Summer holidays were just around the corner, making the classes at Odaiba High almost impossible to teach because of the restlessness of the teens, so instead of classes they had study hall periods for the rest of the semester. These were, in a way, worse than actual classes because of the level of quiet that needed to be maintained. Hikari felt very uncomfortable in situations like this, where you could hear everything, so she blocked out not being able to hear anything by drowning out the silence with her Ipod. Music helped her concentrate, which was great considering she had a lot of work to catch up on due to her recent illness, making the last week of school hell for her if she wanted to graduate this year. Hikari's mind raced in between thoughts of grad and the paper she was trying to write for her English class.

"Pssst."

Hikari looked up to a folded piece of paper resting at the top of her desk. Glancing around, she grabbed it and unfolded it carefully and neatly. Those two words summed up Hikari almost perfectly. Careful. Neat.

Hey There's a party at Yamato's house tonight. Everyone's going. See you there?

It wasn't signed. Raising an eyebrow, she scanned the classroom, seeing if anyone was giving any hints as to who wrote it. She ruled out anyone not sitting within the square perimeter around her desk, and then from behind her, because of how the note was placed on her desk. It was common sense. What else was common sense was that a guy did not write the note, although the note was written messily, it was not a boys chicken scratch. Hikari's deduction skills left her with two suspects, and she had an easy way of figuring it out.

I'm not sure. A friend asked me to go, but I think I have to work.

She scribbled her reply, and crumpled the note up. Almost instantly, a girl to her right glanced over her shoulder. Hikari got her. Smiling, she tossed the note up to the girl, who was friends with her older brother. She caught it, and turned back around. Her name was Sora. She was friends with Hikari's older brother, Tai, so Hikari had seen her around quite often, but never really talked to her. She was quite tall with auburn hair that was cut to fit her oval face, bright ruby eyes, and she was very athletic. She was captain of the female soccer team and captain of the tennis team at their high school. She was also very attractive, in a tomboyish girly sort of way.

What if I come with a friend for your friend? It'd be great to see you out of class.

Weird, Hikari thought. But before she could reply, the bell rang, and everyone tossed their things into their backpacks, to head home. She tucked the note into her pocket and closed her books, and slid them into her backpack. Slinging it over her shoulder she realized that Sora hadn't left yet, and that she was waiting for her at the exit of the class. Taking her earphones out of her ears as she went, she walked towards the other girl. She felt shorter and shorter the closer she got to the girl. Hikari was maybe 5'2'', while Sora stood around 5'8''. They weren't very similar at all, with Sora being athletic and quite muscular, and Hikari just being stick thin. Hikari didn't have the hair to match her face either. Her hair was a plain brown, usually tied back. exposing plain brown eyes. Another great word for Hikari would quite simply be plain. Average.

"Hey," Sora spoke casually, "So, what do you think?"

"Well, like I said, I think I have to work, but if not, well..." Hikari kind of trailed off.

"What about my offer?" Sora stepped in front of her, and Hikari stopped abruptly.

"What?" She was confused.

"You come with me. I'll bring a friend for your friend?"

Is she asking me on a date? Hikari thought to herself. She chuckled at the thought. Likely!

"Yeah, sure. I'll get my number from my brother I guess, and give you a call later or whatever if I'm not busy. Alright? Well. I'm going to go. Bye." She then sidestepped Sora, leaving her dumbfounded, and took off at a brisk pace, not even waiting for a reply.

The walk home for Hikari was long, and quite lonely. She wished it wasn't, especially on days like this when she had nothing else to do but think. Her mind raced as she thought about Sora, and her offer. About the party, about school, and about herself. Hikari had a secret, which was one of the reasons she was so flustered with Sora's question. She's known it for a while, but no one else did, that Hikari wasn't too keen on the guys at her school, focusing her attentions more on the same sex. The thought of Sora's proposition excited and confused her at the same time. She sighed inwardly, and climbed the steps up to her apartment. It wasn't exactly her apartment, though; She lived with her older brother Taichi. It had been that way for years. Their father was an abusive alcoholic, and after their mothers death, Tai decided it wasn't the sort of place a young girl should grow up in. She loved her brother very much for what he did for her. They were in the same graduating class this year, even though he should have graduated already. She didn't think her was stupid because of this, though. He was a hero to her. Her older brother was a year behind so he could work, and pay for the apartment they had, and save up money so her could go back to school when the time was right.

