Hello everyone! This was supposed to be a little one shot, but it evolved little by little into a full blown short story. Hmm...I guess that's kind of a oxymoron. This was just a spur of the moment thing, but it took on a life of its own. It turned out pretty good. Anyway, don't worry about my regular fic. I'm still hard at work on that. So have fun with this. It's like candy. Read it. Review it. Put it in your mouth. Enjoy.
Just one more coat and…I'm done.
"Perfect." Hitomi smiled and examined her handiwork, watching the tiny speck of red glitter on her nails sparkled under the light of her desk lamp.
"Hitomi! The phone's for you!" Her mother hollered at her from the kitchen downstairs.
She sprung up from her seat and picked up the receiver that rested on the small table next to her bed. "Got it mom! Hello?"
"Hey, are you almost ready?" Yukari's excited voice was barely audible over the blaring of her car's radio.
"Yeah, are you here?" Hitomi felt butterflies rise in her belly.
"Almost, we're turning the corner onto yousmeeeca wwa saad."
"What?! Say that again, I can't hear you!" Hitomi strained to hear over Millerna's high-pitched laugh.
"Turning onto your street! Ahh! Amano, get back in the car! That's not an escape hatch! Jesus! Gah, just wait outside, k? Bye." She didn't wait for Hitomi to say good-bye before ending the call.
Hitomi put the phone back in its proper place and took a minute to calm her nerves, resisting the urge to bite her nails. She walked over to her vanity mirror and did her best to get one last full-length look at herself before she left the safety of her house and stepped ut to face the scrutiny of her high school peers. She was about to attend Suki Teneson's Halloween party, the biggest party of the year. Normally she wouldn't be so self-conscious, but if there were any flaws or spills tonight, everyone would be there to see.
She started at the top. Her mother had done a fantastic job. When she told Mrs. Kanzaki that she wanted to dress up as Marie Antoinette, the woman had almost had a heart attack. The most difficult part of the ensemble was hands down going to be her hair, which had to be piled high and styled like the wigs of classic Parisians. Once she had somehow defied the laws of gravity and stacked Hitomi's waist length brown hair a staggering foot-and-a-half high, they realized that there was no way she would be able to survive the night with her tresses intact. Despite her manic perfectionism, Hitomi had settled for an elegant down-do, and even managed to come out looking even more stunning than she had hoped when her mom surprised her with a miniature black couture top hat adorned with a bright blue peacock feather and a small toy bird.
The main body of the costume had been ordered from a store specializing in modern replicas of vintage fashion. It was -- in simplest terms -- a light blue French maid dress with intricate detailing. Her long legs were on display as she had chosen not to wear stockings with her strap heels. The most striking feature, however, was by far her green eyes. Even against the outlandish costume, they shone as the brightest part of her.
"Hitomi! They're here!"
"I'm coming, mom!" She checked her lipstick one last time before bounding down the stairs and out the door into a car of screaming hormone-driven teenagers on their way to a non-parentally supervised alcohol-fueled house party.
"Are you almost ready yet?" Merle was getting antsy. She kept fidgeting with her lighter, tossing it from hand to hand as she leaned against the frame of the bathroom door. Fuck, why did I choose this week to try to quit smoking?
"Yeah, I just need to get my vampire teeth to stay. My saliva keeps washing off the glue."
Merle rolled her eyes. She had been ready for hours, hoping to distract herself from what she called the biggest impending social disaster in history. In her usual style of teen rebellion and disaffection, she had dressed up as a Vietnamese hooker since, as everyone knows, that's what every girl actually is on Halloween.
"Cool, Van. I'm gonna call a taxi. It should be here by the time you finish your makeup."
He listened to her clicking heels fade until she opened the front door and slammed it shut.
When exactly was she planning to call the cab?
Van mentally apologized for that thought. He knew how hard it was going to be for Merle to be around that many people. Not only did she suffer from clinically diagnosed social anxiety, but she used to be friends with a lot of the people they were going to be seeing -- the key words being used to. She hadn't spoken to many of them since they'd shunned her after she had begun dying her hair pink and going to obscure rock concerts at seedy biker bars. But she was braving out the party tonight as a favor to him.
Ever since Van had moved back into the city, he had been soul searching, trying to "find his other half" as he's explained to Merle many times before. She didn't get it, and he really didn't either, but he was sure as Hell that he wasn't going to be able to figure out what it was so long as he remained a social pariah.
Van had been home schooled for the past five years and was painfully shy when he was thrust into the teeming mass of adolescent dirt bags and their hypocritical politics that was public high school. He had earned a reputation of being extremely quiet, which somehow was interpreted by his peers as arrogance. Since the beginning of the year, his nicknames had included the "retard," "fag," "assmonger," and a dozen other charming epithets. Merle, a social outcast herself, had been the only person brave enough to defend and befriend him. She had warned Van a dozen times that going to Suki's party was a bad idea, but he reasoned that since everyone in school was invited, this would be the one time that they would be accepted by the rest of the kids. If they could make a good impression, the rest of the year would be great.
"Why you want to be friends with those assholes, I'll never understand," she had told him.
He finally snapped his fangs into place, gave them a test chomp, and flicked off the light before heading to the exit. When he swung open the door, there was a bright yellow taxi parked on the curb, and Merle was crushing her cigarette under her shoe.
"Sorry," she threw up an arm as she slid into the backseat and left the door open for him. "I don't know why I can't stop. I can't even quit thinking about it."
"Yeah," he said, closing the door as he settled into his seat. "Me either."
Hitomi sat cross-legged on the overstuffed couch at Suki Teneson's Halloween party, the biggest party of the year. Holding a plastic cup of fruity liquor in one hand (but refusing to drink because the boys at her school were notorious for slipping rufies to girls), she thought about how this was her last year as a kid, how she was on the threshold of adulthood, how she should be making the most of it, and how much she would rather be anywhere else but among a pack of drunken fucktards who thought that drinking beer and sniffing lines at eighteen years old made them wild and cool.
Her angry mood had started in the car when Yukari and Amano along with Millerna and Allen had decided to play a game called "Let's See Who Can Make Out the Most Even Though Hitomi is Right There." Yukari, who had been driving, had almost parked at several stop lights when Amano had gotten particularly rowdy. It was even worse in the backseat as, to Hitomi's disgust, she unfortunately looked at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw Allen's hand snake up Millerna's skirt.
