Disclaimer: I do not own anything…. *sob*

A/N: Please review! This is my first Eyeshield 21 fanfic so be nice please!

Summary:

Sena is a girl who loves to run and because of that, she met Shin. The two becomes close, but soon, both of them feel something more than friendship. Neither of them can find out, but for some reason, Sena doesn't want it to be love. Sena always claims herself to be a normal girl, but is she really? What is the dark past she's hiding and why is she hiding it?

Chapter 1

Seijuro Shin, a boy with jet black hair and equally dark eyes, was training as usual. However, this time, he was running in a foreign neighborhood, the curves and roads unknown to him. Before long, he was already lost, jogging around the same area three times before he stopped and tried to think of where to go. That was when he had heard a cry.

He stepped towards the noise, expecting a sad cat or a whining dog. Instead, he found a a petite girl with chesnut hair and chocolate eyes. Tears had swelled in her eyes as she clutched her ankle. In front of her was a dog the size of Shin's two fists put together.

Kobayakawa Sena had been jogging around like always when she had, being the klutz that she was, tripped on a rock and twisted her ankle. For five minutes, she had been alone, trying to figure out a way to get back home without feeling the shock zapping through her foot every second. That was when the monster on four legs came out. Ever since she had been bitten by a dog when she was little, she had had a phobia of dogs, no matter how big or how small they were.

Sena gave a shriek as the little puppy inched closer towards her, and began scooting away, until she hit a wire fence. She shut her eyes together, expecting the worst as she thought 'I'm seriously going to die tonight', when all of a sudden, she heard a whine. Sena opened her eyes slowly and came face to face with a boy who was extremely tall and buff, clutching the dog firmly.

"Uh—um…" Sena looked up and smiled, but she quickly shifted, wincing from the pain. "Thank you."

Shin looked from the dog to Sena, trying to analyze the situation. Concluding with the fact that Sena was afraid of the dog, he gently ushered the dog to the other direction, and leant down to be on eye level with Sena.

"Is there a problem?" Shin asked. No matter how much he was indifferent about things, leaving an injured girl alone went against all of his morals.

"I—" Sena blushed and looked away from Shin. It had been a long time until she had been so close to a boy. "I twisted my ankle."

Suddenly, she felt the ground underneath her shift and disappear and she let out a cute squeal, clutching Shin's shirt.

"Wh—what are you doing?" Sena exclaimed as Shin twisted her around into a more comfortable position.

"Where do you live?" Shin asked, ignoring her question.

"Just around the block, number 249," Sena answered automatically, used to doing so with bullies. "But hey wait—"

Without another word out of Sena's mouth, Shin sprinted fast and hard, his eyes searching rapidly for the number '249.' Soon, Sena and Shin stood in front of the house gate.

"Thank you," Sena said, catching her breathe from all the nervousness. "Would you please come in for some tea to show my gratitude?"

"No, I must continue with my training—"

Before Shin could turn and run back to a route, Sena clutched the edge of his shirt. To refuse her again, Shin turned around only to be awestruck by the cute expression Sena held.

"Please…?" her big brown eyes drew Shin in and for the first time in his life, his heart thudded fast, not from training, but from looking at a girl.

"If—" he cleared his throat, surprising himself of his emotions. "If you so wish, then that'll be."

Sena beamed happily, but it disappeared when she remembered Shin was actually a stranger. No matter how afraid she was, she had been taught at a young age that one must show gratitude for whatever they had received or been treated as.

Not before long, Sena, with the help of Shin, had opened the door to the house and ushered Shin in. She limped towards the closet where she pulled out a crutch.

"Oh, um… I get into these situations a lot so my parents just got me a crutch, but usually I come back home…" Sena shuddered, remembering the dog. "Anyways, please, take a seat over there."

Shin sat down on the cushion, his face still expressionless as he still tried to figure out why his heart had reacted in such a strange way. Sena set out some cream puffs and green tea in front of him, smiling.

An awkward silence hung in the air as Sena sipped her tea quietly. It was broken when Sena realized she knew nothing of this man.

"Please forgive my rudeness," she said. "But what is your name?"

Shin replied, "No, please forgive me for not introducing myself and entering your house with you having no knowledge of me. My name is Seijuro Shin and I am a second year in Oujou."

