Forced Kiss

How come when you look at me, it seems like time stops moving? ― If Only, Little Mermaid Musical

xxxxxx

[Rinako]

"Do you need something?" Setsuji asked me in an annoyed tone as soon as I approached him.

And I wasn't an idiot for me not understanding the fact that he still had the guts to be annoyed and irritated just because I approached him. Hah! It looked like this guy was so full of himself when I should be the one feeling irritated since he owed me a lot for that accident. I crossed my hands in front of me and raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you acting all annoyed? You're just asking a question and you had the guts to feel that way? You're the one with the bigger fault here, Mister, because you gave me this injury on my first day at this university," I said irritatingly.

"And it's my fault. I admit that. But I already apologized to you, didn't I?"

"You call that an apology? You let your twin brother do what's supposed to be your job. It only means that you're not sincere in asking for an apology to me if that's how you want to call it."

Setsuji stood up from his seat and approached me. He stopped just a few feet away from me. He was staring at me intently as if memorizing every inch of my face. Now that I thought about it, he was looking at me the same way yesterday, as if he was enchanted with what he saw. It was as if he was looking at me like I was some kind of... Wait, what exactly does he think of me as he was looking at me that intently yesterday?

Oh, never mind! One thing I knew, I had a different feeling as Setsuji was looking at me yesterday. I wasn't someone you would call beautiful for him to look at me as if he was enchanted. But I knew he looked at me that way. Weird but I remembered it like that. But it was just for a while. For some unknown reason, I felt uneasy. Especially when my nose caught the scent of his perfume (or maybe cologne) with a mixture of his natural scent. And just like the first time that he was near me, my heart thumped crazily again. I couldn't understand why my heart would go beating crazy like this just because he was near me. But I didn't want to let him know that. He might use it as a reason to bring down my defenses and I didn't want to let that happen.

"Alright. What do you want me to do so you'll stop acting this annoyed as if I made a huge mistake towards you?" he sarcastically asked me moments later, which didn't surprise me at all.

"You should personally apologize for what you did to me," I answered. "Besides, I have the right to be annoyed and irritated at you since what happened to me yesterday was your fault. Your sincerest apology is what I'm asking from you. I'm sure it's not that hard for you to give, right?"

"Okay. I'm sorry for causing trouble for you on your first day here. But we both know that everything has been an accident and I didn't mean to do that. And I admit, it's my fault," he said sincerely. Then he sighed. "There! Am I forgiven?"

I couldn't help sighing in frustration and gladness at the same time. Did I have to approach him and rant this way just for this jerk to make a proper apology? I still felt his sincerity while saying those words. "So you can say those words in front of me. Why did you have to make me confront you first just for you to do it?" I asked after mulling over his words for a while. Wait a minute, why was I giving his apology this much attention?

"It's because you're such a demanding person. To think you even confronted me. Maybe that's one of your tactics for me to notice you," Setsuji said in full arrogance that surprised me and annoyed me at the same time. And this jerk, he was grinning! It was like a first-point win for him.

Seriously-- This guy was so full of himself! He was also an arrogant jerk! Argh!

"You can tell me the truth, you know. That you have a crush on me that's why you stopped in front of me that day and made me pin you down," he added without that smirk leaving his face. That only caused the other people around to tease us which only made me furious.

Alright! Now he had done it! That was my only irritated thought after hearing those words from Setsuji. It didn't come to me that this monkey guy would be this narcissistic.

'Well, he's a handsome monkey guy, as you would put it. Besides, you even admitted it to yourself that you were attracted to him since the first time your eyes met. Just be true to yourself, okay?' A part of my mind nudged which only irritated me. Seriously speaking. I took a deep breath before facing him with a small smile carved on my face. Well, more like a sneer.

"I have a crush on you, huh?"

Without a word, I punched his face as hard as I could. He staggered backward before falling like he didn't expect it at all. The others couldn't react properly because of what I did. Well, most of them were utterly shocked. I smirked while massaging my fist that I used to punch Brent's face.

"You have to know that it's not enough as compensation for what you did to me," I said. "You know, I considered forgiving you. If you just didn't show your arrogance. Do you think that you're that handsome for you to easily conclude that I have a crush on you? Shame on you." After that, I turned around and was about to leave.

But I wasn't ready for what he did next. He rashly pulled me by the arm and forcefully turned me around to face him. I was already expecting my heartbeat to increase its tempo as soon as I saw his face. I could see that he was angry and embarrassed at the same time, just trying his best to suppress them. I knew the reason for those emotions but I tried not to avoid eye contact with him. I did that even though I had to admit that I was starting to feel both nervous and scared that I didn't want to show in front of him.

"You know that you're the only girl who punched me this way," Setsuji said in suppressed anger while his hold on my arm started to tighten.

"Oh? Then I guess I broke your record. There's always a first time for everything, right?" I still managed to say as a response even though his tightening hold on my arm began to hurt. "That's what happens to arrogant people like you."

"So you're calling me arrogant now, huh? Let's see if you can still say that once I do this to you." After that, he suddenly pulled me by the waist and forced a kiss on my lips.

That kiss had come as a shock to me... especially to my heart...