Hot Chocolate Hearts

Chapter 1

"SAKUNOOOOOO!" Tomoka shouted from behind me. I jumped; I had not expected her to sneak up on me so quietly.

"Tomoka-san! Please don't do that!" I told her in a much quieter voice. It was a well-established fact that Tomoka and I were polar opposites. She was the outgoing one, the one who liked to jump and shout and sing and dance. Tomoka had a loud voice and enjoyed being the center of attention, wearing short skirts, and flirting. I was milder, like still water to Tomoka's fire. Conservative outfits, hiding in the corners, and choosing not to talk defined me.

"Oh, I'm sorry but I CAN'T STOP BEING EXCITED!"

"Tomoka-san, please!"

"AIEEEE!" Tomoka put her hands on her cheeks and twirled. "Momoshiro-kun asked me out to the Winter Dance today at lunch!"

Since when did he go from Momoshiro-senpai to Momoshiro-kun? I thought. I didn't say this out loud though, because I knew that I would be criticizing my best friend. "Oh! That's great! But the dance isn't for two weeks."

"Who cares!" Tomoka shrieked. She jumped and ran out of the classroom and down the hall to tell her other friends.

I smiled and continued to pack my books into my bag. Even though I truly did want to go to the dance, I didn't want to have to say "yes" to a possibly overeager boy. I guess I'd pass.

Ryoma Echizen sat at his desk and stared out the window with such intensity that I thought there was a murder going on. As it turns out, Momo and Kaidoh were going at it again. I couldn't hear them, but the snow around their feet was scuffed and dirty, signaling that a fight had just occurred. Ryoma grumbled and tucked his notebook into his bag. Even that little motion made my heart beat faster. If only he would ask me to the dance…but knowing Ryoma, that would never happen.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out the classroom door. Tomoka was giggling with two girls at the end of the hall. I watched them for a second, then turned and headed for the stairs.

Suddenly, on the fourth step down, I felt something push me from behind. I yelped as I hit the floor. My arm was pinned under me awkwardly. Grimacing, I turned and sat up. Nothing seemed broken, but my wrist felt tender.

Somebody put their hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Ryoma's golden eyes boring into mine. My face immediately turned a deep shade of red. I stood up quickly. "Ah- gomenasai!"

"You're not the one who should apologize." Ryoma said while turning to look at someone. I realized that that was the longest sentence Ryoma had ever said to me and I looked down to hide the color on my face. "He pushed you."

Somebody shouted, "I didn't do it, man!" I heard quick footsteps and then Ryoma's sigh.

"I-ah-I have to go." I said hastily and rushed down the remaining stairs. My face was hotter than it had ever been before and my thick winter coat suddenly seemed unnecessary.

My grandmother was at home. She noticed my breathlessness and bright face immediately.

"Sakuno! Did you run home or something?" she asked in her loud, tennis-coach way.

"N-no, I-" I stammered, not sure of what to see.

"Oh ho! Did a boy ask you to the Winter Dance?"

I looked up quickly. "No! How do you know about the dance anyways?"

Grandmother snorted. "I work at the school, Sakuno-chan."

"Oh. Right."

"Well, get yourself ready for dinner. We're going out."

"Really? Why?"

"The boy's tennis team has been working pretty hard, you know. I'm treating them to a fancy dinner. And besides, it's almost Christmas."

"I know. But why am I going?"

"Because a couple of the boys wanted you there."

My face flushed again. "I-"

Grandmother chuckled. "You're very popular with males, you know that?"

Soon enough, I found myself tugging at the end of my skirt. I had refused to wear a formal dress, even though Grandmother told me to. In the end, we came to a compromise; I wore a pale blue blouse and a black knee-length skirt. I wanted to wear a simple white shirt, but Grandmother told me that some of the boys would bring dates and that I shouldn't look so drab next to them.

The whole prospect was surprising. Normally, Grandmother would have told me about something like this a few days in advance. I knew there had to be a twist to this, but I didn't know what disaster might befall me yet.

Momo was, as expected, with Tomoka. Tomoka squealed when she saw me.

"Sakuno-chan! You didn't tell me that you would be here!"