Sena beamed, feeling a little better after she knew at least the name. "My name is Kobayakawa Sena, Seijuro-san, but please call me Sena. I'm from Deimon, first year."

"Sena," Shin said, and paused, tasting the name. "Please call me by my first name, Sena."

"Uh—I think it's better to call you Shin instead," a blush spread across Sena's face.

There was an awkward silence that hung in the air as Sena fidgeted with her fingers. She noticed that Shin didn't take any cream puffs and out of curiosity, she asked why.

"I already took in the required nutrients with meals…" Shin's words faded as he saw Sena make a sad face. Feeling horrible and guilty, he reluctantly, he took one and chewed it, the soft cream melting in his mouth.

"Ah-! You don't have to!" Sena said, frantically trying to get Shin to spit it out. "I mean, I'm only a beginner so they might not taste good…"

Shin swallowed the cream puff. "It was amazing, Sena."

Sena took a cream puff as well, and both were quiet as she finally finished it, acknowledging her own talent for cooking.

"Sena-san—"

"Sena," the petite girl interrupted, correcting the tall boy.

"Sena, may I ask why you were in the park?" Shin asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, you see," Sena said, smiling sheepishly. "I love running and I was jogging around until I tripped and… fell."

"You love running?" Shin repeated.

"Yes," Sena smiled again.

"Then, if you like, would you like to run with me every morning and after school?" Shin asked before he knew what he was saying. "Of course, you'd have to wake up early morning—"
"Really?" Sena exclaimed. "I—I'd love to!"

Shin nodded. "That's great."

A thought clouded Sena's mind and she asked to clear it. "Shin… May I ask why you run every morning and afternoon?"

"I'm training since I'm in the Royal White Knights team. It's the American football team of my school," Shin said.

"Really?" Sena gasped. "I love football!"

Shin blinked. "You do?"

A soft smile appeared on Sena's face as she giggled. "Yes... There are quite a few people that I know who are on a football team."

"Do you know which team?" Shin asked.

"No…" Sena shook her head. "It's not that important, I suppose…"

The day had ended as Shin had said goodbye not long after the conversation and Sena had taken a good rest that Saturday afternoon. Both were curious to find out more about each other, thinking the meeting of a mere coincidence.

*Monday morning*

Sena scurried down the stairs, wearing a brown tank top and black shorts. She hurriedly put on her runners and when as she opened the door, Shin was standing in front of it. He held a confused expression, as if he had been wondering if he should ring the doorbell or not.

"Am I late?" Sena breathed as he walked out, closing the door.

Shin shook his head. "No. Right on time, actually."

With an excited smile on her face, Sena hopped down the stairs but paused when she noticed Shin wasn't with her. She looked up to find Shin staring at the door.

"Shin?" Sena called.

"Have you told your parents that you'll be gone out?" Shin asked, his eyes never lingering off the door.

"Ah—My otou-san is working overseas and okaa-san never comes home nowadays," Sena admitted. "It's alright."

The black haired nodded and he hurried down to Sena. Both of them began jogging and little words were spoken between each other.

*one week later*

"Sena!" Mihue called. "Shin is here!"

Mihue had found out when one morning, Shin had broken the doorbell by pressing it too hard, causing it to malfunction and repeat the noise over and over. She had slammed the door open to find a huge line backer looming over her. After a chanting to Sena and a long two hour talk with Shin, she had decided to let them run together. Shin, in his talk, was a pure and innocent boy, only having mind for football and making himself stronger. She also noticed a hint of something special whenever she mentioned Sena.

"Just a minute, Okaa-san!" a voice shouted.

After a few seconds, Sena had leaped down the stairs, wearing a grey t-shirt and black pants. Her brunette hair was tied into a pony tail and the honey golden eyes glanced down at her attire, seeing her okaa-san do so.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Mihue smiled. She liked Shin… She liked shin a lot. Of course, not in a romantic way, but in away a woman would look at a boy that she wanted as a son-in-law. Unfortunately, both the boy and her daughter were dimwitted and slow, meaning she would have to work hard to get them together.

"Oh, no, Sena… It's nothing." She pushed Sena out of the house. "Now, have fun with Shin!"

Both turned and started jogging away when Mihue's shouting stopped them, both turned around and a flash blinded them hard.

