Hating Normal
By Dan'yu
Keiko Yukimura. She has this strange power, to turn my world upside down and inside out. She's always been here, right in front of me. I have no idea why I feel this way, but I can't get rid of the feeling, no matter how much I try. She's walking up to me now, just like she does every day. She'll probably find something or other to scold me about, and then I'll walk her to class. Just like every day, every ordinary, normal day.
I'm really starting to hate normal…
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"Yusuke."
"Yusuke…"
"YUSUKE!"
His eyes flew open, his hands thrown to either side to keep him from falling over from the shock. Yusuke Urameshi found himself staring into the eyes of Keiko Yukimura, his childhood friend and…how was it he was supposed to define her? His attraction…his crush…his love interest?
Mahogany meeting hazel brown, he couldn't bring himself to make any move to pull away. He felt his face grow warm as he realized how close they were, nearly touching nose to nose.
" Err…uh..hi, Keiko."
Color stained her cheeks as she pulled away, jerking her lithe body back with such force that her feet lost their balance against the pavement, but just before she hurtled back unto the gravel, a pair of strong hands locked around her wrists, pulling her forward. Unfortunately for the two, his rescue only changed the direction of the fall's momentum, sending her tumbling into his lap.
----
How does she manage to do this to me? Just the sight of her can send my heart slamming in my chest, and her smile makes me feel like the only one in the room, like it's meant only for me. I wish it were…
----
Yusuke's eyes fluttered shut involuntarily at the new sensation as her body molded into his for the split second following the impact. He willed every ounce of the grit and iron will he was so infamous for to hold strong against the wave of heat that crashed over him. Damn the hormones of a fifteen-year-old body.
She quickly pulled back, her face flushed with mortification as she shakily rose to her feet, brushing imaginary dust of the skirt of her uniform in an effort not to meet his eyes. "A-arigatou, Yusuke."
"It's no problem…Kei…"
Keiko quickly looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise. It had been years, after all, since he had willingly called her by the shortened name. Her face lit up with a warm, shy smile, and the rhythm of his heartbeat seemed to pick up triple-time as he knew…he knew that that smile was for him, and him alone.
She bashfully averted her eyes once more, turning away from him as that endearing blush graced her pretty features once more. "Come on, Yusuke. Sensei sent me to get you. Class is about to start. And don't even think about skipping! You've missed enough school already-"
Her words were left hovering unfinished in the air as her body froze in place, struck still with shock as a pair of strong arms slipped around her waist from behind, pulling her back against a hard, and definitely male, chest. Shocked by the sudden intimacy of the gesture, despite herself, she could not ignore the sudden sensation of his body's warmth, or the subtle shift of the muscles making up a powerfully defined torso as he moved slightly, making a final daring move as he dropped a light kiss to the crown of her head.
As quickly as he had approached, his warmth was gone as he moved away, and she found herself missing his proximity immediately. Dazed, she slowly shook her head to clear the fog gripping her mind as his voice suddenly broke through clearly to her thoughts, "Kei? You coming? You were the one who said we were late…"
And there he stood, the same Yusuke he had always been, holding the door open leading into the school, one dark brow arched in inquiry as his lips curved into his trademark smirk. Cool and unaffected, as if he was not the same boy that had embraced her so tenderly only a moment ago, walking dangerously on the thin line separating friendship from something more.
But as she passed by him, already prepared to dismiss the incident out of her mind, there was a whisper soft touch to her shoulder, his lips brushing lightly against her temple as he whispered to her. "I'm not good at this, you know. Daisuki…Kei…is that enough?"
Keiko said nothing as she held his gaze, reaching tentatively for his hand. He jerked, startled at the sudden contact, and then let himself relax, his hand enveloping hers as their fingers tightly entwined, joined in a simple gesture of affection. Unpretentious in nature, but speaking volumes of their sudden shift.
"It's more than enough, Yusuke."
----
She reached out to me, and everything I lack, every fault I have doesn't matter anymore. She accepted me, and that was enough.
I shouldn't complicate this by thinking too much, I know, but I can't help but still find it hard to believe she could ever care for someone like me.
Maybe…maybe normal is not so bad after all. Maybe there'll be a time when this will be normal too. Or, maybe not normal. I don't think I'll ever stop feeling the fire, the thrill, the happiness that runs through me whenever she touches me. Everything about loving her is exciting and new.
Normal is relative. Who needs it anyway?
