The waiter led us to what seemed to be the furthest room from the entrance. When we arrived at a table, I was slightly disappointed. I wanted to eat at the hibachi. Jeremy sat down and gestured for me to take the chair next to him, but before I could my mom sat down, leaving me to sit next to Mr. Heywood. My mom smiled pleasantly at me while Jeremy frowned.
"Can I start you off with something to drink?" our waiter asked.
"Coke," Mr. Heywood and I responded at the same time. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and saw him smirking at me. Immediately I looked away, at Jeremy.
"I'll have a Sprite," he told the waiter.
"And a coffee for me," my mom added when the waiter turned to her.
He nodded, scribbling down our drinks. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your drinks."
"Why aren't we eating at the hibachi?" I asked my mom when the waiter was gone.
"Too much commotion," my mom responded with a shrug. "Next time we'll eat there."
"I want to come next time too," Jeremy added. "I've never eaten at a hibachi before."
I looked at him in surprise. "Really?"
Jeremy nodded. "This is my first time coming to the Osaka too."
"You'll love it."
"I hope so."
"What about you, Chris? Have you been here before?" my mom asked, turning to face him. I kept my head straight, focusing on Jeremy so I wouldn't look at Mr. Heywood.
"It's my favorite restaurant," Mr. Heywood told my mom, emphasizing the word "favorite".
"Holly's too!"
"What a coincidence," Mr. Heywood responded in an amused tone.
Suddenly I felt Mr. Heywood's leg press against mine and I nearly jumped. I broke my focus on Jeremy and turned to Mr. Heywood, who didn't seem to notice our contact. He was smiling politely at my mom, oblivious to my questioning gaze and our touching legs. Surprisingly, I felt a bit disappointed that our contact was accidental. I didn't move my leg away either.
"Holly," Jeremy started, gaining my attention again. "I can't get over how mature you look tonight. "You look so... ravishing," he said with a grin.
A blush made its' way onto my face at his words, even though I knew he was just saying it to tease Mr. Heywood. "Thank you, Jeremy."
"Pretty words for the pretty lady."
"Does someone have a crush?" my mom hinted, nudging Jeremy in the shoulder.
Jeremy gave her a cheeky grin. "Maybe."
I almost laughed at my mom's surprised expression. She glanced at me with wide eyes, inconspicuously nodding her head towards Jeremy. I shrugged my shoulders at her, stealing a quick, amused look at Jeremy. He looked like he was about to laugh. I couldn't help but crack a smile at him, making my mom give me an even more bewildered look. I probably should have told her about Jeremy's antics...
Mr. Heywood cleared his throat and I suddenly felt his leg be pulled away from mine. Immediately where our legs had been touching felt cold and I frowned. Without realizing it, I turned to frown at him for pulling away. He looked annoyed.
"You know what?" Mr. Heywood started, turning to look at my mom. "We don't have menus. I think they might have forgotten we need some. Jeremy, could you go get some?"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know where to go. It's my first time here, remember?" He threw me a meaningful look.
"I'll-"
"I'll come with you," my mom told Jeremy, smiling at him. "I have to use the bathroom anyway, so if you don't mind waiting..."
A flicker of disappointment passed on Jeremy's face but he quickly regained his cheerful look and nodded at my mom. "I don't mind at all! Let's go."
"We'll be right back," my mom said to Mr. Heywood and myself, pushing herself off her chair.
Mr. Heywood raised a hand. "Take your time."
My mom smiled at him before gesturing for Jeremy to follow her out of our room and into the hall. Jeremy threw me a sheepish look before disappearing completely. I didn't have time to return it with my panicked one. Now nervous, I began to drum my fingers on the table to distract myself. Something told me Mr. Heywood was staring at me, but I did my best to ignore him.
However I couldn't ignore him when I suddenly felt his hand over mine.
"That drumming is irritating," he told me, closing his hand on mine so that I couldn't tap anymore.
