Thorn

By: prettyichigo (formerly moonbunny83)

Sailor Moon created by: Naoko Takeuchi

Hello, everyone! While I was re-writing my old stories, this new one suddenly took form. After I finished working on "Rain," the idea to this story demanded attention. I have several continuing one-shots planned that are/will be set before, during, and after the events described in "Rain." When I say continuing one-shot, I mean that each one can be read alone, but the stories will somehow intertwine to make one narrative (the developing relationship between Usagi and Mamoru).

The story below was originally going to be another one of those one-shots I had planned, but my one idea for this story quickly became several ideas. This is actually the first time I will be posting "chapter stories." I typically would wait until the entire story is complete (no matter how long the story ends up being!) before I publish anything, but I thought what I ended up here would make a good "Chapter 1." So, here we go. It will be interesting to see how this one works out. I hope you stay with me until the last chapter!

CHAPTER 1

Chiba Mamoru rushed out of his last class for the day while glancing down at his watch. '5:42,' he thought. 'I'm late.' His lab took a lot longer than usual to finish and he is very anxious to meet someone at the Crown Arcade. The problem is, this someone wasn't exactly expecting to meet him. This someone is just a girl who visits the arcade every day after school – someone whose schedule he made sure intertwined with his. Except on days when his classes drag on till the end of time, that is. Ever since Mamoru realized that he had people who considered themselves his friends, he's become determined to prove that he's worthy of their friendships. Well, maybe prove to just one specific person.

This person used to be the bane of his existence. Or so he thought. The truth is, he was only pretending and he did such a good job of it that he came close to alienating her. This girl who was originally a thorn in his flesh that he couldn't remove ultimately got under his skin. How else could he have reacted to this development but to lash out every time he saw her? He would deliberately tease her to her breaking point. What she didn't know was that this was the only way he knew how to communicate with her.

As Mamoru nears the arcade, he slows down. He didn't want anyone to wonder why he was in such a rush to get inside. He was more than ready to confront his feelings for her (whatever that may be), but he wasn't ready for her to confront him.

INSIDE THE CROWN ARCADE

"Hey, Odango Atama!" Mamoru greeted after taking a seat next to Tsukino Usagi. "Don't you have a test tomorrow? What are you doing here when you should be at home studying?"

Usagi narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Who are you, my mom? And I thought you said you'd stop calling me that."

"I did? Nah, I said I'd think about it."

"Well, you'd better think again." Usagi turned away and started rummaging through her bag.

Furuhata Motoki, a mutual friend of both Mamoru and Usagi as well as the manager of the arcade, slowly approached the two. "Wow. Do my ears deceive me?" he asked disbelievingly.

Usagi looked up from her bag and asked, "What?"

"Motoki, are you okay?" Mamoru looked at his friend with concern.

"I should be the one asking you that question."

"I'm confused," Usagi said. "What is he talking about?" she turned to Mamoru.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Motoki released a frustrated sigh and gave his friends a curious look. "Do either of you realize that you just had a civil conversation? Usagi, you didn't even yell at him for making fun of your odango. And Mamoru, you actually sounded concerned about her grades." Motoki paused and continued. "I kind of miss all the yelling and the insults."

"You are one weird guy, Motoki." Mamoru turned to Usagi. "Here we are, actually being nice to each other and he complains about it. You just can't please some people."

Usagi rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. "You thought you were being nice when you called me by that horrid name? Motoki-kun is not the one who's weird. You are." She stood up and faced Mamoru. "Nicknames aside, you've been really nice to me lately. I'm not exactly sure how to act around you anymore." With that said, she turned around, leaving a shocked Mamoru.

"Now THAT was weird," Motoki said slowly as he watched Usagi leave the arcade.

Mamoru quickly rose out of the stool and muttered to Motoki, "I'll see you later."

Motoki stared at his back and wondered out loud "Things seem to be getting interesting…" His voice carried over to Mamoru, who in turn, just shook his head and slammed the door shut behind him in his haste.

Upon reaching the outside of the arcade, Mamoru frantically looked around in search of Usagi. He's finally been able to act somewhat normally around her, but he didn't want her to become uncomfortable around him. Her statement before left him alarmed. It sounded as if she was on the verge of avoiding him altogether. There was no way he would allow that.

He ran across the street towards the park nearby and swerved around a sakura tree. He caught a glimpse of blonde hair and odango-styled pigtails. "Odango.." he started to shout, but caught himself in time. "Usagi!" he yelled instead.

Usagi turned around. A small frown appeared on her face when she saw Mamoru stop a few feet away from where she stood. "Did you follow me here?" she asked incredulously.

"Ahhh… ummm...," Mamoru stuttered. "Well, not exactly." Usagi raised an eyebrow and urged him to continue. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier."

Usagi's eyes widened with shock. "Why are you apologizing? You were actually being nice for a change."

"But you said that you didn't know how to act around me anymore and I just wanted to apologize for making you feel that way."

"Oh, that? I didn't really mean anything by that. I was, well," Usagi looked at the ground then continued in a soft voice. "We had a test yesterday and I didn't do so well." She looked up suddenly and said loudly, "I wasn't in a good mood; your attitude caught me off guard. I was digging through my bag to make sure you couldn't see the test, particularly after you made that comment about how I should've been studying. I was embarrassed." Usagi's eyes once again fell to the ground before her. "I'm the one who owes you an apology."

Mamoru hid a small smile. "Let's just say that we both owe each other an apology." He closed the distance between them and gently tilted her chin up so that her eyes were on him. "Usagi," he started. "I'm sorry for being an insensitive jerk." He released her chin and stepped back a couple of feet. "Your turn," he beckoned.

Usagi chuckled. "Mamoru, I'm sorry I took out my frustrations on you."

"All right, then. Now, can we be friends?"

"I thought we were already friends," Usagi stated with confusion.

"You did?" Mamoru asked, his tone hopeful.

Usagi looked at him unbelievingly and answered firmly. "Yes." When Mamoru didn't say anything immediately, she hesitantly added, "Was I wrong?"

"No!" Mamoru quickly replied. "It's just, well… I haven't been exactly nice to you."

"No, you haven't, but I knew I could come to you if I ever found myself in trouble. Isn't that what it means to be friends? To always be there for each other?"

"Yeah, you're right," Mamoru whispered. He fidgeted uncomfortably and avoided her eyes. Embarrassed, he continued, "I've always considered you a friend, but I wasn't sure how you felt. I thought you hated me for all the teasing."

"Well, you didn't exactly make it easy to be friends!" Usagi retorted. "But I never hated you," she said softly. "I actually thought you hated me."

Mamoru countered, "Far from it!" He suddenly grabbed her hands. "Nothing would make me happier than to be considered your friend," he declared firmly.

Usagi's eyes widened as his hands gently wrapped around hers. She gulped and slowly snatched her hands away and wishes she could slow down the heart beat that pulsed within her. "I think we've established that we're friends."

Mamoru suddenly found himself grasping at nothing but the air in front of him. He immediately missed the warmth that emanated from her hands and into his. His eyes clenched shut for a few seconds as he tries to make sense of what just happened. Did he really mean it when he said that being her friend would make him happy? Finally clearing his head, he opened his eyes and looked at her squarely. "Yes, we're friends." As soon as the words left his lips, he felt an immense sense of loss that he couldn't explain.

TO BE CONTINUED

Although this was short, it felt right to end Chapter 1 this way. I hope you enjoyed it and left you wanting more.

As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. It's how we writers grow.

-prettyichigo