Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sammy's Story ❯ Battle for Hotaru's Heart ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Sammy's Story 2: Battle for Hotaru's Heart

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners.

Note: I know it took forever, but part of the story was erased by a faulty disk, and I had to rebuild/rewrite it, knowing it would never be as good as it first was. That's a terrible pressure to write under, but hopefully, you'll like (or dislike) the end result enough to leave a thoughtful review.


The night of the dance arrived before I knew it. Reenie hadn't spoken to me since our fight (though I saw it as more of an attack, since blows weren't exactly exchanged; I was the only one that got hit), and it was starting to really bother me. However, the fact that Hotaru had agreed to go out with me kept me in a very good mood.

I was dressed at six, and would've paced the kitchen for half an hour if Serena hadn't forced me to sit down. "Sammy, you're going to ruin your shoes before you hit the dance floor," she scolded. "You've got to relax!"

"I can't, Serena!" I replied. "I'm going to be dancing with Hotaru Tomoe! How can I possibly relax?!"

Serena smiled. "You really do like her, don't you?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" I demanded.

"No reason," she answered, her smile growing wider. "Just imagining how many kids Mrs. Hotaru Tsukino will have."

I could feel myself blushing all over.

"Sammy, calm down. I was just kidding. Anyway, you've got to go out with her first."

Something that had been at the back of my mind all day suddenly made itself known. "Wait. Where's Reenie?"

"Up in her room. Don't worry, I warned her what would happen if she tried anything tonight. She's not going to the dance, anyway."

A few minutes later, a car horn honked outside.

Serena grinned and dragged me to the door. "That's Haruka & Michiru. Good luck, little brother."

Michiru had convinced Haruka to drive Hotaru & I to the dance. Either that, or Haruka just wanted to make sure I didn't try anything with Hotaru. Fortunately, Setsuna wasn't with them.

As soon as I walked out of the front door, Haruka & Michiru began whistling, whooping and clapping, as if I were some sort of runway model. I knew they were just doing it to make me feel better, but it still helped.

As I slid in the seat behind her, Haruka gave me a knowing look. It basically meant "keep those hands where I can see them," as far as I was concerned.

It didn't take long to drive to the orphanage, and soon, I was knocking on the front door, trying to figure out what I should say first. I was growing more nervous by the moment, and by the time the door opened, I could barely remember my own name.

An older woman with white hair answered the door. "Can I help you, young man?" she asked with a smile.

The first thing out of my mouth was, "HimynameisSammy."

She tilted her head a bit, and then chuckled. "Oh, it's you!" She turned away for a moment. "Hotaru, dear! Your date's here!"

As Hotaru came into view, I think my brain officially shut down for the night. She was wearing a white dress, but that didn't really matter. She could've come to the door wearing rags for all I cared. At any rate, she'd never looked more stunning, and it was probably obvious, since I was the one looking stunned.

The older woman gave Hotaru a gentle push and told us to have fun before closing the door.

Hotaru smiled nervously. "How do I look?"

Since my brain was still out to lunch, I told her the only thing I could. "HimynameisSammy."

She blinked slowly. "What?"

I somehow willed myself to think, and after a few seconds, I said, "You look...nice. Beautiful. Perfect. Absolutely gorgeous. Radiant. Spectac-"

At that point, Hotaru pressed a finger to my lips. "One would've been fine," she pointed out with a smile. "But thanks. You look nice, too." Then her face became more serious. "Have you seen Reenie?"

"She's at home. Why?" I asked, a hint of fear slipping into my voice. I actually glanced at the nearby bushes and expected to see a head of pink hair poking out of them.

"I called your house a few minutes ago, and no one answered. Maybe she went somewhere with Darien?"

"Probably," I replied. "She's not too happy with me."

Hotaru slipped her small hand into mine. "Well, I am. Come on, we have a date to get started." She nearly had to drag me to the car, as I was too busy telling myself that I would never wash that hand again.

