Chapter 16

Lesson Learned?

Dash left as soon as I brought the cappuccino and cake to Mr. Osaka’s table.  It was as if he had sensed that something was up and he had to get out while the getting was good.

Coward!

I tried not to let it get to me, but it wasn’t easy.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders when I gave her a puzzled look.  But she didn’t say anything.  I hoped that my appearance wouldn’t intimidate her as well.  It was meant purely for him.  I approached her when we had a quiet moment later that evening and informed her that I was angry at Dash and that this was my way of informing him that he had crossed a line.

“Yeah, he told me that he had done something to upset you, but he didn’t know what it was,” she admitted, wringing her hands together in front of her, her head bowed and eyes lowered.

I rolled my eyes and walked away in a huff.  I didn’t want to talk about him anymore.

He would have no clue.  He completely ignored me!  What kind of a jerk does that?

A super duper jerk, that’s what!

I don’t know what I was expecting.  An apology?  Yeah, that would have been nice, but was it really realistic?  This was Dash, after all.

For the most part, the night went smoothly.  A few of the younger customers liked my gothic Lolita maid outfit so I catered to them and Elizabeth looked after the older customers who weren’t keen on the look.  Not that I blamed them.  They came here for tea and cakes and cute girls to wait on them hand and foot, not look dark and ominous.

My temper lessened as the evening drew to a close.  By the time I got home, all clean and normal-looking, I was drained from all the energy it took being angry for so many hours.  It was almost as bad as worrying extensively before a big exam.  The only difference was that I wasn’t used to stewing in my own inner hateful monologues while trying to appear calm and collected on the outside.

Swirling around my mind were also thoughts of what I should have said to him at the café instead of just putting on some dark, heavy makeup.  I should have said something that would have embarrassed him, or at least forced him to listen to me.

Yes, I should have embarrassed him in front of Elizabeth… maybe then he’ll stop pursuing her and leave me alone!  Ugh, I’m such an idiot!

I’ve always heard that you should never go to bed angry.  That was advice I should have taken.

Even in my dreams, he chased after me, taunting me with his words, his damn cheeky grin, and striking blue eyes.  I wanted to scream at him, but he kept trying to seduce me with his good looks and insatiable kisses.  

Needless to say, I spent much of the night tossing and turning. 

In the morning, I rose, my hair a bird’s nest from all of my rolling around, but I vowed to have the upper hand at school.  I now knew his angle and I had to match it.  I couldn’t allow him to take advantage of me any more.  I knew I had to somehow twist the situation into my favour.  No more Miss Nice Girl.  If he wants to play hardball, I’ll give him hardball.

Or, at least my attempt at hardball.  How difficult could that be?

I didn’t see him in the hallways before first period started, but I caught him later when lunch began.  Or rather, I purposely bumped into him outside our classroom.

Allowing my books to tumble out of my hands, I fretted as the clumsy girl who couldn’t see two feet in front of her. 

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, raising my eyebrows in surprise upon making eye-contact with him.

Clearly, he was not amused.  The blues of his eyes were unusually icy and corner of his lip twitched before he looked away.

“Yuriko, you really need to watch where you’re going,” he grumbled as he waited for me to gather my books up off his feet.

I couldn’t help but flinch at his tone; it was like the biting cold of winter when you stepped out of your nice warm house first thing in the morning.

With books in hand, I rose back up and studied his face.  “Eh?  Are you in a bad mood today?” I asked with an extra dose of concern.

“What’s it to you?” he asked in a drawl.  He shoved his hands in his pockets and refused to even look at me.

Woah.  Something is up.  Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something? 

Maybe he finally learned his lesson?

“Um, did something happen yesterday?” I ventured bravely, despite the knots forming in my stomach.

His eyes flicked darkly at me.

Bullseye.  I couldn’t throw a dart if my life depended on it, but my elation would have matched that to actually pinning that dart successfully on the board.

Until he opened his perfectly moulded lips and uttered, “Piss off.”

He didn’t even wait long enough to see my jaw hit the floor before he walked away.

Seriously, what was his deal?  I was too stunned to chase after him.  Once I did gather my wits together, I realized that chasing after him would give him the wrong idea.  He was the one with the problem, not me!  There was no reason for me to even remotely care about his feelings getting hurt, or whatever his problem was.  He deserved what happened to him.  He needed a reality check.

Just wish I knew what exactly it was that had spurred his foul mood.  Was it something Elizabeth said, or something I did?  Perhaps I was way off and it was because of something else?  I hoped not.  I hoped he was upset because he clued in that he was treating me like garbage.

Wouldn’t that be a miracle?

I heaved a sigh as I continued down the hallway to my locker.

The day passed by relatively quickly, and I became invisible again.  Dash was in my last class of the day, but he still wouldn’t even look at me.  I watched him steal glances out the window and listening to his friends talking around him instead of participating in the discussions.

That’s so unlike him, I thought as I ambled to my locker at the end of the day.  My thoughts continued to swirl around my head like a murky pool of swamp water as I opened the door and sifted through my things.

