Boiling Point
Part III, Chapter 5
Sounding like a gaggle of geese, the group of girls behind them started whispering anew. Zachary winced, which redeemed him slightly in Ami's mind.
‘Wonderful,' she thought fatalistically. ‘Fresh, catty gossip for them to share. Watch this lovely interaction between the perfect couple match-made by their own, sadistic parents.'
"About the closing ball tomorrow night...you know, we talked about it yesterday afternoon. In the library."
Uh oh. Ami smiled weakly and inched towards the door. "Um, right." ‘Could you speak any louder?' she thought.
"My mom's still obsessed with the idea of making it a couples thing." Actually, Aileen had just recently become introduced to the idea, but Zach didn't feel the need to say that. Besides, she had loved his suggestion–just as he'd known she would.
"Oh. That's...nice."
He lowered his voice slightly. "I know she's expecting me to go with someone, and I have to, because, you know, I'm the host. Or one of the hosts. And you can't see me going with one of those girls, can you?" They both turned to look at the girls, who immediately became silent and smiled charmingly at Zach. The poisonous envy in their eyes was reserved for Ami.
Their target was panicking–she had a very bad feeling that she knew where this was going. ‘Think, Ami, think!' she screamed at herself. ‘There has to be some way I can get out of this...'
He faced her again, smiling his own disarming smile. "So...would you be my date?"
Her mouth dropped open. Why did he have to do things so publicly?!
Zach started tapping his foot more out of anxiety than impatience, watching her turn various shades of red. Just then, the pretty brunette he had come in with bounded over. "Hey, Zach–oh, sorry, am I interrupting you two?"
"Nope." He smiled painfully.
"Well, then, aren't you going to introduce me, Zach?" she asked pointedly.
He rolled his eyes at her. "You're perfectly capable of introducing yourself."
"Your manners need work," she commented.
Zach sighed. "Ami, this is my cousin Lita. She's a pain in the ass," he said in a pleasant tone. He yelped as she punched him in the arm. Rubbing the sore spot, he gave her a dark look and added, "She also takes karate."
Lita smiled innocently. "Nice to meet you," she said to Ami enthusiastically.
Mentally, Ami latched onto this new subject as a temporary reprieve from Zach's insane question. Hopefully, it had been a joke. "You, too," she began, "I'm–"
Zach, who was getting annoyed, cut in. "Lita, this Ami Mizuno-Anderson...you know–Rei's cousin, Richard Anderson and Kira Mizuno's daughter? She's also the girl I'm trying to ask to the dance tomorrow night. So...would you mind?"
Lita's grin was the size of the Cheshire Cat's as she replied, "I can take a hint. It was lovely meeting you, Ames. I hope we get to talk sometime soon–I can tell you anything you'd like to know about my blockheaded cousin here."
"Thank you, Lita," he muttered under her breath. As she strolled away, winking playfully at Ami, he said, "Don't listen to anything she tells you–"
"Because it'll be right, right?"
"Right." He shifted nervously. "So, um...have you come to a decision?"
"About what?"
"The dance!" he practically yelled.
The room suddenly became silent, and Ami winced. "That was loud," she informed him.
Zach glowered at her. "I don't really care. So is it yes or no, Ami?"
Ami glanced around the room, which proved to be a fatal mistake. The daggers in the other girls' eyes promised to rip the flesh from her bones. "No," she whispered. Her own insecurities managed to convince her that he couldn't possibly be serious–it was all part of joke that they would all have a good laugh about later. More loudly, she repeated, "No, Zach."
It was his turn to gape like a fish. "Why not?"
She had turned to go, but she looked back at him. Her eyes were huge in her pale face, and she hoped no one notice that she was trembling. "I....I have a boyfriend, Zach." With that, she fled from the doorway.
Lita looked after her, frowning, but the other occupants of the room was not so astute. The room erupted in whispers and speculation, and all eyes were fixed up Zachary. His fists were clenched, his face white.
Lita walked up to him quickly, worried about the blazing anger and betrayal in his eyes. She reached out to touch his sleeve. "Zach–"
Roughly, he jerked away from her. "No. Leave me alone," he said in a low voice.
She watched him disappear through the doorway, vanishing in the opposite direction that Ami had gone, and her heart hurt for him.
He had looked so upbeat, so confident when he'd told her that he was asking Ami to go to the dance with him. At first, his face had been filled with disbelief at being rejected–wounded pride and hurt welled up in the wake of his surprise, and he was too shocked to maintain his normal, couldn't-care-less front.
‘Please, Zach,' Lita thought to herself. ‘Don't do anything stupid.'
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Ami wiped away the tear that was making its way down her cheek in a slow, salty trail. She sniffed miserably as more tears clouded her vision. The day had gone from bad to worse, and she just wanted to find a nice, dark hole to crawl into and never come out of.
