Stay Part 3/? By: Elisabeth James Long time no see on this fic huh? Well I hope you like this next part :) Disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon :) BUT I do own a brand new blue slip so I can get my license April 19th!! She scrapped the bottom of the container with the spoon, trying to grab the last morsel of Chocolate Cherry Garcia ice cream from the dripping carton. She shoved the last spoonful into her mouth, closing her eyes to savor it. She tossed the empty package into the garbage can to her left and got up to look in the freezer for another one. When she found she had cleaned out the entire supply of ice cream, she got angry. “Damn Ben and Jerry’s! Why can’t they make a bigger a carton! It’s too expensive for such a little amount!” she slammed the door closed and moped back to the kitchen table. She stared at the portable phone sitting in front of her, willing it to ring. She wanted to speak to Mamoru, but after the scene she caused last night at dinner she doubted he would want to talk to her. She remembered everything and felt utterly embarrassed that she could have possibly acted in such a manner. She was 18 for God sake and she behaved like a five year old in front of the man she cared more about than she wanted to admit. The thought of leaving Mamoru behind to go to America frightened her to no end. She didn’t want to go really, but... it was too good of an opportunity to just abandon and pretend like it never happen. With a college education in America she could go really far, get a good job, support herself and not rely on a man to take care of her. She liked that idea, not needing some guy to keep her going in life. Besides it wasn’t like she was leaving forever, after college she would return to Tokyo, and to Mamoru. Thoughts flashed through her head, what if she came back and he had a girlfriend, or even worse a wife. The thought stopped her cold, she couldn’t breathe at the simply suggestion of Mamoru being with anyone but her. It seemed totally unnatural and just plain... wrong! Ikuko walked into the kitchen to see her weepy daughter eyeing the phone and being completely silent, for once in her life. Something was eating away at her daughter, and she knew it was a guy. Only a guy could cause Usagi to act like this. “Usagi, honey, come on, you need to get out of this house.” Ikuko walked over to the freezer and opened the door. Shooting a quick glance over at her golden haired child, she knew where all the ice cream went. She shut the door behind her and walked up behind Usagi. Usagi turned her red eyes up to her mother behind her, “Where do you suppose I should go?” She plopped a small plastic card into Usagi’s hand, “Go shopping, buy yourself some new clothes for your trip. It’s only about two weeks until you leave, you deserve some new things.” She eyed the credit card with a raised eyebrow, wondering what had possessed her mother to hand her a credit card, and stood up silently, “I could use some new stuff for college.” “Then it’s settled, go and have fun, but you better not charge-” Ikuko was cut off by her daughter flying out the door and out to her car. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The satin shimmered under the soft white lights of the shop. The small pearls and sequins glimmered and glowed. She had never tried on anything so beautiful in her entire life, and she was almost positive that she would never again. She still wasn’t quite sure what made her enter the bridal shop in the first place. She had simply passed by it on her way out and she wandered in inquiring about the gown she had fallen in love in the window. Now she stood in front of the mirror, admiring her appearance. The saleslady had remarked that the dress looked absolutely stunning on her hourglass figure and that her future husband would faint when he saw her in it as she walked down the isle. She smiled warmly, knowing that there was only person she would ever want to wear such a dress for and he would never propose to her. Her smile dropped a little as she spun around in front of the full length mirror. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* What ever made Mamoru walk this way when exiting the mall was a saint in disguise. For as he walked out the door, he saw Usagi in the bridal shop in the most beautiful dress he had ever seen. He stopped in mid step, every movement ceased to exist except for the beating of his heart as his angel spun around in front of the mirror. He gave temporary control to the force that led him here and let himself be guided into the shop to see his love closer up. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Mrs. Chiba Mamoru.” she whispered, the name suited her. He suited her. “Mrs. Chiba Usagi.” her smile grew bright again, engulfing her whole face. She laughed softly under her breath. She dreamed of this, she prayed for this. He was all she wanted, not a college scholorship to the states, not anything else, and she knew that she could be truly happy forever with him by her side. This was what love felt like, this heart-wrenching feeling. She had never known until now, or she never realized what the feelings were before. She recognized the pull he had over her heart. She would be more than happy to just surrender to him, to hand over her heart and soul with no questions asked. Now she was leaving, fighting against everything her heart was telling her to do. How could doing the right thing feel so utterly utterly wrong? She spun around slowly, admiring herself one last time before walking slowly back to the dressing room in tears. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Mamoru walked up to the front counter, “Excuse me Miss, did you happen to see where the blond who was just trying on bridal gowns went?” The saleslady glanced quickly in the back of the shop, and saw that the young girl had disappeared. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t even notice she left, I thought for sure she was going to buy that dress. She looked absolutely heavenly in it.” Mamoru smiled, even this woman who didn’t even know Usagi recognized her angelic quality, “Thanks anyway.” He turned on his heel and sauntered out of the shop. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “A young man was just in here to see you Miss.” the saleslady looked up at Usagi with peaked interest. It seemed like something was going on between them, “I think it might have been your fiancée.” “But I don’t have a-” she cut herself off, not really wanting to tell the woman that she had just wasted 30 minutes of her time helping someone try on a dress that wasn’t even getting married. “What did he look like?” she started again. “Tall, with dark ebony hair, nice build, extremely handsome.” Usagi knew who it was immediately, she did not waste another second before flying out the door toward the parking lot. She saw him approaching his red sports car. Before she could stop them, the words took flight from her mouth.. “Mamo-chan!” His head turned toward the sound and he saw Usagi standing on the sidewalk. Their eyes met and a smile slowly spread across his face. He quickly forgot about his car for the moment and walked back to her. “Usagi-chan, I thought you were angry with me.” he told her softly, gazing into her endless blue eyes. She shook her head, “Of course not, I was the one who acted so immature last night at dinner. I should have been more understanding.” he smiled at her, it was so like her to try and blame everything on herself, when she did nothing wrong. “It was I who should have more understanding. This is such a hard decision for you to make, and I couldn’t even tell you how I feel. You are my best friend, you and Motoki are the only people I trust these days. I guess I just couldn’t deal with the thought of losing you.” “Why did you have to be so perfect?” she whispered through her sniffles. A look of confusion crossed his face, before he knew what it meant. This should have been an easy decision for her to make, why did her heart have to get involved with everything? *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* She drove home in silence, Mamoru and her parting their separate ways. He had hugged her and told her he would call her later. She was frustrated with herself, she wanted to confess how she felt about him, instead she had remained silent expect for that sentence she had murmured. He was perfect in every way a human being could be. Kind and caring, loving, supportive. The only thing her lacked that would have completed everything was feelings for her that went beyond friendship. She loved him for that, but she wanted him to feel something more. How could love put her in this compromising position and not have Mamoru feel the same way? What kind of cruel joke was this force playing on her, to grant her everything her heart ever wanted, only to snatch it from her grasp after only a short time. It seemed so utterly unfair, but then again life almost always is. I know this seems kind of depressing but it will get happier. I guarantee a happy ending on this fic, unlike my other fic Fading Hope :) Anyway, special thanks to: Clare-chan, Kelly, Adrianne, Sarah Beth, and Meredith Until next time :) Liz-chan