It all started when I was unwittingly kidnapped by my Senpai.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Wait, scratch that….

It was yesterday.

XXX

I'm no good with people.

Never had been, never was,

And probably never will.

But…I'm good at people watching.

Or I guess "student" watching.

I watch the soccer players score goals and then tackle each other to the ground.

I watch the smart, serious science students explode chemicals together to form mini smoke clouds.

I watch the art kids paint beautiful murals before crumpling them up and throwing them away like they were trash.

And I watch him.

That guy.

The one with the red hair.

I don't mean to watch him. I don't mean to stare. Just…something comes over me when I see him. Something I can't explain.

It's like…I feel embarrassed looking at him. Like I'm not supposed to. Like if I look at him, I'll get into trouble. But at the same time, I can't keep my eyes off of him.

So I try to ignore him the best I can. I try to ignore how he looks when he's with his friends, I ignore the blush that creeps up on his face sometimes, I ignore those eyes that seem terrifying at first glance but then relaxing the next,

I ignore everything about him.

But sometimes…. that just doesn't work.

XXX

It was like a scene in a movie.

One lonely girl walks through an empty hallway after classes had ended, footsteps echoing through the halls.

The girl is sighing to herself, worrying about a test or a quiz or a paper or whatever school related work she has when suddenly a hand shoots out from one of the classrooms and-

Grabs the girl.

XXX

I immediately yell. Too surprised to formulate words. Something that sounds like a scream and a breath of air comes out of my throat.

"Shh!"

That voice wasn't my voice. That voice was someone else's. Someone that I recognized yet had never spoken to.

I whip my head around so fast that I'm afraid one of my pigtails had hit that person in the face.

"S-senpai?" I asked, confused. The grip around my arm loosens and retracts as my kidnapper takes a step back and grins.

It's a grin that makes me nervous. A grin that causes my knees to shake and the blood to drain from my face. A rush of cold sweat attacks my neck, the back of my ears, even my cheeks.

If someone were to place a thermometer on me right now, it would be below zero degrees.

"Congratulations!" my Senpai says proudly, as if giving me a reward of the highest degree.

I can only blink my eyes in confusion.

"W-what?" I say, alarmed at her happy attitude. Unused to talking to anyone (besides myself) my voice comes out shaky and squeaky.

I don't like my voice.

I raise my hand to my lips as if trying to muffle my own sounds.

The grin on Senpai's face only widens and I'm reminded of the Cheshire cat from the stories. The one who smiles as they trick innocent young girls down the wrong path.

Instinctively I take a step back-

Only to be grabbed by the shoulders.

In a sing-songy voice, my Senpai whispers to me.

"You're taking Silver to the Summer Festival."

My blood freezes yet for some reason I feel like my heart is beating twice... no... Three times as fast as I hear that name,

Silver.

XXX

My squeaky voice returns for an encore the moment I can speak.

"N-no I-I can't!" I say, cringing at every word that comes out yet desperate to speak. "I-I don't even know him and I-!"

"Listen!" my Senpai says harshly, freezing me again. "Me and my friends are all coupled up and I don't want my baby brother to be all alone during the festival." She's glaring down at me now. "So you have to take him."

I can only nod, too afraid to speak, too afraid to even correct the grammar mistake my Senpai had said.

She smiles again, and ruffles my head as if I'm some pet before turning around.

"By the way," she says, her voice filled with victory as she turns around to look at me again.

"My name's Blue. Nice to meet you."

XXX

Blue-senpai must be a ninja.

Or a samurai.

Or a spy.

Or an undercover agent for the Make-My-Life-Miserable Cooperation.

Whatever she is, she got me.

My shoe locker is filled to the brim with notes from her. Each one starting with the words "Ask him out."

Ask him out at lunch.

Ask him out at class.

Ask him out after class.

Ask him out before class.

Ask him out.

Ask him out.

Ask him out.

The words jumble and twist together, making my heart writhe in unexpected pain.

I can't help but bang my head into my locker, hard. I startle some people around me and I can tell I am the center of their focus,

But for once I don't care.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I mumble. I can feel hot tears coming to my eyes.

I, Kotone, who had never had any friends at this school,

Who had never talked to anyone,

Who had always been watching,

Was suddenly thrown into a much, much different world.

XXX

"What do you want?"

My breath catches as he stares down at me.

Him.

That guy.

The one with the red hair.

And scary eyes.

And cute blush.

He's looking right at me.

And I'm looking right at him.

I'm vaguely aware of his two friends behind him, giving me strange looks, wondering why I even came close to them.

I open my mouth to speak…. then closed it again.

I can't do this while looking at him.

I look down and try again.

Nothing.

Not even the tiniest squeak comes out of me.

I shake my head.

I can't do this.

I turn and run.

XXX

At least, I try to run.

My collar is suddenly grabbed and pulled. So suddenly that the air going into my body cuts off and I can only gasp as I feel myself flying backwards.

"Oh no you don't!" A voice I recognize says.

