"There She Goes", an InuKag High School Oneshot
*set in the 90's - listening to The Goo Goo Dolls or Foo Fighters while reading is highly recommended
He could still remember her first day at his school.
She'd walked into his homeroom class and sat just a few seats away, a nervous but genuine smile on her lips as she looked about at the people coming in. Inuyasha decided right then and there that he hated her.
Turned out her name was Kagome, and her family had just moved from the city into an old church not far from where he and his foster dad lived. He wondered if she walked to school, since their path home would inevitably be the same route. He made up his mind to go the long way home that day to avoid any questions.
She was smart, he discovered, but not a genius. Although she didn't stand out academically, she shone like a star among the other students, humans and demons alike. It wasn't long before she was flanked by friends every day, always saying hello to teachers, always in a pleasant conversation. She'd even tried talking to him a few times, but he ignored her with determination. It took her a while to get that he wasn't someone she should be talking to. He was the only half-demon in his grade, and the one student that humans and demons alike wanted nothing to do with. Inuyasha kept to himself, ate lunch by himself, studied on his own, and didn't bother with anyone else so that they wouldn't be tempted to bother him. Kagome didn't know the rule at first, didn't know that she shouldn't even look his way, but the other students corrected her soon enough. It was strange to him though… even after their warnings, she still tried talking to him. His own silence kept her from ever succeeding.
Inuyasha firmly told himself that he hated her, every single day, but he couldn't help watching everything she did. After a month he'd memorized her routine, after three months he memorized her likes and dislikes. He memorized her wardrobe, all loose sweaters and short skirts and sneakers. It had only taken a week to memorize her smell, but he wouldn't admit to himself just how nice a smell it was until four months had passed. They really did walk the same route home, and after a week of avoiding it altogether, Inuyasha trailed behind her on the path, far enough away that she would never be tempted to turn back and talk to him. Sometimes he found himself wishing she would.
When a school dance approached, he watched as boy after boy came up to ask to take her, and one by one she'd give them a smile and say "We'll see", but it was never a definite yes. Inuyasha wondered what she was waiting for, secretly hoping she turned them all down. The thought of her hanging off some guy made his gut twist unpleasantly and a growl rise in his throat. The day before the dance she'd tried to talk to him again, going so far as to sit and wait out his silence, but he'd refused to even look at her, and eventually she'd sighed sadly and walked away to talk with her friends. He was so angry and confused by her strange behavior that he ran the whole way home before she even left the school. Totosai's greeting was met with an angry growl as Inuyasha slammed the door to his room and turned his music up as loud as his ears could take, hoping to drown out the strange thoughts running through his head about his black-haired classmate.
The day after the dance, he'd been on pins and needles, expecting to see her walk through the door to the classroom with a new boyfriend. He was sure she hadn't gone alone, and also sure that any guy who managed to get a date out of her wouldn't let her go any time soon. But she walked in with her usual group of friends, talking and laughing about how fun the dance had been, and how tired she'd been afterwards, and how nice it had been to go with just friends. He couldn't believe it. A little voice in the back of his head couldn't stop whispering 'maybe I have a chance'.
He didn't plan on it, but after that day, he started to act differently towards her. When she'd say hello in the morning, he'd respond with a gruff 'hey'. The first time he'd done it she nearly fainted from the shock, and he'd worried she wouldn't try it again. But she continued to do it, and he continued to return the greeting. One day after school, he started for home just as she did, walking only a little ways in front of her. The second day he did this, she caught up with him and said hello. The third day, they walked together in silence until the path forked and she turned for her home on the hill with a friendly 'see you tomorrow!' The next day in class, she casually asked how he'd been, and he'd responded with a somewhat lost sounding 'fine' before his nerves got to him and he shrank back into his corner. For two whole weeks their simple interactions continued, and Inuyasha couldn't recall a happier two weeks in his life. He shouldn't have let his guard down so much.
He could still remember the Friday when it had all gone downhill: the bell had rung for lunch, and Kagome, who hadn't talked to him since that morning, walked up to his desk and asked if he'd like to have lunch with her and her friends. He'd heard the shocked gasps behind her and turned her down with a simple 'no', but the damage had been done. For the rest of the day he was tormented by the whispers of her social group that his dog-ears couldn't help but pick up. "He's a half-demon, he's not worth your time!" "He doesn't have any friends for a reason." "We know you're a nice person Kagome, but you really shouldn't talk to him." "We won't let him eat with us, so don't ask him again!" "You better be careful Kagome, or people might start to think you like that grunge-loser."
