Bubblegum Girl

His bubblegum girl was sweet as sugar and pretty as a rose

Pairings: MikuxDell

I wanted some MikuxDell.

Originally, this was supposed to be really angtsy, but I decided to split it into two chapters. People who do not want angst and sad things should avoid the next chapter. People who do, well, you can go ahead and read it.

I was going for a slightly different writing style and I don't think I managed it very well. Sigh.

Dell had never been a huge fan of gum. When he tried to stop smoking, gum was one of the things a friend suggested to him. But it was too sweet for him. And what was the point of it? You just kept chewing it and chewing it and nothing happened. Not until you either popped another piece into your mouth or spat the wad of used gum out somewhere. Or, if you were a jackass , you stuck it to the underside of a table. Dell never claimed to be a good person, but at least he didn't do that.

So maybe he was never a fan of gum. But he certainly was a fan of Miku Hatsune. Kids at school called her Bubblegum Girl because of her liking for pink and her bubbly, sweet attitude. He thought the name fit her in all honesty, despite his dislike for bubblegum and gum in general. But he could get over his childish, picky attitude to admit that.

Miku was the Bubblegum Girl. And she would one day be his Bubblegum Girl, though he didn't yet know it.

Dell remembered the first time they had been properly introduced. He had heard the name Miku Hatsune before then, of course. Not only was the girl an up-and-coming model, but she was popular within the school. Students idolized her and teachers put her on a pedestal that no one else would ever be able to occupy. And even though Dell was supposed to be this rebel kid who hated life and everyone else who breathed, he couldn't hate Miku, even before he met her. Somehow, she seemed so genuine when other people just weren't.

But despite this, Dell couldn't bring himself to admit this outright. So he put on that face that showed how distasteful he found the world and ignored the Bubblegum Girl everyone was talking about. Until that special day in February, when Miku said her first words to him.

Dell could remember that day well, especially the weather. A cloudy day, with a high chance of more snow and a blistering wind Dell wouldn't have suffered through for anything. Except maybe a smoke.

So why was stupid Miku outside, then, too? Especially during school. Miku wasn't the sort to skip, not even once. But suddenly there she was, in all of her adorable glory, with a look on her face Dell wouldn't expect. She was stern, a crease in her brow no one ever really saw there. The Bubblegum Girl was not amused, and it seemed that whatever was wrong was because of Dell.

"You shouldn't smoke."

Her first words to him. Rude, but then again Miku was outgoing. Exuberant, almost. Dell wasn't surprised that she would be so forceful.

However, he was surprised that she was talking to him at all. Popular Miku Hatsune, right in front of Dell Honne, exchanging words? A laughable idea. Still…

She was there. Up close and in person. And what exactly was her problem, anyway?

"I got the lecture from my mom, kid. I don't need it from you," Dell blew out a cloud of smoke. Miku wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not that much younger than you, Dell. That being said, do you really think it's a good idea to poison yourself with those things? After all, you aren't much older than me," Miku stated.

"Thanks for the public service announcement," Dell replied sarcastically. "I couldn't care less."

"Well, before you decide to pollute your lungs, at least take a moment to consider all the other people around you. You're on school grounds, for goodness sake!"

Dell was a bit shocked by how intensely she was arguing her point. Most people just shot him dirty looks and moved on. But not Miku. No, she just had to be involved in his business. It was annoying. She was so annoying.

"Good observation, Sherlock. If it bothers you, you can leave," Dell looked at her pointedly, taking a long drag on his cigarette. He hadn't been smoking long and wasn't completely used to it, so he almost choked on the long breath he was drawing out.

"And shouldn't you be in class?" Miku asked, ignoring what he had just said completely.

"Same to you, princess," Dell said. "What would all those kids looking up to you think of this behavior?"

His sarcasm wasn't missed by Miku, who sent him a look that could only be described as annoyance.

"I'll go to class when you do. Until then, I'm not moving from this spot."

"Are you serious?"

The look on her face was all the answer he needed.

