2006, January 28th

Matsumoto Jun had just walked out of the restaurant in Shibuya with Oguri Shun, Matsuda Shota, and Abe Tsuyoshi when the four of them saw two familiar women standing a few meters away from them. 

"Aki-chan!" Shota suddenly exclaimed, calling to one of the girls. Both girls turned to their direction.

"Oh, Megumi-chan as well." Tsuyoshi said, waving at the two girls.

"What are you guys doing here?" Aki said to the four boys, grinning as Megumi and Aki walked towards them. 

"We just had dinner, how about the two of you?" Shun answered.

"We're just waiting for---" Megumi was cut off by Aki calling the name of the girl that just arrived. 

"Yu!" Aki called out. 

Yamada Yu walked towards the group in long strides.

"Hi! Sorry, I'm late. Mao is already at WOMB with her manager, but K-san will be leaving once we arrive." Yu explained, pertaining to Mao's manager, Otsuka Kirin. "Oh! What are you guys doing here?" Yu addressed the four boys that were standing in front of her. 

"We had dinner. Wait did you just say Mao-chan is at WOMB?" Jun asked. 

All three girls nodded. "Yeah, we're meeting her there." It was Megumi who answered.

"What's the occasion?" Shota asked.

"Well, actually Mao is celebrating her birthday and she wanted to hang out at WOMB." Aki answered.

"Birthday? Her birthday is today?!" Jun exclaimed.

"Isn't her birthday last January 9? I remember greeting her." Shun said.

"What?! January 9?!" Jun said with obvious surprise in his voice. 

"Yes, it was on January 9, but she's been so busy with the promotions of her TV movie The Grave Of The Fireflies that she just had the time to celebrate now." Megumi said. 

"Wait, what? January 9!?" Jun asked again, eyeing everyone in surprise.

"Yes, baka. Did you not know?" Tsuyoshi said to him, looking a little amused. 

"No..." Jun trailed. "I thought it was on February 9." 

"You are such an idiot." Shota said. 

"Man, I wasn't able to greet her." Jun said, the immense regret so heavily felt in his words.

"Why don't you guys come with us?" Yu suggested, grinning at everyone. "It's supposed to be a girls night out only, but I'm sure Mao would love the surprise." Yu was actually unsure if Mao would really love the surprise of seeing the four men arrive with them, but Yu felt like she had to give her friend a little push towards Matsumoto Jun. 

Shun gave Jun a side glance then said. "We're in!" 

"Yeah, we don't have any plans for tonight anyway." Tsuyoshi agreed. 

"Let's go, then!" Aki said. 

Jun was still recovering from the sudden information of Mao's birth date, and the fact that he wasn't able to greet her or even talk to her that day, but before he can even get one word out, Shota was already dragging him to walk towards WOMB with the rest of the group. 

 

WOMB was a club Jun rarely went to because it was a place always filled with people, and Jun did not like strangers in his personal place. Heck, he didn't even liked getting touched by his close friends, so being at a club was definitely out of his character. After they walked in through the entrance and their coats were taken, Jun absored the scene before him. The place is packed. Everyone was dancing and sweaty, and you can feel the pulse of the music in your blood. It was that loud. Jun shook his head at the growing discomfort that he was feeling. Why did Mao want to celebrate here? He thought to himself. 

"Where is Mao?" Jun asked the girls, trying his best to be understood despite the loud music blaring on the speakers and the mixed sounds of people talking, laughing, and drinking. 

"Mao said she's at the 2nd floor VIP section." Yu answered.

The group walked towards the stairs that would lead them to the 2nd floor VIP area, feeling all the stares of the people around them. Ofcourse people would stare, seeing as every one in the group is a celebrity, also not taking into the fact that Oguri Shun towers over almost everyone there with his 6 feet height. 

