PART VIII

"You look nice." Manx said as she stood back to study Alex. It was already prom night and Manx stopped by to help her with the preparation.

"Are you sure-- " Alex began uncertainly.

"Of course I'm sure!" Manx exclaimed as she looked at her long Mandarin-style evening gown. It is made from pure, cream-colored silk that falls to her ankles. It was slightly fitted revealing out her blossoming figure. "Don't you remember? I chose the dress. Of course you would look good."

"I'm- I'm just not used to-- "

"Oh pish-posh! Will you stop that?" Manx said as she waved her hand in disagreement. "You are becoming a woman now so you should learn to dress like one, Alex-chan."

Alex turned to the full-length mirror to study herself. Surely Manx outdid herself this time since she was able to turn plain, ugly her into a beauty. She stared at her face, her complexion changing from a dull, chalky color to a perfect peaches and cream. Her lips lightly rouged with the pale pink lip gloss, complementing the pastel shade of blue and silver on her eyelids and the slight hint of baby pink blush on her cheeks. Her hair was set on a simple style, parted at the middle, tucked to her ears, held by a thin black silk ribbon. It fell to her shoulders contrasting her creamy shoulders therefore bringing out her exotic features more strikingly. On her feet were delicate sandal-strapped pumps made from silk.

"Oh Manx!" she gushed turning to her. "I don't know how to thank you enough!" she said as she threw her arms around the smiling woman.

"You are a good girl Alex-chan." She said. "You deserve it." She added. Normally, she wouldn't waste her time with little things like this, but she just can't say no to this darling of a girl. She just can't! Just then Ken's voice came through the door.

"Alex-chan, Akira-kun is already here."

"All right! I'll be right there in a minute." She replied. Then she turned back to Manx. "Oh wish me luck!" The lady found herself laughing. Her excitement is so contagious!

"Don't worry you'll do just fine." She reassured as she kissed her on the forehead. "You just have fun in there, all right?"

Alex nodded her head, smiled, and walked towards the door to meet her date.

==========

"So you are the famous Akira-kun?" Yohji asked as he slung his arm on the youth's shoulder lazily. He heaved a delicious puff from his cigar and blew the smoke on the poor boy's face. The boy's face nearly cracked as he tried his best not to choke out his displeasure.

"Y-yes, sir." Akira answered as he gulped nervously. Ken couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy but torturing him for Alex's sake is mighty fun since he also felt like a big brother to her, so as Yohji-kun and Aya-kun.

"So you are the lucky guy who would take our little princess to the prom?" Ken said as he placed himself beside the boy opposite from Yohji. Yohji rolled his eyes.

"Oh butt out of it, Kenken!" He cried. "You look too nice for this!"

"Do I look too nice for this, Akira-chan?" Ken asked the near-to-fainting boy.

"N-no sir." He stuttered. "You are perfect."

"He is perfect?" Yohji asked raising an eyebrow. The boy gulped.

"N- no sir."

"Hey!" Ken began to say.

"I-I mean *gulp*

"Will two you stop it?" Aya said as he looked at the two before him with obvious annoyance. Yohji and Ken mercifully stopped and grinned at him. Yohji took his arm away from his shoulder and proceeded to arrange the boy's collar. The boy heaved a sigh of relief. Then to everybody's surprise, Aya walked towards him, his face menacing.

"You will bring back our Alex-chan when the clock strikes exactly at twelve- IN ONE PIECE. UNDERSTAND?!"

"Y-yes sir." The boy squeaked upon noting the dangerous gleam in his eye "W-wakarimashita." He quickly added, the fear evident in his voice.

"Yes what?"

All of them turned only to find Alex standing before them, blushing. Aya found himself melting, both physically and emotionally upon seeing her standing, so beautiful and innocent. He suddenly felt this urge to wrap her around his arms and protect her till his last breath.

"Now there is our lovely Alex-chan, Akira-kun." Yohji said lazily gazing at her direction. "See just how beautiful she is?"

"Yes." His answer was a gush and his eyes not leaving hers for a second.

"Let's go?" Alex asked as she walked casually towards them. She tried her best to act cool and calm even though her nerves are jumbling up inside.

