(no subject)
That makes 25!! Eep!
94. Fan Club
Alicia Blade
1102 words
“Are they gone yet?”
Motoki stopped what he was doing, briefly surveyed the arcade, then stepped back from the counter and peered underneath at his best friend who was crouched between the ice cream freezer and the bins of extra soda glasses.
“Yeah, they’re gone.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Mamoru slowly uncurled himself and crept out of his hiding place. He stood up with a long stretch, his back having begun to ache from his twenty-minute stowaway excursion. With a few pops in his shoulder blades he felt the stiffness melt away. Shaking his feet, he was relieved to feel the pins and needles fading as the blood returned to his limbs.
“Good afternoon, Mamoru-san!”
Mamoru froze, all tenseness and ill-feelings returning. Without turning around, he shot an icy glare at Motoki, who shrugged innocently. “Except that one.”
Groaning audibly, Mamoru turned toward the voice and plastered on a cool smile. A girl was leaning provocatively over the counter, big black curls falling over her shoulders and long lashes fluttering flirtatiously over amber-colored eyes.
“Hello, Audrey.”
“The rest of the girls went to that new chocolate shop across the street to buy you some truffles-you like truffles, right?”
Mamoru did like truffles, but the thought of accepting such a gift from “the girls” made him queasy. “Sometimes,” he amended.
Audrey licked her glossy lips and her smile widened. “So while we’re alone, I was hoping I could ask you some questions.”
Running a hand through his hair, Mamoru looked pleadingly at Motoki, who stood looking unashamedly amused at Mamoru’s predicament. “Actually, Audrey, I have some things to get done today and better be go-”
“Oh, it’ll only take a second!” she chirped. “I only want to ask about your hopes and dreams and interests and goals and likes and dislikes and pet peeves and fantasies and favorite things and what makes you laugh and what makes you cry and...”
“...and how you got to be such a jerk wad,” interrupted a sarcastically-ditzy voice. “You know, all the normal fangirl things.”
Mamoru and Audrey turned to see Usagi standing with a smirk on her face. Audrey’s cheerful gaze quickly fell into a glare full of contempt, whereas Mamoru felt a hopeful flutter in his chest.
“Oh, it’s you,” Audrey drawled.
“Right back at you,” Usagi said, though she covertly hid any signs of bitterness behind a friendly grin.
“Don’t you have some little kid game to play or something?” Audrey said, gesturing toward the arcade machines.
Usagi shrugged and claimed the stool beside Audrey. “All in good time. There’s a tradition to this, you know. First: get a free milkshake from Motoki. Second: call the baka a few choice names. And then I’ll go beat my high score on Sailor V.” She smiled at Motoki, who immediately got to work on that milkshake, then turned to face Audrey again. “Now, don’t you have something better to do than pestering our favorite egomaniac?”
Seething, Audrey muttered through clenched teeth, “I’m waiting on some friends.”
“Oh, right, I was wondering where the rest of the cronies were today.”
As if on cue, four girls entered the arcade with linked arms, looking both excited and nervous. They approached the counter, taking shy looks at Mamoru-who was wondering if anyone would notice if he conveniently crawled back into his hiding place.
“Here, Audrey,” said a blonde girl with a toothy grin, handing a gold-wrapped package to Audrey.
Having to force herself to ignore Usagi for a moment, Audrey stood from the stool, flipped her curls over one shoulder, batted her lashes at Mamoru, and ceremoniously held out the package. “Mamoru-san,” she said sweetly, “this is for you. It’s a gift that symbolizes all of our complete adoration and commitment to you, from the Green Jacket Girls, your devoted fan club.”
Usagi snorted loudly and didn’t try to conceal her rolling eyes as Mamoru, feeling all the weight of social etiquette pressing down on him, slowly reached forward and took the package, even though it was just about the last thing he wanted to do. From the corner of his eye, he saw Motoki desperately trying to contain his laughter.
“Uh.... thanks.”
The girls swooned in unison.
“Okay!” said Usagi, clapping her hands of imaginary dirt, “Now that we got the sacrificial gift out of the way, can you leave the poor sap alone?”
