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My Life: Chapter 28 - People Are Not Meant to Be Alone

by Fitz

The wedding was back on, Sano no longer wearing Megumi’s engagement ring around his little finger. He informed me of this when we met in the gym locker room. This again led to questions about Saturday night.

“I’m surprised you talked to her so soon,” Sano said as he pulled off his sweatshirt. “Getting her drunk was something I wouldn’t have thought you’d do.”

“She was the one with the booze, not me,” I protested. I decided against telling him that Megumi had been the one to coerce me into such a position. If Megumi wanted him to know, she could explain. “She did that all on her own.”

“I should have known,” Sano groaned. “She must have had a lot, though. You’d be surprised at her tolerance for that stuff.”

“More than mine,” I shrugged. “She kept guzzling that down. I don’t think I had half as much.”

“Kind of pathetic, if you think about it.”

“She’s bigger than I am!” I said quickly. “Not to mention I haven’t had any alcohol in years, and you guys go out drinking every weekend.”

“Not every weekend,” Sano snickered.

“What’s this about people getting drunk?”

I bit down on my lower lip to keep from snapping something rude at the man who had interrupted. Sano was too amused to be irritated, it seemed, because he usually said something. Neither of us liked this guy. However, Sano just grinned, and we both looked up to see the newcomer standing a few feet away, smiling broadly.

“Just some fun we had this weekend, Mickey,” Sano chuckled.

Mickey--the hated nickname for Michael, or Mike as he preferred to be called--barely flinched at the address. He and Sano were constantly glaring each other down. Neither did anything drastic. It never got past a few veiled insults, but they couldn’t stand each other. Mike was the culprit. With his cocky, I’m-better-than-you-all attitude, no one liked him.

He was a bit taller than Sano but not by much. His hair was so dark a brown it was almost black, but after having known a number of black-haired people, I could tell the difference. His dark eyes were small and deep set, and those along with his perpetual five o’clock shadow gave him a shady, untrustworthy air. I knew plenty of people who looked disreputable (take Sano, for example), but he had the attitude to match (whereas Sano was as dangerous as a kitten unless seriously provoked). He never overtly did anything, but he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which was why I frequently ended up on my butt on the floor whenever he joined our basketball games.

“Really,” Mike smiled. I would have called that expression snakelike, and I pinched my lips together, turning away to shut my locker and snap the lock into place. “I can imagine it.”

“Let’s go,” Sano slammed his own locker shut and clapped a hand against my shoulder. “Move it, Mickey.”

“Sure thing, Sagara.”

We followed the sleazy guy out into the gym. As usual, I put Mike out of my mind and focused on the ball. I was getting better, even able to score some points every now and then. Really, it was just nice to focus on something that had nothing to do with school or any other problems I might have had. The stress relief was just what I needed.

^_^

Some stress relief that turned out to be. I spent more time on my back than playing the game, no thanks to Mike taking up defense over me. It was difficult to ignore a man who insisted on leaning in so close he was tripping me up half the time. The fourth or fifth time I hit the floor, I blew up at him.

“This is not a high contact game, you idiot!” I snapped, shoving off the floor to glare up at him. I really hated being so short at times like that. “You don’t have to get so close!”

“Ease up, Red,” Mike said mildly. I jumped at that derisive nickname.

“Don’t call me that!”

“It’s just a game,” he added, completely ignoring my protest.

“Exactly,” I shot back sarcastically. “So you can lay off a bit, don’t you think? If you want dance, go someplace else. And I hate partners who step on my feet.”

He scowled, his face reddening as he struggled to find some sort of comeback. Sano stepped in at that point, and he lost his opportunity.

“Back off, you two,” Sano interjected, his hands on our chests and shoving us away from each other. “Mickey, go guard someone else. I’ll take Kenshin.”

“I’ll bet you will,” Mike muttered as he pulled away. He was quiet, but not soft enough to prevent me from hearing.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” I was seeing red by that point. This man had taunted and provoked me from the instant he saw me, and I was fed up. I went to the gym to relax, not get shoved around by some ass trying to prove himself.

