Chapter Seven
July, 2018
The bell rings. Michi collapses onto her desk with a groan. "It's so hot."
"It's cooler in the empty classroom," Sayuri offers. "You can study there."
"It's too hot to study." Michi shrugs off her jacket and faceplants back on the desk.
"Hey, Sayuri-chan, Michi-chan, there's a card tournament going on in class 2-A," Nagisa says, hopping to his feet. "Wanna play?"
Sayuri shakes her head. "Kaname and I have a student council meeting."
"That we should get to," her brother adds, rising to his feet. "Ready, Yuri?"
Sayuri nudges Michi. "You gonna be okay?"
Michi opens one eye reluctantly. Even blurry, Sayuri looks amazing. The stifling heat in the classroom doesn't seem to bother her. Her face isn't even flushed. Michi closes her eyes again. "I'll live."
"I'll get you an ice cream when I come back," Sayuri promises.
"Don't die, Michi-chan." Nagisa pats her frizzy head. "It's almost summer break."
Michi flaps a hand at him. "Go on, Poker King. Don't worry about me."
"It's Poker Emperor now," Nagisa corrects, his tone innocent. "Since last week."
Michi wrinkles her nose at him. "Go defend your title, you scary human."
"Don't die, okay?" Nagisa pats her head again and bounces off. Michi rolls her head around to look at Jirou. "Hey, Kirishima~"
"I'm not getting you anything, Tachibana." Jirou gets to his feet. "Go to the cafeteria yourself, you bum."
"But it's hot," she moans. Jirou snorts and walks away. She glares at his back and flops down again. At least now the classroom's empty, and she can sleep.
She's dozing off when cool fingers press against her forehead. "I'm fine Sayuri," she mumbles, not opening her eyes.
"No fever," says a low voice overhead that definitely isn't Sayuri's. Michi's head snaps up. Tatsuya lowers his hand. His dark blue eyes are vaguely curious. "Are you sick?"
"What? No," she stammers, caught off guard. "It's just hot, is all."
Tatsuya regards her gravely. His face is expressionless, as usual. She can never quite tell what's going on behind those perfect features. "It's summer."
"I know," she says, not sure if he's mocking her. She rests her chin on her forearms again. "I just don't do well in the heat, is all."
Tatsuya looks down at her for a moment longer, and walks back to his seat. Michi closes her eyes again. That was weird.
Minutes tick by. She risks a glance over her shoulder.
Tatsuya blinks sleepily at her. She ducks her head again, embarrassed, but he's already reaching up to take an earbud out. He offers it to her wordlessly. She stares at him a moment, and tentatively takes it.
Electric guitar explodes in her eardrum. She flinches. Whatever she was expecting, it hadn't been that. Tatsuya tilts his head. "You don't like it?"
Michi scrunches up her nose, listening. "Linkin Park?"
"Yeah." Tatsuya relaxes a little. "You know them?"
"Just a few of their songs," she admits. "I like 'Numb'."
He nods. "Yeah," he says, and leans back against the window and closes his eyes. Michi turns around in her seat so that earbud doesn't pull free and props her chin on one hand, staring out the window. Tatsuya's profile is reflected against the distant sakuras. His dark lashes are incredibly long.
Stop staring, Mich. Don't be a creep. She looks away. Maybe it's just her imagination, but the classroom seems a little cooler. She settles her chin on her arms and closes her eyes, electric guitar thrumming in her left ear.
"Michi." Sayuri's shaking her shoulder gently. "Class is about to start."
Michi lifts her head and looks around sleepily. Tatsuya is still sound asleep against the window. Jirou and Nagisa are at their desks, chatting. Students are piling back inside the classroom over the sound of Chester Bennington screaming in her ear.
She pulls out the ear bud and yawns. "Mmkay. How was the meeting?"
"The usual. The student council president wants me to run for student council next semester." Sayuri picks up the fallen earbud and inserts it curiously. She makes a face. "Loud," she comments, setting it back on the desk. Michi shrugs. "He likes Linkin Park. And Three Days Grace." And a bunch of other heavy rock I didn't know anyone besides my dad listens to.
"Hm," is all Sayuri says. Kaname is trying to wake Tatsuya behind them. "I'm glad you two are getting along."
