A/N: Wow, it's been a while since I've even looked at my old stories. Mostly cringe worthy. This is the rewrite of my story Payback on my old account Wisteria Blossom. The plot's going to be quite different and less rushed. Just basically a new story with many elements from my previous one.
All That Glitters; Chapter 1
Rima sat underneath a bloodgood maple tree, sighing heavily. The air was still humid from the rain three nights ago. Kukai nudged her in her shoulder playfully, giving her his one of a kind smile. She returned with a small smile of her own, then went back to playing in her lunch.
"What's on your mind, Mashiro?" Kukai asked, furrowing his brows. Rima looked up at him, racking her brain to see if she wanted to say anything, and then sighed again. She stirred her chopsticks in her bento once more before she placed it in her lap.
"I guess I'm still not over the whole Amu situation." She finally admitted. "She was my best friend; why is she being so rude to me now?" Rima closed her bento and put it in the grass beside her, curling up into her ball. "I just don't get it. I haven't done anything wrong- at least in my opinion."
"The teenage years are rough, Mashiro. You'll learn soon enough that there are some bonds that just can't be broken, and some you have to let go for your own sake." Kukai concluded. Rima raised an eyebrow at him.
"Oh thank you, wise sir. I will forever be in your debt." She giggled, rolling her eyes. "Since when did you get all sentimental?"
"Been with Tsukasa for too long." Kukai chuckled nervously, placing his hand behind his head.
"You're not sick of being a student assistant? Is all that time around Tsukasa really good for you?" Kukai opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off.
"Hey, Souma. Rima-chan." Nagihiko greeted politely. "Want to have lunch together?" Rima looked at him, dumbfound.
"Has your girlfriend not filled you in on anything? We're not exactly 'cool' right now." Rima muttered to Nagihiko. Nagihiko cocked his head to the side, confused. He turned around, and smiled lightly.
"Well, maybe she can give me some clarity now." He walked over to Amu and embraced her, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. Rima internally gagged. The sight of them together made her sick. They weren't even a good pair. Besides, Amu knew she was breaking 'girl code' by dating him. She and Kukai watched as the two had their conversation in the near distance, glancing towards them every once in a while.
"Well, why aren't you guys hanging out anymore?" Nagihiko asked Amu. She sighed exasperatedly.
"She doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut. Besides, I've never really liked her attitude." She went to see if Rima was in earshot of what she was saying. She glanced behind Nagihiko, and saw Rima standing there.
"Keep my mouth shut? What are you talking about?" Rima's face was calm but angry. "And I don't have an attitude."
"Oh, don't act innocent now. I know what you really are." Amu glared at Rima, crossing her arms. "I thought we were friends."
"Mashiro thought you guys were too. She's completely in the dark Hinamori." Kukai chimed in.
"Right. Was I saying anything to you?" Amu retorted coldly, putting up her facade. Kukai looked at her, then Nagihiko, and then back to her.
"I don't see it." Kukai shook his head.
"Whatever, Kukai. And Rima," Amu moved closer to her so that they were just a few inches apart. "Don't talk to Nagihiko. You've already got liar and backstabber to your name. I wouldn't want to add slut." Rima's face grew livid.
"Excuse me? I haven't done anything to you but be your friend and you have the nerve to call me a slut? Who do you think you are?" Rima quipped.
"Stop acting like you don't know what you did! It's one thing to do it, but it's another thing to blatantly lie about it to my face!" Amu almost yelled. She took a deep breath in and crossed her arms. "I don't have time for this." Amu walked away from Rima and Kukai, with Nagihiko following, trying to make some sense of the situation.
Rima groaned and sunk back down against the trunk of the bloodgood tree. She slowly curled up into her ball and sighed. "I just don't get it..."
"What does she think you did?" Kukai wondered. Whatever it was had to be pretty bad.
"She won't even tell me! I've asked her and she just tells me 'You know what you did.' . Obviously I don't!" Rima put her head in her hands, irritated.
"Well, what are you going to do now?" Kukai asked. Rima shrugged her shoulders.
