Chapter 24: Barbie doll

~Byakuya's POV~ "Byakuya, what's wrong?"

I glared at Naegi. "What's wrong? What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong; what's wrong is that my entire life has been turned upside-down! I can't have one minute of peace and quiet to myself without Leo bragging that he's still dating June, or without Leo just plain bragging about how much better his life is and how much more rich he is than I am. That, Naegi, is what's wrong."

"You've been complaining about that for awhile now; can you not find something else to complain about? It's getting kind of old."

What?

My glare intensified. "Excuse me? Okay then. Tell me--do you have an enemy that you hate so much go to the same school as you, and a little while later, the person you hate almost as much as the other person suddenly shows up and transfers and, to top it all off, starts dating the person you hate the most right in front of you? So that's all you think about? You wonder and wonder which one you'd rather punch in the face? Well, I do, and once all that happens to you, you can give me a call."

"Byakuya, here's the problem with what you just said--you shouldn't care." Naegi said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's obvious, Byakuya. If you really hate June and would like nothing more than her not existing and Leo not existing, then why do you care? You'd think someone who really hates someone else would just completely ignore them, but no, Byakuya, not you. Every day of every week of every month you just HAVE TO know what June is up to at all times! You can't just leave it be like any normal person who hated another person! In fact, you're more involved in June's life now as her so-called 'enemy' than you ever were when you were friends. It's ridiculous. Every time you come to me and complain about June, I try my best to tell you that you're right and be a supportive friend and I try my best to act like you really hate June even though I have no clue as to why, but... but you make it impossible; it's just crazy! If I knew any better (and I do), I'd say you not only don't hate June, but you still have feelings for her!" Naegi spit out all at once.

My eyes widened. I just stared at him, utterly speechless at this point.

I, Byakuya Togami, still have feelings for June? Oh please. I ended that stupid, little "crush" a LONG TIME AGO. How could Naegi say that? Has he not listened to the many times I thoroughly expressed how much I freaking HATE June???

Just when I was about to murder Naegi on the spot for even thinking something like that, Hina and Erin suddenly approached us.

"As much as I would love to talk to you, Byakuya, I need to ask you a question--have you seen June? She wasn't in her dorm room this morning and we haven't seen her since last night." Erin said.

"First off, I couldn't care less about June's whereabouts. Second off, no, I have not seen her and, again, I could not care less," I said. I turned to Naegi again. "How's that, Naegi? Huh? Do I need to repeat it to you in a different language? Does your delusional brain still think I'm madly 'in love' with June? And does it still think she's in love with me? Well?"

Hina and Erin gave me a look like I was something stuck on the bottom of their shoes.

"What? NO. Makoto, no offense, but you're insane; June NEVER had any feelings but hate for this jerk!" Hina said.

Erin scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and looked at the ground. "Well, uh, actually I can say for certainty that's completely not true..."

Huh? What's that supposed to mean? That June actually had feelings for me? As if. Erin's telling some ludicrous lie just to spite me.

I glared at Erin the hardest; if looks could kill, we would all be attending Erin's funeral right now.

Hina gave Erin a look that pretty much said she was crazy. "Erin, what's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Erin clasped her hands together nervously. "Heheheh... N-Nothing! It means nothing...! Just pretend I didn't even say anything...!" she studdered.

Naegi cleared his throat. "Ahem. Alright then," he said. "Did you try calling Leo? He might know."

"We already tried that. He won't answer his phone and neither will June," Hina said. "We're starting to get worried."

Would it be too much to hope that they both suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth?

"I honestly think we should all be grateful that we don't have to hear from them ever again." I said.

Hina and Erin glared at me.

"Uh huh, of course you're enjoying this, Togami! You are the narcissistic bastard of the year, after all...!" Erin said.

I shot her a glare right back. "If I ever commit murder, just know you'll be the reason why." I huffed at her.

Erin rolled her eyes at me. "Oh, please, Byakuya, we all know that you don't have the--" Suddenly, she cut herself off as she stared at something in the distance. "Is that...?"

Hina looked around. "Is what what?" she asked.

Erin's eyes were as wide as saucers as she grabbed Hina be the shoulder and turned her in the right direction. "No way...," Erin mumbled. "Impossible..."

Hina looked as well before her eyes widened as well.

This time, I rolled my eyes. "What is it you two idiots are going on about?" I said.

Erin and Hina didn't answer me; it was as if I hadn't even spoke.

No comeback, no snide remarks, nothing.

I blinked. "Uh, hello...! Are you two just deaf or are you more stupid than I originally thought?"

