"Hey, let me tell you a secret!"
Those were the words that had started this whole mess. Those words, as if sheltering a promise to reveal the forbidden, innermost workings of a young girl's heart, did nothing but bring pain to the one he secretly loved.
It was an innocent gesture at most, he realized, looking back on the whole ordeal. But what had been innocent became the very thing he hated most, and his natural curiosity brought many things upon him that he would have been better off not knowing. This was one of those many things.
"Sometimes, even a love that seems hopeless may also bear fruit. The only question one should ask themselves is, is it worth it?" That cryptic message had imprinted itself in his mind from the very start, making him question things he had never even bothered to. Normally very confident in both himself and his looks, Ryan became insecure more and more as he compared himself to the other boys in their school.
First there was the hot-headed but very cool Aerknard Sieghart, a real jerk at first, but after a while you begin to see the meaning to the things he says and does. He's a real hit with the ladies for his almost rebellious attitude when the truth of the matter was, he was just lazy and indifferent. He was a huge flirt though, and often was the one teasing his cousin, Elesis about her looks everyday. Those two never got along.
Then there was Jin, the captain of the Martial Arts club. He was every girl's dream: smart, good looking, athletic, chivalrous and a foreigner of all things. He even had an accent! How could Ryan compete with that?! But of course, there was no other girl for him than the Student Council Treasurer and lead singer in the school's choir, Amy Aruha.
Then there was also Ronan Erudon, a rich kid with quite a bit of popularity as well. He only just transferred a month ago, and already there were girls piling up by the door of the classroom just to see him! He was a genius, handsome, elegant, knightly, and had long hair that was to die for (apparently).
After that was Dio Burning Canyon, a goth with a mouth. He was just misunderstood, but because of this, many people sympathized with him, Ryan included. He already had a girlfriend, but there was nothing he wasn't, according to what most girls said about him. He was dreamy, in a dark way. He was a sort of Dark Knight, one who didn't play by the rules of the traditional Knight In Shining Armor, which was appealing in it's own way. He had long hair, wore an accessory on his head that looked like horns and had a real snobbish attitude, almost as if he came from a rich family. the more Ryan thought about it, the less likely it was true (but yet it was, little did he know..).
Following him was Zero, a rather odd fellow who seemed too innocent to know what the hell was going on. He didn't seem to really care what gender the person was that held on to him, he blushed furiously at the contact anyway and seemed almost childish in a way. He was also mildly insane, mumbling to himself about a person named "Gran" who people could only assume was his grandparent. He could be rather aggressive when Gran let him be, which most girls would say was really cool.
Last but not least there was Lass Isolet, a very quiet individual who tended to space out and ignore almost anyone nearby. He was constantly teased about his name, but he would nonchalantly shrug it off and continue tuning out the world. He was pretty cute, according to what the girls said, almost like a child. He was smart, a straight A student and the way he got around unnoticed was a bit creepy. No one really noticed he was there unless he said something, which within itself was very rare. He hardly spoke to anyone other than Arme, his childhood friend, but even then he only said a few words at a time.
Ryan had no place amongst the more popular boys, so there was no question in his mind that his crush would fall for one of them. After all, he was an impish boy who had the attitude of a laid back surfer. His hair was messy, his tattoos were tacky and uncool and according to everyone else, he was a hippie for loving nature. He couldn't help the fact that he was raised in a forest by his parents who were obsessed with the old ways! He was rather proud of his tattoos too! They marked him as a Sentinel, apparently, a guardian of the forests. He was proud if who he was!
His pride fell as he thought of her, the girl of his dreams. Lire Eryuell. She was perfect! Smart, pretty, had a great body, a real sweetheart AND she loved nature as much as he did! She was part of the gardening club and planted new flowers all around school every day. She was also captain of the Archery team and lead them to win the national tournament 3 years in a row! She was amazing!
And yet here he was, fantasizing about her on his lunch break as he mumbled to himself. He kicked a loose rock as he sighed, unaware that he was being followed by anyone. "If only love was simple..." He sighed.