“No, you don’t,” Sano grunted, catching me before I could lunge at the bastard. I didn’t bother trying to continue forward when Sano had his arm around me, holding me back. It was not that I was incapable of getting past him--I was faster, after all--but he was right. It was better not to fight in the middle of the gym over something as stupid as that.

Mike wasn’t even smiling. He just glanced at me impassively before taking up his position over the guy Sano had been guarding originally.

“Shit!” I snarled, itching to start another fight.

“Don’t,” Sano warned.

I snorted and jerked my arm away from him, turning to stalk off to the side. I considered leaving, but I refused to let Mike force me out of there. Sano waited patiently as the game began, no doubt wondering if I would leave. Letting out my breath irritably, I walked back in. Sano nodded and crouched in front of me, smirking.

“Let’s see you do anything now,” he muttered.

“As if you’re fast enough to stop me,” I returned with an amused grin. The ball whipped past his head, and I caught it. Twisting, I ducked around him and took off down the court.

^_^

The week flew away from me. I had a math exam on Monday, but I was not overly worried about it. My journalism class was more difficult. Frankly, I did not like it. English was fine, but one class in journalism was enough. It was a good reason not to make that my major, not that I could see myself out in the field with dozens of other reporters, fighting for an interview.

At the moment, I was staring at an assignment syllabus, trying to decide if the professor was crazy or just sadistic. I was going to have to work my butt off if I was going to get an interview and have the initial report typed up by the following Friday. It was a beginner’s journalism class! This was ridiculous.

Kaoru chose that time to wrap her arms around my neck from behind. I smiled, grateful for the distraction, and turned to look up at her.

“Wait, don’t move!” she scolded, voice tense with concentration.

“What are you doing?” I asked warily. Her fingers fiddled with something at the base of my throat, and I was tempted to turn anyway, just to see what mischief she was up to this time.

“There!” she pulled away, and I glanced down. Blinking at the knotted string and the additional weight on my shoulders, I lifted my arm. Cloth slid back, and it became evident as to what this was.

“A cape?”

“Put on a white button-up shirt,” Kaoru suggested. “And black pants. And let your hair down.”

“What’s going on?” I wondered. Glancing up, I took in the sight of my girlfriend. “Damn. What’s the date?”

“Halloween, you dope,” Kaoru grinned, adjusting the hat on her head. I did not think witches’ hats were meant to be perched at such a jaunty angle, but it seemed that she was joking about it because she soon returned the pointed hat to its original position. “I’m a witch. You’re a vampire.”

At least she did not make me wear that cat costume again. I sighed and went to the wardrobe to find a shirt. Kaoru trailed after me, tugging on my hair impatiently until I gave in and pulled out the elastic. She then produced a brush and followed me around, yanking at my hair with it.

“Another trip to the Armory?” I asked, somewhat whining. This was still stupid.

“Nope,” Kaoru’s hand appeared in my face, along with a tuft of my hair. “You need to get this trimmed. Look at those split ends!”
I stared at the hair, strands splitting into two and three at the ends.

“Um... I’ll get right on that,” I murmured. Who cared? It was in a ponytail most of the time anyway. “What are we doing tonight?”

“Halloween on Friday,” Kaoru announced. “You know how rare that is? We’re having a party.”

“I thought the place looked cleaner than usual.”

“Shush!” she laughed. “It’ll be fun.”

“Who’s coming?” I wondered, tossing the cape over a chair so I could pull my shirt over my head.

“Looking good, Kenshin!” I winced at Misao’s loud whistle. I should have known better than to change my shirt in the open.

“Aoshi, Aoshi’s friends, Sanosuke, Megumi, Tae, Chou--maybe, and anyone else who wants too as long as they leave any alcohol outside,” Kaoru ignored Misao, picked up another clump of hair, and started brushing the tangles out of it. “Keeping in mind the type of people, Omasu is pulling out your CD collection rather than any of ours. That okay?”