"We didn't exactly talk," Michi mutters. Sayuri just smiles and bends her head over the history textbook. Kaname is talking softly behind them to Tatsuya. Michi pricks up her ears, but the teacher is calling for quiet.
"Thanks for letting me listen to your music," she says when they're packing up their bags. Tatsuya shrugs, his face as impassive as ever.
"I don't think he likes me," she tells Sayuri later, as they're walking back home.
"Tatsuya's quiet." Sayuri tilts her head thoughtfully. A cherry blossom spirals down to kiss her cheek as it flutters by. "But I don't think he's the kind of person who would talk to you if he didn't like you."
Michi frowns. "He didn't really talk to me. He just checked to see if I had a fever and gave me an earbud. It wasn't like how he is with you. He talks to you."
"Yeah, but he knows me." Sayuri shrugs. "I'm his best friend's little sister. He doesn't know you. He was probably just shy."
"Maybe," Michi says dubiously.
"He doesn't dislike you, Michi," Kaname says unexpectedly. He had been walking behind them all this time in silence. Michi hadn't thought he was listening. "But that doesn't mean he likes me," she protests.
"Maybe that's what he's trying to figure out." Kaname's green eyes are amused. She has the feeling he knows more than he's letting on, but she doesn't push it. Talking to Kaname is always a slightly intimidating experience.
Sayuri links her arm through Michi's. "So Chi asked me to be vice president of the student council next semester," she says.
"I thought you didn't want to join the student council?"
"I don't, but Chi says it's good scholarship material and it could be a good experience." Sayuri's green-grey eyes are thoughtful. Michi's starting to pick up on the mood behind each color; grey can mean either pensive or troubled, depending. She isn't sure which one fits today.
"Vice secretary is a lot of work, right?" she says. "Why don't you ask if you can have a smaller role and work your way up to it, if you decide you want it?"
"Maybe." Sayuri kicks at a pebble lying on the sidewalk. "Chi usually doesn't take no for an answer."
"Clearly she hasn't met you yet," Michi says, and a faint flush warms Sayuri's fair skin. "I'll think about it," she says, and squeezes Michi's arm. "Want to finish that anime tonight?"
"I would, but I have to study," Michi groans. "Finals are in three weeks."
"We can study together. I have notes for science and math."
"You are a goddess."
Sayuri grins. "I have to beat Jirou. I told him the loser this round has to buy the whole group ice cream for the last day of class."
"You'd better win," Kaname says wryly. "Dad won't up your allowance, you know."
"I won't need it." Sayuri smiles wickedly. Michi laughs. "I'm betting on you. And hey, come summer break we can finally finish that anime."
"Mm." Sayuri squeezes her arm again. "I'm looking forward to it."
Michi smiles. "Me too."
She almost forgets about her encounter with Tatsuya, until the next day.
The stifling heat has finally cooled to a bearable level, but Michi still feels hot and moody by the time lunch rolls around.
"Nagisa and I are running across the street to get some popsicles," Sayuri says, getting to her feet and stretching. "Want to come?"
Michi shakes her head. "Too hot," she says, yawning. Sayuri shrugs. "Okay. Want me to get you anything?"
"Mm, I'm good. See you later."
"See you." Sayuri glances up at Jirou, who's looming behind Nagisa. "Shouldn't you be studying?"
"Ha ha. I want to get something, too."
"Jirou's paying," Nagisa says cheerfully. Jirou sputters.
"Really? I'll come too, then. Thanks Jirou." Kaname smiles.
Michi watches them go, her chin propped on one hand. Sayuri's oblivious as ever to the stares, and Nagisa seems blissfully unaware of his fan club crowding behind them at a safe distance, trying to 'accidentally' bump elbows with their idol. But Jirou and Kaname are bringing up the rear, forming a human wall between the group and the rest of the class, and even their fans don't try to bump them. Jirou's pale gaze is royally aloof as it sweeps the classroom, and Kaname's small smile is as unreadable as ever. Michi rolls her eyes. The squealing and stage-whispering has finally died down, but girls still gasp and swoon when one of the princes happens to make eye contact.