X xx X
Hiding behind a tree with a slight blush on her face, a blonde girl held a tiny box to her chest as his words drifted to her ears. "Love, huh?" She muttered to herself, her curiosity making her wonder who he had been thinking about. Whoever it was, she must've been an amazing girl. She'd be very lucky too, for he was an interesting person, and had an interesting personality. He loved nature, so he did anything he could to protect even small flowers no one really noticed. He never struck anyone, no matter how poorly they treated him and being slightly impish, he always pulled pranks to get back at them to varying degrees. He had the most amazing eyes and his tattoos looked really cool! They made him look like some ancient hero from all the stories she read as a little girl.
"I wonder who you love?" She muttered quietly, never taking her eyes off of him, even for a moment. So lost in her thoughts of him, she hadn't noticed that her two closest friends had snuck up on her. As a dreamy sigh escaped her, a tiny hand pulled on her hair gently, alerting the Junior that someone was behind her. She squeaked slightly and turned to face the two other girls, her face bright red, hiding the box she had been holding behind her back. "O-oh hey you two! I-is it time to go home already?"
"Lire's blushing. And stuttering. Odd." The red head said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Very odd." A shorter violet haired girl said, her eyes mimicking that of her taller rival's, though neither bothered to mention that it had been a first that they ever agreed on anything. "What are you hiding?"
"N-none of your business!" Lire screeched, covering her mouth the next instant and hoping that the young man in the distance looking around in confusion didn't notice her voice and try to look for her. An evil smirk appeared on both girl's faces at her odd behavior, but, not wanting to continue the conversation, Lire brushed past them forcefully, saying not a word as she did so.
As she made her way to her classroom to collect her things, a small smile appeared on her face. "Love, huh?" She asked, digging in her pocket and gently caressing the precious gift she had been meaning to give to her orange haired crush. "Well, tomorrow's Valentine's Day. I'll give it to him then. Does he like chocolate?"
The walk home from school have been relatively quiet, as their main source of conversation was smiling dumbly to herself as she planned ahead for the following day. She stopped at a store nearby and bought some chocolae with the money she had left of her allowance, alerting the redhead who blushed and followed suit. Arme, on the other hand, merely teased Elesis, earning a painful whack on the head via recently bought chocolate.
"And why aren't you buying any, midget?" Elesis grumbled, noticing that the shorter girl was the only one not worrying.
"Because, he's allergic." The girl answered, nonchalantly. "And besides, there's no one I particularly like well enough to give chocolate to anyway, except you two and Lire's on a diet. You on the other hand..."
"Yeah? What about me?"
"You could stand to lose a few pounds. It'd go straight to your thighs anyway." Arme spoke mischievously, angering the redhead but deftly dodging the blow aimed at her head as she ducked into the gate of her home and waved goodbye to her two friends. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
"Yeah, you too! This is my stop." Lire spoke, waving goodbye to Elesis who grumbled to herself. "Don't let what she said get to you. You're lovely the way you are."
"Keep talking like that and I might just go gay for you." Elesis spoke dramatically, faking a blush and feigning embarrassment.
"That's the plan." Lire winked, earning a real blush from the taller girl and a swat on the arm.
That night, as she lay in bed thinking, Lire couldn't help feeling nervous about what she was going to say. She had already spent the past few years hiding her feelings from the boy, and each year, confessing got harder and harder to do. She didn't want him to think she was some sort of stalker, and she certainly didn't want to think of what would happen if he turned her down. But of course, She knew that Elesis would just push her to trying anyway or just confessing in her place, like she had several times before. With a heavy sigh, she turned over in her bed, holding the stuffed doll she had created in his likeness. There was one for all of her friends, even Zero, though she hadn't spoken to the boy much. "Tomorrow will be a good day. I'm sure of it." With that thought on her mind, she closed her eyes, sinking into the realm of blissful dreams.