Audrey folded her arms. “You’re just jealous because Mamoru-san likes us!” she said with false certainty.
“Hate to say it, but I think you might be confusing affection with politeness. Besides, why anyone would ever want Mamoru-baka to like them is completely beyond me. Oh, thanks, Motoki-onii-san!” Usagi happily accepted the proffered chocolate milkshake. “Now then,” she said after taking a long gulp of the dessert, “you came, you ogled, you drooled, you swooned. Now scram before I sick Makoto on you.” Usagi gestured over her shoulder and the Green Jacket Girls all turned to see a booth full of Usagi’s best friends watching with keen amusement. Makoto popped her knuckles.
“Fine,” Audrey spat. “But one of these days Mamoru is going to realize how much he appreciates us in his life and then you’ll be the one ogling and swooning from the sidelines.”
“I can’t wait,” Usagi mumbled.
With a few more coy glances in Mamoru’s direction, the fan club slowly meandered out of the arcade. By the time the doors were closing, Usagi could already hear their shrill cries of “Oh my god, he’s so cute!” and “I think he winked at me... or maybe it was a twitch...” and “If he got any more gorgeous I would just die!”
Shuddering, Usagi swiveled on her stool to face Mamoru, who was looking at her with an appreciative, dazed grin.
“Thanks.”
Usagi shrugged as if to say it had been nothing. “Someone’s got to watch out for you. If I let them get carried away, I’m sure they would clobber you over the head and drag you back to their cave, and then who would I have to argue with every day?”
Mamoru’s smile widened and he leaned against the counter, looking a hundred times more comfortable and relaxed than he had been a moment before. “Well, whatever your reasoning, how about some chocolate as a show of my gratitude?”
Usagi eyed the gold-wrapped box hungrily. Just as she reached one hand forward, she looked up at Mamoru with a mischievous smirk. “Careful, baka. Keep this up and I might have to join that fan club.”
She was too busy devouring a cherry cordial to notice Mamoru’s reddening face.
94. Fan Club
Alicia Blade
1102 words
“Are they gone yet?”
Motoki stopped what he was doing, briefly surveyed the arcade, then stepped back from the counter and peered underneath at his best friend who was crouched between the ice cream freezer and the bins of extra soda glasses.
“Yeah, they’re gone.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Mamoru slowly uncurled himself and crept out of his hiding place. He stood up with a long stretch, his back having begun to ache from his twenty-minute stowaway excursion. With a few pops in his shoulder blades he felt the stiffness melt away. Shaking his feet, he was relieved to feel the pins and needles fading as the blood returned to his limbs.
“Good afternoon, Mamoru-san!”
Mamoru froze, all tenseness and ill-feelings returning. Without turning around, he shot an icy glare at Motoki, who shrugged innocently. “Except that one.”
Groaning audibly, Mamoru turned toward the voice and plastered on a cool smile. A girl was leaning provocatively over the counter, big black curls falling over her shoulders and long lashes fluttering flirtatiously over amber-colored eyes.
“Hello, Audrey.”
“The rest of the girls went to that new chocolate shop across the street to buy you some truffles-you like truffles, right?”
Mamoru did like truffles, but the thought of accepting such a gift from “the girls” made him queasy. “Sometimes,” he amended.
Audrey licked her glossy lips and her smile widened. “So while we’re alone, I was hoping I could ask you some questions.”
Running a hand through his hair, Mamoru looked pleadingly at Motoki, who stood looking unashamedly amused at Mamoru’s predicament. “Actually, Audrey, I have some things to get done today and better be go-”
“Oh, it’ll only take a second!” she chirped. “I only want to ask about your hopes and dreams and interests and goals and likes and dislikes and pet peeves and fantasies and favorite things and what makes you laugh and what makes you cry and...”
“...and how you got to be such a jerk wad,” interrupted a sarcastically-ditzy voice. “You know, all the normal fangirl things.”
