(u)(n)(e)(x)(p)(e)(c)(t)(e)(d)

ACT 2: Common Ground

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A/N: Yes! I finally have my summer vacation, which means: 1) No homeworks, 2) going to malls, 3) hanging out with friends, 4) Waking up late, and 5) Updating my fics! Hope you like this chapter as much as you guys did the last (or more =]). Not much "action" between Van and Hitomi yet but it'll get there... but not too soon. hehe.

Please review! Comments and Suggestions are VERY welcome!

Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne, much to my chagrin. :)

Thank you so much to those who reviewed!

Ruby: haha. a Dilandau lover, huh? Anywayz, thanks for the suggestion... But i have another idea in mind that i hope you'll like just the same :D

PrincessCool: wow. i'm really flattered. =''= thanks so much for the review!

fireangel: yikes! a pyromaniac's on the loose! don't burn me! see, i've updated already. lol!

Deidamia: haha! thanks! i updated as fast as i could.

Fushizen na: thank you!

SabineballZ: I love them so much too! Thanks for reviewing!

CinderellaxVan: Wow. blushes Thanks so much! Oh and by the way, I loved "Over my Head" so much! It's one of my fave stories along with your other works!

van lover, Princess Neptune: Thanks a bunch! =)

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"Ugh..."

"We have to deal with this every single day. And now, you have to, too."

The voices came from Van and Hitomi, respectively. People who might have listened in on their conversation would have thought they were talking about a grave matter of punishment and torture. In a way it was true. They were, after all, referring to the cafeteria food that was 'being prepared'...

More like 'being churned out'.

Van peered into the back door of the cafeteria, that was open enough to see what chaos was happening in the kitchen.

He could have sworn he saw the chef placing maggots inside the big pot. His face grimaced and his nose wrinkled considerably from the stench of what could have been rotten cabbage... or maggots, Van still believed. Hitomi, on the other hand, didn't mind as much. She had stayed in the school for already 3 years now, and was quite used to the 'horrors' of lunchtime.

Sensing that Van had had enough of seeing (and smelling) the canteen, Hitomi made a gesture for them to leave and Van immediately leapt at the offer. The cafeteria, whose walls were painted in a dreary gray and lined with white benches, was empty that time of the day, so they could hear their footsteps as they left the room.

"Hmm... where next...", Hitomi said to herself in a sing-song voice. And it hit her immediately. She would show him her favorite place in the school...

The field.

They walked towards the main hallway, Van following closely behind Hitomi, until they reached a large door, opposite the place where Hitomi had entered just that morning. Hitomi pushed the door like she had done so many times in her life, and saw before her what still felt unbelievably refreshing and invigorating.

The green grass, made even greener by the sun's bright rays. The clear blue skies. The flock of students playing soccer on one side and lying down on the other, laughing as their hair swayed to the cool wind. And of course, the hub of the whole scenery, in Hitomi's opinion... The track field, where a small group of boys and girls in loose fitting clothes and shorts were running about.

Hitomi's eyes twinkled at what she saw. Van had the same look. He, too, held a special place in his heart for the field.

"So Van, you want to sit over there by the stands?"

Van nodded and they walked towards the seats, their shirts swaying calmly with the breeze.

"'Tomi! Ey!"

"Hitomi-san!"

"Hey Hitomi! You up for a race?"

Numerous shouts came from some of the members of the track team.

Hitomi waved and shouted back "Hey there!"

"So, I'm guessing you're part of the track team, right?", Van asked.

"Yup! Oh yeah! Where are my manners? Let's go and introduce you!", Hitomi replied. Hitomi jogged to the team, and Van kept up with her pace.

"Guys! This is Van. He just transferred here."

Like a session in Alcoholics Anonymous, the crowd smiled and chorused. "Hi Van!"

Van grinned.

"Van, this is...", Hitomi introduced him to all her teammates, her finger pointing to the person with that name.

"Valerie..." She pointed to a senior with long flowing blonde hair and blue eyes, waving at him.

"Stephanie..." Hitomi's slender finger moved to a sophomore with short black hair, and black eyes, smiling widely.

"Eito..." Now to a tall Japanese sophomore with a fair complexion and brown eyes.

"Zan..." A freshman with his hair up in spikes, nodding warmly, his shiny silver stud in his left ear quite visible.

"and... our captain..."

"Amano." The last person introduced had fairly long sandy brown hair, with a cyan headband to keep any strands to get in his face while he trained. He smiled. "Hey there. You planning on trying out for the track team, by any chance?"

"Um... no. Track and field isn't really my sport."

"Don't mind Amano, Van. He tries to recruit all of our friends when he gets the chance.", Hitomi giggled.

"Well, there's no harm in asking right? It's a good thing you guys have such a hardworking captain!", Amano said playfully. The team chuckled.

"If you say so, Amano!", Hitomi told him. Amano looked at her, grinning, his eyes gazing upon her. Van immediately got the idea. Amano liked Hitomi. Hitomi, however, didn't seem to have a clue.

"Anyway, we won't bother you guys anymore. We'll just be up at the stands, okay?"

The track team nodded and Van and Hitomi left the group of teenagers clad in shorts.