“Whatever.” I hated buttoning up dress shirts. Granted, this was not the nicest shirt I owned. I would not use that for a costume, but it used to be very nice, and I struggled with those buttons. “You think this is a good idea?”

“It’ll be fun!” Kaoru claimed. “There!” She fluffed my hair out. It felt strange having it down but not bad. Kaoru stood in front of me and studied me for a few seconds as I yet worked at those buttons. “All right. One final touch!”

“What’s that?” I looked up, and she held out a small, silver tube. “No.”

“It’s just lipstick, Kenshin.”

“Exactly,” I groaned as she pulled the cap off and twisted the thing up. It was really red. “Lipstick. That doesn’t belong on me.”

“Just for a costume,” Kaoru assured me, as if that made all the difference in the world. I tensed when her fingers caught my chin, forcing my face up.

“Kuu-roo,” I mumbled, a little put out by how her grip made it so hard to speak. “I don’t--”

“Stop talking,” she ordered. “Keep your face like that and say ‘Ohhhh.’”

“For god’s sake--”

“Ohhhhh,” she reminded me.

“I’ll get you back for this,” I grumbled before doing what she wanted.

“I got some vampire fangs, but I won’t make you wear those,” Kaoru said as she dabbed at my lips with the lipstick. “They make it hard to talk and eat, but I really think you should wear them.”

“You’re already--”

“Ah!” she cut me off. “Ohhhhh.”

“You’re too slooooowwwwww,” I offered.

“Thank you.”

I rolled my eyes and stayed still until she finished. When she was done, she grinned and stepped back.

“There!” she giggled. “Ooooh, that color looks awful on you.”

“You should have looked in my other drawer if you wanted the stuff I usually use,” I retorted, touching my lips experimentally. My fingers were clean when I pulled them away, but I wiped them on my jeans anyway. “Don’t you have class on Fridays?”

“Professor Williams said he had to take his kids trick-or-treating tonight,” Kaoru shrugged, reaching forward to fuss with my bangs. “He gave us this week’s work load last week, and it’s all due next Friday.”

“And I suppose you’ve started on that already,” I smiled knowingly.

“Like you would have,” she pouted. “It’s not that hard. Just a lot of reading.”

“You’ll be up until three next Thursday night.”

“Probably,” she tilted her head at me. “Go change your pants. People should be coming any minute.”

“What? I can’t be a vampire in jeans?”

“Just go!”

I chuckled and retreated to the bathroom to change.

^_^

Not surprisingly, Sano and Megumi came together. Sano had pulled out some of his rattiest, most filthy clothing, carried around a bottle in a brown paper bag and claimed he was a hobo. Megumi was wearing a long, black dress and had put a streak of white through her hair. My initial reaction did not please her, although Sano was laughing.

“You’re a skunk!” I blurted. It was rather uncouth of me, but I could not help myself. That was what first came to mind.

Megumi lifted her chin and glared down her nose at me. Sano looked like he was having some sort of attack. My guess was he was trying not to burst out laughing.

“I am the bride of Frankenstein!” she announced.

“Oh,” I could not help but smirk. “Sorry. My mistake.”

“Is Omasu here?”

“The dog on the couch,” I gestured, again trying not to laugh. I was very aware of how bad that sounded. Megumi snorted, covering her mouth and retreating. Too late. I knew she was laughing. Sano grinned and followed me into the apartment.

Not much later, Tae arrived. She decided to go with the cat costume that year. Kaoru immediately claimed her cousin, and the two walked away, giggling and talking. I glanced back to Sano who just shrugged and grinned.

“How much you want to bet Aoshi shows up without a costume?” Sano suggested.

“Misao’s prepared,” I replied, grinning as I thought of what that would be like. “I kind of hope he does show up in regular clothes.”

Sano lifted his eyebrows.

“I can’t wait to see that.”

