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*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_*EP 2a: START OF A RIVALRY? URAWA'S RETURN. |
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"Ami! Aren't you awake yet? If you don't hurry up you might be late!" came Greg's voice from outside her door.
Ami sat up with a start and pressed her hand to her forehead. She'd had trouble getting to sleep last night and had experienced some troubled dreams…
What had Greg been thinking? How could they face each other now?? That had been her first kiss last night… even she and Urawa had never… she quickly pushed Urawa out of her mind. She was upset enough as it was.
"Ami, I don't have to come in there, do I?" came Greg's voice again.
"I'm… I'm awake!" she called out.
"Good… hurry and get ready. I'll see you downstairs," Greg answered.
Ami turned to look at her alarm clock - she usually didn't bother setting it since she tended to get up with the sun anyway. She gasped as she realized she'd overslept by at least twenty minutes.
Ami hurried to the bathroom, noting Greg wasn't in the hall anymore. She sighed. What would she say to him downstairs? Should she bring up last night's events or wait for him to? Would he?
'What do I do…' Ami thought once again.
Fifteen minutes later Ami hurried downstairs, still with time to spare before they had to leave. She paused outside the kitchen, wondering what to say to Greg… what he might say to her… taking a deep breath, she walked in.
Greg was finishing up whatever he'd been eating. There was another plate across from him with some toast and scrambled eggs on it. She sat down across from him and Greg looked up. Ami felt herself blushing reflexively as their eyes met.
"You'd better hurry and eat," Greg commented as he stood up and turned away. "Wouldn't do for the top student to arrive to school late."
Ami blinked in surprise. Was he just going to act like nothing had happened? How could he do that?? She'd been lying there, feigning sleep and he… Ami paused.
She'd been pretending she was asleep… so if he thought she didn't know… maybe he didn't want to admit it?
Ami moaned as that thought sank in. Now what do I do? she wondered. Her first kiss… and she couldn't talk about it? She didn't even know what Greg was feeling!
"Problem with breakfast?" Greg inquired, looking back.
"Er, no…" Ami said with a sigh. "Wait.. yes!" she corrected as she looked at the jar next to her toast. "I usually have jam… what's with the marmalade?"
Greg shrugged. "That's all I could find. Don't be so picky." He turned away again.
Ami stared. "I don't BELIEVE this…," she muttered quietly to herself.
"You know, you're sort of like marmalade yourself," Greg added, still facing away. "Sweet and innocent looking on the outside… but who knows if there are bitter secrets that lie within…"
Ami blinked at him. Was he joking? Was this a reference to the kiss? Or even to her secret identity as Sailor Mercury? Or perhaps something else?
"Spare me the metaphors," Ami finally replied. "Why should I be hiding secrets?"
Greg shrugged. "I don't know… I just felt poetic. Anyway, I'm going to go on ahead. See you at school!" Greg said, walking out of the kitchen.
"Just a minute!" Ami said, exasperated. "Who's going to clean up?"
*****
Ami hurried up towards the school with five minutes still remaining until class would start. She felt absolutely infuriated with Greg - yet at the same time she wished she could figure him out.
Looking up, Ami pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and smiled at the sight of Usagi approaching from the other direction. Usagi arrived moments ahead of her.
"You know Ami, you're not setting a very good example for me if I arrive before you do," Usagi noted with a grin.
"Well, follow Makoto's today then, she probably beat both of us here," Ami noted as the girls proceeded inside.
"Canadian friend not with you today?" Usagi inquired.
Ami rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He has better things to do than come to school with me," she said. And yet he had kissed her…
"Incidentally, thanks for helping me with that trig yesterday," Usagi commented. "I was thinking of having a study session at Rei's temple tonight too, if you're interested…"
Ami nodded, glad to be moving on to other subjects. "Sure, count me in." She smiled again as they approached her locker. 'At least things still seem fairly normal at school,' she thought.
"Ami," came a voice from behind them.
Ami froze. That was probably the last voice she'd expected to hear… she turned slowly, hoping she'd imagined it. No such luck.
"Urawa…," she whispered.
"Can I just talk to Ami for a minute?" Urawa asked Usagi.
Usagi paused then nodded. "Er, see you a little later then, Ami," she noted as she walked off, with a couple of backward glances.
"What… what are you doing here?" Ami asked him.
"I'm transferring back," Urawa replied.
