by Kagayaki Ame
Chapter Two: Falling
Nanami was in a
good mood. She walked into the café and chose a seat at an empty table by the
balcony. She didn't even bother to search for Keiko, Yuuko and Aiko. She wanted
to remain in a good mood and they would surely bring her down.
Besides, she
smiled to herself, Aiden would probably have this lunch and maybe she could sit
with him…
She looked up
and her heart sunk. Aiko, Yuuko and Keiko were headed her way with their
lunches. Great… now she'd have to endure their snide remarks again. She'd
rather sit alone.
She didn't have to worry about that, though. The three passed her not once glancing in her direction. They kept their noses high and chose a table deliberately close to hers.
"I feel like a weight has been lifted
from my shoulders," Keiko said pointedly.
"Yes I feel freer and without burden,"
Yuuko added and Aiko nodded glancing in Nanami's direction.
Nanami ignored them but couldn't help
feeling a bit hurt. She'd always known they weren't true friends but at least
they'd always been there. She sighed and tuned them out. She pulled a chicken
salad and a V8 splash from her lunch bag and opened her notebook. She had a
French quiz next period anyway…
"Study, study, study… is that all the
fair Nanami does?" She looked up to find Aiden standing next to her. She smiled
at him.
"Hi, Aiden."
"Hi. May I?" he touched the seat next
to her.
"Sure." She felt so good. Not only had
Aiden joined her at lunch, but also those snobs had full view and could hear
every word. That was a dig worth exploiting.
"So, you must have excellent grades
seeing as how you study so profusely." He set down his bag and brought out his
lunch.
Nanami smiled. Well, I try. I must
admit, though, the crowd I used to hang with was a bad influence. They didn't
think grades were important. But now that I've cut them loose, I've been doing
quite well. 98th percentile, actually." Nanami sipped her drink. It
was sweet. But not as sweet as the effect her words had on the three girls. She
didn't even have to raise her voice for them to hear. She knew they were doubly
stung because she had Aiden's company too.
She pretended not to notice them.
"Wow. That's great. So you're smart and
beautiful and independent."
Nanami forgot the girls and blushed. "Flattery
will get you everywhere."
Aiden grinned and sipped his Pepsi.
"Lucky for me."
Nanami laughed lightly.
Aiden noticed the three angry females
glaring at Nanami and leaned forward whispering, "I have to tell you, it looks
like you've got another trio after you. Those girls at that table look like
they want to kill you."
Nanami looked at them directly and
intentionally and turned away from them laughing casually. "They're the girls I
used to go about with. I guess they're jealous."
Keiko rose angrily and grabbed her
things. "In your dreams, Nanami!" She stalked off Aiko and Yuuko following
swiftly.
Aiden laughed. "I can't help thinking
you did that on purpose."
Nanami smiled and raised her eyebrows,
shrugging slightly. "Maybe."
Aiden nodded. "That's cool. They looked
like jerks anyway."
Nanami sighed. "I hope I didn't look
like that when I hung out with them. I know I did. I was their leader."
"You couldn't ever look like a jerk,
Nan."
Nanami blushed lightly and took a bite
of her salad. "You're a charmer, Aiden, that's for sure."
He laughed. "So tell me about yourself.
What do you do besides studying? What kind of things do you like?"
They spent the rest of lunch talking
and finding out they had a lot in common. Aiden was a good student who'd just
moved from Kyoto. He played soccer and basketball and planned to join the
school's varsity teams. They liked the same kinds of music and they were both
sort of loners. His parents had died seven years ago when he was ten, leaving
him an empty and broken heart, a big and empty mansion and a big, big fortune.
She told him about her foster parents and her brother.
By the end of lunch she knew she liked
him a lot. He was easy to talk to and he made her laugh. They started to get
ready to go when she asked casually, "So do you think you can make it to your
next class, or will I have to take you again?"
Aiden grinned. I know where it is, but
if it's not terribly out of your way, I'd enjoy your escort there."
"Where is it?" she asked.
Aiden looked at his schedule printout.
"French four in room…"
"315?" Nanami asked hopefully.
He looked at her. "Yes. How did you
know?"
She grinned and began walking. "That's
my class too."
Aiden smiled and watched her for a
moment. There was something kind of wonderful about her. The littlest things
she did totally enchanted him.
He caught her up and stopped her. When
she looked puzzled, he took her books. He nodded. "Now we can go."
Nanami smiled. She liked him. She liked
him a lot.
They made a habit of sitting together
in study hall from then on. She walked him to his Brit Lit classes afterward
and they met for lunch, after which they walked to French together. She even
came to a few of his soccer practices after school. She got to know the
athletes and felt terrible for treating them with such loath in the past. They
weren't stupid and they were really nice and fun to hang around. More fun than
certain other people that now held her in even more contempt for the company
she kept with Aiden – the hot new target for all the girls.
Everyone had taken notice of the two
and rumors began flying in no time. Nanami didn't pay it any attention, though.
Everyday she got to know Aiden a little better and she liked him even more. The
feelings were more than mutual.
One day after school a few weeks later,
Nanami went to her locker as usual. She was a little let down because she
hadn't seen Aiden for lunch and didn't see him in French. She planned to check
by his dorm when she left school. Maybe one of the guys would know where he was
or if he was sick or heaven forbid hurt from soccer.
She opened her locker and gasped.
Inside were a dozen long stemmed roses, six white and six red. She looked
around. The hallway was nearly empty. Who had done this?
She opened the attached card only to
find it blank. "What the…?" she said confused.
"It asks, dear Nanami, if you'll go to
the Spring Ball with me on Saturday."
Nanami turned around to find herself
almost pressed against Aiden who stood there, smiling sweetly. A brilliant
smile broke over her face.
"Aiden, I…"
"Shhh…" he said putting a finger to her
lips. "Before you answer…" he moved his finger to replace it with his lips. He
kissed her softly. Nanami felt weak. She'd never been kissed like this before.
He parted from her and caressed her
cheek. "Say yes, Nan," he said calling her by the pet name he gave her. Then he
added, "please?"
Nanami smiled and blushed delicately. "Yes.
I will."
Aiden smiled back and said, "good. I
didn't want to have to beg… but I would have." She giggled and he kissed her
again.
* * * * *
To Be Continued