Chapter 8

I shot the ball and it went in all net. I heard a bunch of yelling from those three annoying girls.

"Show-off," Hanamichi said.

"Baka, jealous?" I said letting it slip off my tongue.

"How dare you…I understand kitsune you're the one jealous the tensai," he boasted.

"All I see is a do'aho."

Electricity shot between us but not exactly the type that I wanted.

"Now, now," Kogure-sempai said.

I snorted and turned away to come face to face with Mitsui, "…"

"Rukawa what kind of flowers to you like?" Mitsui asked.

I frowned, 'Why is he asking me so many dumb questions? If he's thinking about using me to get Kogure-sempai jealous, he's crazy. But they seem fine, no arguing or avoiding. I swear people are acting odder and odder everyday.'

.

I was walking out of the gym when I spotted Hanamichi and Akagi's imouto talking. I pretended not to see them but I did notice that do'aho's lovesick expression.

She smiled, "Rukawa-san are you…"

I walked right by her.

Hanamichi grabbed me, "Haruko-chan's talking to you. Show some manners kitsune!"

"Hana-kun," she said sounding worried.

"Baka," I said not sure who I was saying it to, Hanamichi or Haruko.

"Don't hurt Rukawa-san," she said.

"I won't hurt him. I just want to talk to him," he said with a phony smile.

I let him drag me to the locker room. I wonder what he wanted to say to me. Probably something idiotic. He shoved me into the locker room and locked the door behind him.

I looked at him. He seemed furious. I wonder if he planned to head butt me.

"How dare you ignore Haruko-chan!"

I yawned.

He growled, "I know you're just playing hard to get."

"No."

"Yeah! You think you can lie to the tensai? I'm onto you."

"I don't like her."

"Why not? She's perfect. She's kind, beautiful, sweet, nice…"

I resisted the urge to punch him and throw up, 'She's an idiot. A giggling bimbo. She can't even see that you like her. How dense can she be? Everyone can see it.'

His praising of her frustrated me so much that I blurted, "I like men, that's why."

Silence.

He looked at me, "Are you kidding?"

"No," I said blankly.

He didn't flinch or jump but laughed, "That's wonderful, Rukawa! You like guys! You don't like Haruko!"

'He's laughing because of me?' I thought in amazement.

"So is there a guy you got in mind? I'll help you get him."

"Why are you offering to help me?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because then Haruko can forget you. I'm not an idiot. If I say you're gay no one will believe me. They'll think I'm lying because I'm jealous of you," he said, "so I'm going to help you get together with the guy you like and then they will know."

I was still stunned by his sudden insightfulness that I told him, "Yes."

"Who?" he asked.

'You,' I thought, "none of your business."

Miraculously he didn't get mad but laughed instead, "No problem. You keep your secret. The tensai will find out."

.

The next couple of days were wonderful. Hanamichi was treating me like a friend. He smiled at me, he put his arms around my shoulder like we were buddies… But he was also beginning to suspect I lied. This morning he just questioned me if I lied to him about liking guys. Although friendship isn't exactly what I had in mind it's a good beginning.

I turned and spotted that baka's arm from behind the tree not to mention his shadow, 'He's following me. I can probably lose him if I ride really fast…'

"Rukawa."

I looked up and spotted Sendoh at the gate. I stopped and leaned my bike against the wall. I positioned myself so I could spot Hanamichi. He was still behind the tree.

Sendoh ran his hand through his thickly gelled hair, "Um…Rukawa I got something to tell you."

'I don't want Hanamichi and I to go back to that arguing, bickering relationship again. What a convenience that Sendoh is here. If he see me kiss Sendoh he'll think I like Sendoh and stop bugging me. He won't question if I'm lying,' I thought.

"Kiss me," I said without thinking.

Sendoh blinked, "What?"

"I said. Kiss. Me."

Sendoh was taken aback, so I grabbed him and kissed him forcefully.

I'm not sure what happened but Sendoh somehow managed to soften the kiss and he also managed to coax my lips open and was exploring the contour of my mouth with his tongue. I wanted to push him away, 'It's not suppose to be like this.'

But I only succeeded in pulling him closer. The feeling was odd like I was drowning and I didn't mind at all. I felt warm, safe, and…loved.

Finally I had to pull away for breath. Sendoh was smiling and quite breathless too.

I was stunned, but in a good way. My heart was dancing an irregular beat. I wasn't aware of where I was, just what had occurred: My first kiss.

End of Chapter 8