Four girls were walking off of Radiant Garden's High School campus as they made their ways home together. Kairi glanced to the girl beside her bearing red tipped and rooted black hair with a mischievous tone in her voice as she said, "Lyric, I have a personal question for you." With a silent request to continue, the red head asked, "Is there anyone you like in school?"
The girl in question, Lyric, was quite odd as far as people go. Not only was her hair so strange, she had pink eyes, and never dressed in anything but a punk style, which made her a bit more than intimidating by looks alone. As if that weren't enough, she happened to be known very well as a woman of intelligence, a sharp tongue, nothing less of shock-inducing, and easily a hardcore ass-kicker. All this well known to the three girls around her, it startled Kairi slightly when she was fixed with a demanding raised eyebrow as she was asked, "Why? Are you coming on to me?"
The four boys that silently followed the group of girls snickered quietly at the joke – or at least Axel, Sora and Roxas did, Riku just grinned – but they quickly silenced themselves once more at the angry glare thrown at them by the redhead. Said girl turned back to Lyric and replied with a no, laughing as she did so. "I was just curious. We all are," she gestured to Naminé and Yuffie on the other side of the girl. "I mean, you're really popular among the guys, you know? We were just wondering if there was someone you've had your eye on."
The group tailing the girls listened very closely to her answer, for it was the reason all of them were there, even Kairi, Naminé, and Yuffie. Sadly, though, a direct answer was not what they received. Instead, the girl sighed and crossed her arms for a long moment before saying, "I'm not really sure. I mean, there are a lot of things to consider. As far as eye candy is concerned I have a lot of choices. There's Riku, Axel, Zexion, Demyx, Marluxia-"
"Marluxia?" Yuffie openly laughed at the girls' choice. "That guy is so funny looking! I mean, he's got pink hair!" She broke out into another peal of laughter.
Lyric quickly retorted, coming to her friend's defense. "And I've got pink eyes," she shot back to the laughing ninja, who instantly stayed her giggles. "Are you saying something about the color pink, Kisaragi?" The punkette asked with a dare to insult her in her voice.
"N-No!" The ninja stuttered and took a step back from her friend in fear. When whispers went through the school of someone pissing off Lyric everyone knew there was a fight to be had. Lyric never got angry without just cause. But when she was purely enraged, she was the last person to hesitate when it came to throwing a punch.
Lyric simply rolled her eye and continued with her explanation. "Then there's the factor of how huggable someone is. Those people I think would be Sora, Roxas, and Demyx." She heaved a sigh again. "The personalities I mesh best with though are Riku, Zexion, and Marluxia. Those three are the only ones I can really have a stimulating conversation with…"
Naminé's lithe voice permeated the conversation for the first time as she came to the pyro's silent aide as she asked, "What about Axel?"
"Axel?" the dark haired girl lifted a curious eyebrow as she looked at the blonde on the other side of Yuffie. "I don't know. He's cool I guess, but that whole man-whore thing is kind of…no, it's definitely a turn off."
"Man-whore?" Axel quietly asked the guys around him with an incredulous look.
Roxas gave him a look that screamed 'you're an idiot' as he explained, "You have a new girlfriend every week, man!"
To everyone's shock, Yuffie called out excitedly, "I heard from someone that he's thinking about asking you out!"
"NO!" Came a scream from behind the girls. Sora, Roxas, and Riku drug the spazing redhead into a bush as Lyric turned around to find out who it was that yelled so desperately. Finding no one around them she turned back to the girls around her with a curious expression about her.
"Nice going, hot head," Riku glared, "Yell a little louder next time, I don't think she heard you!" Once the guys were sure Lyric was distracted enough not to turn back around they resumed their stalking game.
"Who did you hear that from?" the dark haired girl asked the ninja.
Yuffie froze, she had been caught. If she told, it would surely ruin the plan. At the very least, the way she told would ruin it. In coming up with no safe answer, the ninja cried, "COMING MOM!" before running away from the group.
Crossing her arms once again, Lyric sighed and stopped in her tracks. "What's going on?" She demanded, giving the two companions left pointed glares.
Kairi, in an attempt to play the situation off, replied, "I don't know what you mean. What are you talking about?"
Noticing Kairi's cliché words, Riku chose to take up arms. He shoved the other three behind a tree and sauntered up to the girls with effortless calm. "Hey, guys," He called with a wave of the hand, his mask of cluelessness perfectly in place.
"Riku! Hey!" Kairi sighed in relief. If anyone could save the plan at this point it was Riku.
