Her Picture

Chapter 18: Trepidation

Mayumi's POV

"Mayumi, are you okay? If it's about the movie, Haruto said he was sorry," Kurapika said from outside my room.

"It's not that. I just need some time alone," I said.

I buried my face in my pillow. I've been feeling weird ever since my conversation with Hanako.

__________

While Kurapika and Haruto were in the hall, Haruto's little sister introduced herself to me as soon as she saw me in the living room.

"Hello! My name is Hanako, I'm Haruto's sister. I can't believe you're here! I see you in magazines and I think you're really pretty!"

I smiled. I don't like being ambushed by male fans, but it's nice to talk to the female ones. "Thank you."

"Um... if it's not too much to ask, can I have a few tips? I want to impress this guy I like."

Pairo's phone rang at that moment. He went to a corner of the room and answered it.

I still kept my voice low. "Sure thing. Is this guy a classmate of yours, though? Just so I can give the right advice."

"No, he's...." she trailed off. "Please don't tell anyone about this."

"I won't."

"It's one of big brother's friends...he's right outside."

My eyes widened. Something in me didn't want to give advice, but I didn't know why. I didn't want to be mean, so I suppressed what I was feeling and said, "Well in that case...." I gave her advice to the best of my ability, noting what I supposed was his type: sweet, innocent girls.

__________

After my conversation with Hanako, I came to the conclusion that the reason why I hesitated was because Kurapika might not like what I did, since he doesn't like it when girls pay attention to him. What soured my mood, however, was my next thought: 'What if he ends up liking her, and will forget about our deal?'

Because of this, the whole trip back I felt uneasy. I was so used to Kurapika staying with me that just the thought of him leaving made me dejected.

Before I fell asleep, I decided that I needed to keep him at an arm's length, so that when he does leave, I'll be unaffected.

/oOo/

For breakfast, I woke up a little late because I had a hard time sleeping last night. The movie did get to me. I just couldn't tell Kurapika that.

"Sorry, I could only get out some cereal," I muttered.

"It's fine. It's good and it fills the stomach," Kurapika replied.

"I'll get up earlier tomorrow," I said, trying (and failing) to stifle a yawn.

Kurapika frowned. "You didn't sleep well?"

"I slept enough," I said, taking a bite of cereal.

Kurapika, ever the gentleman, told me, "Mayumi, if anything is bothering you, you can tell me."

"I'm fine."

He didn't say anything more, thankfully. He must have sensed that I didn't want to talk about it.

Frankly, I only slept for a few hours. When we arrived at school, I was feeling lethargic. As I virtually dragged my feet to the classroom, I felt like I saw a familiar face pass by. When I turned my head, they had already disappeared around the corner.