Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Boy: A Love Story (Chapter 12)
yes!! finally done with this chapter. i would've finished and posted it up sooner, had it not been for the power outage due to the storm that passed my country the past 2 days. now, i'm almost done with chapter 13. tomorrow, 14 and 15 (hopefully)...
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Chapter Twelve
“Tomorrow night, Friday. 7 p.m. Don’t be late.” Toushin pointed at me and Nobu, my coworker, as we were taking our break in the employee’s lounge.
“Eh? What’re you talking about?” Nobu asked as he sipped his coffee.
"I've got to go to this critic's dinner award thing tomorrow. I really don't want to go but apparently, I need to go. Might as well drag you kids along. Besides, it'll be good exposure for you two." He pointed at us. "Oh, and wear something formal."
Wear something formal, I thought as I sat in my room that night. I raided my closet but found nothing so I decided to wear this black strapless, tea-length dress my aunt gave me as a graduation gift.
I stared at it for a moment before bringing it out of the closet. It wasn't much, but it'll do.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You look like a movie star." Nobu commented as we met in front of the hotel. The event was being held at the ballroom of The Hotel Venezia, near Roppongi Hills.
I smiled shyly. I touched my hair, which was tied into a half ponytail and adorned with small flowers, and smoothed down my dress . "Thanks. You clean up pretty good too." .
We were ushered towards the ballroom as we went in. Many people were dressed in formal wear, sipping Champagne and eating caviar . Waiters were passing by with trays of Sushi and small Quiches.
"Wow..." We both gaped at the surroundings. The chandelier shone brightly amidst the lights. People were walking around, greeting each other on the cheeks. At the other end of the room, there was a Champagne fountain.
I gulped as I suddenly felt a small knot of pain in my stomach. Nobu, who stood next to me, grabbed two glasses of Champagne from a passing waiter and handed me one. "Here."
"Uh, thanks." I took it from him even though I don't drink. Maybe a sip won't hurt, I thought as my nerves were getting to me a bit.
We made our way over to Toushin from across the room. We sat down as the lights dimmed and the program started. After one hour, we were still sitting at the table. Nobu and I got bored so we discreetly made our way towards the bar and decided to hang out there.
"This isn't going to get any better." He whispered to me. He took my hand. "Come on."
We took our coats, got out of the hotel and started crossing the street. As we reached the other side and stepped onto the sidewalk, I almost tripped and fell. I grabbed the nearest object I could find - a person.
"You alright, miss...?" The familiar voice echoed in my ear.
I stood up straighter, holding on to the person in front of me. I gazed up and...he was standing right in front of me. "Seiji~" I breathed.
He smiled at me. "Don't you ever notice? Whenever we meet, something always happens. And yet, I do - " He turns around as one of his friends call him. He waves at them and looks back at me.
I lower my gaze down. "Um...you can let me go now..." I point my gaze down to his arms, which were still wrapped around my waist.
"Oh! I'm sorry..." He let me go.
"Hanari! Let's go!" Nobu, who was standing and smoking behind me, nudged. He started dragging me away from Seiji.
"Hey wait!!" Seiji called out after me. "What's your name?"
I turned around, smiled and shouted back an answer. "Oh! Hanari. My name's Hanari."
---------------
"...And then he said, 'I'm not a monkey! You are!' And then..." I started laughing out loud as Nobu shared a story about his nephew.
Nobu dragged me to Miro's in Shibuya, the bar he co-owns with his brother Miro. We were hanging out near the stage when another guy asked for another round of beer. I stood up, volunteering myself to get it.
"Another round, Miro!" I shouted over the noise.
"Gotcha!" Miro yelled back. While waiting for the pitcher, my eyes wandered around the room as I leaned back against the bar. There weren't too many people around, even on a Friday night. Most of the customers were guys, some in their early to mid 20's. There was a group of girls on the right corner while a group of bespectacled guys on the next table stared at them.
I glanced at the stage in the middle, which was painted in black and had a karaoke machine in the middle. A guy was singing some Morning Musume song off-key and loudly while his friends, sitting at a table in the middle of the room, cheered him on. The lights swirled around the room, coloring the walls light beige and the wood a dark shade mahogany.
"Here." Miro gave me a light tap on the shoulder.
"Thanks." I turned around and took the pitcher, swaying slightly and almost knocking the person next to me.
"Heeeeyyy~" The person moaned back at me.
"Well, excu - " I turn my head around to tell the person off when, unfortunately, I found Nino's face staring back at me. "Oh, it's you."
"Hey! If it isn't the clumsiest girl I've ever met!!" His eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled at me. "You going to finish all that?" He pointed to the pitcher I was holding. "You here all alone? Where's your...mister prince charming, Seiji? I didn't know his 'princess' drinks like a frog..."
