Title: Breaking Free: Amy's In Love, part 2
Author: Persephone
email: persephone45@usa.net
Date: May 9, 1999
A short author's note: I don't know that anyone is actually reading
this, (hint: if you are, email me and tell me! ^^) but if you are, I
would really, really like to know what you think of it! Again, I have
to acknowlage Alicia Blade, who is awsome.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any characters associated
with Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is copyrighted by DIC, TOEI Animation,
Kondansha, and it's wonderful creator/author/artist, Naoko Takeuchi.
This story, however, is mine.
~~~
Amy stared at her hands in her first hour Chemistry class. Her
stomach felt like and ant colony was moving in. 'Why didn't I finish
that homework? I just know she's going to check it! How can people do
this all of the time and not explode from worry?' She clenched her
folded hands until her knuckles were white, determined not to go home
with a ragged shirt.
At least her mother had left before Amy got up so she didn't get
reamed for not doing the dishes. The table had been clean when she ate
breakfast, so her mother must've done it with out remembering that it
was Amy's job. 'Thank God for senility!'
Johnny Higgens missed a question, and Dr. Davis glared over her
glasses at him. "Did you complete the assignment last night, Johnny?"
Amy's eyes got wide and her hands did find the stitching at the bottom
of her blouse. She felt like pond scum when she didn't get up and admit
to not doing the assignment, but she didn't say a word.
"No, ma'am, I was out late last night, uh, at..." He fumbled, looking
helplessly at one of his friends, who frantically shook his head, a bit
wide-eyed himself. "at... DINNER! Yea, at dinner, with my family. Yea,
you see, my Great Aunt, who was on the Titanic, came to visit and we
went out to dinner, see, and we just stayed out so late listening to her
great stories about the Titanic, that's a boat, that I knew I couldn't
do my homework, because I needed to sleep so I could pay attention in
class, yea!" He beamed at the teacher, proud of his very convincing
excuse. His friend just dropped his head into his hands with a thwack.
"Well," Dr. Davis said dryly, "even after that very ah...
entertaining story, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this homework
for a grade. Class, open your notebooks to the work you did. Remember,
I want to see every step of those chemical conversions!"
The students reluctantly opened their notebooks, many of them
furiously writing as Dr. Davis began to circle the classroom with her
grade book. Johnny sunk down in his chair and tried to ignore the
glares of his furiously writing classmates.
'What am I going to DO?! Dr. Davis will never trust me again! I'll
fail Chemistry! Oh, God, if you truly do help criminals, SAVE ME!"
Dr. Davis was getting closer. Luckily, Amy sat on the opposite side of
the room, near the door. She just sat in a kind of terrified stupor.
If she would've thought about it, she could've easily finished the four
or five problems she didn't do, well before the teacher got anywhere
near her. The idea didn't even occur to her. 'Two people away... I'm
gonna die! My mother will be called, then I'm REALLY gonna die!'
Her frantic thoughts were blissfully interrupted by the glorious
sound of the school bell. She was out of her seat and bolting out of
the door before the ringing died away. Her classmates and teacher just
stared at the slamming door in absolute shock.
---
Nick was wondering down the hall, looking forward to English class,
for no reason other to see his student shock Mrs. Johnson, he assured
himself, when someone barreled into him, knocking him across the
hallway. He instinctively wrapped his arms around the projectile
person to keep his balance. When he looked down, he saw that none other
than the petite Amy rested against his chest. He blinked twice and
looked again. Yes, she was really, and still, there breathing heavily
and clutching her books. "Whoa, Amy, slow down! What happened, did
Melvin set the Chem. lab on fire again?"
She blushed, 'that is so cute!' and backed out of his arms. 'hey...'
"Oh!" Her musical voice was quiet, shy, like it was before they started
work on the poem yesterday: timid. "I'm sooo sorry, Nick! I guess I
just wasn't looking where I was going!" Her voice sped up, and gained
strength as she talked. 'Yea, if she were paying attention, she never
would've run into me...' She looked down at the floor, still blushing.
He reached out and put two fingers under her chin, tilting her face up
so that their eyes met. He smiled and her eyes got very big. "No,
Amy, it's really okay." He smiled again, his eyes crinkling softly at
the corners. He drew his fingers down her chin and gently tapped the
end of her nose before dropping his hand back to his side. "Why the big
rush, anyway?"
---
She gasped softly as his fingers touched her face and turned it up.
