OMG thank you guys! For loving this.
I'm surprised that I haven't got any tomato in my face
Just a bit of clarification, that I'm still not sure how is this fic gonna develop, kinda depend on my feeling and mood of course.
It's definitely about Atsumina, but for now, it's all about their bond and strong friendship more than love kind of thing, so..
I hope you guys don't mind. I am their shipper, but there are too many fics out there about their love and all, so I think this could be a change, for something new.
Most of the events in this fic will be real life events. Things that actually happened in their lives that I use for more of a real life feeling. And if there is anytime that you're unsure about any detail in this fic, don't hesitate to ask me is it real or not, or when was it happen if you're interest.
And I should stop
I hope you guys enjoy this update
Again, thank you all very much!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
P/S: a special thank to
BouJ-525 for proof reading. I love chuuuuuuu~
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Chap 1: Present day - Graduated, now what?
(
Note: Italic lines are Atsuko's thought and
bold italic lines are Minami's )
Sitting in her comfortable couch, Atsuko stared absentmindedly at her playing-twice-in-a-row Twilight's DVD. It was like she didn't even know what she was watching.
"This is so boring...when will my new drama begin shooting again? Urg..not even in a week!! I should call Mi... NO!" Atsuko silently cursed herself at the thought of calling HER.
"Old habit dies hard. That's all." She told herself.
She, Maeda Atsuko, top idol, well, used to be at least, of Japan's number one Idol group AKB48, just graduated half year ago and already felt her life was boring to death. Filming was finished just a couple months after she graduated, the promotions ended the following month. All she did after that was a few photoshoots for magazines, couple of awards, her normal radio show. She had SO MUCH free time! At first she was so ecstatic about it, planned lots and lots of things to do now that she wasn't in AKB anymore, she had all those time for herself: like take care of her dogs, shopping, watch all of the DVDs that she hadbought but hadn't had time, visit her parents, etc. However, when all the exciting died down, here she was, sitting in her new apartment, watching movies. Somehow, it made her felt so pathetic. She didn't even like this apartment. Just because of that stupid scandal.. She couldn't believe herself getting THAT drunk. It was supposed to be just a normal hang out with Yuko and Harugon. And those idiots brought in Takeru and his friends. She sneered at the thought of those photos leaked in ShukanBunshun. Even Miichan could carry her better than that, not to mention Mi..ahem.. And she couldn't move back to her old place. She didn't want to..to.. she couldn't.. Letting out a sigh, she decided to skip the thought, turned off her TV and walked toward the bedroom.
"Maybe I should go for a run tomorrow, I'm getting fat."Smiling at the thought ofhaving something to do, she flipped open her phone to update her newest idea on twitter..only to be flooded by direct messages from Mariko and Tomochin. And..a text message. From HER. Her brows furrowed. Unless there was something serious happening, SHE would never contact her. Okay, text first.
Miichan is in trouble. Got caught staying overnight at a guy's house. Shukan BunshunMiichan? Her Miichan?Her forever-a-pimp-husband? She felt her head spinning at the thought.
Shukan Bunshun again. Could she burn that tabloid down somehow?
Miichan.. Atsuko quickly skimmed through twitter, knowing Mariko and Tomochin had probably told her the same thing. They were coming to Miichan's place now. She must be there, too! It's her Miichan, her precious hubby, she would support her no matter what. Rushing to her bedroom, pulling out a T-shirt and a jean, she typed her reply to Mariko, tolet them know she's coming. Grabbing the key to her car, she practically ran to the lift and pressed impatiently. Her phone chimed.
Catch a taxi. Don't drive. It's HER. Atsuko felt her heart clenching at the text. She knew. Of course she knew Atsuko would tend to drive over. Of course she knew how panicked Atsuko was, and how clumsy she got when she panicked. So she told Atsuko what to do. She sighed defiantly, taxi it was then.
"Why the hell does this lift takes so long?"Her phone chimed again. This time, she took a deep breath before reading it.
Your jacket. It's cold outside. If possible, her heart would jump out of its place or fell down to her stomach. Wait, seemed like it was already there. She looked back to her closed door, and saw that the lift was about to come to her floor. Atsuko sighed.
"God, why do you hate me this much?"
-----
Atsuko was panicked. Granted, she panicked as soon as she found out about Miichan, but this was totally different. This was the first time ever, after 5 months since she graduated, she would meet HER. She was standing in front of Miichan's door and it hit her. Hard. She didn't know how to face the other girl.