Once we were seated, Michiru turned around to look at us. "I think you two make a very cute couple," she said.

I refused to blush, since I'd already made a fool of myself once. I noticed that Hotaru didn't blush, either, but for a different reason. She was staring up at the full moon with a thoughtful look on her face. I'm not the superstitious type, so I didn't really believe in omens. But if ever there were a sign my life would take a turn for the worst, that full moon was it.

* * * * *

The dance was more crowded than I thought it would be. I could instantly sense Hotaru's social anxiety kicking in as Haruka pulled up to the gym.

"Is it safe to assume you two will be fine on your own?" Michiru asked.

"Or do you need," Haruka added with an evil grin, "chaperones?"

I could see that Hotaru was about to open her mouth, so I gave her hand a good squeeze. "We can manage," I said. When Hotaru looked at me, I flashed her a reassuring smile. That seemed to calm her down, for the moment. Still, I had a feeling that if I had been some guy she didn't know that well, Haruka would've been following us all night, just waiting for me to slip up.

It quickly became obvious to me that Hotaru wasn't going to do anything unless I suggested it, and even then, she'd take a few minutes to consider it before agreeing or disagreeing. She even hesitated when I offered to get her some punch, fearing it might be too much for her sensitive digestive system. I calmly explained to her that punch was probably the safest thing to drink, next to water. Finally, she agreed, under the condition that I take her back to the car if she even felt the slightest bit sick.

Since she'd made such a fuss about the punch, I assumed she'd think dancing was as dangerous as skydiving. So for the longest time, we only moved to various spots around the gym, talking about anything that we both found interesting. Not surprisingly, most of Hotaru's conversation topics were in some way related to Reenie.

I was just about to change the subject for the tenth time when I spotted something that made my jaw drop. Across the crowded gym, I could see a familiar face. It was staring back at me with the coldest look, void of any emotion except rage. And then, to my disbelief, the person started straight towards us.

Thinking quickly, I interrupted Hotaru's story and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

I could already see the hesitation on her face, so I gently took her hands in mine. "Please, Hotaru. Just one dance? That's all I want."

Fortunately, she agreed, and as soon as she did so, I practically carried her to the dance floor. I would do anything to escape those hateful eyes.

"I never knew you wanted to dance so badly," Hotaru said, looking very surprised.

"It's not that I wanted to dance so badly. It's that I wanted to dance with you, Hotaru."

Her whole face turned a light shade of pink, and before she could say anything else, I took her hand and wrapped one arm around her waist. We started off slowly, since I'd only gotten lessons from Michiru the night before. Even though it was obvious Hotaru knew a lot more about dancing than I did, she made no attempt to speed things up. That was good, since I had no desire to stomp on her toes.

Everything was going fine, until those eyes appeared again. I swallowed a gasp and silently hoped Hotaru wouldn't see them. If she did, the date would probably end instantly. Fortunately, the eyes didn't have the courage to confront me while we were dancing. But I had already planned a possible escape route out the back door and through the parking lot, just in case.

The song ended, and I thought Hotaru might want to stop. But she didn't loosen her grip on me, and when the next song started, I got the feeling she was actually enjoying this. That feeling was confirmed when halfway through the song, she pulled me closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. Thankfully, I managed to stay conscious, even with all the blood rushing to my head.

The longer we danced, the more positive I became that I wouldn't be able to let go when the dance was over. It was if every part of Hotaru's body had developed addictive properties. The silkiness of her hair as it brushed against my cheek, the softness of her warm skin against mine. She probably wasn't wearing much perfume, but the very scent of her was intoxicating. The realization came to me when she pulled back enough to look into my eyes. Then, there was no question. I was in love with Hotaru Tomoe. My only wish was that she felt the same way.

The dance was over too soon for me, but as we walked back to the car, I knew there was something special between us. I could tell by the way that Hotaru kept glancing into my eyes every few seconds.

