Hello Again (Sequel)

Unexpected Encounter

We got back to school just as the sponsors for the job fair were leaving. Kaoru and I parted ways in the middle of the courtyard-- he was heading to drama and I was off to my art class. I heard someone curse and turned around to see a woman in a black pencil skirt and a white blouse trying to take down her stand. Her heels were tossed aside, one of them broken, and she was having trouble folding the table. Her arms and legs were fully tatted up. I looked around, but everyone else was gone or too far away to notice. "Ma'am? I'll help you with that," I sighed as I ran over to her. I slid the legs to one side down, waiting for her to fold the other side so I could pick it up for her. She wasn't moving. I froze, hesitating to look up. "Hikaru?" she whispered. That voice shot a spear straight through my heart and I looked up at her, really looking this time. Her lip piercing and most of her ear piercings were gone, but the stud in her nose was a small black spike, and she wore a pair of black wire-rimmed glasses. Her light brown hair was streaked with pale blonde highlights and twisted into a tight bun, her bangs parted to the left and hanging down past her eyes. She smiled, and my heart leaped into my throat. "What? Don't recognize me?" she taunted, her pouty lips stretching into a smirk as she spoke with that strong Cajun drawl. It was like she had never left. "A-Adrienne!" I exclaimed much louder than I had meant to, dropping the table on my foot. I winced and she giggled, picking up the table on her own. "Everyone else done cleared out real quick, I guess. I gotta take this back to where it goes," she murmured, heaving it toward the door. I picked up a stack of pamphlets she had dropped and ran after her. "And then what? A.J., it's been so long! A-are you free? Maybe I could take you to grab a bite or something," I tripped over my words as I fought to keep up with her. She had-- very literally-- just walked back into my life, and I was scared that she would disappear again. "Free as in 'I have nothing to do'? Yeah. But shouldn't you be in class?" she chided, a playful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. I helped her lift the table into the storage room, piling it on top of the other tables, and shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm an honors student. Missing one dumb class won't kill me," I replied. She rolled her eyes and motioned for me to follow her. She carried her heels with one finger; I hadn't even realized she picked them up. I was just so focused on her that nothing else mattered. She led me back to the parking lot and dug in the pocket of her shirt, pulling out a set of keys. We stopped in front of a shiny black SUV. The make and model, I couldn't really recall, nor did I care. As soon as she unlocked the door I scrambled in, quickly buckling up. I felt like this was God's idea of a cruel joke. I was waiting for her to vanish again.

"So...how have you been?" she asked, her voice soft yet careful, like if she said the wrong thing I would jump out of the car. "I'm fine, I guess. After my finals are over, I've got one semester left until I graduate and go home to help, you know, 'run the family business'. Kaoru is going to America; he's gonna be an actor," I sighed. She nodded politely and glanced at me as if to say, "Oh really?" I fidgeted in my seat. I hadn't been this nervous around her since before we had started dating. "What about you? What happened after you, um-- after you left?" I inquired, never taking my eyes off of her. She drove with one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to pull her glasses up and rest them on top of her head. She looked so much older, so much wiser, but she was still gorgeous. She was still little A.J., with a taste for rock music and one hell of a right hook. She smiled slightly as she made her way through town, her eyes glued to the road. "Let's see...I moved back to America. I stayed in a nice little apartment while I went to school online. I had quite a bit of cushion to hold me over financially. Three years ago, I got my business license and took out a loan from the bank, and decided to open my own business. It started off something small, just a tee-tiny building where we held fundraisers and helped troubled youth. But I decided I wanted to do more than just help kids; I wanted to change the world," her voice was no longer that deep twang that flowed as thick as honey; it was a sharp, professional tone, something that had taken practice. "So I expanded. I've made many connections all over the world, but most of my colleagues are here, so a couple months ago I decided to relocate. The Heart of Saint Evangeline is a very prosperous organization, despite it being so new. I admit, for the entire first year, we-- and by we I mean me and the handful of people I had employed-- were solely non-profit. I paid them and kept them employed by paying out of my own pocket. I started waiting tables so that I could get by myself. Keeping Heart of Evangeline up and operating always came first. Takashi Morinozuka and Mitskuni Haninozuka are big contributors to my Helping Hands division. They offer education, recreational activities, and fundraisers to help underprivileged kids. Our Christmas drives are more than successful every year." My eyes widened for a moment and I couldn't stop myself from interrupting, "Honey-senpai? Doesn't he run a dojo?" She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and smirked. "Yes, but I work very closely with him. The recreational activities? That's all thanks to him. He has opened several dojos in the Haninozuka name, not just in Japan, that give juvenile delinquents a chance to work off their anger and frustration by putting it into something productive. I have established a great business relationship with the Ootori family and their hospitals and faculty for families who can't afford health care. Not to mention, Kyoya and I have began a program with their police force to help victims of domestic violence, abuse, and rape. And Tamaki Suoh is the head of my Community Homes division, which provides homeless families with shelter. In the past year alone we have built houses for over 500 homeless families and opened 75 shelters worldwide. And my lovely business partner, Haruhi Suoh--"

"Why am I not surprised that your business partner is Haruhi? Wait, you said Suoh?! When did they get married?" I blurted. She raised an eyebrow at me, fighting back her smile, and sighed, "You asked what happened to me and I'm answering. By the way, they got married in July. Anyway, Haruhi is the one who convinced me to relocate." I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair. "You weren't joking when you said you wanted to change the world. Is there anything you don't do?" She tapped her chin with her index finger, thinking hard. "Um...we don't have any rehabilitation centers or programs for addicts, but Auntie is gonna help me with that," she finally replied. "Of course!" I grinned. "You are just so amazing. But I'm still curious. You've spent the last three years basically being Superwoman. Has anyone came to claim you?" We stopped in front of a small restaurant and she cut the engine, looking at me with shock. "You mean am I married? No, never," she answered, making a face that signaled marriage was the last-- and worst-- thing on her mind. "Et toi? You ever find you a nice girl you wanted to settle down with?" she sighed. I smiled and leaned over the center console, so close that I could smell the heady mix of green apple and lilies radiating from her. "I did," I murmured. "I met her in high school, and I've loved her about that long, too." She breathed out a soft laugh and moved away from me, opening her car door. "Let's hope you still think so," she mumbled as she got out and walked into the restaurant we had parked in front of.

*Et toi? = And you?

I'm just so excited to be writing this sequel. If you're new to my page, it's not required, but I suggest you go back and read Something's Gotta Give first. If you've already read it and you're back for more, I thank you so very much for experiencing this story and the way it's turned out with me. Enjoy! ^_^