Hikari tossed her backpack in her room, and headed straight for the kitchen. She couldn't work much because of all her classes, so she did all she could by keeping the place clean and cooking, which wasn't so bad considering Taichi was a horrible cook. She grabbed some meat and some bread and made a sandwich and a glass of chocolate milk for her brother, then went back to her room. They weren't that bad off recently, because Taichi had turned eighteen and inherited the money left to him by their mother, and so Taichi had some new gadgets around the house, including a new widescreen plasma tv with surround sound, an Xbox360, and all sorts of junk including a "new car". It wasn't really new, but it was nice, and it looked new, and if calling it new made Taichi happy, then Hikari would call it new.

Hikari spent her money a little less frivolously, and only bought herselp a laptop for her room, and put the rest away for university. If all went well with school, she'd be attending the U of O in the fall, and hopfully later on she'd become a counselor. An addictions counsellor, to be specific. Hikari smiled. The thought of the future always made her happy, she didn't know why. She flipped open her laptop to find a message waiting for her on msn.

TK says: Hey!

TK says: Still coming with me to my brothers tonight?

"Oh, shit!" Hikari said aloud. She completely forgot about the party. And Takeru. And Sora. She grabbed her day planner from a drawer and flipped to the date. She was scheduled to work, and what a coincidence it was. She didn't work often at all, twice a week was the most she'd ever worked. And out of all the nights, it had to be tonight. She was actually excited for tonight. She dropped her head to her desk and sighed. Oh well, not much I can do, she thought. Beep!

TK says: Hello?

The message alert startled her, she had completely forgotten about leaving her msn on.

Hikari says: Sorry, hi.

Hikari says: I can't make it, I have to work. Sorry!

Well, that's that, she thought, leaning back in her chair. Too bad though. Beep. She sat up, resting her elbow on the desk, using her hand to hold her head up.

TK says: Good news, Miyako said she wants more hours.

TK says: So if you call in, she'll take your shift! See you tonight! ;)

TK signed off at 4:16 pm 06/25/2006

Hikari stared at the blinking cursor, and the conversation. Now that she was actually able to go to the party, if everything worked out, she was nervous and unsure. Frustrated by her emotions, she let out a grunt, and she exited the conversation, and signed off of her computer. Just do it, a small voice in the back of her head said. Nothing to be scared of. Hikari knew the voice was right, it was just a party, and just a friend of a friend that probably needed someone to go with. Everything would be fine. She rolled her computer chair over to the phone, and looked up Sora's number on the directory. She took a deep breath, and dialed.

Ring.

Hikari hung up the phone, her heart racing.

"What was that?" she questioned herself outloud. She shook her head. "Don't be stupid. It's just a phone call." She picked the phone back up, and hit redial.

Ring. Ring.

She felt the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach return, and she moved her finger towards the end button.

"Hello?" Too late.

"Um, hey, it's Hikari," She mumbled, regretting the phone call immediately.

"Oh, hey! So?" Sora sounded really relaxed. Happy. This made Hikari feel a bit better. If she was asking about a date, she'd probably be nervous or something too, right? She thought. Not like she was asking about a date, anyways. She corrected herself, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yeah, I work-" She was cut off by a sigh from Sora, it screamed of disappointment.

"Oh, well, that's alright, I guess, what can you do, eh?" She rambled.

"I was going to say I could take it off," Hikari kind of chuckled. "And my friend isn't busy, he'd be happy to join in."

"Great!" The excitement in Sora's voice lifted Hikari's heart a bit.

"Heck, maybe your friend and my friend will hit it off!" Hikari joked, and laughed. The thought of tonight now filled her with excitment, and she was eager to get off the phone and get ready.

"Or maybe we will?" Sora started laughing too, just as Hikari stopped. Her jaw dropped and her heart skipped a beat.

"What?" Hikari stammered.

"Oh, nothing. I'll see you tonight!" And with that Sora chose to end the conversation. Hikari was left there, stunned and confused, and any excitement she had felt for the party left, or was replaced by a sinking feeling in her stomach. Almost like butterflies, if they were kamikaze butterflies and her stomach was Pearl Harbor. I can't get out of this now, though. She shook her head and glanced at the clock. 4:30 PM. Probably a good time to start getting ready.

5:30 PM exactly. It had only taken her an hour to get ready. Why I am getting so worked up over this? Hikari pondered to herself. Why would a girl like that, ask someone like me to go on a date to a party, randomly, out of no where? There's no way she could know something that no one else knew? She nodded in agreeance with herself. She was being extremely silly. But what if- Her thought was interrupted by the door to her apartment opening. Poking her head out from around her door, she could see the poofy, brown mess that was her brothers hair. It stuck up wildly, poking out at all angles, and even though it looked odd, it completely suited him. Taichi was an attractive young man. He was very well built, very very athletic. He was the captain of the boys soccer team, captain of the football and rugby teams and he played a bit of basketball as well. A complete jock. But that wasn't all, he was multitalented. He was an amazing artist, he played the guitar and drums when he could, and he could sing. All of these skills made him quite the ladies man, but even though he could have turned out to be a total player, he wasn't. He was sensitive and romantic, and he really cared. Some people would say that he was pretty much perfect.

