Silence drifted between me and the new girl. I heard Taylor chattering away in the kitchen over something about lip gloss - with Mom, no doubt. But for me and this chick, no words were exchanged. All that sounded was the fast typing of her slim fingers on a black keyboard on a laptop in her lap.
She wasn't bad looking, if that's why you think I'm not talking to her. She looked extremely conservative and shy. Hell, I couldn't even hear when she had said "hi". Either there was a higher level of socially inactive, or she was just had a speech impediment.
Her dark black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. The only thing that made her different than other people was the light blue highlight in her hair. I hadn't really seen her eyes, but they were a pretty shade. Currently, they were masked by thick eyelashes and her strand of blue hair. But small glances allowed me to see the sea blue color.
Me? Well. That can be answered pretty quickly. Lavender hair, for starters. No, it was not dyed. Totally natural. You can blame my grandfather for that. Anyway, I'm partially Saiyan. THAT you can blame on my dad. Half-alien and still going to high school. Now, my name...Trunks Briefs.
And don't get me started on the origins of that name.
The girl across from me? Well. She hadn't introduced herself. My insanely clingy girlfriend had introduced her as her good friend. May...Envo? I couldn't understand what Taylor had said through her chattering - she had had a red stain of lipstick on her teeth. That was enough to tear my attention away from her talking.
Oh...
And she's 4'11".
May gave a very quiet cough. She glanced at me and instantly looked back at her keyboard. I exhaled openly, tapping on the couch. I chewed the inside of my cheek, glancing in the direction of the kitchen. The chattering had long since stopped. Now, though, it was replaced by a loud laugh - giggle - that sounded as if it were practiced many a day in front of a mirror.
Then along came the queen majesty, Taylor.
The red lipstick stain was gone. She wore a cut-out pink sweater cut off at mid-stomach with a skinny jeans and red heels that were at least four inches. Her outfit wasn't for the weather - it was fall, and nearing winter. Any guy could tell she was dressed to show skin.
"Trunksss! Your mom is sooo cool!" She beamed, her cherry red-painted lips pulling a wide grin to make beauty queens jealous. "She's really pretty!" Her mood instantly shifted as she sat down next to me. "Though she seems a little nutty. Kinda like what an inventor should be." She jutted out her bottom lip with a judgmental look towards the kitchen. Her smile flipped back on. "But everyone has their flaws, right, May?"
May's eyes darted up quickly. Her lips moved, but all I heard an insanely quiet whisper. Taylor just kinda stared at her for a few seconds before laughing. "Right!"
I held my gaze at May while Taylor chattered on - something about seashells? - seeing she had the completely closed off body posture of any shy girl. Though hers seemed much more closed. Her arms were glued to her sides, her legs locked together and her eyes never leaving the screen of her computer unless she was spoken to. She didn't speak above a whisper, and her hair covered her eyes. If that isn't enough evidence to show a shy girl, then I don't know what is.
Still, despite her isolated posture, she looked like a nice person. She seemed like someone to talk to. Normally, I would instantly start talking, despite the uncomfortable air a person would give, but for her, it seemed like a bad thing to speak to her. Other shy girls I've met usually open up in a snap - you can tell they will when they have slightly more open posture. But May...she didn't want to speak at all. She didn't like talking. She wouldn't open up if I started speaking - and putting her on the spot wouldn't help. I kept my mouth closed.
"...and she's a bitch. All she wants is attention. She always wears black clothes and her hair is all layered and shit. But all she wants are guys to sleep with her and tell her all that fake romance bullshit in movies. And she's all like, "oh, I'm depressed and I cut myself"!"
May gave a direct look at Taylor, though she didn't notice. She darted back to her laptop before she did.
"You know what I mean?"
"Um...yeah, sure..." Of course, I didn't. I could be a jokester - a pretty crude one - I didn't really bring jokes upon depressed people who cut themselves. Reason being that people COULD be doing it for attention or they are actually in trouble.
