Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
High School Love
Chapter one: The Green Monster
"And so, as the first stage of mitosis begins, the chromosome duplication begins to allow the cell to succesfully…blah blah blah blah blah…"
The head fell with a satisfying thud onto the hard desk and the room went silent. The teacher stared at the soporific student, obviously and absolutely furious.
"Higurashi, Kagome! Get up right this instant!"
The head went up quickly and the class laughed. Kagome blushed as she straightened out her hair and adjusted her clothes.
"Gomen!" she quickly apologized. With one last disappointed stare, the teacher returned back to his lecture on cell division. Kagome felt her eyes slowly drift again. She tried to fight her traitorous body, but it was too much. She couldn't fight them…couldn't 't…
"Kagome!"
The harsh whisper cut through her subconscious like a knife and her eyes flew open.
"Wake up!" Kagome turned around to find Inuyasha poking her with one long finger, his claw gently prodding her skin. She quickly smothered a yelp and shot him an angry look.
"What was that for? Hey stop! I'm awake!" she hissed as she tried to push away his hand. He smirked and drew his hand back just as the bell rang.
The class hurriedly got up all at once, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha behind as they slowly gathered their books.
"You know, all that studying is bad for your health," Inuyasha said with a grin. Kagome shook her as she swung her backpack around her shoulders.
"I have to keep my grades up, Inuyasha. School is almost over, and I'm second in class. I have to be number one!" she said as she rubbed her tired eyes. Realizing what she had just said, Kagome quickly looked at Inuyasha and waited for his reaction as they walked down the hallway toward the exit to the school courtyard.
"Number one?" he asked slowly. Kagome hesitated.
"I mean… well, you know. I just wanna do my best!"
Inuyasha ignored her.
"Isn't Kikyo at the top of the class?" he asked, completely oblivious to Kagome's exasperated expression.
"Well, yeah, but…"
"Where is she anyway? She usually meets me here," he interrupted. Kagome rolled her eyes and looked around the courtyard.
"I don't know. Her hair probably got stuck in her hairbrush," Kagome said. Inuyasha looked at her, annoyed.
"Kagome, why are you so jeal--,"
"I am not jealous of that vain, shallow, know-it-all," she snapped. Didn't Inuyasha know never to tell a girl that she was jealous of anything? Ever?
He promptly shut his mouth and turned away from his best friend to look for his girlfriend.
"There she is," he said. Kagome sighed and looked down at her wrinkled shirt. She looked up to see Kikyo walking toward them.
Her long hair was tied back with a deep red ribbon. It swing in perfect arcs in the sun, the dark brown hair glinting red in the light. Kikyo was tall, almost as tall as Inuyasha, and lithe. She wore the school uniform like one would wear a wedding dress: proudly and gracefully. She didn't carry a backpack, but rather carried a few select books under her arm, so that she always looked unburdened and unstressed. Her chin was lifted up toward the sun, and as she got closer, Kagome could see the perfect curve of her perfect cheek under her perfectly curled lashes.
She could also see all the boys look up, one by one, like a wave, as she made her way down the walkway toward the willow tree where Inuyasha and Kagome were situated.
"Hey Kikyo what's up?" a voice called out. Kikyo turned her head slightly toward the source and lifter her hand in a cool gesture of acknowledgement.
"Ugh! Who does she think she is? She acts like she's the Queen of France!" Kagome thought.
"What?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome blushed; she had been thinking out loud again.
"Erm…nothing. I have to go to class. Have a nice lunch," she said. Inuyasha nodded as Kagome began walking off to the opposite direction.
'Kikyo thinks she is so perfect. She should just…no no no. Maybe Inuyasha is right. I'm just being a little envious. Kikyo is actually kind of nice…in an ice queen sort of way. No! Ugh, I am so mean! She's never done anything horrible to anybody' Kagome thought as she walked back into the school.
She turned around and looked out the glass door to see Kikyo and Inuyasha sitting under the willow tree, the sunlight pouring though the drooping leaves to create a glittering image of the pair. The most perfect pair in the whole school that all the girls and all the guys in the school talked about and wanted to be apart of.
