Bon was now positive that the new girl Irene was purposely trying to piss him off.
He had actively sought her out to make sure that she never brought the skull to any class, be it regular requirements or cram school. Though he often found that he didn't see her much in the halls during regular class time, he assumed she had decided to heed his words the last time and would leave her skull in her dorm when he saw her again that night. It drove him absolutely mad however when he walked into cram school and saw Irene sitting in the row directly behind his desk, her right hand patting the noisy skull absentmindedly as she flipped to another page of her Demon Pharmicuticals book.
"I thought I told you not to bring that damn thing to class." he hissed loudly when he approached her studious form and pounded on the desk loudly to get her attention. Irene looked up only once and only smiled absentmindedly.
"Hola Suguro-san. It's nice to see you again. You better sit down, I think the teacher is ready to begin the lesson."
Bon had gone back to the dorm room that night and punched a hole in the wall.
Now he was actively stalking Irene outside of cram school to confront her about the skull, she wouldn't speak to him otherwise and always had some kind of a diversion to get away when he cornered her in the classroom. After many unsucessful excursions with Konekomaru and Shima in the halls during break, Bon decided enough was enough and nicked her schedule one night during Scripture. The next morning he set out alone to find her, ignoring the comments from Shima about his little "crush". Bon was absolutely confused however when he peered into the classroom window and Irene was nowhere in sight.
He waited the whole of his free hour for her Literature and Composition class to get out and scanned the faces of the students who exited only to be dissappointed when he didn't see her face. There was no sign she had even walked in the door to her Algebra class when he waited outside the door ten minutes before the class started. The same went for her History, Japanese, and Biology classes. She was no where to be found.
"Hey Bon! You find that girl and ask her out yet?"
Shima and Konekomaru caught up with Bon as he growled and begin to stalk off to his own classroom, mubling that she hadn't been in any of the classes her schedule had said she would be in.
A grin from Shima nearly sent him over the edge of anger, "I swear Bon, you're going to drive yourself crazy trying to find that chick. Get over it, it's not like the skull is that loud anyways."
Bon growled lowly. "Maybe you can stand it but I can't! That damn thing is driving me me crazy and I'll get her to put that shit away if it's the last thing I do. I haven't been able to concentrate in class and I missed two questions on the last test! TWO! I'll make that girl pay..."
He begin walking away from Konekomaru and Shima to the last place left to try and find Irene, the Home Economics and Cooking classroom. Bon again waited outside for the students to get out. Ten minutes passed before the True Cross Academy students filed out in droves, the cooking class looking particularly happy with smudges of flour all over their faces, hair and clothes. But there was no sign of Irene's dark green hair among the sea of black, brown, blonde and red that filed passed Bon and back to the cafeteria for dinner. He scowled and turned to leave when he heard a teacher speaking, and only stopped dead in his tracks once he was sure he heard Irene's reply.
"Marquez-san, you really need to work harder tomorrow and go to classes. I can have someone help you if you're not feeling too confident in speaking or understanding what is being asked in the classroom. You don't have to hide in here all day, its against the rules."
"No me importa Sensei. It doesn't matter anyways, even with all the cram school lessons and tutoring in the world, it couldn't help me make any friends here. No one wants to be friends with the creepy Mexican girl with the skull, es verdad no? I would hate to bother everyone in my other classes... Maybe I might just leave the school."
A deep sigh came from the teacher, "Marquez-san, that is not the kind of attitude you should have. Just because people may not like you doesn't mean you have to hide from them. I notice Rin Okamura has been trying to speak to you these past few days, there's even that one boy you told me about. Now, what was his name again?"
"Suguro-san. Y no, Okamura does not seem too trustworthy... I don't really feel it is right to be talking to him either, since he does nothing better than read manga in class. Y Suguro... He hates me, hates everything about me and it always seems like he wants to beat me up. Eh heh, what can I do huh? Es nothing for me to do about it. I may go and speak with the headmaster tomorrow. Bueno, ya me voy Sensei. I can stay and clean again if you want me to?"
"No need, Irene-chan. You go on and try to get your makeup work. Eat something too... It always makes things a bit more optimistic when you have a full stomach."
"We'll see, adios Sensei. Take care."
Bon stood directly infront of the doors and barred the way for Irene when he heard the clatter of her shoes against the tiled floor. She opened the doors and he walked into her, causing her to smack directly into his chest. When she looked up, her eyes widened with fear when she saw who she had bumped into.
"Ah! Um... G-gomenasai!" she said quickly.
"Why are you ditching classes?" he demanded, standing looking tall and formidable infront of Irene. She tried to run around him but he took hold of her arm, pinning her to the kitchen doors. "Why are you ditching classes?" he asked again.
"You heard everything huh? Cabron, let me go! I'm not gonna get bullied by you!" Irene struggled to get out of his grip, the skull chattering and sending vibrations along both their bodies.
"Why are you ditching classes Irene?" he asked again, tightening his hold of her arm and glaring straight into her face. Irene pulled away again, trying to escape his hold but only making it worse for herself as Bon used his other hand to grip her free arm. "Let me go..." she whispered, thoroughly frightened. Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes and the skull was now hitting the door more aggressively, making staccato beats that seemed to match the rhythm of Irene's erratic heart.
"I'm only gonna ask you one more time before I get really pissed. WHY ARE YOU DITCHING CLASSES?" Bon screamed this last part into Irene's face as though she were hard of hearing, making her flinch and cower closer to the door.
"You heard everything, si? So why are you asking me those questions? Even you hate me, the loca who carries the skull around and smells gross and who is too poor to afford any nice bags, new shoes, skirts or even nice socks. Y que cabron?! Maybe I am poor and I smell weird and look it with my green hair. Pero I know who I am! And maybe I am not good enough to be here but you cabrones have no right to judge!"
Irene stopped and cried, angry tears falling and staining the wool cardigan. Her skull was still rattling noisily against the door, but one could not be sure if it was because it sensed good from Irene, or if it was her trembling that was causing it to shake. The two stayed like that for a moment, Irene pressed against the door and Bon pinning her strongly against it while watching her sob. He watched her cry for a moment longer before letting go of her arm and taking hold of her hand, lacing his fingers tightly between hers so she couldn't get away.
"What are you doing?!" she cried, trying to pull her hand away as Bon began to drag her down the corridor. This only made him tighten his grip and continue to take her away.
"We are going to every single class you have and asking your teachers for your make up assignments. Then we are skipping dinner and I'm going to help you catch up and teach you for two hours how to speak properly." He looked down at Irene who had long since stopped struggling and was now staring at him through puffy, red eyes. He ignored her and walked on. "There is no damn excuse good enough for ditching class and I am going to wait for you every day for three weeks outside of your classes to make sure you aren't skipping out and hiding in that damn kitchen. And I'm confiscating your skull until you learn to leave it in your dorm, that thing is driving me up the fucking wall!"
Silence. Irene could only stare up at Bon as they walked to her math class. She watched him as they walked on only a moment before her eyes misted up, threatening tears again when she realised he wasn't letting her go and was dead serious. "Suguro-san... thank you..." she murmured, smiling up at him.
"You're gonna eat those words when I start tutoring you. I'm not gonna be 'fucking around' as the Japanese like to say. Now hurry up and walk faster, your teacher is up ahead."
Irene didn't see his face turn extremely red when she looked down at the ground and smiled through the small tears, her hand settling into his and her free hand clutching his large arm.