" It will be okay. You will be okay, Atsuko. Cool up and behave like when you walked out of her house last year. Or her life. Or..oh God, whatever! You can do this. Just keep your cool, Atsuko. Keep your.."Click.
The door opened.
"...cool.. wha.. BREATHE ATSUKO!" There stood Takahashi Minami.
-------
"How the hell did that midget know that Acchan's arrived?" An annoyed Tomochin growled. Apparently, the girls inside made a bet about her. Funny, huh? They bet on how long it would take her to be there. Mariko won them all. Well, she wasn't really surprised since this was how dorky her friends were. What surprised her, however, was what Mariko bet for: Takamina would know exactly when she arrived to open the door for her. Atsuko swore that sometimes that old woman (she didn't dare to think out loud or she would face the wrath of Mariko, and God knew no one wants to.) was a psychic or something because she knew everything. That was including their little secret. How did Mariko figure that out? Devil helped her of course!
"Please, Tomo, I thought you should have known by now that Takamina can read Acchan like an open book? Wait, you didn't drive here, did you, Acchan?" Mariko turned to her.
"No, I caught a cab. It was.."
"Hah! I'm on a roll tonight. Tomochin, pay up! You too, Yukarin!" - Mariko grinned widely
"I will never do this again. This is so stupid."
Atsuko could only shake her head with a smile on her lips. These wereher friends. Dorky, crazy friends. And she loved them. A lot. Whoever dared to doubt her love for any 1st generation members was definitely out of their mind or blind. Looking around Miichan's house, she realised it had been quite long time since the last time she came here. Everything was pretty much..
"..The same, huh?"
Here it came. The moment that she had been dreadful for.Debating internally, Atsuko closed her eyes tight andcounted to ten. She knew the other girl KNEW what she was doing, and she would wait for Atsuko to open her eyes and say something.
"One.. Two.. Three..F..""I know you're counting, but I have to go to help Miichan. Here is your orange juice. Just come in the kitchen whenever you’re ready. I will try my best so that you won't have to see me that much tonight."
Eyes shot opened. And fell into a pool of brown orbs, drowned in its intensive, the same feeling Atsuko had every time she stared deeply in those eyes. A bang of guilt and hurt washed through her heart at the words. She knew it was her fault. She knew she had hurt the girl badly. Hell, she wouldn't even forgive herself. Atsuko tried to bit back her threatenly-fall-out tear while trying to think of something to say..
"I.."
" It's okay, Maeda-san."
With that, Minami turned and walked away from Atsuko, leaving the girl standing, shocked at the formality of the name that came from her. She couldn't handle it any longer. She was pushing her limit by texting the girl about Miichan, and the taxi, AND the jacket. Now that Atsuko was here, looking nothing but like the same old girl that she knew, yet different in a way that she hadn't quite figure out. And she hated it. She hated the feeling of NOT knowing something about the girl. So she walked away. This needed to end. They agreed on it. Just..one night. They were together with the others, that wouldn't be too hard, right? And then she could go back to living her life, her non-Atsuko life, which she was now starting to get used to. There was no reason one night could do any harm to ruin it. As Minami kept walking, ignoring the painful thud in her chest, she heard it. The most vulnerable voice of the girl, that she had only heard once in that 6 years long..
"Gomen, Minami..."
She stopped death on her track. Her fist clenched so hard that she imagined they would flood with blood if she opened them.
One..two.. three..
"God, why did she have to make this harder for me? and why can't I just walk away?"Releasing the breath she had been holding, Minami spoke without turning back.
"It's okay... Maeda-san."
She had to walk away. There was no other way. Walk away or experience that terrible heart-broken feeling again. The fucked up thing was she wasn't even sure which one was less painful.
Little did she know...if she turned around to see those tears now falling freely in the girl's face, those tears that she had been dying to see couple years ago, things might be different. A big might, but still.