Once they arrived upstairs, Jun saw that Mao was sitting alone. A couple of guys were hanging around her. She looked uncomfortable but was smiling at whatever one of the men were saying to her. Jun quickened his pace to reach where Mao was sitting. 

"Yo." Jun greeted.

Mao looked up to see Matsumoto Jun standing before her. 

"Oh! Jun-kun? What are you doing here?" Mao exclaimed, standing up in surprise.

Jun eyed Mao as she stood. He felt a little disdain with her outfit of choice. A black top with thin straps that showed off her prominent collar bone, her hair resting on her slim shoulders. She had paired it with a black skirt that he felt was too short and too tight for her even though it ended just a few inches above her knees. Her outfit was not out of place at WOMB, but Jun felt uncomfortable. After all, Mao always wore jeans, shirts, and cardigans when they were with each other at casual settings, so how she looked tonight was a surprise to him. He was about to make a comment but stopped to say it when the rest of the group he came in with walked towards them.

"Mao-chan! Sorry, we're late. We bumped into these guys and I invited them to come with us." Yu grinned as she gestured towards the rest of the group that came with her. Standing next to her were Sato Megumi, Nishihara Aki, Matsuda Shota, Oguri Shun, and Abe Tsuyoshi. "Matsumoto-san was with us too, obviously."

Mao stared at her friends as Yu looked at her funnily. 

"It's alright, right? That we came?" Shun said to her as he sat down on one of the chairs.

"Ofcourse! The more the merrier!" Mao laughed.

"We're not invading?" Shota asked as he sat down next to Shun. 

"No ofcourse, not." Mao said, sitting down as well.

"The only ones invading are these guys, I presume?" Jun said, glaring at the group of men that was once talking to Mao. 

"Calm down." Tsuyoshi said as he held on to Jun's shoulders, willing him to sit down but Jun was not budging. He was just staring at the men that were standing next to where Mao was seated. 

"Ah. Sorry, they said they were fans and were asking for pictures and an autograph." Mao started. She faced the group of guys who were talking to her a while ago. "I'm sorry I'm here with my friends, but I appreciate that you guys are fans." Mao smiled at them. For some reason, Jun could feel his blood boil when he saw Mao smiling at them. The men smiled at her back and finally walked away. 

Once everyone was seated, the only space that was free for Jun to sit down was at the loveseat beside Mao, so he sat there and made himself comfortable, well, as comfortable as he could manage. 

"Where's your manager? I thought she was keeping you company until we arrived?" Megumi asked.

"She just left after I got your message that you were on your way." Mao said.

"Mao-chan, I didn't get to say this awhile ago, but you look really cute." Tsuyoshi said to Mao.

"I agree with Ton-ton." Shun said.

"Ne, Mao-chan. You look totally different." Shota followed.

Jun had scoffed at what his friends were saying. It's not that he didn't agree, but something about it didn't sit right with him.

"Of course, Mao-chan is 19 now, she ought to stop wearing things that would make her look like a minor." Aki grinned at her. "And I approve of this whole new look!" 

Megumi and Yu all hailed their compliments at Mao too, so Mao felt like the uncertainty she had when she picked her outfit for WOMB tonight had all but vanished.

Mao had blushed and grinned at the compliments her friends were saying to her and mumbled a small thanks to everyone.

They all ordered their drinks when the waiter came around, and within minutes, their table was filled with all kinds of alcohol known to men. Jun stared at Mao while she was happily talking to everyone. 

"Hey, Mao-chan. I didn't know you're such a heavy drinker?" Shota said.

"Yeah, when we went to drink the week before the wrap party, all you drank was oolong tea. We didn't know you could drink this much." Tsuyoshi said, getting himself a glass from the selection of alcohol surrounding them.

"At the wrap party too, she had nursed her single beer all night long. It didn't even seem like she was drinking it, just holding it around while talking to everyone." Megumi said as she also got herself a drink from the table.

"I can drink, I just don't do it publicly." Mao laughed.