"Smile! Say cheese!" Mihue repeated, taking pictures again and again. She wanted to savor the moment her daughter had decided to finally talk with someone she hadn't known and won against Xenophobia, a phobia in which the holder was afraid of strangers.

Sena, blushing furiously, dragged Shin away who was still dizzy from the blinding light.

"Shin, just ignore her." After just one week, the two of them had changed from formal to informal.

He sped up, now in pace with her. "We're ten minutes late this time so I suppose we'll have to hurry."

Sena moaned as if she hated running faster but secretly, she enjoyed running next to the boy whom she had become attached to. They had become great, if not best, friends.

"Sena," Shin paused. "My school is having a game tomorrow and I was wondering if you'd like to come."

The girl's heart thudded even faster and she blushed. Shin was inviting her to something so special! Of course she'd go!

"Really?" Shin laughing made her realize that she'd said everything from 'Shin' to 'Go!'

"Who wouldn't?" Sena squealed. "I mean—" When she turned around to face Shin and continue blabbering, she saw Shin smile. Like, smile. It was as if he was an angel, light beaming around him.

Her hurt began to speed up like a hurricane and so did her legs. At the speed of light, she began to race away from Shin, embarrassed.

"Sena…!" Shin's voice began to fade in the background.

Afraid that Shin would be mad at her for ditching him, she ran even faster now, set on finishing the laps around her neighborhood.

*At Deimon School*

'Just where is that girl?' Mamori thought as she continued to pace around the front of the school.

Right then, a figure dashing at 4.2 seconds flew over and stopped right before bumping into the tall, brunette blob. Mamori hugged Sena quickly and dragged her in.

"Where were you?" Mamori asked. "Did someone hurt you? Were you being bullied—"

"Mamori-nee," Sena pulled Mamori's finger's away from her. "I'm fine… I was just jogging around as usual and it got late—"

"As usual?" Mamori burst. "But Sena, what if someone tries to do that to you again—" She stopped, realizing that she'd said too much.

Sena's face, now dark with both anger and fear, appeared. "I have to go now. We can talk after class…"

Before Mamori could say anything, Sena rushed away, and Mamori was left alone. 'What have I done?' she thought. 'Poor Sena… I'm sorry.'

*At the end of the day*

Sena slumped back in her seat and closed her eyes. She knew it was wrong to avoid Mamori-nee the whole day like that. It also made sense that Mamori-nee was protective of her, but sometimes she just wanted space. She wasn't in kindergarten anymore. She had to prove that to her somehow. But what could she do…?

Sena's eyes snapped open. Of course! She could make friends here, in Deimon, all by herself and that would prove to Mamori that she was really ok!

Her eyes swept around the classroom, but the only people left were three boys. One was blonde with a scar on the side of his face, the other was brunette with slanty eyes and the last one was blonde as well, wearing shades.

She scurried over to them, and stuck her hand out. The three of them looked up from their Shonen Jump magazine and stared at her.

"Hi! My name is Kobayakawa Sena, it's nice to meet you, er…" She paused, waiting for them to introduce themselves.

The three of them looked at each other and then at the cute girl in front of them. To them it was surreal; a good girl like her talking to delinquents like them. The one with the scar, who was a little bit nicer than the other two, was the one who began introducing themselves.

"The name's Jūmonji Kazuki. The idiot looking guy over there is Kuroki Kōji, and the ugly glasses is Toganō Shōzō," the scar face said.

Sena's face instantly brightened. See? She could do it! No need for Mamori-nee and her worries!

"It's nice to meet you, Kazuki-kun, Kōji-kun, Shōzō-kun!" she smiled.

All of ha-ha brothers turned red and they each muttered "hah?" under their breath. Glancing at the clock, Sena gasped. Forgetting the awkward moment she had with Shin, she just realized that she was late for their run!

"Oh my gosh! Well, Kazu-kun, Kō-kun, Shō-kun," Sena rushed, already made nicknames for them. "I have to go! See you all tomorrow!"

The three of them watched, awestruck by the cute girl as she zoomed out of the room. They stared at each other, then at the doorway. Did what they thought just happened, just happen?

A/N: If I made ANY mistakes, please feel free to point it out, just so I can fix it!