"I made you a sandwich, " she called out from her room. She heard a grunt and a thump as a reply, and she chuckled at him. Suddenly, a head popped between her door and the door frame. A head with auburn hair and bright hazel eyes.

"Hey," the head was followed by a body, and Sora stepped into Hikari's room, and sat down on Hikari's bed. "Ready to go?"

Hikari looked at the clock. It had only been fifteen minutes.

"Isn't it a little early to go to a party?" Hikari asked nervously.

"Of course," Sora smiled. "I was thinking we could get coffee or something first?"

"Well, I'm not a big fan of coffee, honestly," and that was the truth. "And that's more of an after party thing anyways, isn't?" She smiled. She was feeling less and less uncomfortable around her. Sora smiled back at her, and shifted positions on the bed.

"You're absolutely right, so, I guess we'll have to go after the party then?" She grinned. "But for now, come with me." And with that she grabbed Hikari's hand, and dragged her out of her room. All Hikari could manage was a squeaky 'oh!' and a blush. She put on her shoes and a jacket, and Sora rushed her out the door. They walked in complete silence, and again Hikari felt uncomfortable, until they reached a small park not far from her apartment. With a plop, Sora dropped to the ground, cross legged, and pulled Hikari down with her. She playfully pushed Hikari over onto her back, then laid down beside her. "I love the stars," she said. Hikari then realized how well you could see the stars from where they were laying. It was beautiful.

"Yeah," Hikari said. That was all she could really get out. She was so confused about everything that was going on, whether or not this meant anything to the other girl, or if it was just a weird way of hanging out. There were so many signs but she just couldn't interpret them.

"So, I was hoping to learn a few things about you."

"Oh yeah?" Hikari turned her head to Sora, "like what?"

"Well," she started, "Gossip. Big fan of it or no?"

Hikari laughed. It was an interesting question, she wasn't expecting it. And before she could answer, Sora cut her off with more questions.

"Into fashion? Like, do you follow the latest trends, or do you just wear what you want?" She smiled at the other girl.

"Definatly not, and I wear what I'm comfortable in." She laughed a little.

She smiled again, then looked back up at the sky. Hikari didn't turn away though. She studied the way her hair fell, and the perfect bone structure of Sora's face, and how her chest rose and fell as she laid their, breathing. Then she thought about how she'd like to lay their with her, spend the night with her. She started to blush, and turned away quickly. Sora turned back to her. "What?" She grinned. "Any questions for me?"

Hikari paused for a moment.

"Yeah. Do you like dreaming of things so impossible, or only the practical, or ever the wild?" She took a breath, but didn't stop. "Or waiting through all your bad days just to end them with someone you care about?"

"The impossibly and the wild are my favorites, but practical is always reassuring. And yes," she kind of sighed, and sad look came over her face. Hikari felt a tweak of guilt, though she didn't know why.

"Do you like making out?" Hikari asked, and suddenly wished she hadn't. She didn't know why she said it. She turned red and looked away. "Uh, or...I...Do you like longs drives?"

She could hear shuffling in the grass beside her, but Hikari wouldn't turn around.

"Yes and yes. Why do you ask?" She could hear the mischievous tone in Sora's voice, she only hoped Sora couldn't hear the embarrassment in hers.

"It was kind of an accidental question," Hikari rolled back over, in mid sentance, and found herself nose to nose with Sora. Her eyes widened, and locked with Sora's shining hazel eyes. "I didn't meant to..."

And she was cut off by Sora's lips pressing against hers. Hikari gasped and pulled away, and regretted that she had done that. She could see the embarrassment and hurt in Sora's eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Sora stammered, "I got caught up in the moment, and-"

And this time it was Hikari who cut Sora off. And the two girls sat under the stars for a moment, and kissed. Eventually needing oxygen, they parted and laid back beside each other, facing the stars. It was a long silence, not quite awkward, but not quite anything else at the same time. After many, many minutes, the silence was broken.

"You know what else I like?" It was Sora that decided to speak. Hikari turned to look at her. "Brown eyes, and girls that just don't quite fit in." She smiled and kissed her again, then stood up. "So I'll see you at Matt's then?"

--

Chapter two coming soon.