"Why not?" Shun asked.

"Well, I was only 18 years old last year. You know it's illegal for minors to drink." Mao reasoned out.

"Yeah, but it was at a private setting." Aki said. 

"Mao-chan has such a high tolerance for alcohol." Yu said. "We would always hang out at her apartment and drink the night away when she's feeling stressed or burned out from work. I tap out of drinking way earlier than she would." Yu laughed. 

"Don't drink too much today then." Shun said to Yu, eyeing the glass Yu was holding. Mao couldn't help but smile to herself, maybe Yu and Shun didn't need her help after all. 

"So, how come you didn't reply to my text last week?" Jun suddenly said to Mao. 

"Huh?" Mao replied. She obiviously heard what Jun had asked her, she just didn't know how to reply. 

"I said, why didn't you reply to my text." Jun repeated. 

"I did. You must've not received it." Mao nervously laughed after she lied. 

"Liar." Jun said as he turned away from Mao, grabbing a glass and downing it in one gulp. Mao felt annoyed and drank the alcohol she was holding before replying to Jun.

"Why are you mad? Shouldn't I be the one who's mad? You didn't even greet me on my birthday! What makes you think you can get mad at me for not replying to your text?" Mao exclaimed, she could feel her annoyance surfacing. 

Mao knew she said to Yu a week before that Jun not greeting her on her birthday did not bother her, but to be honest, it did bother her. She just didn't have the confidence to say it out loud. She also didn't think she had the right to make it into such a big deal, but here was Jun, grilling her for not replying to a text he sent when she didn't say anything about him not greeting her, or even checking up on her on her birthday. The nerve of this guy! Mao thought to herself. 

What Mao said made Jun shift uncomfortably in his seat, his face mellowed and his annoyance at Mao ignoring his message all gone now.

"About that....actually, I thought you're birthday was on February 9." Jun confessed, feeling every bit embarrassed. 

Mao looked at Jun in disbelief. "How can you confuse January with February?" Mao tried to make her tone seem annoyed but she couldn't help but laugh at how idiotic of a mistake it was. 

"I don't know, really. I'm sorry for not greeting you last January 9. Hey if it helps, Happy Birthday!" Jun grinned at her. 

"No, it doesn't. But it's fine. You mixing January and February was so funny and idiotic of you I couldn't help but laugh." Mao said, heartily laughing. Jun laughed along with her. 

Unbeknownst to Jun and Mao, everyone at their table were staring at them and eavesdropping on their conversation. 

"Oi, oi. Stop flirting in front of us and start drinking. We're here to party, aren't we?" Shota said to the two. 

"Hai!" Everyone exclaimed. 

After a few hours and a few empty bottles of alcohol later, everyone was verging on drunkeness, except Jun. He was watching over Mao as she downed one glass after another. Every one at their table was coaxing Mao to drink more, mainly the girls, Megumi, Yu and Aki, saying that she should go all out since it's her birthday celebration anyways, and that she deserves to have fun after all the hard work that she had done. Jun just stared at them, feeling a little annoyed as to why they keep on getting Mao drunk. In annoyance, Jun downed a glass of whiskey straight while Mao stood up with Megumi, Aki and Yu to dance a few meters away from their table. 

 His annoyed demeanor was not missed by the three guys that were also with them. Shota stood up and walked towards Jun. 

"Hey, Jun. You good?" Shota asked. Jun nodded.

"Why are you sulking? Thought you and Mao were okay now." Tsuyoshi said, as he sat beside Jun. 

"I'm not sulking." Jun denied.

"Are you worried that Mao's drinking so much?" Shun asked.

"I just don't understand how she can drink that much." Jun said as he looked over at Mao who was dancing with her three girl friends, they looked like they were having a load of fun. 

"It's her birthday celebration, it's understandable to drink. And besides, didn't Yu say that Mao can handle her liquor just well?" Shota said. 