Ami felt her knees go weak. She said the first thing that came to mind. "Why?" she asked. Then, more strongly: "WHY?"
Urawa paused and looked away. "We didn't part on the best of terms last time, did we…" he remarked.
"You broke up with me," Ami said softly… and the memory came flooding back to her.
~~~~~
It was a warm day just a few months ago. Urawa was coming by for the first visit in a while. Ami giggled, remembering their last phone conversation last weekend… Urawa had been surprised she hadn't been cast as "Snow White" in Mamoru's upcoming play.
Shaking her head, Ami let out a sigh as she ordered a drink from one of the waitresses in the Crown Cafe. 'Long distance relationships are tough,' she admitted to herself. 'Especially when I probably can't write a love letter to save my life', she added ruefully. But they'd still managed to get together when they could.
She perked up when she saw Urawa coming over to her table… but paused when she saw the expression on his face. He sat down across from her and paused, looking at the table.
"What's wrong?" Ami asked.
"It's my dad," Urawa finally said. "He's moving abroad."
Ami gasped, stunned. She'd never thought that the relationship would end up with a distance quite this big…
"It's a really great career opportunity for him," Urawa continued with a pained look, "so we'll be leaving Japan in a couple of weeks."
Ami nodded, wordlessly. "Where?" she finally managed to ask.
"Canada," Urawa said. "My uncle lives out there, he's found us a place." The two of them stared at each other for another minute. "So I guess we won't be able to see each other any more," Urawa finished, uncertainly.
There was a moment of silence.
"What… what do you mean by that?" Ami whispered.
Another pause. "I don't know," Urawa finally replied. "Do you… do you think our relationship can survive such a separation?"
Ami bit her lip. "Well… even if we can't get together… there's still the phone…" she offered.
"Ami… even now we only talk once a week, if that. Not only will it be more expensive overseas, but there's also the time difference…" Urawa's voice trailed off. "And I don't want to tie you down," he added. "If I can't be here for you…"
"What makes you think you're tying me down?" Ami interrupted, finding herself becoming irrationally upset over the whole situation. "If anything it's probably more likely that I'm tying you down," she returned, feeling somewhat hurt.
"Ami… I just want to try and do what's best," Urawa tried to rationalize.
"And so you want to break up with me?" Ami asked, disconcerted.
Urawa paused. "I… I don't know," he said with a pained look. "I… I suppose… unless you stop me…" he seemed to decide.
He'd put the ball in her court. Ami tried to think of a hundred good reasons to stay together. But her mind refused to work… it was all too much to take in at once!
She tried to think logically… it was true that they had been seeing and talking to each other less and less over the past months. And now that they couldn't see each other… but did that matter? Should that matter? What did she feel?
She wasn't sure. Suddenly she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Ami opened her mouth to speak… but no sound came out.
She sat there, mind numb, watching Urawa as he stood up. He gave her one last look, and turned away.
Ami tried to say something, anything… but for some reason her voice did not cooperate. She just sat there as Urawa walked out of the cafe.
The drink she'd ordered a mere ten minutes ago was served, but she was no longer thirsty. She remained there, crying into her soda for over an hour… upset with Urawa, upset with his father, and most of all upset with herself.
Ami had refused to let it get to her after that day, preferring to bury herself in her studies. She hadn't let it interfere with her Senshi duties either… though after Ail and Ann had been defeated, she'd allowed herself some time alone to come to grips with the situation.
She had thought she'd managed to put Urawa behind her.
~~~~~
"You broke up with me…" Ami repeated.
Urawa abruptly turned back to her. "Ami… you know that wasn't completely my fault!" he exclaimed. "Under the circumstances I… I just… Well, while I know you probably can't forgive me for the way I walked out, I want a second chance."
Urawa grasped Ami by her shoulders. "Ami, please, if you still feel anything for me… I'd like to get back together!" he stated.
Ami gasped as his request sunk in. Thoughts pinwheeled through her head too fast for her to sort out.
"My life just wasn't the same knowing you were no longer a part of it," Urawa continued. "So when my uncle decided to come to live in Japan… and my dad offered me the option of moving back here with him… I couldn't turn it down! He's found himself a place not too far away from here either; so distance won't be a problem anymore! Ami… please tell me… is there still a chance…?"
Ami stared at Urawa, not sure how to answer, or what to do. She opened her mouth uncertainly…
<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>
