One Take Only (A Skip Beat! Fanfic)

Chapter 12: And Conclusions

"Okay, you're going to need to back up for a moment," Kanae said. "You're not making a whole lot of sense."

"I think Shotaro might be...attracted...to me," Kyoko squeezed out with some difficulty.

YOU THINK?! She wanted to scream at her oblivious friend. He forces a kiss on you, keeps tabs on you, and warns you away from other guys...Mo! This girl! At the same time, she felt a strange, irrational burst of joy, complete with the sudden appearance of a smile on her face. Thank god they were only talking over the phone. It's not that I care about her self-esteem or anything, she rationalized, it's just that her ridiculous modesty has gotten old.

"Moko-san?" She heard her friend ask, confused by her lack of response. "I know it seems arrogant of me to say something like this, but—"

"It's fine!" Kanae snapped irritably. Don't backslide already! "So what made you come to this" painfully obvious "conclusion?"

"Well...today I was talking to a colleague of mine, someone I really respect," she recounted carefully. "He mentioned that a girl he knew had just gotten out of a toxic relationship, and that even now, her ex-boyfriend is involving himself in her life just so he can put her down, all because he still has feelings for her and can't stand to see her moving on without him."

Sounds like an example tailor-made for you, Kanae thought.

"Anyway, even though that bastard and I were never actually together, there are some definite similarities—whenever I see him, he makes a point of insulting my looks or my status...my lack of fame. Which was one thing when it was me trying to sabotage his career, but lately, he's been the one initiating contact," she explained. "What happened on Valentine's Day, for instance, or just a little while back when he called me late at night just to tell me that the way I look with makeup on is deceptive. Him being the one to seek me out...it's something he never would have done when we were still friends. It's like he's deliberately setting aside time in his busy schedule just to bully me, and I'm starting to think there's a deeper reason for it."

"Sounds like he's taking a page out of the Grade-schooler's Guide to Romance," Kanae quipped.

"What do you mean?" Kyoko asked blankly.

"You know, when a little boy likes a little girl, but either doesn't know how to show it or doesn't want to admit it, so he picks on her?" She said. "Pulling pigtails, calling names...one especially annoying brat in the fifth grade actually flipped my skirt." Chuckling, she added, "he didn't like me as much after I punched him in the face."

"Oh...I wouldn't know," her friend responded. "The ones who bullied me were always girls who wanted me to stay away from Shotaro. I hardly ever talked to the boys at school."

They probably assumed you were taken, Kanae mused.

"But it's no surprise boys would go after someone like you, Moko-san," she continued cheerfully. "I mean, you're so beaut—"

"SO!" Kanae cut her off, irritated that she was now blushing slightly. "You were saying?"

"Well, it just sounded like this other guy's behavior was a lot like Shotaro's, and I know the last thing Shotaro would want to do is admit that he actually found anything about me appealing." Kyoko said. "Is it really that common?"

"For kids," Kanae said tersely. "For adults it's just pathetic. But that's all it took to convince you?" She asked, surprised. Usually she'd be denying anything romantic up and down by now. "Just one similar story and you realized he's in love with you?"