Poor Arima. I guess…I dunno. Anyways, this story just keeps getting written kind of like Never Quite As It Seems. I was only going to do one chapter of that but I ended up writing fifteen. I figure that if I accidentally finish a story then I could just put up chapters for it. That's my new amendment to the 'three stories at a time' rule. ~_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Kare Kano. Tempting as it is to say I do.
Warnings: More sexual stuff, shounen-ai, shoujo-ai.
Not Permitted
Chapter Three
"So if I divide this equation by three I get the answer?" Asaba asked Yukino hopefully. She studied the problem for a few moments and nodded. Asaba sighed in relief.
"Asaba, you know, Yukino does have her own work to do." Tsubaki told the honey-haired boy who looked hopelessly lost as he moved onto the next problem.
"But she's so smart!" Asaba tried to defend. "I don't know how to do this!"
"Here I'll help you." Tsubaki sat with her legs on either side of Asaba who was sitting on the floor.
"Can you give me a back rub too?" Asaba looked up at her with large eyes.
"If you do five more problems, yes." Tsubaki agreed. She began to explain to him what to do.
"What are you guys doing?" Arima asked as he came in, seeing Yukino, Asaba, Maho, and Tsubaki gathered on the couches.
"Homework." Asaba muttered grumpily.
"Studying." Yukino gave Asaba a sympathetic pat on the hand.
"Hey, great, can I study with you guys?" Arima's eyes lit up as he realized that they were doing something that he could join right into. The past three weeks he had been doing almost nothing but studying.
"Nothing stopping you." Tsubaki gestured towards the couches. Arima set down his stuff and started to get out his homework.
"It's the amazing Arima! Here to study with us!" Asaba proceeded to make up a theme song with no words to go along with Arima. The others laughed at Asaba, but Arima just sort of smiled. Why did he have to feel so out of it?
Arima turned towards Yukino who seemed to be the one working the hardest. With that concentrated look and her school uniform on, she was the very picture of the model student.
"So, have you gotten that English paper done yet?" Arima asked her.
"Almost." Yukino smiled at him. "I'm just a little confused on what the teacher meant when he said that-"
"Wow, Asaba is doing his homework?" Shibahime and Kazuma, who seemed to be joined at the hip, sat down with them all on the couches. "On a Friday?"
"Oh no! What time is it?" Asaba looked up from his math problems in alarm. "Tsubaki and I still have to chop up that fruit! Tsubaki, can we stop yet? I'm almost done." Tsubaki took one look down at Asaba's not even halfway done paper and shrugged.
"We can do the rest later." Tsubaki ruffled his hair. "Let's get to that kitchen!"
"Fruit? Let me guess…body shots?" Maho raised her eyebrows at them.
"May-be!" Asaba and Tsubaki sang together.
"Arima, are you going to stay out here?" Yukino turned to the dark-haired young man.
"Um…I have a lot of work to do." Arima began hesitantly.
"Maybe Yukino can convince him." Tsubaki called out slyly from the small kitchen area. Arima tried not to think about what 'convincing' him might entail.
"You study every night." Yukino's voice hinted at a whine. "I mean, I know you've got a lot to do, but so do the rest of us. We still have time for fun."
"If he doesn't want to, then he doesn't have to." Maho put a hand on Yukino's shoulder.
"I know that, but still…" Yukino turned back towards Arima. "You know what they say, 'All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.'" Arima sort of bowed his head and started to put his books away.
"Jack's always been a dull boy, I guess." Arima got up and went into his room. All the other people in the room looked at each other at once. Arima didn't notice as he closed the door behind him and flopped down on the bed.
In his life, grades were most important. His parents made that very clear with him for a long time.
"Remember your grades Arima."
He had always been around people who didn't have fun until their homework for a month in advance had been done, and then their fun consisted mostly of quiet activities or sports. And now he had been given another side of the spectrum.
"We're playing Spin the Bottle Arima, come play with us!"
"That paper is not even due for another two weeks!"
The other roommates were always having fun. Oh, they didn't party every night, but they always did seem to be part of some big never-ending roller coaster ride that Arima couldn't even get tickets to. They kept trying to include him, but maybe they felt obligated to. They probably wouldn't notice him at all if he hadn't been assigned to this room.
"Jack's a dull boy…" Arima murmured to himself as he thought of the others who were laughing at something. They all knew some joke that he didn't get. Besides the fact that they were all a bit shocking. He had learned many things around them that he knew he'd never learn in a class.
He learned that two girls making out on the couch was normal. He learned that Asaba hitting on anybody was perfectly acceptable. He learned that he was lucky when Asaba didn't have any 'friends' over for the night so that he had to sleep out in the common area. He learned that when people were running late, sharing showers together was as normal as taking one by yourself. He learned that if Aya wasn't smoking, something was wrong. So many new tidbits of information.