I stuck out my tongue at him. "How about you? Where's your boyfriend? I bet you're alone tonight because Ohno stood you up, didn't he?" I pointed at him and started laughing, taking a step back. The pitcher spilled all over my hands and onto the floor.
He quickly grabbed my arms. "Are - are you alright?"
I placed the pitcher back onto the bar, shoving his hands away after. "I'm fine! Don't touch me!" I glared at him.
"Okay, okay." He moved his hands away. "God, Emiko is so much nicer than you..." He muttered.
"Well, if you think she's nicer, why don't you secretly send her flowers?" His eyes grew large as the words came out of my mouth. "If you like her so much, why aren't you the one with her then? Oh, I know! It's because she doesn't know you like her!!" I clapped my hands repeatedly. "It was you, wasn't it??" I pointed my finger at him. "Admit it. You were the one who wrote those letters to Emiko. You conspired with Ohno to pretend to be you and to pretend to like her. If I didn't know any better, you're the one who really likes her and not him."
"Wha - wha - what are you talking about??" He gave me a death glare. "You're talking nonsense!! Baka!!" He quickly turned around, his back facing me. He grabbed his beer bottle and moved to the other end of the bar.
I gave a small smile as I went back to my table with the pitcher. A warm feeling crept over me as satisfaction danced in my eyes.
Ha! I knew it! He does like Emiko!
---------------
"Mou...I don't want to go..." I groaned.
"Just another one, I promise. Then, you can go home." Nobu dragged me outside, hoping to hit another bar.
I leaned back against a lamp post. "Okay, you go ahead and I'll follow."
As he crossed the street, I stayed behind, trying to catch my breath. My head was spinning really fast. I blinked several times, the lamp post beside me suddenly splitting into two.
I stopped leaning and tried walking down the sidewalk. Sad to say, I got as far as three steps. After that, I almost fell down. That is, until a pair of arms reached out and caught me before my butt landed on the hard cement.
"Wow...boy, are you heavy~" A voice remarked.
I turned my head up to find Nino with his arms holding me. I reached out and grabbed onto him, trying to steady myself.
"Let me go!" I whined. "Get your hands off me!!" I struggled to get away from his grasp.
"No! I'm not going to let you go. You're drunk. And you're too drunk to be left alone. Someone needs to be with you."
"I'm not drunk!! I'm just...red!! Really red..." I struggled out of his grasp, wiggling back and forth. "Stop touching me!! I don't need your help! I'm fine! Let me go!" I tried shoving him but I failed. Instead, I ended up wrapping my arms around him.
"Stop it!" He angrily cursed. After I stopped struggling, he slid an arm around me and started guiding me towards...somewhere.
"Where are you taking me?" I murmured against him. My eyes started wandering over him, noticing his long-sleeved blue shirt, his fitted denim jacket and jeans and a beanie cap over his head. I bit my lip, stopping myself from the urge to grab the cap off his head.
"I'm taking you home." He pulled me closer to him. "How will you get home? Do you have a car?"
"Nooo!" I giggled. "Yes! I don't know..." I snuggled against him and whispered. "It's right across the street!"
We walked all the way across the street, towards the parking lot, his arm around me while I was leaning against him the whole time. It felt so nice, I kept smiling and giggling while walking.
Once we crossed the street, he led me onto the parking lot. He stood by a black car, pulling out the keys. "I'm taking you home. You can't drive. You're too drunk." He pushed me away and let me lean against the car.
I didn't know what came over me but my vision started to blur. The lights in front of me swirled, colors of blue, pink and gold jumping up and down. My face became warm and my throat started to dry up. My head started to hurt, on all sides and my hands shook as I felt butterflies fly back up my throat .
"Nino, I think I - " I put a hand over my mouth but it didn't help. A liquid colorless mass came out of my mouth.
"EEEWWWW!!!" Nino shouted. He jumped back in time and avoided me vomiting all over him. Unfortunately, I threw up on his car tire.
"Oh gosh...I'm really sorry." I blushed and held my head down. I couldn't believe it. I just threw up on someone's car.
He ran his hands over his head and frowned before grunting. "Forget it. Just get in." He opened the door for me, went to the other side and got into the car, banging the door closed.
I slid in, keeping myself quiet as I closed the door and the car moved out of the parking lot. We didn't say anything, even as we passed by a gas station to wash his car. He just drove as I laid my head back against the headrest, pausing only once to ask me for my address.
Once he dropped me outside the bakeshop, I turned around again and bowed. "Thank you. And I'm really sorry about...you know...throwing up on your car."
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal." He gave me a small smile. "Now, go inside and get some sleep so you'll feel better." He pointed to the door behind me.
I waved back a military salute. "Sir, yes, sir!" I turned around and started unlocking the door. He waited until I was safely inside before leaving.
