Best Friend Blues

Summary: It would start with the usual heated bickering, then turn into something different, flipping their already complicated relationship completely backwards. Not even the quiet of the classroom was safe from it.

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Thanks for your reviews and favorites! Much appreciated. :3 Here's the next installment. It takes place alittle before the start of the series. It's also abit fluffy, as expected I guess. Enjoy!

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"Yusuke, wake up, you're not sleeping in class again!"

He lifted his head off the desk and shot Keiko a glare. Her seat was right in front of his, meaning he never got a moment's rest. "Dammit I'm awake! Like I could sleep with your big mouth nagging me anyway."

"I'm not nagging you!" she snapped. "You haven't been in school for weeks, and you've got a stack of makeup work that you'll never finish if you sit there with that attitude."

He rolled his eyes. Keiko sat sideways in her seat, shooting daggers at him like an angry old cat.

His expression turned into a sneer. "Well maybe I'd be in a better mood if I was at home sleeping instead of here arguing with you. I didn't want to come to school, you dragged me here, miss know-it all. And I don't give a shit about makeup work!"

Her brown eyes narrowed dangerously. She chose to ignore his cursing, one battle at a time. "It's for your own good! You're such an immature idiot, I guess I can't expect you to understand that."

Yusuke leaned in close to her, their foreheads nearly touching. "Why don't you just leave me alone, huh?" he growled, venom in his voice. "It's not smart to annoy me."

She sat back. "Oh please, give me a break." His threat meant nothing, and they both knew it. Yusuke would never harm her in a million years. "Just shut up and do your work."

Their classmates turned terrified expressions to Keiko. No one else would dare talk to the Great Urameshi like that. She was the only girl who hung around him, and she was crazy -- for obvious reasons. There were rumors going around that he was in a gang.

Yusuke ignored their stares. Keiko didn't even notice them, too engrossed in trying to prove her point. "I know you don't like school," she said, voice wavering, "but it's not like I make you come here so you can hate me. I care about you, that's all." Her lips melted into a sad pout.

His irritation vanished at her words. "Ah..Keiko, I don't..I mean..."

"Urameshi! Yukimura!" Mr. Iwamoto barked, "class has started!"

"Sorry sir!" Keiko said automatically, turning to face the teacher.

Yusuke was left gazing at her back, feeling the pang of guilt creep into his senses. It was normal for them to spit insults out at each other, but dragging emotions into it made things complicated. That girl knew how to get under his skin in so many ways. Now he felt bad for arguing with her, while she was the one who started nagging him in the first place!

"Keiko." He whispered, leaning across the desk, trying to regain her attention. "Keiko!"

She peered at him over her shoulder. "What?"

"I uh...you're really annoying, but I don't hate you. There's no way I could ever hate you."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" she said coolly, looking down at her schoolwork.

"Hey! I'm serious! I don't hate you!"

She scoffed. "Nice to know I'm tolerable."

He was digging himself a deeper hole, one that he probably couldn't talk himself out of. Keiko was known to hold onto grudges, and her silent treatment was firm and awful. "I didn't mean it like that either," he told her, "I like you alot, so yeah, don't get pissy."

Yusuke saw her shoulders tense up, as if he struck a nerve. He was positive he'd get a heated response from her, but to his surprise, she smiled when she turned to face him. "I really like you too, Yusuke." she said in an almost..sweet tone. Then she swung around, pleased with herself, leaving him completely stumped at her change of mood.

He felt his cheeks get hot. "Er..."

Of course she liked him though, she was his best friend! Though how she acquired that title over the years was a mystery.

Yusuke glanced up at the teacher who was preoccupied with lecturing at the front of the room, while the students frantically scribbled down notes. Yusuke didn't care, and he didn't bother to write a word. It was all crap information to him, he had better things to do with his life.

He directed his attention back to Keiko, who was busy writing away, not missing a single fact from the dull history lesson.

Keiko's hair seemed to glitter in the sunlight, the highlights a shade of chestnut brown, the locks pulled back in two thick pigtails.

He told her once that she needed to get a new hairstyle or cut it, she wasn't in elementary school anymore. Yet it fit her somehow, she was as innocent and sparkly clean as a little girl. Except for that bold temper, but that made her all the more interesting.

Before he knew what he was doing, he reached out and gently grasped a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger.

Yusuke froze, partly horrified at himself. The hell?

He expected Keiko to turn around and send him a strange look, but she didn't notice a thing.

He propped his head up on his hand, frowning. He slowly allowed himself to play with her hair, rubbing the silky strands in between his fingertips. The urge to run his hands through it sent a weird fluttery feeling roaring in the pit of his stomach.

His grumpy expression relaxed as he spaced out, slipping into a daydream. Keiko was a royal pain, but...

"Urameshi!" Mr.Iwamoto's voice jolted him from his revere. "Wake up and pay attention to what's going on up here, and stop touching miss Yukimura."

A unified sound of dropping pencils echoed throughout the room as the entire class stopped what they were doing and turned around.

A crimson blush flared on his cheeks.

"I wasn't touching her, I was touching her hair!" he sputtered out in defense embarrassment. "Her hair!"

His classmates stared in shock, not even bothering to blink. A group of girls giggled.

"What are you lookin at!"

Some whirled around at Yusuke's tone, but most continued to gawk.

"Yukimura, you haven't been paying attention either, would you like me to move you to a different seat? I'm sure he's distracting you."

"N-no sir." Keiko said quietly, her own face bright red. "I'm fine."

The vein in Iwamoto's neck stuck out in agitation when he noticed he had lost the attention of the entire class. "Excuse me, there is a lesson going on!"

With his snappy orders, the student body forced themselves to peel their eyes off the two and face the angry sensei.

Yusuke felt completely stupid. Iwamoto bastard didn't have to say it like that, touching her, it made him sound like a pervert, he wasn't touching her anywhere important...well not then, anyway.

He ran a hand through his slick black hair in an attempt to calm his flustered nerves. "Keiko, uh it's my fault, I didn't mean to...embarrass you." he murmured, sinking back into his chair.

She turned around, a lingering pink hue on her cheeks. "It's ok, you didn't." she smiled, "but why were you messing with my hair?"

"Because, I like you." he blurted, instantly wishing he could recall his words. He couldn't prevent the blush from rising to this face. "I mean, I just don't hate you. Well, I mean..dammit."

That made no sense. Yusuke was so frazzled he felt like punching someone until they told him what the deal was with his feelings.

Before his mind could register what was happening, Keiko tugged on his sleeve and leaned in close, her pigtails tickling his neck. The scent of lavender broke through his senses as she kissed him on the cheek, a quick moment of lips against skin.

Then she swirled around, her back to him once again, as if nothing had happened at all.

Yusuke's stomach did about ten flip flops. He put a palm up to his face, a strange tingling sensation on his cheek, which he was only imagining.

Maybe that's why she's his best friend. But it was unnerving, all kinds of alien thoughts and feelings surfaced when Keiko came around, flipping his perception of what a best friend should be upside down. Whether it was extreme friendship or hormones he couldn't tell.

But Yusuke did know one thing; for once in his life, he was glad he came to school today.

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I'm always afraid of making Yusuke too squishy. xD But I mean, he shows a softer side around Keiko in the series, especially in the beginning. Well, not in front of other people, it's usually when they're alone(the -she's just a friend- deal)but it's still there. Anyway, feel free to tell me what you think, and thanks for reading.