"Yeah, but still..." Jun trailed, still keeping an eye on Mao. 

"You're acting like you're her boyfriend." Shun snickered. "We all saw how you reacted when we were talking about her sudden change in fashion, you know?"

"What? I didn't react! And about the drinking, of course I'm worried. Mao-chan is my friend." Jun exclaimed.

"Friend, right." Tsuyoshi smirked at him as he drank his glass of alcohol. 

"What do you mean by that?" Jun asked.

"Can we ask you a question? Like in all seriousness?" Shota said.

"What?" Jun stared at his friends, feeling a little uncomfortable as to where the conversation might end up on.

"Are the tabloids true? Are you guys dating? Or are you not?" Tsuyoshi asked. 

"What are you talking about?! Ofcourse it's not true. Mao and I are friends!" Jun said, putting emphasis on friends.

Shun, Shota, and Tsuyoshi all looked at him with a smirk on their faces.

"Seriously, what is up with all of you, asking me if I'm dating Mao or saying that I must like her." Jun mumbled. 

"Who said you liked her?" Shota asked. Tsuyoshi and Shun was obviously absorbed in the conversation, drinking now out of their attentions. 

"ARASHI members." Jun said. "But it's weird right? How can I like Mao romantically? It's obvious we're just friends."

Like clockwork, the three men avoided Jun's eyes and sipped from their glass. 

"Hey! Agree with me!" Jun exclaimed. 

"We'd agree if that were true. But seriously, Jun I think you DO like Mao romantically. You're just denying it to yourself. Masking romace as friendship, you know?" Shun said.

"You said the exact same thing as Aiba!" Jun said to them. "I am not masking anything! Name one instance where it seemed like I liked her romantically." 

The three men laughed.

"There's a lot to mention, not just one instance." Tsuyoshi laughed.

"Remember that one time we were shooting a scene when Mao-chan was training for TOJ? When you were speaking in Chinese?" Shota said. 

"Yeah, what about it?" Jun asked. 

"When we were reviewing the scene and you asked Mao if it looked okay, she said that it wouldn't made any difference even if you re-shoot the scene. I laughed it off but you suddenly chased her around the set." Tsuyoshi said, remembering what happened. 

"What part of that shows that I liked her in a romantic way?" Jun looked at them. His friends were making absolutely no sense to him. 

"You were obviously flirting with her! That's why you chased her even if what she said was not a big deal at all." Tsuyoshi further explained.

"She was mocking my acting, you know? And I was just teasing her." Jun explained. 

"How about the fact that you let her touch you alllllll the time." Shun said as he stretched the "L"

"Yeah! That! You're no-touch Matsumoto Jun, but you're touchy with Mao-chan." Shota said excitedly.

"What do you mean I'm no-touch Matsumoto Jun?" Jun asked.

"Don't act as if you don't know. You have your arms wrapped around you all the time and you take extra precaution to not make contact with people around you. You even hate it when we put our arms on your shoulder!" Tsuyoshi exclaimed. 

"You're like that even with friends, and yet with Mao you let her touch your arm, your hand, your back, your shoulders, your face, your---" Shota was cut off by Jun.

"Okay! I get it!" Jun exclaimed. "But that doesn't mean I like her romantically." 

"How about that one time Mao-chan was sleeping.." Shun trailed, smirking at Jun.

"Hey! That was not---" Jun tried to cover Shun's mouth but was held back by Shota and Tsuyoshi.

"Eh? What's that about Mao-chan sleeping?" Shota asked Shun. 

"Jun thought no one was around, but I was quietly reading the script on a chair behind the sofa where Mao-chan was sleeping in the break room at the set." Shun started.

"Oi!" Jun desperately tried to stop Shun from telling the rest of the story.

"Go on!" Tsuyoshi urged.

"So, I was there, quietly reading while Mao-chan was sleeping heavily. All of a sudden, Jun entered the room, walked towards Mao-chan, sat on the floor and just stared at her." Shun said.