"I didn't know that I would be here."

"Oh, really? How come?"

I just shrugged.

"Oh well. Ooh, I love that shirt of yours!"

Tomoka shouldn't have been complimenting me. She was wearing a spectacular red dress that showed off her smooth skin, long legs, and glittering necklace. No wonder Momoshiro-senpai would ask her, I thought. She's gorgeous.

Fuji came up to me and shook my hand. "Sakuno-san! You look great."

Unexpectedly, I felt my cheeks heat up again. "Ah-no, I- arigato!"

Fuji chuckled. Eiji put his hand on my shoulder and held me out at arm's length.

"So, were you wondering why you were here?" he asked.

I nodded, surprised.

Eiji pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Everyone here without a date except Kaidoh- including ME- asked for you to come along so we wouldn't all feel so alone!"

"I- is that a compliment of some sort?"

Fuji laughed. "Oh, Sakuno-chan. Of course it's a compliment!"

Since when had I become Sakuno-chan? "Oh- then, thank you!"

Fuji and Eiji both patted my head and left, leaving me extremely confused.

I counted heads. Some parents were here; a woman who greatly resembled Oishi was sitting on a bench, admiring the miniature koi pond. A man with thick hair and Inui's facial structure was talking avidly with Grandmother.

Half of the tennis team regulars had dates and all of the dates were exceptionally beautiful. Their appearances made me feel very ordinary and dull. For example, the elegant girl next to Taka had exotic features and a bombshell body, accented by a silvery dress.

After we were seated around a huge table, I looked around and noticed that the only person missing was Ryoma. A part of me had expected it, but another part was saddened.

Apparently, Grandmother had noticed that, too. She whipped out her phone and dialed someone. She stood up and went outside to make the call. Pretty soon, she came back in, a nonplussed look on her face.

"Apparently, Nanjiroh has decided to practice with Ryoma on this snowy day," Grandmother said to one of the regulars` fathers. "Ryoma's showering right now." The man shook his head and tsk-tsked.

I flipped through the menu, not actually reading anything. Everything was so expensive and although I knew that Grandmother could easily afford anything and that everyone was ordering so that everyone could have a piece, I felt uncomfortable. I shook off the feeling but decided not to order anything besides tea.

Soft music floated through the air. The lights were dim, but there was a candle on every table. Tantalizing scents reached my nose. Pretty much everyone except me was talking.

When Ryoma finally walked in, I noticed that more than one girl averted their eyes, blushing. Ryoma's father didn't come in, which struck me as odd; how did Ryoma get here?

"You've finally arrived!" Momo said, punching Ryoma lightly on the arm. Ryoma nodded, unsmiling. He was wearing even more casual clothes than I was; a blue button-down with jeans. A black jacket was slung over his arm. The only empty chair was next to me, so I scooted over to the left to leave more room for Ryoma. He either didn't notice or ignored my red face.

The food began arriving a while later. Everything was delicious, but I didn't eat more than one bowl of rice and a little bit of each dish. Fuji looked over at me.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm not very hungry."

Fuji tilted his head, then went back to eating and talking.

Ryoma ate very little as well. He checked the time a lot, too. I thought it was weird, but I didn't ask about it.

Before I knew it, dinner was over. Some people were stretching, others were admiring their meal out loud. Ryoma kept glancing out the door. Finally, I decided to talk to him.

"Ryoma-sama, are you waiting for someone?"

He looked at me, startled. "Oh. No."

"Oh, okay. Because you keep looking outside."

Ryoma shrugged and looked back out. I sighed and turned back to everyone else. Momo and Kaidoh weren't arguing, for once. Inui was scribbling something into his notebook. Tezuka regarded everyone with his cold eyes, as usual.

Grandmother came up to me and pulled me off to the side. "Sakuno, is the guest bedroom in our house clean and usable?"

"Ah- yes, it is. Why?"

"Ryoma might be staying with us for tonight."

"What? Why?"

"His father has some sort of business trip tonight and he doesn't have anywhere else to put him. He doesn't trust Ryoma to be alone in the house, and he doesn't have a key anyways."

"I- okay."

Little did I know, that would be the start of a series of interesting events.