Fukawa liked to sit outside when she wrote, provided the weather cooperated and she could find a spot that was solitary with plenty of shade. Lucky for her, there was such a spot at Hope's Peak Academy. It was located behind the building, and she needed to hop over a fence to reach it, but this place was consistently deserted. Perfect for her.
She settled under a big maple tree, folding her legs under her and making sure her skirt didn't wrinkle or ride up. She settled her notebook in her lap, pen in hand, and hunched over a bit. Setting pen to paper, she was quickly lost in her world of tall, dark, handsome gentlemen who always kept their promises and loved more than their hearts could handle.
She was unaware of how much time was passing, but when her concentration suddenly shattered and she was pulled back into reality, Fukawa's legs had gone completely numb. Slowly she became aware of a familiar smoky scent: tobacco. She lifted her gaze from her notebook to find the source of the scent and zeroed in on it immediately: Mondo Owada.
He stood about fifty feet from her, leaning against the fence she'd had to hop over. He took a deep drag of a cigarette while glancing over his shoulder to the other side of the fence, his blond perm bobbing with the movement of his head, no doubt on the lookout for any of the academy's staff.
Fukawa had to take a deep breath to calm herself. Damn did he look good at that moment.
But what was he doing there, in Fukawa's solitary space? She came to that spot fairly often, and she had never seen him there before, nor were there ever any cigarette butts to betray his presence when she was not there. Had he just recently discovered this place?
A surge of anger sparked through her. Why did he have to invade her space like this? Now she'd have to seek out a new spot, and that could be nearly impossible. Boys always had to ruin everything.
A memory flashed through her mind. Blood.
She shook her head to get the vision that wasn't even her doing out of her head. No, that would not do. This was her spot.
Steeling her nerves and setting her notebook aside, Fukawa shot to her feet…then promptly fell back down on her face. Her legs were still numb.
She groaned and heard approaching footsteps just before Owada called out, "Hey, you okay, girl?"
Great.
She picked herself up and sat back on her knees, glaring up at the tall, incredibly muscular boy. Fukawa, don't focus on that, she told herself. "I-I'm fine," she snapped as harshly as she could muster as she wiped away grass and dirt from her face. "Go a-away."
"You sure?" he asked. "You landed kinda hard there…"
As much as she tried to hide it, Fukawa felt the hot wash of embarrassment come over her. Of course, he just wanted to mock her. Although blood flow wasn't 100% in her legs yet, Fukawa forced herself to stand up, glaring deeply at Owada.
"I said go away, you…you rat-faced bastard!" she snarled.
His eyes went wide at her insult, and he even took a step back from her. Yes, good. But she took a step forward, a mistake, and her knee gave out under her. Down again she fell.
She put her hands out, so at least she didn't face-plan this time, but she felt the tears immediately spring from her eyes. How pathetic could she be? Could hardly even walk. She tried her best to hold it together in front of Owada, but she couldn't help it anymore.
She turned her back to him and cried.
After a few moments, she managed to get ahold of herself and calm down, taking several deep breaths. She still felt him behind her, and looked up at him over her shoulder. "Y-y-you're still h-here."
He looked nervous and scratched the back of his neck. "Eh, I didn't feel right leaving a girl cryin'," he explained. "But, uh, I guess if you're okay now…"
"D-did you get to f-finish your smoke?" she asked suddenly. He looked as surprised by her question as she was.
"My wha…?" he glanced over at the fence he'd been leaning against. "Well, not really."
Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and adjusting her glasses, Fukawa said, "W-well, you can s-sit with me…if you sh-share."
"Eh?" His eyebrows shot up. "You smoke?"
She looked away from him then. "W-well, I didn't s-start the habit." She knew he wouldn't know what that meant, but he didn't seem to care. She heard him settle on the grass next to her and pull a cigarette pack and lighter from his coat. The lighter had a picture of a dragon on it, a cheap disposable from a convenience store.
"Me either," he said, offering the pack to her first. She looked at him quizzically as she pulled a white cigarette out. "My brother smoked 'round me, got me into it. It's shit, though. Tryin' to quit now but this place…the pressure here's too much."
"Y-you always this chatty wh-when you smoke?" Fukawa snapped. She snatched the lighter from his hand and lit up, taking a deep drag and trying to suppress the cough that rose in her throat. Despite that, she started to feel much calmer, and the subtle tremor in her hands she hadn't noticed until now subsided.
"Guess so," he answered, taking his lighter back. "I dunno, I don't got no one to smoke with here."
She caught the look he gave her and said, "Don't think this'll be a regular thing."
"Fair enough," he said and lit up himself.
She turned her head away from him to blow out the smoke. "Also, your grammar is atrocious."
"Hey, cheap shot!" he responded. "This ain't gonna be 'Insult Mondo Hour'. I'm the one providin' the smokes."
"And I'm the one letting you stay here," Fukawa said coldly. "I was here first." That sounded totally childish, and she blushed at the ridiculous way she sounded.
But he laughed. She looked at him in surprise, and he grinned widely. "Y'know what? Yer right. I can take a few hits. What else you got?"
She took another drag of her cigarette and blew out the smoke. "You remind me o-of, ah," she bit her lip, "a Denebian slime devil."
"The hell's that?" he asked with a breath of smoke.
"The grossest, slimiest, sleaziest creature you can think of," she said. Owada laughed again.
"That gotta be the most original way someone ever called me that," he said joyfully.
She just shook her head. "Shut up now," she said.
He smirked and took another drag. "Yes, ma'am."
She felt her cheeks burn at his words and turned away again so he wouldn't see. Maybe…maybe this could be a regular thing.
Maybe.
