August

Disclaimer: Same as Chapter 1, in Ayame's POV.


Chapter 2 - Diamonds


Lunch time came sooner than I had anticipated. Honestly, I was dreading having to give Kouga's gift to Kagome for him, especially after I had seen the present's contents. My teacher was awesome enough to let us out for lunch a few minutes before the bell rang. I sat alone for a moment, at a picnic table that was under a tree that kept the area well shaded from the harsh afternoon sunlight. I had my iPod out again, this time I had a display of nail polish set up on one of my books. I always have nail polish in my back pack. Painting my finger and toe nails was another hobby of mine. I liked it when they were all different colors or when they matched my outfit. I kept the back ups in my bag in case I needed to touch up my paint job. A girl never knows when she might scuff up the artful job that was done on her nails. This time I had the polish out and was painting a shimmering rainbow across the back of my new lavender mp3 player that I had received this morning. It was an interesting gift considering what it had in it. An audio file that announced the birthday invitation of my number one crush... Kouga Ookami. And surprisingly enough I was invited to his soirée.

A shining and vibrant red was on the top, followed by a shimmery orange, then a glittering gold for the yellow section, after that was a vivid shade of shamrock green, electric blue, and as I was painting on the last color, a dark and mysterious indigo when I felt a weight sit across from me at the picnic table. I looked up to see that it was Sango and Kagome. I smiled up at them and closed the cap of my dark purple nail polish.

"Hello ladies," I greeted them warmly, disguising the anxiety that I felt in the center of my chest.

"Hey Ayame," Kagome smiled.

"Afternoon," Sango chimed in after her.

"I am honored to have you sit with me at lunch," I gave them a flourishing half bow from my seated position. Which made them both giggle. We had a joke between the three of us that I was the most eccentric and did the quirky things that made people laugh.

"Still working on being chivalrous and a lady," Kagome said as she leaned in on her hands, resting her elbows on the table. "The Renaissance Festival is coming up soon isn't it?"

I nodded, "It's in October when the weather starts getting cooler. They have it then so we don't die of a heat stroke in our costumes."

"I actually have my father's permission to go this year," Sango smiled. "But I have to bring Kohaku with me. I hope that's okay..."

"Of course!" I said, "It's a family event, so your kid brother can tag along. He might actually enjoy the human chess matches, and even the jousting."

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, "Mom made me bring Souta with me last year and he had a blast. He is more than likely coming again with me this year, so Kohaku will have someone to hang out with."

"That's cool... now I know my Dad will be even more cool about it," Sango said.

I stole my gaze away from my two friends and glanced down at my iPod. The nail polish was drying quickly, and I was only waiting on the purple to finish before I put it away in my bag.

"Oh!" Sango gasped and by habit I looked up at her. "You got one too?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"I heard from Ginta that this is going to be the party of parties!" Sango grinned. "Even though we are only two weeks into the school year, it's already rumored that no one else will be able to top Kouga's party."

"It's his senior year," Kagome added, "so there is no doubt that having this big of a bash is his way of building his reputation even higher. I heard that if you didn't get an iPod that you wont even be able to get in the door at Rendezvous the night of his party. And the iPod has to have the 'Invitation' mp3 file on it, or it doesn't count."

I didn't know what to say to them. The more I thought about Kouga's party, and the gift he asked me to give to Kagome, the more I didn't really feel like I should go. Why should I put myself through the torture of going to his party, only to watch him drool over one of my closest friends?

"Did you hear anything about the party Ayame?" Kagome asked me. Ha! I most certainly did. Well, I more so read it than heard it. I shouldn't have done it, but there was a note inside the present he wanted me to give her... and I read it. Sometimes I wonder if I am really a good friend or not? A good friend would have just given Kagome her gift and not thought twice about it. But me, I went and opened it... poked my nose in where it didn't belong, and now I had to pretend like nothing was bothering me. Damn, I can be an idiot sometimes... I brought this on myself.

"Not really," I lied. "Just that over half the school was invited, mainly the junior and senior class."

"Oh my goodness," Kagome sighed glancing up at the trees. "He must be winning super popular points by doing this. If you were not invited then you aren't cool enough in the school's social hierarchy."