The silence between them on the walk home was uncomfortable and tense, and several times Kagome opened her mouth to say something, only to shut it with a snap. Ten minutes of this and Inuyasha had had enough. With determined steps he left her behind, hurrying home and kicking himself for ever thinking he could be friends with such a prep. As soon as he got home, he dropped his things to help Totosai with another fixer-upper, finding the hammering and sawing as good a distraction as any from his crushed hopes. After an hour of work he found himself feeling a little better, the pain starting to dull. It had been a nice little dream, and he'd always treasure the silent walks home and the sound of her voice as she greeted him each day, but he knew there wouldn't be more. Come Monday, she'd be just like the others pretending he didn't exist. Maybe she'd be a little sad, at first, but she wouldn't risk talking to him, for fear of losing all of her friends and admirers. He couldn't really blame her.
It was a shock to his system when she said a cheery hello to him Monday morning. When she sat down in the empty seat next to him, he nearly pinched himself in disbelief. Then she asked if she could eat lunch with him that day, and all he could do was nod like an idiot. Sitting under his favorite tree, away from the cliques and noise, Inuyasha couldn't stop staring at Kagome, perfectly at ease beside him as she munched away at her lunch. She drew him into easy conversation, doing most of the talking and occasionally getting him to give her more than a one word answer. She laughed once at some snarky remark of his, and he couldn't stop the red spreading across his cheeks. No one had ever really given him attention like this. Some people were nice to him in passing, but it had been years since he'd really been able to sit and talk with someone his age over something that wasn't a school project. He couldn't remember the last time someone had laughed at one of his jokes. Once lunch ended, he feared she'd take things back to the status quo, having spent enough time with him. But she kept talking to him, and for the first time, their walk home wasn't in silence.
The next few weeks were unreal for Inuyasha as every day Kagome would single him out, laying her attentions on him and treating him like he was her oldest and dearest friend. She still talked to her other friends, and they still tried to pry her away from him. But she resolutely ignored their heated advice, and each day she drew Inuyasha out a little more, finding out what he liked and taking genuine interest. When she learned what music he liked, she asked to borrow some CDs, wanting to hear them for herself. He was amazed to not only get the disks back in one piece, but to find that she genuinely enjoyed listening to his favorite bands. He let her borrow his jacket one cold afternoon, and couldn't stop from gawking as she gratefully accepted the beat-up old thing, smiling and burrowing into it without any comments on how thrashed it was.
At times he didn't want to believe her; he wanted to go back to feelings he was used to, thinking how this was a cruel trick, or maybe someone had dared her to do all these things. It was stupid to think that, but it was safer than where his feelings were headed. He'd never been so attached to someone before, and he just didn't know what to do next.
He should have expected the next step to come from Kagome, but she always knew just how to surprise him. She invited him over to her house one day, wanting to get some help studying for their math test. He met her mother and her little brother and grandfather, who were all pleasant and accepting and urged him to stay for dinner. Kagome seemed so happy to have him there, at her dinner table, sharing a meal with her family, and Inuyasha couldn't deny that it felt awfully warm and homey. Totosai was a good guardian, but warmth and affection wasn't his thing. Inuyasha couldn't help envying Kagome a little bit. She'd dragged him upstairs afterwards and sat him on her bed with a math book between them. He'd been in the middle of walking through a particularly difficult problem with her, when he felt the mattress dip, and suddenly a warmth on his face as she kissed his cheek.
All equations and numbers fled his brain as he looked at her, eyes wide and mouth gaping, while her head dipped bashfully and she looked away. "Sorry" she said softly, not sounding at all like she meant it, "I uh… wanted to thank you for all your help." Inuyasha didn't know how to respond – could hardly remember how to talk – and turned away to stare at her carpet while his face bloomed in heat. "You're not… mad at me, are you?" Her timid question brought him back down from the clouds and he watched out of the corner of his eye as she fiddled with her hands. Clearing a boulder-sized lump from his throat, Inuyasha responded in a cracked voice "S'okay… I didn't mind" and then watched as her face lit up in a smile and she shyly tucked a strand of inky black hair behind an ear. Sometime during their study session, the book was lost between them as Kagome sidled in closer, seeking out one of his large clawed hands with her small ones and finding his lips with her own. Inuyasha had never really thought about kissing anyone; after that night, he couldn't think of anything else but kissing her.
At school she kept her affections to simply holding his hand, but there was nothing simple about 'holding hands' in high school, and soon the rumors had spread that they were dating. "Are we dating?" she asked him on their walk home, his hand firmly gripped in hers. "Do you want us to be?" he'd queried back, posture tense and voice strained. He was sure her answer would make or break him, and he almost didn't want to hear. Her firm response of "yes" had him twining his fingers with hers as he said with a bit of a smirk "Okay then… girlfriend." She'd promptly dragged him to her house to excitedly tell her mother before hurrying up to her room for another 'study session'.