Sure enough, when Aoshi arrived, he was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. His friends were dressed up. Shikijou was a warlock, Hyottoko was a gorilla, Hannya was the Grim Reaper, followed around by Beshimi, who had thrown a sheet over his head and declared himself a ghost. It would have been better as a white sheet, but we were amused by the fish print on the blanket.

“It was all I could come up with on short notice!” was Beshimi’s defense against the laughter. Shikijou patted his shoulder, but the consolation was ruined when he snorted and had to walk away, laughing all the while.

“Aoshi!” Misao snapped. Rightfully so, Aoshi flinched and glanced down to meet his girlfriend’s glare. “You didn’t dress up!”

“Uh...” Aoshi glanced down at his clothes, then back up at Misao. “I’m the average American?”

Misao snickered and grabbed his hand, dragging him into the bathroom. The door slammed shut, leaving the rest of us to wonder.

“Never a good sign,” Hyottoko muttered.

“What’s she doing to him, Kenshin?” Sano asked.

“Not a clue,” I shrugged. “She wouldn’t say.”

“Knowing Misao,” Hannya offered. It was kind of strange to hear his voice coming from the black void of his hood, but we all looked at him anyway. “She has something up her sleeve that Aoshi will hate.”

I could hardly wait.

^_^

We ordered pizza and Chinese, which made for an awful combination, but no one else seemed to mind. I was never a big fan of Chinese food, so that might have been part of it. I poked at some rice, though, which appealed more than the pizza at the moment. My stress had been at an all-time high that week, despite all attempts to push it away, and the bland food was better.

Someone put a Billy Joel CD in, which surprised me. Not that I minded that artist--it was my CD--but I did not think anyone else would like it. Chou might have protested, but he was not there yet.

“You think we should check on them?” Sano wondered, in no hurry to do as he suggested as he shoveled pizza into his mouth. “They’ve been in there a long time.”

“We haven’t heard any screaming,” Shikijou laughed. “He’ll be fine.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth, then the bathroom door opened, and out stepped a triumphant Misao, a less-than-happy Aoshi shuffling along behind her. I barely recognized him. Shikijou let out a piercing whistle that made me flinch, and Aoshi glared at him darkly.

“You two make a nice pair,” Beshimi snickered. “A cocktail bunny and... a... gangster?”

“A pimp!” Misao said brightly. “You think it works for him?”

Aoshi’s hair was slicked back with so much gel it looked solid. Fortunately, most of that was hidden beneath a black felt hat that did not match the rest of his outfit, unless tacky was the goal. The pants were that fake leather stuff and looked uncomfortably tight. They also clashed with the blue, Hawaiian style, button-up shirt he wore. Those shirts were made to be loose and somewhat billowy, but this one was almost too tight, going unbuttoned down the front because it probably would not close. I knew why it fit so horribly.

“Why does everyone dig through my stuff?” I demanded. “Misao!”

“It’s not like you ever wear it!” she stuck her tongue out at me. “And doesn’t it look good on him?”

“No.”

Aoshi nodded in silent agreement. He shifted restlessly, and I was willing to bet he was uncomfortable as could be.

“A pimp and a cocktail bunny,” Sano grinned. “Is there something we should know about, Aoshi?”

“Shut up, Sagara,” Aoshi sat stiffly in a chair. No doubt he regretted that move when Misao giggled and hopped into his lap. He had a strained expression on his face, and he gestured to one of the white buckets of rice. Hannya handed it to him, and he snatched up the chow mein. He was spared from further torment when the doorbell rang, and everyone turned to greet the newcomers.

^_^

The party degenerated quickly. The interest in talk waned, and a movie made its way into the VCR. Most of us settled down to watch Lord of the Rings--the second one--although a few sat in the light behind the futon and played cards. I had a moment of frustration when I lost my glass during the battle between the tree-things and the ugly monster-things. I found it again, hiding behind the leg of the futon.