"Social hierarchies are lame," I retorted, sighing afterwards.

"What's up Ayame?" Sango asked with concern.

"Yeah, why so glum all of a sudden?" Kagome added.

I smiled and waved my hands in front of my face in a silly, and dismissive manner, "It's nothing guys really. It's just that my Gramps is sick again and I don't think he would let me go to the party. So even though I got an invitation, I might not be able to show up." Nice job covering my ass. Chuck-ching!

"That blows," Sango pouted lightly, "I didn't even think about bringing it up with my parents. My dad might not let me go either."

"My mom will probably let me go," Kagome nodded. "She has met Kouga and thinks he is a nice guy."

I felt my heart sink lower into my chest, so far down that I think it had a new place next to my liver. I love my friends, but the things I keep a secret, I don't tell anyone. And me having the biggest crush in the world on Kouga was one of my super locked up and no one knows about it secrets. Hearing Kagome say that even her mom has met Kouga, and that her mom said Kouga was a nice guy... just made me wonder what else Kouga and Kagome have done outside of school together? At the same time, I knew that I couldn't be mad at Kagome. She had no idea that I liked Kouga that much. Sometimes I wondered, that if I told her... would she respect my feelings for him and not flirt with him so much? Kagome was a nice girl... and she didn't even realize when she was flirting with guys most of the time. She just called it being nice to them. Right. Being nice.

"Even though the invitations were given out, I have not seen Kouga at all today," Kagome commented.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him either," Sango nodded in response.

"I saw him this morning," I said before I could stop myself. Crap. Why is it that my mouth is not on the same wave length with my brain?

"You did! Did he give you his invitation in person?" Kagome asked, a little to excited for my liking.

"No," I shook my head, "I got the invitation from Hakkaku. I saw Kouga when I was walking to class." My heart beat started racing as I was getting to the point of taking out the present. I didn't want to... but as a good friend, I knew that I had to... it wasn't my present... I couldn't hold onto it forever. Even though I wish that I could have.

"In fact," I reached into my bag and pulled out the red velvet box and set in front of the two of them.

"What's that?" Sango asked, reaching a finger out to pet the top of the box.

"Kouga asked me to give this to you Kagome," I said. It took all my strength to hide the pain in my voice. Lucky for me, that neither of them seemed to notice. They were to occupied looking at the present. "It's a gift."

"I wonder why he didn't give it to me in person?" Kagome asked.

"Well when he asked me to give it to you," I left out the part of him being a jerk when he more so demanded me to give it to her over asking me to give it to her. "He told me that he was not going to be in school today. He wanted to make sure that you got it today, and he didn't have much time before he was caught on campus."

"Aww," Kagome smiled, "I would have liked to get it from him in person."

"I thought that it would take away the meaning of the gift, but he didn't want to hear it. He basically shoved it in my arms and left," I said.

"It's so sweet of him to give you a present though," Sango said. "It just goes to prove that he does really like you Kagome."

"I guess he does," Kagome said.

"I thought it was pretty obvious," I spat, probably more harshly than intended. At least that is how it sounded to me.

"Really?" Kagome asked. "How long have you known that he has liked me?"

I sighed, leaning in onto one of my arms. The palm of my hand supported my chin, and my elbow rested on the table. "Since we were freshmen and he was a sophomore. Since the day you started talking to him Kagome he has had a thing for you."

"Wow..." Kagome gasped, putting a finger to her chin in thought. "I would have never known."

I narrowed my eyebrows, "Come on, not even you are that dense Kagome."

She frowned at me, "It's not that. I have just been so caught up with InuYasha that I haven't really noticed any other guy's advances. Wow... I feel like such a dufus."

"Don't worry about it Kagome," Sango patted her back. "You are happy with InuYasha. So don't worry about Kouga... he is just a friend."

In the back of my head something hit a light bulb, I didn't know Kagome and InuYasha had a thing. That just proves that I am totally aloof when it comes to my friend's love interests. Maybe it is just that I have been so obsessed with my own interests that it made me blind to anyone else's... wow, what I friend I am.

