This chapter was a biatch to put up. My computer is getting so slow, and it doesn't help that I have three toddlers trashing it as well. Anyway, enjoy reading.
The weekend was over and it was back to school, Monday was her least favorite day for this. Ayane spent her morning in the cafeteria eating waffles as she thought about her conversation with Ryu that night. Maybe he was right, maybe she should be the one to ask Jin out. After all, it didn't look like Jin was going to do it any time soon. Waiting around for a year, and a half to be asked out was long enough for her. It was time she put on her big girl panties, and make a move.
"Morning." Christie greeted plopping down beside Ayane at the table. Ayane tried to offer her some waffles but Christie declined.
"I noticed I'm packing on a few pounds so I'm cutting down on the food. This oh so sexy slim body of mine is all I've got. If I lose this then I have nothing." Said Christie caressing her sides, checking herself out.
"By the way, thanks for coming over and keeping me company on the weekend. Since I couldn't go out, and all, what with being grounded." Ayane said sarcastically.
"Oh, don't be like that. You're a big girl, and can be by yourself for a day or two. Look, you survived." Christie playfully bumped shoulders with her lavender haired friend.
"Hey, girls!" called Tina who was another friend of theirs. Making her way over to them Tina took a seat at the table across from the two.
"It's been a while since we've seen you. Ever since you got a man it's like you don't have us friends anymore." Christie smirked.
"That's because I have a life. You should try and get one, especially a man. It's real nice." Tina winked. In response Christie just flipped Tina off. Ayane laughed.
"Speaking of men, check out what my man gave me this weekend." Tina squealed while showing off her blue sapphire necklace.
"There's no way Zack can afford that. He jacked that from someone else, I just know it." said Christie.
"We went to an amusement park during the day then we took a stroll at the beach, and afterwards he took me to some fancy restaurant for dinner. That's when he gave me this gorgeous necklace, and it's my favorite color! Oh, how I love this man." Tina gushed.
"Now would be the time to change the subject before she goes on, and on about Zack. And you all know she can go on for days." Lisa laughed joining the group at the table sitting beside Tina.
"Good idea. What did you do for the weekend, Lisa?" asked Christie.
"I got shitfaced, of course. What about you two?" she asked referring to Christie and Ayane.
Without even thinking Ayane just answered, "Ryu and I hung out Saturday night."
Realizing what she just said Ayane silently cursed at herself. Knowing how her friends are she regretted saying those words. She knew they would be quick to assume something was going on between her and Ryu.
"You, and Ryu? You mean Ryu Hayabusa? Isn't he your brother's friend? That's new." Christie teased.
"Yeah, how did that happen? What did you guys do that night? Give us details!" Lisa grinned.
"Nothing, we just watched TV. He came over to see my brother, but my brother wasn't home. And since he was already there he decided to hang out." Ayane sighed.
"Alone… with you?..." Christie asked.
"Yes. You make it sound like I'm terrible company." Ayane glared at her best friend, Christie just smirked.
"Just watching TV? That's it? I'm not buying it." Tina shook her head.
"No. The real question is… what were you watching? I bet it was porn." Lisa giggled.
Ayane couldn't help the blush that crept up on her face as she remembered that night with the whole porn incident. If only her friends knew how close to the truth they were.. not that she was going to tell them about it.
"Her face got all red, it must hold some truth! And I was only joking about the porn, too." Laughed Lisa, her and Tina high fiving. Ayane just groaned.
"That wouldn't really surprise me because I saw them flirting in the hallways. I'm witness to their little secret romance." teased Tina smiling cheekily.
"And when exactly did we flirt in the hallways?" asked Ayane, looking at Tina like she was crazy.
"Don't play dumb. I saw you two in the hallway last week when he called out to you just to tell you how nice your legs looked. By the way they did look nice in that maroon mini skirt, it made you look like you had legs for days, girl!" said Tina.
"Oh my god, that wasn't flirting. And he wasn't talking about my legs." Ayane rolled her eyes.
"If not her legs then it's got to be her chest. Just look at her breasts! They're huge! She's the youngest one out of all of us, and yet she has the biggest knockers. Bitch." Lisa mumbled in a playful manner, sticking her tongue out at Ayane.
