well, THAT was unusually early update =.O rofl!! XDD
didnt take a month or anythin!! rofl!!
anyway, i gotta say i was a bit dissapointed dat i dont get as much reviews as i used to :( [[i juz KNEW makin it dis long was a bad idea DX think dis story's lost its touch or sumthin 3 rofl!! XDD ah well.]]
anyway, CHAPPIE 37!! XDD
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- Chapie #37! –
I don't know how long that ride took, but it sure didn't feel very long since I was asleep for most of the trip. Well, actually, we haven't even reached our stop yet.
As I slowly lifted my eyelids, I could feel my seat vibrating below me, and my neck felt a bit stiff. I stifled up a yawn as I tried to sit up straight—but I couldn't move my head.
'…Eh?'
I noticed that there was something slightly heavy on it, and my body was pretty numb from being in the same position for who knows how long, so I couldn't really tell what it was. I lifted my hand to find out what it was, and when I felt something, I widened my eyes a bit and felt my face start to heat up. I kept my hand on Kukai's hair. Not quite sure of what to do, and the numbness quickly leaving my entire body. This was definitely an awkward pose—and my hand on his head like really doesn't help at all.
I gulped as I shakily brought my hand back down, then blushed ten fold when I accidentally brushed my fingers on Kukai's lips.
'Oh crap, my neck's really starting to hurt now.' I complained in my head, a bead of sweat slipping down the side of my face.
I glanced up a bit, and spotted a lock of his orange hair fall over his face.
"...but…I don't wanna wake him up or anythi--…"
A straight expression fell on my face as a flashback of what happened this morning came into mind.
'……then again…….'
I brought a hand up and placed my index finger on the side of his head, then as I held it in place; I brought my own head back up, straight expression not leaving my face. As soon as I was sitting straight again, I suddenly separated my finger from his head and let him drop down heavily to the side.
"N-Nani?!? W-What happened?!? Car accident?!?" he suddenly yelled out, snapping out of his sleep.
He looked at me as I watched the scenery pass by behind the window. When he noticed the smirk that suddenly appeared on my face, he immediately got a hint of what just happened.
"Oi. What did you do to me just now?" he asked glumly, obviously still half-asleep.
"Nothing. Just gave you a little wake up call is all." I smiled at him.
I suddenly widened my eyes when I spotted a line of drool coming from the corner of his mouth.
'Oh God, please no….'
With a hopeless expression on my face, I looked up and slowly placed a hand on top of my head.
As predicted, I felt a slimy pool of drool on the spot where I placed my hand.
"Waaahhhh!! That is SO gross!!! Kukai, you jerk!!" I suddenly yelled out, grabbing Kukai's shirt and wiping it on my head, trying to rub off as much drool as possible.
"H-Hey!! Not on my shirt!!" Kukai protested.
"S-Shut up! This is your drool anyway!!" I argued, totally messing up my hair now, but I didn't care—as long as I get the drool out of my hair!!
"W-Well, yeah—but still!!"
)(Normal POV)(
Amu suddenly stopped wiping her head, and let out a sigh, keeping Kukai's shirt on her head and covering most of her face.
"There is no way I'm going out looking like how I am now." She mumbled.
Kukai widened his eyes a bit at what she said, and then felt a bit guilty about what happened, though he really didn't do it on purpose.
"Hey, umm—sorry. I didn't mean to do that…" Kukai started.
"…anything I can do to help?"
Amu didn't reply for a few seconds, and then she slowly brought her hand up and pointed at one her bags up on the luggage tray above them.
"…I have a brush in that bag—mind getting it for me?" she mumbled.
Kukai glanced up and spotted her pink and black striped shoulder bag.
"Sure, I don't mind—but, there's just one problem." Kukai grumbled lazily.
"…and what is that?"
Kukai waited a few minutes before replying—almost like he was giving a little time for Amu to try to figure it out herself.
"…How can I get it when you're clinging onto my shirt?" Kukai sweat dropped.
Amu blushed lightly as Kukai said that, and realization hit her hard on the head.
"…I-I knew that…" she lied.
Kukai just rolled his eyes.
"…Right. Sure you did."
Amu brainstormed during the few seconds that they stayed silent. She couldn't cling to Kukai's shirt for the whole trip!!
"……….Take off your shirt."
"……………."
"……………."
"……I'm sorry, wha--?" Kukai stared at her, his face somewhere between bewildered, shocked, stupefied, dumbfounded, and pissed. It was a combo-platter of all expressions mentioned.
"….Take off your shirt..." Amu repeated.
"…I asked if I could help you!—Not strip for you!" Kukai protested, blushing a bright red.
