Setting Things Straight
Part III, Chapter 6
Zach had never been more jealous in his life as the moment he watched Jaden and Ami walk out together. The fire consuming him from within, demanding bitter retribution, flickered dangerously as he watched their departure. His helplessness infuriated him, and the vengeful anger inside of him reignited.
He stayed with the girls in the whirlpool, steaming away without and within, but the pleasure of ignoring her and flirting with all the other girls to spite her was gone. She probably hadn't even cared about what he was doing–and Zach could no longer pretend that he was completely unaffected by her rejection of him. Not after she had climbed out of the pool and walked out, cool as you please, with his brother.
The fact that it had been Jaden also gnawed at him. He hated being at odds with his brother, but his well-hidden insecurity planted millions of doubts in his mind. Jaden had broken up with Rei recently...and he and Ami had always gotten along. Each time Zach tried to remind himself that Jaden was completely in love with Rei (half-listening to the girls' inane chatter), he recalled that it was Jaden who she had walked with after dinner last night, swum with in the morning, and left with just now.
Enough. He was going to drive himself mad this way, and he couldn't think surrounded by this bunch of giggling harpies who were happily backstabbing any and all of their friends who weren't currently with them.
After a sufficient amount of time had passed (then no one would think that his leaving had any connection to Ami's), Zach levered himself out of the pool and departed swiftly, despite his fan club's disappointed protests. Not only did he want to get away from them so he could think, he also wanted to escape two pairs of perceptive blue eyes. It was scary, he thought, how well Darien and Serena knew him.
He stalked into his room, but the mess and the dried coffee stains on the rug only infuriated him further. At last, he snuck downstairs to the coat closet, yanked on a bulky winter jacket and his shoes, and slipped through the back door. Hopefully, there wouldn't be anyone walking around outside–it turned out, fortunately for Zach (who wasn't in the mood for company), that no one else was crazy enough to be wandering around when it was close to freezing outside.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ami heaved a sigh of relief when Jaden finally left her alone. She appreciated his concern, but she didn't feel like talking about her problems to anyone. Spilling out the entire story to Lita had been an exception–she had immediately liked the warm, friendly brunette, and at that moment, she had just wanted to get everything off her chest.
Now she wasn't sure if she had made the right decision. In the past, she had always internalized her problems and shielded her emotions from the world–she didn't think it had to be any different this time. Her heart, however, seemed heavier than it had ever been before.
She tried to sit or lie down, but she just couldn't stay still. None of the activities she tried could occupy her mind for long–including schoolwork. In fact, she became so sick of her assignments that she just wanted to hurl them into the trash can.
Looking at her watch, Ami decided that she would go back to the library and take refuge in the safety and comfort its shelves and shelves of books provided. Not many of her contemporaries enjoyed reading, and she didn't think any of them would be there. But she would have to be extremely careful to avoid any of them on her way there.
She was almost to the library, with its circular dome and homey feeling, when she glided silently past a roomful of teenagers. She overheard her name and paused, plastering herself against the wall so she could listen.
"–hear about Mizuno-Anderson and Coruni?"
She winced. She hated being called by her last name.
"He actually asked the little nerd to the dance!"
That stung.
"She may be a nerd, but she's actually kind of cute. Too smart for a girl, but cute."
"Are you nuts? She's half-Japanese and half-American. She just looks weird."
A drawling, bored voice commented, "You're such a bigot. Who cares if your taste doesn't coincide with Coruni's? What I want to know is was he serious or was it just another one of his games?"
‘Another one of his games?' Ami was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, and her heart was pounding furiously.
"I don't know if he asked her just to see if she'd say yes. I haven't seen him since then, and personally, I think he just overstepped his limits. He's too damn confident in himself–who cares if he likes her? He just wants the challenge. But you know, girls like her don't go for guys like him. It just doesn't work."
She stepped away then, her fingernails digging into her palms. When she looked down, there were bloodless white crescents on her hands. Even the library couldn't make her feel better now...she just felt confused and upset. Had it been all a game to him?
Ami realized then how little she knew of Zach. She had met him a day ago, and she had no idea what he was really like. She couldn't tell what he was thinking about, and she didn't even know what kind of person he was. In trying to make her decision about the authenticity of his intentions, she could only pit her gut instinct and the sentiments of her friends against the frightening possibility that the whole thing was a joke after all.
From nearly the moment she had arrived at the Corunis', she had become infatuated with Zachary–no matter how much she had tried to deny it. But she hadn't reached any personal part of him: he had remained a mysterious, charming guy whose actions were impossible to predict.
He was Jaden's brother, and Jade was the nicest guy she knew. He was Lita's cousin, and she really liked Lita, despite their having just met. Lita reminded her of an oak tree: solid and trustworthy. But Ami hadn't drawn the same feeling of warmth and security from Zachary. He was all light, heat, and passion. There was a sense of erratic instability around him...
And Rei had warned her not to fall in love with him. Rei was her own cousin, and she knew and understood people much better than Ami did. Ami could only watch and wish she was participating in the thrilling, vibrant dance of life she was never included in. At any rate, Rei's words and thoughts counted more to Ami than anyone else's did...but Rei, too, had had some good things to say about Zach.