"Yo, Silver," Lyric mock saluted as they began to walk again, though the girl was not put off her guard.
"What are you all talking about?" He inquired as if he was completely oblivious to the whole situation.
Naminé offered the response quietly, playing along with the boy. "We're helping Lyric find out who she likes."
"Yeah?" he grinned and threw an arm over Lyric's shoulders, "Do we have an answer yet?"
"Nope!" the girl in question spouted, shrugging the boy's arm off of her.
"You know," he began, nonchalantly placing his hands behind his head, "Axel's thinking of asking you out." Upon hearing this, Roxas and Sora made sure to keep their redheaded friend from making yet another scene.
"Oh, Yuffie must have heard that from you then," Lyric laughed to herself.
"Yeah," he lied, "I told her. Wasn't she the one that just ran off a second ago?"
Lyric nodded in response. "I asked her who told her something so stupid and she just bolted."
"Probably because I'm friends with the guy," he laughed, lying again. "She probably just didn't want to admit I told her because of that."
In an attempt to keep the conversation on topic, Naminé asked the silver haired boy, "Does that mean he's really going to ask Lyric to date him?"
Riku sighed and crossed his arms, "If he ever gets the nerve up." In response, Axel glared hatefully into the back of his friend's head.
"What are you talking about? This is Axel we're talking about!" Lyric cried. "This is the guy that has the ego of three men and then some! Why would he need to get the nerve up to ask me out? Because I'm just so 'popular'? I'm not even his type!"
"For once, you've got it all wrong," Riku grinned at the girl. "He's got it bad for you, Lyric. He's been talking about asking you out for months."
Lyric lifted an accusing eyebrow at the boy, "So, what? His constant procession of girl after girl dating was to make me jealous?" She scoffed and crossed her arms, "As if."
"Yeah, actually." He sighed when she shot him a disbelieving look. "Think about this, Lyric. What reason do I have to lie for him? You know he's done enough stupid pranks to me that I should actually be telling you anything I can to get you to think the worst of him." Then he grinned again, "The only reason I'm not is because he sounded so pathetic when he begged me to talk to you for him that I decided to help him." If looks could kill, Riku would have died on the spot from the look Axel was sending him.
Lyric heaved a sigh and mumbled, "I guess you have a point."
"Yes I do," he grinned triumphantly. "Just give him a chance at least. If you decide to go for it, meet him on the beach after sunset." Riku ruffled her hair and turned to leave, "I have to go. I'll see you guys later." And with a wave he ran off.
After a moment of silence as Lyric sorted through her thoughts, Kairi turned to her and asked, "So?"
Lyric shrugged, "I don't know. I might go, I might not. "Then she walked off to clear her head.
Axel sighed heavily as the sun sank in the ocean, the last of the heated light disappearing with it. 'I knew I shouldn't' have relied on them. It was a stupid plan,' he thought somberly.
"So you really do like me?" Lyric asked, causing the redhead to turn around at the sound of her voice. She stood behind him giving him a curious look with her hands in her pockets.
After a moment of soaking in her presence, a nervous grin spread out on his face. "Yeah," he mumbled and gestured for her to take a seat.
She nodded and made herself comfortable in the sand. After a long while in silence, she sighed and quietly said, "If I do what Riku said and you hurt me…I'm gonna break your nose."
"Uh…" The redhead scratched his neck nervously, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't try to act stupid," Lyric gave him a sideways grin, "I knew you guys were following us the entire time. You're not the best at sneaking."
"Oh," he laughed sheepishly before turning his gaze to his lap. "So…" he glanced at her again and asked, "You're going to give me a chance?"
Lyric huffed and haphazardly blew hair out of her face before nodding. "I'm serious though," she pointed out. "Hurt me and I'm breaking your nose."
"What happened to 'once bitten, twice shy'?" he muttered.
She laughed, "My style runs more along the lines of 'once bitten, break a face'." They laughed for a while until Lyric hesitantly asked, "I don't' intimidate you?"
The redhead lifted an eyebrow in confusion, "Should you?"
She shrugged and pulled her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. "I seem to scare guys off. It's why I don't date."
"That's why no one has seen you with someone?" He gaped. "I thought it was just because you were secretive about it."
"Nope." She sighed, "You'd be the first in a long time."
"Oh," he nodded awkwardly. After a long moment he smiled, "I'll just have to make sure I don't screw up then."
Lyric smiled too, "You'll do just fine."