Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Eyeshield 21. If I did, I would have no problem with a 40K tuition.
He dropped heavily into a chair and flipped through last week's JUMP absently. It wasn't long before he gave a frustrated huff and tossed the book away. All was calm for a few more seconds, then, "I think…" and now the sigh of a much put-upon man, "I'm in love."
"Huh?!" And the football hit his best friend squarely on the forehead.
"HUH?!" That would be his other best friend.
He groaned. "That's what I said."
"But…wait…how?" Jyuumonji sputtered.
"Forget that!" Kuroki nearly yelled. "Who?"
"It's…that girl in the front row in math." 'That girl' was more than clear enough, judging by the resounding "Huh?!" and choking sound he got in response.
"The…the one with the curly red hair?"
"I don't think I've ever even seen her face," Jyuumonji added thoughtfully.
"Well, I have, and she's really pretty!" He received blank looks and raised eyebrows, prompting him to explain. "She works at the bookstore I get all my manga from. I see her almost every week." He colored slightly.
Jyuumonji sighed and rubbed his eyes, finally getting serious about his friend's 'problem.' "Okay, so have you talked to her? What do you know about her?"
"We like the same manga," was the instant and glaringly happy answer. He got a scoff and a groan for his efforts. "What?"
"Maybe you should've started with, I don't know, her name," Kuroki responded, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh." He didn't seem to get it. "Well, her name's Suzaki Hana. She's in our grade, she likes math, and she has a younger brother who stops by the bookstore on his way home from school whenever she's working. Why does that stuff matter?"
"Because it would sound creepy if you walked up and said, 'Hi, I'm Toganou and I've noticed that we like the same manga, so I'd like to date you,' you idiot!"
"Huh?" Yeah, he was completely hopeless.
"I think," said Jyuumonji, who was now massaging his temples with his eyes closed, "he means you should probably get to know her. How much have you talked with her?"
This time he turned beet red and muttered incomprehensibly.
"Huh?"
"Huh?!"
He squelched his immediate instinct to join in and sighed. "I said we haven't actually talked yet."
"WHAT? WHY NOT?!" Kuroki looked as if he might burst a blood vessel or two.
"It's hard, okay!" Jyuumonji perked up at this.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?!"
"Why is it so hard for you to talk to her?"
"It's…complicated," he said with a sigh. "She's not anything like anyone else I know. She's smart, and she's nice, and she has the most beautiful smile. What if I'm right and I do love her, but the first thing I say to her is something idiotic? What if I screw up so bad that I ruin even the tiniest little chance that I have now?"
Kuroki stared as if he'd grown a second head. "Dude, that sounds really weird and stupid."
He growled low in his throat, but Jyuumonji's head slamming into the wall cut off his response.
"Huh?"
"This is more serious than I thought," was the groaned response from his scarred friend.