"What?!" Tsuyoshi exclaimed. 

"Yah, Jun-kun what were you doing?" Shota laughed.

"But that's not all." Shun continued.

"Oi! Shun!" Jun protested, giving his friend a threatening glare, but Shun was not fazed at all.

"I was peeking from behind the sofa while it was happening, because I was also curious at what he would do, imagine my shock when he suddenly inched his face closer to Mao-chan who was sleeping, and then he touched her eyelashes." Shun stopped his story telling to stare at Shota and Tsuyoshi who were completely absorbed with the story.

"Shun, come on. Stop!" Jun was almost pleading.

"Then, not only did he touch her eyelashes, Jun touched her face as well, then stood up then fixed the blanket to fully cover Mao-chan. He even stood there for a while and just watched while smiling at her."

"Juuun-kun!" Tsuyoshi said to his friend, smiling widely.

"So wait, did you just watch the whole time and not say a word?" Shota asked Shun.

"I was going to do that, but when Jun was about to walk out he saw me peeking at him. He even shouted in surprise, waking up Mao-chan in the process. I had to cover for Jun to not creep out Mao-chan. I lied saying that I scared Jun." Shun laughed. 

"If that does not show that you like her more than a friend, then you're just a ert." Shota said to Jun. 

"She looked cold, so I fixed the blanket when I walked in!" Juntried explaining.

"Why did you touch her eyelashes and her face then?" Tsuyoshi asked. 

"I...I was just..." Jun tried to explain, but he was out of excuses. Honestly, Jun didn't even know why he did that. It was as if an invincible force was attracting him to touch her. To feel her on his skin. 

"So, do you see it now? that you DO like her in that way." Tsuyoshi said to Jun. 

Jun just kept quiet, realizations creeping up to him. It seemed like all the arrows where pointing to him liking Mao, but what would he even do with the information that suddenly knocked his senses? It wasn't as if Mao felt the same way towards him. He also didn't like that he had started to realize his real feeling for Mao at a nightclub. He suddenly remembered about Mao dancing with Megumi, Yu and Aki, so he turned to them at the small dance floor located at the VIP section, only to see a man walk towards Mao while she was dancing.

Mao felt a man stand behind her, she looked over at the guy and smiled, she was feeling buzzed, and dancing felt good so she didn't mind that the guy was dancing with her. As the guy started leaning towards her, that was when Mao felt uncomfortable. She tried to move away but the guy circled his arms around her waist and pulled her close. As Mao was about to push the guy, a hand pulled him away from her. 

"HEY!" Jun shouted as he pulled the guy from Mao. Just as he balled his fists to land a punch, Mao ran over to his side to break away the incoming fight.

"Jun-kun! Don't!" Mao said to him, holding his arms. 

Within a second, Shun, Shota, and Tsuyoshi were next to Jun, trying to cover him from the people that would likely stare at the celebrity that was about to punch a civilian. Megumi, Aki, and Yu were also by Mao's side to cover her. 

"Eh? Matsumoto Jun-san?" The guy said, looking very alarmed. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Jun exclaimed, his fist was still ready to throw a punch, as his other hand clenched the collar of the guy's shirt.

"Wait..I didn't know Inoue-san was with you. I was just dancing with her." The guy explained, holding his hands up.

"She obviously didn't like it when you touched her!" Jun shouted, his temper rose at remembering how he saw the guy snake his arms around Mao's waist. He had leaped out of his seat and towards Mao before any of the three guys could register what was happening. Jun's vision blurred as he had pulled the guy off of Mao a few seconds ago.

"Stop it!" Mao exclaimed. She turned to face the guy. "Please, leave. I'm sorry for the commotion." 

"Eh?! Why are you apologizing!" Jun exclaimed at Mao.

"Jun-kun, stop it. People are starting to stare. You, out of all of us, have an image to uphold!" Aki said to Jun. 

