Chapter 7

Chapter 7

This is just a bad dream. Really. I’ll be waking up soon from this. Anytime now, Mao thought as she sat on the couch, trying to stay calm; her headache totally forgotten. But then why was Pi still sitting from across her with a towel above his head, his hair slightly dripping wet. He shifted awkwardly; the noise the bean bag made under him the only sound in the tension-filled room.

He peeked at Mao, her arms were crossed in front of her chest, looking grim. Their eyes suddenly meet. Mao‘s eyes narrowed, her lips set in a thin line. Pi held her gaze, pouting. They looked like two people from a western movie ready to duel. The only thing missing were the rolling balls of hay in the background. Suddenly, the images from the incident earlier flashed once more in their minds and they quickly looked away.

They had been sitting there silently for five minutes now. Neither one of them knew how to start. Mao wasn’t happy. Not at all. But it wasn’t his fault! No one in their right mind would want this to happen! He knew how it looked, knew she would be angry at him but- but he was the one who’s been totally exposed! He pouted as he thought back to how they stood there screaming at each other and then she finally ran out of the bathroom, shutting the door, still screaming. They needed to talk, she then shouted. And here they were.

Mao stole a glance at him. Pi was staring fixedly at a spot on the coffee table. What should she say? Ugh. Why are they always caught in compromising situations?! But this? This takes the cake! Why did she have to see his body… his rippling arm muscles… his toned abs that has water dripping down – Wait a minute! What the hell is she thinking?! She thought as she gave herself a swift mental kick. The image of his body seemed to be seared into her mind. His body was just… just… Argh! Why did she have to look down? Why??

“What were you doing taking a shower in my bathroom?” she suddenly asked, pounding her fist on the coffee table. She didn’t mean for it to come out violently but her thoughts were frustrating her.

Pi jumped a bit. “My bathroom has no water again.”

“So? You could have taken a shower much later or asked the others.”

“They’re still asleep!”

“How did you get in my room?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. Did she forget to lock the door again?

“We slept together last night.”

“What?!” she yelped as she covered her body.

“I meant, we slept beside each other and well, you…,” his voice trailed off. He looked away.

“I what?” she asked. Oh God, did she do anything stupid? Well, aside from sleeping with a guy beside her on her bed.

Pi didn’t seem to want to say it.

“I what?” she said in a silky tone, her patience hanging by a thread.

“Well, you drooled on me… so I had to take a shower,” he said quietly.

Mao’s hand quickly went to her mouth. She felt her face grow hotter.

“I had to clean up the drool-“

“Okay, I get it.”

“It was on my shirt and-“

“Enough about the drool!” she exclaimed. Pi went silent.

“Sorry,” she then added, wincing inside.

She sometimes does drool in her sleep. She thought nothing could make her more embarrassed than the situation right now. But apparently she was wrong.

“Sorry about … you know.”

Pi looked up at her. Her face had gone very red. “It’s really not a big deal…”

“Why didn’t you lock the door?” she cut him off.

“I did!” Pi exclaimed.

Geez. The lock was busted again. It’s like the gods are having fun with them or it’s a scene from some bad fan fiction.

“I guess it’s just our luck,” she said resignedly.

Pi looked up at her again. Really? That was it?

“No one’s really at fault here… it’s just our luck,” she said shrugging, trying her hardest to wave off the situation. “Let’s just-“

“Forget about it,” Pi finished with her. They have been saying that a lot.

They chuckled as their eyes met. Pi pulled down the towel from his head, obviously glad that they didn’t make the situation bigger. Mao watched as the muscles under his shirt- She stared fixedly at Pi’s face. She really had to stop her mind from wandering elsewhere.

“This… This isn’t going to be weird between us right?” he asked, but the answer was a bit obvious. For a while maybe.

Mao shook her head with a vengeance.

“Of course it wouldn’t be weird!” she said. Right? They just had to be more mature about this.

“Just don’t let anyone know ever. We take this to our grave,” she added, as she kept her eyes on his face.

Pi noticed she was looking kind of funny somehow. He didn’t know Mao was trying hard to imagine she was just talking to a floating head, concentrating hard, trying to push back any thoughts concerning his-

“Okay? No one, especially Ryo,” she emphasized. She imagined he would be telling this story even to his grandchildren if he ever finds out.

Pi nodded like a little boy as he stood up. Mao quickly looked away. She should concentrate on other things. Filter those thoughts away. Filter those thoughts away, she chanted to herself.

