Van walked slowly out of the classroom at the end of the class. He let off a sigh as he leaned against some lockers. He felt so strange not getting all the insults but it was a good strange. He liked it more than he thought that he would.
"Flyheight!" Thomas yelled out causing Van to push himself off of the lockers and looked Thomas straight in the eyes. "Just what the hell do you think you are going to get out of this change? Putting on new clothes and getting a haircut doesn't change the fact that you are a geek. Always were, and always will be!" Thomas yelled because he saw how everyone in the class was actually impressed by what has happened to Van.
"What exactly does that say about you Thomas? No one has any respect for you. You hang out with your brothers friends and use his reputation to get what you want. I guess the saying can also go for you," Van said with a small chuckle as he tried to walk by Thomas.
"Hold it right there!" Thomas yelled grabbing Van by the shirt and pushing him against the locker. He became furious when he saw Van had this look on his face as if he didn't care what Thomas was doing to him. "You need to learn a little respect you poor maggot!" Thomas yelled into Van's face.
'Poor? Oh yeah, I didn't want any of them to know that I am rich,' Van thought with a little amusement in his eyes. "You should give respect to others before you can gain any for yourself," Van said grabbing a hold of Thomas's arm and twisting it behind Thomas's back without giving Thomas any time to react.
Thomas winced in pain as he struggled to get loose from Van's hold over him. 'When the hell did he become so strong? Just last year I was throwing him in trashcans,' Thomas thought wincing again in pain before Van suddenly released him causing him to fall onto the floor.
Van just walked by as Thomas stood up holding his arm. "Get rid of your high and mighty attitude. You have no true friends around here and you know it," Van said before walking away without looking back once.
"What the hell does he know?" Thomas growled out before walking away in the opposite direction of Van. "Everyone knows he has a crush on Fiona, but I will be the one to claim her heart. He has nothing against me," Thomas said angrily.
Irvine and Moonbay were laughing their heads off when they learned of what Thomas tried to do. "See why I put you through all that Van? It was to take care of yourself against people like that," Irvine said pounding his fist against lockers while he was laughing.
Moonbay looked to the side of her and spotted something that made her smile. "Hey Van, do you want to attempt to make friends with Fiona. That is all you can do now because she won't go out with you even if you asked," Moonbay said turning back to her friends since she had spotted Fiona standing not too far away.
"Sure, just having someone like her around is enough for me," Van said with a slight blush. He wondered why she wouldn't go out with him even if he asked but he put it aside. "What do you want me to do?" Van asked as Moonbay walked up and whispered something into his ear. He merely nodded to what they said and was pushed in the direction of Fiona.
Van stumbled forward, suddenly feeling nervous again. He talked to her earlier but he was shaking inside the entire time. He walked up behind her and lightly tapped her upon the shoulder. He lightly blushed when she turned around looking at him with her beautiful crimson eyes.
"Yes? What is it Van?" Fiona asked kindly putting a small smile on her face. She saw that he looked nervous about something and was really hoping that he wouldn't try and ask her out. She just wasn't interested in anyone and did not want to go on a date with anyone.
"Um… well… you see. After school, Irvine, Moonbay, and I are heading over to grab a bite to eat and the three of us were wondering if maybe you would want to come along," Van said nervously as he remembered all that Moonbay had told him to ask Fiona about.
Fiona looked over at Irvine and Moonbay seeing them look away quickly. "If Moonbay and Irvine will be there, then I guess I could go," Fiona said since Irvine and Moonbay were two of her best friends. She would do anything with the two of them.
"Great!" Van said happily as he let out the breath that he was unaware that he had been holding. "They said to just meet them at the normal place," Van said before waving and heading back towards Irvine and Moonbay.
Fiona didn't even have to wonder why Irvine and Moonbay didn't ask her themselves since they were close by. She knew they were up to something and she didn't really feel like knowing what it was exactly.
Van ran up to Irvine and Moonbay but stopped to turn around and look at Fiona. She had her back turned to him and was walking away. He suddenly found himself in one of Irvine's headlocks and struggled to get free. "Let me go?" Van yelled swinging here and there to try and throw Irvine off balance and make him let go.
"So how did it go Van?" Irvine asked not even losing the least bit of balance because of Van's swinging. "Did she say that she would come?" Irvine asked with a smirk on his face ignoring the struggling of Van.
"Let me go Irvine, I swear I am going to kill you if I ever get out of this!" Van yelled before he was suddenly released from the hold, courtesy of Moonbay. "Thank you Moonbay, now time for me to keep my promise!" Van yelled lunging at Irvine only to be tripped by Moonbay. "Damn it!" Van yelled rubbing his head since it hit the floor.
"Did you ask her or not Van?" Moonbay asked a little annoyed at the immaturity of her two friends. She saw Van just nod his head not getting off of the floor. "Did she say that she would come?" Moonbay asked and received another nod. She removed her foot from his back allowing him to stand again. "Good!" she said happily clapping her hands in front of her.
"Tell me again why it is that you wanted me to ask her instead of one of you two?" Van asked brushing off the front of his shirt. "And if you are trying to help me, then why are you coming along?" Van asked a little annoyed.
"For the first question, it is because I felt like it. For the second question, she won't go anywhere with you right now unless she has friends with her. How should I put this lightly? