A/N: 50 percent of this story is mine. the other 50 percent is my friend's. I terribly suck at writing so I needed her to help correct my mistakes and everything. It was intended to be just a one-shot but somehow it became too complicated to end in only one chapter. -.-

Anyway, it's pretty much my first fanfic so even if it is very very bad, no flames, deal? =P

Disclaimer: I own everything. Yeah, right. If I was Pinochio, my nose would be a mile long now. xD

~ Happily Ever After? ~

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'Once upon a time…'

She and he were best friends.

Granted, their families had known each other even before Japanese history was recorded, metaphorically.

She was so very beautiful. Just like a wingless angel descended to Earth. Long chestnut hair, shiny ruby eyes, smooth flawless skin, and a smile to die for…

He was undoubtedly the handsome Prince Charming in every teenage girl's dream.

And everybody said that they were obviously fated to be together. That they would definitely get married after graduating from university. That she loved him and he loved her and their "happily ever after" was just at their fingertips.

Too bad.

Those silly fabricated dreams could never come true.

Since the one he's head over heels in love with was… me.

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1.

I didn't know anything about love.

To be totally honest, I never really cared.

Maybe because all the guys chasing after me were so stupid and childish.

When Reito came around, although he's just one year older, his mature attitude somehow amazed me. Despite his flirtatious nature, he was loyal and serious in a relationship. In addition, Reito was cute as hell and he made me smile a lot of times.

So, it's not really a big surprise that I, the ice queen in everyone's eyes, said yes when he asked me to be his girlfriend.

At the time, I wasn't aware that I was destroying the perfect fairytale that many people had been tirelessly created for years.

Nonetheless, even if I had known, I wouldn't have backed off anyway.

I liked to win and I always got what belonged to me.

And then, inevitably, I met her.

Truthfully, I was yet to know anything about her, except the fact that she and Reito had been best friends for like ever.

Well, people always say that you should only care about the first impression when you meet your boyfriend's parents. But honestly, meeting his best friend is important as well. If that best friend has a negative opinion of you, your love relationship may be doomed.

Usually, I was not the kind of person who gave a damn about what other people thought of me.

Yet the way Reito had talked about her, no matter how little it had been, made it so obvious that she was someone special. Someone I couldn't just blink my eyes at, shrug, and turn away.

Still, I wasn't very fond of the idea of meeting her. In my mind, I had already pictured her as some spoiled arrogant girl who liked to make other people feel like crap.

Therefore, when he took me to The Tea Storm, a bright and breezy cottage that was simply decorated in traditional Japanese style, I was totally surprised.

"Shizuru is a tea addict." Smiling cheerfully at my puzzled face, he gently took my hand and led me into the lovely cottage.

And before I even knew it, I was heading toward the most beautiful and glamorous girl I had ever seen.

I was always confident about myself. Everyone also said that I could have easily been on magazine covers and ads if I wanted to.

But somehow, just looking at her made me so nervous and feel like I was just a little girl who hadn't even hit puberty yet.

Slowly, she raised her ruby eyes from her steaming tea cup to look toward us. She noticed Reito first and gave him a breathtaking smile that immediately brightened up the whole cottage, if that's even possible. When her eyes rested on me, the one trailing somewhat awkwardly and shyly behind him, she seemed stunned, a slight frown creasing her smooth forehead.

Reito had said that he had told her about me and the meeting before we came here, so why would she wear that "I-can-not-believe-it" look on her face?

Did she find me unattractive and unsuitable for her so-called childhood friend?

That made a lot of sense.

After all, I had heard the rumor that he was the love of her life and my appearance unfortunately ruined everything.

However, as suddenly as her expression had changed, all traces of her discomfort disappeared. I began to doubt if what just happened was real or merely my foolish imagination.

A calm smile tugged at the corners of her flawless lips when we sat down across her and Reito introduced me.

"Nice to meet you, Kuga-san. Ara, I have heard an awful lot about you from Reito here."

There was something flickering in her wine-red eyes as she took a very swift glance at me before smirking over towards him. Like she couldn't even look at me for more than one second. She had a strange yet charming accent and although I was annoyed, for some reason, I felt butterflies pitch a fit in my stomach.

"Nah… You're my best friend. Natsuki is my girlfriend. We're family so shouldn't you two be on the first name basis?" Reito humorously suggested.

I tried my best not to roll my eyes. Family? Was he serious? She and I were more like love rivals to say the least.

"What do you think?" Her cardinal eyes found mine unconsciously and I felt a jolt in my chest straight away. I wanted so much to scream "No" because we barely knew each other and apparently she didn't like me at all.

"Sure. I don't mind."

Damn it, I couldn't even control what came out of my mouth.

After that, I expected a full round of interrogation from her to put me down or embarrass me. Instead, Reito seemed to be the one talking the most during the conversation. Till the end, she just listened intently, sipped her tea quietly, and paused occasionally to answer his questions or ask me something.

Another thing I could easily notice was that she hardly made eye contact with me. She often stared past me as if I was invisible or gazed at her best friend.

I couldn't say that I wasn't hurt by that but there was no way in hell I would tell her or complain with him.

I was too proud for that.

She disliked me. So what? I couldn't care less.

She was just… jealous. Because he loved me. Not her.

The thought made me want to laugh, really.

After several times hanging out with Reito and her – I didn't want to but he hoped she and I could get along, so I couldn't let him down, I found out she was so not some spoiled, stuck-up brat at all.

She was nice, smart, humble, and elusive. Everybody either loved or admired her.

She was utterly perfect that it made me wonder why Reito didn't fall for her in the first place.

I had never doubted myself.

Until I met Shizuru, I had never questioned why someone loved me or if I was the right one for him.

I was so self-conscious around her.

And the way she never looked at me directly didn't help either. Her eyes were always glued to Reito or somewhere else as though she didn't notice my presence.

The way she said my name was also forced and emotionless.

It's a wonder that Reito had no idea about that. He was so clueless every now and then.

No matter how ridiculous this might sound, sometimes I wanted to do something extraordinary, but probably stupid in her opinion nonetheless, to get her to recognize me. There was even a time I examined my face very carefully and thoroughly in the mirror to see if I had a scar or something very scary that I wasn't aware of. Something terrible that only she could see.

After a good while, I begrudgingly ignored her indifference and the weird gnawing feeling in my heart.

I rarely looked for acceptance from other people so why should she be any different? I had Reito and it was already enough, wasn't it?

Even if his best friend hated me, it shouldn't matter anyway.

It's just that every time he hugged me or kissed me around her, she would turn her face in another direction out of politeness or something else I couldn't know, or stare fixedly at her cup of tea, her expression unreadable.

Sometimes I swore I could see her shoulders slump a little bit and the emptiness under her long eyelashes, in those deep, red-like-blood pools. If I hadn't known her better.

Reito had said once that Shizuru was not the one for emotions. It was never easy to know what she was actually thinking or feeling.

And more importantly, I should've felt victorious. Without any hesitance, the handsome Prince chose me over the most beautiful Princess anyone could ever find in fairytales.

But instead, I felt bad. Like I was wrong or something.

Honestly though, how could you possibly feel happy when your happiness was costing someone else's?

So I avoided kissing him in front of her, well, for a while. Reito realized that and he was surprisingly understanding, although I really didn't say anything.

I thought that everything would be better that way.

I would keep on living my easy, carefree life. She would keep on subtly and nonchalantly ignoring my presence.

After all, we were perfect strangers. The only thing ever connected us was him.

Until one fateful day, he was kissing me under a tree and all of a sudden, I felt someone's eyes on me.

Instinctively, I snapped my eyes open.

And there she stood. On the pebble road, a few meters away. Her long chestnut hair swung loose on her slim shoulders, reflecting the radiant sunlight.

It seemed like she happened to walk by and spot us.

I expected her to turn away. Just like always.

But she didn't.

She was blatantly watching. For the first time.

No. Correction. She was staring straight at me. Not Reito. Not somewhere else. But me. Only me.

I felt something flutter inside my stomach, my cheeks instantly growing hot.

I tried so hard to focus back on the kiss. I wanted to shut my eyes or just look away.

I failed. Obviously. Confusedly.

What the hell is going on? Why is she looking at me like that?

She didn't even blink, her alluring ruby eyes burning into mine.

As if this was a secret staring contest between us.

And for a split second, she looked sad. So sad.

And then she's gone. Disappearing behind the tall building.

I quickly pushed Reito away, blinking rapidly.

I couldn't breathe.

I was suffocated and it wasn't because of his passionate kisses.

Miraculously, he didn't seem to notice anything. He just smiled contently, obliviously while I felt so lost. So scared in a way I couldn't put my finger on.

And you know what's even madder? The way she had looked at me was neither intimidating nor threatening.

Not even close. Not even a tiny bit.

Okay, so what do you think? Hoped you liked it because I would be so sad if you didn't. =(