"You take care now, princess." Yohji said as he gave her a look of appreciation. Alex, due to her happiness, tiptoed and gave him a swift sisterly kiss on the cheek. She then turned to give Ken one as well whom smiled goofily and blushed. Aya gave him a baleful stare upon noting the silly grin on the former J-Leaguer's face. Ken immediately wiped it off. Heck, he values his life too much!

"Good bye, Aya-kun." She said as she finally stopped by him. Then without a word, she tiptoed and pressed her lips against his cheek. Aya's eyes widened with the sweet gesture. Then he just nodded, a tiny smile curving onto his lips, much to everybody's total surprise.

"Straight home, Alex-chan." He said sternly. Alex smiled as she took the arm Akira offered her.

"Hai!" She replied.

"Sayonara." Akira politely said. Yohji and Ken nodded their heads once and smiled. Then they cracked their knuckles loudly with Aya's deadly stare to boot. The scene was enough to make the poor boy gulp as he hurriedly escorted his unsuspecting date out of the flat.

==========

"Hey, Omittchi!" Omi heard Ken hollered as he bounded down the basement stairs. "Do you want to eat outside?"

Omi looked up from his computer and shook his head. Ken approached him, a smile on his face.

"You should've seen Alex-chan." He began animatedly. "She was so beautiful and pretty and gorgeous… did I say beautiful and -- "

Omi groaned as he forced his irritated brain to mind the computer work. The reason why he stuck himself in this crummy basement with his crummy computers is not to see how beautiful Alex would be and how thrilled that Akira jerk-off would feel. Just seeing it would be enough to make him curse out all the vile words one could ever find in the dictionary.

"Oh and that makes me wonder." Ken said after his babbling. "Why didn't you go to the prom? Or better yet, why didn't you ask Alex-chan yourself?"

Omi tried his best to smile when he felt like throwing him a dirty look. He looked at him and pretended to be cool.

"Well I have much more important things to do than go socializing." He replied.

"But Omi-kun, prom is a once in a lifetime event. You don't remain seventeen forever you know." Ken argued.

"Haven't I heard that before?" He murmured sarcastically as he turned back quite gruffly into his computer.

Before Ken could utter his absolute puzzlement about the sudden grunt, Yohji's voice came through the basement. He bounded towards them, a lazy smile teasing his lips.

Omi suddenly felt his insides getting cold. So far, Ken was stupid enough not to decipher his true feelings. On the other hand, Yohji, the disputed playboy, would definitely see right through the cool façade he is sporting. And spending half of his lifetime with this skirt-chasing bum told him that he would not let something as this down through their entire life. He would definitely show no mercy. Omi secretly wondered if he should get his poisoned darts ready just in case.

"Oi, Omi-kun!" Yohji greeted. "Let's eat outside, fancy dinner and everything. Aya is such in a great mood that-- "

"Go ahead you guys, I'm not hungry." He said his voice testy. Yohji stopped abruptly as he and Ken eyed each other. Then smiling leeringly, he pounced on Omi.

"Does this scene have something to do with Alex-chan going to the prom with Akira-kun and not with you?" He asked deliberately. Omi turned to him darkly.

"No." He replied curtly.

"So it has something to do with Alex-chan rejecting you and-- "

"Yamero, Yohji-kun!" Ken threatened noting the look on Omi's face. Yohji mercifully stopped, smirking and delighting in the boy's misery. For the first time, he had actually won the vocal war! Ken then turned to Omi, his face of concern.

"You sure you're not hungry Omi-kun?"

"Yes." He replied tiredly.

"All right." Ken said finally nodding his head. "If you say so." He added turning to the gloating man beside him. He frowned and motioned for him to follow him out of the basement.

"Maybe we should get something to go for Alex-chan?" Yohji said thoughtfully.

"What for, stupid?" Ken retorted. "Surely they serve dinner during prom."

"I just don't think she would be able to eat comfortably, moron." Yohji said. "Believe me, being a promenade expert before, she will get home famished."

"All right. What should we get for her then?" Ken said finally giving in. Aya would pay for it anyway and he has a feeling that Aya would be glad enough to do so.