"And after he told her they looked nice Ayane stood there batting her eyelashes at him while thanking him. She even winked at him." Tina snickered.
"Okay, now you're highly exaggerating. And for your information he was talking about how nice my earrings looked." Ayane would toss a piece of waffle across the table at Tina who dodged it.
"She denies their secret romance now, but just wait. It will come to surface when they're ready to let it be known." Smiled Tina.
The five minute bell warning would ring throughout the building letting the students know class would start soon, this caused all the girls to groan. Ayane wasn't ready to start class like the rest of the girls but deep down a part of her couldn't help but feel relief when the bell rang. The bell was her savior allowing her to escape her friends who could annoy the hell out of her sometimes, today seemed to be one of those days.
They all made a move to get up from the table all the while complaining about the classes they had to start with, their earlier conversation forgotten. As they did this they took no notice of a certain someone who was sitting at the table next to theirs, it was Irene.
Ayane and her friends would walk together in a group as they made their way to exit the cafeteria, having no clue a pair of blue eyes followed them as they went.
XXXXXXXXXX
The bell would ring signaling the end of fourth period, and the beginning of their lunch break. Ayane was at her locker putting away her binder, and textbooks. She finally decided that she would do it. She was going to ask Jin out today. Closing her locker she'd lean her forehead against it, mentally giving herself a pep talk. She'd take a big inhale of air through her nose before slowly exhaling through her lips trying to calm her nerves. Looking herself over she had to make sure her attire was presentable. Today she chose to wear a denim outfit. A long blue sleeve jean jacket with a white tank top underneath, and a pair of matching jean shorts that cut to her mid thigh. She wore a pair of light brown boots along with other brown accessories to match like bangles on her wrists, her ears sporting her studs. Oh yeah, she looked good, alright.
'You can do this.' She thought as she made her way through the hallway slowly heading to where his locker is thinking he might be there, and sure enough he was. Jin was putting some stuff away in his locker, he had three other friends with him. She was able to catch him before he went off campus for lunch. Ayane took it as a sign that this was meant to happen, that only good things will start to happen from here. Straightening her clothes out she cleared her throat getting ready to step out from the corner behind the wall to greet Jin, but then someone mentioned her which stopped her in her tracks.
"I'm surprised that little pretty chick didn't come see you today. Usually she always tries to catch you in the hallways, and flirts every chance she gets. It's obvious she has a thing for you. Are you ever going to tap that?" asked one of Jin's friends. Ayane recognized the voice, and knew it was Jared. That guy was an asshole, she couldn't understand why Jin would want to hang out with a guy like that. Ugh.
"You talking about that lavender haired chick? She's hot. Those legs." Whistled Leo who was another stupid friend of Jin's.
"Her name is Ayane, idiots." Said a third voice which she knew to be Ian. Out of those three Ian was the only one she had no problems with. He was a pretty chill guy, and quiet like the silent but deadly type. He wasn't one to say many words, and only spoke when necessary. The fact that he even remembered her name scored him a point.
"She's a nice girl, she's pretty. I just don't like her like that. I see her like a little sister." Said Jin.
"Are you serious? If I were you I would have been all over that by now." Jared shook his head as did Leo.
"Don't you think you should tell her that so she can quit chasing after something that will never be?" sighed Ian.
"I tried. I mean I try thinking of ways to tell her softly, but in the end there's no nice way to rejection. I don't want to hurt her feelings so I just act oblivious to it. It's not like I'm leading her on intentionally for the hell of it." Jin sighed this time, slamming his locker closed with a little more force than necessary.
"Whoa, down, boy." Leo joked. Ian rolled his eyes.
"And aside from that I'm dealing with my own feelings for Irene. She doesn't seem all that into me, and that's what's throwing me off. I want to ask her out on a date, but I'm not so sure she'll say yes." He grunted.
"Only way to find out is if you ask." Shrugged Ian.
"Yeah, all you have to do is just grow some set of balls." Joked Leo, he and Jared shared a laugh as they pound their fists together.
"Let's go get some food, I'm hungry. We only have half an hour left, time is ticking." Said Jin, and with that they all left.
Ayane hadn't moved from her spot behind the wall, she stood still as a statue. Her amethyst eyes were staring blankly at the floor, her face an expressionless mask. Her whole body was stiff, her hands that rest at her sides slowly curled into fists, clenching tightly.