They head a knock and then Massu poked his head in, as always, eating a sandwich.

“Oh, you’re here Pi. Did you guys hear screaming like a while ago?”

Pi and Mao looked at each other. Mao gave him a warning look.

“Screaming? I didn’t hear anything. Did you, Pi?”

Pi kept shaking his head. “You must have been dreaming.”

“Really? Hmm… It sounded so real. Anyway, KoyaMama is calling you guys to eat breakfast.”

“KoyaMama?” Pi repeated.

“Yeah, everytime we have a drinking session, he becomes KoyaMama in the morning,” Massu explained as he took a bite off his sandwich. “Fussing on all of us. We have to eat breakfast and such.”

Pi found that… interesting.

“He says he doesn’t like being called KoyaMama but I think deep down he really likes it.”

“Tell Mama I’ll be right there. I have to take a …,” Mao’s voice trailed off as she and Pi caught each other’s eyes and sort of stiffened. Their faces hot.

Massu observed them. “Are you two alright? Why are you looking flushed?”

“What’s for breakfast?” Pi then asked as he steered the topic, walking towards Massu.

He went out with Massu, taking one last look at Mao, who was biting her lip deep in thought, as he closed the door.

Mao heard the door close. She looked at the bean bag where Pi sat just now. He had the perfect face. Did he have to have a perfect body as well? Mao jerked her head and then slightly slapped her cheeks, trying to slap some sense into herself.

“Stop thinking about it!” she said out loud. This was Pi…

And then sighing she laid down sprawled on the couch; her headache slowly returning. Why me? She thought.

**

“Yo, Pi! Take a seat! Your food will be ready soon,” Kei-chan called from the small stove. He was wearing an apron with “Kiss The Cook” stamped in front. Ryo was putting salt on his eggs as he yawned widely. Tego was trying to push out the last remaining drops of ketchup from the bottle.

Pi, his mind elsewhere, went to take his seat. Massu walked over to Kei-chan and pursed his lips.

“What?” Kei-chan asked as he flipped eggs over.

“I’m going to kiss the cook,” he said, lips still pouted.

Kei-chan made as if to hit his head with the plate he was holding.

“I sorta remember someone attempting the same thing last night.”

Massu chuckled, pointing at Tego if ever anyone wanted to know. He sat down; Tego ignoring him.

“Pi, you want soup?” Kei-chan asked, turning around.

Pi hadn’t heard him. He was too preoccupied. Being caught by surprise, naked in the shower, was already bad enough. He thought. What’s worse was the girl he likes was the one who saw him! Crap… Wait, does this reduce the chance of Mao ever liking him? … Why did this have to happen?

“It’s pumpkin soup, Pi!” Kei-chan called again. Pi was biting his lip, deep in concentration.

He works out though. And he knows his body is not bad-looking. Maybe it was alright… Maybe- Argh! What was he thinking?!

“Pumpkin soup is Massu’s favourite,” Kei-chan continued, patting Massu on the head. Massu grinned contentedly.

And then to Massu, “Why are you eating that? You might spoil your appetite. Although I doubt that will ever happen.”

“I don’t know. I just had the sudden craving for peanut butter when I got up,” he said, as he spread some on the bread. “Weird, huh?”

“What’s weirder is Pi not listening to us,” Ryo said, banging on the table trying to catch Pi’s attention.

It worked. “Huh?”

Kei-chan offered him soup again and he said yes, sounding a bit distracted.

“Shoot! I forgot to tell you guys I saw Sakurai Sho this morning, coming out of his room holding a plastic bag with a head in it!” Tego exclaimed, looking horrified.

Ryo frowned at him. “A head? Are you on crack or something?”

“I saw it,” Tego insisted. “I had a glimpse of blank eyes staring up at me.”

“Maybe you were just seeing things,” Kei-chan said, although he didn’t sound convinced himself. He may be right about him being a killer.

“And he looked at me like he’s saying I’m next,” Tego finished and then gulped down his juice.

“I hope you are,” Ryo said as he shoved eggs into his mouth.

Tego scowled at him while Massu and Kei-chan asked for more details.

“I kinda heard screaming this morning…,” Massu said, gulping. “Do you think…?”

Tego , Ryo and Kei-chan said they heard screaming as well. Mao’s aunt should throw Sakurai out! Should they start a petition?