"Kagome!"
Said person turned around and smiled at her friend as she ran down the hall to join up.
Sango appeared beside her and they made their way up the stairs to their next class.
"Wow! I thought I'd never catch you!" Sango exclaimed.
"Well, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry," Kagome pointed out. The two girls began running.
oooo
"Okay. So if you multiply the reciprocal to the fraction, you can get rid of the square root?"
Sango and Kagome were sitting in the local pizza parlor 'Eatza Pizza', going over their math homework. It was a Friday afternoon and the place was packed, but they were used to the clamorous atmosphere.
Kagome took a sip of her Coke and nodded.
"Yes. And then you'll be able to move on to the next part of the problem," Kagome said as she watched Sango finish up the last problem.
"Okay…done!" Sango held the paper in front of her in a triumphant stance and then stuffed it into her bag. "Finally! No homework for the weekend."
Kagome nodded as she took a bite of her cheese pizza. Sango looked at her.
"Okay, what's up? Is it Inuyasha again?"
"What?"
"You know what!" Sango exclaimed. Kagome shook her head.
"No I don't," she said.
"I told you to tell him a long time ago. It's still not too late, you know."
"Yes it is…I mean…he's just a friend," Kagome said.
"You said yourself that when one has friends of the opposite gender, one never stay friends," Sango said. "I mean, look at Miroku and me. We were friends—,"
"Yeah, with his hands!"
"Well, that was a little uncontrollable in the beginning. But we were friends--,"
"For only two weeks after you met him!"
"Kagome let me make my point here! Okay, we weren't friends for that long, but that just makes my point," Sango blushed. "But after his accident, we liked each other a little more. And I think I like it this better."
"I'm sure he does, too," Kagome said with a wink. Sango blushed deeper.
"Kagome!"
"Sango, you are too modest," Kagome laughed.
"Well., ever since Kikyo and Inuyasha started dating, you've been acting very strange."
"I've been acting strange for over a year? They've been going out for a while Sango."
"Okay, but you slowly began to act strange," Sango amended. She looked at her watch. "Oh! I have to go. Miroku and I are going to the Tokyo Historical Museum. Do you want to come?"
Kagome shook her head.
"No thanks. I have to get home. I'll see you later," she said. Sango nodded and hugged her friend.
"Okay. I'll see you later."
oooo
Kagome felt the pizza in her stomach bounce around as she walked down the brightly-lit streets of her neighborhood. Her back ached from the ton of books she had and she was beginning to feel the consequences of the lack of sleep she felt earlier that day. Just a few more blocks and she would be home to finally rest off all the aches and pains.
Unfortunately, she had to pass by Inuyasha's house. She could see the gated mansion just ahead of her, and she caught a glimpse of his flashy red sports car sitting on the curb.
He was home.
Maybe if she walked quickly and quietly enough, he wouldn't be able to smell her or hear her!
Gathering her speed, Kagome watched the house as it got nearer and nearer.
"One two, ONE TWO THREE FOUR!"
Oh crud.
"No! Kouga you idiot, it's not bang bang smash. It's bang bang smash."
"What the fuck? That's what I did you stupid mutt."
"No, you definitely did not!"
"Maybe you should wait until Miroku gets back," a female voice interjected.
"No, we're wasting time. The competition is in three weeks."
"That's plenty of time."
"Last year it wasn't. We completely…Kagome?"
Oh shoot.
Kagome stopped abruptly, hidden behind a brick wall. She was hoping that the skirmish that was going on would distract them, but obviously, it did not. She stepped out from her hiding spot and waved timidly at the three hidden figures in the shadows of the evening.
"Hey Kagome," a voice she recognized as Kouga said.
"Come inside. You know the code. Come here and tell us what you think about this," Inuyasha said. Kagome sighed in acquiescence and punched in the code that allowed entry though the metal gate. It opened slowly and silently and Kagome stepped into the massive front yard of Inuyasha's house and made her way across the yard to find herself face to face with Kouga, Inuyasha, and…Kikyo.
"Hello Kagome," Kikyo said coolly with her signature wave. Kagome smiled and turned toward Inuyasha.