They had reached the stands, and had sat down on the cemented seats, Hitomi crossing her legs and heaving a sigh of content as the cool wind kissed her cheeks. Van, on the other hand, stretched a little, and looked at the people playing soccer.

"Back in my old school, I was part of the soccer team...", Van said, nonchalantly, still staring at the open field.

"Really? That's cool! You should try out here, then."

"Yeah. Maybe I will."

A long silence resumed, till Hitomi, not really used to being quiet for a long time, queried the newcomer some more.

"Don't you just love the field?", Hitomi breathed out, sighing blissfully.

Van nodded, smiling. "I know the feeling. I practice, day and night; rain or shine. I personally like playing soccer best when it's raining heavily, with the mud and all." Hitomi grinned... and silence continued.

A couple of minutes passed. Hitomi stretched out her legs and yawned. She glanced at her watch and realized it was time to go. She stood up. "Our next class is about to start." Van stood up, too.

"We have Biology together, right?", Hitomi asked.

Van took out a sheet of paper from the pocket of his dark blue jeans, which were not loose fitting and not very tight either. "Section G21?"

"Yup that's it... Come on!"

And they left the field, only after Hitomi and Van relished the sight once again.

"And that my class is the concept behind phospholipids."

The man wearing a brown suit finally peeled his eyes off the board, and placed the chalk (or what was left of it) where it belonged. Clapping his hands together to take off the white dust that had surrounded his huge hands, he turned to his class. For the first time in this session.

Van, who had found a seat behind Hitomi, tapped her on her shoulder. "Darn this is boring."

Hitomi agreed. "I know! But don't worry, not all our teachers are...", Hitomi paused, not knowing the appropriate term.

"...Zombies?", Van quipped and Hitomi laughed, "Exactly."

Van gave his trademark smile once more... the smile that was laidback, not very enthusiastic, but still warm, in a sense. Hitomi felt that she could look at that smile forever and not be tired of it. But she immediately shrugged off the idea, not wanting to be obvious. Their tiny conversation ended when the teacher finally increased the volume of his voice one notch. He was at least audible at this point, and Hitomi thought of how effective his classes would be if he maintained that volume while he discussed.

"Now for some homework. Chapters 10 to...", the professor looked down at a thick book. He flipped page after page and the class groaned in anticipation.

"Chapters 10 to 14 then."

"No way! That's inhuman sir, that's..."

"School life.", the teacher proclaimed grimly. He was as lifeless as a wilted flower and he talked to the blackboard the whole duration of the class. The result of this, of course, was a class of students as dull as he was. He didn't seem to mind though.

The bell rang and the students jumped out of their seats with joy, as though they had heard it for the first time. It was odd how the students, who were slumping during the whole Bio class, were now as energetic as jumping beans.

"Phew! One boring class down, one more to go before lunch!", Hitomi said as she stretched her arms. They walked the crowded corridors with no particular destination to go to, until Hitomi stopped dead as she stared at the bulletin board.

"Oh. my. God."

Van was overcome with a sense of worry. "Why? What's wrong? You okay?"

Hitomi didn't reply.

"Hi...tomi?"

Van was not prepared for what followed.

Hitomi gave a very big shriek and jumped for joy. "Aaah! My favorite band's gonna play in this neighborhood next week!" Van curiously walked closer to the bulletin board, and looked for the particular sheet of paper that had made Hitomi more excited than ever.

Surprisingly, Van was overcome with the same trancelike emotion.

"Woah. Stellar is coming here?"

Hitomi escaped her reverie, shocked that he, too, knew the band. "You know the band, too?"

"Yeah. They're pretty cool.", Van said, more enthusiastic than he usually was, but still quite stoic, especially compared to Hitomi's frantic mannerism.

Hitomi, however, was pleased that Van's tone of voice was a little more joyous than usual and continued with her cheerful and energetic voice. "Wow! It's not always that I see someone who actually has heard of Stellar before! They haven't really gone mainstream yet! And I'm so glad somebody finally has taste in my kind of music! Merle's idea of music happens to be more of the 'pop' genre" - Hitomi paused for a moment to show her disgust - "and Dilandau doesn't really care about the music as long as the singers create some chaos during their concerts."

Van grinned. "Well, punk rock's the only kind of music I listen to, also.", Van said, "...And Stellar's one of the best in that particular field."

"Well, I'm definitely going to the concert", Hitomi added.

"Cool. Let's watch it together then", Van replied.

"Sure! That would be cool!" It was apparent that Hitomi was still worked up at the good news.

At the anticlimax of the scene, Hitomi suddenly realized one thing. That Van and her would go to the concert together... Alone. Hitomi, however, knew fully well that they were going as friends and nothing more. Somehow, Hitomi didn't mind one bit, quite cautious with expressing her slight feelings towards him... if it really was the real thing. If there was little or no chance they were going to be steady, Hitomi knew that friendship would be the next best thing. Besides, she had known the newcomer for only a few hours. How could she be so sure he was all that she wanted him to be?

The two finally left the bulletin board in a couple of minutes and went to their last class before lunch. Hitomi was extremely happy for someone who was going to endure two hours of geometry.