She glances curiously over her shoulder at Tatsuya, the only remaining member of the Flower Princes. To her surprise, he's awake and looking back at her.
"Too hot to sleep?" she asks. Tatsuya shakes his head. "You?"
She shrugs. "I forgot my iPod."
He pulls his out wordlessly. Michi takes the earbud he offers to her, hesitates, and comes around to sit in Kaname's spot beside him. Tatsuya doesn't seem to mind. He leans his head against the window and closes his eyes. Michi lays her head down on Kaname's biology textbook, the white headphone wire trailing across her cheek. Metallica moans in her ear. Tatsuya's face is as relaxed as if he's listening to classical music. Her lips quirk. Such a weird human.
All the princes are weird in their own way, she supposes; Nagisa, with his crazy photographic memory and uncanny ability to sense when she's lying. Jirou's the stereotypical shoujo protagonist, with his effortlessly perfect grades and rich family and snarky tsundere personality. Kaname, too, reminds her of some dark anime prince, the kind that calmly plots the downfall of kingdoms while smiling gently. Even Sayuri is so unassumingly perfect that sometimes Michi forgets she's abnormally so.
But if Tatsuya's a stereotypical character, then she's never seen that kind of shoujo. Other than his looks, he doesn't really have anything that would mark him as a main character. All he does is stay up late playing video games and sleep in class. She does that.
She sneaks another peek at him through her bangs. His head has slumped down onto his shoulder, his chest rising and falling gently in beat to the pounding drums in her ear. Even asleep, he's pretty, his dark lashes curving against his cheek, the sunlight playing over the perfect slant of his nose. His skin is even more immaculate than Sayuri's. Michi wrinkles her nose. Does the boy not have pores?
The song changes. She blinks in surprise. It's an acoustic version, not the muffled screaming she's grown used to. With a sigh, she settles down to nap.
It becomes a tradition for those three weeks leading up to summer break. Even Sayuri gradually stops asking her to tag along on one of Nagisa's endless adventures during the lunch break. Michi waits for most of the fan clubs to clear out before moving to Kaname's desk, but eventually Tatsuya only revives long enough after the bell to lean over, pop the earbud in her ear without waiting for her to get up, and collapse back onto his desk. She gives up and just turns in her chair to face him after that.
She also discovers that no matter how hot the classroom gets, the air around Tatsuya stays cool. She dismisses it as a shoujo thing, and takes full advantage of it. If he's startled to wake up and see her head nestled beside his, her face tilted up to receive as much cool air as possible, he never says anything.
And, eventually, after a week and a half has passed and she spends less time napping and more time hunched over her books, cramming for finals, they start to talk. Tatsuya isn't exactly a conversationalist at the best of times, but he doesn't seem to mind listening, and he's good at biology, which still baffles her. And she knows, when he abruptly leans against the window, that he's done with socializing for the day, and she doesn't mind the sudden silence, except when he falls asleep on her textbook.
It's a queer little friendship– almost not something she thinks of as a friendship at all– but she's glad for it. Tatsuya doesn't seek her out, like he does Sayuri, but lunch break is their time, a time he spends only with her, and she likes that. She likes knowing that at least he talks to her because he wants to, not because he's taking pity on Sayuri's friend, like she sometimes suspects Nagisa and Kaname do. She likes the idea that even as a side character, she can still be friends with the princes.
And, as petty as it is, she likes how the pitying or malicious eyes of the other girls change to envy when she's not sitting by herself at lunch anymore.
"Have you heard this song?" Tatsuya pushes the iPod towards her. She leans forward, feeling the jealous gazes of half the class on her. "Oh, Breaking Benjamin? Yeah, I like them. Do you know Diary of Jane?"
Tatsuya reaches out and flicks a fingertip across the screen. Diary of Jane starts playing in Michi's left ear. She grins- she still finds it funny how he only speaks if it's his last resort- and reaches for the iPod. The now-familiar thrill trickles through her as their fingers brush. Someone behind her actually sighs.
Tatsuya tilts his head to look past her at the cluster of swooning fan girls. They squeak and clutch their chests. "Kyaa!"
"You must be used to it," Michi says, trying to read his expression. "With your uncle being famous and all."