Not even long drive on a dirt road had cooled the fire of teenage hormones, and Hitomi was horrified at the thought that Millerna might take advantage of the stimulation of the bumpy road and mount Allen right there in the car. They hadn't even stopped their groping at the party. Rather, they only retired to a lock bedroom upstairs. There was even a game couples played at house parties. The only rule was that the horny teens had to leave the girls' underwear in the chamber of fornication. The winner was whoever slept in the parents' bedroom.
Amano and Yukari were carrying on their match of tonsil hockey on the seats right next to her as a drunk football player tried his best to smooth talk Hitomi as he struggled to keep balance.
"That was the game I scored the winning touchbound," he slurred. He made no effort to hide the fact that he was starring straight down her top, but Hitomi wasn't sure he even had the mental capacity to try. Either way, he was harmless as long as they were in a room full of people.
"So," he continued. "When are you gonna shnuck my cock?"
Hitomi looked up a narrowed her eyes at him. The anger rose up in her. Who the Hell does he think he is? "When you grow one," she seethed.
Inebriated as he was, the stupid brute still knew an insult when he heard one. "Bitch," he spat back at her, tossing his beer can on her lap before staggering off into the crowd.
"Jesus Christ!" Hitomi gasped and shot up from her seat, trying to brush off the liquid before it settled into the fabric. The football player had nearly finished it, though, and there were only a few small stains on the front of her dress.
She felt frustrated tears form, and she looked over to where Yukari was, hoping for sympathy, or at least a witness. Alas, the girl dressed as Juliet was preoccupied trying to inconspicuously shove her hand down her Romeo's pants.
Van fidgeted nervously as Merle stared at him with an irritated glare.
"Look, we got all dressed up, paid a cab to come all the way out to West Bumbofuck, spent the past hour and a half being gawked and laughed at by a bunch of slutty cheerleaders, and you're not even going to talk to anyone? Fuck!"
"Okay, okay, I'll go talk to that girl." Van pointed to a girl who was leaning against a table littered with beer cans. She was dressed up in as Little Bo Peep and appeared to be there alone.
"No, not her. That's Melody. Her boyfriend just broke up with her."
"So? She's probably lonely. Look at her."
"No, you still don't get it. She's an outcast now. None of the "cool kids" want anything to do with her now that she's not dating one of their own anymore. Use your brain, Van."
"Alright, sorry." He scanned the room, hoping the next person he picked wouldn't get him yelled at. "What about those guys right there?"
"No, can't you see they're standing in a circle? They not interested in making new friends. They'd probably kick your ass before they'd hang out with you."
"Then I'll talk to her."
"Fuck no! That's the worst person ever! Forget about school slut, I'd safely say she's the town slut."
"Really? She looks so nice."
"She is nice. To everyone. In the back row of the movies. And the backseat of a car. And all the park benches in the city. And --"
"Okay, I get it. Uh, them, those girls. They're not even dressed that skanky."
"Hmm…yeah, they're cool. Go get 'em, tiger." She sent him off with a smack on the butt.
Van advanced toward the pair, a blonde in a relatively conservative naughty nurse getup and a brunette in a '50s flapper dress. They still hadn't noticed him approaching when he was about a foot away, and he stopped in his tracks when he heard his name.
"Um, I think Fanel. Yeah, that's it, Van Fanel," said Blonde Nurse. "I have art with him."
"Jen told me that she has history with him, and that he's totally creepy." Brunette scrunched her face in disgust.
"Oh my God, he is. He's always drawing, like, dark stuff, you know? Like girls with guns and like monsters and people with eye patches and stuff. I swear he's going to shoot up the school or something."
"I know. Where did he come from? I don't remember him from like middle school or anything."
"Carroll told me he was home schooled or something. His parents are artists and they spent the past I-don't-know-how-long in some log cabin in the woods working on some big art thing."
"I think I heard about them. My mom is going to that exhibition. It's supposed to be like groundbreaking or something. I don't know."
"They should have spent more time raising their kid and less time sniffing paint."
Both girls broke out in hysteric laugher, apparently having just made their first attempt ever a joke, not realizing that they had failed miserably.
Van turned around dejectedly, meeting Merle's sympathetic eyes. He felt like saying 'You were right,' knowing that she wasn't the type to say 'I told you so.' He could still hear the girls talking as he walked away.
"Oh my God, I think that's him. Do you think he heard us?"
"Who cares?"
Merle opened her arms to Van and gave him an exaggerated hug. When it was over, she flashed him one of her rare dazzling smiles. "Come on, babe. Let's go to the kitchen. I'll make you something strong."
Hitomi dabbed at her eyes with the last of the toilet paper and threw it into the condom-filled trashcan. She held on to the edges of the bathroom sink and stared hard at herself in the mirror, trying to get control of her emotions.
"Come on, girl, get a grip." She willed herself to hold back the tears. I can't believe all my friends would just…Forchrisssake, Why I'm I so upset? This is what goes on a parties. I just never thought they would leave me hanging like this.
She had tried to separate Yukari and Amano to tell them what had happened, but they had just looked annoyed and shrugged before going back to dry humping on the couch.
Hitomi gave her hair another pat down, opened the door, and cautiously made her way to the kitchen. Loud music was blaring from the speakers stacked on the dining table, and the heat coming off of the overcrowded hallway was making her dizzy. Once she broke through the mass of grinding bodies, the air was cool and almost totally free of cigarette smoke. Cans and bottles were piled upon each other, overflowing in trashcans, and covering the floor. No wonder there's no one in here. All the booze is in the kegs outside.
She poked through the mounds of empty containers, trying to find a clean rag or paper towel to wipe the stains off her dress while avoiding broken glass. She ignored the clamor of what sounded like a mob of drunken morons entering the room from behind her as she searched. It turned out to be only a pair of drunken morons.
"Fuck yeah man, I'd fuck Simone! That chick's fucking hot!"
"Dude, Jason said that when he fucked her, she was all…like fuckin'…like…"
"Whatever, he did not fuck her. That ugly fuck couldn't fuck a hole in the wall. He's such a fuckin' -- hey! Hitomi, what's up, baby girl? Damn, you look fucking hot!"
Hitomi turned around, and her eyes widened. It was Lawrence, the student council president, accompanied by Carson, his twin brother and vice-president. Both of them were high, smashed, and missing their pants.
"Hey, are you alone or something? 'Cause --burp!--you could hang with me," he said as he stumbled toward her, nearly tripping on a beer can.
