Request from Sister of the Pharaoh! Honestly, she came up with the entire idea, I just added a few words here and there (lol). I hope you enjoy this! It's for you, girl! ;) Thanks for cheering me on! And, I'm so, so, SO sorry for making you wait this long! I meant to get it up sooner but a lot of things came up! GAH! I really hope you'll forgive me!
Disclaimer: I, literally, own nothing.
Aki placed her head on top of her notebook, which rested nicely on her desk. Papers were thrown about, both on the desk and on the nearby floor area. Several books and notebooks were open, and highlighters and pens were laying next to Aki's face
"I hate mid-terms. Mid-terms can go die in a hole. A cold, dark, deep-"
"Aki!"
"Yes mother?" Aki replied, not moving an inch from her position.
"Come on down! Dinner's ready!"
Aki mumbled an 'okay' and sat back in her chair. She rubbed her eyes then rose to exit her room.
As she walked down her stairs, the teen sniffed the air, trying to figure out what nationality of food her mother had made today. Recently, her mother had found an international cookbook and had committed herself to creating any and all types of food, from around the world.
"Yesterday was Indian. The day before was Mexican."
Stepping into the large dinning hall, Aki noticed a large bowl full of pasta. "Italian."
"Sit down, sit down!" her mother said excitedly as she finished setting the table. Aki's father was already sitting in his usual seat, reading the newspaper that he had already read in the morning. Aki and her mother took a seat at the same time and dinner began.
Towards the end of dinner, Aki's mother turned to her daughter, "Honey, your eyes look a bit red. You should get to sleep early tonight."
"I'll try, but I have to study."
"Mid-terms?" Aki's father questioned. The red-head nodded as she ate a fork-full of salad.
The older man turned back to his food, "Don't push yourself too hard."
"'Kay."
Aki's mother looked back and forth between her husband and daughter. "These two are much too alike." Putting her glass down, the older woman spoke, "Dear, you know how Aki gets with tests and studying, tell her to tone it down a bit this time."
The man locked eyes with Aki, "Listen to your mother."
Aki rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Fine." Grabbing her plate and utensils, the teen got up from her seat, "I'm done. Thanks for the meal, Mom." She placed the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and went back upstairs to her room.
Closing the door behind her, Aki looked at the stacks of papers and books in her room. She sighed and cursed the high school education system.
Aki stepped into her homeroom class Monday morning, baggy-eyed and tired beyond belief. She put her bag down onto her desk and sank into her seat. Sighing, she placed her head on her desk and closed her eyes.
"Long night?"
She didn't have to open her eyes to know who had addressed her.
"Sort of."
"Probably should lay off those parties."
Aki laughed out loud and sat up in her seat, "Parties? Yeah, Yusei, wild parties with my textbooks."
Yusei chuckled a bit and rose his hands in defense, "How would I know how you spend your Sunday nights?" The red-head playfully shoved the boy who was sitting right next to her.
She and Yusei had gone to middle school together, along with their other friends, Crow and Jack. They never spoke much, however, and it was by complete chance that Aki ended up attending the same high school as the three eccentric boys. It was by even greater chance that she was placed in the same homeroom their first year, sitting right next to Jack no less.
Less than a week in, Aki and Jack became notorious around the entire school for their arguments and disagreements. Somewhere along the way, Aki actually ended up become good friends with Crow and Yusei, dubbing Yusei as the only sane one of the three. Their second year brought separation, though. Crow and Jack were placed two classes away from Yusei and Aki. Luckily, the two were seated directly next to each other in the back of the classroom.
Only half of the school year had gone by, but the pair had become really close, many classmates even joked often that they were probably a secret couple. A rumor Aki wouldn't mind being true. Of course, she would never say that out-loud.
"Sometimes, I think you study a little too much."
Aki was snapped out of her memories as she turned in her seat, the warning bell for class to begin sounding in the background. "Please, Yusei. One can never study too much."
Yusei placed his chin in the palm of his hand as he leaned onto his desk. "Come on now, Aki. You're already top of the class. What more do you need?"