Taylor looked at her phone, reaching into her purse next to her for lip gloss. "Hmmm...ugh, I hate her..." She looked to me. She smiled. "Of course, she has her good qualities." It looked forced.
"Why?" I inquired. "Who is it?"
"Oh, just some dumb whore named Timora. I just keep my mouth shut because she can fight." She started tapping on the screen and applying her lip gloss.
Taylor looked insanely different than May. It was hard to believe they were friends. Taylor had her revealing outfit while May had a hoodie a few sizes too big for her and skinny blue jeans - not as tight as Taylor's, mind you - and fuzzy black Uggs. I wonder if she just brought her along to make her look better. So far, if that was the case, it wasn't working.
"Hmm, May, do you like anyone?" Taylor prompted. The dark-haired teen looked up and shook her head, looking down again. Taylor sighed, smiling to me. "Oh, well. I have you, so I don't have to worry about liking other guys."
I smiled at her and nodded.
Okay, let me set one thing straight:
I'm not completely into Taylor. I always felt on edge around her, like I was obligated to look good and be nice or something. She was more easy to set off than my mom - and that's an achievement. But I didn't like that uneasy feeling, hence my lack of speech.
Around an hour later, they both left, May not looking back at me and Taylor chatting away on her phone.
...
It was winter now. Definitely. Snow was falling in the chilly month of November. Still, I was out with Goten and his newly acquired girlfriend, Jennette, at the local Starbucks. She wasn't a bad person - she was a huge animal lover who had an attitude. Equipped with naturally curly brown hair and hazel eyes, I could see why Goten would fall for her.
I sipped at my cappuccino. It was insanely bitter, but I was too lazy to stand up and get sugar or cream. I took another drink.
"So, mi amigos, what shall we talk about?" No, Jennette is not Hispanic. She is Australian, Italian, and French. She used to have a heavy Australian accent but, miraculously, from living so many years in Japan, she learned to speak "normally".
"Maybe how awesome it is to have a girlfriend," Goten opted. Jennette laughed.
"Ha ha, Mr. I-Don't-Really-Like-Meh-Girlfriend would love to join in that conversation."
"No, not really," I replied with a grimace. "Idiots."
"I'm not an idiot! Right, Jenny-Chan?" Goten looked to the Aussie.
"Hmm. Well..."
"Jennette!"
She cracked a big smile. "Yes, you can be." Goten pouted, though he couldn't hold it for long when Jennette ruffled his hair. Then it came back when she went for his bangs. They were already the friendly type of couple. I could tell they would be lasting awhile.
I glanced across the café, seeing teens our age and older adults alike. One person caught my eye: May.
She was at an empty small table with her laptop in her lap. She was taking small bites of her chocolate cake pop and drinking something warm.
"She's cute." I looked next to me at Goten who was following my gaze. I glared at him.
"Sure. But I'm not into her. She's Taylor's friend."
Goten made a gagging imitation. "Taylor is a serious man-eater. She was sucking some other dude's face the other day-"
"Goten." I gave a sharp glare at him. I looked back to May. She, like the rest of Japan, had a light skin tone, though hers looked almost gray. Maybe because she had an air of sadness...something like it. I watched as she tugged her left sleeve down, checking her watch. Peeking from underneath the watch was the edge of a purple bruise.
I blinked. She was on the other side of the café; it may have looked like a purple ring around her wrist, but it probably wasn't.
She pulled it back down, blowing her blue bang out of her face and looking concentrated on whatever it was on her laptop.
Minutes passed as I studied her, wondering if there were even more marks on her. Minutes passed as Goten and Jennette chatted (Goten, being the prick he was, making remarks about how I was into her) and drank their drinks. Then Jennette's phone went off.
"Oh. My dad's calling. I guess I'm gone." She gave a small smile to Goten and a look at me. "She's a nice girl." She nodded her head in the direction behind me.
"Who?" I asked.
"May Evans? The girl you were looking at for the past half-hour?"
May Evans. It was a nice name. "I was just looking out the window." I would've added a certain name, but I didn't for Goten's sake.
"Do you want me to walk you?" Goten looked hopeful.