All the while Pi was pushing his food around his plate, still worried. Maybe he should call Shige up and ask what to do. But Mao said not to tell anyone… Maybe she was just referring to Ryo and the others… Hmmm….

“Although when I asked Mao and Pi about the screaming, they sorta went weird,” Massu thought out loud. “They said they didn’t hear anything.”

“Really?” Ryo said, his head turning to observe Pi.

He should call Shige now, Pi then decided and started to stand up. Someone held him down. He looked around and was taken aback. The three of them were all staring at him with evil smiles on their faces as Tego looked on.

“W-What? You guys look kinda scary…,” Pi said.

**

Tego sprayed juice out of his mouth. Kei-chan covered his mouth in shock. Massu had his mouth hanging open, stopping midway in spreading peanut butter. Then suddenly, Ryo burst into fits of laughter, holding his stomach. Pi hung his head.

“I so wish we had been there!” Ryo exclaimed. “With a video camera!”

Kei-chan and Massu seemed to have gotten infected by Ryo’s continued laughter. Their shoulders started shaking But Tego..

“My innocent Mao!” he cried, looking like he was about to cry. "The molestation!"

“’Your’ innocent Mao?” Ryo frowned at him.

“Freedom of speech,” Tego scowled. He then turned his scowl at Pi. Pi could have done it on purpose, trying to move in on Mao…

“What should I do?” Pi then asked, not noticing Tego’s scowl.

“Huh? Nothing! It’s not as if it’s your fault this happened. Although for Mao, this is serious,” Ryo said thoughtfully.

“It is serious!” Tego interjected.

Ryo then laughed as he thought of something. “Well, then the only way to get even is to let Pi see her naked in turn. But who wants to see that?”

Ryo cackled like a hyena. Pi, Kei-chan and Massu looked at him dumbfounded at his twisted logic. Yet, Tego slowly raised his hand up, as if in a classroom. That stopped Ryo from laughing. They all stared silently at him. And then…

“You know, Tego, Ryo wasn’t really asking a serious question,” Kei-chan said.

“Ah.”

“Pervie Tegoshi,” Massu commented, leering at him.

“Did you know, I saw Sakurai holding a head in a plastic bag!” Tego exclaimed in an attempt to change the topic.

“Yeah. We’ve heard that one already.”

“You! Stop those thoughts about Mao!” Pi said, disliking the idea of Tego perving on Mao. Tego ignored him.

“I hope Mao comes in soon,” Ryo said, grinning evilly, rubbing his hands together.

“Hey! I told you not to say anything to her!” Pi exclaimed.

**

Mao took a deep breath as she opened the door to Kei-chan’s room. She had thought of skipping breakfast, still awkward around Pi, but the others might notice something. They had to be careful around them. They can easily sniff out something, for some reason.

She stepped in. Kei-chan was frying eggs. The others were eating. But somehow at the back of her head she sensed something was off. They were too quiet.

“Mao-Mao, aren’t you going to come kiss the cook?” Kei-chan asked, his arms wide open.

Mao made a face at him. “No thanks.”

“How come you won’t let me-“ Massu started.

“Shut up and eat your food,” Kei-chan said to him as he placed Mao’s plate on the table.

Mao sat down beside Ryo. Pi sitting across her to the left. He had his soup bowl to his lips, slurping noisily. Tego looked like he didn’t have any appetite. Massu was busy with his peanut butter. Ryo didn’t even look up at her. Everyone was eating quietly. Mao reached for her drink, observing them over the rim of her glass.

Kei-chan sat down and then held his knife and fork and suddenly said,” You know, Mao, the anatomy of a male body-“

Mao almost spat her juice out. She coughed several times.

“How’s little Pi-nut?” Ryo grinned, his eyes filling with glee.

“Hey! Don’t call it that!”

“You told them?!” Mao growled at Pi, her eyes flashing. She kicked his leg under the table.

“Ow!” Massu cried. Oops. Wrong leg.

“Sorry, Meat Bun,” she said and quickly delivered a kick to Pi’s leg before he could get away.

Wincing, Pi said, “They coerced me!”

“Yeah. We threatened him with Massu’s used socks,” Kei-chan said, straight-faced.

“Hey!”

Kei-chan suddenly pulled Mao to him in a motherly hug.

“Poor girl, you must have been traumatized,” he said.

"The molestation!" Tego cried.

Mao pushed him away. “Look, it’s no big deal-“

“How’s your virgin eyes?” Ryo said, laughing.

