Chapter 2 - An Unlikely Hero

There are those who enjoy their high school days are there are those who don't. Those who do are the foundation of the countless stories and memories of their brilliant youths, and those who didn't are lying whenever they talk about their past. If you openly admit your high school days were frustrating, lonely, and full of social pressure, you'd be a loser in people's eyes. The world is just unfair like that; tell people lies, and they'll like you. Tell people the truth, and you're considered an outcast. Funny how it's usually switched depending on the situation. What can we rely on if the definitions of words change depending on the people you're with? And why would we want to become someone that we know we aren't? If we can't even be honest with ourselves as full grown, mature adults, then there really is no hope for the reliability of the human race.

The first week of school passed like seconds on a clock. Each day was the same; I'd stare off into the distance with my head held up against my left hand for support, daydreaming about the things that popped into my head at any given time. Being far off into another world most of the time during class, I'd get called on commonly by the teacher, asking me if I knew the answer the question he had asked, or requesting me to read from a passage in our English book. Most of the time, I'd actually know what we were doing, since I'm always technically paying half attention to the class. But others, when I had gotten less sleep than usual, or was deep into a conversation with myself, I'd get called out. It had almost cost me lunch detention once, but I figured out new countermeasures to make sure I wouldn't get caught, like the "make eye contact with the teacher when they look in your direction" tactic, or the "ask random question at random point in the class to make sure it looks like you're paying attention" tactic. Both of them actually worked pretty well, considering I hadn't been caught off guard once since I started doing them. It wasn't before last period in class today before we were told to stay in our seats because of an announcement.

"Students, if you haven't yet signed up for a club, it is highly recommended that you do so today or tomorrow. As you all know, joining at least one extra-curricular club is mandatory in Sobu High. Failure to do so in one of of your three years may result in repercussions later on involving graduation." All the students in class except for myself lazily called out "yes sir", before he continued. "Okay, you're dismissed." In sync, every student in class stood up, getting ready to leave. I had completely forgotten to join a club, even though I actually told myself that I'd join one about a week ago. What was it called again? Serving Club? Surfing Club? No, it wasn't any of those. Wait, surfing club? The hell am I talking about? I rubbed the bangs on my forehead, giving it a bit more thought before I gave up. It'll probably come back to me if I stop thinking about it. I had even informed my sister, Tomoe, that I'd join a club like she requested I did. She was really passionate about me joining at least one club in school, even though I've already told her multiple times that it was mandatory to join one. But for the life of me I couldn't remember what the hell that club I wanted to join was called.

I stopped thinking about clubs for a second and stood up, getting ready to leave. On my way out, I noticed that black haired boy was still sitting in his seat again, not leaving like everyone else. He had done that for about a week now, being extra slow and taking his time when it was the end of the day. What was up with that? Didn't he want to get home? Although when I thought about it, I actually walked as slow as possible on my way home so I could 1. Conserve energy, and 2. Not have to do homework for at least another ten minutes. So I guess his tardiness on his way out of the class actually made sense, not that my own principals would apply to him. Maybe he didn't like crowds? Nah, no way. I yawned, stretching out before leaving the bustling classroom and out into the equally bustling hallways. Every now and then I'd bump into somebody out of fatigue, before mumbling "sorry" with a slight bow and continuing on. I was getting strange looks from people as I kept moving down the hallway towards the staircase, although I was far too lazy and indifferent to decipher what they meant. Before I could reach the end of the hall, I was stopped by someone leaning against the left wall.

"Hey, you."

I looked up at the boy. He had his arms crossed, and had unkempt blonde hair that spiked up in annoying spots. He sported a dark blue headband around his forehead, keeping his hair back and out of his eyes. His sleeves were drawn up to his elbows and his school uniform was unbuttoned. Ooh, he has that stereotypical punk vibe going for him. He wore a ticked off expression and had piercing ice blue eyes that stared daggers at me. What could this punk possibly want with me?

