By: Strife21
~Chapter 2: It came from the cafeteria!~
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And so the day ensues, until the long-awaited 'lunch time' was sirened out through the bells of the academy, bringing in excited and grateful students out from their classes and into the already crowded mess hall.
Though the majority of the teens who came out of the classes would much rather sit and socialize with their friends, it also seemed like a lot of people actually wanted to eat the cafeteria food.
As Faye moved along with the line, she stared dumbfoundedly at the food she had the option to choose in front of her. There was something green with lots of other darker green stuff inside it, and there was also a mesh of patties in brown sauce that she didn't quite trust.
Picking up a trustful red apple, a cup of Ramen Noodles, and a can of Pepsi, she immediately paid for her lunch and awkwardly searched around the room for the chance to spot a bush of green hair.
Her heart seemed to hop a beat as a long hand stretched out from the massive crowd.
"Hey Faye! Over here!"
Giving out a pleasant smile, Faye walked towards the body, carefully passing the over sensitive people who eyed her.
"Hi Spike, how are you?" she greeted casually, as if she already knew the guy for a week. She sat momentarily and viewed their sitting area, which turned out to the be near the large columns to the interior courtyard; she could see crowds of students talking or eating outside underneath the shady trees and perfectly cut grass.
"Hey, whatcha' got there?" Spike pointed to the food within her hands, "Ah Ramen, what could we do without it.." he began to say and showed an affectionate smile as Faye turned to him with a pleasing expression.
"Thanks.. for letting me sit with you. I really don't know anyone around here.." she confessed, her cheeks splashed with a rosy color.
"Hey it's no problem," Spike waved a hand in the air, "Besides, those guys over at that table are probably kicking themselves right now, for not asking you earlier." he pointed directly behind her to a round table of male students who immediately turned away from them when Faye glanced their way.
"As much as I love to lure all the guys," Faye let out sarcastically and she turned to her soup, "I sure do hate the hissing of the all the cats around," she blew the cluster of noodles at the end of her chopsticks before sticking it in her mouth.
Spike watched her as she delicately ate, "I told you, they're just jealous. I mean, you come in here wearing you're school uniform in an almost impossibly sexy way, looking like a china doll, with eyes like an enchantress. What did you expect?"
Curling a perfect eyebrow at the boy, a small grin tugged at Faye's lips, "Sounds like you're studying my 'specifics' like all the other guys."
Spike shrugged his shoulders briefly, "What can I say, I study hard."
Just when Faye was about to laugh out on Spike's flattery, her laugh came to an abrupt stop when a girl her age ran towards their table.
"Spike! Hey! So we do have lunch together!" Faye silently gazed as the girl came closer until finally reaching them. The girl carelessly leaned against Spike, her arms draped around his shoulders, "So I was going to ask you--" she stopped suddenly when she realized that Faye was sitting in front of her.
For a while Faye eyed the new girl, who's hair was golden as the sun and her face as beautiful as a goddess, then turned to Spike who gazed at the new girl almost dumbstruck. She gave a sigh within her mind, Too good to be true, huh Faye?
"I'm sorry, I must be in the way," she spoke soon after and quickly picked her cup of noodles, apple, and soda and stood up.
"No, wait--" Spike blurted out at the sight of the girl leaving.
Faye shook her head and gave a curt smile, "It's okay, really." and also paid the golden haired girl a small smile before clambering almost clumsily towards the large white columns of the mess hall and to the courtyard outside.
Stupid..stupid.. ugh....
----
Spike watched the Faye's form drag herself outside.
"Thank God she left!" Julia praised behind him and sat down, "That girl, she thinks she could just come here and expect us to accept her kind.. What was she doing sitting with you anyways?"
"What kind?" Spike asked and turned to the girl with a face mixed with anger and curiosity, "What other kind is there, Julia?"
Noting the tinge of disrespect in his voice, Julia crossed her arms in front of her and turned her eyes elsewhere, "Geez, what's up with you?"
Turning once more to the girl walking a path created by the students who didn't want to be near her, Spike gave a long sigh before standing up from his seat, "See ya around, Julia." he turned towards the white columns.
"What are you doing?" Julia began to say, disbelief written on her face as she watched Spike leave her for the girl whom almost the whole school despised.
Moving his head slightly to the girl behind him, Spike gave a grin, "I like her kind." and pointed a thumb to himself before trudging out towards a bench near the large tree in the center of the courtyard.
----
He didn't have to walk far, or search long to find the girl; she was sitting on a cement bench behind the oak tree. She wasn't so hard to spot since the whole area around her within 10 feet in radius was empty. Spike felt a small guilty stab as he neared her.
She was sitting, her shoulders slumped and her head down, on her hands held the cup of soup that looked as if she would crush it within the grasp of her trembling hands, and her eyes were hidden by the deep violet locks of her hair.
For a while he didn't say anything, instead he sat down beside her, surprising her awareness that he was there.
She tilted her head to him, her eyes blank and uncaring. Clearing her throat, Faye held up her cup of soup, "I don't want it..... do you want it?"
Spike stared at the soup, wondering why she didn't even bother to ask why he was there but instead offering her lunch. He kindly took the offering, but kept his concerned expression. He didn't need to ask her what was wrong, she already read it and answered.
"I suddenly don't feel hungry anymore," she replied softly and rubbed her eyes with one arm, "I don't understand why people can't..try.."
He knew what she meant and the fact that he met her and got the idea that she was a very normal, happy girl who didn't take things like this badly, then turns out that she's taking all the messages thrown against her very seriously.