It seemed that there were two personalities of Zach standing before her as she stared at the fire they had sat before together only yesterday. One of them stood before her with his hand outstretched invitingly, his lips curved into a roguish, seductive smile. He was surrounded, in her mind's eye, by beautiful girls. Behind him gleamed a life of parties, of mansions, of sophistication, and of money. It was a life that she had never wanted.
The other version of him was less brightly colored. He was sitting at the piano, but his back was to her. The lizard she had seen in his room was curled on the piano. In the distance were Rei, Jaden, Serena, and Lita...and the intimate scene of the night before flashed before her eyes, when they had stood so close together, barely breathing. The ghost-like vision of him turned from the piano then and looked at her without recognition. ‘I don't know you,' his brilliant green eyes seemed to say, ‘and you don't know me.'
Ami turned away from the fire, and the dream visions floated away. She covered her face with her hands and thought desperately, ‘I want to go home. I want to be far away from here and all the trouble that's happened.'
Suddenly, her attention was drawn by the snow falling gently outside. The snowflakes danced their way down from the heavens gracefully, twirling this way and that. Ami walked over to the window to admire the scene. The Corunis' gardens had looked wonderful before, but it seemed like a dreamland with its fresh coat of snow.
She curled up on the window seat and leaned her head against the wall. She pressed the fingertips of her right hand against the windowpane in a wistful gesture and looked out at the lone figure walking across the lawn.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He reached a bench placed under a tree laden down with snow. He brushed the heavy white powder off the seat with his hands, ignoring the tingling sensation, and plopped down unceremoniously. He slouched low in the seat, leaned back, and heaved a great sigh.
At first, his shock and fury had been unparalleled when she'd told him that she was dating someone. He had lashed out against her internally–why hadn't she told him? What kind of game was she playing? Was it all some fun, meaningless diversion to her?
It had infuriated him to see her standing by his room, but he had been crushed when she had whispered an apology to him. Zach realized that he knew close to nothing about her–and that he hadn't bothered to find out. He was humiliated to realize that in the beginning, it had begun as some kind of perverse challenge for him. He had wanted to see her flustered, and he had wanted her to fall in love with him–Ami Mizuno-Anderson, who had written him off as unworthy of her attention to years ago.
He had characterized her, simply, as one of his more spontaneously-decided challenges: a shy, naive little bookworm who would be completely taken with him. Then things had begun to change...for him, at least.
The first sign that she was much more than that had occurred in the foyer, when he'd nearly kissed her hand. She had blushed–and then given him the coldest look imaginable. It had only intrigued him further, and as time went on, he had found himself becoming more and more interested in her–to the point of infatuation. There hadn't been any part of her that he had disliked; she had been the most perfect person he had ever met. And this, he knew, could not be love.
He wondered now, how wrong he had been. She was clever–had she been much smarter, slyer, and crueller than he'd imagined? Had it been some part of her intricately-designed plan to have Zach make a fool out of himself? Did she enjoy playing with his feelings and leading him on? It made him sick to think about it.
But his first impression of Ami stood vividly in his mind, with her exotic hair and clear blue eyes. Gradually, the books and conservative clothing faded from the picture. Rei, Lita, and Jaden congregated around her, and her eyes filled with laughter. They, too, departed from his mind's eye. She was left alone, and the polite smile had disappeared. Her expression was sorrowful, and she turned away from him to gaze into the distance.
Zach was still caught up the air of mystery around her. What was her hidden side? Why didn't she just let everything go, and smile and laugh like she wanted to? Why couldn't she let people get to know the self she kept hidden inside of her?
All of a sudden, he became aware of the piercing cold and headed for the house. He could only see one clear solution to his problem: he was going to talk to her and find out the truth. It didn't matter if he made a fool out of himself again; he had done it before.
As he approached the house, he heard a tapping noise. He looked up to see Ami–she was sitting by the window, watching him with a sad expression on her face. By his estimation, she was in the library.
She pursed her lips and blew on the glass so that it was misted over. Tracing the letters with her index finger, she wrote: Will you talk to me?
It took him a few minutes to decode the message, because the words were opposite for him. While she wiped away the message, he considered thoughtfully. It was the hopeful look on her face that did him in and the baby blue eyes he had discovered that he could never resist. Zach nodded, and the relieved smile on her face made him feel as warm as if he was inside, sitting by the fire, with her. Wait for me, he wrote back. I'm coming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When he walked over to her, she was still sitting in the window seat, looking out at the darkening sky. She turned to face him at the sound of his footsteps–he smiled cautiously, but she was too nervous to.
Ordinarily, she would have avoided the subject forever, but she wanted to get everything off her chest. Her words spilled out in a rush as she asked, "About the dance...were you serious, Zach? Did you really mean it?"
"Yes."
She flushed darkly. "I'm sorry–I'm really sorry, Zach. I thought...I thought that you might have been playing some kind of joke on me."
Zach stared at her in amazement. It took a few minutes for her words to click, and then he thought about his own reaction to being turned down...going to flirt with all those girls. Suddenly, he burst out laughing at the irony of the situation.