"Nah, I'll be fine. Thanks, though." She smiled, pecking him on the cheek. She gave a more serious look at me and then to May. She turned on her heel, clacking in her boots to the snowy blizzard outside. Goten bolted after her, concerned about her going out in the snow. I looked over to May.
Who would walk her home in the snow?
...
"So...do you not like talking?" I choked on icy snow. The blizzard that suddenly hit West City was merciless.
No answer. That or the wind blowing against us drowned her voice out.
"Hope you don't mind me walking you." I gave a glance to her. Her normally pale cheeks were bright red. Her nose was the same shade. I smiled. It reminded me of Rudolph.
I won't lie - she was pretty cute. But I had Taylor.
After a few minutes of walking, she hadn't said a word yet. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't heard her voice at all, aside from very quiet whispers. She looked like the type who'd have a surprisingly pretty voice - maybe she sings? It's probably like animes where the shy girl is the one who can sing. Then again...
I glanced over to her. Her mouth was covered by a fluffy scarf. She had small tear tracks down her cheeks.
She didn't look happy enough to sing.
...
"Um..." I paused, wondering if the question was too personal. "Were you...er...cryi-"
"May!" I froze. It was a strict female voice. Even May jumped.
I stood outside her doorway. A middle-aged mom who had dark hair pulled to the side and dark eyes came bounding out of the house in a large coat. "Who is this?!"
"U-Um..." May stammered. "H...He was j-just bringing...me h-home..." I blinked, though not because of the falling snow.
Her voice was high. It was adorable. I was right - it is like an anime.
I must have been smiling like an idiot because her mother said: "What are you smiling about?! Are you a pedophile?!"
I shook my head. "No. She's just a friend of my girlfriend. I was just worried about how she was getting home-"
"That is none of your business!" She snapped. She turned to her daughter. "May, you know what your father is going to say! Get inside!"
She pulled her inside by her sleeve. She glanced back at me, opening her mouth to say something, but then she closed it.
The door closed.
...
The tear tracks. The purple mark. The gray tone of her skin. Those are all I knew. Something different I noticed while out in the snow was how dark her eyes seemed to be. They looked like a candle who had yet to be lit.
Her pale skin. Her slim fingers hitting the keyboard. How her lips always seemed to be turned down at the edges in a frown. It was all I could think about.
And that was because I was sick.
"Trunks, did your ice pack melt?"
"No, Mom," I called, sighing. I hated how my door was open. And how my mom had to yell something every five seconds.
Silence.
Finally!
I rolled over on my side, shifting the covers to make sure all of me was warm. Then I heard her call again.
"Trunnksss! A friend is at the door!"
How does a woman go from caring over her child endlessly to calling her kid to come greet a friend? I sighed, pulling the blanket up with me and wrapping it around my shoulders. Goten wouldn't care. I've approached him millions of times like this.
I descended down the stairs, coughing into one of the tissues I kept in my pocket. "Goten, I didn't ask you to come see me-"
I froze. I almost tripped the rest of the way down the stairs. There, in front of the door, was May Evans with a confused - disgusted? - expression on her face.
I threw the blanket up the stairs, darting down the stairs and straightened up my back to come across as the picture of health.
"May! Why are you here?!"
Her eyes shifted to the floor. "I...er..." She swallowed. She thrust a wrapped package up to me. "H-Here...you...um...w-walked me h-home...and g-got s-s-s-sick..." She let her head fall to her chest. "S-S-Sorry..."
"Oh..um...thank you..." I took the package, seeing May's cheeks flaring a fiery red.
"Did you get sick?" I tilted my head.
"N-No..."
I glanced to the left side of her neck. A purple mark. Almost the same as the one on her wrist, though darker and newer. I must have been staring for a long time because she flicked her ponytail to cover it.
"I-I'll be g-g-going now..." She stammered. "M-My parents will be...um...u-upset if I d-don't get b-back soon..."
I nodded slowly. "'kay...thanks again."