"I don't seem bad do I?" she questioned with a tone that sounded like she didn't want the answer.
"I don't think you are," Spike answered truthfully, "And I'm not just saying that because I'm a guy.. I really don't find anything wrong with your personality."
He watched as she gave a deep sigh and stare off ahead, "Maybe.. it's not my personality at all. Maybe it's just me."
Once again, curiosity bubbled inside his head. First Julia mentioned something about 'her kind', and now she's blaming all the school's critiscm to herself.
"I heard what that blond girl said about me..." Faye glanced over to Spike before casting her eyes down to the top button of his shirt, "She said the school didn't like my 'kind'."
He was surprised that she had heard it, better yet dismayed to the thought that it shouldn't have been said, "I don't understand.. what do they mean.. and what do you mean? What 'kind' or whatever are you?"
"Have you heard of the Dragon Syndicate?" she asked, her eyes still focused to the one area on his shirt, "They are an organization who follow the steps of the leader, and can be a part of numerous legal and illegal activities, such as drug-dealing, terrorism, most-wanted lists, et cetera..."
"Red Dragon," Spike re-read, knowing he has heard about the notorious gang before, "Don't tell me you're part of it! You're too young!" he suddenly burst out to her.
Raising her eyes to him, she gave a lopsided smile and shook her head, "Worst," she replied, "My father's the leader."
The pit of his stomach just went from normal to up his throat as he unconsciously moved away from her, "You're-you're a ViCianni?!"
Faye took his reaction as somewhat offensive and also moved far from the boy, "Yes.. I use my mother's maiden name because my father thought it would keep me from being alienated," she gave a soft scoff, "Of course it didn't work..."
Though Spike had the expression that looked as if he was now afraid of being near her because of her background, inside the young man's mind were actually thoughts of how cool her family was than his. Other than that fact, he had always had the thought of joining a syndicate as big as the Dragon Syndicate. This new fact sparked a new interest in him.
"You're dad's the owner of Dragon Syndicate!!" Spike pointed out enthusiastically, making Faye jump in her seat, "That must be so awesome!!"
Faye almost fell back on her seat, "W-what?! Are you crazy?!"
"Tell me, do you get to try out guns and stuff?" Spike was now leaning towards her, expectant for an answer, "Do you get to wear black leather with matching overcoats, and get to ride in black limos and benz'?"
Giving out a small groan, Faye held back her will to laugh at the young man before her, finding it very amusing that instead of the person being afraid of her presence because of something so simple as her last name, he was actually excited to know about more of how living in a syndicate revolved family was like, "You must be kidding me..."
Spike gazed at her awkwardly, "I'm not kidding.. I think it's cool. You know, it gets pretty boring around here, what with the whole population containing mostly of people with no interesting background at all."
"And you think my background of dangerous, blood killing slaves is interesting?" Faye shot back, explaining her views clearly of the subject, "Every town I've moved to hated my kind, thinking that even if you so much as say hello to me they would instantly be killed," she crossed her arms and looked on ahead of her, "I don't find anything interesting about being in a background that nobody is willing to even listen to its story."
"Well, I'm listening aren't I?" Spike then retorted, trying to change the girl's thought, "I'm saying I can understand it. I'm saying I can easily tolerate it. And I am listening."
A moment after he spoke, the air between became still and quiet, until Faye broke the silence in a more inquisitive tone.
"You are listening," she answered politely, "But why?" she gave a small chuckle and turned to him, "Don't tell me, because you want to be best friends?"
"So what if I did?" Spike loftily answered while placing the cup of soup in his onto the bench, "So what if I wanted to get to know you and hang out sometime? Should I be scared or something, 'cause if I am then give me a warning."
Faye's eyebrow gave a twitch, a habit that moves in and out of her as a sign of irritation or agitation, "I thought I stated what the other's thought, apparently it passed right over your head."
"Well, bullshit to what the other's thought," Spike replied while stretching out his long legs in his school pants in front of him, "I never listen much to other people anyways, so why would I even bother to care what they say?"
For that, Faye gave a laugh. She can actually find someone who would be able to argue with her coolly rather than nagging on and on annoyed or even snap on her. Her laughter subsided slowly when she sensed the boy's eyes at her.
Spike eyed her almost nervously, "What's so funny?" he felt oddly warm when Faye's eyes turned to his with a smile that made his heart skip a beat.
"You've got to be the first one in my entire life that has ever argued to me like that," Faye spoke dramatically kind, "You have got to be the greatest guy on this universe!" she changed her voice into a charming tone, "Want to be best friends?" she stuck her hand out to him, waiting for his response.
Spike gladly shook her hands, while replying with a semi-sarcastic and semi-meaningful answer, "You're pretty odd."
"I know," Faye grinned, "Accept it, Spike, or you won't survive long around me....
"Or my family, for that matter."
End---Chapter two
Next Chapter---When you are down and life is making you lonely, you
can always go... Downtown!
A/N: Thanks much for the reviews! They were great muses ^.^
Well anyways, to the reviewer who talked about this story being a sequel
to 'Spicy Marmalade', well if you really read 'Spicy Marmalade' (which
is not mine, and was a great story by the way), you can see that the plot
is way different, though the concept of the Bebop crew in a high school
environment is used. Just wanted to explain that it wouldn't be a
sequel or anything to the 'Spicy Marmalade' story because it couldn't be
a sequel when that one is finished and is purely a ...'sequel-less' fic.
^_^;; ehe..