"Yeah, we can make room for one more," Carson chimed in from near the broken sliding patio door.
"Shut up, dude. I'm talking about a privet party. Just you and me. Whadaya say?" He cracked a crooked half smile as he shoved his ugly mug into face, almost touching her nose.
Hitomi cringed. Lawrence had always been a little weird, but this was borderline frightening. Not only was the fact that he was in his Space Wars boxers disturbing, but his breath smelled like vomit and Hitomi could see that his eyes were glazed over, even through his smudged glasses.
"Um, I'm kind of busy. Maybe later."
"Come on, Hitomi, it'll be fun. I promise." He tried to snake his arm around her waist.
Hitomi nearly went into a panic. She shoved him off, sending him reeling into the refrigerator. He caught himself before he fell flat on his butt and looked stunned, but his face turned bright red when Carson started laughing, his screech-like giggles sounding remotely like a bird having an asthma attack.
Lawrence stood up straight, fuming. Hitomi knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help let a smirk play at the corners of her lips. His face twisted in what seemed to be a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He looked her up and down, his eyes stopping on the beer stains on her dress.
"Let's go, Carson. From the looks her, Hitomi's all partied out." He kicked his way through the trash to the patio.
"Yeah, man, looks like someone partied out on her," Carson added as they lurched out to the pool.
Hitomi felt her stomach knot and tears well up. They spilled over her onto her cheeks before she could stop them. They were hot on her flushed skin as they smeared her eyeliner, leaving black trails as they raced down to her chin.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a napkin materialize out of thin air.
"Don't listen to them. Those guys are jerks."
Van held out the napkin until Hitomi gingerly took it and wiped her eyes. She missed the black streaks on her face. She was stunning.
"Thank you, uh, Van, right?"
"Yeah. And you're welcome. It was nothing."
"No really, thanks. You're the best friend I've had all night." She smiled a grateful smile, but it was obvious that she was still upset.
Van wondered how a girl like Hitomi could end up like this in a house that was full of her friends. She was practically royalty among them. He remembered on the first day of the school year how lost he'd felt, like driftwood being toss along a sea of moving bodies. Everyone seemed to know exactly where they were going, where they belonged. The morning bell rang and he was the only person still in the hall, a human island. As he struggled to figure out which hall was which and what order the rooms were in when he looked through a tiny door window, trying to make out what kind of class it was. Hitomi was sitting closest to him, and their eyes met when she turned to look at the clock above to door. Without hesitation or permission, she had left the room and introduced herself, took his crumpled schedule, and pointed him in the right direction. She even offered to walk him to his first period, but he was too shy to accept.
They didn't talk much after that, not having any of the same classes, but he soon learned anyway what her reputation was. Hitomi was one of the few girls who had managed to maintain a minimum level of drama and almost no enemies. That's why it was so amazing that her best friends were Yukari and Millerna, two of the snobbiest, spoiled, selfish girls in the entire school. Millerna talked about Yukari behind her back at almost every opportunity, and was even the one who reveled to the student body that Yukari had been dating an older college guy. Yukari did the same to Millerna, and told anyone who would listen the dirty details of her steamy on-again/off-again relationship with Allen, whose behavior was worse than both of them combined. His father was the superintendent, giving Allen the power to bully, cut class, and torture teachers without fear of punishment.
As much as Van liked her, they were the reason he normally never tried to talk to her. Of all the people who ridiculed him, they were by far the worst. Every time her got within ten feet of Hitomi, Allen and his friends were there to shoot him down. They didn't seem to be anywhere near her now. That's weird. Those people usually travel in packs. And Hitomi looked so vulnerable. Van was the one who was out of place, but she was the one who seemed completely out of her element. He knew it was a little sleazy, but Van felt slightly emboldened by her current state. Still, he hated to see her so upset.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Uh, yeah, I'll be fine." Her voice cracked, and she raised the tissue to her eyes again. She noticed him staring at her, unconvinced. "It's been a long night. I'm just tired."
I can't just leave her like this. Those assholes might come back around.
"If you want, you can come hang out with me on the front lawn. There's no one out there. All the beer is next to the pool."
She rubbed her forehead, a painful throbbing making her woozy. "That would be great."
He offered his arm, and grew embarrassed when she cocked an eyebrow, realizing that no one in high school did that. Ever.
Damn it! If she didn't already think I was a total freak… "Sorry, I just --"
"No, no, no. It's nice to finally meet a real gentleman." Her eyes lit up as she wrapped her arm around Van's.
He felt his face turn color. Okay, don't screw this up, he told himself. "So, what happened to your friends?"
"It's a long story. How much time do you have?"
"Oh, enough." For you, all the time in the world.
Man, this is so great! I can't believe that they're getting along so well.
Van had been worried that Merle would flip out when he brought back Hitomi instead of a bottle of liquor, but the drinks she had made herself earlier had kicked in. She had never been more relaxed.
"That…is fucked up!" She was half yelling her comment at Hitomi, a response to the girl's recount of her horrible night.
"Why do you hang out with them anyway?" Van sipped his beer after he asked, wincing as the glass rim hit his fangs.
"I don't know, exactly." Hitomi tore a few blades of grass from the trashed lawn. She swirled her wine cooler with the other hand. "At my old school, I was kind of a nerd. No one really thought I was anything special." She sighed heavily. "Then when my dad switched jobs and I transferred, it was like 'bam!' I was cool somehow. Allen Schezar wanted to date me. I had never even had a boyfriend before, and suddenly I was in with the popular kids. I was just so excited to be accepted that it didn't matter that they were all jerks."
"And now?" Van hoped that he wasn't pushing his luck. They had all talked about so much already that he didn't want her to think that he was just prying.
Hitomi stared blankly at her feet, looking inside herself for the answer. "I don't know. I mean, it was so weird when Millerna started going out with Allen after we broke up. I expected for us to not see each other for a little while, to have time to get over things. But the next day it was like nothing had happened at all. Then when Millerna told me that Allen had asked her out, it was like she expected me to be overjoyed for her. I didn't realize that people were just…passed around like that." She took a sip of her drink, and looked Van. "You're not like them, Van. You're a good person."
She placed a hand on his knee. Van felt his heart race, and he looked over at Merle to see what her face read. She was no longer sitting up but had laid back and was counting stars. "534, 535, 536, 527 -- no, 539? What? Damn it! 1, 2, 3..."
