Evil Eye : A Skip Beat! fanfiction

A New 'Home'

"So what's it like?", Ren asked Kyoko on the phone. Kyoko flopped down on a couch with a sigh as she tried to describe the furnished apartment she had just moved into.

"It's pretty big..", she admitted. " In fact I'm surprised the rent is so low. The kitchen is just a little smaller than yours and the other rooms are..yeah it's perfect!"

"So what's the problem?", he pressed her. He didn't need to explain how he knew something was wrong. He just knew, from her unenthusiastic tone that the apartment was far from perfect in her opinion.

Kyoko sighed, leaning back on the couch. "It's not home!", she said gloomily. "I miss my room! My dear old cozy room at the darumuya! Where I could study, act, rehearse my lines and sleep comfortably, feeling at home! And I miss your bedro-", she broke off mid way blushing.

"Yeah?", he said teasingly. "What else was it that you miss?"

"Don't tease me Ren!", Kyoko cried, half embarrassed and half amused. "I'm having a serious issue settling into my new 'home'!"

It was nearly three years since Kyoko joined the showbiz industry. Only three years, and she was already one of the most promising stars in Japan. Her role as Natsu has earned her rave reviews and landed her with more roles than she could imagine. But fame had a price.

Though at first she had enjoyed the new found attention she received from the press, it soon became irksome to find reporters outside the darumuya nearly everyday. Therefore, the president, for the convenience of the darumuya , as well as for her own safety, put forward the idea of Kyoko moving to a new place in a safe and private location.

She now lived in a complex, and much nearer to Ren's place. Though the actor would have preferred her to move in with him, Kyoko had argued that it would only attract more attention from the press. So she had secretly moved into the fully furnished rented apartment.

"If it's that bad how about I come over to your place tonight?" Ren asked casually. Kyoko smiled at the faint longing in his voice. "You're always welcome to my new place Ren, but..", she said a little doubtfully.

"I'll make sure no one sees me", he quickly assured her. "Once this shoot is done I'll be right over. I won't spend the night there if you don't want me to , but I really want to have a look at your place."

"All right then.", Kyoko replied smiling, already counting the minutes. She yawned as she hung up the phone, tired after her day's work. But her talk with Ren cheered her up considerably. She was glad Ren had called up and agreed to come over. They were usually so busy with their work that it was hard to squeeze in enough time to spend together. But tonight, that wasn't the only reason she wanted him by her side.

Kyoko usually didn't get jittery, but tonight, in her new apartment, she was. The moment she had stepped into the flat, she felt a cold, unfriendly atmosphere about the place. There was no warmth, no homeliness and no coziness anywhere. In fact, Kyoko had never felt more unwelcome in a place before. She felt as though there was a hostile presence..a presence that didn't want her in this house at any cost.

Kyoko would have turned down this apartment immediately but it happened to be the only one within her budget. The reason she has opted for a rented apartment was because most of the houses on sale were way beyond her budget. Until she found a house for a reasonable price, she was forced to live here.

She went to her bedroom and put on her night clothes. She left her cell phone by the bed, switched off the lights and went to the drawing room. Kyoko turned on the TV to watch the news. After a few minutes, the show Tokyo Tabloid came on. She wasn't usually interested in gossip shows, but there wasn't anything better to watch.