A week went by. Teachers had made us exams in each class to see how we were doing. Despite his somewhat carefree attitude during class, Atobe got the highest score in the three classes we shared; I followed closely, three or four people after him. I suppose he did equally well in his other classes. No doubt he was well educated and intelligent. Despite that, he was clearly not sociable. Some girls tried talking to him sometimes, most of the times he ignored them and left them talking alone, other times he was surprisingly kind and excused himself quickly, but his kindness and smile were obviously fake; once he'd left the girls he returned to his angry expression.

Sometimes I bumped against him and only then would I say "Hi" quickly. He usually stared down at me for a second and then left, he would rarely reply with a short-spoken "Hi" and leave immediately. Nevertheless, I wasn't sure of something; sometimes I glanced at him quickly during class, and often found him looking back. I'm not sure if I'm the one caught staring or he's the one I catch staring at me. It got kind of ridiculous after some days, 'cause it always happened, so sometimes when it did I chuckled a bit and I think I saw him smile while looking away too once or twice.

Still, I made a few friends during some classes, most of them from my career. I usually hanged out with this girl, Kazue, and a guy, Naoki.

Kazue is slightly smaller than me. Has short, mushroom-like, bleached hair. Romantic dorama lover, gossip lover. She's the kind of girl that falls in love with every hot guy that passes by. She's pretty funny and cheery, though.

Naoki is tall, about Atobe's height. Black short hair. He plays basketball, so he's fit. And hot. He's a real gentleman with Kazue and me, sweet and all, but he's a Casanova with other girls, always flirting.

I, by the way, have short and wavy dark brown hair, front hair longer than the back (Borderland's Maya style, though not that drastic). Just above the average height. Somewhat fit because I like exercise and sports even though I don't practice any formally.


School was running smoothly. First semester classes are always the easiest and they're all subjects I've already studied in high school.

Third week. Last class. English class.

I sat with Kazue and Naoki as we usually did. We were talking about Kazue's new crush, making fun of her. I noticed Atobe entering and looking around. He looked at me and I gave him a half smile, he almost smiled back but continued walking towards a seat near the window. He sat and lost himself staring through it leaning his head on his right hand, giving the rest of the classroom the back of his head.

"Hey, Aya," said Kazue while waving her hand in front of my eyes.

"Oh, sorry. What?" I asked, looking away from Atobe to find Kazue and Naoki both smirking at me.

"Go talk to him." said Naoki.

"Yeah, Aya. We saw you getting along that first class." continued Kazue.

"I wouldn't call that 'getting along'." I smiled while scratching the back of my head.

"You're always looking at him. And he looks back, I've noticed." Kazue was really excited.

"Just go before I drag you to him." said Naoki while standing up and taking my hand.

"Don't!" I shouted while I pull myself free from Naoki. "OK, OK, I'll go."

They both smile mischievously while they watch me walk towards Atobe, only making me more nervous. I blush a little while I get closer. Why did I agree? And why am I getting nervous? It's just that arrogant guy; I've talked to him. I sighed; I can feel how some girls look at me. What was I going to say? I hadn't even thought about it.

I could tell Atobe noticed me walking towards him 'cause he moved his head a little but still wouldn't turn around to look at me. I reached his side, and as I opened my mouth the door opened.

"Um…" I started.

"OK, class. I'm sorry I'm late. Let's start." We all looked at the teacher who rushed to her desk and started writing something in the board.

"Project." I read to myself, still standing next to Atobe.

"OK, we're going to make groups of 3." she said while joining her hands.

I started walking to my seat with Kazue and Naoki when she interrupted me.

"Not you, Sasaki." said the teacher pointing at me, and began walking towards me.

"There's not an exact number of students for all groups of 3, so we'll need a pair. I want it to be you and Atobe. You two have the highest level of English, so I don't want you to do the job for those with a lower level. So please get together." she said and returned to the desk to give more instructions.

I looked at Atobe and he looked back at me, none of us said a thing so I moved to get to a chair while I looked at Kazue and Naoki. They'd teamed up with a girl. They looked at me, smirked and lifted an eyebrow at the same time. I chuckled and sat next to Atobe.

"Hey, partner." I told him.

"Sasaki." he said coldly.

"Hey! You remember" I teased him.

"OK, class. We'll use these teams for several projects and tasks so I hope you chose your partners well," said the teacher.

"Chose…" Atobe and I repeated.

"This time's project is a simple presentation. You're going to choose a book, read it, discuss it and then give us a resume, your thoughts about it and a literary analysis. It doesn't have to be English literature; the book just has to be in English. You'll get it by tomorrow and I'll tell you if it's OK or not."