Tatsuya looks away. "Loud," he mumbles.
She stares at him, surprised. She always thought that the whispering and stares never bothered him. She takes her earbud out and pushes her chair back. "I know a quiet place," she offers impulsively. "Where there aren't any people."
Tatsuya's impassive expression flickers. He slowly pockets his iPod and takes out his earbud. The girls behind them whimper as he gets up.
The hallway is mostly empty, but people still stop and stare as she walks past, trailing Tatsuya. She has to resist the urge to keep twisting back to check on him. The boy walks like a cat, all languid grace and absentmindedness. She almost loses him when she turns down the staircase and he wanders right past.
The entryway is packed with students. Someone set a desk up in the middle of the locker room, and two students are bent over it, shuffling their cards as everyone else watches intently. No one's paying any attention to the stairway. Michi grabs Tatsuya's arm and holds a finger to her lips. He blinks, and nods. They move silently past the tournament.
One of the students at the desk looks up. Michi can recognize that curly golden mop anywhere. She freezes, but Nagisa only winks at her and deals out a card with a flourish. His opponent groans. The audience cheers. Michi hustles out the door before anyone can notice them.
She forgets she's still holding Tatsuya's wrist until he stops short, jerking her back. She lets go quickly, blushing. "Sorry! I didn't want people to see." The girls hate me enough already.
Tatsuya surveys the tennis court, blinking in the glaring light reflecting off the green-and-white ground. He looks vaguely discomfited. She guesses his question. "It's right behind here," she says, ducking past the chain-link fence surrounding the court. Maple trees grow alongside it, casting the back of the school building in shadow, but there's a small grassy clearing between them and the brick wall.
"I found it months ago," Michi says proudly. "No one ever comes here. And you can't see anyone because of the trees and the fence. Isn't it great?"
Tatsuya doesn't say anything, but his face clears. He wanders over to a maple, plops down on the grass, and blinks up at the fragments of sunlight filtering through the branches. Michi curls up next to him and waits as he digs through his pocket. He sets the iPod carefully down in the grass between them and passes her an earbud. She smiles and takes it.
"Where were you?" Sayuri asks later, as she slips back into the classroom just before the teacher. Shishio-sensei gives her a reproachful look as he follows her inside, and Michi ducks her head apologetically. She'd run to the restroom as she and Tatsuya were heading back to class, so that she wouldn't come in with him. She doesn't really care about what the other kids think anymore -the girls glare at her regardless- but Kaname's started to comment on how much time she spends with Tatsuya, and she doesn't want Sayuri getting any ideas. Bad things happen to rival characters in shoujo, after all.
Sayuri finds out anyway, that afternoon.
"It looks like you and Tatsuya became friends after all," Kaname says cheerfully, setting his lunch box down next to Sayuri's. "The spot behind the tennis court is nice, isn't it?"
Michi chokes on her juice.
"Tennis court?" Sayuri asks curiously, patting Michi on the back as she coughs. Kaname smiles. "Michi found Tatsuya a place where he can listen to his music in peace."
"Oh, so that's where you guys were." Sayuri sets her chin on Michi's shoulder, smiles enchantingly, and steals a piece of her orange chicken. "That's cool. Just make sure he doesn't make you late for class."
"You can come with us next time," Michi says guiltily. Sayuri tilts her head and steals another piece of chicken. "No, it's okay. I don't want to encroach on your time with Tatsuya," she says, chewing thoughtfully. "I think it's good that you two have your quiet time. Just let me know before you vanish, okay? Nagisa told me you went off together, but I worried when class was about to start and you still weren't there."
"Oh, I think someone will let you know," Michi says, eyeing Kaname. He smiles serenely and takes another bite of his bread.
"Yes, but I'd rather you tell me," Sayuri says seriously. "What if something happens and I can't find you?"
Michi opens her mouth to say that that's silly, that nothing happens at school, and closes it again. This is a story, after all. Just because they're still in middle school and nothing major has happened yet doesn't mean nothing will.
"Okay," she says, and wraps her arms protectively around her bento box as Sayuri reaches for a third piece. "And eat your own lunch."
Sayuri blinks innocently, a dab of sauce on her chin. "I already finished mine."
