My Over Protective Best Friend

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An Imai vs. Hyuuga Story

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CHAPTER 1

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NATSUME HYUUGA

Everything was tidy. I made sure of it thrice all due to Mikan's persistent calls and messages I got in just a span of few hours. Without consulting me, she made prior engagements with the infamous Ice Queen for a short gathering happening today. Yes, today. I had to cram the cleaning of the apartment. I wished Mikan had stopped by last night and did not just leave a text message saying, "Hey, babe, Hotaru wants to meet you personally. Tomorrow, okay? 2pm! Love you." I would have checked my phone if it weren't for the boys' night out I conducted in my apartment. One could say that things got out of hand. Liquid stains on the couch, chip crumbs laying on the rug, broken bottles of beer alongside with Tsubasa's vomit on the floor, and cigarette ashes on the coffee table. If I didn't accidentally woke up in the middle of the night, I wouldn't have been able to clean everything up.

It was already a quarter to 2:00pm. Anytime now the girls would arrive and I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. I ordered a salad from the store across my place as a light snack since they concoct the best vegetarian meals in the joint (I heard that Imai was a vegetarian, I'm sure she would be impressed). Mikan begged me to be in my best behaviour which I intend to do in front of her best friend since I wanted to gain her trust for Mikan and for my relationship with her.

I was pacing inside the room when the doorbell rang. I felt my insides turning upside down and I couldn't even fathom why. It was just Hotaru Imai. I neared toward the door and after the second bell, I opened the door and saw my fiancee and her friend on the doorstep.

"Hey baby." Mikan greeted as she landed a kiss on my cheek while her companion was glaring at me with utmost ferocity. I showed them the way in and grabbed beverages from the fridge.

"Here you go, girls. Best stuff from the fridge." I said as I placed two bottles of lemonade from Uncle Sam's farm. I sat beside my girl and observed how Imai refused to touch the bottle of lemonade.

"Don't worry," I told her. "It's not poisoned." I cracked an innocent joke which made Mikan laugh, but the raven-haired woman seemed to be more wary of me.

"Your humour is tasteless, Hyuuga." she said as she took a sip from the drink. "Just like this lemonade."

Mikan coughed to break the tension, but Imai was still looking at me threateningly - not that I was threatened.

"Oh!" Mikan exclaimed as if something hit her in the head. "Hotaru, did you know Natsume's a writer? His recent novel just became an international seller and hit the 1 million books sold mark last week!"

Her statement caused Imai's expression to change from furious to flabbergasted. She looked at me and bursted, "You…write?" The very idea of me writing seemed weird to her and I was proud that I managed to hold her curiosity.

"I write for a living." I proudly said.

"What was your novel about then?" Imai asked.

Her question opened an opportunity for me to elaborate my work, but I didn't want her to get the wrong idea of me bragging about my being an international bestseller even though I really am. "My latest novel is about a girl who was deeply in love with sadness. The story is from the perspective of a guy who used to be in love with her."

Imai groaned. "Your book is even more tasteless than your lemonade and humour."

Her statement peeved me and I was resisting the urge to burn her into a crisp. "It seems simple, but it's actually more complicated than what I explained."

"Men really do enjoy falsifying their work by making it seem that what they do is important even though it is not." she said as she crossed her legs. She didn't even batter her eyes.

Hotaru Imai was colder than Dante's hell.

"I think I'm hungry!" Mikan blurted. She wasn't dumb, she saw what was exactly unfolding before her. "Do you got some food there, baby?"

"As a matter of fact, baby," I said. "I do. Let me prepare it."

In the kitchen, I took out three takeout boxes and transferred its contents from its carton container to my nice set of salad plates which I haven't used ever since I bought it last year from e-bay. I arranged the vegetables carefully, making sure it seemed like it came from a 5-star hotel's kitchen. As soon as I finished plating, I went out and served the meals.

"That looks fantastic, baby!" Mikan cried as I caught her mesmerised with my work. "Did you pick the vegetables and plate them yourself? Even the sauce looks terrific!"

I wasn't planning on telling her that I got the salad from the restaurant I frequently go to. I didn't want to look bad in front of her and Imai. "I perfected the sauce. Try the lettuce with the grapes and dip it in the sauce." I didn't intend to lie. It just sort of happened. Although next time, I would make the meal myself in order to make my lie a truth.

Hotaru tasted the food. I once again noticed that her expression changed from annoyed to what it seems as enjoying the food. She grabbed another bite, but when she noticed that I was watching her eat, she stopped and continued to glare at me.

"You like it, don't you?" I mouthed.

She attempted to flash her middle finger, but wasn't able to do so when Mikan looked up from her plate. "Oh baby, I'm impressed." she said as she beamed a smile. "I love it."

"Thanks." I sheepishly muttered.

I glanced back at Imai and caught her mouthing, "I'll let it go this time since she's happy."

After eating, Imai interrogated me about my life after college. She didn't make retorts this time around, but was actually listening to what I say. Without realising it, a couple of hours have already passed by. Mikan and I escorted her friend to the door. While I was closing the door, I caught Imai mouthing me a warning, "Hurt her and I will kill you."

I checked the peephole, making sure she left, before turning to my beloved. "Thank God it's over." I groaned.

"You did good, Natsume." Mikan said as she gave me a pat on my back. "Did she say anything to you before she left?"

I told her what Imai said right before she left. Mikan laughed and shook her head. "Oh, forget what Hotaru said. She has this constant fear of men ever since she broke up with her ex during college."

"I see." I said as I followed Mikan to the living room.

While she was cleaning up the salad plates, she told me, "Hey baby, thanks for preparing those veggies. I know you got them from the store across. I appreciate that you wanted to impress my friend."

Her words caught me off-guarded. She always do these things that leave me either speechless or dumbfounded. "How did you know?" I asked.

She laughed as she pinched my cheek. "How could I forget that we had those exact veggies from our first date?"

God, I love her.