She gave a furtive nod and turned to the door. Mom looked between me and her, brow raised. Once the door shut, she smiled a wide, evil smile. "You liiikeee herrrr."
"Nope." I glared at her and poked her cheek roughly.
"Ow! Hey! That is NOT how you treat your mother!" I was already halfway up the stairs. "TRUNKS!"
I closed the door and locked it, blasting my music and trying not to puke.
...
"You think she's with somebody?"
I nodded, chewing on some sushi. Damn - the bento box was pretty good. The only thing I didn't want to eat was the octopus in it - I never liked those dishes. Even so, it looked really good.
Most of the food in the bento box were healthy but good. It helped with my being sick. Thank God she gave me two - I had to save the other for when we went back to school after winter break.
"Why do you think so? She seems like a loner to me..." Goten paused, sucking on the tip of his pocky in thought. "Ohh. I see. She's like one of those submissive anime girls, huh...probably all into BDSM-"
"No, no, not like that," I said, smacking the back of his head. "Jeez. Jennette could be like that, you know."
"Jenny-Chan?! No, never! Jenny-Chan's awesome..." He had a pouty look on his face as I rolled my eyes.
"Anyway...I think she's with a guy because..." I hesitated. Is it really my place to talk about those marks I saw?
"Because...?"
"...Nevermind. Didn't you say Jennette was at someone's place for their birthday today?" I glanced at my phone's date, seeing December 7th in white letters.
"Yeah, I wonder who's. She seemed like she was in a hurry, though."
"Must be a best friend."
...
My heart was at a much slower beat. I should feel bad. But I genuinely didn't. Maybe because it was just so cold and my heart was slowed down and I was sleepy? After all, my cold hadn't completely gone away yet.
As I walked away from the moonlit snow and flowers, hands in my pockets and eyes to the crunchy white, I felt everything but negative. Above all, I felt free and relaxed.
Even as she had tears pouring down her face and her lipstick smeared from her failed attempts of seducing her way back into my life, I didn't feel bad. Even as the snow fell and the world stopped for her, my world kept turning and spinning in a way that seemed normal to me.
Even with the stinging red hand mark on my right cheek, ebbing pain in my shin, and thrown snow on my coat, I didn't feel bad. It was like those three elements were kicking me back to sanity. After all, I never really liked her past the looks and head-spinning intimate - not sex, mind you - techniques.
For some reason, only a certain girl invaded my thoughts. Not her looks, not her vague personality, but the marks that marred her skin. This morning she came by to check on my health. She had a very faint mark on her temple. I could see it when she brushed her hair back behind her ear so she could see the laptop screen.
What did she do on that laptop? YouTube? Writing? Maybe even art like Goten.
I shrugged. That wasn't my business. And neither are her marks.
...
Blood marked the floor in intricate patters of macabre design. It was beautiful in a dark, twisted way...the sin of murder with a purpose of a saintly act.
A scream broke the silence. Panting breath. A rapid pulse of a stressed heart.
Slow, painful footsteps.
They were quiet and teasing on that blood-covered floor. They tensed muscles just by the heels of the dark loafers clicking on the tile of the bathroom. The man looked like any other.
But then there was his face. A dark, murderous leer pulled at his otherwise flawless and immaculate face. It was as dark and twisted as the blood paintings on the floor. Everyone knew this man. Everyone loved him.
But no one new this side. No one new this dark version behind closed doors.
Slowly, so slowly, his hands went to the side. The heartbeat was still going in front of him.
"Please, don't do it, I love you-"
"Ah, but my dear, dear woman, I must unfortunately tell you that I have no satisfaction for a woman of your ilk."
His voice was silken and satin. Not the voice anyone would imagine for a killer - but then again, no one wants anyone to be a bloodthirsty murderer. He pulled a razor sharp knife out of his pocket. A female - the same one who had spoken before - gasped.
She screamed, dark blood spilling forth from her chest as he proceeded to tackle and dismember her like a butcher-
"Trunks, I-I really don't like this movie-"
"Come on, Goten, this is the best part." I chewed on a Twizzler, badly wanting to eat popcorn, but braces prohibiting. "Even Jennette's into it."
