Mei slowly opened her eyes as the sun peeked through her curtains, morning already.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes, she got a good sleep but still felt tired and sluggish. She reached over to check her phone and saw that she had an hour before school started which gave her plenty of time to get ready.
She started by getting out of bed and heading towards her bathroom. As she turned on the light she saw how messy her hair was and grimaced, she loved her hair but some days she really couldn't be bothered with it. She took off her pajamas and turned on the shower, stepping inside she let the warm water cascade down her shoulders and over her back, she let out a sigh of relief as she stood there for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the water.
Then she turned and tilted her head back so that her hair would get wet, she ran her fingers through the thick mess of curls and after she finished bathing herself she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around herself she went over to the sink and began to brush her waist-length hair. She then began to blow dry it and gathered it into a sleek ponytail once she was finished.
Mei walked out of the bathroom to grab her uniform from the rack and got dressed, she didn't have many thoughts this morning, as her brain still hadn't fully woken up so she did things a bit slower than usual. After she got dressed she went back into the bathroom to brush her teeth and washed her face.
Once she was satisfied with herself she went back into her room and picked up her phone, the group chat had died down and no one had said anything since last night. She smirked and looked through her other apps but was interrupted by the sound of a knock at her door. "Come in." She said.
A maid opened the door with a smile and told her that her breakfast was ready and her parents would be seeing her off to school to which she nodded.
She stood and grabbed her phone, heading down to the dining room quietly and giving a smile to her parents who were already at the table. Her father smiled up at her as she sat down to eat.
"How'd you sleep little dove?"
"Good enough," she said quietly, her mother looking at her with concern.
"Are you feeling okay? You seem rather quiet today."
Mei nodded with a smile "I'm fine, still a bit tired."
Her mom smiled back and they ate in relative silence.
After breakfast the family gathered themselves and headed to the door, Akihito turned to a maid and spoke to her briefly before putting on his shoes "I'll get the car ready for you guys." He said before walking out the door.
Mei and her mother followed shortly after and joined him in the car. Once inside they headed off in the direction of Mei's school. Her parents chatted casually to themselves and Mei just looked out the window, taking in the views. It was a nice day with clear skies so she could faintly see the silhouette of Mt. Fuji, she wondered what it would be like at the summit.
Just then her dad broke her out of her daydream. "Say, Mei, how about you invite some friends to go to the beach this weekend?"
Mei continued looking out the window "My only friend is Setsuya." She said plainly.
Her dad chuckled "Well it's only Tuesday, I'm sure you can meet some more people before Saturday right?"
Mei smirked "Sure sure."
After a while they arrived at her school, her parents gave their goodbyes before she stepped out of the car and she waved as they drove off. She put her bag over her shoulder and began to walk towards the building her class was in. As she entered she stopped by the lockers, she had been given a locker number and code yesterday during lunchtime and as she made her way down the rows of lockers she found hers.
It had been some time since she used a locker before so she sighed and started fidgeting with it. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice Aito standing next to her.
"Are you always so absentminded?" He asked coldly making her jump and whip her head at him with her fists raised defensively. He smirked at her reaction and she frowned after she realized it was him.
"What could you possibly do to me?" He asked, reaching out to open his locker which was ironically sat next to hers.
Mei rolled her eyes and watched how he opened his locker, he took notice and turned to her "Going to steal from my locker?"
She scoffed "What would I want with your stupid locker?"
"Then why are you staring?"
"Because I..." she stopped herself, she didn't want to admit she didn't know how to open a locker.
"Because you what?"
"Mind your own business!" She spat at him, quickly turning her body away from him as her cheeks turned red.
Aito rolled his eyes, after a minute he reached his hand out to her "Give it here."
Mei turned back and smirked at him, her head raised arrogantly "Now you're going to steal from me?"
Aito's expression turned into one of annoyance. "Your locker code, you obviously don't know how to open it."
"How dare you!" Mei exclaimed. "You're so rude."
"Do you want my help or not?" He asked, now his annoyance seeped into his voice. "I don't want to be late on your account."
Mei narrowed her eyes at him and after looking at his hand she thrust the paper with her code into his hand.
Aito took the paper and shifted over to open her locker "This is how you do it. Watch carefully because I won't help you again."
'You'll help me as many times as I like.' She thought to herself with a smirk. After he showed her how to open her locker he handed the paper back and gathered his bag, heading up the stairs.
Mei clenched her teeth and turned to her locker, she began putting a few books into it and a small pouch with feminine essentials to have just in case she needed them. She had a small mirror in the locker as well and began checking herself out, her hair still laid flat in the ponytail.
After she finished checking herself out she started walking towards the stairs with her bag and a few books. She heard a few people gasp and compliment her appearance which make her smile smugly to herself. Once she reached the classroom she quietly took her seat, Setsuya and Fugaku were busy joking and laughing with each other and Aito was staring out the window.
"Good morning Mei-chan!" Setsuya said warmly as Mei sat down. Mei gave a small smile as she sat down beside her, "Good morning."
"Good morning Neko-chan," Fugaku said playfully. Mei looked over at him, he was attractive and his whole face seemed to carry some kind of mischief. His smile was crooked and alluring, his voice deep and tempting, and his green eyes would make any girl melt. She decided to ignore his teasing "Good morning, Fugaku-kun." She said, smiling sweetly at him.
Setsuya giggled and looked over to the now blushing boy. He didn't expect that kind of reaction from her but he cleared his throat and resumed his teasing. "You're looking extra beautiful today, Neko-chan.. wouldn't you agree Aito?" As he said this he nudged the boy who was looking out at the clear sky.