Hmmm...Maybe he might not be so bad after all, I thought as I watched him drive away.
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Chapter Twelve
“Tomorrow night, Friday. 7 p.m. Don’t be late.” Toushin pointed at me and Nobu, my coworker, as we were taking our break in the employee’s lounge.
“Eh? What’re you talking about?” Nobu asked as he sipped his coffee.
"I've got to go to this critic's dinner award thing tomorrow. I really don't want to go but apparently, I need to go. Might as well drag you kids along. Besides, it'll be good exposure for you two." He pointed at us. "Oh, and wear something formal."
Wear something formal, I thought as I sat in my room that night. I raided my closet but found nothing so I decided to wear this black strapless, tea-length dress my aunt gave me as a graduation gift.
I stared at it for a moment before bringing it out of the closet. It wasn't much, but it'll do.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You look like a movie star." Nobu commented as we met in front of the hotel. The event was being held at the ballroom of The Hotel Venezia, near Roppongi Hills.
I smiled shyly. I touched my hair, which was tied into a half ponytail and adorned with small flowers, and smoothed down my dress . "Thanks. You clean up pretty good too." .
We were ushered towards the ballroom as we went in. Many people were dressed in formal wear, sipping Champagne and eating caviar . Waiters were passing by with trays of Sushi and small Quiches.
"Wow..." We both gaped at the surroundings. The chandelier shone brightly amidst the lights. People were walking around, greeting each other on the cheeks. At the other end of the room, there was a Champagne fountain.
I gulped as I suddenly felt a small knot of pain in my stomach. Nobu, who stood next to me, grabbed two glasses of Champagne from a passing waiter and handed me one. "Here."
"Uh, thanks." I took it from him even though I don't drink. Maybe a sip won't hurt, I thought as my nerves were getting to me a bit.
We made our way over to Toushin from across the room. We sat down as the lights dimmed and the program started. After one hour, we were still sitting at the table. Nobu and I got bored so we discreetly made our way towards the bar and decided to hang out there.
"This isn't going to get any better." He whispered to me. He took my hand. "Come on."
We took our coats, got out of the hotel and started crossing the street. As we reached the other side and stepped onto the sidewalk, I almost tripped and fell. I grabbed the nearest object I could find - a person.
"You alright, miss...?" The familiar voice echoed in my ear.
I stood up straighter, holding on to the person in front of me. I gazed up and...he was standing right in front of me. "Seiji~" I breathed.
He smiled at me. "Don't you ever notice? Whenever we meet, something always happens. And yet, I do - " He turns around as one of his friends call him. He waves at them and looks back at me.
I lower my gaze down. "Um...you can let me go now..." I point my gaze down to his arms, which were still wrapped around my waist.
"Oh! I'm sorry..." He let me go.
"Hanari! Let's go!" Nobu, who was standing and smoking behind me, nudged. He started dragging me away from Seiji.
"Hey wait!!" Seiji called out after me. "What's your name?"
I turned around, smiled and shouted back an answer. "Oh! Hanari. My name's Hanari."
---------------
"...And then he said, 'I'm not a monkey! You are!' And then..." I started laughing out loud as Nobu shared a story about his nephew.
Nobu dragged me to Miro's in Shibuya, the bar he co-owns with his brother Miro. We were hanging out near the stage when another guy asked for another round of beer. I stood up, volunteering myself to get it.
"Another round, Miro!" I shouted over the noise.
"Gotcha!" Miro yelled back. While waiting for the pitcher, my eyes wandered around the room as I leaned back against the bar. There weren't too many people around, even on a Friday night. Most of the customers were guys, some in their early to mid 20's. There was a group of girls on the right corner while a group of bespectacled guys on the next table stared at them.
I glanced at the stage in the middle, which was painted in black and had a karaoke machine in the middle. A guy was singing some Morning Musume song off-key and loudly while his friends, sitting at a table in the middle of the room, cheered him on. The lights swirled around the room, coloring the walls light beige and the wood a dark shade mahogany.
"Here." Miro gave me a light tap on the shoulder.
"Thanks." I turned around and took the pitcher, swaying slightly and almost knocking the person next to me.
"Heeeeyyy~" The person moaned back at me.
"Well, excu - " I turn my head around to tell the person off when, unfortunately, I found Nino's face staring back at me. "Oh, it's you."
"Hey! If it isn't the clumsiest girl I've ever met!!" His eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled at me. "You going to finish all that?" He pointed to the pitcher I was holding. "You here all alone? Where's your...mister prince charming, Seiji? I didn't know his 'princess' drinks like a frog..."
I stuck out my tongue at him. "How about you? Where's your boyfriend? I bet you're alone tonight because Ohno stood you up, didn't he?" I pointed at him and started laughing, taking a step back. The pitcher spilled all over my hands and onto the floor.
