 2nd quarter starts…”
-----
‘Do I really need to confess?’
Mao kept asking herself that as she made her way through her special day, smiling and bowing and cheering as her friends and classmates greeted her “Happy birthday”. She didn’t really need to deal with the question immediately, mostly because she wouldn’t have to meet up with Aya until after lunch, but also because the only class she had with the recipient of that possible confession wouldn’t be until her last class for the day but she couldn’t keep it off her mind.
Prior to Aya’s confrontation, she had already thought that the good relationship she had with Jun would be enough gift for her. She wasn’t really the type of girl that likes confrontations and she sure has never confessed in the past. Sure she’d given him chocolates in the past during Valentines but she never owned up to giving those chocolates, except, of course, during those times when she was given the opportunity to give it to him personally, but all were hidden under the pretense of friendship.
Besides, it’s not like he would notice her chocolates specially, not when there are dozens more he’d receive for the occasion. And she did think she’d get over him soon enough.
But time came and went and the golden opportunity for her to get over him arrived when their English professor told her after class that there’s someone who’s searching for an English tutor and since she’s the best in class, she might want to take up the offer, which turned out to be from him. But instead of getting over him, she thought she’d find some unlikeable traits of him during the course of their sessions to turn her off, he just simply seemed to reel her in.
But Aya may have a point.
-----
“So, what are you gonna do?” Aya asked the moment she handed her a wrapped birthday present.
Although that question was quite general and could apply to anything under the sun, Mao knew immediately what Aya was referring to.
She sighed, but it wasn’t a helpless sigh. It was actually quite determined.
“I’ll do it…” she told her. “This afternoon, after class…”
Aya beamed. “I knew you’d make the right choice! Good luck Mao-chan!”
Mao smiled, thankful for the encouragement and the support.
-----
She didn’t really have a plan. Well, she had some sort of a plan but it’s mostly how she’d run away quickly the moment she blurts out the words.
She knew that Jun usually hangs back in their room when the bell rings to avoid the corridor traffic that usually ensues when a class finishes (and maybe to avoid causing further and longer traffic because his admirers would flock around him the moment he leaves the room). She’d decided that that would be the perfect timing. She could simply just blend in the crowd the moment she confesses.
It may not have been the perfect plan, but it was still a plan.
She couldn’t put it into motion though the moment she realized that Jun wasn’t coming in to class, 15 minutes after their professor started her lecture. Jun would occasionally be late, but he’d never enter later than 10 minutes.
She couldn’t help but sigh when she peeked at her watch and saw that. Maybe it’s not meant for her to confess to him.
-----
She was still feeling a bit down when she headed towards her locker to leave some of her books before she goes home. Sure, she wasn’t really very enthusiastic of confessing her feelings, but she’d been worked up the whole day about it already that it was kind of a let down when he didn’t appear. Plus, of all the days that she wouldn’t get to see him, it had to be on her birthday.
It wasn’t to be the case though, when she saw a group of girls a few feet away from her locker, fussing over someone. When she looked closely, she realized that it was him.
That brightened her up marginally, she still got to see him after all, but not entirely because she knew there’s no way she could confess in front of all those girls, especially since all those girls are vying for his attention too.
He looked a bit harassed though, and she realized why the moment she saw that those girls are the queen bee wanna be’s of the school and that they’re all trying to practically cling to him.
She had closed her locker door quietly and was about to turn around, content that she at least got to see him, when he turned around himself and saw her.
“Mao-chan, right on time!” she heard him cry as he extracted himself from the grips of those girls. “I’m sorry girls... My tutor has arrived and she doesn’t really like waiting… I have to go now…” he told those girls before gripping her wrist and walking briskly out of there.
Mao had no choice but to follow, her steps trying to match up to his, realizing that it was just a ploy. He wanted to get away from those girls, fast. The relief that’s quite obvious in his features told her that, and the fact that their next scheduled tutorial wouldn’t be until tomorrow.
From behind them she could still hear the girls talking, though they were slightly blurred by the loud beating of her heart from the body contact.
“Who the hell is she?!” one of the girls demanded, put out for being brushed away.
“Oh, that’s Inoue Mao, Jun-chan’s tutor…” answered another girl. “Don’t worry about her, she’s not his type…”
“Of course not!” exclaimed yet another. “She’s too… Plain!”