"That's only because my dad's watched this a million times." She didn't look up from her bright cellphone, popcorn in her mouth.
I rolled my eyes. Instead of watching cheesy Christmas films for the millionth year in a row, horror movies I hadn't yet watched were more up my alley. The movie I was waiting on was It's a Wonderful Life. That was my favorite, and it was the only one I would watch. But that didn't come on until eleven. After all, it was the day before Christmas Eve.
"Oh, May's coming over," Jennette announced.
"M'kay," I said, more interested in the movie. And frankly, I was fine with it.
Twenty minutes later, no one heard the first two knocks at the door, they were so quiet. By the third knock, the movie was over. Goten answered the door, his polite persona kicking in. I only heard him speaking, so either she was just nodding and shaking or she was speaking insanely quiet.
She walked in with just a hoodie and jeans. Her boots were appropriate, but it made me wonder how she made it here in a hoodie. I didn't hear a car door close outside. I didn't hear one leave, either. She had enough snow to prove she was outside for a while. But I could tell she didn't just walk here.
"How did you get here?" I asked.
"She has a motorcycle," Jennette said simply. I nodded.
"Oh, cool. I don't hear anyone ever having a motorcycle in highschool."
"O-Oh..." Her gaze dropped to the floor.
"No, no, not like that," I said quickly, "it's cool you have a motorcycle."
She nodded silently. I sighed inwardly. I sat back down on the couch. "Help yourself. We've got tons of snacks, bro."
"O-Okay...t-th-thank you..."
For a whole hour, that went on: chatting and laughing. Well...for the three of us. May was very quiet.
I turned to her as Goten and Jennette were chatting about animals. May had dark rings under her eyes as if she hadn't slept for a while. She had yet another new mark on her jawline as if something blunt but had an edge grazed her.
I swallowed. I looked at the other fading marks. Most of them looked alright, but they seemed to fade too quick.
Maybe foundation?
But why would they still show so well? A girl couldn't be that bad at putting on foundation.
The image of her tear tracks when walking home flashed behind my eyes. Her blue eyes next to me still looked the same - dark but not dark in color. I hadn't really seen them at this proximity yet...they were a wonderful shade of blue.
"Enjoying yourself?" I asked. She glanced at me, her thick lashes covering her eyes mostly. She nodded.
"You've been so quiet though. You sure?"
"Y-Yes..."
A long silence went past. I stared at her marks. They bothered me. I couldn't have a fact as to where they came from, but they itched me to be protective over her and make sure they didn't keep appearing.
She was too delicate to be marked in that way. As weird as that sounds for a guy who got out of a relationship a couple of weeks ago, it was true. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was almost like a brotherly protective feeling...but then it wasn't.
"May, where do you keep getting marks?"
For the first time, her eyes actually met mine directly. Behind that beautiful blue, I could see the sadder shade. I could almost feel the pain behind them, the sense of being left to the cold. But something felt different about that beautifully sad shade of blue...her eyes still looked like they lacked their shine...like a snuffed out candle.
And then the power shut off.
"May?"
"Hey, what happened?!" I heard Jennette exclaim. I heard my mom from another room and a blast from what I could almost certainly pinpoint as Dad.
And then I heard the door slam and the sound of a motorcycle driving away on a snowy road.
...
Christmas passed in a blur. Soon winter break would be over. I sighed. What had I been doing over the break? Receiving texts from that stupid sex-obsessed Taylor, but other than that, nothing. All Christmas I could only think about those blue, blue eyes and their sad look.
"Hey, jackass, c'mere." The Italian waved me over with a flick of her wrist.
"What do you want?" I murmured. I didn't want to deal with her, even though she was Goten's girlfriend.
She held out a package with a rolled up paper secured with a ribbon stapled onto it. "This is for May. I have a club meeting I gotta get to. Can you go give this to her? It's just a science project for homework."
"Why didn't she get it herself?" I asked, taking the package.