A vein suddenly popped up on Amu's forehead as soon as he said that.
'What does he think I am!? Some kind of pervert!?'
"Exactly. You asked if you could help, right? Well, I really need that brush, and if I remove this shirt from my head now, your spit will start to dry, and it'll be harder to brush." She went on.
"….Well, okay, but…" Kukai muttered.
"Don't worry. I won't look if that's what you were thinking." Amu pointed out, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"T-That's not what I was thinki--!" Kukai cut himself off with a sigh.
He knew arguing with her any further wouldn't get him anywhere.
"…Fine—but this calls even for what happened this morning."
"…fine."
With a shrug, he slid out of his shirt and let it fall over Amu's head.
Amu widened her eyes when she felt his shirt fall loosely over her. She didn't expect him to really take it off, especially since Kukai has a habit of never letting anybody tell him what to do.
She blushed a light shade when he placed his hand on her head and got up to get her bag. She could've sworn that she heard some camera flashes and a couple of girls gasp.
'Oh crap, this isn't good.' She thought as she widened her eyes.
Amu knew exactly what would go on when these kinds of things happen. Rumors would spread, girls would go crazy, and, without a doubt, Amu would be included in all of that! She wondered if Kukai was as concerned as she was.
Discreetly, she took a peak at Kukai's expression, trying her best not to glance at his torso. Then she suddenly widened her eyes when she saw that Kukai wasn't panicked at all. He just had a blank expression on his face, totally oblivious to all the cameras flashing right now. Then for a brief moment, he took a glance at Amu, then just let out a sympathetic smile, as if to say 'heh, don't worry. I'll handle this as soon as things get out of hand.'
Amu blushed a light shade of pink before burying her face back in Kukai's shirt.
'Tch.'
Kukai sat back down and rubbed the back of his head, slightly annoyed at the sight of all the boys of his class hooting and wolf-whistling.
"Here—your brush." Kukai said.
Amu didn't move from her position, still a bit nervous to look up.
Kukai just scratched his head as he looked at her—or more specifically—his shirt.
"Oi, you can look now. I don't really mind, now that half of the high school department saw me shirtless." He laughed.
Amu still didn't budge. That fact didn't help at all, coz it just rubbed in that this was all her fault.
"…hey, the more you hesitate, the longer I have to go shirtless, you know that?.." Kukai laughed.
"…'sides, you wanna brush your hair or don't you?"
Well, that was true.
Hesitantly, Amu peaked out of his shirt again, and blushed a bright scarlet red when the first thing she saw was Kukai's bare torso.
"Gah!" she squeaked as she backed herself up until she touched the window.
She shivered as she pulled down Kukai's shirt to cover her face again.
"…Oy, don't be so shy." Kukai sweat dropped.
"…Besides, didn't you already see me half-naked when we went to the beach?"
When it looked like she wasn't going to give in any time soon, he just sighed and poured some of his bottled water on her brush.
Amu was surprised when Kukai suddenly, but gently pulled his shirt off her head, and started brushing her hair back.
She couldn't do anything but just watch dumbfounded as Kukai leaned over and just kept brushing for her. It stayed like that for a couple of seconds before she snapped out of it when a drop of water hit her nose.
"O-Oi, What do you think you're doing?—and, why is my brush so wet?" she asked as she tried to brush his arm away.
"Oy, don't struggle! I thought you wanted to brush your hair?" Kukai protested.
"Yeah, I wanted brush my hair." Amu exaggerated the 'I'
"…And please answer my second question—this better not be more drool!" she joked around a bit.
Suddenly, Amu kinda regretted what she just said when a serious expression suddenly washed over Kukai's face as he backed away from her a bit.
"…As if…I would ever do something like that…" Kukai said as he looked straight into Amu's eyes.
He looked down at the brush before continuing.
"…I just poured some water on it to help wash off the spit a bit. Sorry if—you were against it."
He threw the brush lightly at Amu's direction, and Amu caught it unsteadily with both her hands.
"….Kukai…." she muttered softly.
He slid back into his shirt, starting to get the chills, before he let out a sigh and rest his chin on the palm of his hand, and his elbow on the armrest of the seat. Then he just gazed off into space, a blank expression on his face.
As Amu watched him for a few seconds, she could've actually felt sorry for him—if she hadn't known him so well.
"Hai, hai. You can quit the act now, Kukai." She said, lightly karate-chopping his head, making him widen his eyes in surprise.
"…Eh?" Kukai faced her.
Amu grabbed the brush and started brushing her hair back, feeling it still slightly frizzy at the back.