After the movie ended, the group split apart. Sano and Megumi left fairly early, as did Aoshi’s friends. Misao, Kaoru, Omasu, and Tae claimed the futon, and they sat there talking on subjects I either did not understand or did not care to hear. Retreating to the kitchen, I joined Aoshi, Chou, and Kevin, who had decided to come along for some reason. They were finishing off the pizza, cold from being in the refrigerator for the past two hours. I poured more pop into my glass and leaned against the counter, not far from the table.

“What are you supposed to be anyway?” Kevin wondered, grinning at me over his pizza. “Some sort of diva?”

I frowned, irritated at his choice of words. Chou rolled his eyes and muttered something incoherent. Aoshi smirked, and I wondered what Chou had said.

“No,” I said finally. “Vampire.”

Kevin had not dressed up. Chou had but just barely. He was wearing one of those blue shirts with the Superman insignia on the chest. A red blanket that was far too short completed the costume.

“Nice,” Kevin glanced at the girls across the room. “A vampire, a witch, a bitch, and a table-waiting slut.”

“Watch it,” Aoshi growled, no doubt annoyed by the reference to Misao. Neither could I remain quiet, although Kevin had not really insulted me or Kaoru.

“What’s your problem?” I demanded.

“No problem,” Kevin shrugged. “I was just making an observation.”

“Well keep your observations to yourself,” I snapped.

He shrugged again and grinned. Chou shook his head.

“Don’t mind him,” he suggested. “Kevin’s cursed to being an asshole loser with no friends.”

“I’ve got as many friends as you do,” Kevin retorted.

“Right, and they’re all like you,” Chou scowled, glancing at Aoshi, then me. “I don’t let them in the room when I’m in it. And that one guy is just freaky scary.”

“That’s because he doesn’t like you,” Kevin snickered.

Chou rolled his eyes and mouthed ‘freak.’ Kevin scowled, but the rest of us were smirking.

“Whatever,” Kevin grumbled, standing and tossing his greasy napkin on the table. “I’m out of here. Later, children.”

“Try not to get mugged on the way to the car,” Aoshi said dryly. Chou snorted, trying not to laugh, and I bowed my head to hide my smile. None of us felt any love for Kevin, that much was certain.

Muttering to himself, he slunk out of the apartment. When the door shut behind him, I looked at Chou incredulously.

“How do you stand a man like that?”

“He’s not usually so bad,” Chou grinned carelessly. “Sarcastic, maybe, but not so mean.” His grin faltered a bit. “Come to think of it... he only’s ever done that around you.”

Of course the guy would have it in for me. As if I did not have enough problems without some complete stranger hating my guts.

“His friends are creepy, though,” Chou continued. “He reminds me of all those stories Sano used to tell... what was that guy’s name? Jonah?”

I frowned.

“Jonas?”

“That’s the guy!” Chou chuckled. “A complete ass and only half aware of what’s going on around him. At least he’s no crazy killer, but I can’t talk for his friends. Some of them are downright scary.”

Meaning I would stay as far away from Kevin and his screwed up friends as possible. Easily done. I did not have any classes with him, nor did I ever associate with him except in situations when he tagged along for the ride. Like that Halloween night. Well, I could tolerate some antagonism. I put up with it most of my life, and a bit of nasty bantering with a jerk would not kill me.

“Hey, guys!” Misao shouted abruptly. “We’ve got an empty bottle over here that’s just begging to be spun!”

We glanced at each other, then dragged ourselves over to the floor by the futon. It just was not worth it to fight it.

^_^

Chou left soon after Misao attempted to kill him for making out with her boyfriend. The bottle did not seem to like Aoshi that night. He kissed (or was kissed by) everyone that night except for Misao. It was rather amusing, actually, watching Misao fume across the circle. She was so irritated that when she spun the bottle, and it landed on Kaoru, she nearly knocked Kaoru over. Kaoru was as dazed as I had ever seen her after Misao grabbed the collar of her costume, pasted a rough kiss on her chin somewhere, and shoved her away again.