"She wasn't here today." Her voice showed concern. "I guess she got sick."
"But why do I gotta take it? Why not Fluffball?" Fluffball was, of course, Goten.
"Because Tenny-Bear is busy with his art at the moment." It was obvious that that wasn't a fact - she just wanted me to go for whatever purpose. I rolled my eyes, ascending into the air.
I had already forgotten where she lived - it'd been a while since I walked her home. Flying over the vast city full of homes and families, I could only recognize a select number of houses. Luckily, I recognized the house after a few times circling around the clouds.
I landed a few houses down, walking up the sidewalk to her house. I stopped at her door, knocking on the door. I glanced around at the frosty lawn, the covered flowers in pots already wilting. At least it had stopped snowing heavily.
The door opened. It was her mother. She looked nice enough, but from what I remembered of lat time, it was enough for me to break out into a sweat. "Uh...hi, Mrs. Evans..." I said.
"Hi. What do you want?" She didn't look pleased to see me.
"Er...May wasn't at school today, so...she has a project to do for homework."
She paused, looking at me up and down. She sighed. "Fine. So long as you leave before five."
"I wasn't going to stay that long."
"Who knows what that project is about?"
She walked inside, leaving the door open. I walked in after dusting myself of excess snow. "Is she sick?"
"No," she replied calmly.
I paused. I guess she was one of those students who played hooky.
"Where is...her room?"
"Upstairs."
I tapped on the package as I turned on my heel in the direction the stairs were. They were near the living room that I had come in, followed by a kitchen I couldn't really see.
I froze. I forgot to ask which door. I almost turned back, but then I saw a door open by a crack. I approached the door, peeking in and seeing May on the floor of her bedroom, picking up what looked like dark black square pieces. She stood, her right wrist in bandages and a soft cast. Is that why she stayed home?
I gently knocked on the door frame. She turned calmly, her eyes widening when she saw who it was. She dropped the pieces she had in her hand in surprise. "W-W-Why-"
I walked in, trying not to laugh. I set the project on her bed, bending to pick up...keyboard pieces?
"I'm bringing you your project on an Australian's command," I said. "What happened to your wrist?"
"Oh, I-I...um...I...fell..."
"Huh. Nasty fall."
She nodded. She went to her knees to help pick up the pieces, but I stopped her. "Don't worry about it. I got it."
"Bu-"
"Your arm. I got it, Chiquita."
She frowned, but it left. She stood, sitting on her bed. Minutes went by in silence. "So why keyboard pieces?"
"I...d-dropped my laptop..."
I glanced around the room, seeing a completely totaled laptop - the top screen completely torn off and the bottom half in shambles - on her dresser. I looked at her with skepticism. "Dropped it?"
She nodded. She didn't meet my eyes. "Yep...things h-happen when you don't pay a-attention, I guess.."
"Uh-huh..." I set the keyboard by the totaled laptop. She had the previously stapled paper from the project in her hands, reading it over.
Her face drained. "Partner...?"
"Eh?"
"I-I...need a-a p-partner..." She nodded toward the package. "It's...science."
...
"So...the enzyme production rate was high on test tube A?"
"Yep."
"And we know that how...?"
"Based on the enzyme production."
She glared at me. "Please don't be a smartass."
I laughed. "Well, then you're saying not to be me."
"Okay. Then stop being you."
So far, the experiment was going well. Even if I didn't go to their school - a private school for me - I was stuck writing observation notes and helping her out as her lab partner. It was pretty easy, seeing as I've done enzyme labs like this before. But the best part of the experiment was how May slowly stopped stuttering around me and even started having her own personality poke through.
"I think that's it for the lab." She closed her notebook, starting to clean up the mini lab we had set up in the kitchen. "Thank you...for...working with me."
"Meh. It's not like it was my first time doing the enzyme lab."
She gave a ghost of a smile. It felt like someone made my heart jump start fifteen times in the span of one second. I hadn't actually seen her smile yet. And, even if this was a barely noticeable smile, it made being the Australian's courier all worth it.
...
Confession time.