Mao stared at him. “You’re a sick disgusting little man.”

“Thank you,” Ryo said, taking that as a compliment.

“Why are you guys making such a big deal out of it? It’s not as if I haven’t seen-“ she didn’t finish her sentence. She caught Pi’s eyes and they involuntarily blushed.

“If it wasn’t a big deal, why attempt to hide it? And you’re saying you’ve seen a naked male in the flesh before?” Ryo said, raising an eyebrow.

“Please don’t say flesh,” Mao winced.

“Flesh, flesh, flesh.”

“Well, I’ve seen one it in one of your porn videos. Tego and I-“

She got distracted by Tego signalling her to stop. Oh yeah… They weren’t supposed to let him know…

Ryo narrowed his eyes, looking at Tego.

“What?” he asked in a silky tone.

Tego laughed awkwardly. He and Mao had been bored one day and thought to borrow some DVDs from Ryo. He wasn’t home so they used the spare key her aunt kept. A movie was already inside the DVD player so they decided to check it out. Turns out, it was one of Ryo’s secret porn stash.

Mao and Tego had both stared wide-eyed at the screen before they came to it and turned off the DVD. And then they quickly ran out of Ryo’s room.

“How can you go in just like that?!” Ryo shouted, irritated that they found out about his porn.

“We were really bored,” Tego said earnestly as Mao nodded in support.

“Do you guys notice how easily we go off-topic?” Massu mused.

“Anyway, the point is you haven’t seen one in the flesh,” Ryo continued. Mao swears he emphasized the word flesh.

“S-So what then?”

“So you’re not affected by this?” Massu said as he suddenly lifted up Pi’s shirt, revealing his abs.

Pi looked at him from the corner of his eyes silently.

“Okay, my bad,” Massu said as he carefully put down Pi’s shirt, grinning sheepishly at him.

“No,” Mao answered, keeping her face blank. They really are not helping in making her forget.

“I believe her!” Tego, of course.

“She is so affected,” Kei-chan observed.

“I agree. Admit it, you found Pi… interesting,” Ryo grinned maliciously.

“You know, I’m still here and you’re talking about me like I’m a piece of meat,” Pi chirped in.

“What’s it to you?” Mao asked Ryo.

“Frankly, I really don’t care. I just find it really hilarious,” Ryo said, smirking. “And I just enjoy seeing you two squirm.”

Mao suddenly yanked hard on Ryo’s hair.

“Ouch! Hey!”

She wolfed down her breakfast and then stood up.

“I have to do something at the office for a while,” she said, mouth still full.

She headed towards the door. Pi followed her.

“I specifically told you not to tell them, Pi,” she said, her words slightly garbled due to the food in her mouth.

“The pressure was too great! They can become really scary…” Pi explained.

The door slammed shut; their bickering continued, leaving the others looking amazed as Ryo laughed on.

**

Mao frowned down at the report in her hands. She was trying to concentrate but sometimes, her thoughts truly were hard to fight. Showers are bad. Showers are bad, she chanted to herself once more.

Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” song suddenly started playing in the background. Okay, that doesn’t help at all. She thought, as she read the sentence again. She had been reading it like ten times already. Why was she, for lack of a better word, perving on Pi? She shook her head as if the thoughts would fall out of her head. But for some weird reason, aside from the “perving” part, thoughts like how cute he looks pouting would appear, his boyish smile and laugh that always makes her smile… how they just click… and how he would always look at her… It was as if the floodgates to Pi thoughts suddenly burst open. Were they always there?

Another song came up, breaking into her thoughts. This time it was John Mayer’s “Your Body is A Wonderland”.

“What is up with the songs?!” Mao looked up and shouted at no one in particular.

Some people stood up and looked to see who just shouted. Mao got up from her chair and trudged towards the photocopy room.

“Why isn’t anyone playing Japanese songs nowadays?” she grumbled.

I wish I can just enjoy the rest of this Saturday, she thought. Maybe she’ll take a nice long bath… Ugh. No. Ice cream. She needed ice cream. She pushed open the door to the photocopy room and to her shock, Toma and a model were making out torridly inside. She quickly closed the door, her heart jumping to her throat. Hope they were too busy to have noticed her. What is up with today? That scene left a bad taste in her mouth.

She had waited for half an hour, her precious half hour. She could have been finished with her task already. But no, hormones just had to be raging. They should be gone now, she thought, as she apprehensively opened the door to the photocopy room. Sighing a breath of relief, she walked in and quickly started.