Pulling up the chair to his desk, Arima started to shuffle through his notes and papers. Sitting around moping wasn't going to get him anywhere, now was it?
Three hours later, everything was done and the party had obviously gotten into full swing. He wished he was brave enough to just go out there himself and have some fun. That's when the door opened and in waltzed Asaba.
"We're going to watch The Matrix! Come out and watch with us!" Asaba pleaded with him. Arima suspected that Asaba was not entirely sober. "Please?"
"No, I'm getting tired." Arima faked a yawn.
"You know…you shouldn't sit in here studying all the time." Asaba went on.
"That's why we're at school, to learn." Arima reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah. We're at school to learn the important stuff! The stuff teachers can't teach us. Useful stuff. Not like algebra and all that." Asaba waved his hand in a circle. "I'm talking about people. We're here to learn how to socialize and how to interact with others!"
"That's not very responsible. What are you going to do when you realize that you've partied away your school years?" Arima asked him seriously.
"In fifty years, I'm going to look back on my school years and say, 'If I could go back, I would have done it all the same!' You're going to look back and say, 'I wasted all my time studying, and look at my life now.' These are the best years that we're gonna have." Asaba sounded very persuasive and Arima felt himself waning.
"I just…I don't know…" Arima trailed off. Could he go out there? He had done all his homework but he just wasn't sure.
"Come on, we've got popcorn and everything, it'll be fun." Asaba assured him.
"I…no. No thanks. Like I said, I'm really tired." Arima faked another yawn. Asaba had a disappointed pout gracing his features before he left the room. Arima did feel bad. They were trying to include him but he was pushing them out because he was afraid that if he gave in once, he might be sucked into a world that he wasn't sure it was so easy to step out of again.
Arima slipped into bed, there was really no point staying awake at this point.
* * *
He stared at his clock, adjusting his glasses. He had taken to adjusting his glasses every two minutes. That was thirty times in an hour. Seven hundred twenty times in a period of twenty-four hours.
You're not doing your work!
However, Arima could not motivate himself. He was re-reading a paragraph for about the millionth time. He wasn't getting anything done and he knew it. A loud cheer from the next room rose and Arima knew that they were probably playing some game. He tried not to groan.
Then something rather unexpected happened.
Now, during the nights when the others were partying, Asaba usually came in once a night to try to convince him that he should come out and join in the 'festivities' as he called them. Tonight when the door opened, Arima turned only slightly, expecting Asaba. Instead, it was Yukino.
He blinked several times in surprise at her. Yukino eased into the room, shutting the door behind her, muffling yet another cheer. The group was yelling things that made Arima's face burn up. However, Yukino didn't seem fazed by this at all.
"Hi Arima." Yukino greeted him, walking gracefully across the room and then she proceeded to sit on top of Arima's desk, pushing his textbooks aside to do so.
"Hi Yukino." Arima echoed in a similar tone. "What are you doing in here?"
"Oh…well, you see…" Yukino made Arima's eyes grow round by scooting across the desk so that she could put her legs up on the desk, looking at him and propping herself with her arms stretched out behind her. "I was wondering if you would join us tonight."
Arima was a little stricken by this. What was she doing in here? Yukino however was smiling in a most seductive manner while bending one of her knees.
If I don't do this dare, I'll feel so shamed! And Asaba's betting ten dollars against me with Tsubaki! I have to do this.
He wasn't getting any work done and he knew it. He wasn't tired. He was sick of himself trying to pretend that he didn't want to spend time with them. Have fun with them. Arima closed his eyes for a second before answering.
"Okay." Arima agreed. Yukino looked surprised now. She wasn't expecting for it to be quite so easy.
"Alright!" Yukino cheered and then proceeded to take his hand that he offered to help her off the desk and lead him out the door of his room.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Asaba screamed with delight as he saw Arima. "You're just in time! We only just started to play Truth or Dare and we didn't think Yukino could do it!"
"Pay up!" Tsubaki, seeming to be too eager to wait, began trying to reach into Asaba's pockets which turned into some sort of odd tussle when Asaba fought back.
"And here we were thinking we had finally come up with an impossible dare." Maho commented in an almost thoughtful way.
"Do you want something to drink?" Aya asked as she lit up a new cigarette. There were a few bottles of what looked like liquor right next to her.
"Um, some water?" Arima tried nervously. Next to him, Yukino gave a reassuring nudge with one elbow.
"We've got some soda." Tsubaki had finished her tussle to run and grab a two liter bottle of coke from off the counter. "Do you want that instead?"
"Sure." Arima smiled at Tsubaki.
"It's Yukino's turn!" Shibahime announced as Tsubaki came back with Arima's glass full of soda.
