As Planned

"What are you doing?" I laughed. Morimoto was standing in my living room. With flowers.

"Well I didn`t get to celebrate with everyone last night so I wanted to have our own celebration," He answered with a grin.

"Those are very pretty flowers," Mom commented. "How about I put them in some water?"

"How long do you plan on staying gone?" aunt Sarah asked.

"Oh. Uh. Just a few hours," Morimoto replied.

"That`ll be just fine, Morimoto," Mom said while walking back into the living room, vase of flowers in hand. She placed them on the coffee table and turned to us. "Have fun and don`t stay out too late."

Morimoto nodded, "Of course. Thank you."

"Are we going anywhere special?" I asked.

"Not really. But a dress would do," He answered.

I nodded. "I`ll be back down in a minute." I went up to my room and began looking through my clothes. I didn`t realize anyone followed me until someone cleared their throat. I turned around to see my aunt standing in the doorway. "Hey."

"Hey," She murmured while closing my bedroom door. "So what exactly are you celebrating?"

"Me being in Tokyo for a month. I know it seems silly but Neela suggested it and Twinkie made it sound responsible," I chuckled.

"Oh? What was his reasoning?"

"That they didn`t know how long they would have with me."

"But your treatments are working!"

I nodded. "I know, I know. But there`s no way to tell if it will keep working. They just want to make sure they have as much time with me as possible just in case."

Aunt Sarah nodded slowly. "I see. Well, have good celebration...thing?"

"Date," I corrected. "Celebration date."

"Right. Date. Have fun with that," She said before leaving my room.

"Well that was interesting," I muttered before going back to my closet. Thankfully it didn`t take too long to find a dress. It was black, knee length and a little lacey. It was a little looser than it should of been but paired with a little belt it didn`t look too bad. After slipping on some flats I made my way down stairs. Aunt Sarah was clanging away in the kitchen and Mom and Morimoto stood by the bookcase looking out our big window. "Ready to go?"

They both turned around and Morimoto grinned at me. "Absolutely."

"I`ll see you later, Mom," I said, letting him lead me out of the apartment.

"Have fun you two."

We left the apartment, made our way down stairs quicker than normal which made me very happy, and left in his car. Unfortunately that took just as long as usual with me staring at the car door for five minutes and asking if we had to take the car. And like normal Morimoto didn`t seem to mind waiting while I talked myself into getting in the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He smirked and replied, "It`s a surprise."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of surprise?"

"If I told you then it wouldn`t be a surprise."

"Fair enough."

The rest of the car ride was filled with teasing and poor attempts at flirting on my part. But it kept me from thinking about being in a car. Even after going drifting with Han, and despite how peaceful and relaxing it is, I still can`t bring myself to want to be in cars. Unless maybe for drifting. And only when Han is driving and I`m going nuts from nerves. Unfortunately that happens more than I`d like to admit.

After a long car ride we pulled up to what looked like a club. If he wanted to go to a club to celebrate we could of just went to Han`s.

"A club?" I questioned.

Morimoto chuckled, "Not exactly. There`s a place inside to eat. Then we hit their club."

I frowned. Well this was definitely a surprise. One I wasn`t too thrilled with either. I didn`t want to be stuck in Han`s club and I certainly didn`t want to be stuck in this one. At least with his I knew I was completely safe and could get out at any minute. Don`t get me wrong, I know I`m pretty safe with Morimoto but...going to some random club just doesn`t feel right. None the less I let him lead me inside. And as I expected it was packed.

I ended up grabbing Morimoto`s hand and kept myself pressed against him so I wouldn`t lose him in the crowd. Everyone was pressed against each other and there still wasn`t enough room. I was about as uncomfortable as a person could get.

We made our way through the club and up to a loft like space that contained the restaurant. Thankfully it wasn`t as near as crowded as the club below us.

"So, was this a surprise?" Morimoto asked after we were seated and ordered.

"Oh you have no idea," I muttered.

He grinned at me. "I knew it would be."

I bit at my lip before asking, "Why pick a club though?"

"Wanted something different than normal. We always go to some place nice. I thought you might like a change of scenery," He answered with a shrug.

"Oh. I see," I murmured.

Well at least his intentions were good. But he wasn`t being completely honest in one aspect. We do not always go some place nice. Sure we`ve gone to nice restaurants but we have also gone to cheap little diners and ramen shops. And truthfully I prefer the diners and shops. But will I tell him that? Not tonight. He did put thought into this and was trying to be nice. I`m not going to ruin that. Next time I`ll just suggest something cheap.

"This is one of my favorite clubs," He sighed.

I raised an eyebrow, "You go clubbing?" Aren`t you seventeen? Oh hell, I guess I can`t exactly talk.

"Oh yeah," He said with a nod. "Takashi and I go all the time."

"Does Neela ever go?" I asked, mildly curious now.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Not really. Takashi doesn`t like her going."

"Well why not?"

"Men like to stare."

My mouth formed a silent 'O' in understanding. I could see why someone would stare at Neela. She`s gorgeous.

"Yeah," Morimoto chuckled. "Her outfits get pretty skimpy."

I narrowed my eyes in distaste. "She looks fine in what she chooses to wear."

"I guess. She shows so much skin though." He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I`m just glad you don`t dress like that."