Van turned his attention back to Hitomi. "Thanks. So are you."
"How can you say that, Van?" She scooted closer to him and moved her hand on his shoulder. "Every time you got ragged on, I didn't do anything to stop those guys. I'm sorry, Van. You're such a good guy." She put her head on his shoulder.
Does she like me? I wasn't that nice to her. At least I don't think I was. Oh, God, please don't let her be drunk! She only had one drink…
"Um, Hitomi?"
"Yes, Van?"
They were facing each other, only inches apart.
"I know that I don't know you that well, but…I…"
"Yes?"
"I really, really like --"
"Hey, what the Hell is going on here?!"
"Hitomi! What the fuck are you doing?!"
Hitomi pulled away from Van as the sound of Millerna's shrill voice nearly made her jump out of her skin.
"Nothing. What are you guys doing? Are we leaving?" Hitomi stood up and brushed the grass off of her legs. Van and Merle did the same.
"We are not leaving until we figure out what the Hell is going on here!" Millerna looked like she was about to have a bitch fit.
Allen, Yukari, and Amano all stood silently behind her, the same question burning in their angry eyes.
"What are you talking about? I was just hanging out with these guys after you all ditched me inside," Hitomi shot back. She was starting to become more livid despite the fact that she still didn't understand what the problem was.
"Nobody ditched you," Yukari added, placing a hand on her jutting hip. "We were right there!"
"Well, you seemed to be a tad bit preoccupied when I asked for your help!"
"Help you with what?!" Now Amano contributed to the argument. "Oh, some ass spilled his drink on you. Big fucking deal. Shit happens. What did you want us to do about it?"
Hitomi didn't have an answer for that. She looked at her friends, all glaring at her, and for what? She still didn't know.
"It doesn't matter what you could or couldn't have done about it. You should have been there for her when she needed you."
Hitomi was shocked to hear Van's voice coming from beside her. He's standing up for me and he doesn't even know me. This guy really is amazing.
"This is none of your business, faggot. Go back to whatever crap hole you climbed out of." Allen shoved Van backwards, causing him to almost trip over an exposed tree root.
"Allen stop! He didn't do anything!" Hitomi felt a familiar fear pool in the pit of her stomach.
"Why are you defending him, Hitomi?" Millerna looked like she was about to hit someone. Her eyes were already bloodshot after drinking too much beer before too much sex. "He's just a retarded loser."
"Yeah, Hitomi, are you fucking the little jack off? I thought he only liked dick." Allen shoved Van again, this time succeeding in making him fall.
He cried out in pain.
"Van, are you okay?!" Hitomi was at his side.
"You can't do that to Van!" Merle came out from behind, getting Allen's attention.
He smiled slyly, thinking he could handle Merle. "Well, well, what have we here? If it isn't Little Miss Punk Ro--" He didn't get the last word out before he doubled over in pain.
Merle had knocked the wind out of Allen with one good blow.
"Allen!" Millerna tried to help him, but he was too embarrassed to be babied.
"Get off, bitch!"
Millerna was taken aback, not expecting his hostility, and refocused her anger on Hitomi. "Look at what your boyfriend did, Hitomi! I hope you're glad! Come on, guys. The traitor can walk home with her new loser friends!"
Hitomi watched the group of disgruntled assholes walk toward Yukari's car, Allen hobbling along as he held his side. It was then that she realized that she didn't care what they did. She turned her attention back to Van.
"I'm so sorry, Van. Are you okay?"
He lifted his right arm, exposing a huge red wound.
"Oh my God, Van! It looks deep! I'm gonna call a cab so we can take you to the night clinic." Merle took her cell phone from between her cleavage and dialed the operator. "Hello? Yes, I need a cab. Yes, I'm on Lake Garden Drive and -- Hello?" She addressed Hitomi. "I need to get better signal. Be right back." She got up and moved around different spots on the lawn.
Hitomi watched her for a moment to make sure she didn't trip over her heels on the grass. She turned back to Van. "Does it hurt?"
"Nah," Van said. "It's nothing. Let me get up. I don't want to get dirt in it or something."
"Yeah." Hitomi helped him rise and winced at the pain it caused him to twist his arm.
"I can't believe you stood up for me like that. You didn't have to."
"I know, but those guys are such asses. Why would someone so sweet like you want to be friends with people like them?"
"I don't…It's just that…I…" Hitomi looked Van square in the eye, hoping that he would see what she couldn't put into words. He looked so different from the way she saw him at school. He wasn't the quiet artsy kid who looked at the floor as he passed her in the hall and hung out with the girl who spent most of her days in detention. He was -- quite literally -- a sexy, strong, vampyric man who defended her. His black hair was gelled and spiked, he was wearing a spike collar, a tight black shirt with the pants to match, and combat boots that looked like they could put a hole in the side of a car. It was almost arousing.
"You don't have to put up with people like that, you know. You deserve better than that."
She couldn't help but wonder why he cared to much. "Van, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have to do any of this. I mean, we're not really friends, I've never been that nice to you. You didn't have to get hurt for me. What exactly are you doing?"
He almost looked hurt by her question. "Because, Hitomi! You're sweet and smart and caring. You're not hardened and selfish like them. You could be so --"
He was cut off by her lips.
"Oh my God! Are you serious?!"
Van dodged the popcorn and candy that came flying his way.
"I'm sorry, okay?! She kissed me."
"No, don't apologize! This is so great!"
Van peaked out at Merle from behind the pillow. "And you're okay with it?"
"Of course!" She set the container of what remained of the snack mix on the floor and reached over the side of the couch for the remote. She put "Attack of the Swamp Men" on mute. "Van, ever since you came here, you have had a major crush on Hitomi but have been too socially handicapped to do anything about it. You want to "be accepted," as you put it, but you're so busy trying to be what you think people want you to be that they don't see the real Van. All I've wanted for you is to break out of your shell and for once do what you feel without worrying that other people might not like you for it. Now you've got the girl and a bunch of people hate you. You progressed more than I'd ever hoped!"
He smiled through a defeated sigh and touched the bandage on his arm. "Well, you're half right. A bunch of people sure do hate me, but I'm not sure if I've got the girl."
"I'm sure you do. Who could resist this?" She messed up his hair.
"Hey! Don't touch the 'do! That's how I get the ladies."
"Ha! Shut up, Van. No matter how smooth you are, you'll always be a dork to me."