-----
“Wear this!” Jun ordered, handing her a spare helmet when they stopped abruptly. She hadn’t realized that he’d dragged her to the parking lot already since her eyes were fixed on the floor as she tried not to trip. Jun had not let go of her hand, or slowed down even, despite the fact that they were out of sight of those girls already.
“Oh, no… No need…” she smiled, pushing back the helmet in his hands. “I know it was just a ploy, no need to drop me off somewhere or anything…”
“What are you talking about?” he smiled, looking at her and that made her heart jump again. She’d always loved his eyes, and his smile. “You’re coming with me…” he added as he placed that helmet on her head.
But even as he moved to ride his motorcycle, Mao stood rooted on that spot.
“What’s wrong?” Jun asked, turning around, his helmet already on too.
Mao swallowed hard as she stared at his favorite mode of transportation. “I—I’m afraid of those…” she admitted after a while, nodding at his motorcycle.
She could swear she heard him chuckle but when he spoke, amusement wasn’t part of it.
“Come on, I won’t drop you… Just hold on tight…” he told her encouragingly.
------
Mao had her eyes tight shut the whole time as her hands clung onto the back of his jacket as if it’s her last line to living, which it technically was. She had always been afraid of motorcycles, since she was a kid, ever since she saw her favorite dog get run over by one.
She never liked it as flashes of that dead dog and blood kept on flashing through her eyes. But there was something reassuring with Jun’s voice when he said he wouldn’t drop her, and she believed him. And there was something comforting about him too, actually, especially when she sat behind him. It must be his perfume, it’s comforting her.
Though it still didn’t stop her from clinging to his jacket like she’s clinging for life itself.
“You can let go now…” she heard him say and she realized that they were no longer moving. When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were already parked and that made her remove her grip from his jacket.
He was assisting her off the motorcycle already when she had the chance to look around and realized where they were parked; outside her favorite bakeshop, just a few meters away from her house.
“What are we doing here?” she turned to him in confusion.
“I was thinking of driving you home but I got a bit hungry…” he smiled. “I hope you don’t mind…”
“Of course…” she said immediately, convinced that it must be just coincidence that he stopped by that place. He couldn’t have known that it’s her favorite.
-----
When Jun instructed her to go find them a table, she obliged without hesitation, even though he hadn’t asked what she would want for herself. But when he came to their table, bearing a tray that bore their orders, she couldn’t help but be shocked (and slightly amazed).
It had two slices of strawberry cheesecake, her favorite, and two fruit shakes.
She was still staring at the food items when Jun sat down that he had to ask “Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no…” she shook her head immediately as she started helping him remove everything from the tray. “I was just a bit taken aback by your order…”
“Oh… You do like these, right?” he asked. “It’s just that I always see you ordering cheesecakes in the cafeteria so I thought you like these… We could order something else if you like…”
“Oh…N- no… This is fine… I do like cheesecakes…” she said, slightly flustered of the fact that he notices her at the cafeteria, even more that he notices what she orders.
“Good…” he smiled.
They sat there silent for a while as they sampled their orders, something she had done a million times in that store already.
It felt awkward though, she never really been with him without books or notebooks in front of them. And then of course, there’s her planned confession that she had officially scrapped the moment she heard what those girls back at the locker area said.
“Uhm… You were absent earlier, weren’t you?” she started, trying to be casual to bridge the awkwardness in the air, as she looked at him cautiously half way through their food.
“Yeah…” he said. “Uhm... Something suddenly came up…”
“Oh, okay…” she managed to say before her vocal chords stopped working. She looked down on her plate again.
“Actually…” he said all of a sudden, his voice a bit stronger. “I did that on purpose…”
“Oh, you did?” was all she could say, braving her way to looking up again.
“Yeah…” he nodded, looking straight at her eyes when she did finally look up. “I kinda heard about your friend forcing you to confess and I didn’t want that to happen…” he added quickly.
Mao’s eyes grew wide, her jaws dropped as she looked at him.
“Aiba-chan kinda overheard you and your friend after last night’s first quarter…” he explained, answering the unspoken question in her head.