"Um…hmmm…" Yukino looked around the circle from Aya who was flicking her cigarette in a pop can that had become an ash tray, Maho who was giving her a slightly challenging look, Tsubaki who had pretended to slip and was trying to put her hands down Asaba's pants, Rika who was giggling, Asaba who was waving enthusiastically as he obviously wanted a new turn, Shibahime who was too busy having a whispered conversation with Kazuma and vice versa, and finally to Arima who was practically sweating with nervous apprehension. "Arima, truth or dare?"
"Hey, wait, are you doing shots?" Tsubaki interrupted to ask Arima.
"Shots?" Arima looked scared. "Uh, no."
"He can do shots of coke, it'll be fine." Yukino waved a dismissive hand. "I doubt you've ever played drinking Truth or Dare before so here are the rules: If you take the truth and answer it, you have to take one shot but if you take the dare, you have to complete it and do two shots."
"Which reminds me, Yukino, you won the prize!" Aya handed Yukino two shot glasses full of a clearish liquid. Arima gasped as she slammed the two in what seemed to be record time.
"So, what will it be?" Yukino winked at him.
"Um…truth." Arima finally chose as Asaba sat there mouthing that he should pick a dare. He did not want to think about what a dare from this group would be.
"Okay, Arima, I'll start with something easy." Yukino tapped her chin. "How many times have you had sex?" Arima saw Tsubaki and Asaba both considering the question as if they had been asked themselves, concentrating and counting on all their fingers. He gulped.
"I've never…I mean, I haven't…that is to say…" Arima kept hesitating.
"Never?!" Asaba and Tsubaki chorused loudly, making Arima's face grow bright.
"I was expecting that." Maho sipped at a drink next to her.
"He's a virgin?" Asaba's eyes were glittering with what appeared to be excitement. Arima was staring down at his lap in an embarrassment after half-heartedly doing his shot of coke.
"Yeah, Asaba, just because you've had sex with three quarters of the school doesn't mean everyone else has too." Yukino defended neatly. "Can I have those Cheetos?" The bag was half thrown at her, but in a manner so that they wouldn't fly all over the room.
"Um, Tsubaki's had that much sex." Asaba wrapped an arm around Tsubaki's shoulders. "And if not, I would be happy to compensate."
"Well, Arima, it's your turn." Rika pointed out with a friendly smile.
"Oh really?" Arima looked up at the group. Since Asaba looked the most eager, Arima picked him. "Asaba, truth or dare?"
"Dare!" Asaba picked with absolutely no hesitation. Arima sat there trying to think of a good dare.
"Dare him to go and kiss Tonami." Yukino whispered under her breath while pretending to be drinking from her cup. Arima got a slightly weirded out expression before deciding that since he couldn't think of a good dare, he might as well take Yukino's.
"I dare you to go and kiss Tonami." Arima repeated faithfully. Asaba suddenly looked like he might be sick.
"Oh, yuck." Asaba stuck his tongue out. Tsubaki gave Arima a thumbs up and all around there were murmurs of approval from the others.
"Well, who should we send as witnesses? Arima should go." Yukino quickly suggested. "Who else?"
"I have to see this!" Tsubaki stood up immediately as Arima got up. He was suddenly feeling as though this was a bad idea. Yukino stood up and grabbed a Polaroid camera that had been nearby.
"And I'll bring back evidence for the others!" Yukino jumped up and Arima felt himself give a mental sigh of relief that she was coming. That was odd though; it wasn't as if he knew Yukino better than the others or anything.
"This is going to rule!" Tsubaki exclaimed as the four left the room. Asaba looking whiny but went along with them anyway. Tsubaki got out a key and carefully opened her dorm room.
The room was dark and silent. They all tiptoed over to the door that lead to Kazuma and Tonami's room. They all looked at each other even though they could hardly see the others, and opened the door. A street lamp was positioned right outside the window so they could see much better than they would have in any other room with the lights off. The three of them crouched in the shadows with a rather good view of Asaba as he crossed the room and bent over Tonami's sleeping form.
As soon as Asaba pressed his lips against Tonami's, Yukino jumped up and took a picture with her camera. It caused Asaba to jump and Tonami to wake up. Asaba fell quickly to the floor and scrambled over to them.
"Huh? What's going on? Who's in here?" Tonami asked as he turned on his lamp. The four of them turned, eyes wide with shock at being caught.
"RUN FOR IT!" Tsubaki yelled and they ran out of there as fast as they could. They didn't stop until they were safely inside the other dorm, breathing heavily as they leaned against the door.
"How did it go?" Maho raised an eyebrow at them. Yukino held up a Polaroid in triumph.
"Ta da! Asaba gets two shots!" Yukino waved it around before handing it over to the others. Asaba took his shots and Arima laughed openly at the relief on their faces. He hadn't done something that reckless since…since ever! He smiled at the group. Maybe it wasn't so hard to fit in after all.
* * *
That was it for now. I'm proud; I was stuck on this chapter for awhile. I thought it was never going to get finished! Yes! I rule! Oh well, read and review homies.