I held back a growl and made myself huff instead. This wasn`t the time or place for a fight but I sure as hell wanted to start one. No one talks bad about my friends. Especially someone who`s supposed to be friends with them too.

"Don`t get me wrong," He said quickly. "Neela is a great girl. A great friend too. I just don`t like how she dresses sometimes."

I nodded slowly. It was clear he was trying to dodge a bullet and he knew it. But it isn`t going to work this time.

After that our food came and we ate in silence. Morimoto then pulled me down to the club area to try and get me to dance. Yeah, that didn`t work. After a while I got bored and asked if we could get some fresh air. He didn`t like that too much so I told him I was feeling weak. Now that got him to take me outside. I wasn`t proud of myself for lying to him but I needed out of that club. It was getting too hot in there.

"You aren`t having fun, are you?" Morimoto mumbled.

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked.

He sighed. "You don`t like being in the club. I can tell."

"Then why did you bring me here?" I asked as gently as I could.

"Because you were at Han`s club," He grumbled.

"I see," I murmured. "You thought I liked being at his club so you brought me to one."

"Yes."

I nodded and pursed my lips. So he lied. That reminds me.. "Why are you and Han avoiding each other?"

"Eh?" Morimoto squawked. "What makes you think we`re avoiding each other?"

"Twinkie let it slip when I asked where you were," I answered.

"Son of a bitch!" He hissed.

"So?" I pressed. "Out with it."

He huffed and shrugged. "I told him off for taking you away from me at the races. Simple as that."

"Simple as that?" I echoed. "Then why the avoiding?"

"He didn`t like what I said. We fought. Takashi told me to stay away from Han and cool down."

"Do you always do what Takashi says? He was right this time but still."

"I should get you home. You`re mom is probably worried," Morimoto quickly changed the subject.

I narrowed my eyes and followed him back to the car. Tonight did not go as planned. Or as close to what ever the plan was. I`m sure it was supposed to be a nice celebration or something along those lines. Instead it was a cluster of a disaster. Okay, not a disaster. But close to it. I know I`m partly at fault here but Morimoto also shouldn`t of said the things that he did. Can tonight be counted as a first fight without there being a real fight?

We rode in silence for a while. No radio. No nothing. Just pure silence. And while it was annoying as all hell I didn`t say anything because I didn`t want to really start a fight. Morimoto`s wrist grab was still fresh in my mind despite it being so long ago. I still have no idea how I hid that bruise from not only my mom but my aunt as well.

Just as the silence started to become unbearable a buzzing sound caught my attention. I wasn`t sure where it was coming from at first until it got louder and started to change into a completely different sound. I glanced at the side mirror and saw a motorcycle coming up behind us rather fast. And it wasn`t until after we stopped at a stop light did I realize who was on the motorcycle. When he began circling us in what I`m assuming an attempt to drift very careful I got a clear look at his face. It was Han.

"It just had to be him," Morimoto growled. "What the hell is he doing?"

"Drifting," I smarted off.

He shot me a glare before turning his attention back to Han. "Are you sure you two are just friends?"

"What?" I yelped. "Are you insane?"

"You two are very close."

"He`s my friend!"

"And I`m your boyfriend."

I glared at him. "Yes you are. But you aren`t exactly acting like it."

"How do you expect me to act?" Morimoto hissed.

"I don`t know. Not like this!" I took a deep breath and glanced at the window. Han was still out there on his motorcycle. "You know what? Tonight ends here. Cool off and talk to me later." I quickly exited the car, slamming the door as hard as I could, and made my way over to Han.

"Need a ride?" Han yelled over the roar of his bike.

I nodded. "Please!"

"Hop on!"

I careful straddled the bike behind him and tucked my dress around myself as best I could so it wouldn`t go flying everywhere. I wrapped my arms around his waist, buried my face in his back and held on tightly just as he took off. The wind whipping around us was a bit cold but for the first time in a while I experienced the rush of both adrenaline and happiness from being on the back of a bike. I should of asked Han to take me sooner.

We weaved in and out of trafic for what felt like hours. Completely blissful hours. I didn`t realize how much I missed being on a motorcycle until we stopped outside of a ramen shop and I didn`t want to get off. But I did of course. Just not without a little whining first. And like I expected I only got a smirk and a little eye roll for it. Though before we entered the ramen shop he did something I didn`t expect. He took off his jacket and placed it around my shoulders. I quickly slipped my arms through the sleeves so it wouldn`t fall. The jacket was far too big and the sleeves went well past my fingers but I didn`t really mind. It was warm and actually smelled really good.

We got a little booth in the back and Han ordered something in a language I didn`t understand. When I shot him a questioning look he smirked and mouthed, "tea".

After we got our tea I asked, "What language was that?"

"Korean," Han replied nonchalantly.

Well aren`t you just full of surprises? "So you do speak it. I was wondering if you spoke anything besides English and Japanese," I murmured.

He nodded. "I`m fluent."

I opened my mouth to say something else but our food came. Not only was it delicious but it was nice and hot. Just what I needed after being out in the cold. We ate in silence for a while and when we were done we drank more tea and just relaxed. Nothing about this situation felt rushed or made me nervous. And after the night Iv`e had I was thankful for that. And I found myself being thankful for Han as well. If it wasn`t for him showing up when he did there`s no telling where tonight could of gone.