She smiled, turning to face the front of the room,"To stay at the top." Yusei frowned, "Aki." The young woman turned to face Yusei, surprised by the sudden seriousness of his deep voice. "Just," He closed his eyes and sighed, "don't push yourself. Everyone has their limits."
Aki stared at the dark-haired young man. "Yusei, I-" She was cut off by the bell sounding for class to begin and the teacher stepping into the classroom. The teen turned to face the front, taking out a notebook and pencil for note-taking. As the teacher calmed the class down to begin, Aki couldn't help but feel heat rising up from the back of her neck. It took her a bit to realize that she was actually blushing from Yusei's words.
She suppressed a groan and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.
The next day, Aki sluggishly dragged her feet into class and practically collapsed into her seat. The night before, she made a strict deal with herself that she would go to sleep before midnight. Naturally, she went to sleep around three in the morning because she had lost track of time in her dimly-lit room.
She felt her stomach turn a bit and a headache was beginning to form.
Her eyes wandered over to the desk next to her and was surprised to find it empty. "Sick?" Aki put her head down as she heard the warning bell. She fell asleep, only to wake up five minutes later to the bell signaling the start of class. Finding Yusei's desk still empty, Aki just pulled out her notebook and a pencil.
Twenty minutes into class, the back door to the classroom slammed wide open. Students turned in their chairs to see the cause of the disruption.
"Sorry I'm late." A sweaty and panting Yusei said as he walked into the class. Aki raised an eyebrow at him as the teacher nodded and the young man took a seat.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Aki ripped a small piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled in small letters: Why so late?
She quickly passed it to her friend and went back to taking notes. Not long after, the note made its way back to her desk and Aki opened it to read its message: Rooftop. At lunch. Aki raised an eyebrow at Yusei, but he simply smiled in response and began taking notes.
"Okay, what's the big deal?" Aki asked as she opened the door to the rooftop.
The rooftop was normally closed off the students, but Crow managed to steal the key the year before. The four friends ended up making it their 'secret' lunch spot or, sometimes, a place just to ditch class.
Yusei stood by the railings and the door closed behind Aki with a click.
"Aki."
Said red-head looked around a bit before answering Yusei. She noticed that Crow and Jack were not there with the pair. It was just the two of them. Alone. On the Rooftop. Alone.
Suddenly the world grew a little warmer for the addressed and she wanted to look anywhere except in the general direction of Yusei. She settled for the floor.
"Y-yes?"
She heard his footsteps and they grew closer to her until they were directly in front of her. Aki found herself taking in Yusei's scent, "Dear god, I'm a pervert." She shut her eyes in an attempt to keep the butterflies in her stomach from running rampant.
"I want you to take a nap."
Aki opened her eyes and looked up at Yusei. His face was so completely serious, she almost wanted to laugh.
"Huh?"
"Aki, it's obvious you haven't had a good night's rest for the past couple days. You've got bags under your eyes and you've been massaging your head a lot more than usual."
This time Aki really did laugh, "Yusei, you can't be serious."
The young man just stared directly at Aki and her smile faltered, "You are serious." Aki ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.
"Yusei, I am not going to take a nap on the school rooftop."
"Why not? I'll be here."
Aki felt her pulse quicken and she bit her lip, "No."
"But-"
Aki lifted her pointer finger and cut him off, "No. I'm fine."
Yusei let out a heavy sigh, but smiled a bit as he reached into his pockets, "I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to convince you, so," out of his pockets, he pulled out two little bottles and held them in front of Aki's face, "I got you these."
Aki stared at them blankly, "What?"
Yusei chuckled, "They're energy drinks. I thought that- I don't know- maybe you would drink them while studying, or something." His voice slowly got quieter and more embarrassed as he continued his explanation.
Aki raised her gaze from the bottle to Yusei's face. However, she couldn't see him clearly since he had turned to face another direction.
A small blush crept on her face as she grabbed both bottles. Realization then hit her, "Were you late because of this?"
Yusei visibly stiffened and Aki could see his ear turning a bit red.
"I wanted to pick them up at the near-by convenience store, but it was closed today. So, I had to run to the closest one which is almost a mile away, then run back..." His voice trailed off and he lowered his eyes slowly to the floor.