"Oh my God," Dell muttered, dropping his lit cigarette and smashing it under his shoe. "Just go away, you stupid girl. I'm going."

"Good! And don't skip class again," Miku commanded, true to her word as she waited for him to leave.

Dell couldn't help feeling like something very important had just happened. And he was completely right.

The following day, when Dell showed up to his English class for the first time since the second week of school, he could see Miku's smiling face as she waved in greeting. Turning his back on her, he slid his late note onto his surprised teacher's desk and went to sit in his seat. From then on, it seemed to be Miku's duty to check in on him and make sure he was showing up for class.

At some point, the girl got ahold of his phone number. He would never tell anyone, but in his contacts, he saved her as Bubblegum Girl.

Their second year of high school came a lot quicker than Dell ever thought it would. Again, there was Miku, in the spotlight as she had been before, though suddenly Bubblegum Girl was dragging him with her. Yes, he had stopped smoking because of her, and he was back in class every single day (despite how much he wished he wasn't), but they were by no means friends in his eyes. To Miku, though, it was a friendship waiting to happen. Dell would like her, no matter what. After all, she was a liable person.

Suddenly, Miku was everywhere. At his locker, walking outside with him after school before parting to her own car with a smiling mother, right by his elbow at lunch as she snacked on her food. He didn't even see her coming half the time. She was just there, occupying so much space that he couldn't simply ignore her anymore.

And what did her friends think of this?

Well, they were a lot more supportive than Dell would have ever guessed.

Even Len Kagamine, an attractive blond boy who everyone knew would end up dating Miku before graduation, seemed fine with this recent development.

Dell seemed to be alone when it came to this weird thing Miku was trying to do. What was her problem? He had been wondering it since that first day she had approached him, but never had his question been answered. He wasn't sure it would ever be answered.

But he was once again wrong. In the spring of tenth grade, all was revealed, and Dell couldn't lie anymore. He couldn't pretend that whatever this was hadn't affected him. Miku was infectious now. She was a part of his life, even if it was a small part.

The smell of bubblegum and the color pink would never leave him again.

"I love you."

Dell froze. Miku wasn't someone who shied away from bursts of affection. Saying things like "I like you" and "I love you" weren't so taboo to her. She hugged and kissed people openly and acted as though she had enough love for the entire world. To Dell, a closed-off individual, such things were against every single one of his personal laws. But now he was a part of this. He was one of Miku's "love ones."

"Good to hear," Dell replied as casually as possible while internally screaming. "If you're looking for affection, go bug Teto or something. I don't do cuddling."

Miku didn't seem fazed. To be honest, the way she stood so stoically next to him was unnerving. There, in the quiet library after school, where they were the only ones, Dell could hear his own heartbeat in the silence. It was a panic attack waiting to happen.

"I love you," she repeated. "Really love."

"Funny. Are you going to help me study or not?" he asked, brushing aside whatever it was she was trying to say.

"I'm serious, Dell. I love you," she stated. "You may be emotionally constipated, but I'm going for this. I love you."

"Quit saying that," Dell ordered. "I'll never be able to tell whether or not you're being serious if you do stuff like this."

"You can't tell anyway, sweetie," Miku replied. Dell winced mentally at the nickname. "Come on, I'll kiss you and prove it."

This conversation was heading into dangerous territory now. Dell was more than uncomfortable with what was going on. Couldn't Miku see that? Why couldn't she just drop it?

"You kiss everyone," Dell pointed out.

"On the cheeks. You know, that's a greeting in some countries," Miku told him, leaning back against the table. She was still looking down at him, but only just. At her height, Dell was barely shorter than her sitting down.

"We aren't kissing," Dell said forcefully.

"Well, if I kiss you, we technically aren't," Miku argued lightly.

"This really isn't funny, Miku. April Fool's Day already passed."

A smile sprung up on Miku's face and she was leaning in now.

"It's not a joke, Dell. Come on, let's go on a date. My treat, if that's what it takes."

Dell nearly passed out when she kissed him. But that was just another thing he would never admit.

Review if that's your thing. If not, I'll see you next chapter.