Chapter 12- An Argument
The next morning, Yori and I get dressed for school and walk to the cafeteria for breakfast. We meet Zero at the door, Yori winked at me when Zero's back was to us. I sigh and rolled my eyes, acting annoyed but secretly hiding the raging emotions inside me. It somehow felt embarrassing to see him after yesterday, when I had cried for him. I tried hard to avert my eyes and not look at him. When Yori and me had gotten our food we sat down on our usual table. Zero only drank a bottle of water. I used to worry about his health but he told me that he takes blood tablets every morning. As we ate, Yori would cast glances from me to Zero and back again several times. I gave her a glare and she stopped with a smirk on her face. We stayed quiet throughout the meal. I could feel the cool metal of the necklace Zero gave me on my neck. I had shown Yori and she had screamed. She said it was beautiful and helped me clasped it. I blushed when I remembered how Zero had come to my room and had put the necklace on me. I felt a hand on my forehead, I looked up to see Zero watching me intently with his palms on my forehead.
'Are you sick?' he asked, his face rested on his other hand and his features were calm and neautral but I saw something flash in his eyes, something like worry and concern. I couldn't answer and Zero didn't move his hand, I stared at him (so much for self-control) and then suddenly felt a hard kick on my leg. Reality was brought back to me.
'Yeah I'm okay,' I said, 'I was just thinking.'
He sighed, 'Well stop thinking, you look scary when you do.'
He moved his hand away and I instantly missed the contact. I blushed even though I knew it was a joke. Yori suddenly got up.
'We'd better go, we don't want to be late for class.'
We threw our garbage away and placed the trays on the table at the far end of the cafeteria. As we got out the door and walking down the stairs, with Zero walking in front, I felt a push and yelped. I saw the stairs coming closer to me as I fell and closed my eyes ready for the contact and the pain. But the pain didn't come, instead I landing softly against someone. I let out a breath, and pulled up my head, opening my eyes I looked straight into Zero's. I realized he had grabbed me at the last second. He had landed with me on top and his face was an inch from mine, our nose almost touching. His hand was on my waist while the other supported us both. As he looked at me, his grip tightened and his eyes blazed, I shivered internally at the power they held. I think I imagined his lips moved closer to mine before I heard Yori exclaim from behind me.
'Oh my gosh Yuki, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going and I just suddenly pushed you. I'm so sorry.'
I got up from our position, already the places where Zero had touched me felt cold and empty.
'It's okay Yori, I said, glaring at her, she had so done that on purpose. I looked back to Zero, 'Zero, are you okay?'
He looked at me, and raised his eyebrow at me, 'For someone so small, you sure are heavy.'
My cheeks flushed and my insides filled with rage.
'Well I'm sorry you had to save a cow like me, next time, don't bother,' I yelled.
He looked taken back for a second. I immediately regretted what I said. I knew he was only teasing but the frustrations I had been feeling for days now just came out.
'That's not what I-' Zero started before I cut him off by looking towards Yori,
'We'd better go.'
She nodded and gave Zero an apologetic look as he got up from the ground. We walked away from him. He grabbed my wrist, calling my name, my heart breaks, I pulled it away. I felt my heart stop as I felt his eyes on me until I was out of sight.
He was there in class for first period which was strange since he usually skipped to go to the stables where White Lily was. I felt his eyes on me the entire class. I didn't look at him. It's not because he had teased me, that was the least of my problems, it was the way I had reacted to the joke. I didn't want him to see me so confused and dismantled. I had to get a hold of myself. I had snapped over such a minor issue I didn't want that to happen again. And there was also the fact that I needed some distance from him if I ever wanted to get over him. Maybe this was a good opportunity. I sighed. He'll probably think I couldn't take a joke since he has no idea what's going on in my head right now.
During lunch I see him get up from the corner of my eye and my heart jumps. Mitsuki has come to sit Yori and I and is telling us about some new makeup brand, I get up and tell them I'm getting a drink. I wasn't, obviously, I couldn't eat with my stomach turning upside down every second. Yori gives me a look and I smiled to her before I left the class. I turned around when I was at the door to see him following me. I got out the door and started running. I turned the corner and kept running, he would probably look for me. Only for a while though, he'd give up soon enough, since it's only me.
I went outside, as far from the building as I could manage and sat down underneath a tree, watching a couple of boys from our class playing soccer. Groups of people pass me and I hear a number of different conversations exchanged. I close my eyes, I hadn't slept much last night and I felt tired. As I was about to doze off, someone yelled my name, I open my eyes to see a ball come towards me at, what I thought, the speed of light. I yelped, bring my arms up reflexively over my face, but I didn't feel anything hit me, I opened my eyes and saw Riku holding the ball in front of his face. He smiles widely at me.
'You should be more careful,' he says before throwing the ball back to the players.
'Thank you,' I said in a low voice.
Riku was a popular boy in our class, he was known as a player. He was taller then most boys in our class but still not as tall as Zero. He had a handsome face with deep brown eyes and soft waves of brown hair. I expected him to go continue the game he was playing before helping me, but he stood there, smiling at me. I smile back at him, it was contagious. I knew he had been playing on the field but I didn't understand why he was standing here.
'Your in the disciplinary committee aren't you?' he asked, his voice curious.