'Wow... his eyes are gorgeous, and that smile!' She just stared at him,
wide eyed, until he tapped her nose, and she startled a bit. 'And I
thought my stomach was doing odd things in the classroom! That was
nothing...' Nothing compared to Nick touching her, anyway. Then she
realized he had asked a question. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Dr. Davis almost
checked my homework and I had to get out of there before she found out I
didn't do it." 'Oh great, good job, Amy! Now he thinks you're an
idiot, a klutz (you would run into HIM, wouldn't you), AND a slacker.
Just perfect. Why do you always just blurt things out in front of him,
anyway? He's probably used to babbling girls, they probably follow him
around, unable to make any conversation, rendered immobile by his
looks.' She sighed unconsciously. "Uh, anyway, I've gotta run if I
expect to make it to Pre-Calc anywhere near on time." She took off down
the hallway, hoping the whole school didn't notice her blushing.
---
Amy smiled brilliantly at him after she got another question correct.
Mrs. Johnson had finally just stared bombarding the petite girl with
questions, waiting for her to screw up. Nick had felt himself swelling
with pride as his student met the Literature teacher's accusing glare
and answered every question. Now, however, he was at a loss for words
because she gave him such a beautiful smile. 'I wish I had a picture of
that!' Luckily, he didn't have to say anything else, because the bell
rang and class was over.
He jumped up and walked over to where Amy was triumphantly gathering
her books together. She seemed to feel his presence and turned to him
with that smile of pure joy. 'Oh please don't expect me to say
anything!'
"Thank you SO much, Nick!"
'Anything to see that smile!'
---
Amy felt the warmth of someone behind her and turned to see Nick
standing there with a kind-of cute, lopsided grin on his face. She
allowed herself a moment to observe how nicely his broad shoulders
tapered to slim hips and how the veins in his arms stood slightly in
relief of the rest of his skin, pushed out by muscles. 'Enough of
that, Amy!'
"Thank you SO much, Nick!"
His hair fell in front of his face as he seemed to shake himself
before replying, "Does that mean you'll be joining me in the library
this afternoon?" Amy resisted the urge to push back his bangs so she
could see his deep eyes without obstruction.
"Of course! I didn't do that by myself!" Then, more quietly as she
realized who she was talking to, and where she was, "I doubt I could, I
guess." Reality crashed back in on the euphoria created by the agitated
look on Mrs. Johnson's face.
Amy was appalled at the amount of hatred she felt for the Literature
teacher. Not even Queen Beryl inspired this much raw anger. 'At least
Beryl felt like she was working for a cause, even if it was the wrong
cause. Mrs. Johnson is just plain mean! She has no reason to dislike
me, she just wants her own students to have the highest scores in the
school! It's ridiculous!' She was jerked out of her mental tirade just
in time to keep it from boiling into a true rage.
"Amy, of course you can do it! All it takes is a little experience!"
He looked intensely at her as he took her hand in his and gave it a firm
squeeze. She felt the warmth of his hand, it was almost uncomfortably
hot, and squeezed back gratefully. "I bet you're better than me at
analyzing poetry in no time!" He smiled happily at her before dropping
her hand and walking out of the classroom. 'He was warm when I ran into
him in the hall, too.' She blushed at the memory, but couldn't prevent
a small smile from curving her lips upward.
Mrs. Johnson was glaring at her from over her grade book, plainly
waiting for her to leave. "Don't you have another class to be in, Ms.
Anderson? I doubt high scores are earned by giggling girls who stand
around mooning after young men all day when they should be in class!"
Amy nodded hesitantly, thinking of having Serena's scores, before
slinking out of the classroom. 'I wasn't "mooning" over him! I was
just considering how nice he is to me, to help me with this poetry and
all...' She shook her head and a small voice popped up in the back of
her mind: "Liar, you were thinking about how nice it was when he put his
arms around you in the hall!" She ignored it, determined not to even
consider the possibility that she had a crush on her tutor.
---
"Whoa, wait, back up! AMY's been seeing this guy for over a week and
she hasn't TOLD us? What's WRONG with that girl, doesn't she realize
what best friends are FOR?!" Lita stormed, glaring at the other scouts
as if they had been keeping this information from her out of spite.
"Well, she doesn't believe that it's anything other than a nice,
easy, respectable 'teacher-student' relationship." Serena scoffed
before continuing, "ooooh, but you should see her when someone mentions
him, or even literature!" The meatball-headed princess giggled, as did
the other girls gathered on the steps of the Cherry Hill Temple.
"I still can't believe Amy of all people is late for a scout meeting!