Aki laughed heartily at the boy's antics.
"A-Aki..." Yusei almost whined, which made Aki laugh even harder.
"S-sorry!" She said in-between giggles. Finally, she calmed down and beamed up at her best friend. "I'm just so happy I have you as a friend."
Yusei could feel something tug at his heart the moment Aki said 'friend'. Before he knew it, he had raised his right hand and had placed on top of Aki's left cheek. Aki froze at the touch. Sure, they had hugged before and touched each other casually, but this was completely different.
"Aki." Yusei whispered as he stroked her cheek gently his thumb. Shivers ran down Aki's spine as she stared into Yusei's eyes.
"Y-yes?" she weakly whimpered.
Yusei leaned forward and Aki's mind began to reel with all sorts of thoughts. As his face grew closer, Aki began to close her eyes.
"Please don't push yourself."
And with that, he was gone. Yusei moved his hand away and quickly stepped around Aki to the exit door. Aki stood there, absolutely frozen, eyes still half-lidded and heart beating like a drum. She blinked and practically fell to the floor in a heap. She brought her hands up to her cheeks and could feel her incredibly intense blush.
Aki shut her eyes tightly, "What was I expecting to happen? What did I want to happen?"
Meanwhile, behind the door to the rooftop, Yusei stood frozen as well. He leaned against the door and brought his hand up to his face. His increased heartbeat was pounding and he knew that he had to have been blushing from head to toe. Yusei slid to the floor and ran his hands though his hair, replayed his actions over and over again.
"What am I doing."
Aki sat on the floor of her room, notes and books sprawled out around her. She twirled a pen in between her fingers and mindlessly stared at the wall in front of her. In actuality, Aki really enjoyed studying, and she enjoyed getting good grades and being the top of her class. But, her heart was just not in the right place for studying. Oh no, it was somewhere far, far away. Namely, with a certain best friend.
She threw her head back and stared at her white ceiling. A headache formed and Aki rubbed her temples for relief. She had been finding herself having more and more headaches. Aki's eyes then began to feel tired and she rubbed them lightly. But, the moment she had closed her eyes, his image appeared again.
Aki groaned out-loud and then heard a light knocking on her door. She told the knocker to enter as she turned toward her door. From behind the door came her mother with a mug and a small plate of cookies.
"I brought some study snacks."
Aki smiled at her mother as the older woman set down the plate and mug next to Aki while sitting down herself. "Thanks Mom."
Her mother smiled and grabbed a cookie, lightly nibbling on it. "So how's your studying going?"
"Well, it's going," Aki said as she grabbed a cookie for herself.
Her mother reached out and held Aki's face in her petite hand. Aki stiffened, suddenly remembering the earlier events of the day. Yusei's touch was much more different than her mother's, but in a strange way, they also felt the same.
"Honey, you look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?" Aki gently grabbed her mother's hand and held it in her own, "I'm fine, Mom. Geez, you and Yusei both."
Her mother's head tilted in a question, "Yusei?"
Aki's mother knew who Yusei was considering that Aki once brought him, Crow and Jack over to her house last year for a study/tutor session. They were loud and it was the most fun she'd had in a while. After that, the study group met often, rotating from one person's house to the next every time. Aki's mother was always excited when the boys would come over, after all, they were Aki's first real friends.
"Yeah. Yusei was telling me today that I should take a nap and not work so hard." Aki tried her hardest to suppress any blushes, for fear of her mother's embarrassing questions.
"Hmmm," her mother hummed. Aki's mother would never tell her daughter that she noticed something between the teens since the year before. While Crow and Jack would argue loudly, Aki and Yusei would always be sitting right next to each other, happily talking away as if they were the only ones in the room. Actually, she had a bet going on with Yusei's mother on when they'll finally become an official couple.
The older woman hid her smile and stood up, "Well, you should listen to his advice. You'll pass out from lack of sleep."
Aki's mother than slipped out of the room, happily walking to the house phone to call Yusei's mother.
Aki, meanwhile, continued to eat cookies in her room deciding that she would deal with her feelings – seeing as how she finally decided that they were real – for Yusei as soon as mid-terms were over. Looking over at her digital clock, she promised herself that she would absolutely get a good night's sleep.