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Atsuko's feet were glued at the spot. To say she was shocked was the understatement of the century. She knew that it would be hard for them, seeing each other again. But this, this was something she could never expect. After all the concern text, the opened door, God, the glass of juice SHE brought over was still there..Maeda-san?MAEDA-SAN? Of all things, it had to be her name? Did she fuck everything that bad? That Minami couldn't even bear to call her "Atsuko" anymore? Not even "Acchan". Weird, wasn't it? But to them, calling each other's name instead of nickname was something..just between themselves, and it was more personal, since their nicknames were up for everyone to call. Now that Minami even refused to address her by her first name. She must had been serious about the whole thing. Right, who wouldn't? She indeed fucked everything up bad. But even if sheadmitted her fault over and over again, the pain thathad been assaulted her before would never go away, not after hearing her calling her "Maeda-san". Her heart screamed at her to run, run as far as she could, but her mind was too busy repeating Minami's words to comply.
"What had I done to that girl? Is this how she felt when I..it hurts. What had I done?""Miichan said if you're not ready, it's okay, you don't have to be here." - A cold voice interrupted her thought. Tomochin. And all her effort to keep herself in place broke down. She launched herself at her best friend, crying her heart out.
"I'm so sorry, Tomochin. God I'm so sorry. I'm such an asshole. I'm.." - she couldn't continue her rant as the tears streamed down her pretty face. Tomochin wrapped her arms around her friend and sighed. God knew she loved them all, but all these dramas made her head ache and her heart weaken, seeing her two best friends suffering.
"There, there.. I knew you two were going tobe a mess. I hate being the right one now.." - Tomochin gently patted Atsuko's head that hided in her neck. They were seriously a mess. "Will you be okay with her in there for Miichan just for a couple hours? You can go home with me tonight and talk things out abit?"
Sniffing and nodding, Atsuko tightened her hold around Tomochin. She came to a conclusion that she was an utterly, undoubtedly idiot to walk away from this in the beginning. No, she was the biggest fool in the world.
"You're okay there? Jesus I hope Mariko does a better job with Takamina or else this night will turn to support you two instead of Miichan because she even worry about you two, not the other way around." - Tomochin joked, trying to lighten the mood, and smiled satisfied at herself as she earned a light giggle from the crying bag in her arms.
"Un~. I feel better. Thank you Tomo." - Atsuko said, her voice still quivering but not as sad. "How did she.." she hesitated, not sure either she wanted to know or not.
"Oh well, surprisingly, she wasn't the one that got to hug me. Ouch, geeez I was just kidding. Contain your jealousy, woman." Tomochin laughed at Atsuko attempting to hit her again. "Look, she is not alright, but she can manage. Mari-chan is talking, no, comforting her now, so..just, Acchan, promise me, woman I'm begging you now, leave her alone tonight. Can you do that?" Tomochin pleaded.
"I.. I don't know to be honest. I think my presence itself is a pain to her. And it only makes me want to either run away or don't give a fuck about eveything and just hug her.."
"That is why I'm asking you to leave her alone. You don't know it yourself, so please, please... stick with me and DO NOT talk to her until you sort out your shit, okay?" Tomochin looked straight in Atsuko's eyes, determined to keep her friend at bay. She messed up enough for the last year already.
"Are you taking her side? I thought you were my best friend?" Atsuko asked in a fake-mocked expression. She understood why. They had coped with her graduation and the mess she left behind. With the one she left behind. She didn't need to fuck that up again.
"Woman, I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm doing whatever I have to do to get rid of your dramas. My head is still hurt whenever I think of that time whenTakamina.." -Tomochin stopped, realised she almost slipped the supposedly secret information. "Never mind, let's go. I hope they finished their cooking because I'm hungry. You owe me girl."
"Takamina what, Tomo?" - Atsuko grabbed her friend's left arm, stopping her from moving. "Is there anything I should know? What happened?"
"Nothing. Let's go, seriously Acchan, if you can't hear my stomach.."
"Tomo."
Tomochin sighed, cursing her duck mouth for letting that slipped.
"Listen, Acchan. You walked away. You were the one that chose to leave. And you didn't even turn back to see how we were doing. We ARE friends, and you just... vanished. So many things happened, if you ask me. We were NOT fine. I understand your dream, I understand. Mariko, Haruna and Miichan understand too. But it's hard. Everything wasn't the same anymore and we were trying. If it's hard for us, can you imagine how hard it was for her? I didn't know what really happen, to be honest. Only Mariko knows. The only thing I can tell you is, it took three of us, me, Haruna and Miichan to stop Mariko from hunting Yuko down and kill her...first. Then you." - Tomochin closed her eyes, trying desperately not to be reminded by the memory. "It seemed so serious that neither of us dared to ask anything."