He grabbed to remote. "Yeah. But I'll be a dork with the best friend in the world."
Merle smile widely before punching Van in the arm. "Nice try. But the remote is MINE!"
"I'm just saying that I never expected this from someone like you Hitomi." Millerna had been ranting for what seemed like hours, but in reality she'd only been talking for about ten minutes, voicing the complaints of all of Hitomi's friends.
"What do you mean by that?" Hitomi sat up tensely in bed, begging God to grant her the patience not to scream and hang up on Millerna for being so stupid.
"It's just that you were always so good at doing what you were told. I mean, the only reason we didn't shun you after Allen dumped you was because he told us for sure you wouldn't say anything about us getting together. He said there was no way you would stand up for yourself. Why can't you just go back to the way it used to be? Come on, girl. Let's just put this whole thing behind us and be friends. Just apologize and I'll forgive you."
"Is that all I am to you?! Some lackey you can just boss around? I thought we were friends, but it sounds more like I'm your personal assistant."
"Well, what did you expect, Hitomi? You're not the same as me. You were nothing until Allen felt confident you'd be an easy lay. He didn't count on you being such a prude."
"I guess he wasn't looking for much of a challenge the day he asked you out."
That did it. "Look, bitch, you were just a technicality, a stepping stone on Allen's path to finding someone who was actually in his league. Allen and me were together under the table the whole time you two were holding hands on Lover's Lane or whatever G-rated shit you guys did to fill up the time before your break-up. I'll be willing to forget that comment if you'll just come to your senses, be grateful, and take my offer."
It only too Hitomi half a second to make her decision. "Fuck off, bitch."
"You'll regret this, Hitomi. You'll never be able to show your face in --"
Hitomi slammed down the receiver, not caring what would happen next. She was free.
Van swung the car door shut behind him. "Thanks, mom." He waved at Vari through the passenger window.
"Thanks for letting me drive you, baby. I need all the practice I can get." She put the car into gear and rolled slowly down the road. A line of angry commuters quickly formed behind her, honking for her to follow the speed limit.
"Damn, your mom still doesn't know how to drive?" Merle spoke with a cigarette in her mouth as she fished through her pockets for her lighter.
"She never had to drive anywhere. Dad and me always went to the store once a month to stalk up on supplies. I think that's actually when she got her best work done, when she was alone. Those paintings are all her." He coughed when Merle exhaled a puff of smoke in his direction.
"Sorry," she said. They started walking up the stairs to the main entrance. "I think I'm finally gonna quit."
Van opened the door for her. "Smoking?"
"No." She flicked the cigarette down the steps. "Trying."
As they walked into the main hall, a wave of people rushed toward the cafeteria.
"What's happening? What's going on?" Merle called out to a skater running toward the commotion with his pants part way down his ass.
"Fight! Girl fight!" He had turned his face back to answer her and slammed into the giant trophy case near the office.
"Ouch." Van felt his pain.
"Come on, Van, let's go see the bitches brawl!" Merle tugged eagerly at Van's sleeve.
"No, we're gonna be late for class. I'm sure you'll see whoever it is in detention."
Merle gasped in mock shock. "Van, what are you getting at?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Oh, fine. Come on, dork. Let's go to class."
Hitomi sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as the alcohol-drenched cotton ball made contact with the open cut above her eyebrow.
"I know it hurts, sweetie, but I'm sure the hit that gave it to you hurt a lot more," said Nurse Francis. She continued dabbing at the blood as Hitomi held an icepack on her bruised shoulder.
"Um, no. Actually, that was from Mr. Kelvin trying to break us up."
They both laughed.
"I'm sure it was an accident. But all in all, you don't look bad, Hitomi. I've see much worse."
"And you will again as soon as the other girls walk in."
"Girls? There's more than one?"
Hitomi flashed a confident smile. "Miss Francis, you're from the Upper Shyland region, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you know these North Amton girls can't fight."
Nurse Francis smiled back. "Alright, baby. You can head on out. Send the next girl in when you leave."
"Thank you, Miss Francis." Hitomi jumped off the examining table and walked out into the hallway in the direction of the detention room.
Yukari shuffled in after she was gone. "Nurse, my head hurts so much. Can I have a pass to go home?" Her pain was genuine, but her whining was more transparent than her slutty shirt.
"Just sit down so I can give you an icepack."
"But I really --"
"Sit down, child. And don't make me tell you again."
Yukari took her place on the examining table, still pouting and mumbling under her breath. Nurse Francis slammed an aspirin and cup of water on the tray beside her. She went to the freezer to get an icepack for her eye.
"Is Hitomi going to be punished? Because she should. She started this whole thing. She never should have disrespected us in the first place Who does she think she is anyway? Like she's some kind of --"
"Yukari, Mr. Kelvin told me you started the fight. Is that true, yes or no?"
She hesitated. "Well, yeah."
"Why would you do that? Everybody knows North Amton girls can't fight."
Van waited outside the detention hall for the last bell of the day to ring. His last period teacher had let him leave early so he could pick up Merle and head straight out to the parking lot where his mom would be waiting, hopefully with a shiny new driver's license.
The bell rang, and within seconds the hall was filled with teenagers bolting for the nearest exists. He watched as an assortment of hoodlums and thugs filed out of the detention hall. Black boots, mohawks, chains, grills, baggy pants, high heels, flipped collars, there were all sorts of troublemakers today.
Van watched the floor, comparing shoes. Some were new, some old, some downright outrageous. Leave it to the rich kids to spend money on useless crap. His head snapped up when twin pairs of Manolo Blahniks dashed out of the room. Millerna and Yukari darted away toward the office exit with their binders covering their faces, as though they were jetlagged celebrities hiding from paparazzi.
"What the Hell?" He turned back to the detention room door to see Merle exiting with her arm around none other than Hitomi. The pair looked like a couple of sexy Razor Babes looking for trouble.
"What the matter, Van? Ain't ya never seen a couple of hot females before?" Merle put a finger under his chin and shut his gaping mouth.
"And then my dad decided that he'd rather keep the family together than accept the promotion, so he got transferred here and we followed in a two-door car with a trailer hitched to the back. Now give me the hot sauce." Hitomi lunged at the bottle Merle was holding.
"Hey, hey, hey. Back up. You will get the hot sauce when my watermelon is done soaking."
"Eww! Merle! That's nasty!"
"But it's soooo good!"