"What's up with you and InuYasha?" I found myself asking. There goes my mouth again, without the permission of my brain. Today is just not my day for speaking.

"Oh!" Kagome squealed, "I didn't tell you?"

"You might have," I replied honestly, "but I don't remember..."

"Kagome and InuYasha started dating over the summer..." Sango said with a sly smile, nudging Kagome.

"Sango!" Kagome blushed a light pink.

I couldn't help but grin. This is a definite road block in Kouga's wooing of Kagome.

"Really now Kagome? You have committed to one man?" I asked with my own sly grin.

She pouted, still blushing, "You make it sound like I could never commit to one guy Ayame?"

I shrugged, "I have never seen you with a serious boyfriend. So it's not like I would know. Besides, you do have a bad habit of flirting with guys and not realizing that you do it."

She crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, "I do not."

"You do too..." Sango said it for me, but she said it more playfully than I would have done.

"You two are just jealous," Kagome retorted.

"You can keep InuYasha," I chuckled, "he is not my type... so I have no reason to be jealous."

"That's not what I am talking about," Kagome let her arms drop from her chest, pouting even further.

"So tell Ayame the rest about InuYasha," Sango egged Kagome on.

"Right," Kagome nodded, "so InuYasha and I got together over the summer. We just hung out a lot after I would get off from work, and he finally got over his ex-girlfriend Kikyou. So we have been happily dating for almost a month and a half now."

"Congrads," I grinned and gave her a half bow from my seated position. "I hope he makes you happy. And I also hope he knows that if he ever hurts you that me and Sango will be there to kick his ass for you."

Sango nodded in agreement, "Oh, he knows... I made sure of that."

I couldn't help but laugh at the serious look on Sango's face. "You had the talk with him without me? That's not fair."

"Oh, but the threat is there," Sango nodded with a slightly sadistic grin... which made me mimic her and do the same.

"You guys will not need to kick his ass for me," Kagome said, rolling her eyes playfully. "He is totally loyal and committed to me."

Sango pointed to the still unopened gift in front of Kagome, "So what are you going to do about Kouga?"

"I don't know," Kagome answered honestly.

"Well, shouldn't you at least open the present?" Sango asked.

Kagome bit her bottom lip as she looked at the box, "I don't know if I should."

I looked away, I already knew what was in the present... I didn't have to encourage her to open it. I still felt tiny twinges of jealousy since the present was not addressed to me, even though I now knew that Kagome had no interest back in my crush.

I glanced back quickly when I heard Kagome gasp. She had opened the box, and she had the same reaction that I did when I had opened it.

"Oh my goodness!" She whispered as she pulled out the necklace that was on a black velvet mannequin neck. It was a choker, completely covered in diamonds. Six rows of smaller diamonds made up the part that wrapped around the neck. A delicate silver chain was the adjuster in the back with a diamond dew drop dangling at the end to make it appear more elegant and sophisticated. On the front, hanging from the six rows was five vertical dangles of even smaller diamonds making a pattern in a angled V-shape and at the end of each of those rows were medium sized dew drop diamonds.

"Holy shit!" Sango gasped. "Are those real!?"

"I don't know!" Kagome whispered, still in shock. She reached into the box and retrieved the note that was left inside it. "It's from Kouga... he wrote me a note."

Thank you Captain Obvious... just read the damn thing out loud and break my heart even further to know that the man of my dreams wants you over me.

"My dearest Kagome," she began reading, "As you already might know, my birthday is coming up this Friday night. You have been cordially invited to attend the celebrations and it would bring me a great honor if you would wear this necklace and bracelets that I am giving you to the party. Yes, they are real diamonds 24 carat in fact. That way, everyone attending will know that you are my girl and I always treat my girl special."

She was speechless, and the note dropped from her fingers.

"There are bracelets in there too?" Sango asked, looking in the box for the other jewelry. "Goodness gracious! There is!" She pulled out the two bracelets that matched the necklace, in their six rows of smaller diamonds, that had silver clasps.

"All you are missing is a ring," I said sarcastically, not getting excited about the present for Kagome. This, shocked them both even more than reading Kouga's note.

"Ayame? Are you okay?" Kagome asked, concern in her tone.