As the machine whirred, she heard the click of a door closing. Looking up, she suddenly stiffened. Toma. Shit, she thought. Hurry, hurry, she urged the machine in her mind.

Toma, obviously enjoying the way she would react towards him, walked purposefully over to her. Mao ignored him but her mind was in chaos.

“Relax,” he said, grinning as he noticed Mao’s stiff shoulders. “This wouldn’t be like last time.”

Last time? She wanted very much to forget about last time. Why does he have to bring it up? His presence is torture enough! And wasn’t she perfectly clear that she doesn’t want to and would never talk to him again? She had hoped he would get tired of this already…

“Your plan really isn’t going to work,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’m one shameless sleazebag.”

He laughed at that, as if that was a good thing. Mao’s jaw tightened.

“But I guess you already know that,” Toma continued, letting his gaze slide all over her. Why does she bother him so much? “Why are you hanging out with Shun? You know we’re best friends right?”

Of course she knew that. She had been shocked at first to find out that Shun would be close to a pathetic excuse for a human being that is Toma. She thought she should avoid him too. But… But she had wanted to believe Shun is a really nice guy… She had convinced herself… Those kind eyes of his… They would never lie to her… Right?

“Aren’t you wary of him too?” Toma grinned with malice. “Maybe you should be… Or maybe I’m just hurt you’re talking to him and not to me.”

What is he saying? Mao thought. He was deliberately provoking her.

Toma reached out his hand as if to trace Mao’s arm. But she suddenly took the papers from the bin and quickly walked towards the door, staying as far away from Toma as possible.

“Hey, wait,” Toma suddenly grabbed her arm. She quickly tried to pull free. His touch was sending chills down her spine.

“Is there a problem here?” Nino’s voice suddenly said. He was standing at the door his face set, not liking Toma’s hold on Mao.

“We were just talking,” Tomas said, grinning as he let go of her.

Mao quickly went to Nino and pulled him away. This didn’t need to get bigger. Nino’s eyes were flashing dangerously. She was just thankful he came at the right time, she thought, trying to get as much distance from that room as she can.

**

“I don’t want to share with you,” Nino said as they sat down, their bowls of ice cream in front of them.

Mao had wanted to thank him for helping her out so ice cream for him! They had been bickering at the counter. Mao thought they could share one big bowl. Nino wouldn’t want that.

“Don’t be so stingy when you’re treating,” he had said.

They had gone to find their seats. Mao pointing out one big bowl would have been good for two. Okay, so maybe she was a little short on money this month.

“Why? Are you afraid of my saliva?”

“No, coz you’re going to be eating it all. Leaving none for me. I’ve learned my lesson,” Nino explained as he dug in.

“I’m not a pig,” she said.

“See? You already have your own. Why are you still getting from mine?” Nino complained, as he tried to block her hand.

“Coz I didn’t get that flavour. I couldn’t decide,” Mao said, as she took a spoonful.

“Yeah. You’re the most indecisive person I know.”

“There’s lots of flavours!”

“You’re indecisive on almost everything,” Nino said, taking a mouthful.

They continued to bicker. The bell at the door tinkled. And to Mao’s surprise, it was Leah with her current boyfriend dangling on her arm. Everyone in the shop seemed to focus their attention on her.

“I thought she would have died of shock at the thought of all these calories,” Mao whispered to Nino.

Nino grunted. He doesn’t really care as he continued to enjoy his double fudge brownie.

“I wonder how it feels like to stop a room full of people with just your presence,” Mao mused out of the blue.

“You want to be like her?” Nino asked incredulous.

“Not like her!” she protested. “But you know, just have this wow factor. Not exactly her.”

Nino regarded her silently.

“You know, not wow people in the fall-flat-on-your-face-way. Or any other embarrassing way,” Mao said, eating her ice cream. “Okay, shutting up now.”

“What I like about you is you have no idea what you have. That’s your charm,” Nino said. “But sometimes it irritates the hell out of me as well. Like this instance.”

“Huh?”

“Are we on a date?” Leah said, her eyes full of glee mixed with malice. They hadn’t noticed her coming over.

“Go eat a pea or something,” Nino said without looking at her.

Leah scowled at him, making her face look twisted.

“Whatever! Just don’t let precious Shun see you,” she finished rather lamely and then stalked off.

“And you think that that’s better than you?” Nino said, shaking his head.

“I wasn’t thinking that!”