Everyone was having a good time at the impromptu sleepover on Van's living room floor. They had all gone to his house once he had gotten over the shock of seeing the girls exit detention together. Merle had been sent there because of her usual 2:15 bathroom break without permission from her biology teacher. Van had all but had a heart attack when they told him that it had been Hitomi who was a part of the morning fight in the cafeteria.
He and Merle had set up the snacks and pillows while Hitomi called home to ask if she could stay at Merle's house. She felt bad telling a lie to her mother, but Merle said that it was all just a part of her new life as a certified outcast.
"Okay, now it's my turn. Van, truth or dare?" Hitomi just hadn't hung out with people like this since she'd moved. Millerna and Yukari always wanted to use sleepovers to plan diets or lay out clothes for a week or plan revenge on someone for not complimenting their new bangs. Yes, this is the life!
"Hmm…truth. I'm not ready to crank call anymore city officials tonight." He carefully placed the last piece of his cookie house carefully on the edible structure.
Hitomi pretended to have trouble thinking up a question before asking something she'd wanted to know ever since the rumors about Van had started. "Have you ever worn fur underwear?"
"What?!" Van tried to keep his composure.
"Oh my God, Hitomi! What the Hell?!" Merle nearly spit out the soda in her mouth.
"It was just a rumor I heard. That since you lived in the woods, you hunted your own food and then made clothes out of the…little…woodland creatures."
Van playfully tossed a chip in Hitomi's hair. "No, Hitomi, I have never worn fur underwear." They all settled down. "But I've worn animal print underwear."
"VAN!" The girls both chucked snacks at him.
"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"
"Kids! Come on, guys, don't make a mess in there," Vari said from the kitchen.
"Mom! Sorry, we didn't see you," Van apologized, hoping that she hadn't heard anything.
Everyone kept the conversation civil while she shuffled around the cabinets. Once Vari had poured herself a glass of water and made way back to her room, the trio of misfits went back to their game.
"Merle," Van started, "truth or dare?"
"Tuth," she said through a mouthful of spicy watermelon.
"What is the weirdest place you've ever…you know…done it?"
"Are you guys serious?" Hitomi asked, feeling as though the conversation was getting a bit personal. "You two talk about…that?"
"Of course," Merle said matter-of-factly. "We usually end up going to do it together. Not "together" together, but like in the same place. It was kind of weird at first, but when you're in public like that, you can't ignore the call, you know?"
They've had sex? I can't believe this. I though Van and I…well, had a connection that night. I didn't know they were like that.
"Hey, Hitomi, you cool?" Van was staring at her with a concerned tone in his voice. "We can talk about something else if this makes you uncomfortable. It's no big deal."
No big deal? I thought you guys were different from Millerna and them. What have I gotten myself into? "No, it's alright," she smiled, not wanting to seem ungrateful for the kindness they had already shown her.
"Alright. Then where was it, Merle? Weirdest place. Go."
"Um, probably behind the dumpster at Mick's Bar. Eww, it was gross with all the cigarette butts and broken glass and the danger of some greasy old biker dude walking out, but I just couldn't hold it in!" She squirmed at the memory. "I defiantly shouldn't have had so much water before we left, but there was no way I was drinking anything from the taps there."
Hitomi was confused. "Wait, you were talking about going to the bathroom?"
"Yeah," Merle was already grinning. "What else would we be talking about Hitomi? Hmm?"
Van wasn't letting her get away with it either. "Yeah, Hitomi, what else?" He leaned closer to her. "We're dying to know."
"Shut up, guys!"
"AHH! You thought we were talkin' about sex! You're such a dirty girl, Hitomi! For shame!" Merle threw her pillow at Hitomi, landing it square on her face.
"Sorry, sorry!" Hitomi hid under the cover of the cushion, but no amount of fabric could mask the mortification in her voice.
"I never thought you were that kind of girl, Hitomi," she heard Van say, his voice muffled from her ears by the padding.
She finally came up for air, her face still red. "Can we please talk about something else?"
"Okay, fine," Merle yielded. "So, Hitomi…have you ever done it? And by "it" I mean sex."
"Oh God!" Hitomi looked at Van for support, but he was apprehensively waiting her answer. "Well, okay, I'll tell you guys the truth."
Merle focused all of her attention on Hitomi while Van began to study the carpet nonchalantly.
"I'm ready," Merle said eagerly. "Give it to me."
"Well, one time I was at Allen's when his parents were out. We were just watching TV when he said that he had something for me in his room." Hitomi was interrupted by the sound of Van knocking over his cookie house, a rather disinterested look on his face.
"Sorry," he said blandly.
"Van, if you're gonna be a jerk during the story, make yourself useful and bring more drinks," Merle said with annoyance biting at her words.
He got up and went to the adjoining kitchen. The hiss of opening soda cans soon followed.
"I don't think he likes hearing this one," Merle whispered closely to Hitomi.
"Why not?" Hitomi prayed she got the answer she hoped for.
"Because he's totally in to you. He hasn't shut up about you since last Saturday," Merle whispered back with a wide grin.
Hitomi smiled back while doing back flips and cartwheels on the inside.
"Okay, who wants the last Dr. Mountain Blast?"
"Me! ME! Give!" Merle chugged the soda. "BURP! Now, Hitomi, please continue."
Van still looked annoyed, but Hitomi went on anyway. "Where was I? Oh, yeah. So anyway, he went up stairs. He was only gone for like two seconds when his housekeeper Matilda walked in the door. She was used to me being there, so she wasn't really surprised. She was carrying a bunch of groceries in her arms, and I helped her take a few bags of to the kitchen." At this point, Hitomi couldn't help but giggle, making Merle all the more intrigued. "We were putting some of the things in the cupboard when she realized that she's left the ice cream by the door. She left the kitchen, and just as I was shelving an industrial-sized tub of mustard, I heard this horrible scream. I dropped the mustard, it broke and splattered everywhere, ran out to see what was wrong, and there was Allen -- in a whipped cream bikini! -- trying to cover himself with the remote! Matilda had run out the front!"
Merle was beside herself, barely breathing as silent laughs escaped her gaping mouth. Van and Hitomi couldn't shut up, trying to quite the noise of their laughter with the pillows.
"Are -- are you kidding?! That's awesome!" Merle exhausted her only words before falling back into throes of laugher, this time managing to get on Vari's last nerve.
"HEY! You guys either quite down or take it outside! I've got work tomorrow, and I need to sleep," she yelled out from her room.
