It Might Come True Chapter 3: Jealousy By Tisha Rated PG A tall girl with dark brown hair entered the store and Usagi looked at her and smiled. "I'm here to ask about the job." She declared. Usagi nodded in response. She was referring to a 'Now Hiring' sign in the window. Usagi had decided to take more time off for herself so she had to hire another full-time employee. She looked at the tall girl for a minute. "You look familiar." The brunette smiled. "You do too. My name is Kino Makoto." Usagi smiled. "Oh yeah, we went to school together. My name is Usagi. This is so weird. I keep meeting all these people I went to school with." Usagi decided to interview the girl on the spot and she happened to be perfect for the job so she hired her. Although Makoto didn't need to work yet that day she stayed for a while as the two of them talked. Usagi was starting to wonder how she was making all of these new friends all of a sudden. It was really strange. ••••••••••••••••••• The annual fair in the park had always been Usagi's favorite time of year. She had come every year with her family when she was young. This year she had invited her four new friends and Naru to go with her. She was glad that all five of them got along well. They were standing in line to buy some cotton candy when Usagi saw Mamoru nearby. She was about to call out to him and say hi but she noticed that there was a woman with him. She realized with dread that it must be his girlfriend. Suddenly she hoped he wouldn't see her, but it was too late. "Usagi-chan." Mamoru greeted her as he and his girlfriend came up to them. "Hello." Usagi smiled at him and at his girlfriend. "Hi. These are my friends Naru, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and you already met Minako." Mamoru smiled at all five of them, nodding his head in greeting to each. "This is my girlfriend Hana." Usagi took the introduction as a chance to study the woman. She had the brightest red hair Usagi had ever seen and it was long and silky looking. She was only barely taller than Usagi was and she looked rather shy and uncomfortable at the moment. A few seconds of silence went by before a beeping sound rang out and Hana pulled a pager from her purse. She read the message and turned toward Mamoru. "Sorry, I need to go. It's an emergency." She pecked him on the cheek; "I'll see you at home." She waved her hand at the six girls and left. Mamoru shrugged and turned toward the girls, feeling awkward. Usagi could sense it so she suggested, "How about you girls spend the rest of the day without me so that I can give Mamoru some company?" All five of them seemed fine with the idea. Usagi noticed Rei's suggestive smile and she had to hold back laughter. Usagi turned to Mamoru with her eyebrows raised in question. He shrugged. "Sure." The two of them broke off from the others and Usagi suddenly felt very self-conscious and she had nothing to say. Neither of them could think of anything to do so they just ended up sitting on a bench. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while until Mamoru finally spoke up. "What happened with your friend's boyfriend?" "Nothing more. I think you scared him away." Usagi smiled at him, noticing how handsome he was. She loved the way his dark hair contrasted his beautiful blue eyes. She caught herself staring and felt a blush creep over her face. "Exactly how old are you? I remember that it was a long time ago when you threw that test at me but you look like you couldn't be a day older than twenty." "It was ten years ago. I'm twenty-four now. And what about you?" "Twenty-eight." "So why did Hana have to run off all of a sudden?" "She's a veterinarian. She's got these animal emergencies that she's always on call for and she often has to go and do some surgery or something." "And what do you do?" "I'm a doctor." Usagi smiled. "A vet and a doctor. That's so sweet." She couldn't believe she had said that. She didn't want them to be a cute couple. "What kind of doctor are you? Don't tell me you're like a brain surgeon or something." "I moved around for awhile but for the last six months I've been in Pediatrics. I like that best so far." Usagi didn't reply, but she was thinking about how sweet he was and how perfect he was for her. How come the one time she met a guy she really liked he was already taken? The fact that Hana had said 'home' wouldn't get itself out of her mind so she couldn't resist asking. "You live with Hana?" Mamoru only nodded. Usagi hated the way he could make her feel so insecure, innocent, jealous, and scared at the same time. They finally stood up and walked slowly around the fair. Usagi saw a game that was offering a prize of a huge stuffed rabbit. "Oh, that is so kawaii!" The next thing she knew Mamoru was playing the game and trying to win the toy for her. He missed several times but he just kept reaching into his wallet and paying more money to do it again. He finally won and the man behind the counter handed Usagi the bunny. "Thank you so much Mamoru-san." "Please just call me Mamoru." They both decided that it was getting late and that they should leave. "Where'd you park?" Mamoru asked her. "I don't have a car. Well I do, but I never really use it. I keep it parked at my parents' house because I can walk to most of the places I go." "Well then let me give you a ride home." Usagi tried to say no but he insisted. The ride to her apartment was short so they were there in no time. Usagi grabbed her rabbit as she was getting out of the car. "Bye Mamoru, thanks for the rabbit and the ride home." "You're welcome. Thanks for keeping me company." ••••••••••••••••••• The next day was Sunday, which meant dinner at her parents' house. Shingo wasn't going because he had some sort of wedding planning thing to do with Ran. When she got to their house she let herself in and found her dad in the living room reading a newspaper. "Hey Usagi. Your mom's in the kitchen." He never even looked up from the paper so Usagi headed to the kitchen. Her mom was working on preparing the dinner. She turned and smiled at Usagi when she entered. "Why don't you help me by shredding that lettuce for the salad?" Usagi did as she was asked. She was quiet, waiting for what she knew was coming. It wasn't long before Ikuko broke the silence. "Usagi, I've come to a decision. I know you've been annoyed with me, so for now on I'm going to stay out of your business and if you want to tell me about your relationships then you can, but I'll try not to pry." Usagi nodded, glad that she wouldn't have to be harassed anymore. But it wasn't even five minutes before her mom said "Your dad said that he saw you in the park with a young man at the fair last night." "This is not prying?" Her mother sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry." Usagi continued shredding lettuce, keeping her eyes on the task to avoid looking at her mother and hoping that she could hide her emotions. "He's just a friend anyway. And besides, he has a girlfriend." She had tried her hardest to keep emotion from her voice as well, but it hadn't quite worked. Ikuko had read her daughter's feelings well enough. To be continued... Coming up- A kiss, a lie, and a wedding. Stay tuned!