Due to Josh being in the hospital and all…this chapter was warped a bit. Chloe, Emily, and I (Lizzy -) tried to paste together a chapter based on the side notes josh scribbles in the margins, wat a weirdo. XP.
Josh typed up the beginning and we just kinda took over from there. Theres been a BIG change in plans about Ji, but I think its better this way, personally. More time for Xun x Xiao.
Reveiws:
Okibimaru- no need to worry! Ji isn't even in this chapter so she can't do anything mean…yet )
Absolute Wings- sorry but the repercussions of the prank will have to wait till Monday. Doesn't it make sense tho that for someone to be as cold-hearted as Lu Bu they would have some pretty terrifying parents?
Gan Li- sorry if the prank was obvious. It'll take a while for josh to fix the pairings votes but yours will be there soon.
Chapter 12
It was 9:15 as Xun ran darted down the stairs. He was holding his hat with one hand and his book in the other, hoping that Upperclassman Ji wouldn't be mad at him for being late. Running past a crowd of Shu students, he jumped the last 4 steps and slid slightly on the wood floor. Grabbing onto the railing, he anchored himself from falling and ran down the hallway toward the library. He refrained from slamming open the door and he stood there for a moment, scanning the room for Ji. She was nowhere to be seen.
Not sure what else to do, Xun sat at one of the desks and read a stray book that was laying there. Flipping through the pages, he glanced over the words and his rapid heartbeat slowed. After half-an-hour he looked at his watch. Where was Ji? Maybe he heard her wrong last night… had she meant 10 o'clock? Maybe Sunday? Oh well, no harm in waiting a little longer…
"Morning Xun."
Xun jumped, looking over his shoulder at Zhang He.
"G-Good Morning, sir." Xun replied
"Are you waiting for Ji?" Zhang asked
Xun nodded
"Is she ok?" Xun asked
"She seems to have a bit of a hangover from last night. She's not feeling well and sent me to tell you. She said she'd get back to you about that soon though." Zhang explained
"Oh…please tell her I hope she feels better soon. Many of my classmates are also bed-ridden today." Xun smiled sheepishly
"As is expected. I also heard something happened in Lu Bu's office…" Zhang trailed off
"What happened?" Xun asked, head tilted to one side
"You'd probably find it more enjoyable if you saw it yourself. He won't be back till Monday but that's long enough for his anger to build. Be careful what you say around him next week." Zhang warned
"Yes, sir." Xun nodded once
Xun replaced the book on it's respected shelf and left the library. If he hurried he might still be able to get some breakfast…
"Xunnie!"
Xun turned and smiled when he saw Xiao running down the hallway toward him. She run up to him and slipped her hand into his.
"How did the project go?" Xiao asked
"Well, Upperclassman Ji isn't feeling well so she had to call in a rain-check." Xun laughed nervously
"Oh…that's too bad…" Xiao said softly
They walked in comfortable silence to the cafeteria. They got a few odd stares on the way and Xun could feel his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Risking a quick glance at Xiao, she was whistling and bobbing her head to the beat of her own little tune. She didn't appear to be bothered at all by the stares. In the cafeteria, after grabbing their trays they sat at the Wu table. The cafeteria was barren save for a few students, many of which appeared to be sporting massive headaches.
"Hey Xun, I was wondering if you wanted to come into town with me. Theres a flea market and they always have realy really cute things! Please come with me!" Xiao begged
"Ah, o-okay" Xun replied
"Yay!" Xiao sang
Xiao hurried to finish breakfast and Xun quickly finished his slice of toast. Once outside, they stood at the bus stop waiting. The bus was scheduled to be there any moment now and some other students were also standing there.
"Oi! Shorty with the hat!" Guan Ping called
"I'm not short" Xun replied, crossing his arms
"Whatever, what time is it?" Ping asked
"9:58" Xun read from his watch
"Argh…why can't time go by faster?! Why midget?!" Ping wailed
"I'm not a midget…" Xun sulked
"Shut up! You're a midget! Face the facts!"
"Stop being such a meanie!" Xiao stuck her tongue out at Ping
"Well, we can tell whose wearing the pants in this relationship." Ping laughed
"You're really cruel, Ping" another student laughed
Xun cried inwardly, and Xiao patted his head comfortingly.
"He doesn't mean anything by that. He's just grumpy 'cuz your cuter." Xiao said
THAT woke Xun up. He cheeks flushed and he tried to hide it behind his messy hair. He mumbled something but Xiao giggled.
"C'mon Xunnie! The bus is here!"
"Ah, r-right." Xun stammered
On the bus, they were startled to find that most of the seats were already full. Apparently many other people had the same idea to go to the flea market. Xiao took a seat an empty seat and Xun scanned the seats for any available ones. None were open so he stood in the cramped aisle.
(some time later)
"AW! These are so cute! And these too!" Xiao looked around excitedly
Xiao was darting about the busy streets from one vendor to another. Xun, holding her bag, was having some trouble keeping up.