"Um… how about some salmon and-- "

"No, no raw meat." Omi suddenly said not looking up from his computer. The two turned to him with surprise. "She absolutely hates everything raw."

"Well then, let's get her tempura instead and some nice-- "

"No shrimp. Alex is allergic to shrimp. Better get some tongkatsu, she loves it." Omi said casually.

"Okay." Ken said as he made a mental list in his mind. "How about some appetizer. What do you think of salad, Yohji-kun?" He asked.

"She would prefer miso soup instead."

"All right. How about dessert?"

"Anything that has strawberries in it." Omi replied as a matter of factly. "And she likes iced tea and root beer if you are buying beverages."

"Uh-oh." Yohji began, his voice unmistakably amused. Omi looked at them with confusion.

"What?"

"You like her." Yohji said grinning knowingly. Omi frowned at him.

"Of course I like her." He said simply. "Except with you guys, she is the only closest friend I have. My first girl best friend."

"Then how come you know exactly everything about her? The things she likes, the things she dislikes…" Yohji pressed. "It wouldn't surprise me if you know the color of her panties right now."

"Yohji!!!" They both exclaimed clearly displeased. Omi immediately turned bright red.

"How should I know since you two are always together?" Yohji retorted in defense. Then he grinned and nudged the red-faced youth by the arm. "Come on Omittchi, you can tell us." He coaxed. "Do you like Alex-chan?"

"Butt out Kudou!" Ken warned.

"Oh shut up Hidaka!" Yohji retaliated. Then he turned back to Omi once again. "Do you like her?"

"I- I don't know what you are getting at." Omi replied coldly.

"Oh come on. You are not a good liar and you know that." Yohji purred. When Omi still refused to answer, Yohji heaved a sigh.

"Oh well, seems like our little Omi's growing up." He declared. Not long after the words came tumbling out of his mouth, three darts began shooting up at him.

"Whoa! Watch it brat!" Yohji shouted as he stepped back. "Those things could kill."

"Serves you right, you nitwit!" Ken said. Then turning to Omi he smiled. "We'll just get something for you too then, incase you get hungry later."

Omi just nodded his head as Ken forcefully pulled the near-to-exploding Yohji with him. Omi heaved a sigh of relief as he heard the basement door closing before them.

==========

"Ten o' clock." His mind said as he looked at his watch. The prom would be in full blast by now. Alex is probably having the time of her life with Akira, dancing and laughing…

"Stop it, Omi!" He said aloud. "You don't have the right to be upset since you brought it on yourself in the first place, baka!" He scolded himself.

Then it made him wonder. Why did he not ask her anyway? Just thinking about it, he is sure that Alex would probably go with him so why didn't he? He sighed as he brushed his hair out of his face.

"Could it be that Yohji-kun's right?" He thought. Well, yeah he likes Alex a lot. She is pretty and kind, intelligent and funny… who wouldn't like her? But then he has these feelings of jealousy to boot everytime that jerk-off talks to her. And since when did he start calling Akira a jerk-off anyway?

Now he fully understood. He didn't ask Alex to go out with him even though he was sure that she would because it would be like doing a favor for him. If he asks her to go out, then he wants her to say yes because she likes him as something else not because she likes him as a friend, only a friend.

With that, he groaned. What should he do now? Should he tell her? Or should he just stay away? But he wouldn't be able to do that! Staying away from her would be impossible! God! Is this what growing up is about?

"Omi-kun?"

Omi nearly jumped up upon hearing someone other than himself in the basement. He turned around only to find Alex standing before him. A sigh unconsciously escaped his lips upon seeing her still dressed up.

"Where is everybody?" She asked.

"Why are you already here?" He asked as he forced his eyes to look somewhere else. It settled again on his watch. "It is only ten-thirty."

Alex turned crimson as she heard the question. She shifted uncomfortably, distributing her weight from one foot to the other.

"Was Akira-kun a lousy dancer?" He asked.

"Um no." She said softly. "In fact he was very good."

"Did he do something to you? Something um… offensive?"

"No, he was the perfect gentleman."

"Did something happen that the school made you go home earlier?"

"No, everything was fine."