Spring was already waltzing in to take Winter's seat on the weather throne, and I was still hopelessly clueless. Well...
Sorta clueless.
Either I was beginning to become a lead role in a shojo manga or I was seriously in trouble. All the signs were there:
Quick heartbeat.
Admiring.
Thinking of constantly.
Listening to different music.
So far, I don't think I've made a stupider decision than telling the last person I'd want to know: Mom.
Her jaw was opened wide enough to hit the floor in the next universe. "A crush?!"
"Yes..." I mumbled. "But that's it. She doesn't even like me back-"
"Ohh, that's not what a certain French bird has told me!" She smiled like she was gossiping in high school. Of course Jennette would tell her - but I doubt she had anything to say about May crushing on anyone.
Was it normal to have one single smile stuck in your head? You couldn't even call it a smile. But even then, that small upturn of her lips sent me to cloud nine. She hadn't seemed happy at all throughout the course of my knowing her until those weeks ago.
The way her skin had more color, the way her eyes seemed to finally shine, even just for a little bit. Hell, blame it on the light. But her smile left me with a tattoo slapped on my memory.
Small things I hadn't noticed before started filling my senses - how she had the faintest scent of some flower I couldn't recognize, her mannerisms, the way her ponytail was. The way I sound even scares me - I'm turning into a stalker, I swear. I'm getting obsessed over a girl I don't even really know. We don't even go to the same school, who knows if we're the same age?!
"Are you going to ask her out?" The President of Capsule Corporation asked, tilting her head with an amused smile on her face. I knew why. I had gone through girlfriends less than five times, her only two. It took her only two tries to get the hots for someone, and it took me four. Now she had the opportunity to tease me about last names and children.
If she did, I made a vow to pinch her everytime she did it.
"I dunno. Asking her out still seems pretty risky-"
"Again, the girl likes you. There's no point in just ignoring it."
I grimaced. "Okay, Mom, whatever. I have to wait for Goten at the door, anyway. We have to study."
She gave me a look I recognized too well.
"Mom, chill, I'll let things go at their own pace."
"Fine...but I think she's the type who won't make me sanitize my couch." She gave a teasing smile.
"Mom, shut your face." She just shrugged, waving goodbye to me as I left to the door.
...
"Truuunnnksss, I don't get ittt."
"Stop whining, Goten." I jotted down a note on a separate sheet of paper. "Here. Write this down." Goten grinned and took the slip of paper, quickly writing down the answer. "Thanks, Trunks."
"Goten, cheating is a sin." We both looked at Jennette. "You know it's true."
"C'mon, Jennette, you can't have all the answers, either."
"I've been done."
"No way!" I crossed my arms.
"Yes way," she replied simply. "May's been right next to me the whole time. Did I cheat, May?"
"No," she responded, not looking up from her paper. Jennette leaned over to see.
"Doodling again?"
May's cheeks went a light pink. "No..." She mumbled.
"You draw?!" Goten leaned over the table to see.
"Paint..."
"Ohh. Nice!" He grinned. "What are you doodling?" He paused. "It kinda looks like Tr-"
"No, no, no!" She interjected. "I-It's not anyone you know, ha ha..." She balled up the paper, tossing it into a small trash bin.
So far, her stutter was going away. Jennette informed me earlier that she only stopped when she was around her or me, which I found odd. I was glad she was growing comfortable, either way. Too bad I had only seen her smile once, though. You could barely call anything progress when you only see one smile...if you could call that a smile.
Jennette stood, stretching. "I'm gonna make some pizza or something."
"This is my place! Who said you could make pizza?!" I exclaimed.
"Well, my Italian side just can't help it." She smiled broadly before leaving to the opposite direction of the kitchen.
"Wrong way, Aussie!" I called.
"Not my fault you guys have a stupidly big house!" She stomped past, sticking her tongue out at me as she walked past.
I shrugged, returning to the studying. "May, do you need any help?" Goten asked.
She shook her head. "No. Thank you."
He nodded, glancing at me. I glared at him, shoving his shoulder.