When the lunch bell finally sounded off, they met with Dilandau and Merle, and chatted away, hardly noticing their meal, which was of course the concoction Van and Hitomi were staring at just that morning. They did not have any idea what was inside it since it was just called 'Chef's surprise'. It was Van's cue to talk about his 'maggot' theory, quite firm about his belief. This caused them to chuckle at him, although surprisingly, Merle and Dilandau didn't touch it after Van's idea. Hitomi was the only brave one, as her spoon dug inside the saucy, vile dish.

The four students, however, were interrupted when the large doors were soon pushed with much force that a huge 'swoosh' was heard. Out of the door came Millerna and her Fashionista clique, confidence bursting in their every step towards their usual seats. Hitomi, Merle, and Dilandau resumed their conversation, now that they knew that it was just the "popular" crowd coming to "grace" them with their presence. Unfortunately, Van was still lost in space. He stared at the large group, more so to the girl who seemed to attract the most attention. The lucky woman was, of course, the by blonde princess herself... Millerna Aston.

This girl fished out a compact pink mobile phone from her little pink tote bag, with her pink-painted fingers. She dialed a few digits, placed her phone to her ear, and literally shouted at the person she was calling, oblivious to the fact that some people actually wanted a quiet, decent, undisturbed lunch. Those people, however, were scarcely found in this school as most were so engrossed in Millerna's conversation by now, that they had forgotten their previous tête-à-tête.

"Look, BRAD. You KNOW how much I HATE cafeteria food, so you're going to find me that Caesar Salad I'm craving for if it's the last thing you do. Got it? ...Definitely not, Brad! If Chez Leon is out of Caesar's Salad then go to another restaurant, oh-KAY?", Millerna said in her prissy, sing-song, extremely rude tone, garnering disgusted looks on Hitomi, Merle, and Dilandau's face. Van, however, was still in Never Never Land, just like the majority of the students. Millerna's 'groupies' didn't seem to realize how domineering and boorish the woman really was. And Aston's friends were just as bad.

Their usual table had the usual faces. There was Millerna Aston, of course, who was no doubt the star of the gang; Eries Aston, who was obviously related to Millerna, in every aspect one can perceive, save for her longer straighter hair; Narya and Erya Prein, twins who definitely had a mean streak about them, and who looked absolutely the same except for the color of their hair (Erya had blonde hair, Nariya had silver); Yukari Uchida, whose strikingly red hair made her both stand out and fit in with the others at the table; Brad Gramer, who Millerna was talking to on the phone, a typical buffy jock, who had more muscle in his head than brain; and lastly, the playboy himself - Allen Schezar, whose obsession in girls could only be topped by his obsession in his 'precious' hair, or so he describes it.

"I live to see the day when that group would just decide to change school", Merle said with spite especially to the twins, who she was unfortunately related to. "Tsk, tsk. Is that how you treat your relatives?", Dilandau taunted Merle. "They are my DISTANT cousins. We're hardly related, got that?" Hitomi and Dilandau couldn't help but giggle, knowing how Merle was so sensitive when it came to that topic. This would make Merle even more peeved although that hardly stopped the two from teasing her. This time, however, they had remarkably ceased teasing even before Merle started threatening them with her sharp nails, or 'claws', as she would put it. This baffled Merle but only for an instant, when she saw where they were gawking at.

"Van! Why the hell are you looking like a coma patient?", Merle shrieked.

No response.

"Van Slanzar DE Fanel?!", Merle now more exasperated.

"You want me to maybe scorch one of his fingers with my lighter? That would certainly wake him up!", Dilandau said, grinning devilishly.

Hitomi interceded before Merle could even lay her hands on Dilandau. She snapped her fingers in front of Van and waved her hands over Van's glassy eyes, when the previous action was unsuccessful.

Like a man who recovered from drowning after CPR, Van suddenly sprang to life.

"What?", Van asked, innocently, and calmly, as if nothing happened.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT? YOU WERE STARING OFF INTO SPACE!", Merle shouted, her usual tan face red with anger. She acted so much like a protective, nagging older sister.

"I was? Oh sorry. I was kinda lost in thought", Van replied, not at all affected by Merle's sudden outburst, as he brushed his messy jet black hair. Merle was not convinced but decided to let him off the hook. After all, what good would it do to get mad at someone who doesn't get affected anyway? If, however, Merle had known what... or WHO Van was thinking of, Merle would have been even more pissed than she already was, and would have not minded one bit if Van was not really listening.

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So, how'd you find the chapter? Hope you guys liked it as much as the first (or even more!) Oh and as far as I know, there's no band called "Stellar". (or is there? I don't know it's just the first word that popped in my head. just remembered Incubus' song. hehe.) oh yeah, one more thing. Is Narya the blonde girl in the Escaflowne series or is she the one with silver hair? Cause from what I remember Narya was the blonde girl. Correct me if I'm wrong please :) As for Hitomi's feelings for Van and vice versa? well you just have to wait. Hitomi's apparently attracted to Van, but Van... well that's another case. But don't worry the V/H pairing will get there... eventually. hehe ==

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