"Xiao…" Xun laughed as she showed him yet another trinket
"Over there! C'mon Xunnie!" Xiao giggled, taking his free hand
Xun let himself be led along and she pulled him into a booth. Something bright flashed 6 times and it took him a second to realize it was taking pictures. Once outside again, Xiao plucked the pictures from the slot.
"Your so cute Xunnie!" Xiao smiled
"Wh-wha?" Xun blushed
Looking at the pictures, Xun was dismayed to see that his expression in all the pictures was startled. In none of them did he look as calm as he had hoped to. Xiao was beautiful…in every picture. Heck, she was beautiful even now….
"Hm? What wrong?" Xiao asked
"Ah, n-nothing" Xun mumbled
Xun looked away quickly. How could he let himself get caught staring?! Shes gonna think hes a creep now! Stupid Xun! Stupid!
"Oh! Look over there! Can we go watch the play?! Please?" Xiao asked
"Sure" Xun laughed lightly
The seats were crowded and there was only space for one of them.
"Go ahead and sit. I'll sit on the ground." Xun offered
"No, you sit first and I'll sit on your lap." Xiao said
Xun's whole face flushed red and his throat felt dry and scratchy. WHAT HAD SHE JUST SAID?!
"N-n-no no no, th-that's o-ok" Xun stammered
"Plea-"
"SHHH!!" the spectators all glared
"S-sorry!" Xiao and Xun chorused
"That's was fun wasn't it?" Xun smiled
"Yup! I loved the little boy with the dog! They were so cute!" Xiao exclaimed
Xun laughed, fixing his hat and readjusting his grip on the shopping bags. The streets were crowded and the sun shone high above. It was abnormally hot for the time of year and Xun missed the cool breeze from just a few moments before.
"Do you want to get some lunch? There's a diner over there." Xun pointed as best as he could
"Sure!"
Inside, they took their seats. Xun was glad for the air conditioning due to the fact he was wearing long sleeves. It's not supposed to get this hot…
"So, how do you like Han High so far?" Xiao asked
"It's a good school. Granted, it's filled with some interesting characters but it's still nice." Xun shrugged playfully
"Am I one of the interesting characters?"
"That depends…do you want to be?"
"Sure!"
"Well then yes, you are."
Xiao laughed.
"When are you gonna lose the sling?" Xiao asked
"Wha? Um…I'm not sure…s-sometime soon I think…"Xun said slowly
"Yay! It doesn't hurt anymore, right?"
"No, of course not."
"That's good."
After lunch, they boarded the bus back to school. Xun managed to get a seat next to Xiao this time and ignored the taunting of Guan Ping in the rear section of the bus. It wasn't his fault he was slightly shorter
then just about everyone! Back at the school, they took the long route back to the classroom. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Xun stopped walked.
"Xunnie? Whats wrong?" Xiao asked
"N-nothings wrong…I-I just…" Xun stammered
Xun's cheeks were flushing red. He reached into a bag, rummaging around and finally pulling out a small white box with a gold ribbon. Blushing uncontrollably, he handed it Xiao.
"I-I bought this for you." Xun mumbled
Xiao took the present and gently pulled the ribbon off and gingerly lifted the lid. Her eyes widened as she looked down at a small, silver heart locket with a keyhole. It sparkled in the light and rivaled even the night stars in brightness.
"Xun…it's beautiful…" Xiao said
Xun smiled sheepishly, holding up a small key on a similar silver chain around his own neck.
"I-I hope you d-don't think it's too straight forward o-or anything. I-if you don't like it y-"
Xiao cut off Xun with a tight hug… and a kiss. He took a startled half-step back and his entire face burned redder than his hat.
"I love it, Xunnie. It's almost as pretty as your eyes." Xiao whispered
Xun was speechless. Who could blame him, she was standing so close.
"Y-your eyes are prettier…" Xun mumbled, face turning redder if it was possible
It was Xiao's turn to blush. The distance between them got smaller and smaller-
"Holy Crap!!"
Xiao and Xun both jumped, neither had noticed at Tong and Ning had rounded the corner. Tong had been the one to exclaim which caused Xiao and Xun to step away to a safe distance. Ning hit Tong over the head.
"You shouldn't have said anything idiot." Ning scolded
"How could I not be surprised?! This is completely out of character for the shrimp!" Tong argued
"You were trying to watch weren't you?" Xiao licked her lips teasingly
The trio of boys were gapping. Had Xiao just… Xun was embarrassed to the point that his cheeks hurt. Tong and Ning burst out laughing and Xiao giggled.
"Um…I-I'm gonna go…" Xun stammered
"Aw! That's no fun Xunnie!" Xiao pouted
"Yeah, pipsqueak, don't leave her stranded" Ning laughed
Xun said a hasty good-bye before escaping down the hall. That was so embarrassing! But it was fun…
Okay, quick vote here, who has a new nickname for Xun? So far we have: shrimp, pipsqueak, hated midget, shorty nerd jr.. Those are getting kinda old so if anyone has any more that would help.