"I guess there's nothing to do. She won't talk to me or believe anything I say. I guess that's a bond lost for my sake, right wise man?" Rima smiled softly. Kukai chuckled and gave her a thumbs up. Soon after, the bell for lunch rang, signaling the end. Kukai helped Rima get on her feet and they walked into the school together.
'When did we even get so close to each other?' Rima thought to herself. Kukai had never been one of her favorite freinds, but he seemed to be climbing up with the dismissal of former friends. There was something about Kukai that she liked; that drew her to him and made her want to be his friend. Even if they didn't really have anything in common; he was a jock, she preferred books. He was energetic, she could sleep for days on end and still be tired. He was always happy, and she was always irritated.
'Maybe that's the best type of friendship.' Rima concluded, smiling at him. Kukai looked down at her and smiled cheerfully back.
"Oh shit, what period is this?" Rima smacked herself mentally. She completely forgot if it was even or odd.
"It's 6th, I'm pretty sure." Kukai patted Rima on the head. "Off to your class, little one." Rima grumbled slightly.
"Just because you have a free block doesn't make me a little one." She put her bag back on her shoulder and walked off to her next class: Maths.
She took her seat in the back, already bored by the presence of the mossy colored chalkboard. The beige of the walls was bland and utterly distasteful. The desks were old, chipped, and vandalized by other students who previously sat there. Little penises and curse words were scribbled in sharpie across it in some idiotic attempt at humor. Slanders of other students were present as well. She looked around her, watching the students she shared this class with. The girls gossiped about pop culture and the boys sat, comparing the females to one another. Rima sighed. The roar of the class was officially stopped by the bell, starting the lesson.
The teacher walked into the classroom. His glasses were off kilter and kind of crooked. His clothes were unsightly and quite frankly didn't match. His diamond patterned sweater clashed with his plaid button down and corduroy pants. He was the epitome of a disaster waiting to happen.
"Hello class, nice to see you all again. Let's get right on with the lesson with page 274..." Yawn. Rima turned to the page and placed her head down in her arms. Algebra II was not a fun class, and the enviroment only made it more dull.
"Mashiro-san?" The teacher called her name.
"What?" She grumbled, peeking her head up. The teacher cleared his throat.
"Can you please tell me the answer to number 4?" She looked down at the page.
'Number 4? Factor (x^2-16)? Easy. Difference of two squares.'
"I'm waiting, Mashiro-san." The teacher hurried her.
"It's (x-4) (x+4)." She finished, doing the math in her head. The other students looked at her, confused. She always slept in class; how did she know how to do it?
"Can you tell me how you came up with this answer?"
"Yep. Just reverse the FOIL method. x^2 makes two x's. Then since they're conjugates they won't have a middle term. Then, since the last term is a negative number and a perfect square, you get a negative and positive 4 to go in each parenthesis." Rima finished, placing her head back down on the desk, already bored.
"Um.. good work Mashiro-san. Although I'd prefer you didn't sleep in my cla-"
"Can I go to the bathroom?" Rima interrupted. She had nothing else better to do. The teacher sighed and nodded his head, handing her the pass. She thanked him and walked out the door. What was the point of being there if she already knew the material?
She felt her phone buzz in her purse and she took it out.
From: Kukai
Hey, you're supposed to be in class missy.
Rima spun around with her eyebrows furrowed. How did he know she wasn't in class? She just left. Her phone buzzed again.
From: Kukai
Cameras in the main office, remember?
Rimma rolled her eyes as she typed her reply.
To: Kukai
Ah hush. I have to pee, leave me alone.
Rima began to walk down the hallway, and she saw Saaya and her cronies gathered in a circle, giggling. She rolled her eyes and walked past them.
"How's your friendship holding up, Mashiro?" Saaya snickered. Rima ignored her and kept walking. This wasn't the place to start arguing with Saaya.
"Oh, Saaya!" She heard someone call. Rima's eyes grew wide and she say the pink hair stroll up to Saaya, hugging her, then joining ino their conversation. Saaya threw Rima a wicked smile and turned back to Amu and her followers.
"Oh hell no." Rima muttered to herself and walked away. Was that why Amu was acting so weird?