"She means she needs the morning light to finish a painting." Van stood and helped the girls to their feet. "Come on," he managed through bouts of snickering. "Let's take this freak show over to Mick's."
The three of them headed out the door, ready to teach Hitomi how to stir up trouble.
"Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?!" Hitomi had to scream over the painful volume of the metal band pounding through the amps on stage. The only time she could be heard was when the singer wasn't roaring through the microphone.
"That's kind of the point!" Merle shouted back as she jumped up and down to the music and took another sip of her "Cherry Bomb," a drink that was about two parts liquor with one part more liquor.
Van watched the girls on the dance floor as he waited for his drink at the bar. Merle was already going nuts, head banging ferociously. Hitomi was still a little tense, no doubt never having been around so many hard-looking guys in leather and brass knuckles before, but she was getting a feel for the room. She looked slightly out of place, but she handled the rough crowed like a pro. She's so amazing. I hope I don't mess this up.
"Thank you," he said as the barkeep put his drink in front of him. He moved through a mob of drink-seeker to join his friends on the floor. Van put an arm around Hitomi's shoulder, trying to calm her apprehension. Biker bars defiantly weren't her scene, but hopefully they would be by the end of the night. "Let's find a booth! I think I saw one in the back!"
Van had been trying the whole night to think of some reason to be close to Hitomi, and he had finally mustered the courage to take charge and lead her away from the crowded floor.
He motioned to Merle with his head, and she nodded in understanding. He then slid his hand down Hitomi's arm and griped her palm, hoping she wouldn't pull away. She gave him a sweet smile before returning his squeeze. YES! Thank you Lord!
He led the girls to the only empty booth in the building. Most of the patrons were head banging up in front of the stage, leaving a few seats open.
The band finished just as they settled in. "Thank you! We are Rigormortis! Goodnight!" More rock music started playing on the stereo behind the bar.
"Is this awesome or what?! Whoo!" Merle was having a great time. She was friends with the bartender and managed to score a couple free drinks for herself.
"You'd better slow down, Merle. You don't want a repeat of All-You-Can-Drink Night," Van warned. Even as he scolded, he strategically stretched his limbs and rested his arm across Hitomi's shoulders. She nestled in closer. Okay, Van, he thought, don't screw this up. Just be calm and be cool. Damn, what the Hell is cool?
"Yes, Van, I really think I do. You know what your problem is?" Merle was beginning to slur slightly, but Van knew she could handle herself. Besides, her tipsy nights always gave him plenty of material to tease her with later. "You need to just cut loose and get --"
"Hey, love! You didn't really think you were going to get by me without saying hello, did you?"
"Vince!" Merle jumped from her seat and threw her arms around a big burly man wearing torn jeans and fake blood streaked across his face. "I didn't know you were in town!"
"Yeah, we go up next. It's our last bar tour before we hit the road with Degradation," Vince said while running a hand through his long messy hair.
"Wow! I love those guys! Their music is so brutal! Is it true they sacrifice goats on stage?"
"They're not real goats. They have a special effects guy who makes robotic parts for the head and legs. We brought some of the guys with us to check out the show. You wanna meet 'em?"
"Oh my God, yes!" Merle tossed back the rest of her drink and slammed the glass down on the table. "I'll meet you guys up front in an hour." She disappeared into the crowd with Vince before Van could answer.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Hitomi's voice was uneasy.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. That guy's been friends with her for years." I've got her alone. Great. This is perfect. Now we can…what? What can we do?
"So, what do we do now?"
Damn! She's bored! Jesus, she's going to think I'm totally lame. "Hmm…how about you tell me how you're liking your first trip to a real bar. A far cry from drinking virgin margaritas at the Pinkie Tiki, huh?"
She laughed. "Yeah, but it's defiantly more fun. I never knew how awesome death metal was. It was always so hard to hear on the TV over the megaphones of the protesting mothers."
"Yeah…." Think of something to say.
"Yeah."
Think, damn it! "So, Hitomi, are you looking forward to --"
"Van," Hitomi placed a firm hand behind his head, internally reviling at the soft texture of his raven hair. "Are you gonna start rambling, or are you gonna kiss me?"
It was there, amidst the cigarette smoke and Norwegian death metal, the drunken bikers and free flowing booze, that two outcasts tasted true love's first kiss. And then it's second. Then the third. Until their friend came stumbling out of the back room leading a crowd of metal thugs to the front stage and preformed a stirring rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."
The cold winter wind whipped at Hitomi's exposed skin as she walked briskly down the frozen sidewalk. She approached the Cinnamon Tree Coffee Shop near the street corner, mumbling a muffled "thank you" to an exiting man who held the door open for her.
"Hey, Ronnie," she said to the man behind the counter as she removed her bright red scarf from around her face. "How's it going?"
"It's been slow, but it always is on nights like this. Hey, did you do something to your hair?"
"Yeah, I cut it," she said, feeling the absence of length as she fingered her short locks. "Do you think it's too much?"
"No, it looks great. Sophisticated." Ronnie looked away for a moment to pour her a mug of hot coco. He slid it onto the counter. "On the house."
"Thanks, Ron. You're such a darling." She took the cup and let the sweet smelling steam warm her face.
"Don't let your boyfriend hear you saying that," he smiled.
"Well, he's late, so we'll just keep it between us." She sat on a bar stool in front of the counter. "How's Agnes?"
"She's swell. She's entering a few of her photo's in the winter art festival." He picked up a framed photo of his wife pushing their granddaughter on a tire swing. "She said she'd like that beau of yours to take a look at them if that's alright."
"Of course. He loves her work." Hitomi took the first sip of her coco. "Mmmm. Perfect."
Ronnie was about thank her for the kind words when the phone in the back office rang. "Excuse me, Hitomi. It's probably the new waitress calling to say she'll be late again. It's so hard to find good help these days."
As Ronnie left the room, Hitomi reached into her backpack for her stationary. She'd been meaning to write the letter all week and didn't want to miss an opportunity to at least start it.