"Yuri, it's rude to take someone's food without asking," Kaname says, reaching around his sister to spear the last piece of orange chicken. Michi glares at them as Sayuri giggles. "Okay, you both owe me a red bean bun."
Kaname chuckles and stands. "I'll get you three. You can choose."
"Bribery won't work on me," Michi says loftily, following him out the door.
"I can see that. Do you want milk bread, too?"
"Yes please."
It's too hot today to leave the air-conditioned classroom. Michi lifts her head to stare lethargically out the window. A stray curl sticks to her cheek, tickling her neck. It's too hot even for her hair to frizz. It clings to her clammy skin in thick damp strands. She lifts it away and fans the nap of her neck with a groan. She hates the heat.
Tatsuya stirs beside her. Like the other princes, the humid summer weather doesn't seem to affect him besides making him even sleepier than usual. He's fast asleep on the desk, music playing faintly from one ear. She reaches for his iPod and scrolls idly down the list of songs, trying to find as many acoustic versions as she can. I don't know how he sleeps, listening to all this screaming.
She pauses mid-scroll. This album has only one song, and it's not heavy rock or metal. It's the pop song she mentioned yesterday, while they were studying biology. One of her favorites.
Her finger hovers over the play button. She turns the iPod off and pushes it away. A thought niggles at the back of her mind, half-formed, but she pushes that away, too.
She lies back down on the desk and rests her cheek on her outspread arm. The space around Tatsuya is noticeably cooler than the rest of the classroom, as usual. She inches closer and closes her eyes. The tips of his inky hair tickle her nose. She breathes in the cool clean smell of snow. She had never known snow had a smell before she met Tatsuya, but there's no other way to describe it. The corners of her mouth curl sleepily. Another good shoujo thing.
Voices wake her from her dozing. She sighs, not opening her eyes. She doesn't recognize the voices, but she knows the tone. The girls are whispering about the princes, and loudly.
The voices move closer. Now she can make out the words.
"That's him, right?"
"Who's the girl with him?"
"Just a friend. Aoi said…"
"Go on, Misa! This is your chance!"
Michi's eyes snap open. She raises her head.
Three girls are hovering in the doorway. The middle one, a tall, pretty auburn-haired girl, is blushing profusely and shifting from foot to foot. One of her friends pushes her forward. "Go!"
Michi blinks at them. No way…
The blonde girl seems to make up her mind. With a sharp jerk of her chin, she marches down the aisle towards them. Michi's eyes widen. The girl catches her staring. Her expression hardens. She stops in front of Michi's desk and faces Tatsuya, ignoring Michi. "Saito-san," she says clearly.
Michi looks desperately at Tatsuya. He doesn't move. His face is peaceful. In the glow of the afternoon sun, his skin has a faint flush to it, his long lashes dark against his cheek, his lips parting softly with each breath.
"Saito-san," the girl says louder, oblivious to Michi silently shriveling up in her seat.
I hate my life…
The girl is still blatantly ignoring her. She's obliviously not going to give up any time soon. Michi kicks Tatsuya's leg beneath the desk. Wake up, idiot. There's a girl trying to confess to you.
Tatsuya stirs, sighs, and goes still. The two girls hovering in the doorway squeak audibly and clutch their chests. Michi glares at him.
"Tatsuya—" she says, reaching out to shake his shoulder. The girl slaps her hand away.
"Don't touch him," she says sharply. Michi gapes up at her. Her hand stings. Anger blooms dully in her chest. "I'm just waking him up," she says, shoving her chair back. "Thought you might like some privacy."
Tatsuya blinks and opens his eyes. The girl's expression instantly melts back into blushing adoration. "Saito-san, can I talk to you?"
Tatsuya looks up at her. Michi feels a flash of pity. Let the poor guy wake up first, she thinks, growing even more annoyed. Who does she think she is —
She catches herself sharply. It's just a story. Let it play out. Don't get involved, Mich.
Tatsuya stands. Michi flinches as he taps her shoulder and carefully sets his earbuds in her cupped palm. "You can keep listening," he mutters, and looks back at the girl. "We can talk outside."
The girl is staring at Michi, her dark eyes wide and brimming with emotion. "No," she says abruptly. "I want to talk in here."