Gathering the last of my homework in my backpack, I heaved my fifty-pound bag over my shoulder before closing my locker.  Turning towards the exit, I saw him standing there in front of the windows.

Leaning there would have attracted a number of girls, if it hadn’t been for the grim look on his face.  He looked so out of place, and not in the usual sort of “sexy model” way.

A lump formed in my throat, and I struggled to swallow it.

He looked up then and caught my gaze.

I just stared back at him, unable to move an inch, and unable to breathe.

It took a moment, but I eventually returned to my senses and took a deep breath.  Stepping forward tentatively, I kept my eyes trained on his feet and his expensive brand-named sneakers.

I didn’t know what to make of it.  He had been avoiding me all day, and now it would seem as though he wanted to talk. 

Hm, come to think of it, he had been in the company of his friends all day, and now he’s alone.  Maybe he just needed to get away from them?

Oh no… he’s not going to try something physical again, is he?

His posture and expression suggested otherwise, but I knew better.  Dash couldn’t be trusted, and putting my guard up was for my own good.

Maybe he wanted to talk, but what was there to talk about?  All he had to do was apologize for his behaviour and then leave me alone.  That was it. 

I just wanted my old life back.  Everything was simple and structured.  I knew what was expected of me and where my life would go.  I didn’t want him bothering me and causing a distraction from my goals.  Was that really too much to ask for?

Silence hung heavy in the air between us when I reached him.  I hung back by about five feet, not wanting to get any closer than that.

I waited for him to speak, since he was the one that clearly wanted to talk to me anyway.  I was fine with just walking past him and carrying on with my day.

He regarded me from the corner of his eye.  An unattractive frown made his entire face droop, and he looked almost sad—until he scowled darkly at me.

“Hello to you too,” he grumbled.

Seriously?

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I might later regret.  If I said what I really had on my mind, I might just anger him some more—or worse, encourage him to do god only knows what.

Mentally batting the memory of him kissing me away from the forefront of my thoughts, I lowered my gaze again to his sneakers, and greeted him back.

Hey, aren’t those the seven hundred dollar sneakers I saw in Vaughn Mills a couple of months ago?

Focus Yuriko!

“Um,” I hesitated, my eyes still studying his shoes (I was sure those were the shoes!), “What’s up?”

He squeezed his eyes shut, his eyebrows pulling together in a ninety-degree angle almost, as he brushed his blond hair back from his face.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked quite uncomfortable—nervous even.

“Look,” he began, pausing as if choosing his words carefully, “About yesterday…”

I waited, but he trailed off.

“What about yesterday?”

He pursed his lips as he opened his eyes again.  He pushed me back mentally with the harshness of his accusing icy-blue glare.

“Don’t use that tone with me.”

Unconsciously, I stepped back.  That, mixed with the horrified look on my face, made him pinch the bridge of his nose, and reach out to stop me with his other hand.

“I mean,” he said, swallowing, his hand still obstructing his line of vision, “Dammit, you always act so fucking innocent!”

I just stared at him as he lowered his hand from his eyes down to his mouth, twisting his bottom lip slightly as he glanced out the window.  His other hand fell to his side before gripping the edge of the window frame.

“Taking all my bullshit, and I…”

He exhaled with what sounded like a swear word muttered under his breath as well.

I must be hallucinating, I thought, but it sounded like he was trying to apologize or something.

The moment was short-lived.

“Hey Dash.”

The voice made me nearly jump, but I looked over my shoulder to see a pretty blonde girl approaching us.

First thing I noticed was the bounce of her half-exposed voluptuous chest as she stopped three feet from him.   He noticed too, and his eyes zeroed in obviously for a second at said hypnotic bounce. 

A couple of giggles rattled me from my dazed state (Oh my god, was I just staring at another girl’s chest?), and it was then that I noticed the three girls behind me out of the corner of my eye—no doubt her entourage of friends. 

They stood back about ten feet, huddled together and watching carefully with curious adoring eyes.

Great, fangirls.  Just what Dash needs—an even larger swelled head.

A wide grin spread across his face, as his eyes clearly took in every inch of her.   I watched as his demeanour changed completely from an almost awkward stature to one of seduction and charm.

And boy, was he laying that damn charm on thick again.

Well, now with the moment completely shot to hades, I just stood there, gawking at them.  Now that he was putting on the charm, he forgot that I was standing right there, and we were in the middle of something. 

Bile filled my mouth, and I clenched my teeth in an attempt to lock in the anger that rolled over me.  I was too disgusted to even stick around another second, so I turned to my left and stomped away.

So much for that.  Guess I’ll never get an apology now. 

But at least this chick might just distract him from Elizabeth—thus ending his chase after her, and ultimately my freedom, peace, and quiet.

I could only hope anyway.

For some reason though, the bitter taste still resided in my mouth even as I left the building.  The image of him standing here, looking almost like he was lost, tugged on my heart, only to be contradicted by my brain as he grinned at blonde-chick.

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Author's Note:  A brief shining moment between Yuriko and Dash... and then some blonde bimbo gets in the way.  Damn! LOL. Hope you had fun with this chapter. :) Thanks for reading!