"Sorry," I murmured, trying to pull my hand away from his. He didn't let go.
"Look at me, Holly."
I kept my head straightforward, doing my best to ignore how much I did want to look at him. After a moment I heard him sigh in irritation and he let go of my hand.
"Fine. Do what you want."
Now I felt guilty. I finally turned to look at him and caught him frowning at me. His smoldering, grey eyes pierced into mine and for a second I forgot how to breathe. Were his eyes always this beautiful? Or was it because I had been refusing to look into them all this time and had forgotten?
"Tell me, Holly," Mr. Heywood started quietly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Was the whole reason of inviting me here to make me witness you and Jeremy's flirting all night?"
I shook my head immediately. "No. It was a thank you-"
"A card would have worked just as well. Or some baked goods," Mr. Heywood snapped. "Tell me what I did."
I looked at him in surprised. "What?"
"Tell me what I did to make you upset with me, and I'll apologize," Mr. Heywood insisted, his expression turning imploring.
"You didn't do anything!"
"Then why are you...?" Mr. Heywood trailed off, looking irritated.
"Why am I what?" I responded, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I was doing anything to annoy you."
Mr. Heywood sighed, running a hand through his untidy hair. "Never mind. You're not doing anything."
Now I was really confused. "Then why...?" Oh. A small smirk spread onto my lips as I realized what was making him irritated. So Jeremy's plan was working?
Mr. Heywood caught my expression and he looked at me warily. "What are you thinking?"
"Oh, nothing. Just... 'If you're jealous, just say it'," I quoted him, my smirk growing a little wider.
Mr. Heywood didn't look the least bit fazed by my comment. In fact, he looked amused. My smirk slowly faded and was replaced by a frown. I had expected at least some sort of reaction from him. Some denial, or something. Mr. Heywood then smirked at my reaction.
"Why do you look so disappointed?" he asked.
"I'm not," I lied.
"You can't lie to me."
"I'm not," I stated stubbornly.
Mr. Heywood laughed. "I can honestly say I'm not jealous of Jeremy right now."
"Then why do you look so annoyed?"
"Because, as I just said he's complementing you to make me jealous," Mr. Heywood repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm annoyed because I think you truly deserve every compliment he's giving you."
My eyes widened slightly as my face immediately grew hot. I turned away from Mr. Heywood, unable to look him properly in the eye. I didn't know how to react when Mr. Heywood complimented me so directly like that. It was so out of character and it always caught me off-guard.
"Do you remember what I said the other night?"
At once my attention snapped back to Mr. Heywood. He was staring at me with a serious expression. I opened my mouth to answer honestly, but Jeremy's face popped into my head and I closed it. Mr. Heywood was going to try and get me to re-confess, I could tell. And I knew I probably would if I couldn't get it out of him first soon. I eventually shook my head. "No, what night?"
"The other night," Mr. Heywood responded. "When you accidentally told me something you shouldn't have?"
The night when I'd accidentally confessed to him. My blush gave me away and I knew I couldn't deny it now. "Oh, yeah..."
"And do you remember what I said?"
To re-confess when I was older. "Yes..."
"And do you know what day it is?" Mr. Heywood continued, a smirk growing on his face.
"Yeah," I murmured, my eyes now downcast so I wouldn't see his face.
"Well, I've got something to say," he told me in a rather alluring tone, and I wondered briefly if he had meant to say it like that.
"I-is that so," I stuttered, trying to keep my voice steady. He had something to say? Was he serious? Was Jeremy's plan working? I had to remember to give him the biggest thank-you hug known to man...
"Yeah, want to hear it?"
My mouth was dry now, and took me a few seconds to be able to respond. "Yes."
Mr. Heywood chuckled slightly and I realized how close he was to me. My breath caught when I felt his breath against my ear for the second time this evening. For a full minute I sat completely still, feeling Mr. Heywood's breath against my ear as he breathed. It took all of my will not to turn my head and kiss him. Finally, Mr. Heywood spoke.