It was funny, though. When I glanced at Aoshi, I was surprised to see him smirking. It made me wonder if he did not, perhaps, enjoy Misao’s jealous streak.

Aoshi spent the night, dragging a blanket over to the futon and stretching out there. He must have been exhausted because he did not wash that gel out of his hair before going to bed. I could not have done it. Despite the late hour, I washed my face before going to sleep, certain to get the last of the lipstick off.

Lights went out at about three. Personally, I was grateful. I sank into my pillow, hugging my gorilla to my side, and drifted off to sleep.

^_^

I skipped basketball Monday night to go interview Sano’s father. We were supposed to find someone in what we thought was an unusual profession and talk to them. My original intent had been to talk to Mr. Kamiya, but he was out of town. Sano’s dad was the superintendent for the local school district, which was probably not that unusual, but I thought it was pretty interesting, so to hell with what the journalism professor said. It was simple enough to contact Mr. Sagara, and he liked me, so it did not take much convincing to get myself an appointment.

Mr. Sagara was professional, holding off any personal conversations until I had finished questioning him. Only when I set my tape recorder and notebook aside did he finally relax and stretch his arms over his head.

“Ahhhhhh, it’s been a long day,” he admitted. “You?”

“Not really,” I shook my head, packing my stuff into my backpack. “Thanks for doing this, Mr. Sagara.”

“It’s the least I can do for the boy who saved my son’s marriage,” Mr. Sagara smiled at me. I flushed at the praise and shook my head.

“I didn’t do anything,” I muttered, then looked at him curiously. “He told you about that?”

Mr. Sagara paused in pouring himself a glass of water to give me a sidewise glance. He smiled faintly.

“Of course.”

Interesting. I never would have considered the possibility that Sano would discuss the break up with his father. It seemed silly to discuss it after the problem was resolved, and lamenting over it during the crisis only served to make it seem imminent.

“You seem distracted, Kenshin.”

“Hm?” I blinked at him, then nodded my thanks as he handed me a glass. “I’m fine.”

“School going well?” he asked mildly.

“Not bad,” I shrugged.

“Doing well in your new living arrangements?”

“Sano told you about that, too?” I lifted my eyebrows in surprise.

“Unlikely as it seems, some people actually talk with their parents,” Mr. Sagara chuckled.

I flinched at that one. Even assuming I looked at Uncle Hiko as some sort of parental unit, there was no way I could ever share such trivial information with him. I could not even share important things with him without feeling like I was confessing my crimes to the cops.

“So how is it?” Mr. Sagara prompted.

“How is what?” I stared at him blankly.

“The apartment--”

“Oh!” I smiled to cover my embarrassment. “It’s okay.”

“Enjoying a little more freedom?” It was odd, this line of questioning. Not often did I have anyone other than Sano or Kaoru ask such things. I was not completely comfortable with it, and it was reflected in my terse responses.

“I guess.”

“Keeping honest?” Mr. Sagara smiled knowingly, but the question struck a chord. Honest? No. I was not being honest. So far, no one knew anything about Enishi and that encounter in the public bathroom or the blank card I received in the mail. I had managed to push it all away for the most part, but not a day went by that I did not think about it. The sudden panic attack I’d suffered just over a week ago was nearly forgotten, although my heart still raced when I recalled that white powder covering my pants. Inevitably, that memory brought to mind a dozen panicked thoughts about what Enishi was planning.

Even as I stood there, drinking the water Mr. Sagara had given me, I could feel my anxiety level rising. It was always the same, starting as a slight tremor that I could feel but no one could see. My chest hurt like someone was squeezing everything inward but the bones.

“Are you okay, Kenshin?” Mr. Sagara’s question proved I was starting to show my nervousness.

“Sure,” I forced a smile and set the water glass down a little too quickly. The clear liquid splashed up and over the rim, getting my fingers and the countertop wet. “Sorry.”

“It’s just water,” Mr. Sagara murmured. “Can I give you a ride back to campus?”