"Why do I do this to myself?"
Aki continued to mumble to herself as she stepped into her classroom. After greeting a few other classmates, she made it to her seat, massaging her temples as she sat down.
The night before, Aki had promised herself a good rest, but, of course, forgot all about it as soon as she immersed herself in her textbooks. It was almost two in the morning when she snapped herself out of her intense studying.
As a result, she felt absolutely disgusting this morning. Her headaches were frequent and pounding, her stomach refused to let her eat breakfast, her body felt hot and heavy, and her eyes were refusing to stay open.
"I hate this." Aki wasn't slow. Oh no, she was just as stubborn as a mule. She knew that she was sick, but she'd be damned if she let it get to her.
Aki slapped her cheeks lightly as she tried to focus her spinning vision. So focused, she didn't even notice her best friend watching her worriedly from his seat.
"Aki." Yusei called out. Aki jumped in her seat, just realizing his presence.
"Oh, Yusei. Good morning. Didn't see you walk in." She tried her hardest to smile and pretend that she was feeling fine.
Yusei frowned. He hated seeing her like this. He knew that she was extremely sick and he also knew just how she would react if he told her to go home and rest. His eyebrows scrunched together at the thought that he couldn't do much for her at the moment.
"Aki." Yusei understood that he pretty much pleading now, but honestly he found himself caring less and less about things like pride when it came to Aki.
Aki had a feeling what Yusei was asking her when he had used that tone. " He wants me to take it easy. He wants me to go home. He wants me to give up." Aki felt her chest tighten and she almost felt like crying.
"I'm fine." Aki tried to smile again but because of the pain she was feeling, the best she could manage was a thin line made by pressing her lips together.
"But I'm just-" Yusei stopped when he locked eyes with Aki. Her eyes were slightly out of focus, most likely due to her fever, but were so determined.
Yusei bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from arguing anymore. He turned in his seat and faced the front of the class. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Aki do the same. He dug his face into his palms and cursed himself for not being able to do a single thing for the girl he cared about so much.
"Dammit!"
The first class had finished without a hitch. But Yusei was beginning to notice the heaviness of Aki's breathing.
Aki was trying really hard to pay attention, but her head and stomach were making it a point to rebel against her. She raised her hand to her mouth. Great, now she felt like throwing up. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.
Finally, it seemed to have subsided for a short while. Satisfied, Aki reached across her desk to her pencil bag. She begin pulling out pencils for her next math class. In a sudden wave of clumsiness, her fingers fumbled and a single pencil fell, rolling down the aisle, a little ways away.
Groaning quietly, Aki got up from her seat. Dizziness hit her hard and she quickly grabbed her desk to steady herself. "Too fast, too fast." Aki looked around a bit, hoping no one, especially Yusei, had noticed her dizzy spell.
Luckily, Yusei was too busy rummaging through his desk to notice and no one else seemed to have seen. Filled with confidence, Aki stepped forward to grab her fallen pencil.
Two steps in and Aki knew that she was doomed. Her vision immediately became blurred and began to spin. She felt her body sway and gravity pulled her down harshly. The sounds around her began to muffle, but she could make out a faint deep voice calling out her name.
As she noticed the floor getting closer to her, Aki fully comprehended what was happening. She closed her eyes as darkness spread around her. Despite the situation, Aki wanted to let out a dry laugh as she thought, "Well, isn't this nice?"
A low hum of florescent lights was what Aki woke up to.
Not wanting to move, Aki eyes searched the room she was in for the answer as to where she was. Aki finally concluded that she was in the nurse's office and closed her eyes. Her eyes then snapped wide open and she sat up, a horrible idea considering her head was pounding.
"Whoa, don't sit up so quickly!"
Aki felt a comforting hand on her back and turned to find its owner. Honestly, she shouldn't have been as surprised as she was when she saw that it was Yusei, especially considering that the nurse was no where in sight.
"Yu-Yusei!" she sputtered and he gave her a small smile.
"Lay back down and rest, I'm pretty sure you still have a fever."