This whole time… this whole time he knew. He knew how she felt, and yet he played dumb and continued to let her follow him around like some love sick puppy. She could understand that he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but this was worst. She would rather have faced the truth even if it did hurt than to be lead around like a clueless fool. A year, and a half all wasted on a guy who would never see her as a woman. She felt so stupid, the pain in her chest increased, she gritted her teeth. As seconds passed by the pain was becoming too much for her to bear, she was becoming an emotional wreck, she could feel the stinging sensation in her eyes as they start to water.
'Don't cry… damn it, don't you cry!' she thought clenching her fists so tightly they started to shake slightly, even her shoulders started to shake.
Out of nowhere she felt a hand grasp her shoulder from behind giving her a jerk causing her to turn around, and fall into a hard solid chest. Ayane tried to pull away, but a hand on her back kept her there against her captor. She tried to look up to see who it was but he beat her to it, tucking her head under his chin, he then mumbled in a voice so low only she could hear, "You look like you need a friend…"
She instantly recognized the voice, it was Ryu Hayabusa. Allowing herself to relax in his arms, she let out a breath. She knew he cared for her well being, still, she couldn't help but feel surprised that he was here trying to comfort her. They did agree to give the friend thing a shot so it only makes sense that he would make an effort.
She figured Ryu heard Jin's conversation, too. That was fine with her, saves her from trying to explain this mess. Speaking of messes, her emotions came crashing back full force. Knowing she could trust Ryu she buried her face in his chest, only then did she allow her tears to fall. Her hands would tightly grip his shirt at his sides as she stood there in his arms crying silently into his chest.
Little did they know they had an audience. Irene stood about twenty feet away behind Ryu, watching the two in their little embrace. She'd lower her gaze to the floor for a moment before turning over and leaving just as quietly as she came.
XXXXXXXXXX
School just finished, and students were rushing about through the hallways getting ready to leave school campus. After storing his stuff away in his locker Ryu made his way through the hallway. He would stare at the floor as he went along, his mind elsewhere. His thoughts would usually drift to Irene, but today was different. This time his thoughts lingered on a certain lavender haired girl. He couldn't stop thinking about her since lunch, he was worried about her. He couldn't help but wonder how she was holding up.
His mind would replay what happened earlier at lunch, he just so happened to have stumbled upon Jin's conversation as did Ayane. He was also there to see Ayane's reaction, remembering how her body started to tremble, and he didn't have to look her in the face to know she was close to having a breakdown. He could only imagine the pain she was feeling, just knowing she was hurting didn't sit right with him. He suddenly felt the urge to comfort her, his protective side coming out, and before he knew it he was pulling her into an embrace.
He didn't know how she would react to him comforting her, if she would blow up at him before running off or try and act like everything was fine. She did neither. Instead she allowed herself to cry in front of him which meant she was either hurting that badly or trusted him enough to let him see her in such a state. Or maybe it was a little of both.
Knowing how shaken up she was earlier he wondered if he should check up on her later at home, but was iffy on it. Maybe she needed some time to herself after, besides, he didn't exactly know what to say to comfort her in this situation. Luckily she didn't expect him to say anything earlier, the comfort of his arms was enough. His thoughts were interrupted when he bumped into someone. He really needs to start paying attention to his surroundings, he sighed.
His emerald eyes would look over at the person he ran into only to find Irene. She had dropped a few of her textbooks when they collided. Ryu was quick to help her get her books from the floor. He would apologize to her as he handed Irene her books.
Their eyes would meet only for a second before Irene looked away turning her gaze to the floor. She quickly thanked him before taking her books from him. He didn't know why but to him Irene seemed a little… off. She wasn't usually as friendly as she was with him. In fact she seemed a little distant.
"Is everything alright?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Yes. Everything is fine. See you, Ryu." And with that Irene quickly spun around to leave, but then she stopped in her tracks.
"Ryu…" Irene called out before turning back around to face him, looking him in the eye.
"Yes?"
"You and Ayane.. are you… Nevermind." She shook her head.
"I should get going. Bye." With a faint smile on her face she would give a small wave before turning over to leave.
'What was that?..' he thought as he watched her go.
And that's it for this chapter.