Tatsuya glances around the classroom. Students have started to file back in. People are still talking, but most eyes are fixed on their corner of the room, on the girl who dared to talk directly to one of the Flower Princes.
Maybe it's just her imagination, but Michi thinks she sees Tatsuya's shoulders slump a little. She closes her fingers over the earbuds, conscious she's staring. Tatsuya isn't looking at her, though. His gaze is locked on the girl as she takes a deep breath and stands a little taller, her head held high.
"I like you," she says clearly, and bows low. "Please go out with me!"
Michi looks away. She can see Tatsuya's answer on his usually expressionless face. "I'm sorry," he says.
The girl flinches as if he slapped her. "Why not?" she bursts out, her voice cracking. "Am I not pretty enough? Why won't you even give me a chance? Do you hate me, turning me down like this in front of everyone?" Tears gather in the corners of her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "At least tell me why!"
Tatsuya averts his gaze. The girl's two friends hurry forward and usher her out, murmuring soothingly. The girl's sobs echo through the hallway.
Michi stares at her desk, shocked despite herself. She's never seen a confession in real life, much less a rejection like that. She even feels bad for the girl.
I guess that's what happens to side characters…
Chatter slowly starts up again. The boy to her right shakes his head. "She was a senior, wasn't she? Gosh, that was savage."
"Sooo embarrassing," moans the girl beside him. "I would have died."
"Oh my god, no kidding," her friend says. "That was really mean, rejecting her in front of everyone."
"It was her fault, though," Michi mutters. The boy tilts his head. "What?"
She colors. "It wasn't his fault," she says. "She asked to tell him in front of the class. She shouldn't have put him on the spot like that."
"Yeah, you're right." The boy rubs his neck ruefully. "I bet no one confesses to Saito for a while after this, though."
"It was only one time," Michi says, shrugging. All three of them stare at her.
"Girls ask him out all the time," one of the girls says, her brown eyes very round. "Where have you been, under a rock?"
"I -I thought," Michi stammers. The other girl giggles. "Oh my gosh, you must be stupid. Someone asked him out literally last week. They just catch him outside, or leave letters in his locker. No one actually confesses in front of everyone like that."
"Hiyori, don't be mean." The boy elbows her. "It's not like she asked him out."
His seatmate snorts. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Sorry."
"It's okay," Michi mumbles, shrinking into her seat. The other princes must have caught wind of what happened. Kaname stands beside Tatsuya, one hand on his shoulder, shielding him from the curious stares. Sayuri is talking softly to him. Even Jirou is sitting on a desk nearby, speaking up from time to time. Nagisa is sitting next to him, his small face solemn. Michi looks back down at the iPod cradled gently in her lap, the earbuds tangled in her fingers. She feels suddenly very small, and very alone.
I'm like her, she thinks. I'm just a side character. Even if I'm friends with him, eventually Tatsuya will fall in love with Sayuri, and he won't want to spend time with me anymore. They'll all go off with her. That's how shoujo works. I'm just the girl across the hall.
What would happen if I tried confessing like that? Would I be just like her?
A familiar pale hand reaches down and scoops the iPod out of her lap. She looks up into Tatsuya's crystalized blue eyes. Her heart thumps.
"Let's go," he says.
"Where?" she asks stupidly.
"The quiet place."
"Oh. Okay." She stumbles after him. The others watch her go, but no one says anything, or follows them.
It's a sweltering summer day. Michi sits in the shade of the maples, propped up against a trunk, thinking. Tatsuya sprawls in the grass next to her, his hands propped behind his head. The iPod sits on his chest, the earbuds folded neatly around it. Without the music, the distant shouts and sounds of soccer seem sharper. Michi nibbles pensively on a dandelion shoot. For a long time, neither of them say anything.
Tatsuya breaks the silence. His quiet voice cuts cleanly across the distant noise.
"I like you."
A/N
Thanks to everyone who's read this so far! I honestly didn't expect this story to get a single read, since the original isn't well known at all, so it means a lot to me that you're reading this! Please drop a review and tell me what you think! I'm experimenting with cliff hangers, if you didn't notice d:
-SpiritofaRose