He quickly grabbed my arms. "Are - are you alright?"
I placed the pitcher back onto the bar, shoving his hands away after. "I'm fine! Don't touch me!" I glared at him.
"Okay, okay." He moved his hands away. "God, Emiko is so much nicer than you..." He muttered.
"Well, if you think she's nicer, why don't you secretly send her flowers?" His eyes grew large as the words came out of my mouth. "If you like her so much, why aren't you the one with her then? Oh, I know! It's because she doesn't know you like her!!" I clapped my hands repeatedly. "It was you, wasn't it??" I pointed my finger at him. "Admit it. You were the one who wrote those letters to Emiko. You conspired with Ohno to pretend to be you and to pretend to like her. If I didn't know any better, you're the one who really likes her and not him."
"Wha - wha - what are you talking about??" He gave me a death glare. "You're talking nonsense!! Baka!!" He quickly turned around, his back facing me. He grabbed his beer bottle and moved to the other end of the bar.
I gave a small smile as I went back to my table with the pitcher. A warm feeling crept over me as satisfaction danced in my eyes.
Ha! I knew it! He does like Emiko!
---------------
"Mou...I don't want to go..." I groaned.
"Just another one, I promise. Then, you can go home." Nobu dragged me outside, hoping to hit another bar.
I leaned back against a lamp post. "Okay, you go ahead and I'll follow."
As he crossed the street, I stayed behind, trying to catch my breath. My head was spinning really fast. I blinked several times, the lamp post beside me suddenly splitting into two.
I stopped leaning and tried walking down the sidewalk. Sad to say, I got as far as three steps. After that, I almost fell down. That is, until a pair of arms reached out and caught me before my butt landed on the hard cement.
"Wow...boy, are you heavy~" A voice remarked.
I turned my head up to find Nino with his arms holding me. I reached out and grabbed onto him, trying to steady myself.
"Let me go!" I whined. "Get your hands off me!!" I struggled to get away from his grasp.
"No! I'm not going to let you go. You're drunk. And you're too drunk to be left alone. Someone needs to be with you."
"I'm not drunk!! I'm just...red!! Really red..." I struggled out of his grasp, wiggling back and forth. "Stop touching me!! I don't need your help! I'm fine! Let me go!" I tried shoving him but I failed. Instead, I ended up wrapping my arms around him.
"Stop it!" He angrily cursed. After I stopped struggling, he slid an arm around me and started guiding me towards...somewhere.
"Where are you taking me?" I murmured against him. My eyes started wandering over him, noticing his long-sleeved blue shirt, his fitted denim jacket and jeans and a beanie cap over his head. I bit my lip, stopping myself from the urge to grab the cap off his head.
"I'm taking you home." He pulled me closer to him. "How will you get home? Do you have a car?"
"Nooo!" I giggled. "Yes! I don't know..." I snuggled against him and whispered. "It's right across the street!"
We walked all the way across the street, towards the parking lot, his arm around me while I was leaning against him the whole time. It felt so nice, I kept smiling and giggling while walking.
Once we crossed the street, he led me onto the parking lot. He stood by a black car, pulling out the keys. "I'm taking you home. You can't drive. You're too drunk." He pushed me away and let me lean against the car.
I didn't know what came over me but my vision started to blur. The lights in front of me swirled, colors of blue, pink and gold jumping up and down. My face became warm and my throat started to dry up. My head started to hurt, on all sides and my hands shook as I felt butterflies fly back up my throat .
"Nino, I think I - " I put a hand over my mouth but it didn't help. A liquid colorless mass came out of my mouth.
"EEEWWWW!!!" Nino shouted. He jumped back in time and avoided me vomiting all over him. Unfortunately, I threw up on his car tire.
"Oh gosh...I'm really sorry." I blushed and held my head down. I couldn't believe it. I just threw up on someone's car.
He ran his hands over his head and frowned before grunting. "Forget it. Just get in." He opened the door for me, went to the other side and got into the car, banging the door closed.
I slid in, keeping myself quiet as I closed the door and the car moved out of the parking lot. We didn't say anything, even as we passed by a gas station to wash his car. He just drove as I laid my head back against the headrest, pausing only once to ask me for my address.
Once he dropped me outside the bakeshop, I turned around again and bowed. "Thank you. And I'm really sorry about...you know...throwing up on your car."
He waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal." He gave me a small smile. "Now, go inside and get some sleep so you'll feel better." He pointed to the door behind me.
I waved back a military salute. "Sir, yes, sir!" I turned around and started unlocking the door. He waited until I was safely inside before leaving.
Hmmm...Maybe he might not be so bad after all, I thought as I watched him drive away.
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