Then, just like that, our happiness was ruined. As we rounded the final corner of the building that led into the parking lot, I spotted a car parked close to Haruka's. It belonged to Darien, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Next to him was Setsuna with her aged eyes. Pacing back and forth in front of the car was Reenie.

I had blindly hoped we could stay just out of her reach all night, but there was no way to keep Hotaru from seeing her now. I heard her gasp beside me as she finally spotted her friend.

Perhaps drawn by some internal radar that was tuned to Hotaru's unique frequency, Reenie turned and looked directly at us. The surprise on her face was quickly replaced by anger in its purest form. But she didn't charge and tackle me, as I thought she might. She had gotten dressed up, too, so maybe she was just waiting to pound me after she'd changed at home.

I didn't see any point in delaying my doom, so I kept walking to Haruka's car, even though I would have to pass Reenie to get there. Hotaru kept up with me, but as we got closer to Reenie, she began to fall behind.

Naturally, Reenie stepped into my path. She stared up into my eyes, as if trying to read my mind.

Darien started to get out of the car, but Setsuna placed a hand on his arm and made him stay where he was.

"I'm warning you, Sammy," Reenie said in a quiet but threatening voice. "And I'm only doing that because you're my cousin." She stepped even closer, her nose only centimeters from mine. "Stay away from Hotaru."

"I can't do that anymore than you could, Reenie."

She frowned and took a step back. "Stay away from her, Sammy. I mean it."

"That's not your decision to make, Reenie. It's Hotaru's. If she wants me to stay away, then I will, but not until she says it."

Reenie glanced at Hotaru, who was still too shocked to say anything. Then she turned and got into Darien's car. I watched him drive away, silently wondering if he was trying to replace Serena with Setsuna, or if they had both been stupid enough to go along with Reenie's desire for revenge.

"That was one of the bravest things I've ever seen," Hotaru said quietly. "No one has ever stood up to Reenie like that."

I smiled at her. "I had a very good reason."

She blushed and turned away, but allowed me to slip my arm around her waist as we walked back to the car. Haruka flashed me a thumb's up, while Michiru only smiled, as usual.

* * * * *

Hotaru didn't say anything else until we were outside the orphanage. Then she turned to me and smiled shyly. "I had a very nice time tonight, Sammy. Could we do it again soon?"

"Whenever you want, Hotaru," I replied.

I could tell there was something she wanted to say, but she looked a little unsure of herself. Finally, I took her hands in my own. "What is it?" I asked.

She looked into my eyes, and then lowered her head. "I think...that..."

"You think what?" I pressed, leaning closer to her.

Hotaru wrapped her arms around my neck, and I could feel her warm breath next to my ear. "That I'm falling in love with you," she whispered.

The joy that filled me was indescribable, but I guess my face did a pretty good job of expressing it. Because then Hotaru came even closer and softly pressed her lips to mine. I could feel my legs turning to mush as she slowly pulled back, then changed her mind and kissed me once more, holding this one a bit longer. Finally, she ended the kiss and said, "Bye, Sammy." I didn't even realize she was gone until the door closed behind me.

When the ability to move returned to me, I slowly took one step forward. That was a mistake, because my legs folded under me, and I fell to my knees. I was panting for air, and my heart was beating rapidly, as if it might burst from my chest at any moment.

According to Michiru, I passed out just then, and Haruka carried me back to car. All I know is that when I woke up, we were in front of my house, and they were trying to make sure I hadn't slipped into a coma. Amazingly enough, I woke up just as Michiru was about to try mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Unfortunately, Haruka stopped her as soon as she saw my eyes open. They didn't leave until I was safely seated on the couch in the living room, where I could pass out all I wanted.

I was happy, worried, and confused at the same time. Hotaru at least thought she was falling in love with me, and had no problem sealing the thought with a kiss or two. But I was worried that I would act like a typical guy and do something stupid to mess it up. After all, even Darien, the "perfect boyfriend," had lost Serena. I was also unsure of where to go from here. I'd never been on a real date before, and now I wasn't sure what it meant. Were Hotaru and I a couple now? Could I start introducing her as my girlfriend? I figured Serena would be able to help me, since she'd had at least one serious boyfriend.