With that, Jun started to relax a little, letting go of the guy. The man apologized to them then walked away. The eight of them walked back towards their table but Mao can still feel Jun's slight agitation. 

Once they were seated, as Mao reached for another drink, Jun caught her arm. 

"What the hell were you doing over there?!" Jun exclaimed at her. Everyone at their table turned silent and stared at the situation that was unfolding before them. 

"What?! It wasn't my fault that guy was a creep." Mao said, shaking her arm free of Jun's grasp, still not letting go of the drink she was planning to cool down with. 

"Stop drinking! And yeah he was a creep, but why did you apologize to him?!" Jun said as he wrestled the drink out of Mao's hand.

Mao gave up fighting for the glass and sighed. "It was the proper thing to do, and besides if I let my temper get the best of me like someone, media outlets would definitely have a field day and report that a bunch of artists were fighting at WOMB." 

"I was looking out for you, you know?!" Jun exclaimed. 

"I didn't need you to look out for me, I can handle myself perfectly well!" Mao exclaimed back at Jun. 

"That's not what it looked like there!" Jun said to Mao.

"Okay, okay. Both of you stop fighting. We're all supposed to be having fun and celebrating!" Yu said to Jun and Mao. 

The both of them kept quiet and looked a little apologetic for fighting in front of their friends. 

"Now, let's not turn this night into a bad one. Let's just forget what happened and just have fun. Now, cheers!" Megumi ordered, raising her drink.

Jun and Mao shook their heads as everyone followed in raising their glasses. Mao took a glass but Jun took it and gave her water instead. 

"Stop drinking, seriously." Jun pleaded to her. Mao just nodded and took the glass of water from Jun. 

"Look, Jun is looking out for Mao." Shota whispered to Aki, pointing at Jun and Mao who looked like they were finally getting along after bickering.

By this time, it was clear to Shun, Shota, and Tsuyoshi that Jun had probably realized his feelings for Mao, seeing as he rushed out of his seat to pry the guy away from Mao a while ago. Even Yu, Aki, and Megumi noticed that something that wasn't there before was now very evident in Jun's eyes and actions.

"CHEERS!" Everyone clinked their glasses together and drank. 

They spent a few more hours at WOMB, by the time everyone agreed to call it a night it was already 3 in the morning. 

They were all waiting to hail a cab outside of WOMB, when Jun stood next to Mao.

"Is your manager picking you up?" Jun asked her. 

Mao shook her head, "No, I'm taking a cab home just like everyone else." 

"That's not safe." Jun argued. "You're drunk." 

"I'm not, just a little tipsy but it's fine. The other girls are taking a cab too." Mao said, pointing to her girl friends that were also waiting for a cab to pass by.

"Yamada Yu-san lives near where Shun and Shota lives so they're taking a cab with her. Aki and Megumi will be accompanied by Abe-kun in the cab too." Jun explained. 

"I can take a cab on my own." Mao said to him.

"No. I'm taking you with me." Jun said with finality.

"EH?!" Mao exclaimed. "But I live far from where you live!" 

"That's why you're staying at my place." Jun said, nonchalantly.

"EH?!" Mao stared at Jun with wide eyes, disbelief very evident in her eyes.

--

Yey for Chapter 3! 

I actually got carried away with this chapter that's why it's a long one. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Also, I kind of just invented a name for Mao's manager K-san, so I named her Kirin. I have no idea what her actual name is, only that I've read that she's called K-san.

I know I said I'll be updating once a week, but this FF was so much fun for me to write so I just wrote as much as I could.

Is there anyone who's still actually reading this? HAHAHA Anyways, even if there's no one at all reading this ff, I love writing this story about Matsumoto Jun and Inoue Mao that I would continue this until the end even if there are 0 views HAHAHAHA

If someone's there, leave a comment...please HAHAHAHA

- WanderGirl