Then an awkward silence settled over them. Omi looked up at the ceiling as Alex stood there counting nothing. Then Omi cleared his throat.

"Have you had dinner?" He suddenly asked. Then he felt like slapping himself. Shit, he was babbling nonsense again!

"Um… yes. I wasn't able to eat much though." She replied. "H-how about you?"

"Not yet." Omi replied. "The others dined out, I wasn't hungry so I didn't go with them."

"I see." Was all she said. The she fell thoughtful. Omi battled whether to tell her of his newly discovered feelings but…

"What if she is not feeling the same way?" He suddenly asked himself. "I would look stupid."

"Well, I guess I'd better change." She said after a moment. She turned around and was about to climb the stairs when suddenly Omi called her. She stopped and turned to him.

"Yes?"

"I- " He began standing up and walking towards her. He stopped a few inches away from her enough to smell her sweet scent wafting towards him. "I- I just wanted to say you- you look beautiful tonight." He finished blushing hard.

Alex instantly blushed as she turned her eyes away from his. Strange, she found him suddenly incredibly cute. Well yeah she found him cute even before but incredibly cute?!? With his face up close?!?

"Th-thank you." She stammered. At least someone told her she looked beautiful this night. Akira did nothing but to give him silly, shy smiles all through out that night.

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." She said softly, her eyes turning misty. "Nobody has ever said to me that I am beautiful before."

"You are." Omi said, his voice surprisingly soft and husky. Then he took a deep breath. Well, here goes nothing…

"Alex-chan, do you-- um that is um…"

"Yes?"

"Do- do you like Akira-kun? I mean the like, you know the like thing that-- "

"I think I get what you mean." She said. "Um… no."

Omi couldn't help but sigh with relief. Then he cleared his throat, his heart hammering loudly against his chest.

"I-it's because I like someone else." She added.

"O-oh." Omi said. "S-so who's the lucky guy? Do I know him?"

"Um I don't think so."

"W-well I suppose…" He stared at her, her eyes shining then without thinking he blurted out. "I like you, Alex."

With that Alex smiled at him. At that instant he wished that the floor would open up and swallow him alive. She just smiled! Just a smile!

"Well do you really want to know the reason why I came home early?" She asked instead. Then without waiting for Omi's reply she continued.

"I decided to come home early because I realized something isn't just right." She began looking at him. "I am celebrating one of the most important turning points of my adolescent life with someone whom I didn't even like that way."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Omi replied the hurt in his voice quite audible.

"So I went straight back home to celebrate it with the right one." She softly said. Omi looked up, surprised. Alex shyly turned her eyes away from him, her nerves jamming up inside.

"I- I like you too, Omi." She whispered. Omi stared at her for a moment as he tried his best absorbing the words he had longed to hear. He just couldn't believe he heard it right away!

"M-may I kiss you?" He asked. Alex nodded mutely, her teeth biting her lower lip shyly. Omi slowly tilted her chin up to his face and touched her lips against his. Alex didn't move as she subtly savored the feel of his lips on hers. After a moment, he let go.

"I have a confession to make." Alex whispered as she rested her forehead against Omi's. Omi encircled his arms around her waist, drawing her nearer.

"I haven't been kissed before."

With that, Omi closed his eyes. God! A first kiss! She gave him her first kiss! The moment he heard it, his heart suddenly burst out with unexplainable happiness.

"And I am glad that it was you."

With that Omi kissed her again, this time coaxing her to respond. He softly let out a groan of pleasure as he felt her clumsy response then the clumsy response turned to a sweet one, innocence, and passion blending harmoniously.

Just then, they heard the front door banging loudly followed by Yohji's loud voice with Ken on the side. They reluctantly let go of each other, both breathless. Alex began to giggle as she pressed a quick kiss on Omi's smiling lips.

"Omi-kun! We got you dinner!"

"Oh I hope they got something for me too." Alex said as she felt her stomach protest. "I didn't eat much."

"Don't worry they did get you something." Omi assured her as they bounded up the stairs. "And if they don't, I will gladly let you have mine." Alex smiled as she squeezed his hand.

"You're sweet you know that?"

"No. You're beautiful." He replied as he opened the basement door and let the laughing Alex pass before him.