All of a sudden, I felt a tug on my shirt. It was Naegi. "U-Uh... Byakuya, you may wanna look at this..." he muttered as he looked where Erin and Hina were looking.

I sighed and rolled my eyes again. "Please, Naegi, now you too? What is so important that you all look as if you've seen a ghost?" I said before I turned to look with the others. "Honestly, you'd think that... that..." My voice trailed off and I couldn't even remember what I was going to say. My jaw probably dropped at what I saw.

If I had to rate the most surprising moments in my entire life from one to one hundred (one being the most surprising), this moment would easily be on top.

June Takahashi was always a decent-looking girl (obviously, she was good-looking enough to get Leo), even though I hated her, she never ranked as ugly on my list. In fact, a long time ago, there was a time when I even thought that June was the most beautiful girl on the planet (again, this was a LONG TIME AGO).

But... now...

I had no words to describe how she looked now...

June walked in with Leo at her side, of course. June's hair was styled like something out of a well-known and popular fashion magazine and her makeup looked like it was done by a professional. She had on jewelry that I could tell was definitely more than she could afford--an expensive necklace hung around her neck, pearl and gold earrings dangled from her ears. She had on heels that would make even the most popular girls here green with envy and jealousy.

And her clothes...

Her clothes were from the stores my family shops at.

Her clothes were clothes she couldn't afford, yet she had them. In fact, her outfit probably cost more than her house.

No, actually, I know for a fact it does.

All our eyes stayed widened, all our jaws stayed dropped. And they remained that way until June and Leo eventually came strutting over to us.

Leo had a smug smile on his face, as if June was his little project that he created.

We all just stared at each other until someone eventually spoke up.

It was Erin. "I... I'm dreaming... I mean, I must be, because the June Takahashi I know, my sister, would NEVER in a MILLION YEARS dress like that and wear makeup... So, I better be dreaming."

June blinked. "Uh, no, Erin, you're not dreaming... And take a chill pill; all I did was improve my look and add some makeup and jewelry..." she said.

"I feel like I'm going to faint..." Hina mumbled.

"I think I am going to faint..." Erin said.

"June... what... what happened to you...?" Naegi mumbled.

"Uh--" June said.

She was cut off. "June here decided it would be favorable to update her... look. Of course, I agreed." Leo said.

June's gaze suddenly met mine. "Um... Togami, why are you suddenly interacting with my friends...?"

It took me a second to form a coherent sentence. "W-Well, I was just--"

"Isn't it nice to see you, Byakuya! Why are you suddenly interacting with June's friends?" Leo interrupted me, his smile obviously fake. I could tell he wanting to tell me, plain and simple, to go jump off a cliff.

Of course, I wanted nothing more than to tell him the exact same thing.

Instead I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I believe I was talking to June, not to you. Also, since when do you speak for her?"

This time, Leo didn't bother with a fake smile, he flat-out glared at me. "Since I became her boyfriend, which, to her, may I remind you, is something you'll never be." he said through gritted teeth.

I clenched my fists so hard they turned white. It took all I had not to beat up Leo on the spot.

First he dresses June up like a Barbie doll and parades her around, then he has the nerve to say something like that?

"June, why aren't you wearing your uniform? It's required." Hina said.

"So? Who cares about some dumb uniform rule? I can wear whatever I want, whenever I want. Plus, the Headmaster of this school is my uncle; something tells me he can let this slide." June said.

"Some dumb uniform rule"? June would never refer to a rule like that... I mean, she's not like Ishimaru, but she's certainly what you would call a goodie-two-shoes.

Erin and Hina were just as surprised as I was; Hina's eyes widened and Erin's jaw dropped.

"I can't believe I'm saying this--June, the rules are important and you need to follow them... In fact, you usually do..." Erin said.

"I unfortunately have to agree with Erin; she actually has some form of a point." I said.

June scoffed at me. "Since when do you care? You don't. So, I would appreciate it if you would stay out of my business, Togami."

Leo smirked at her. "You took the words right out of my mouth, chica." he mused. Then he linked his arm around her, held her close, and stared straight at me.

I wanted to choke him.

Naegi suddenly tugged on my arm. "Um, Byakuya? The tardy bell will be ringing soon, we better get to first period." he pointed out.

I gave a curt nod. "You're right, Naegi, let's get going." I said before I pulled him along and we left.

"I can't believe this--Leo turned June into a Barbie doll and practically changed her completely!" I said as we walked.

"I know... It's weird, right?" Naegi said.

It's more than just weird. Although I despise her, I know June and she wouldn't just up and change like this so suddenly...

Unless someone was making her...

Leo is behind this. He probably pressured June into changing her entire image.

No.

That's exactly what he did.