Atsuko was speechless. Mariko knew? And she's still alive? She must take a note to thank Miichan, Tomochin and Haruna for their effort. Really.
"By that look on your face, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. So..can we go in now and you stick with me? NOT a word to Takamina. Deal?" - Tomochingave out her hand, offering it to Atsuko to take.
"Deal."
----------------------
In another corner of the house..
A super tall figure was hugging a super small one while said small one was crying silently, wetting the taller's shirt, which of course none of them even cared about. Mariko was..she didn't even know her feeling. She was half angry and half pissed. Not directly at Atsuko, somehow, but to her, Atsuko was..the BIGGEST idiot of all time. She loved the girl. For God's sake she loved them both, too much that sometimes she felt like she was their mom or something. A year ago when she found out what happened, she was FUMING. At both Atsuko and Yuko. At Atsuko for being an idiot and Yuko for..for.. being Yuko, an aggressive, over-ambitious Yuko. She was at the edge of killing them both, not because of what they had done, but because how bad they hurt Minami by doing so. She still couldn't understand how could anyone, ANYONE, do that to her little kind-hearted, innocent, caring girl. Gritting her teeth, she tightened her hold on the tiny figure in her arms.
"It will be okay, Minami. Everything will be okay. We're here for Miichan, remember?" - Mariko gently spoke to the girl
"I know, Mari-chan. I know. It's just.. just give me a minute, then we can go." - Minami's answer came softly as she burrowed her head further in Mariko's neck. She was so thankful, having Mariko here. She was her life saver, a big sister that she never had, a pillow that she could lean on for support when she had no one. She owed Mariko her life.
"Mkay."
"Promise me to stay by my side tonight? I can't.. I can't handle her alone.." - a pleaded. And Takahashi Minami hardly pleaded to anyone. Except two people in this world.
"You know that I will, midget. You're too tiny to be left alone."
"Hey.."
"Shall we go?"
"Un."
...
"Mari-chan?"
"Hmmm?"
"Thank you."
"I'm hungry. Just quickly cook me curry." Mariko stated, causing Minami to stare at her in disbelief. Then a smile broke into her lips. Yep. She owed Mariko her life.
"KATSU-CURRY!"
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"Seriously, Yukarin, are they even here for me?" - a shaved head Miichan said grumpily. She was the one that got caught in a scandal, shaved her head, apologised in Youtube video, got demoted to kenkyuusei, and four out of five of her friends were nowhere to be seen, much less being here to support her.
"There, you were the one that told them to settle thing down. Don't be grumpy, baby girl." Yukarin replied. She didn't even bother to look up from the magazine that she was reading. "I know you worry, but leave it to them, okay? Beside, shouldn't you be worried about your position?"
"Pffff, please Yukarin, you know me better than that. I'm Miichan. I can always get my way back. But those two.. "
"See, why were you complaining aboutthe fact that they're not here for you? I knew you just wanted to jump out and check if the girls are still here. And trust me they are."
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM IT HAD BEEN 10 MINUTES AND NONE OF THEM IS BACK IM GONNA CHECK ON... Oh hello there Mari-chan. And Takamina." Miichan was stopped in the middle of her ranting to the sigh of a puffy eyes midget and a smiling Mariko. Assuming that everything went well, she jumped straight to Minami's arms and hugged her tightly, which Minami returned with the same affection.
"Sorry Miichan. We are here for you, but I made you worry.." Minami whispered, tears were about to fall out again. She loved Miichan. And even when she knew this demotion wouldn't affect Miichan that much since she was still in AKB, it still hurt her to seeMiichan shaved her head. That was why she decided to cut her hair with Miichan, so that the youngest girl wouldn't feel so lonely.
"Nonsense Bakamina."Miichan mumbled.
"Well at least she wasn't the one that got caught in scandal." Mariko pulled them out of their embrace, lazily pointing to the kitchen " I want my curry. Now chop chop! we don't have all night! Oh Tomochin and Atsuko, finally, come and give Miichan a hand in making dinner."
"Old hag!"
"Oba-san"
"If only Haruna is here..."
"HEY I HEARD THAT! AND I WANT MY CURRY!"
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(To be continued)
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*hide in a corner*
Topic: [Atsumina?] Love Fake (Chapter 2: The day it all began) 04/03/13 (Read 13659 times)