Disclaimer: I do not own Red Eye or Kare Kano: His & Her Circumstances
Summary: What if Lisa and Jackson knew each other before the Red Eye flight? This is a story about two perfectionists going to the same high school and what happens as they fall for each other. What events cause Jackson to choose another path? All this leads up to that fateful day of the flight.
A/N: This is a crazy story really. It follows the storyline of the manga series Kare Kano: His & Her Circumstances by Masami Tsuda, although there are many evident differences in this story. But, if you have read the series, chances are you may know what happens next. This story starts out as Lisa's POV, and the POV will change from time to time.
His & Her Circumstances
Chapter 1
'I wonder how others see me?'"Hey Lisa!" waves a girl right in front of me. "You're going to teach us that cheer today, right?"
I catch up with her and we walk side by side in the bustling halls. "Of course I am. I hope you guys like it."
"Oh I know we'll like it!" She turns her attention away from me and stops for a faint moment, spotting a friend straight ahead.
"Claire!" the girl calls out from afar. She looks at me, and a smile forms on her freckled face. I know exactly what she is going to ask. I return her smile as she skips her way towards us. "Lisa, I'm so glad I found you!"
Here it comes…
"I had some trouble with my math homework. Can you help me with it?"
There it is. As I answer her, out of nowhere comes another student.
"Lisa, I need some help too!" She must have been listening from behind. Other girls show up all of the sudden, and before I know it, I've arranged a whole study group scheduled during lunch.
"Lisa, you're so perfect," comments one girl.
Another adds to this. "Oh I know! You're the most athletic and you always get good grades! How do you do it?"
'So that's how others see me.'
I laugh, making myself seem embarrassed. "Anybody could do it if they work hard enough."
They all giggle to this. "It's not as easy as you make it out to be. Man, I wish my life was like yours."
Pfft. Easy? My life ain't easy. I just work my butt off so it appears that way. I was born a people-pleaser and I feed on the admiration of my peers. Egotistical my family calls me. Well that I am! The feeling of being a winner is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Nothing is better than people praising you, nothing. I was always at the top of the class—always first. But once I entered high school, everything changed.
It was during the presidential campaign. That was when I first saw him. As I locked eyes with him I could not help but think he was handsome. He smiled pleasantly at me saying, "I'm Jackson St. Clair. Nice to meet you." I smiled back and introduced myself, secretly noting that he didn't stand a chance against me. Yes, he was also competing for the title as class president and I simply dismissed him, labeling him as just another pretty face. He definitely lacked the intelligence that I had, I was sure of it. But boy was I wrong.
We sat next to each other, seated on the stage, the muggy air causing beads of sweat dripping down the kids' foreheads. I glanced at my competitor, taking in his calm features. He could sense my eyes on him, and he turned to me, whispering "good luck" in my ear. 'Ha, good luck! You're gonna need all the luck in the world in order to beat me!' I smiled smugly to myself as the boy in front began announcing the results of the election.
"And our president for sophomore year is…Jackson St. Clair!"
'WHAT!' I could not help but gape as the boy sitting beside me gets up and takes the microphone. He started to talk, but I didn't hear him. All I could think of was how on earth he could've defeated me. Me of all people! I was utterly horrified. Fourteen years old and I've never faced such humiliation. I wanted to hit that pretty face of his! Smash it to the ground!
It was at that moment that I developed a goal. And that goal was to defeat Jackson at all cost.
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It's 3:15 PM. Two girls dash up the stairs, flying through the halls. They immediately halt, the lack of friction on the hardwood floor causing their socks to skid. They found what they've been searching for. The one with the short brown hair plunks her backpack on the floor, the other already entering the bedroom.
"There you are!" says the younger, her auburn locks bunching up at her shoulders. She stops for a moment and narrows her green eyes. "You're wearing that again? You wore that the last time we came here!"
I spin myself around on my chair. "Well I got a lot of pairs, so what?"
I can hear the laughter of her sister. "So you wear that every time we're here." She decided to join in and I stare back at her with a hard face. She's a year younger than I am, but she's already grown to be my height.
"It's comfortable."
This was their queue to burst out with laughter. I decide to ignore them, going back to the computer and tapping my fingers against the keyboard.