Dear Merle,
It was great hearing from you. I'm glad to know that between all the late night rock parties, attending fashion shows, and planning your wedding to Vince that you still had time to sit down in your fabulous London flat and write. I got the invitation yesterday, and I'm already making plans for the hotel and plane tickets. I love that you're getting your entire design class to help you make the dresses. Van and I are doing fine. He landed that internship at the International Museum of Visual Art and is working with Jennet DeLuca, a world famous curator. Don't worry. I don't know who the heck she is either. As for me, I'm still doing all my core classes at the university. I find out today whether or not I've been accepted into the Honors Creative Writing Program. Cross your fingers for me! And BlueComet Publishing picked up three of my short stories. Can you imagine? My name in professional print? I know I won't believe it 'til I see it. Oh, and I just found out that the owner of my favorite coffee shop is Mick's dad. As is Mick's Bar. He told me that since that music historian found out that Slaughter House actually played their first gig there, Mick's is going to be declared a historical landmark in a few months. He also told me that their family is going to open another bar near the school called Viv's (after his daughter) and I've been promised a bartending job. And to your last question, yes, I know what Van's parents are getting you as a wedding gift. Since you asked so nice and sent a very convincing, chocolaty bribe -- it's a painted mural of our goth prom pictures. I must say, it looks amazing. They were thinking of keeping it for themselves to show at the exhibition next week. Jennet said it could easily go for $100,000. I was tempted to just sign my name on that card, but fear not, I promise my own gift will be equally awesome. On a completely unrelated and random topic, the strangest thing happened today. I was on the bus when I looked out the window and could have sworn that I saw a car being driven by none other than --
Hitomi looked up from her letter when the bells attached to the front door chimed.
"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Wilkin. It's just that the morning sickness is getting worse, so -- oh…Hi, Hitomi."
Hitomi stared for a second, letting the circumstances set in before realizing that she hadn't spoken. "Uh, hi, Millerna. What are you doing here?" Shit, I haven't seen this girl in half a year and the first thing I say is totally bitchy.
"I work here," she responded, not moving from the coat rack near the door. "I actually came here not too long ago 'cause…"
Millerna kept talking, but Hitomi didn't hear the rest of her story. She couldn't stop looking at the other girl's appearance. All of her clothes were drab and wet from the snowy air outside. She was wearing thick boots that were made to keep the cold out, not to be aesthetically pleasing. Her hair was dyed a faded black and was straightened almost to a point of being crispy. She wore no make up to cover the dark circles under her eyes or chapped lips. Underneath her brown sweater was a noticeably protruding round belly.
"…so right now I'm just trying to save money to pay for a lawyer and the paternity test, because if I know Allen at all, he won't agree to do it without a subpoena. So, yeah, that's my life right now. What about you? What have you done since high school?"
Hitomi struggled to gain her composure without Millerna realizing that she'd only heard the last part of what she'd said. "Uh, well, I've been at the university mostly, and doing some writing for --"
"Hey, baby, sorry I'm late." Van swerved past Millerna, not seeing who it was, and embraced Hitomi where she sat before planting a kiss on her lips. "Some jag off in a beat up grey car nearly ran me over on the sidewalk."
"Hi, Van."
He turned around to see who had greeted him, and the resulting look on his face was priceless. Van was much less subtle than Hitomi, and he looked from Millerna's face to her belly conspicuously before finally saying, "Hey, Millerna. What are you doing here?"
Hitomi mentally slapped him.
"I work here," she repeated, obviously growing embarrassed. She still hadn't moved any closer. "Sorry about that out there. It was me in the car. It's just so hard to see in this weather, you know?"
"Oh, yeah, no problem."
No one said anything else. The uncomfortable silence grew until it threatened to suffocate them all. Ronnie saved them at them last second.
"So you've finally decided to make an appearance, Ms. Aston?" He emerged from his office with a sour look on his face. Hitomi had never seen him upset before.
"I'm sorry, sir," Millerna at last moved from her safe spot and went behind the counter. "I just --"
"I don't feel like listening to your malarkey today, girl," Ronnie said as she donned her apron. "Just sweep the kitchen and café. Let me know when you're done, and I'll give you something else to do." His face returned to its usual pleasant state when he saw his second favorite customer. "Hello, Van! Good to see you, my boy. It's been too long."
"Yes, sir, it has," Van said with a genuine smile as they shook hands. "I saw in the newspaper that some of your wife's photographs were published. She's got a great eye."
Ronnie beamed. He motioned to a framed copy of one of the said photos on the wall, a little girl blowing bubbles to her reflection in a full length mirror. "She was so excited. All the ladies from her book club called this morning when they saw it." He toook a step toward one of the machines on the counter. "Would you like a coffee?"
"Can I take a rain check on that? Hitomi and I are going to see 'Little Shop of Horrors' downtown. Jen couldn't go, so she gave me her tickets." Van put Hitomi's stationary back in her bag as she drank the last of her coco.
"Thanks for the drink, Ronnie. It really hit the spot," Hitomi said as she swung her backpack over her shoulder. "We'll see you at the opening, right?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said, sending them off with a warm smile and a friendly wave.
Hitomi thought about saying goodbye to Millerna, but she had her back turned to them as she swept the red tiles in the kitchen.
They left the warmth of the café and dashed to the bus stop a few feet away. The plastic booth offered partial shelter from the chilling wind, but the pair still clung tightly to each other as they waited for the 5:30 to the Theater District.
"Oh my God! Was I hallucinating, or did you see that too?!" Van's breath warmed Hitomi's forehead.
"Yes, we were talking for a few minutes before you got there. Well, she was talking. I was trying not to die of shock."
Van laughed. "What did she say?"
"Something about a paternity test and needing a lawyer. Oh, and Allen!"
"Seriously? I guess it's not all that surprising. What did you say to her?
"Nothing. You rescued me before I really had to think of anything."
"Damn."
"What?"
"Well, it was kind of your chance for revenge, wasn't it?
Hitomi pushed back and looked up at Van. "I've already got it."
"What do you mean? Oh, that time you kicked her ass in high school."
"No! Living well. That's the best revenge."
The 5:30 pulled up the street and stopped in front of the couple. The doors opened, and they each reached into their pockets for bus fare. They were the only passengers.
They picked out inward facing seats near the middle, and Hitomi snuggled into the crook of Van's arm. She closed her eyes and took in his scent. A mixture of soap and talcum power. It was her favorite smell in the world. It reminded her of home.
"Van? Yeah, and that time I kicked her ass in high school."
1 - boring, I'm not going to read it anymore
2 - kind of interesting, but still boring
3 - king of interesting, I'll keep reading
4 - interesting, I'll keep reading
5 - interesting, I'd really like you to continue
6 - very interesting, I'd love for you to continue!