She takes her responsibility so seriously!" Raye glared at Serena
pointedly.
"Hey! I'm the one who's here!"
"You really think that she's with this guy?" Mina asked, doubtfully.
"She probably had to finish a test or something in that other computer
class she takes."
"I can't believe Amy's been spending her afternoons with Nicholas
Webster! And she didn't even tell me!" Lita half-mumbled, working
herself into a huff.
The excited babble was drowned out by the roar of a very powerful
engine. They all looked up in surprise. It took a lot of tinkering to
get that much power out of a car, that or a lost muffler. Even Serena,
who was completely mechanically illiterate, realized that it had to be
a nice car making that loud mix of a purr and a roar. Surprised didn't
come close to describing their reactions to the sight before them.
An incredibly hot guy was helping Amy out of an incredibly hot,
maroon '76 Corvette Stingray: convertible. Amy looked up and smiled at
the guy who was offering his hand to her. A soft smile played at his
mouth as he closed his hand around hers and lifted her lightly out of
the car. He then reached into the back and pulled out her book bag,
handing it politely to her before he shut the passenger door. Amy
watched him with a silly smile on her face, a very un-Amyish expression.
He said something to her, and she smiled even more widely as he walked
around the front of the car and hopped in, over the door. He waved
before roaring off down the normally quiet street.
---
Amy smiled after the car. 'He is so nice to bring me all the way out
here. I suppose if I had a rebuilt Stingray, I'd drive as much as
possible, too.' She turned to walk through the gates, unaware for a
moment that the rest of the scouts were just gaping at her.
"A... Amy?!" Ray finally choked out.
She ducked her head, fiddling with the straps of the book bag she
still held in her hands. "I'm really, really, really sorry I'm late,
Raye, but I was working on some school work and didn't realize that I
was so late." She said in a quiet voice.
"Late?" Mina blinked at her like she was speaking Australian wombat
bush language or something. "Who cares if you're LATE? WHO was that
GUY?" She gushed, her eyes glazed over.
'Hey! Back off, Mina!' Amy nearly snapped that out, before stopping
in shock at herself. 'He's not yours, Amy, so don't even go there.'
"Umm... that was Nicholas Webster, my Literature tutor." She announced
slowly. 'Please don't ask why I'm getting tutored... PLEASE don't ask
about my tutor!'
"Wow! Lucky you! If I thought I could get someone with a Vette to
tutor me, I'd hurry and fail something, quick! So when can we meet this
beautiful tutor?"
"WE? Who is 'we,' Lita? When can I meet him is more like it." Mina
smirked.
"Selfish much, Mina?"
The blonde stuck her tongue out. "You're just jealous 'cause I'm a
blonde and a model and he was looking at me!" she gloated.
"You are delusion... have you had a CAT scan recently? The only
person that man had eyes for was A--" Lita's tirade was cut off by an
outraged, blue-haired genius.
"YOU GUYS!" Amy shouted. The attention that had been riveted on the
highly entertaining argument snapped to the tiny Senshi of Mercury.
'How DARE they fight over him like that! What RIGHT do they have? They
don't even KNOW him!' Amy glared at the two litigious girls. She
managed to gain a little bit of control before continuing. "I don't
know that you will get to meet him at all, since I'm only seeing him at
school." She managed to keep her voice at it's normal, modulated tones,
though she found it especially hard to resist smirking at them. 'So
there!'
Lita looked offended, but Mina nudged her in the ribs before she
could get anything out of her open mouth. The normally ditzy, giggly
model looked at Amy with an understanding that rivaled any Physics
equation. Her lips curved into a knowing smile. "Oh, that's the way it
is. I'm sorry, Amy, I didn't realize he was taken."
Amy started, unprepared for the sudden turn around. 'Taken? Is she
implying? Implying nothing! She's down right coming out and saying
it!'
"He did help her out of that FINE looking vehicle." Lita agreed,
nodding.
"And watched her the whole time." added Serena.
"Did you see how she smiled at him?" Raye poked Amy in the side.
'WHAT?! Oh NO! This is not the way it is! He would NEVER go for
me, so I don't need my friends thinking things to rub salt in the
wound.' That obnoxious voice that was her subconscious appeared again,
"Are you admitting you like him?" 'NO!' Amy had turned a brighter
shade of red with each added comment. "YOU GUYS!" She interrupted
forcefully, "That's NO what I meant and you all KNOW it! I really meant
that I'll only see him at school, which is no opportunity for anyone but
Serena and Lita to meet him. He doesn't even really talk to me during
school." Which wasn't a lie... she only talked to him before and after
Mrs. Johnson's class, and sometimes at lunch... but always about school!