'No, it can't be. Maybe they just made up since middle school. They can't hold grudges against each other forever, and neither can Amu and I.'
Rima grumbled and made her way back to her class. The lesson was over and the students were chatting amongst themselves once more.
"Mashiro-san, can I have a word with you?" The teacher motioned for Rima to come over. She nodded and walked over silently.
"You're incredibly smart. You pass all your tests with almost perfect scores. So why are you failing my class?" Rima shrugged her shoulders.
"You haven't turned in a single homework assignment and less than half of your classwork assignments. That's already 45% of your grade, Mashiro-san. 55% is failing." Rima looked down. What was she supposed to say?
"Is there something going on that you want to let me know about? Anything at home that's not allowing you to get anything done?" Her teacher prodded. Rima shook her head, not wanting to share that information. He sighed and put his hand on his forehead.
"You're one of my brightest students. You shouldn't be failing this class. I'll allow you to make up the missing assignments, but you have to be consistent." Rima nodded her head. The bell rang again, and she picked up her bag and left.
"So, Fujisaki, how's your relationship going?" Kukai asked Nagihiko. Their Oceanography class was a fourth of a regular class since it was not required. Their substitute was less than interested in the lesson plan so the students sat and talked.
"It's going good. We're kind of an unlikely pair, but we're making it work." Nagihiko confessed. Kukai chuckled inwardly.
'Unlikely pair is an understatement.'
"How about yours? You and Utau doing good?"
"We thought it was best that we see other people. She's never around because she's always on tour and she's always busy so she can never talk." Kukai finished. "But it's okay. We're still friends."
"I see. Well, that is always good." Nagihiko gave him a sad smile.
"Y'know, I always though you and Mashiro would get together and become a thing." Kukai spoke abruptly. Nagihio chuckled awkwardly.
"Yeah.. Guess some things don't work out like assumed." He looked down, then took out his phone and began playing on it. Kukai cocked his brow, taking out his phone as well since he was beginning to get ignored.
From: Rima
What are you u to now?
Kukai chuckled and replied.
To: Rima
Bored. We aren't doing anything in class.
After two minutes, Rima replied back.
From: Rima
Same. Want to ditch and go to the park with me? Meet me the front of the school.
Kukai agreed and placed his phone in his pocket, gathering his things. Nagihiko looked up curously, mouthing "Where are you going?". He replied, "Meeting Mashiro." Nagihiko nodded and resumed his game. The sub waved him off and he left, meeting up with Rima outside of the school.
"So, soccer boy, want to get something to eat? I'm starving." Rima nudged him in his side as he did to her earlier.
"Yeah. Let's go to the Agemochi Cafe. They should still have their lunch specials up." Kukai suggested. Rima agreed and they began their walk. As they continued walking, they heard the sound of a car. Rima turned back curiously, since the car sounded as if it was going at a fast pace, and got water splashed onto her and Kukai.
"What the fuck?!" Rima exclaimed angrily. Snickers were heard from the car as the window rolled down and revealed Saaya's face.
"Had a nice splash losers?" Saaya chuckled heartily, obviously pleased with herself. In the back, however, Rima spotted Amu with Saaya's cronies, chuckling slightly.
Rima held up her middle fingers at her and walked away signaling Kukai to do so as well. He stared at the car with a menacing glare and walked off behind Rima.
They skipped the cafe and went straight to the park, where they sat on the swing-set.
"I don't fucking get it! She ditches me and acts rude to me just to become Yamabuki's road-whore? Fuck this. If she wants to play games, then so be it." Rima kicked the mulch angrily.
"C'mon Mashiro, calm down. you know I'm always going to be behind you 100%, but think before you act. You're angry right now." Kukai tried to reason.
"I tried reasoning. I've tried asking. I'm done. Kukai, you don't have to get involved. I know she's your friend."
"I can't associate myself with her until she cleans up her ways. The splash affected me too, y'now." Kukai chuckled softly, wringing out his tie. Rima smiled at him.
"Well then, I guess it's time for some payback."
A/N: And there we have it!