Strangely enough, the light in Serena's bedroom was off. Usually, she'd still be up talking to one of her friends on the phone. I figured she'd just gone to bed a few minutes ago, and decided it would be better to wake her before she reached her "dead to the world" state.

I quietly slipped into the room and walked over to the bed, where I could see her blonde hair spread out across the pillow. I thought it was strange that she had straightened it out instead of leaving in her usual giant pigtails, but I didn't dwell on it. I reached over and shook her shoulder. "Serena, wake up," I whispered.

There was a low grunt in reply.

"Serena, wake up!" I hissed, shaking harder.

This time an arm shot out and pushed me away.

Growing desperate, I grabbed the blanket and yanked it off. "Serena, I really need...your...help." There was just one problem. The girl in the bed had blonde hair and blue eyes, but it wasn't Serena. It was Mina.

She squinted at me, then her eyes widened as she realized who I was. "Sammy, what are you doing in here?!" she whispered.

"I was going to ask YOU that!" I replied. "Where's Serena?!"

"Try the other lump with blonde hair," she suggested, pulling the blanket back over her head.

By then, we'd made so much noise with our fierce whispering that Serena sat up in bed. "Sammy, what is it?"

I grabbed her hand and pulled until she followed me out into the hall. "Serena, what is Mina doing in your bed?!"

"Sleeping, until you came along. Why?"

"Don't you think Mom and Dad might be a little upset?"

"I don't care what they think. Mina needed a place to stay for the night, so she came here. She'll be gone before Mom and Dad wake up."

"And this has nothing to do with you both being lesbians?"

"Of course not."

I gave her a suspicious look.

"Okay, maybe it does, but nothing happened."

"Sure."

"Sammy, she gave me a forehead kiss. That's like the ultimate way of saying, 'I love you, but I'll NEVER touch you.' Now, did you wake me up just to play 20 Questions with my personal life?"

"No. I need some advice about Hotaru...and Reenie."

Serena frowned. "Is she bothering you again?"

"She was at the dance, Serena. Darien and Setsuna brought her."

"I saw her sneak out right after you left. I didn't think Darien would actually encourage her to do something like that, though."

I shook my head. "I think she asked him to do it. Setsuna probably helped convince him, too."

"Can't say I'm surprised. I never liked the way she looked at him."

"Never mind that! Reenie told me to stay way from Hotaru. I didn't listen to her, but when we dropped Hotaru off, she kissed me twice!"

Serena grinned. "Way to go, little brother!"

"But what I do now?"

"Now? You go to bed like normal people. In the morning, I'll do the Big Sister Advice Column. Sleep now, advice tomorrow. Got it? Good."

Before I could stop her, Serena went back into her room and closed the door.

* * * * *

No matter what I tried, sleep refused to come to me. I just kept seeing Hotaru's face every time I closed my eyes. But the more I thought about her, the more I missed her. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to see her again, and I couldn't wait until morning.

So began one of the craziest things I've ever done. Despite the fact that it was now raining and well past midnight, I jogged the ten blocks down to the orphanage. I was in pretty good shape (I was on the track team at school), and I wanted to see Hotaru as soon as possible.

I wasn't stupid enough to knock on the front door, so I crept around to the back, silently counting the windows in my head until I found the one I thought was Hotaru's. Conveniently enough, there was a large crate just below the window that could easily hold my weight. I climbed onto it as quietly as I could and inched toward the window.

I was surprised to hear voices inside. Who could Hotaru be talking to now? I took a deep breath and grabbed the windowsill, pulling myself up so I could see inside. The first person I saw was Hotaru. She was sitting on her bed, looking slightly upset. I couldn't figure out why until someone walked past her.

I ducked down as fast I could, disbelief in my eyes. The other person was Reenie. If my guess was correct, she was probably giving Hotaru a list of reasons why I was no good for her.