She could actually feel her face heating up at the realization of what he said and what he implies and she could slowly feel her heart breaking. She didn’t like her, that’s the only reason why he would be absent from class just because he heard she’s planning to confess.
“Oh…” she gasped as something huge seemed to have moved up to bloke her throat, choking her with emotions. “I—I’m sorry about that…” she managed to say in a very small voice as she looked down again.
“Because I didn’t want you to confess to me just because you’re forced…” she thought she heard him say.
She looked up suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed, unsure if she heard what she heard or not.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” Jun continued as his hand reached out to the shake’s straw and he started playing with it. “I would want you to confess out of your own free will…”
“What?!” she blurted out, not understanding what or where things are going.
“I’ve always known you liked me… Or hoped at least…” he started. “And not just because you were different from all those girls around me… And I have always hoped you would confess…”
“Why?” she asked before she could stop herself. She’s not entirely sure she’s absorbing what he’s saying at the moment even.
“Because then it would mean that you feel the same way for me too, and that I’m not just imagining things…” he admitted after a moment of silence. And then he chuckled. “I’m pretty silly, sorry…”
Mao blinked furiously for a couple of times as she tried to digest what she was just told. Her head’s not cooperating much at the moment though, since it seems to be spinning.
“Wait… Are you saying you like me?” she asked eventually.
Jun looked straight to her eyes as he bit into his inner lip, a telltale sign that he’s nervous. “Yeah…” he replied. “The moment you rode my bike, I figured I could do the confessing this time, and not become the one being confessed too…”
Mao felt her jaws dropping, and then she gasped. “You actually like me?!” she could help but blurt out again as blood rushed to her face.
It made Jun chuckle a bit though as he smiled when he said “Yes, Inoue Mao-chan, I like you… Since the first time I saw you in 3rd grade although you never seem to notice me…”
Mao didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what to say. But when she looked into his eyes and nodded with a smile on her lips, the way he beamed told her that, somehow, that’s enough.
-----
“Uhm, I think we better walk to your place…” Jun chuckled the moment they stepped out and saw her looking at her motorcycle apprehensively. Mao nodded gratefully and smiled.
Before she could make more than a couple of steps to head towards her place though, she felt him slip his hands next to hers to hold it.
She couldn’t help but chuckle although it was making her feel really giddy.
So, does this mean we’re kinda some sort of a couple?” she couldn’t help but ask, trying to gauge what they really are at the moment.
“No…” Jun said sternly. “Not kinda. We really are…” he added with a smile.
She couldn’t help but smile too as she felt him entwine their fingers.
Aya’s going to demand a lot of answers tommorow.
-----THE END-----
so that was that...
how was it? :)
bricks are allowed... :)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 12:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 12:45 pm (UTC)happy birthday! :)
hope you liked the story... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 12:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 12:52 pm (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:00 pm (UTC)thanks for writing this!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:06 pm (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:05 pm (UTC)i love it that mao didn't do the confession part. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:07 pm (UTC)i thought of making Mao actually confess but i changed my mind... especially since i don't know how jun should react... :)
thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:23 pm (UTC)so it was jun who got the crush first~, but that really took a very long time for them to confess :3 cute shy couple :>
and aiba you damn blabbermouth.. HAHA.. but it became a good thing, jun became the one to confess which became more sweeter and lovelier~♥
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 01:27 pm (UTC)yeah, jun fell first... and yeah, they took a very long time getting there... but at least they got there in the end, right? :)
and of course aiba would have to be the unintentional cause of things... :)
thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 02:43 pm (UTC)Ur fic makes my heart got kyuuuuunn~!!!! <3 thanks for Aiba-chan who tell everything to Jun..^^,
Thanks for sharing this fic..
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 02:52 pm (UTC)yeah... trust aibs to be some sort of a source no matter what... :)
thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 05:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 01:29 am (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting...:)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 05:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 01:30 am (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-09 08:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 01:31 am (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting.. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 07:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 07:23 am (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 11:34 am (UTC)it's a mutual understading~
tee-hee!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-10 12:48 pm (UTC)glad you liked it though... :)
thanks for reading and commenting... :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-11 11:30 pm (UTC)i love it, really sweet :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-01-12 12:27 pm (UTC)thanks for reading and commenting... :)