Aito looked over lazily at Mei and shrugged. She did look nice, her hair up in a ponytail showed her neck and the first two buttons of her shirt were unbuttoned which revealed her collarbone, but he didn't care either way. "I guess."
Mei felt a pang of annoyance pierce her heart at his words. 'Who does this guy think he is?' She thought, her smile never leaving her lips as she tilted her head down and looked up at Aito through her long lashes. "Are you saying I don't look good to you?" She asked coyly, her voice soft and sweet as she leaned against the desk, her arms folded, intentionally exposing her cleavage.
Aito felt his cheeks turned bright red and he quickly looked away from her, turning his body towards the window. "You look fine. Now leave me alone."
Fugaku laughed in response and Mei smiled triumphantly. 'If he's going to play, I can play too.'
Just then the teacher came into the classroom and greeted everyone. As class began, Mei snuck a glance over at Aito, he was now pulling his notebooks out of his bag. She watched his hands, they were big and looked strong, she blushed and wondered how they'd feel on her skin, as she continued watching him her eyes traveled up to his face, she didn't notice before but he had a dark mole under his left eye, his lashes were long and his head was down as he started writing.
Suddenly his eyes locked onto hers and she felt her heartbeat fast as she gazed into his eyes.
"What're you looking at." He asked her, snapping her out of her trance. She turned away quickly and ignored him, looking up towards the teacher. Aito rolled his eyes and sighed.
The school day ended without anything eventful happening, as Mei was leaving she noticed Setsuya and Fugaku walking down the hall laughing with each other. She started to wonder how long they knew each other and as she made her way to her locker she saw Aito grabbing things out of his.
She slid past him and attempted to open her locker but after seeing her fail a few times Aito reached his hand over and opened it for her. She gave him a quick thanks before quickly gathering her belongings and heading out the door.
Aito sighed after he finished pulling his things out of his locker and strode over to a bench to sit. He pulled out his phone and saw a message from his father.
'I will be going out of town for a few weeks. Take care of yourself.'
Of course he was leaving. After taking a moment to rest his legs he stood once again and headed out the door, he made his way down the walkway and was about to pass the pickup line when he noticed Mei and her parents.
Her father looked up and spotted Aito and smiled at him, motioning for him to come closer.
As he walked closer to the car Mei turned and her face lit up. As if trying to avoid him she quickly climbed into the car and closed the door with her face turned away from him. Mei's father opened his car door and reached a hand out to shake "It's so good to see you Aito. How are you?"
Aito offered a small smile back at him as he took the man's hand "I'm well, and yourself?"
"Good good. How's your father? I need to come to visit soon."
"He's well, he won't be in town for a few weeks though."
"Ah, I see I see." Akihito sighed and then looked back towards Mei, then back at Aito. "This one hasn't been causing trouble has she?"
Aito smirked and heard Mei groan in response. "She's pretty troublesome."
Mei turned and glared at him with a pout, her father pretended to look shocked "My Mei? Hmm, perhaps I spoil her too much."
Aito chuckled softly, the sound causing Mei to blush and she quickly turned away again "Dad let's go!" She whined.
"Alright alright." Akihito grinned. "Are you walking home Aito? We can give you a ride if you'd like."
Aito shook his head "I'll be fine, thank you, sir."
Mei silently celebrated but her father persisted "Are you sure? It won't be too much trouble, come on get in." He said, closing his door and starting the car.
Aito sighed and walked around to the other side of the car and got in. Mei glared at him but turned to face the window. Aito gave her father his address and he put it in the GPS.
They sat in silence for a while and as they got closer to Aito's home Mei realized he lived close to her house.
"Is this it?" Mei's dad asked as he pulled up to a large 3 story home. It had some traditional themes to it but it looked newly renovated. Mei wouldn't have guessed that anyone lived in the house because none of the lights were on. She wondered if he had maids or some caretakers waiting for him inside, it would be too big of a house to have only him in it.
"Yes, thank you," Aito said quietly as he gathered his belongings and opened the door.
"Take care." Said Akihito, he looked back at Mei who was silent "Won't you say goodbye?"
Mei pulled her face and looked away from the boy. "Bye." She said curtly.
Aito rolled his eyes and walked away into his house.
After starting the car back, Akihito turned around and drove 3 houses down. 'He lives way too close.' She thought to herself with an annoyed sigh.
Once they parked they headed inside and took their shoes off. Akihito slid on some house shoes and nodded over at Mei as he went down one of the hallways and into his office. Mei put her sandals on and made her way to the dining room, although she wasn't feeling too hungry she decided to eat a little bit before heading to bed. After she finished she made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom, she dropped her phone and bag on the bed and went to take a quick shower.
She finished her shower and slipped on a night gown. As she walked back over to her bed she picked up her phone and saw a message from her dad.
'Sorry dear, it will be raining this weekend. Maybe we can try the beach another time?'
She hardly even minded and replied that it was okay, they had a month and a half to go to the beach before it started getting cooler so she wasn't in a big rush.
She didn't care for the beach that much in America because of how crowded it always was. And because she was the most beautiful girl in the world people would stare and try to hit on her constantly.
She smirked at the thought and loosened her hair from the ponytail and started to braid it in 2 long braids. Once she finished she climbed under the blankets and scrolled through some apps before falling asleep suddenly.
Her dreams were filled with flashbacks to the boy who won her heart 13 years ago.
****