Gilbert... did I ever really know him? Maybe, not everyone is as they first appear... you really never can judge a book by its cover.
Hellena sat in the chill morning air of the High School courtyard, musing over the events of the day before. She glanced up at the clock, realizing she had a class to get to.
"Science," she grumbled to herself. It wasn't her favorite subject, and she really didn't have any friends there she could talk to, but she would have to endure. Deftly, she made her way up the stairs, and slipped into class with ease.
"Good morning, class," Mr. Shaff greeted the students as they settled into their seats. "Today we will be doing some labs with partners." The class murmured excitedly, eyes finding each other as if to confirm their partnership. Their hopes were quickly squashed, however. "Now, before you get too excited, you should know that I will be doing the choosing."
Hellena huffed. It didn't matter anyway; she could deal with whoever she was paired with. She found herself partnered with a boy by the name of Vash. She knew of him. Her friends never shut up about how "weird" he was; always hanging around with some freshman girl. Vash was short, with straw-blonde hair and green eyes that reminded her of a cat.
"Hi," she said, striding towards him. There was no use in being awkward; they would have to speak to each other eventually. As she walked over to him, she whacked the palm of her hand on the corner of a table. A spike of pain shot up her arm, but she ignored it, only muttering a few curses in her native tongue.
"Hello. My name is Vash." he presented a hand, as if to shake. She looked at him dubiously at first, but took his hand with her own throbbing one and gave it a firm shake.
"And I'm Hellen-" she stopped, staring down at her clasped fingers. Blood.
"Er," he pulled away, gazing at the red on his hand, "it would appear that you are bleeding."
It was true; she was bleeding, but she did have a good reason for it. She was not, however, about to tell him that.
"Oh; I cut myself on some glass yesterday. It's still kinda tender, I guess," she fibbed. She looked nervously at the clean cut on her palm.
"You should go to the nurse," he said slowly, then continued, "I'll escort you." He went off to address the teacher first, holding his bloodied hand away from himself.
Damn it! The hell kind of greeting was that? Fuck, I'm awful at first impressions…
The two left the classroom, traveling down the hall in silence for a moment. As they moved away from the curious glances of the students still in the class, Vash began to speak again.
"How did you really get hurt?" he asked, his green eyes serious. Hellena froze.
"Glass, I swear." Almost true, but it was no accident. Vash gave her a hard look. Finally, she relented. "Okay! It's... something my brothers and I did. Have you ever heard of a blood pact?" She looked away, embarrassed. "It's stupid, I know... sometimes the cut re-opens. Yung Soo's too careful for that though, so his is but a scar now."
Vash smiled at her. "I think that's very unique. Not many siblings are so close to each other. You're very lucky, you know. I don't even have a brother or sister." Hellena stared at him.
"I've never considered myself lucky, but I guess in that respect, I am." She frowned at him thoughtfully.
"What is it?" he looked worried.
"No, it's just that... you're not as weird as everyone says you are. You're actually quite descent."
"Thank you; you are also not as mean as some of your friends." He looked up. They had reached the clinic. "Here we are; let's get you patched up."
Hellena looked over her freshly bandaged hand.
"I guess this'll have to do. Kind of hindering, but oh well." She bounced out of the clinic, Vash in her wake. "I hope Mr. Shaff lets us use someone else's data for the homework."
"He probably will," Vash shrugged. "Anyway, let's go."
They made their way up the stairs, and down the hall towards their class. Hellena let her mind wander, and did not immediately notice the girl walking towards them.
"Vash!" Vash's eyes shot up, and Hellena, too, looked to see who had called out. A girl, who looked to be about a year below them, was running at them. Her hair was nearly identical to that of Vash, and her eyes were a slightly softer shade of green. A blue ribbon adorned her hair. She hugged him, smiling widely.
Vash seemed a bit surprised, and looked over at Hellena as though expecting criticism. He gave the girl a quick embrace, and then they released each other.
"How nice to see you here!" She laughed, and then looked over at Hellena. "Who's she?"
"My name's Hellena," Hellena replied, and gave Vash a slantwise glance. Was this, perhaps, the freshman of whom her friends spoke?
"I'm Lilit. Nice to meet you!" She turned back to Vash. "I'll see you at lunch, right?"
"Yes, and at study hall. And don't forget after school."
"Okay! I'll see you later." She skipped off, and Vash looked after him, his eyes distant. They continued walking, and a sly smile played across Hellena's lips.
"So... what's your relationship with her? I thought you didn't have a sister." Vash shot her an annoyed look. "I take it you get that a lot. Come on; I told you a story about myself; now enlighten me."
"Well... I met her two years ago. I ran into her, actually.
I was running down the hall, trying not to be late. School had started about a week before, so I was still learning classes and such. This is a very big school, after all. I wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of me, and well, we collided.
I fell flat on my butt, and I must confess I was about to say something nasty, but I looked up and saw her. I don't know why, but I just shut up, right then and there.
"Watch where you're going!" Is the next thing I thought to say, and I did. She only smiled at me.
"You're the one running. We're not supposed to run in the halls, you know." She helped me up, but I was still trying to uphold my argument.
"I don't want to be late, okay?"
"You could get really hurt by running around in the halls. Would you rather be late, or dead?" I just stared at her.
"I'd rather be dead!" I ran past her, and didn't think about her for the rest of the day.
"So... you didn't think about her again. How did you guys become so close?" Hellena questioned, her eye brows furrowing.
"She... she found me. It was during study hall...
I was in the library, studying, when she came up behind me and sat beside me. She set her books down on the table with a thump, and promptly asked, "Would you really rather be dead than late?"
I looked up, and was really startled because I didn't think I'd ever see her again. I told her that, yes, I really would rather be dead than late. Perhaps I was just trying to fight an argument I had already lost, because by then I didn't mean it.
"I think it's better to be late once so that you can learn from your mistake, rather than dead, where you'll never learn anything again." She just smiled at me, and went back to doing her own homework...
"I guess what I said had gotten her thinking, so she found me again. We kinda... just started meeting in the library after that, during study hall that is. I help her with her homework, and..." he trailed off.
"...and what does she do for you?" Hellena pressed. He looked up at her sharply.
"She doesn't do anything for me... I just enjoy her company, and vice versa, that's all." Hellena narrowed her eyes at him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, but she said nothing. They returned to class without another word between them.
"Class is over; you are dismissed." Mr. Shaff was already letting the students out by the time they had come back. "Oh, Hellena, Vash; I will give you another day to work on this, so don't fret."
Hellena turned to face Vash. "I'll see you later then. Bye." She walked off, feeling good about herself.
Helping people... it's is nice, isn't it? It's funny how Gilbert, the scourge of the school, was the one to teach me that. I guess peopledochange after all, and you never can judge a book by its cover...