Eventually, I gathered enough courage to look into the window a second time. Reenie had moved to the bed, blocking my view of Hotaru, and was now gesturing wildly. I had a feeling that throwing one of her tantrums would only upset Hotaru.

Suddenly, Hotaru got up and pushed past Reenie. She grabbed something off the dresser and held it out for Reenie to see. Before I could get a good look at it, Reenie grabbed the object and ripped it into little pieces. There was a shocked look on Hotaru's face, and an angry one quickly replaced it. She said something and then pointed to the door. I had a feeling she was telling Reenie to leave.

Of course, Reenie was never one to be bossed around by anyone. Using her surprising strength, she shoved Hotaru, causing her to fall back on to the bed. I could feel my blood boiling as I bit down on my lower lip hard. Now Reenie was standing over Hotaru, gesturing wildly again. Hotaru was still looking very angry, and so was Reenie.

But then Reenie did something very unexpected. As near as I could tell, she started crying. She gestured again, and then pointed to the mess on the floor. This was followed by another gesture, then pointing at herself. I had no idea what she was saying, but Hotaru looked puzzled. Reenie got upset again and pointed harder at herself, and I definitely heard the words "more than he ever could."

At this point, I ducked down again, possibly because I was trying to figure out if I was the "he" Reenie was talking about. But the next time I looked into the window, I quickly decided that it didn't matter.

Hotaru was crying now, and Reenie had stopped gesturing. And then, I witnessed one of the most shocking things in my life. Reenie turned away from Hotaru, giving me a clear view of her face. I could see that she was still crying, but that wasn't what shocked me. In the center of her head was some kind of mark. Whatever it was, it was glowing with a pink light.

Before I had a chance to think about it further, Reenie moved again, and I could see that there was a similar mark on Hotaru's forehead, except it was glowing with a violet light. She seemed to be wiping tears from her eyes.

Then Reenie moved back to Hotaru, and without warning, grabbed her face. I could see the surprise on Hotaru's face as Reenie leaned down and kissed her.

The effect was like a bullet through my heart. I almost threw open the window then, but I stopped myself. I told myself that Hotaru would push Reenie away, and tell her that she was in love with me. I told myself that she'd meant what she said to me. I told myself that we were meant to be together, and that no one could take that away from us.

Only Hotaru didn't push Reenie away, or do any of those things. She wasn't kissing back, but she was allowing Reenie to kiss her.

I slowly sank away from the window, counting the seconds in my head. I looked back once I reached sixty. The scene was no different. I dropped to the ground, trying to think of what I should do next. I came up with nothing.

I sat down on the ground, pressing my back against the crate. I tried to think of what Reenie possibly could've said to Hotaru. The more I thought about it, the more I knew it had to be the same thing Hotaru had told me. Only Reenie didn't think she was in love with Hotaru. Apparently, she knew. Apparently, Hotaru felt the same way, or at least cared enough about Reenie to be comfortable with kissing her.

I was a fool. The signs of Reenie's love for Hotaru had always been there. The way they had been inseparable, the way she had reacted when I came along, the way she fiercely attacked me, and the way she refused to let me have Hotaru to myself. Then there was the fact that she had sided with Serena's choice of becoming a lesbian. Reenie was one, too. I should have known then. I should have known, but I didn't.

My hand brushed against something hard and round. The anger was clouding my mind now, and before I knew what was happening, I heard glass shattering and Reenie screaming. Then I ran hard and fast, faster than I'd ever run in my life. The world became a blur around me, and the tears rolling down my face didn't help my vision, either. I kept running until I couldn't run anymore. Then I collapsed, the soft grass cushioning my fall. I cried and cried, trying to figure out why Hotaru didn't love me back. Why she loved Reenie more. Why I had to lose my first love. The answers never came, and as I cried myself to sleep, I realized they probably never would.

Concluded in Part 3: Busted Ribs & Broken Hearts