"Happy birthday."
Now I turned to face him. Our noses touched due to our proximity, and I quickly jerked back from the contact. Mr. Heywood chuckle once again and leaned back in his seat as I blushed anew. Happy birthday? That's what he had to say? Happy birthday? Not "I love you"?
Mr. Heywood watched me with amused eyes as I debated what I should do next. My first instinct was to punch him. I really, really wanted to punch him. After I punched him, I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. But that was out of the question. There was no way I was going to confess to him first! Not after that. I knew he was teasing me to get a reaction out of me, and I wasn't going let him have the satisfaction of giving it to him.
"Thank you," I finally responded, pulling my expression into an innocent smile. "It's nice to be finally considered an adult."
"Your welcome," Mr. Heywood responded, now looking a little miffed. "You know, Holly, I think you're hanging out with Jeremy too much."
Before I could ask him what he meant by that I heard my mom's voice. Immediately I turned away from Mr. Heywood and grabbed my glass of water, taking a sip. As my mom and Jeremy entered the room, I felt Mr. Heywood's leg against mine again. When I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, he smirked.
"Sorry it took so long," my mom apologized, taking her seat again. "It suddenly got really crowded in here."
"But I brought back menus," Jeremy told us and gave us each one of said items. "Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"
"Nope," Mr. Heywood and I responded casually simultaneously.
Jeremy raised an eyebrow, but said no more. I opened my menu and scanned the food choices quickly, already knowing what I was going to get. As they say, like mother, like daughter. My mom loved steak, and so did I.
The waiter eventually came back to us with our drinks with an apology for the wait. As he placed down one of the cups of coke, Mr. Heywood and I both reached for it and he ended up closing his hand on mine rather than the cup. I quickly retracted my hand, looking down so no one would notice the rogue blush now on my face. When our drinks were settled our waiter took our order. Jeremy was the odd ball out, ordering chicken while the rest of our ordered steak. I couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Heywood was ordering his meal exactly like mine on purpose. Not many people replaced their vegetables with a second helping of mashed potatoes.
My mom grinned as the waiter walked away. "Wow Chris, you are just like Holly."
"Is that so?"
My mom nodded. "Not many people order double mashed potatoes."
"I do love potatoes," Mr. Heywood responded and I quickly shot a glance at him and saw him grinning.
"So does Holly!"
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, she literally likes every kind of potato."
I grimaced. "Mom..." Were they really going to talk about potatoes?
"I like every kind of potato too," Mr. Heywood told my mom. "Canned, mashed, baked, sweet... you name it."
"Holly too! You two are meant for each other."
"Mom!" I cried, sending her a warning glare.
"What? It's true though," she protested with a frown.
Mr. Heywood chuckled beside me and I resisted the urge to look at him. Jeremy was laughing to himself across the table. I narrowed my eyes pointedly at him and he sobered up, giving me a half-smile.
"Lynn, you get along well with Chris. How long have you two known each other?"
My mom turned to Jeremy, her face blank in thought for a moment. "About two years, I think."
I stared at my mom in surprise. "What?" I turned to Mr. Heywood, who didn't look shocked at all. "How did you two know each other?"
Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow. "Holly, our parents were in the same car crash..."
"So?"
"So you think we wouldn't have met?"
"I attended his parents funeral," my mom told me. "He also stopped by your dad's. You might have seen each other before without knowing it."
This information gave me a shock. Mr. Heywood and I might have met before? But it wasn't significant enough to have a memory about. It was kind of entertaining to think that Mr. Heywood and I could have seen each other back then and have had no idea we'd be where we were today.
"I didn't know your parents were in the same crash as Holly's," Jeremy said in surprise. "What a coincidence."
"I know, right?" I responded, shifting in my seat. My leg lost contact with Mr. Heywood's and after a split second of hesitation I boldly pressed it back against his. Even though it was only a small contact, it made me giddy.