Mamoru and Audrey turned to see Usagi standing with a smirk on her face. Audrey’s cheerful gaze quickly fell into a glare full of contempt, whereas Mamoru felt a hopeful flutter in his chest.
“Oh, it’s you,” Audrey drawled.
“Right back at you,” Usagi said, though she covertly hid any signs of bitterness behind a friendly grin.
“Don’t you have some little kid game to play or something?” Audrey said, gesturing toward the arcade machines.
Usagi shrugged and claimed the stool beside Audrey. “All in good time. There’s a tradition to this, you know. First: get a free milkshake from Motoki. Second: call the baka a few choice names. And then I’ll go beat my high score on Sailor V.” She smiled at Motoki, who immediately got to work on that milkshake, then turned to face Audrey again. “Now, don’t you have something better to do than pestering our favorite egomaniac?”
Seething, Audrey muttered through clenched teeth, “I’m waiting on some friends.”
“Oh, right, I was wondering where the rest of the cronies were today.”
As if on cue, four girls entered the arcade with linked arms, looking both excited and nervous. They approached the counter, taking shy looks at Mamoru-who was wondering if anyone would notice if he conveniently crawled back into his hiding place.
“Here, Audrey,” said a blonde girl with a toothy grin, handing a gold-wrapped package to Audrey.
Having to force herself to ignore Usagi for a moment, Audrey stood from the stool, flipped her curls over one shoulder, batted her lashes at Mamoru, and ceremoniously held out the package. “Mamoru-san,” she said sweetly, “this is for you. It’s a gift that symbolizes all of our complete adoration and commitment to you, from the Green Jacket Girls, your devoted fan club.”
Usagi snorted loudly and didn’t try to conceal her rolling eyes as Mamoru, feeling all the weight of social etiquette pressing down on him, slowly reached forward and took the package, even though it was just about the last thing he wanted to do. From the corner of his eye, he saw Motoki desperately trying to contain his laughter.
“Uh.... thanks.”
The girls swooned in unison.
“Okay!” said Usagi, clapping her hands of imaginary dirt, “Now that we got the sacrificial gift out of the way, can you leave the poor sap alone?”
Audrey folded her arms. “You’re just jealous because Mamoru-san likes us!” she said with false certainty.
“Hate to say it, but I think you might be confusing affection with politeness. Besides, why anyone would ever want Mamoru-baka to like them is completely beyond me. Oh, thanks, Motoki-onii-san!” Usagi happily accepted the proffered chocolate milkshake. “Now then,” she said after taking a long gulp of the dessert, “you came, you ogled, you drooled, you swooned. Now scram before I sick Makoto on you.” Usagi gestured over her shoulder and the Green Jacket Girls all turned to see a booth full of Usagi’s best friends watching with keen amusement. Makoto popped her knuckles.
“Fine,” Audrey spat. “But one of these days Mamoru is going to realize how much he appreciates us in his life and then you’ll be the one ogling and swooning from the sidelines.”
“I can’t wait,” Usagi mumbled.
With a few more coy glances in Mamoru’s direction, the fan club slowly meandered out of the arcade. By the time the doors were closing, Usagi could already hear their shrill cries of “Oh my god, he’s so cute!” and “I think he winked at me... or maybe it was a twitch...” and “If he got any more gorgeous I would just die!”
Shuddering, Usagi swiveled on her stool to face Mamoru, who was looking at her with an appreciative, dazed grin.
“Thanks.”
Usagi shrugged as if to say it had been nothing. “Someone’s got to watch out for you. If I let them get carried away, I’m sure they would clobber you over the head and drag you back to their cave, and then who would I have to argue with every day?”
Mamoru’s smile widened and he leaned against the counter, looking a hundred times more comfortable and relaxed than he had been a moment before. “Well, whatever your reasoning, how about some chocolate as a show of my gratitude?”
Usagi eyed the gold-wrapped box hungrily. Just as she reached one hand forward, she looked up at Mamoru with a mischievous smirk. “Careful, baka. Keep this up and I might have to join that fan club.”
She was too busy devouring a cherry cordial to notice Mamoru’s reddening face.