It's that sugary sweet, sing songy voice again.

"Kotone has something to ask you." I hear Blue-senpai saying my name as she spins me around and plants me again in front of the red head. "Don't you?" she whispers in my ear.

I freeze.

They're all looking at me.

The girl behind him, the boy behind him,

And him.

My breath is starting to come back, but it's coming back too fast.

I gulp, wheeze, and gasp. I can feel more and more people looking at me. My blood pumps and rushes through me as I feel myself become dizzy with unknown adrenaline.

"Say it." I hear Blue whisper in my ear.

I can't.

I know I can't.

I couldn't.

XXX

Somehow though, the words fall out of my mouth.

As usual, my disgusting voice is squeaky and high pitched.

It could easily be mistaken for sonar.

We could find buried treasure with it under the sea.

I don't expect him to say anything.

I expect him to turn away, as if even talking to me is repulsive.

I can't breath again.

"Sure."

XXX

I blink.

I look up.

He's blushing.

I'm confused.

XXX

"You're joking." I said, too surprised to even realize my voice had stabilized and normalized. "You're…joking…."

He shakes his head. "I'm not."

He's….not…?

I stagger backwards, my feet twisting and turning, unsure of where they want to be placed.

"That's great!" a voice proclaims behind me.

I'm being pulled again, but this time

I'm pulled into a hug.

"Congratulations!"

I can't breath again.

XXX

Blue must be a stalker.

Or a genius.

Or a little bit of both.

She found out where I lived.

With a flourish (and a mini explosion) my door literally bursts from its hinges and clamors to the ground.

"Sapph you broke the door!" a voice screams as I tumble from my bed to the floor.

"But Senpai said we needed to break in."

"That didn't mean literally!"

I'm still in shock as I watch Blue enter my small apartment.

"Hi there Kotone!" she says, grinning from ear to ear.

"We're giving you a makeover."

XXX

Blue must have a lot of friends.

Or a lot of people she bribes.

Or victimizes.

Or maybe all three.

Whatever it is, Ruby is a genius.

I can't recognize myself in the mirror when he's done.

I look…. pretty.

"Th-thank you." I whisper, a small smile breaking through my ice mask.

Ruby just smiles.

XXX

He's blushing.

That's what I notice when I first walk towards him.

He's with all his friends but, like Blue had told me, all his friends had split up into couples.

Some are holding hands, some are arguing, one even has a cue stick.

But they all look happy.

XXX

"H-hi." I say, looking down at my feet.

He clears his throat.

I can't help but notice him shuffle his feet nervously.

"Hey."

XXX

I was expecting awkward.

I was expecting embarrassing.

I was expecting humiliating.

I was expecting so many bad things to happen.

But….

I had fun.

XXX

I laughed for the first time in years.

My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide.

A warm feeling that I hadn't felt since I was ten spreads through me like a river after it floods.

He takes my hand.

I squeeze it back.

I look at him and grin.

And to my surprise,

He grins back.

XXX

I thought I was Cinderella.

Last night I had so much fun.

Last night was wonderful,

Special,

Happy,

Magical,

I was expecting it to go back to normal after that.

To wake up and become the boring Kotone again.

It didn't though.

XXX

He's smiling at me again.

A smile that I never expected to receive.

Nervously I smile back at him.

"Good morning Kotone." he says.

"G-good morning…. Silver."

XXX

It's a secret I can't tell anyone.

But, it's a secret that I want to tell.

That I want to yell from the roof.

That I want to yell to the moon and stars.

Because that night, under the fireworks, under the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd, under the bright golden moon,

Silver kissed me.

XXX

I'm not the same.

I have friends now.

I have people I care about now.

I have people who tease me, who pick on me,

But who also love me.

I poke Blue-senpai in the back and give her a hug the second she turns around.

"Thank you." I whisper. "Thank you so much."

I can feel her arms around me as she returns my hug.

"No thank you Kotone." she whispers back.

"Thank you so much."

XXX

Wow, I wanted this to be a SOULSILVER fic but I think it turned into a Blue-Kotone friendship fic. I still think it's cute though.

XXX

Omake:

Silver Needs a Date:

"Green, Silver needs a date."

"To what?"

"The festival!"

"...So?"

"So?!"

"Just find him a date and stop bothering me!"

How Blue Choose Kotone:

"So Silver…."

"….."

"The Summer Festival is coming up…"

"….."

"And I realize that a lot of us are going to be um…. coupling up…."

"….."

"And I was wondering if….."

"….."

"Silver are you even listening to me?!"

"Huh…Blue-nee when did you get here?"

"I've been here the whole time!"

"You were?"

"Oh…..I get it."

"Get what?"

"You were looking at a girl!"

"What!?"

"Don't worry Silver, I got your back!"

"Wait…damn it….Blue!"

Bro Talk:

"You like her."

"Shut up."

"You really like her."

"Shut up."

"Silver and Kotone sitting in a tree-"

"Gold! Shut up!"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-ouch!"

"I told you to shut up."