'Yeah,' I replied. I had this experience before, a number of girls and less then a handful of boys asking me to place cameras into the rooms of the night dorm or take pictures of the night class. I had refused of course. I was thinking he would ask me the same thing, but he didn't. He sat down beside me, he was sweating and he smelled of grass and sweat.
'Don't you find it annoying?' he asked instead.
I cocked my head to the side. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean protecting the student of the night class from everyone here. Doesn't it get frustrating.'
Okay. This was new. Most people thought I had the most awesome job in the world, being able to get close to the night class, I guess not. I look at the soccer field and he follows suit.
'Not really,' I said, 'I like to help out.'
He chuckled. 'Well I hope you know that if not the night class, I, in fact, appreciate your help.'
I smiled at him. He was a good guy, no wonder he had a lot of friends. 'I don't think Zero likes to help out though,' my heart jumped at the sound of his name and I quickly look at him. As if on queue, I see Zeros figure coming towards us from the other side of the field from the corner of my eye.
I quickly get to my feet, my eyes on Zero.
'Umm, I have something I have to do,' I say, finally looking at him, his eyes are filled to the brim with confusion. He probably didn't get many girls that said that to him, 'talk to you later then.'
I walk away and hear something incoherent from him. I make my way to the girls bathroom. At least I'll lose him there. Every minute that passes feels like an hour in the bathroom. When I think that breaks about over, I leave, and when I check the nearest clock, there's still a good 15 minutes left. I was walking back to my own building when I saw him again from the window. I moved to hide myself when he looks my way, I peeked to see him walk a few steps then turn then walk the other direction looking every which way. I didn't understand why he was trying so hard. Usually he didn't care what he said or what I did. I walked back to class when the bell rang. He came in a little late, panting and dishevelled. I try to avoid his eye. He came to my desk but I didn't look up. My heart thumps as he stands there looking.
'Yu-'
'Mister Kiryuu, will you please return to your seat, class is starting,' the teacher tells him. Zero hesitates for a second, but when I don't look up he leaves and goes to sit on his seat. Yori gives me a look but I try and ignore her. I don't want any kind of attention right now.
Riku, sitting a few desks away from me, turns around and looks at me when the teachers back is towards us. He smiles at me and I smile back, like I said, contagious. He moved his hand around, mouthing a sentence to me. I give him an incredulous look, how am I supposed to get a whole sentence he mouths. By now the whole class is looking at his flailing arms, so much for avoiding attention. I try to hold in my laugh when the teacher notices him. I signal for him to stop but he keeps going, thinking I understood what he said. The teacher makes his way to him, his eyes blazing and his mouth set in a straight line. He comes from behind Riku and hit's the back of Riku's head with his book. Riku yelps, sounding like a girl and the class erupts into laughter. I'm holding my stomach and my head is in my hands. I laugh so hard that tears come to my eyes and my stomach muscles contort tightly. The teacher tries to hold his laughter and gives him a hard look, letting him off with a warning. When I stop laughing I look at Yori, a smile on my face. She was laughing too and smiles at me. She leans towards me.
'Zero's smiling,' she says.
I jerk around instinctively and meet his eyes square on. The smile I love colors his face and his eyes are soft. My heart breaks and I turn around. Zero has never smiled or laughed at a joke made in class, so why was he smiling now?
As if to answer my question Yori leans in again and whispers in my ear.
'He smiled when he saw you laughing.'
I turn to her, 'You don't know that.'
She smirks at me, 'I saw it with my own eyes, he was glaring and seething at that Riku guy then when he saw you laugh he had this huge smile on his face,' she shrugs, 'I'm just telling you what I saw. And, by the way, since when have you been friends with the class player.'
'I met him just today actually, we talked a little during lunch,' I tell her shrugging and returning my attention to the teacher.
'I think he likes you,' she says looking at me, I avoid her eye, 'usually it's the girls who try to get his attention, I guess not,' she says, I see her smirking.
'Don't be ridiculous Yori, he's a player. They love all girls, he'll lose interest if I ignore him.'
She shrugs and we drop the subject. After school ends, Riku comes up to me when I have my books in my hand. I smile at him.
'What was all that about?' I ask, controlling my laughter when I remember what he had been doing. He rolls his eyes.
'I was illustrating the feather dance that male finches perform to win the heart of the female so they can mate and be merry.'
I had to hold onto something to keep from falling over. I leaned against my desk and covered my face as I laughed. I just imagined his face on the body of a bird and I just couldn't hold it in. He smiled at me, as if proud that he had made me laugh. Half my vision is obscured with a shadow and I look up to find Zero staring at me. My heart thumps and my laughing slows.
'Yuki, can I talk to you?' he says to me, his eyes hard. My stomach instantly drops and I move uncomfortably under his scrutiny.
'Um, I wanted to talk to the teacher about the test next week, so I'm going to go and see him. We can talk after disciplinary duties.'
I turn away before he can say anything else and get out of the classroom. If I talk to him now it'll just be awkward. I already avoided him talking to me over such a worthless issue, how do I explain why I've been acting the way I have. I turn the corner and go to the girls bathroom, I'll hide until the night class come out.
I stayed there for less then 10 minutes then I got out and went to the vending machine to get a drink.
Finally, I went outside to perform my duties, I didn't find Zero there. It wasn't a surprise and I was also glad that I wouldn't feel uncomfortable but a piece of my heart was still breaking. I ignore my confused emotions, sigh and perform my duties.