"He wasn't at school when he brought you over here." Raye pointed
out.
"That was because I was running really, really late. He's just a
nice guy, so he offered me a ride." 'The fact that I was late because
we were arguing about the meaning of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"
which wasn't even assigned, is irrelevant.'
Luna appeared on the scene before anyone could point out that no one
offered rides to people they didn't like. 'Saved by the kitty, this
time.'
"Girls! You should've started training an HOUR ago! Get busy, how
are we going to beat the Negaverse if all you do is stand around and
gab? Sometimes I think Amy is the only one of you with any brain at
all!"
"But it WAS Amy's fault, Luna! SHE was late!" Serena whined.
"Serena, at least you could come up with a feasible excuse. Now
stop whining and start throwing!" The black cat nudged a practice
discus at the reluctant Sailor Moon. Serena just stared in shock and
the other scouts slapped their foreheads with their hands in absolute
exasperation.
---
"And weeping fast as she had breath
Janet implored us 'Wake him from his sleep!'
And would not be instructed in how deep
Was the forgetful kingdom of death."*
Amy stared thoughtfully at the page, cradling her chin in one hand
and tapping her mechanical pencil on her temple with the other. Nick
couldn't help but stare at her: the way her brow was slightly wrinkled
in concentration, how cute she was with her jaw in her hand like that,
how mysteriously sexy she was when her delicate features were partially
hidden because her hair had fallen in her face. He was incredibly
happy that she was too engrossed in poetry to brush the dark blue locks
back behind her ears. 'She shouldn't be allowed to let her hair do that.
Or she should have some kind of warning label or something. She's just
way too dangerous to look at. If I didn't know it was impossible, I
might... okay, would definitely, want to ask her out.' She sighed and
tossed her hair back, raising her eyes from the paper. The deep, blue
orbs were sparkling with the active mind behind them. 'No... that's no
better... she should constantly have to wear a danger sign! Beware:
incredibly gorgeous, sexy girl. Avert your eyes if you are susceptible
to obsession or drooling.'
"I've got it!" She said proudly.
"Huh?" 'got what, besides potentially every guy on the planet?'
"I figured out the theme of the poem!" She sounded slightly
impatient.
---
She looked up from the paper, finally sure of the correct answer, to
find Nick staring at her with a distant look in his eye and an amused
smile on his handsome face. She gave herself a second to observe how
nice he really did look before she started to wonder why he looked so
amused. 'Did I take that long?' "I've got it!"
"Huh?" 'Wow, his mind must really be somewhere else. I try not to
be boring!'
"I figured out the them of the poem!" She said quickly, trying not
to bore him again. "I hope I'm not completely and utterly wrong."
"Amy, I'm almost certain nothing you do is completely and utterly
wrong." He said warmly, his eyes still slightly glassy. 'If he didn't
look like he wasn't paying attention...' Regardless of what she told
herself, Amy couldn't deny that her pulse had greatly sped up, sped up
so much that she could feel it throbbing in her abdomen, because of
the warmth in his voice.
"Thanks..." She finally managed to say, though she had to turn her
eyes away from his to even get out that quiet whisper. 'Oh, come on,
Amy, he was obviously thinking of someone else to sound that caring.'
"Um, anyway, yea, I think that the theme of the poem is denial of
death." She waited nervously for his response, her fingernail working
on one of her shirt's stitches.
His mouth curved into a warm, proud smile and, and his eyes shone
when he looked at her. "I think that not only are you right, impressive
enough since it's your first try on the first poem you've really read
critically by yourself, you deserve a day off! You did that without my
help, so you can probably get the rest of it, too. You have enough of
it to get you through class tomorrow, anyway." His eyes twinkled green
at her, the corners crinkling up. "So, you are coming to a celebratory
dinner to relax."
She giggled at his boyish enthusiasm. He sounded like a six year old
solemnly announcing the great truth of the universe: doors do not
always open by themselves and they hurt when you run into them. "But,
Nick, I really need your help on the rest of this!"
"Amy, you will do beautifully on your own! Forget it for a night."
He reached across the little table and snatched her pencil from her
hand. She was too surprised to react. "And you don't get it back 'til
I drop you off at home!"
"Nick!" She practically jumped across the table, leaned over it to
grab back her pencil. He laughed and held it just out of her reach.