"...what?"

"You piss me off." Wow, that was shockingly...expected.

"Care to explain why, Naruto?" His face grew into an annoyed sneer.

"The way you look like you don't care about anything, like you're the goddam king of the world. Ticks me off more than anything, a loser acting all high and mighty like a prince."

"Okay," I replied. I broke eye contact and looked at the clock on the wall, trying to look impatient. Maybe that wasn't so smart. When I looked back, the punk had gotten closer, and his face was contorted into an angry grimace. He grabbed the collar of my shirt, glaring swords into my eyes. Come to think of it, this guy could possibly be one of my classmates.

"Oi," He said. "What did I just tell you?" I sighed in reply, before looking at our surroundings. It looked like we had caused quite the commotion; a few groups of people were gathered around us, leaving us in a cluttered circle. Most of them were whispering to each other, although I couldn't make out what they were saying. I could easily guess though.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty busy right now. Can I ignore you some other time?" I said, looking back at the kid. The punk looked like he finally snapped after I said that, his eyes burning with rage.

"Shame those had to be your last words," he said as he cocked his fist back. I tried my best to maintain an completely bored expression. Woah, is he planning on killing me or something? That's not gonna look good on his college application.

"Hey!" A voice came from behind me, interrupting the scuffle. I strained my neck to get a look at who it was, and to be honest, it was probably the last person I'd ever expect to interject on a fight. He was probably the embodiment of 'bystander' in my head, now that I think of it. It was the black haired boy with the grey, dead fish eyes, whatever his name is. Fish-boy. Yeah, lets go with that for now. "Are you really going to punch a lowlife like that and get yourself into more trouble than you're already in, Ryota?" Who's the lowlife here?

The boy, whose name is supposedly Ryota, snarls at him. He lets go of my collar and pushes me aside.

"Well, if it isn't Hikigaya." His angry grimace twisted into a sinister smirk at the sight of fish-boy. "And why am I in trouble, you say?" Fish-boy made an even more sinister smirk than the one Ryota wore, which sent shivers down my spine. I began to rethink his true motives.

"Did you forget?" Ryota's expression shifted slightly from amused to confused. "You had detention with Mr. Tanaka today. And you know what that means, don't you?" Ryota suddenly looked like he had an accident in his pants. I heard a very silent "shit" under his breath, before he turned tail on the crowd and myself and bolted down the stairs. Instead of feeling grateful that fish-man had saved me, I was bewildered. The mention of having detention with this Mr. Tanaka made him scared enough to completely give up on this lame fight and run for his life? It made me shiver at the prospect of even meeting the guy. I suppose I should thank fishma– i mean Hikigaya for his ex-machina save there.

I turned and began walking towards Hikigaya, whose face looked more relieved than evil now. When he finally noticed me coming towards him, he looked away. The crowd began to break up into hushed whispers like it had been before, although the space in the middle was quickly absorbed by the mass.

"Yo," I said. Hikigaya scoffed, before looking in my direction.

"Don't thank me," he said, before he began to walk away.

"Uh, I wasn't planning on it." My sudden comment made him stop in his tracks. Oh well, that was kind of a lie anyway. He didn't say anything, he just had his back turned on me for a few seconds. "I just have a question." Hikigaya waited without reply. "Just who is this Mr. Tanaka guy?" I heard an audible chuckle before Hikigaya started walking away again.

"You'll see." The fact that he wouldn't just tell me made me even more suspicious of his personality. Oh well, I guess I'll just take his word for it. As I walked back down the hallway towards the stairs, I finally remembered the name of the club I was going to join.

"The Service Club."

Hello again readers! Sorry for the long break, but here's chapter 2 of The Loner Club finally! Again, there will be another break until the next chapter comes out, so sit tight until then. Remember to PM me if you have questions/comments, and please leave a review of what you thought! I love both negative and positive inputs, as long as they're somewhat constructive ;)