When the questions inevitably came, Kagome didn't hesitate to say "Yes, he's my boyfriend", and when her friends found they couldn't shake her from her decision, they left her alone. Inuyasha watched her slightly saddened expression over the next few days as no one but him bothered to talk with her, but she never blamed him, and he couldn't bring himself to let her go. It was a bit of a surprise to both of them when, only a few days later, her usual group came to tell her they were sorry and all but begged to be her friend again. In true Kagome fashion she forgave them instantly, but loudly and firmly proclaimed that anyone who had a problem with her choice of boyfriend better keep it to themselves. She didn't bother to change her seat back to where it used to be, forcing her friends to come to her and Inuyasha instead. After a few weeks, he decided they weren't so bad. Chatty and annoying, but they cared about Kagome, and that was the only important thing.
And then Kouga showed up. Popular with the demons and captain of the soccer team, he was just the type of guy Kagome would have been expected to go out with, and he knew it. A few passing remarks her way, some rumors that they'd met in secret, and before he could stop himself, Inuyasha was festering in doubts. Kagome never showed an interest in the demon, but Inuyasha couldn't believe that, between the two of them, she'd pick the half-demon punk. They'd only had a few petty arguments in the past, and he'd always liked seeing the feisty side of his girlfriend. He knew she was tough, knew she was willing to stand up to anyone including him, but he didn't yet know how far he could push her buttons before he completely turned her off. After the teachers managed to pull apart his fist-fight with the lousy wolf and he saw Kagome's livid expression, he feared he'd done just that. It was by far the worst walk home they'd ever had, the silence more drowning than any he'd ever endured, and when he anxiously asked if she'd like to come over, she huffed and turned down the street to her home, never looking back and never saying goodbye. He'd broken a few appliances and had Totosai pounding on his door, but nothing could distract him from his very real, very vivid fear that he'd just ruined everything.
He could still see Kouga with his arm around Kagome, leaning down to kiss her, and then the bastard's stunned face as his fist met with it. He couldn't really recall what he'd said, but he knew there'd been a few harsh words directed at Kagome, and guilt ate at him to know he hadn't meant a word of it. He'd just been so furious, so jealous… so terrified that she'd realize what a loser he really was, and he'd lashed out. He'd hurt the only person who gave a damn about him, and probably lost her just as he'd feared.
She ignored him all through class the next day, but as he tentatively walked up beside her on their way home, she'd grasped for his hand and let loose a tirade of anger and hurt as he listened with drooping ears. "How could you think I'd turn on you like that? How could you doubt me? Don't you know how much I care about you? Don't you trust me at all?" He argued back, feebly, how he'd never trusted anyone, how things never worked out for him, how he couldn't believe the past few months and was sure that at some point it would all come crashing down on him, just like everything always did. He didn't even realize he'd told her all of that until she stopped, her hand tugging him back, and he found himself enveloped in a warm hug that he couldn't help returning. She agreed to come home with him that time, kissing and caressing as they sat on the floor beside his bed, occasionally pausing to rummage through his CDs for something new to listen to.
Kouga was still a pain after that, but Inuyasha learned to trust his girl, and both of them learned that people could really surprise you. Despite her outcast boyfriend, Kagome was as popular as ever, and when the school elected her as Student President, she gave her disbelieving boyfriend a hearty "I told you so" as well as a celebratory kiss. The students made a meager effort to talk to him after that, even include him in activities, but he preferred to stay distant. He didn't need tons of friends like Kagome had, he just needed Kagome. There were times when he still couldn't believe she liked a weirdo like him, but even stronger than the doubt was the feeling of acceptance she gave him. From day one, she'd never expected him to change, to fit in with everyone else who followed after her. He didn't know what she possibly saw in a half-dog-demon with mediocre grades and no social skills, but whatever it was she saw, she clung to it, treasured it. She even got others to see in him the qualities that he couldn't see himself, and that perhaps was the biggest miracle of all.
Until the day she said she loved him – nothing was more amazing than that. Alone in his garage, one of their favorite bands playing over the stereo set, she looked him straight in his yellow eyes and told him how in love with him she was. He tried to say it back but couldn't form the words, instead meeting her halfway in a searing kiss accompanied by wandering hands. He backed her against Totosai's workbench and with a sweep of his arm, cleared the space enough to seat her on top of it, bringing her mouth level with his. Over and over again she whispered her love in his fuzzy ears as he kissed her neck, his breath puffing hot against her skin in what might have been an "I love you too". He couldn't recall what it felt like to hate her – he wondered if he ever truly had.
*Author's Note:
I never thought I'd write a high school au, but I had an attack of the 90s feels and the image of Grunge Inuyasha would NOT leave my head. For anyone who follows me on tumblr, you already know this.