"No! No more school today."
"Nick! I've got a CLASS; I couldn't do it today, regardless. Now give
me that back!" She was speaking through her laughter as she used both
of her hands to try to recover the pencil, which Nick was tossing from
hand to hand, just out of her reach.
"Screw your class, Amy! It's no like it'll kill you to miss it.
You're coming with me and that's final!"
They were both cracking up, and Amy was still trying to get her
pencil back. She grabbed one of his hands as he was about to toss the
writing implement again. She caught her breath as their hands touched.
Her pulse did a triple beat in her stomach and time really did seem to
stop. She noticed he had stopped laughing, too, and was just staring at
her. Her entire upper body, from the hips, was leaning over the table,
resting on one hand. She was holding his hand with her free one. He
was leaned back in his chair, the hand with the pencil stretched away
from her and forgotten. His other hand had somehow managed to turn over
to hold hers in it's warmth. His fingers were very strong, but gentle.
He very slowly stared to lean forward, still locked in a stare. Amy,
who still hadn't breathed, felt her stomach flutter. 'Is he going
to...'
The hypnosis created by green eyes meeting blue was suddenly
disrupted by a ruler hitting the table with a sharp -smack.- "Amy
Anderson and Nicholas Webster! I never thought I'd see the day when
you two would be disturbing my library! Shame!"
---
He was having the time of his life. He had finally gotten up the
nerve to ask Amy out, even if it wasn't for a real date. Not to mention
she was more than a vision of beauty with her face flushed from laughter
and her lovely mouth turned up at the corners in mirth. He delighted
in keeping the pencil from her, quite pleased with the way each failed
attempt at recovery brought her closer to him. Then she grabbed his
hand.
Everything else was entirely gone. All he knew was her hand on his
and her beautiful, blue eyes. Unconsciously, he turned his hand to
wrap it around her small fingers. He stored away the soft feel of her
hands for later reflection, because at that moment he had no thought
left over from the contemplation of her midnight eyes to comprehend even
the softness of her skin. He read her eyes like they were some
undiscovered poetry. He saw joyous, carefree laughter turn to something
that was remarkably close to shock, then fear, and then... hope? Hope
of what? Whatever it was, it reassured him, and he began to slowly lean
forward, never taking his eyes from hers.
-smack- "Amy Anderson and Nicholas Webster! I never thought I'd see
the day when you two would be disturbing my library! Shame!"
He hadn't realized that it was only a few seconds from when they had
been loudly fighting over the mechanical pencil. They dropped hands
like guilty school children caught kissing behind the bushes. They both
sat back and turned a fine shade of read. Amy looked like a tomato. He
couldn't imagine a prettier tomato... 'I almost... wow'
The librarian was waiting for a response. "I'm so sorry, Miss
Newville, we were just joking around a bit. I didn't realize we had
gotten so... loud." He managed to say in a fairly composed voice. His
face was still burning, and his hand already missed the feel of Amy's.
Miss Newville smiled knowingly at the blushing pair. "What are you
doing in the library on such a beautiful day? I'm fairly certain
neither of you absolutely requires the extra study time." She winked at
Amy, who turned and even brighter shade of red, almost glowing.
"See! That settles it, Amy, you're going to dinner if I have to
throw you over my should and carry you!"
The librarian grinned again and wandered back over to her desk.
---
'How can he be so calm? Was I just imagining that he almost...
almost kissed me?' Amy was doing her best to look at anything but the
librarian, or Nick. Even so, she did managed to catch a glimpse of
Nick's face, which was handsome even though it was almost as flushed as
her own. 'Well, maybe I'm not entirely delusion... Wishful thinking
is more like it, Amy'
"Nick, I told you, I have a class!" She protested weakly, unable to
look at him.
"So? Like I said, I"m sure you can miss one class without any real
damage done." He looked fiercely at her. She still didn't raise her
eyes. "And I'm still keeping your pencil hostage until tonight!"
She risked a look at him. He was smiling good-naturedly and holding
the pencil up. His eyes did dart from hers for a moment, but they
jerked back just as quickly and held hers for the few seconds she
allowed herself before looking away. She could also detect the slight
remains of a blush. She smiled softly, "Oh, okay, but only because
that's my favorite pencil!"
copyright 1999, Adryan Haik
* from "Janet Waking" by John Crowe Ransome
If anyone would like to discuss the interpretation of this poem, as
presented in this fanfiction, please feel free to email me, as I
feel it's slightly incorrect. ^_-