"You two meeting was like fate, huh?"
I frowned at Jeremy. He and Casey would get along great.
Mr. Heywood laughed quietly from beside me. "Perhaps."
My mom smiled at me. One of those smiles that give you the creeps. One of those smiles that make you think that the person smiling has ulterior motives for doing something, and they are working. Creeped out, I turned my attention to a group of people now entering our room. My eyes widened when I realized one of the members of the group was James from my biology class. I quickly turned to Mr. Heywood, my eyes wide in horror.
"What's..." he began to ask but trailed off as he looked behind me. Immediately he turned his head towards the wall. "Shit," he muttered.
"What's wrong?" my mom asked, turning to look at the group of people.
"James. A kid from my class," I told my mom quietly, putting my hair over the side of my face just in case he decided to look over here.
My mom looked surprised. "Are you serious?"
"Completely."
"This is not good," my mom responded. "We should probably go, just in case..."
"Mom, I don't want to waste your reservations," I told her quickly. "If I just leave, it will be okay."
"It's your birthday though!"
"I'll go," Mr. Heywood interjected. "I'll go wait in the car or something while you three eat."
"No!"
Mr. Heywood raised an eyebrow at me. "What other choice do we have? We can't let him see us together, Holly."
"I know," I responded in dismay. "But being out there alone..."
"Holly, why don't you and Chris go out there for now, and Jeremy and I will tell the waiter to make our orders to go," my mom suggested. "We can all eat at our house instead."
"Uh..."
"I think that sounds like a good idea," Jeremy interjected before I could agree or disagree. "It'd be bad if James saw you two."
"Holly, you go first," Mr. Heywood ordered, still looking at the wall. "Try to get by without being seen."
"But-"
"Go," Mr. Heywood ordered.
A small scowl appeared on my face. Mr. Heywood and I alone again tonight? The thought made my heart pound. I didn't want to re-confess, but if Mr. Heywood did anything that threw me off again, I didn't know what I would say. It seemed like a dangerous thing for him and I to be alone. I sighed, pushing myself out of my chair.
"I'm going."
"We'll be out when the food's ready," my mom assured me, but something about her look made me think she was implying something else.
Turning towards the door, I focused my attention on the floor and kept my head down so I wouldn't be recognized. Of course though, nothing could work out for me. Before I reached the door, someone bumped into me and I snapped my head up instantly as I tottered on my foot, trying not to fall. James was looking down at me in surprise, his arm wrapping around my waist to steady me.
"Holly?" he asked in surprise.
Shoot. "Hi James."
His eyes left my face and traveled down my body quickly. I slowly removed his arm from around my waist as he checked me out.
"You look really good," he complimented. "Red is your color. Whom did you come with tonight?"
"Thank you, and my mom and a few friends..."
James eyes shot over towards the table where Jeremy, my mom, and Mr. Heywood sat. I held my breath as his eyes narrowed slightly, then relaxed when they returned to me. He hadn't noticed Mr. Heywood.
"Sounds fun."
"Yeah, but I'm leaving now," I told him. "So I'll see you tomorrow..."
"Okay, bye Holly."
I exited the room before he thought of something else to say. Hopefully Mr. Heywood would be able to leave the room without being undetected. As I made my out of the restaurant I caught a few people staring at me and I blushed. I was never going to wear this dress in public again.
Cold air bit at my exposed skin as I stepped outside. I shuddered, walking towards the car and leaning against the hood while waiting for Mr. Heywood. It was dark, and standing outside by myself made me feel nervous. Not that I could blame myself. Anyone who had gangsters after them, who wanted to kidnap them, wouldn't feel safe alone at night. Anywhere.
When Mr. Heywood stepped out of the restaurant all my worries disappeared. A relieved smile spread across my face as he started walking towards me. He gave me a sheepish grin as he grew closer. I raised an eyebrow.