"What song are you guys working on?" she asked.
"Here Kagome. Sit down," Kouga said as he pulled up a chair and gently shoved her into it. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"Well, Miroku isn't here, so we're just working on the main beat of the piece. And Sesshoumaru…"
"Sesshoumaru is in the house like the pretentious ass he is," Inuyasha finished for Kouga.
"Sesshoumaru is…here?" Kagome asked. He nodded.
"He just got off of college for summer break," he said staring at her with the air of a house inspector. Kagome looked back at him and opened her mouth. Then closed it. And then opened it again.
"Actaully, I'm kind of thirsty. Can I go get something to drink?" she asked. Inuyasha hesitated as he looked back at the house and at the window where his half-brother's room was.
"Sure…"
"Thanks."
Kagome got up and made her way into the mansion, her heart beating as fast as the thoughts that flitted through her mind.
She had been crying. The farewell party for Sesshoumaru was still going on downstairs, and the sight she had just seen had finally sent her over the edge.
Kikyo and Inuyasha, embracing and kissing in the backyard. In their own world. By the fountain. Kissing.
She wished she had seen it coming. Maybe she did, but chose to ignore it. She had wanted to tell Inuyasha how she had felt…but now it was to late.
She made her way upstairs, unaware of where she was going. She ascended quietly, with the stride of a defeated soldier.
She didn't exactly make note of where she ended up. She was a little buzzed from the two glassess of beer she had drunk a half-hour beforehand.
Kagome stumbled into a room and leaned against the door frame to brace herself. She was furious at fate,at the circumstances, at Inuyasha. At herself.
She dropped her hands from the doorframe and felt something fall off the table that sat by it. She picked it up. It was glass vase and a single wilted rose sittingt solitarily inside of it.
'It's wilted like…my hopeless crush on my best friend,' Kagome thought dryly and dizzily.
With a magnificent yell, she threw it against the wall.
"You could have had better you stupid bastard!"
She watched as it broke into thousands of tiny, glittering fragments. She watched as the rose crumbled into several dusty pieces, scattering across the plush red carpet.
She made her way to the large bed in the middle of the room, indifferent about the mess she had just made. The rage that she felt was gone, and was replace by an utter sadness.
She closed her eyes and lifted her hands to her face to allow the tears from her broken heart to flow freely. It had been too late. Too late to tell him. She didn't want him to see her as a fool. She didn't want him to change how he thought of her now that… this had happened. She felt the anger at herself flare up inside her again.
"Oh God. I'm just a fucking fool," she whispered into her hands. She didn't hear the squeak of a chair as she cried soundlessly into her palms.
"You know, that was my vase that you just threw against the wall."
Kagome looked up and quickly wiped her stinging tears from her aching eyes and stood quickly.
"I—I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here," she stammered. Sesshoumaru shrugged as he got up from the armchair and made his way toward her. She noticed the way he moved across the room. It was as though he was floating on air, his long, silver hair lifting in response to his actions.
Kagome felt completely embarrassed. That, on top of everything else, created the formula for the worst day of her life.
He laughed lightly, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine. He stopped so that they were just inches apart. Kagome could see the smooth angles of his face, so unlike Inuyasha's harsh ones. He narrowed his golden eyes as he looked down at her and Kagome could feel his hair graze the tops of her bare shoulders.
Her heart was beating uncontrollably, and she was completely aware of the fact that Sesshoumaru could probably hear it.
Kagome stiffened as he trailed a long, clawed finger down the side of the curve of her neck.
She barely knew Sesshoumaru,and the situation was making her uneasy and… peculiar.
"You know, he really is a bastard," Sesshoumaru whispered. Kagome looked away from his cold eyes and felt the tears well up again, distorting her vision.
"I hate him," she murmured. She felt his hand on her chin as he pulled her face toward him. Through her tears, she could see his bright yellow eyes, framed by his light silver hair. She watched as those bright orbs came closer, watching her astutely.
His hand fell from her chin and fell to the back of her neck.
A single tear spilled out from beneath her lashes as she gradually closed her eyes. She felt his mouth gently close over her own, and all thoughts of what had just transpired disappeared.