"That does sound pretty easy." I said, getting no response from my partner.

"Write your team's members' names on a paper and give them to me," added the teacher.

"I'll do that." I said taking my pen.

"No. You've proved you can't. Give it to me." Answered Atobe, taking the pen away from me.

"Will you ever forget it, Adobe?"


The teacher taught us how to do the literary analysis and class was over. Atobe took his stuff quickly and left the classroom. I hurried to get my own and ran to the hall.

"Hey! ...Oh…" I thought I was going to see his back walking away but he was leaning against a window waiting for me. Just as he saw me get closer to him he started walking to the stairs and I followed by his side.

"Thought of any book?" I asked him.

"Not really. But I'd like to choose from my favorites."

"Oh, that's fine to me…not that you asked or anything." I rolled my eyes.

"I'll leave it up to you." We walked out of the building.

"So…you'll give me a list or what?" I asked while we walked towards the school's entrance.

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Hey! Are you doing this because you think I can't choose a good book by myself?" I finally realized and felt offended. He just smiled.

We ended up where he had bumped against me the day we met. The apartment building.

"Whoa. I wished I lived this close to school. So convenient." I said while looking at the school. Its tallest buildings could be easily scene above the stores and houses of the few streets we'd walked.

"Come on," said Atobe opening the door to the lobby.

"You think I'm going to go with a stranger-No! With my stalker to his apartment?" I tried to act all offended but smiled a little through my act. He noticed so he just stared back at me not amused.

"I'm not going to go to write you a list and then come back so you can choose so I can go back and get the book."

"OK, I get it." I entered the building. It was pretty and clean.

"Up to the third floor," he ordered.

We walked upstairs and he walked towards his apartment's door. He opened it and left it open so I could get in first. He had his gentlemanly manners sometimes.

It was a small apartment and he had just a few things. He just had one couch in the living room. A large mirror on the wall behind it. A small bureau where he kept a stereo with an iPod Classic plugged to it and a small TV. There were some books here and there. There was a small table in the kitchen, to fit two people. A small fridge. It seemed like he had moved recently. There were some boxes in a corner, and not everything was well accommodated. He told me to sit and wait while he got the books from his room. I did as I was told and looked around curiously. The furniture was scarce but everything looked expensive and refined. Maybe it was because he hadn't been living there for a long time, because he looks really well organized, but it was kind of dirty, except for the mirror, he must need it to look at himself all the time. He came back with four or five books, went back for some more while I looked at them, and came with another six books.

"This is all I have right now, left the others back home, but all of them are great so you can't make a mistake." He said, still standing.

"I'm going to ignore your insults because they are great indeed."

He really was a Shakespeare fan. None of the books were new; you could tell they'd been read by the marks of usage.

"Hey! I started reading this one but lost it and never finished it. It's the chosen one!" I smiled excited lifting 'Anna Karenina' up to Atobe's face.

"I'm surprised you've actually read something good in your life…though you couldn't even finish it." He said smirking while taking a seat by my side and grabbing the book.

"Hey!" I pushed him softly with my body. He chuckled.

I tried grabbing the book back from his hands quickly but I couldn't grab it well and it fell. It opened and a photo came out. I picked them both up and looked at the picture. Atobe was at the center with a bunch of guys at his sides, all of them with tennis rackets and uniforms. They looked all so young. Atobe had his right arm lifted up in the air. Smirking. Looking as confident as ever. He looked truly happy.

"Oh, you play tennis!"

"Yeah." He said after a few seconds, staring at the picture and I thought he smiled a bit. He took the picture from my hand and stood up.

"I just finished rereading it so it's all yours to read now." He added.

"OK, thanks." I stood up and headed to the door. He opened it for me.

"Great" he said while I exited.

"Um… Hey, Atobe" I said before he could close the door. "You've just moved, haven't you? Want some help? I saw some boxes and all…"

He laughed. "What are you doing, Sasaki?"

"What? My being friendly?"

"OK, I'll accept the offer."

"Oh, I didn't expect that. It was more out of politeness." I was surprised.

"Well, now you're screwed. But come on, leave already, it's a long book and we're talking about you."

I looked at him offended. He was smirking, and that made him look ten times hotter. I had to leave before I got lost in his freakishly blue eyes. I took the train home without being able to stop thinking about him, not just because he's handsome but I really never know what to expect from him. Just as when he rejects all those girls, he's got different moods and different reactions. And his lifestyle is really not what I expected it doesn't make sense. Mysterious. Atobe Keigo, you're mysterious. And you're getting my curiosity. I don't like admitting it, but I really want to get to know you.