The one with the long brown hair is my cousin, Abby. And the one next to her, the one with the short hair, well that's her sister Kirsten. Do you see the one typing away at the computer? The one with the glasses wearing the striped pajama pants and a baggy tee? Well that's me. And yes it's true. I'm not really the goddess everyone at school thinks I am. I'm a total fraud and my family is the only one that knows it. Let's just say it's my little secret.
I mean, can you even imagine if any of the kids found out? My reputation would be done for! All my life I've struggled to create this perfect image of myself. It's my mask. I put it on when I go to school, and take it off when I leave. Yeah, it's sometimes a pain to do this, but it's all worth it when everybody is kneeling at your feet.
"So you must be wondering why we're here." Kirsten breaks my train of thought.
"Why wonder? You're like here almost every other day."
"True. But that's not the point! We're going to the movies after school on Friday and we want you to come."
I turn around, looking up at the two girls who were all smiles. "I'm sorry. I just can't go. I've got homework."
"What!" gasps Abby. "But it's on Friday! Who does homework on a Friday night?"
"I do."
"You're crazy. Give yourself a break for once." She and Kirsten do their infamous puppy-dog pout. "You never hang out with us anymore," they whine.
I try to resist their desperate stares. I sigh heavily, turning my back on them. "You don't understand. I have a project to work on that day. Now let me be. I have to study for a test now. This test is huge and I have to get the best score."
"Why do have to be so perfect?" says Abby.
Kirsten adds to this. "Seriously! Every time I see you in the hall, you greet me with 'Hello Kirsten, how are you?'" Kirsten voice goes into a high soothing tone as she demonstrates this. "And then you have this big smile and walk on in the most peaceful manner. It's so scary. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that girl that just spoke to me is you. It's like you're a different person."
"Come on," nags Abby. "Just come with us. Give yourself a break for once. It's only a few hours."
"No. I already said I can't." I'm growing quite irritated. "Now if you don't mind I have to study so that I can get the best test grade. So I can…"
"Beat that Jackson kid?"
"Yes! I can't lose to him!" I suddenly find myself standing up off my seat, my fist clenched in the air.
"Hey girls." A man peaks his head out of the doorway. His hair is of a reddish brown and on his nose rests a pair of golden spectacles. That man right there is my dad, Joe Reisert. "What are you up to?"
Abby is the first to complain. She turns to face my father and folds her hands, giving off her little angel impression. I hate it when she does that! She looks completely innocent, her expression as sweet as can be. "Lisa won't go with us to the movies," she sulks. "She's too busy trying to beat that Jackson kid."
"Jackson kid? What Jackson kid?"
"Jackson St. Clair," I growl.
"The one who beat her in the presidential campaign last spring," Kirsten chimes in.
I want to say, "Yes Kirsten. Thanks for reminding us," but I refrain, keeping my cool.
"St. Clair…St. Clair." My dad repeats Jackson's last name to himself, digging the name out of the depths of his memory. "Oh, St. Clair! Isn't that…"
"A name of a hospital?" I say, finishing his sentence. "Why yes, St. Clair hospital. And yes, Jackson St. Clair is related to the owners of that hospital." I find my voice rising as I say this.
My dad doesn't seem to notice that I'm miffed. "Man," he continues. "He must be stinkin' rich."
"Oh yes," says Kirsten. "Very."
"Okay, why don't you take this lovely conversation outside, eh?" I literally push them out of my room and shut the door behind them. "Finally," I whisper to myself. I go back and seat myself in front of the computer. I can't help but wonder what movie my cousins are seeing. What kind of genre is it? Is it supposed to be good? Quite flustered, I push it out of my mind and focus on studying. I will defeat you Jackson. I will not be brought down so easily. Just you wait.
A/N: Well tell me what you think! I know I know, Lisa seems a bit weird character-wise (Okay, a lot weird), as well as Jackson, but this is before that parking lot incident and Jackson's crazy side. Hopefully their characters will come in place later in the story.
Oh, and I wrote another Red Eye story a year ago but never finished. Sorry, but I lost my inspiration for it. I really don't think I'm gonna finish it. Well, at least it ended in a good spot:/