I should have said no. Every instinct in me was screaming for such an answer, but Mr. Sagara did not even wait for me to reply. He just picked up my notebook and tape recorder, dug his keys out of his jacket pocket, and headed toward the car. There was nothing to do but follow him. After all, I did need those notes.

“Radio?” Mr. Sagara offered as I climbed into the car and shut the door. I was a bit disturbed at how clumsy and nervous my movements were, but try as I might, I could not settle my nerves enough to move slower.

“I don’t care,” I muttered.

“We’ll leave it off.”

I nodded, keeping quiet as he backed out of the garage and into the street. It was a twenty minute ride to Minneapolis, but it seemed like an eternity, the car not moving nearly fast enough on the little back roads Mr. Sagara took to the highway. It got worse. Mr. Sagara started talking again.

“Something is bothering you,” he observed quietly. He cut off my objection before I could speak. “I’m a father, Kenshin. Don’t try to tell me I’m mistaken. I know better.”

Biting my lip, I stared out the passenger side window, hoping he would accept my silence and leave it at that. It was not to be.

“Problems with school?” he inquired. I shook my head.

“Girlfriend?”

“No.” It came out pretty soft, but he heard me.

“Health?” That was one I should have expected. Wasn’t it less than a year ago that I had all but fainted into his arms?

“I’m fine, Mr. Sagara,” I whispered. If I spoke any louder, my voice might shake, and that was intolerable.

“You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”

“No!” I frowned, glancing at him indignantly. He was not bothered by my offense.

“I had to ask,” was all he said as an excuse. “You’re very good at keeping things to yourself, Kenshin. I believe I already told you how unhealthy that is.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Sagara,” I said again, my voice stronger that time, fueled by my irritation.

“Your friends accept that?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, they do,” I grumbled.

“I’ll have to talk to Sano about that,” Mr. Sagara muttered, then sighed. “You’ve got that deer-in-the-headlights look about you, Kenshin. Your fingers caught in the cookie jar?”

It was a suitable analogy, but not quite right. Actually, I was trying to hold that damned cookie jar shut, all the while knowing someone would walk in on me, see what I was doing, and then accuse me of attempting to steal the sweets.

“If you need some help, Kenshin--”

“I’m fine,” I said, offering an impatient smile and a nod. “I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.”

He glanced at me briefly, then back to the road. He was not pleased, I could tell, but that was hardly my problem. He was not my father, my uncle, or anyone else who held any real power over me, so why should I have cared?

He’s trying to help.

The thought popped unwanted into my mind, and I scowled down at my lap. The silence in the car was almost painful, not even the radio on to ease some of the tension. I wondered why I was letting myself get so worked up over what my friend’s dad had to say.

Mr. Sagara dropped me off outside Middlebrook.* I muttered my thanks as I reached for the door.

“Kenshin.” I looked to the side, not really at him but not ignoring him either. If he wanted to lecture me, I would listen, but I was not going to pretend to be happy about it. “People are not meant to be alone.”

I glanced at him, uncertain what he meant by that. Nodding in acknowledgment, I pushed to door open and stepped out of the car. I watched his car disappear around the corner, then turned and walked around the side of the building. Skipping up the steps, I took the bridge over 4th Street and headed across the courtyard to Washington Avenue. If I was lucky, I could catch the bus that would take me within a block of my apartment.

^_^

*Middlebrook Hall--the only dormitory on the west bank. Sano lives here. (Didn’t mvdiva figure this out?)

^_^

As ludicrous as it sounded, I found myself relating to the age-old sappy words: ‘hold me.’ Kaoru did not seem to mind, though, when I interrupted her game of computer solitaire. She giggled when I put my arms around her and pressed my face into her shoulder from behind.

“Are my eyes deceiving me?” she wondered. “Is that Misao in a red wig?”

“Can we run away and raise sheep in the European countryside?” I mumbled.

“Have a rough day?” Kaoru leaned her head against mine with a soft sigh. “How about we ditch study and take in a movie? Let’s run down to Blockbuster.”