"I forgot the car keys," he admitted before I had the chance to ask him any questions.
"Oh." Well that sucked. It was like, forty degrees out here.
"Come here," Mr. Heywood ordered, gesturing for me to follow him with his hand. "We'll see if my car is unlocked."
I followed him without hesitation as he started towards the dark parking lot behind the restaurant. As we went further away from the lights of the restaurant I moved closer to Mr. Heywood until I was practically hiding behind him. The parking lot had no lights, so the only light came from the moon. I began to grow apprehensive, my eyes flickering all around me.
Mr. Heywood suddenly stopped and I bumped into him, jumping from the sudden contact. A startled gasp escaped my lips and I took a step back away from him. "Sorry, you scared me."
Mr. Heywood gave me a confused look. "How? I was in front of you the whole time."
"Um, I'm just being paranoid," I admitted quietly.
Mr. Heywood didn't respond, but I felt him envelop my hand with his. I blushed, but didn't attempt to pull away. Without any words he continued to lead me through the parking lot towards his car. When we arrived he stopped, turning to look at me. His expression was a guilty one.
"Holly, I'm sorry," he apologized.
I blinked at him. "For what?"
"The whole gang situation," he told me, a hard edge to his tone. "I hate the fact that you have to be scared of walking through a parking lot at night."
"You've apologized for that enough, you don't have to again," I told him. "Besides, like I've said before, it's just as much my fault as it is yours."
Mr. Heywood sighed. "You know Holly, you should stop being so nice to me."
"Why?"
"Because I'm hardly that nice to you," Mr. Heywood told me, a smirk now on his face.
"You're nice enough," I murmured, looking away from him. "If you were any nicer, I'd be worried."
He laughed. "Still, don't you want to be angry with me?"
"For what?"
"You know, for telling you to re-confess."
My eyes widened slightly in shock and I quickly turned back to him. His eyes were filled with amusement as he watched me. How could be bring that up so easily? He was definitely trying to elicit some kind of reaction from me.
"I've been thinking that saying that to you was pretty unfair of me," Mr. Heywood continued, lightly tugging on my arm to bring me closer to him. "It must have been embarrassing enough to admit your feelings by accident."
I blushed now, mostly due to his words, but also due to our closeness. "I..."
"However I did say that, and you've waited. And now today's your birthday," Mr. Heywood started again, now speaking in a low and alluring voice. "Is there something you want to say?"
"No," I responded, my voice equally as quiet as his.
"Not at all?"
"No," I repeated stubbornly.
Mr. Heywood hummed quietly, yanking me to him again, this time making our bodies collide. I gasped in surprise as he twirled me around and pressed me against the side of his car. Both his hands were pinning my hands to the edge of his car and he brought his head down so we were face-to-face.
"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to say anything?"
I shook my head determinedly. Now was the time to stay bold. If I could keep myself from re-confessing right now, Mr. Heywood would. He was obviously expecting me to confess again- he wanted me to re-confess. That was why he was teasing me. I swallowed nervously as his eyes pierced into mine. Soon we were in some sort of staring contest.
Part of me toyed with the idea that the only reason Mr. Heywood wouldn't confess was because of his ego. Which was probably true, but I would never say that to him. Another reason was because Mr. Heywood wanted to see me embarrass myself by confessing to him again. That one was the more likely reason.
After what felt like a million years Mr. Heywood pulled away from me, letting my hands go. "Gee Holly, if you're this stubborn you'll never get a boyfriend," Mr. Heywood commented in amusement.
That set me off. I narrowed my eyes at Mr. Heywood, a scowl slipping onto my face. "Stubborn? I'm the one who's stubborn? I'm not the one that told the girl that confessed her love to him to re-confess again later just because she wasn't a legal adult! I mean really, who does that? Don't you think I was embarrassed enough that night? What makes you think that I want to re-confess? Maybe I got over you during this last week!"