He only stopped when she looked away, her eyes brimming with tears. He sat down next to her and took hold of her hands. "Ami–I'm sorry. Don't be angry with me. I only laughed, because...well, it's awful, but I thought you were trying to play some game with me too. We're impossible, you know that? I thought you were leading me on, and you thought I was fooling around with me. That was some communication problem, wasn't it?"
She managed to laugh them, in her relief. He smiled gently, the smile of the piano player she had imagined. A heady wash of emotion washed over her again, but she couldn't help smiling brightly. "I'm sorry," she said again.
"Don't be. Everything will be fine if you just answer one more question for me–do you really have a boyfriend, Ami?"
She looked down at her hands and blushed. "No. I didn't mean to lie to you...but you asked me in front of all those people, and I was so afraid it would all turn out to be a joke."
Zach was crestfallen. "Do you think I'm such an awful person?"
Her eyes flashed indignantly. "We barely know each other, Zach! You thought I was the one leading you on, didn't you? I'd never do something like that."
"I know. I'm sorry, too. But was I really that intimidating?"
She laughed. "Only to me, I guess. No one's ever..well... I've never had a boyfriend, and you were creeping me out."
"Boy...we really screwed up, didn't we? Let's have a new start. I won't be creepy and scary..."
"And I won't judge you by our multiple past experiences together. Is it a deal?"
"Sure." They suddenly found themselves at a loss for words after that. Ami looked away shyly, but Zach found that he just couldn't keep his eyes off her.
Finally, she looked back at him. "Didn't we just agree that you wouldn't be creepy anymore?"
"Sorry...old habits are hard to break."
Her curiosity got the better of her. "Are you going to the dance with one of those girls you were flirting with?"
He grinned. "That depends."
"Oh what?"
"If you were jealous."
Her eyes widened her outrage. "I just thought you had better taste," she said in a dignified tone.
He laughed merrily. "I do, I do! But if you admit it, I'll tell you something equally embarrassing."
"Fine. I was a little jealous..."
"While you were busy being jealous of me, I couldn't have cared less about those girls. But the seriously embarrassing part of the whole thing was how annoyed I was when you left with Jaden."
Ami gasped. "What? You thought I liked him? But he–and Rei–"
"I know, I know...but I wasn't thinking straight at the time," he said ruefully. "Anyway, I'm not going with any of them. I'll have to dance with them, of course, but I'm not spending the majority of the night with them." He took a deep breath. "Ami, if I ask you to the dance again, will you say yes?"
"I'm not a very good dancer."
"Liar," he accused.
"What?"
He grinned. "I saw you dancing with Nevan two years ago. After you turned me down and said that nothing in the world could ever convince you to dance with me."
She blushed. "That was...different. It was more casual."
He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ames...don't you remember that you promised to dance with me yesterday?"
"If I promise to dance with you–once–will you leave me alone?"
"But you won't go with me?"
"No. Please don't ask me again, Zach."
He looked disappointed, but he conceded to her wishes without pressuring her.
Eventually, she asked, "Do you know if Jaden and Rei have made up yet?"
He shrugged. "I haven't talked to him since lunch. I thought I saw her talking with him afterwards, though. The next time I see him, though, he's probably going to give me hell for the whole pool incident."
"Mm. I'm sure it'll do you good–but it's not like you need any more of the devil in you."
He stared at her. "Ami!"
"Just kidding!" She giggled at his shocked expression.
When he finally got over the surprise, he ran a plan to get Jaden and Rei back together past her. "How about trying to get them to dance together? They can't kill each other in front of everyone, can they?"
She looked unconvinced. "Why don't you just tell me what's going through that devious mind of yours?"
He smiled innocently. "It's perfectly harmless. He'll ask you to dance sometime during the night...because you're friends. And if he doesn't, I'll drop a hint sometime. When I see that you two are dancing, I'll ask Rei to dance and maneuver over to you. Then we'll switch partners!"
"That sounds cliche. They'll know right away."
"No, they won't. They're too busy being mad at each other."
She still looked uncertain. "And how exactly are we going to do that?" she asked.
"Uh...I don't know. They do it all the time in the movies–it can't be that hard, can it?"
"You are..."
He inched closer to her, and she didn't move away. "I'm what?"
"Absolutely..." It was getting hard to talk when she was feeling so breathless.
"Yes?" His smile was absolutely evil as his face bent closer to hers, intent upon her lips.
"Insane," she finished, staring up at him. As he closed the distance between them at the slowest pace possible, she felt her heart beating faster and faster. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, the library doors banged open, and they sprang apart.
Lita smirked as she took in the scene: Ami, who had been perched precariously on the edge of the seat, had toppled onto the floor. Zach, who had at first been cursing the new arrival's timing, was laughing his head off. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two."
"That's all right," Ami said, flushing scarlet, as Lita gave her a hand up.
"It's not all right with Zach," Lita teased.
The blonde, who had been almost been paralyzed with laughter, froze as Ami turned an even darker red.
It was Lita's turn to laugh. "You two...are just too predictable."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mainpage: Love at Fifth Sight