"I know you all too well to fall for something like that, Kukai." she smirked.
He was left speechless for a few seconds as he stared at her. Then he suddenly let out a loud guffaw.
"What, you saw through me that quickly? I really have been wearing off on you." He laughed.
Amu couldn't help but smile at the sight of him grinning again. It would be impossible for her to get used to him all gloomy. That's just not how Kukai would act. That wouldn't be Kukai at all.
* - * - * - *
)(Amu POV)(
"Yosh! Finally!" Kukai yelled out in relief as the bus came to a halt in an empty parking space.
"Geez, it's about time. My legs were really starting to get stiff!"
He stretched his legs under the seat in front of us and let out a yawn to prove his point. I just let out a weak smile with a straight expression as I got up along with everyone else. Multiple groans filled the air and arms stretched up. It felt as if we all just finished watching a long boring movie at the cinema.
"Oy! Go do your groaning outside! Just listening to it makes me sick." A yell suddenly came from the driver's seat.
I widened my eyes a bit when I noticed that his voice sounded somewhat familiar.
I just shrugged as I got my bag from the above luggage tray and placed my brush back in. I forgot to put it back during the rest of the trip, and had to hold it in my hand the whole time. With one last stretch, Kukai got up from his seat and grabbed his bag as well. As he slung it over his shoulder, he just smiled at me and headed towards the bus door, and I followed. As we walked along, I spied on Tadase's seat to check if he was still there. It was empty.
'Hm, I guess sensei needed his help outside the bus as well.'
As I was about to exit the bus, I took a glance at the driver's seat, and I widened my eyes when I saw his brown curls and familiar childish features again.
"Ah, It's you!" I proclaimed as I pointed at him like some kid would point at a monkey in a zoo.
"…What are you doing here?!" I asked.
I was just glad that all the other students went ahead of me already, otherwise I would be totally embarrassing myself right now. The only one besides me and him that was in earshot, was Kukai, who was currently just watching me with utter curiosity and a 'you guys know each other?!' kind of look on his face.
He tilted his snow cap up a bit to see just who it was that acknowledged him as an alienated outsider with a bored expression on his face. As soon as his eyes landed on a strawberry-pink headed girl, whose index finger was apparently directed at him, he widened his eyes a bit.
"…Hey, if it isn't the rain-soaked girl from that time. Had any recent good showers out on the streets lately?" He teased with a smirk.
"S-Shut up…" I forced on a twitching smile.
I didn't want to freak out in front of him after seeing each other again for only 10 seconds.
"A-Anyway, what are you doing here?—and as our bus driver? What happened to your cab driving career?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, I still am a cab driver, I just wanted to temporarily work as a bus driver today to earn some extra cash." He grinned at me.
"O-Oh, well, then do you want to come along with me and Kukai for the field trip? It looks like you have nothing else to do anyway—uh…" I thought back and realized that I never even got his name yet.
'Oh geez, why is it that I always forget to ask about the important stuff?' I sweat dropped.
"Uhh, sorry, what was your name again?" I scratched my head awkwardly.
He looked up at the ceiling calmly before he replied.
"…It's Eric." He closed his eyes for a brief moment then opened them up again and faced me.
"…Eric Dalton." He smiled.
A light blush crawled up my cheeks. That smile. I don't know why, but—it somehow made me feel happy…but also a bit sad as well. An instant flashback came back to me, and I remembered why I always had these strange feelings every time I talk with Eric. – He reminds me of someone. Someone who could always make my heart jump with just one smirk. Soon enough, it wasn't Eric's face that I saw behind that smile—but someone else's.
I quickly brushed the thought away, not wanting to remember anything I don't want to remember—or better off forgotten.
Eric just looked at me with an eyebrow raised, sensing something wasn't right.
"Anyway, I can't. I have to park this old rust bucket in the parking space that they provided for us. They only allowed me to park here for a few minutes to drop off all the students." He said, trying to get back to the subject and snap me out of my thoughts.
"A-Ah, --Okay then…" I stuttered.
"…See you later then, I guess."
As I stepped down the bus, I took a quick glance at him again. He had his hands behind his head in a relaxed way and was staring out at the window shield, a blank expression on his face.
I didn't know how, but—there was definitely something unusual about this guy…
- End of Chapie -
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I apologize if i added 2 much kukamu =w= juz dat my frend is a total kukamu luver, and took advantage of the opportunity since i owe her a lot. hahaha!! XDD
[[o crap. school starts agen in 4 days TT^TT]]
PLZ REVIEW!! XDD [[even if its just a simple 'i hate it' =3]]
-ittadakimasu!!- XP