Well, maybe sometimes she would like to see how it feels like… to be almost perfect in the eyes of everyone…

“Just be yourself. I like the Mao,” he said sincerely.

Mao smiled at him. He really is a friend.

“Can I hug you now?”

“No.”

“Why not?” she said, laughing as she gave him a hug.

“Now, will you stop thinking you’re not good enough?”

“Girls have the right to be superficial sometimes, you know.”

“That’s why you can’t see it.”

“See what?”

“Just eat your ice cream,” Nino said.

And then, “Your ice cream! Not mine!”

Mao laughed as she put the double fudge brownie in her mouth, a bit dripping down her chin, with Nino, chuckling, shaking his head at her.

**

Mao let the strawberry ice cream melt in her mouth. Sighing contentedly, she took another spoonful. She had decided to take a long bubble bath after all. She needed to just relax with a pint of ice cream.

Nino had been telling her to do something about the Toma situation. This really can’t go on anymore, he had said. But she didn’t want it to get out of hand. The fewer people that knows about this, the better. Who would people believe anyway? Toma or her? And she didn’t want the added drama at work.

Giddy like a kid, she savored the ice cream in her mouth, vowing not to think about anything else. Suddenly the door to the bathroom opened. What the hell? She thought, panicked. She had locked the door and double-checked it! She froze as Pi walked in and stopped by the tub, looking down at her.

“What the hell are you doing in here?!” she screamed as she threw the ice cream at him. And then she went lower down the water, hoping the bubbles provided very good cover.

Pi just gazed down at her silently. His eyes had a different look to them…

Oh my God! She will tear him apart! If she could just get her clothes on!

“Get out of here, you pervert!” she shouted, mind racing. “Are you trying to get back at me or something?!”

She can’t believe this was happening! Suddenly, Pi took his shirt off. Her mouth hang open. And then he went to taking his pants off. Mao quickly looked away, covering her eyes with her hand, her heart felt like it was going to jump out.

The splash of water told her Pi had gone in with her in the tub. She was screaming in her head. She looked over and there he was, looking serious. Why did he have to look so yummy? The thought involuntarily flashed across her mind. Their legs brushed up against each other so she pulled further back.

“Get out! Get out! GET OUT!”

“I need a bath,” Pi simply said, not taking his gaze off her.

“I don’t care! Just get out!!” she yelled, furious. Her eyes flashing, teeth gritted. She could feel her face heating up. He was impossible!

Where was her towel? She tried to collect more bubbles around her just to be sure he can’t see anything. Suddenly, Pi pulled her by the hands. Mao tried to pull away but failed miserably.

“What are you doing?” Pi asked, his intense gaze locked with her furious one.

“Get out,” she said quietly, trying to control her shaking voice.

Pi tightened his hold on her. “Do you really want me to get out?”

Mao glared at him and then felt herself weakening as Pi’s smoldering gaze was pulling her in. Did she really want him out? Pi’s gaze went to her lips and then went to her eyes again. The quiet suggestion was crystal clear.

Mao’s heart raced as she quickly looked away. The temptation was too strong. She looked back at him again and then yelped.

“Why are you wearing the bunny suit?” she asked in disbelief.

“I was wearing it the whole time,” Pi said, frowning.

“No, you weren’t. You had no clothes on.”

Pi looked scandalized.

“You- You- What kind of thoughts are running through your head?”

“It’s true! You were-“

Pi covered his body with his fake paws, as if to protect himself.

“W-What are you planning to do with me?”

Mao frowned at him. And then a suggestive smile broke her lips. She looked at the frightened Pi, her eyes dancing. She started to close in on him as he whimpered. She licked her tongue seductively.

“Noooooooo!” Pi screamed.

“NOOOOOO!” Mao screamed for real as she sprang up.

She put her hand over her pounding heart, breathing heavily. That felt real! Thank God it was just a dream! She must have dozed off.

But what was she doing dreaming that kind of dream? And it was definitely detailed. And weird. Really weird. Why was she still thinking about Pi? And in that way too? It’s just normal. It’s just normal, she convinced herself. What happened was indeed traumatic. Maybe she shouldn’t eat that much ice cream.

Would she still be thinking about it if it was any other person? Yeah, for sure. Although she felt unconvinced… If it was any of the others, she wouldn’t be dreaming about them in that way, right? That would be so wrong. What if, for example, it was Ryo… She tried to imagine it then stopped herself. It was too scary. No!