"Holly."
"Maybe if you'd actually man up and deflate some of your ego you'd realize it's unfair to make me re-confess again. And all tonight you've been trying to push me to do it. Even in school! You have to confess that you have a confession to make. You really lay it on thick don't you?"
"Holly, I-"
"You know it was Jeremy's idea to make me try to make you confess first. That's why I've been trying to make you jealous all night. But no, you have to be all cool and composed and handsome as always!"
"Handsome?" Mr. Heywood repeated, raising an eyebrow.
I stared at him in annoyance, throwing my hands up in the air. "Mr. Heywood! Ugh! Just... Never mind!"
Mr. Heywood chuckled and I pushed away from his car, intending to go back into the restaurant. For some reason my eyes were beginning to burn and soon I felt them become moist. Mr. Heywood was stupid. Jeremy was stupid too for coming up with that stupid plan which made me do stupid things and-
My thoughts were abruptly cut off when I felt a hand encase my upper arm and pull me backwards. I let out a cry of surprise as I was pulled back to Mr. Heywood. Too embarrassed to look at him, I kept my attention focused on his black dress shoe. The moon made it shine.
"Holly, look at me."
I ignored him, keeping my eyes locked on his shoe. Suddenly his hand was at my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His grey eyes pierced into mine again, this time the usual amusement glint was replaced with something else. Something I didn't recognize.
"You know the phrase actions speak louder than words?" Mr. Heywood asked me.
I nodded my head.
Mr. Heywood brought his head down closer to mine, stopping a few inches away. "Want to hear something?"
"Yes," I whispered, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.
Mr. Heywood moved closer again, his lips not even a centimeter away from mine now. "Good, because I'm about to tell you how much I love you." With each word his lips just gently brushed against mine, and his breath caressed them.
My head spun already, just by hearing those words. I closed my eyes now, waiting expectantly. As soon as I felt the gentle touch of Mr. Heywood's lips against mine I jumped.
Not because of the feeling, but because of someone shouting my name, then Mr. Heywood's. Mr. Heywood pulled away and let out a frustrated groan. My face grew so hot I thought it was going to catch on fire as I stepped away from Mr. Heywood. I looked to see where the shouting was coming from and saw the silhouettes of my mom and Jeremy by the front of the parking lot.
For people who wanted to help Mr. Heywood and I get together, they sure couldn't have picked a worse timing to look for us. We hadn't even got to kiss! Well, technically we did, I thought, but that was the way I kissed my mom, not how I wanted to kiss Mr. Heywood!
"I'm going to kill him," Mr. Heywood muttered threateningly.
"We're... we're over here!" I called back, surprised at how shaky my voice sounded.
Mr. Heywood let out a deep sigh as Jeremy and my mom began to move towards us. "I'll have to prove it to you later."
"Prove...?"
"How much I love you," Mr. Heywood told me, his eyes smoldering into mine. "That wasn't even a fraction of my feelings. I'm going to make you drunk off my love."
I blushed from his unequivocal tone and words. I swallowed nervously, encouraging myself to speak. "Promise?" I finally managed to force out.
Mr. Heywood looked surprised for a moment, but then a smirk spread across his features. "Promise."
____________________________________
Phew! You guys have no idea how long it took me to write that chapter. No. Idea. I'm going to tell you it took more than five hours, but less than ten. I kept re-writing and getting rid of scenes. I still don't like how it turned out- but when do I really ever?
And hey. You guys can't expect a confession and a kiss. One at a time ;)
PAY ATTENTION TO THIS: Now that Mr. Heywood has sort of confessed, I need to plan out what I need to happen next, so I won't be updating on the 30th. 31st is Halloween, so not then. Maybe November 1st. I don't know. It depends how my planning goes. No complaining, kay?
That's it. I think this chapter deserves a vote ;) Even if you've never voted a chapter before, you should vote this one :3 Facebook link in external link!