"I'll live..." I sighed.

"Woah," Sango raised an eyebrow, "Your tone is full of envy Ayame. What's wrong? And don't dodge the question."

I looked at the both of them. First Sango, then Kagome. This was just not fair. There is no way I am spilling my beans here and now, not after keeping it such a safe guarded secret for so long.

"It's nothing... I just think Kouga is an idiot." Another good save.

"I would think he is rather generous," Sango replied.

"Kagome, does Kouga know that you are dating another guy?" I asked her bluntly.

"Well... I'm not sure, unless InuYasha told him then I would say no because I haven't had the chance to tell him. I never really saw the need for Kouga to know in the first place," she answered honestly.

"Then you have a serious situation on your hands Kagome," I said sternly.

"I guess so..." she whispered, glancing down at the jewelry.

"What do you mean you guess so!" I shouted, thankfully the lunch activity of the other students drowned out how loud I was... but to top things off I pounded my fist on the table top. "Kagome! Kouga is asking you, in that note, and with those presents to be his fucking girlfriend. But you are already dating InuYasha! You can't go to Kouga's party and wear the jewelry or else he will think you accepted his advances on you as his girlfriend!"

She blinked at me in confusion, "Please, Ayame... you don't have to yell. I just don't know what to do..."

"You don't know?" I scoffed. "I find that the solution to your problems are simple. Kagome, you tell Kouga to go screw himself and that you have a boyfriend."

"But the diamonds?"

"What about them?" I snapped.

"InuYasha has never gotten me diamonds..." she started, but stopped... looking lost in her thoughts.

"Kagome!" I growled out, "Kouga is not worth you breaking up with InuYasha. So what? He got you fucking ice! So what? InuYasha didn't. It does not matter. I never thought you could be so fucking material Kagome!"

Sango was playing it safe, and decided not to take sides during mine and Kagome's discussion.

Kagome looked up at me defiantly from the jewelry, "I am not materialistic! You should know me better than that!"

"Then why is it such a hard decision for you to make? Huh? You shouldn't be having second thoughts about it! You even said yourself, that it took a long time for you InuYasha to get together because he just got over his ex, and now you are debating in the back of your mind about breaking up with him just because Kouga got you diamonds and asked you to be his date at his own fucking birthday!?" I retaliated.

She stared at me with her mouth gaping wide open, tears starting to brim her eyes. "Ayame..."

I just continued glaring at her, I couldn't help it... but that was the last straw. It was taking every ounce of my will power not to just tell her that I had the hugest crush on Kouga, and as my friend she should respect my feelings.

"How could you be so cruel?" she asked, fighting back her tears.

"I'm being fucking reasonable Kagome," I snapped back.

"Reasonable!?" Kagome huffed, "Fine! If you are being so damn reasonable! Then YOU wear the diamonds to Kouga's birthday party!"

My eyes widened in disbelief and partially in horror as well.

"You talk a big game Ayame, but can you back it up?" Kagome challenged me.

"Of course I can!" I said, pounding my fist on the table again. Damn she was really starting to piss me off.

"Then since you don't have a boyfriend! You wear the jewelry to Kouga's party!" She shot at me.

"Are you out of your fucking mind!?" I said, my mouth dropping.

"No!" Kagome huffed, "I am totally serious."

"I can't do that Kagome."

"Why not?"

"Think it through Kagome," I sighed, leaning forward and rubbing my temples with my fingers.

"I don't have too..." Kagome snorted.

"Oh my god..." I felt my head drop and hit the table. Quickly, I recovered and glared up at her. "Kagome. Think about how that will look to Kouga. It will make it seem like I didn't even give you the gift, and opened it myself. I don't want to look selfish!"

Kagome glared back at me, "You deserve it for being so mean."

"I was not being mean!" I defended myself.

"Fine, I will call him when I get home from school and tell him that I just gave the jewelry to you since you don't have a boyfriend. Then we will call the rest of the moves from there. Deal?" She snapped, holding her hand out for me to shake it.

This was the second time today where I was backed into a corner and not given a choice in the matter. Reluctantly... my pride got the better of me and I reached out and grasped her hand, shaking it firmly. "Deal."