She took a deep breath. And then started kicking around on her bed in frustration. She then pushed her face into her pillow and screamed. Suddenly she caught a whiff of a familiar scent… She breathed it in… Pi…

He did say they slept beside each other… She had someone beside her then… Remembering how she had the feeling of being safe… how she felt like someone was holding her carefully… afraid to let her go…

She definitely was going mental, she thought.

“Just get out of my head,” she groaned, referring to Pi.

**

Pi looked around as he had his phone to his ear, listening to it ringing. He thought he heard a scream just now.

“I need to talk to you,” he said as soon as Shige picked up.

“I can’t,” Shige winced. “I have to meet up with the events coordinator.”

“Do it tomorrow,” Pi said. “I have a problem right now.”

“Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow?” Shige said, hopeful. If it was like the problem last time, maybe it really could wait.

“This can’t wait,” Pi said. He didn’t know what Shige could really do about the situation but he needed to rant.

Shige didn’t sound convinced so he told him what happened.

“Um… j-just a second, sir,” Shige said, his voice sounding strained.

The phone clunked. Silence. And then after a while, Shige came back, his voice sounded a little out of breath.

“You just had a good laugh, didn’t you?” Pi said, his eyes narrowing.

“N-No, sir,” he replied, trying not to laugh again. He was under a lot of stress recently and somehow Mao and Pi’s misadventures take all that away.

“Just for that, you better come out now,” Pi ordered.

**

“Your mom’s being missing you,” Shige said, as he and Pi walked the streets. People were ogling the two of them. Both tall and good-looking. They were a sight to see.

“Yeah, I know. She always tells me that when we talk on the phone,” Pi said, his hands in his pockets.

So, when will you be coming back, Shige had asked.

“Not yet,” he responded.

Shige nodded. He knew Pi had become somewhat attached to the people he’s been living with. But they didn’t know the truth about Pi and hopefully there won’t be any problem in the future. He knew that thought wasn’t lost on him, as he glanced at him.

“Jin and the guys had been pestering me about where you are,” Shige reported.

“Let them go off into their own theories,” Pi said, grinning.

They had been walking aimlessly and then Pi started on his problem, which Shige knew he had been wanting to let out since from the moment they met up.

“So?”

“So what?” Shige asked. “I mean, there really isn’t anything you can do at this point. It happened.”

“I know,” Pi groaned. “But I hate it when she’s all awkward around me. Why does this always happen?’

“It will pass over soon.”

“Can’t it be now?” Pi said, sounding like a child. “So, does this ruin my chances?”

“Chances of what?”

Pi gave him a look.

“Oh.”

Shige scratched his head, also stumped. All he could do was shrug.

“Some help you are.”

Shige sighed. He knew he wouldn’t be much help, but at least he was able to let it out. Pi suddenly backtracked. Shige stopped and looked back. He was looking at a shop selling stuffed toys. Wordlessly, he went in, with Shige, confused, following in.

They passed the counter where two girls looked like they were trying not to squeal at the sight of them.

“Look!” Pi exclaimed, holding a big stuffed pig.

“What?”

“It’s P-chan!”

“Uh, yeah… What about?”

“Mao likes this P-chan,” he said, as he looked at the toy in his hands. “Wished it was the other one…”

Shige’s lips cracked into an amused smile, as Pi didn’t realize what he just said.

“It’s really soft. Mao would really like this,” Pi said, squeezing the pig.

He told Shige to try it out. Shige declined. Pi insisted.

“No, it’s okay. I-,” Shige started as Pi pushed it into his hands.

And then,” Yeah… It is softer than usual.”

“She’ll definitely like this,” Pi said, with an excited smile, still squeezing.

“Well, who can resist a stuffed pig?” Shige agreed, getting a kick out of squeezing the toy.

They didn’t notice two kids staring up at them with weird looks on their faces. What were the two grown men doing to the pig?

They got a bit carried away. Pi suddenly cleared his throat. Shige awkwardly took his hands off the toy.

And then in a voice that’s deeper than usual Pi said, “I’ll buy this for Mao-Mao.”

“Mao-Mao? Oh yeah, your girlfriend,” Shige said, emphasizing the word girlfriend. He wasn’t sure why.

“They’re weird. Let’s get out of here,” one of the kids whispered loudly and they took off.

They watched as they ran off and then quickly went to the counter.

“I wish she was,” Pi muttered, as he thought of Shige’s words.