"Do you need help, Trunks?"
"No, idiot, I'm totally fine on my own-"
He gave me a look. He tore out a fresh sheet of paper and scrawled something down. "This is how you do it."
He slid the paper towards me. I looked at the paper. It read:
r u gonna ask her out? (o･ω･o)
I glared at him. I smacked him upside the head. "Don't you start, too!" I shouted.
"Whaaat?" He pouted. "I was just asking!"
I hit him again for good measure.
...
"So...er...do you have a way to get home?" I asked.
"I can walk." She shoved her books into her backpack. She looked a lot happier than normal. Her blue eyes looked brighter.
I looked her over. No new marks I could see.
"I could walk you."
She nodded.
"No really, I can- oh wait, you nodded." I started packing up the books I had. I pushed the stack to the side. I could take them up to my room once I got back.
Jennette walked out with a box in her hands. "I saved you some slices of pizza." I nodded. She left out the door, Goten following her with a slice in his mouth - pepperoni from the smell of it.
...
"Can I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"You know that last time I walked you? Why were you crying?"
Coincidentally, she had a few tears going down her cheeks. "Oh, it's just me walking in the wind. My eyes always water whenever that happens."
That made perfect sense. I was worrying over nothing. "Oh. Well...what about those marks?"
I was more than certain that she'd stay silent.
"My dad." Her tone was much more serious. "He had a terrible temper. He didn't much care for me. To be really blunt, he was an abusive man."
I fought to keep my fists unclenched. "Er...you're talking as if he's not around anymore."
"He's not. My mom finally got the courage to report him. Now he's in jail." She smiled. "He wasn't a terrible person. I guess it was just his temper. He used to be the sweetest man. But I guess stress or something cracked him. It doesn't matter - I don't hold any negative feelings toward him."
I certainly did. He didn't have to be in front of me to feed my want to punch something. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Yep. I have my brother, anyway."
I blanched. "Brother?!"
"Yep. He's really little, though. As long as he and Mom are okay, I don't care."
I felt myself calm down a bit. It didn't effect her that much, and now he was gone - that was all that mattered. Now she had light in her eyes and she wore a smile much more often. That was enough to keep me happy.
Minutes past in the lightly falling snow. It crunched beneath us. Even the sun peeked here and there to shine on the snow. I felt something poke my cheek.
May smiled up at me. "You look so serious."
"How did you-"
"I jumped." I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Hey! It's not that funny!" She punched my arm and kicked my leg, but I continued laughing, really just to annoy her.
"I'll carry you back if you keep this up," I warned.
"Whatever! You're not serious!" She punched me again. I scooped her up, holding her bridal style. "Hey!"
"I warned you," I said simply. "You were asking for it and you know it."
"Idiot! Baka! Jerk! Dummy!" She kept calling my names up until we managed to get to her door. I put her down. I smiled.
"You really changed on the walk to your house."
"Maybe because you made me mad," she said, crossing her arms. She smiled. It was a genuine, full smile. Her blue eyes were the brightest I'd seen. Her black hair had snow in it, her highlight faring the same. Her cheeks and nose were a light pink. I wasn't sure why, but the snow made her look more beautiful than I could've imagined.
The playful mood we had before shifted to something I couldn't describe. It was like time would only move when we said. With the snow around us, I didn't want to move. I felt as if it would ruin this moment.
Before I knew it, I leaned forward. Again, the flowery scent infiltrated my senses, pulling me closer. Without my consent, my hand was already going forward to cheek. She was standing insanely still, but I could feel her rapid pulse under my hand. Her skin was cold and hot at the same time, her cheeks a bright red as if she had a cold.
"I love you." It came out as a whisper, one quieter than I would've liked. But she seemed to have heard me, as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. Something in my chest flared up and the butterflies in my stomach left.
It felt like only seconds our lips were together. What broke it was Mom.
"Cue Sim victory music!" Her voice sounded nasally and choked up. Her movement followed by the rustle of the leaves. She was in a freaking bush.
I threw a rock at her.