Sweet Temptations[DiaLovers Fanfic]

Part 5 - Real Appearance

She woke up before her alarm clock rung. She stared at the ceiling for a while before she decided to get out of bed. Suddenly, she heard a scratching sound from her window. She walked over to it and saw a familiar brown cat scratching away at the glass. Even upon her dazed state, she managed a smile. She opened her window before Stephano leave scratch marks on the glass. "Hey there little guy" she said happily as she took the healthy cat in her arms. She lay down on her bed, Stephano still in her arms. It started to squirm, so she let go of Stephano. It purred at her and sat beside her.

She stroked its body and as usual, it purred at her attention. She cuddled it, causing Stephano to screech, so she let it go and gave it an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I feel so happy because you saved me yesterday" she said gently. Stephano looked at her and meowed her. As if it understood her gratitude, it licked her fingers, making her giggle since it made her ticklish. She sat up from her bed and let out a sigh. "I need to prepare breakfast for them" she said heavily as she took her things for a shower. As she grabbed her towel, suddenly everything that happened last night flashed in her memories. She let go of the towel and covered her mouth, as if she wanted to gag. She took a glance at Stephano, the cat itself licking it's fur, oblivious by her actions. She sat back down on the bed, shaking.

I will have to face him today.

The thought of it made her shudder. Not only Ayato, but she also had to face Raito. Those two have made a move on her, and she felt scared. She was able to hold them off, but they still managed to grab hold of her. And even if she were to depend on Stephano, the cat only appeared at certain times. Heck, yesterday was actually the only time she had seen it ever since she found out about its name when she first stayed in the mansion. Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on her door. She stood up, making Stephano startled by her sudden change in behaviour. She waited, unsure whether she should open the door or to just leave it be. She heard another knock again, but this time it came with a deep voice that she recognised, "Lillia-san? Are you awake?".

She hastily brought herself to the door and opened it. Sakamaki Reiji stood in front of her, looking as poised as ever with his school uniform and glasses. He gave her a thin smile and folded his arms. "I will be preparing breakfast for the others today, so just get ready for school" he said. She nodded in response and it was when he turned around that she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. She did not realise that she was holding her breath until Reiji's figure disappeared as he turned to descend the stairs. She clenched her fist and bit her lip. So he knew about what happened yesterday. She was about to let out a sigh when Stephano's tail tickled her ankles. She looked down at it and was greeted by its beautiful eyes. Why was she so intrigued by this feline's eyes? 

She shook her head at the thought and closed the door. It's time for school, and she needs to get ready, even when the duty to cook breakfast has been lifted off of her shoulders for the day. She took a long, hot shower, as if trying to wash off her anxieties and fears along with it. She walked to her bedroom, fully clothed and opened up a window to let the morning  breeze to flow in. She took a deep breath and exhaled, as she heard the chirping of birds outside of the window. Mornings were her sanctuary; the others have still not awaken and this made her feel like the morning belong to her and her only. She heard the sound of someone frying something from the kitchen and realised that she was still not ready for school. She quickly went back to her bedroom to get her schoolbag and tidy up her bed. Once she had done everything with Stephano by her feet, she took a glance of her reflection in the full-length mirror. 

Now that she had no glasses, her light green eyes could be seen under her bangs and she sighed at this. I'm starting to become a sighing queen or something, she thought wryly as she smoothed her long bangs. In fact, her bangs were too long. Even if she were allowed to keep her bangs long, she still needed to look at the world without any obstruction. When she wore her glasses, it actually shields her eyes from her bangs. She took a pair of paper scissors from her dressing table and decided to cut it. She was already halfway done when Stephano suddenly licked her toes. She yelped in surprise and this forced her to cut a part of her bangs to a shorter length. She gasped in horror as she saw that one side of her bangs was much shorter than the other. She whimpered at the aftermath of Stephano's actions. Now she wasn't able to hide her eyes anymore!