And then he smiled at the salesladies as he paid. One of them looked like she was going to faint.

**

Mao opened the door and something soft was pressed against her face, surprising her.

“For you,” she heard Pi’s voice say.

She took a step back and blinked.

“Why do I have a butt pressed to my face?”

Pi had been holding the stuffed toy backwards in his nervousness. He hadn’t noticed.

“Oh, sorry.”

He turned it around. P-chan’s big eyes were now staring at her.

“What’s this for?”

“I just thought of you when I saw him,” Pi said, shrugging.

Their eyes locked. Mao tried hard not to think about her dream again.

“T-Thanks,” she sad, as she took P-chan, hoping she wasn’t blushing again. “He’s really cute.”

Pi put his hand into his pockets.

“We’re going out for dinner soon,” Pi said. “I told them we can go to the ramen shop. Since you’ve been craving some for a while now…”

Mao nodded silently. Happy at his simple gesture. Pi nodded back awkwardly and then turned around for his room, a shy giddy smile appearing on his lips.

Mao’s eyes softened at Pi’s closed door. She felt a slight tingle in her body. She looked down at P-chan in her hands and then pinched its snout. Looking back at the door again, her lips broke into a sweet smile.

**

Ugh. Where has the weekend gone? It was always like this. The weekend would go by so quickly she doesn’t feel like she had enough rest at all. She yawned widely not bothering to close her mouth, as the aroma of the coffee slightly revived her senses.

They had watched a movie the day before and goofed around as usual. They had gone home and had been playing around with Pi’s digital camera and laptop. It was definitely high-end. Not the crappy one she’d been using. It may have like a thousand viruses in it already, but she just likes to exaggerate.

“Where do you get the money? Man, I want a new Nintendo DS!” Massu whined.

“His savings probably went to all his gadgets,” Mao said, as she set up the camera on a small tripod.

Pi shrugged and grinned sheepishly. Not really…

“What are you doing?” Tego asked Mao.

“Let’s have a mini-show!”

“A porn mini-show?” Ryo asked, cackling, his dirty mind surfacing.

“You would know everything about porn,” Mao shot back. Ryo threw a cushion at her.

“We could lip synch to a song you know,” Kei-chan laughed. “Lots of those going around.”

Mao, Pi, and Tego were first up with the song “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. Wow, Pi, you have all the Backstreet Boys albums here, Massu observed. I don’t know how it got there, Pi had said.

They started playing the song and Mao took the lead. But she was hogging the video all to herself as she got into lip synching the song. Pi started to inch forward to get into the frame but Mao pushed his face away as she lip synched. Tego then slowly sat beside her moving his mouth but then she pushed him away too. Pi and Tego looked at each other and then Pi covered her face from behind as she laughed and grabbed onto the table. They then dragged her away from the camera, arms and legs flailing, as Kei-chan and Massu took her place and continued the song.

Mao couldn’t help but laugh out loud to herself as she remembered that. They had made a lot more videos after that. Each video more and more hilarious.

“What are you laughing at?” she heard someone say from behind her.

Oops. She sometimes forgets and laughs out loud when remembering some things that happened. Ah, now her day is going to be perfect as she watched Leah and her evil cronies file into the room. Perfectly crappy.

“My God, what are you wearing?” Leah asked, as if disgusted, in her usual somewhat idiotic way of insulting people.

“Will you please just leave me alone?” Mao said.

They missed tormenting her. Awww, she thought sarcastically. God knows they haven’t done that since the weekend.

“We can’t. You’re an eyesore,” one of the models jabbed.

“Why don’t you ask Shun for help?” a sarcastic voice said. She didn’t bother to look who it was.

“Shun wouldn’t bother. Please. Do you guys still think he’s going to ask her out?”

Mao glared at them and before she could retort back a knock came from the door. It was Shun. He was leaning against the door frame. She suddenly realized she had missed him even if they sometimes talk through phone messages.

“What’s going on here?” he asked quietly but his voice carried authority.

“We were just taking a little break,” Leah said, in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“Oh, okay,” Shun said, as if convinced. “Hey, Mao, I still haven’t gotten an answer from you.”

Mao looked as confused and curious as the stick figures around her.

“Huh?”

“I can’t believe you forget. I’ve been asking you to go out with me,” Shun said. “You shouldn’t leave me hanging. Say yes. Please.”

Mao stared at Shun, who had this little smile on his face.

Huh?