The stronger side of her told her to pull herself together and that running away wouldn't help. She wiped away all her tears and blinked several times, wishing for the seventy-thousandth time that she didn't have to wear contacts–they were much better than glasses, but they stung when she put them in the wrong way, got an eyelash in her eye, or cried.
Ami looked around her, fighting down a surge of panic. She had no idea where she was. Nothing looked familiar...had she even been in this part of the house before? There was a wooden, spiraling staircase to her left, and she climbed it, hoping that she might come out somewhere near her room, which was on the second floor.
The first door she came to was slightly open, and she peeked in curiously. Maybe there was a maid who could tell her where to go...or maybe not. There was no one inside except a large green lizard, who was residing in its tank quite happily. There were clothes–a mixture of jeans, black pants, gray shirts, and white shirts–strewn everywhere except the computer. She could see a paused a computer game on its screen and a mug on the mouse pad. There was a shelf full of books and a closet that was half-open with all sorts of clutter spilling out from inside of it.
It definitely wasn't her room....and there was no one inside. But she wondered whose room it was. It seemed infused with personality, but overall, it looked like a life on-hold. Suddenly, pounding footsteps coming towards her attracted her attention. She looked straight ahead to see Zach running towards her. He skidded to a halt before her, and his expression was stormy as he demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"I–I'm sorry, I got lost, and–"
"Your room's all the way at the end of the hall," he said tightly before disappearing into his room and slamming the door shut.
She stayed outside the door, frozen in place. "I'm sorry, Zach," she whispered. She didn't know if he could hear her–but she hoped that he did.
All of a sudden, a friendly arm laid itself across her shoulders. Ami looked up into forest green eyes that were a few shades darker than Zach's. "Lita..."
"Hey, Ames," she said in a friendly tone. Lita began towing her away from Zach's door. "Did you bring a bathing suit?" she asked.
"Um...what? Oh–yes, but why do you ask?" Ami's head was aching, and she wanted badly to be alone. But there was something wonderfully comforting about Lita's warm, solid presence.
"A bunch of girls are getting into their skimpy bikinis in an attempt to get Jaden's–or Zach's–attention. Personally, I think they're idiots–the only person Jade has eyes for is Rei. While they're roasting away in the whirlpool, why don't we do a few laps? I'm not on the school team, but I think I can give you a run for your money."
"O-okay," Ami said shyly.
Lita smiled. "Great–I'll meet you there in ten minutes. Do you know how to get there?"
She looked down at her hands uncomfortably, remembering the night before. Had it really been just last night, she wondered, when they had been close enough to kiss? It seemed so long ago, and he seemed so far away from her now. "Yeah, I know," she answered quietly. "Zach showed me yesterday night."
The brunette patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I'll see you downstairs, then."
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By the time Ami got there, she was still feeling upset and ill-at-ease. Her swimsuit was still wet from her morning swim, and just as she reached the double glass doors, a group of scantily-clad girls brushed past her. As she eased herself into the pool, she cast nervous glances in the direction of the small clump of girls in the whirlpool. They had begun whispering among themselves, and their gossip was punctuated by bits of artificial laughter.
"Ignore them." Lita was standing before her, her brown hair darkened by several shades because of the water.
"I plan to," she smiled. "About that race, then?"
"On your mark–get set–"
"GO!" a male voice called. Ami looked around and saw Jaden standing by the side of the pool in his swimming trunks, grinning. "Hurry up!" he called to her.
Lita, who had spotted Jaden beforehand, was already making progress towards the other end of the pool. Ami dove underwater and started stroking without another word. When she surfaced, gasping, Lita was already brushing her sopping bangs out of her eyes. "I thought you'd never get here!" she remarked cheerfully.
Ami nodded and started running her fingers through her own wet hair.
The brunette sighed–she could already tell that Ami was just like Zach: neither of them would be the first to bring up a subject that was troubling them, so others had to do it for them. "Ami," she began matter-of-factly, "you're not really dating anyone, are you?"
She looked away uncomfortably. "How did you know?"
"Well, you didn't say it like you really meant it, and if you really had a boyfriend, you would have told Zach already. He's not the most subtle person around, and I know he would never go for a girl who's already taken." Ami looked up in surprise, but Lita just smiled. "So...would you tell me why you lied to him?"
"He's your cousin," Ami said softly. "Why are you being so nice to me now if I just hurt him?"
Lita merely shrugged in a carefree manner and began floating on her back. "Make sure Jaden doesn't come anywhere near me. The minute I see him, I'm going under–I start panicking whenever I see that silly, mischievous grin on his face.
I like you, Ames. You seem like my type of gal. I don't like being around all these girls that Aunt Aileen and Uncle Derrick invite over their house. They have to, I understand, but I don't hang around these people all the time, so I guess I'm not used to it. But anyway...if you lied something like that, I think you must have had to have a good reason to do it."