Aki scrunched her eyebrows, "What-"
"Happened?" Yusei said, finished the girl's question. She nodded in response.
Yusei sighed and moved his gaze down to the white sheets of the bed, "You got up to get your pencil and passed out." He turned to look at Aki, "I told you not to push yourself."
Aki flinched slightly at the sharpness of Yusei's voice. "But I- I just-"
"Aki," Yusei interrupted again, "Just because you want to be top of the class again doesn't mean you should push yourself to the point where you make yourself sick. What would you have done if you got hurt? What if I didn't make it in time to catch you?"
Aki felt her eyes widen. He had caught her. He really was watching her. She bit her lip and felt her eyes sting with tears.
"Well excuse me for trying so hard! Do you think I wanted this to happen to me?" Aki knew that she shouldn't have been yelling at Yusei. He had done nothing wrong. No, instead he had been a good friend and was trying to take care of her. It was just the thought that he was telling her to give up, again, that hurt.
She wasn't just trying hard for herself, but for him too.
Yusei was slightly taken aback by Aki's outburst. He had heard her raise her voice before, but that usually happened when she was arguing with Jack or scolding Crow for doing something stupid. Then, he noticed the tears. They weren't flowing down her face, but building in her eyes. He had upset her and he didn't quite know why. So he just sat there, frozen, without an idea about what to do or say.
"I've just been working so hard because after all of this I was hoping that I could, finally, tell you that I love you!"
Aki froze after she processed the words that had just flown out out her mouth. The mixture of pounding headaches and tightened chests had created that rant.
The tears in Aki's eyes began to flow and all she wanted to do was slap herself for being an idiot.
Yusei, on the other hand, found his brain kicking into overdrive after hearing Aki's words. He repeated them over and over. His pulse was racing and he could feel his palms getting clammy. So many things going through his head and all he could manage was a weak, "Aki..."
Said girl felt her body temperature rise as she noticed Yusei's hand rising toward her. Quickly, she threw herself into the bed and covered her face with the sheets.
Yusei blinked dumbly, still not fully comprehending what was going on due to the fact that his brain was not operational at the moment, "A-Aki what are you-"
"I'm so stupid! I meant to tell you after the mid-terms," Aki peeked out from under the white sheets, "D-do you hate me?"
Yusei sat still for a moment, "No!"
Aki jumped a bit in surprise, never before hearing Yusei's voice get so loud.
Said boy quickly covered his mouth, realizing his volume had been too high. He felt his face blushing, "I-I mean- No, I don't hate you."
He ran both hands through his hair as he looked down at his lap. "I'll never hate you," he mumbled. Aki brought her sheet down so her face was fully visible, "Wh-what did you say?"
Yusei bit the inside of his cheek and looked up at Aki, "I said, 'I'll never hate you'."
Aki's eyes widened, "Yusei."
The young man felt his blush get deeper as he thought of the words he was about to say, "I-" The words were lost as he stared into Aki's eyes, innocently looking up at him, tears still staining her cheeks.
Yusei leaned forward and wiped the tears from her cheeks as her took her face into both his hands. With a sudden boost in confidence in realizing that Aki's face was just about as red as his, he leaning in.
"You're not stupid. I love you too."
Smiling, Yusei closed the distance and savored the feeling of finally kissing the girl he had fallen in love with a year ago.
Aki was quick to respond and slowly snaked her arms around Yusei's neck. He broke the kiss but kept his forehead against her's. Aki smiled stupidly as she looked up into his eyes.
Laughing, Yusei brought Aki into a hug. "I'm sorry for making you cry. I was just worried because I lo-" He was cut off by Aki pulling out of the hug and kissing him again.
"I understand," Aki said as she pulled away, "I'm sorry for worrying you."
Yusei stroked her cheek again and bent down to take his third kiss from her. "And I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner." he said quietly, earning a small laugh from his girlfriend.
Needless to say, Aki ranked top of the class again.
Did you like it? Lol. Again, sorry for the wait Sister of the Pharaoh! I made this especially long and fluffy to make up for my lateness. Did it work?
Anyway, I hope EVERYONE enjoyed this! I hope you guys drop me a review! Until next time!