“Mmkay,” I agreed readily.

That’s exactly what we did. Kaoru picked out Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,* and we sat on the futon under a blanket and laughed at all the eighties hair styles and language. The worst part about that, both of us agreed, was that we could remember when girls and guys actually dressed and behaved like that.

“You know, we’ll be the same way in another thirty years,” Kaoru said contemplatively. “We’ll be dressed in our space-age suits, and we’ll look back and say, ‘cool’? People actually said that? Low rise jeans? Primitives!” She giggled. “And then we’ll say, ‘radical! Look at the new Coach purse!’”

“I can’t imagine anyone using ‘radical’ again,” I rolled my eyes.

“Trends recycle themselves,” Kaoru lifted her arm free of the blanket to display her three-quarter length sleeve. “Sixties and seventies. Soon we’ll be wearing poodle skirts.”

“Never,” I countered. “It’s as likely as Zoobas coming back into style.”

“Those were just ugly,” Kaoru protested. She leaned back against the cushion and turned her head to smile at me. “What’s up, Kenshin? You’ve gone all cuddly on me. I almost didn’t believe I was looking at my boyfriend.”

I responded with a half smile and looked back to the television screen. The credits were rolling toward the end, and we would have to stop it soon.

“Kenshin?”

“It’s nothing,” I replied automatically. Impulsively, I leaned into her, draping my arm over her shoulders to pull her toward me. She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. Pressing my lips to her head, I had to wonder how it was even possible that I would have a girlfriend. People like Kaoru went for jocks and guys who could handle themselves in social situations. “Did you mean it?”

“Hmm?” Kaoru turned to look at me curiously. “Mean what?”

I had not actually intended to say that aloud, but since I did, I decided to make the best of it.

“You said you loved me,” I explained quietly. “Did you mean that?”

It was a question straight out of a cheesy love story. However, her words had been spoken in the heat of the moment, in a fit of anger and worry, so could anyone really be sure? Had she really meant it, or had it been something she said to try to get me to see things her way? Kaoru had always been straightforward with me before.

“I’d never say something like that if I didn’t mean it, Kenshin,” she murmured.

I stared at her for awhile, searching her eyes, but all I saw was her gentle smile and some concern. She looked away, leaning against me again.

“I won’t ask you if you love me,” she said, and only an oblivious idiot would have missed the sorrow in that statement. “I know you care, and for now, that’s okay.”

What was there to say to that? I licked my lips and opened them to respond, although what I would say was a mystery. Not that it mattered--she would not let me offer any sort of excuse.

“I--”

“Quiet,” she lifted a hand to my face, her thumb sliding over my mouth to hush me. I frowned uneasily. “It’s okay, Kenshin. I know it’s hard for you. We’re still young. I can wait.”

Sighing in frustration, I wrapped my other arm around her, and rested my chin on her shoulder. She leaned into the embrace.

“Remember the promise we made in Stillwater?” she asked softly. I did not reply, hoping she would elaborate. She did. “No more secrets?” Uh oh. “I know you’ve got some.”

“Kaoru, I--”

“No, it’s okay,” she interrupted. “I just... want you to know I’m here... when you decide you’re ready to discuss them.”

The ‘hold me’ need was increasing. I hugged Kaoru tightly, until she finally turned and returned the sentiment. Leaning back, she dragged me with her until we were crunched together on the futon. Pushed up like a couch, it was not really meant for two people to stretch out side-by-side like that, but we were small enough to pull it off. I rested my head on Kaoru’s shoulder, my arm already going numb beneath her, but I did not mind.

We fell asleep like that, and had Misao not burst in on us, we might have spent the night on the futon. As irritating as walking up to Misao’s taunting laughter was, it really was for the better. We got up, changed out of our day clothes, and went to our beds. Misao giggled through this entire time, even having a hard time keeping quiet after the lights went out. She did quiet when Kaoru shouted at her to shut up.

^_^