"I did...or I thought I did. I'm a private person, Lita. I don't like being asked to dances in front of a crowd, and I hate making a scene. I used to start shaking if I was called up in front of the class, and people picked on me all the time when I was younger.
I looked around when he asked me and saw all those girls glaring at me. They didn't even know what we were talking about, but they were just angry that Zach and I were talking. For them, it's a constant battle to get the upper hand. All they want to do is marry an extraordinarily rich guy so they can play queen of the manor–or mansion–when they're married.
All the pressure was on me for those few minutes–but then you came over, Lita, and I was so relieved. You bought me some more time to think, and I noticed how at ease Zach was with you. He joked with you; he seemed laid-back and more like himself. I don't know him very well, Lita. I first met when we were both pretty young, and the second time I met him...well...we didn't get the best impressions of each other.
I've only been here for a day, and my parents sprung this three-night stay idea on me. It's been suffocating to be on my guard all the time, and it feels like Zach's constantly breathing down my neck. We had a fairly odd conversation in the library, and then...well...he showed me the way to the pool, because Rei had mentioned that I liked swimming."
Lita's eyes sparkled playfully. "How considerate of him," she drawled. "Did he seize the moment and make a move on you then or wait until later?"
Ami flushed darkly. "Um...I thought he was going to, but he didn't. When we came into dinner late, everyone assumed that we were...together. Which we were. It was just that everyone was sort of hoping we would get together over the holidays. He played piano later that night," she added.
She grinned. "He's good, isn't he?" she asked, proud of her cousin.
"Yes, he is."
"And...what about today? How was he acting towards you before he asked you to the dance?" Lita inquired.
Ami shrugged helplessly. "He was so strange. In the morning, he hardly said a word to me, and I hadn't seen him since lunch when he came up to me and just asked me, out of the blue, to the dance. Wouldn't you be a little unnerved?"
"Sure I would," Lita laughed, "but that's because he's my cousin. I'd think he was nuts if he asked me to a dance."
"Lita! I meant any guy; it doesn't have to be Zach."
"No...I mean, Zach definitely has strange ways of showing his attraction, but I think it sounds romantic."
Ami sighed. "Are you looking for a boyfriend?"
"Sure...why not? Do you have someone in mind?"
"No. I'm not the type to match-make people, Lita. It's better if they're left alone to figure things out by themselves." After a few seconds' thought, she changed her mind when a likely candidate popped up. "Actually, there's someone I know who you might get along with, but he's not here. I'll see if I can introduce you sometime."
Lita righted herself and resumed treading water. "What's his name?"
"Nevan Starre. I go to school with him; he's very–"
Unfortunately, Lita never got to hear about Nevan's virtues. Ami cut herself off mid-sentence when Zach strolled into the room.
He raked the room with an indifferent gaze, stiffening almost imperceptibly when he spotted her–only she and Lita noticed. Completely ignoring them, he sauntered over to the group of girls who had been eagerly-awaiting his arrival after they had failed to capture Jaden's attention. They made room for him, each girl hoping that he would choose to sit beside her. Zach situated himself between one of the prettiest blondes and a brunette in a vary daring bathing suit without another look in Ami and Lita's direction.
Ami blinked back tears and started climbing out of the pool. Lita pulled her back down, a concerned and annoyed look on her face–the anxiety was for Ami, the exasperation for Zach. "Ames, come on. Don't go–I love Zach, and even though I understand what he's doing–salvaging his wounded pride–I know he's being a jerk right now. If you leave, you'll have let him get to you. Stay here and ignore him as thoroughly as he's ignoring us."
"I don't want to stay here and listen to him flirting with each and every one of them!" she protested in a vehement whisper.
Lita gestured to Jaden frantically. The blue-eyed blonde was frowning bewilderedly in his brother's direction–Zach had also bypassed him on his way to the whirlpool. He deserted Serena and Darien, who were utterly absorbed in each other anyway, walked over to the edge of the pool again, and crouched down. "What's going on?" he asked quietly. "What's up with Zach?"
"I'll tell you later. He's doing it just to spite Ami, and she wants to leave."
"You should!"
"Yeah, but how? It'll look like she's running away and that she let him get to her."
Jaden held out his hand to her. "Come on out, Ames. If you want to go, you should be able to go."
After Ami had draped her towel over her shoulders, Jaden slung his arm around her casually, and they departed together. Lita watched them go with a smile, which was a great contrast to Zach's murderous glare.
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AN: Well, I warned everyone about the strange parody in my author's notes for Ch. 4...so no complaints, please! ;; I apologize for the delay, but here's Chapter 5. Things seem to be going okay now (writing-wise, not Ami/Zach relationship wise ^.~), so expect Chapter 6 sometime soon!
~Ice
P.S. Again, thanks for all the wonderful readers & reviewers out there! :)
Mainpage: Love at Fifth Sight
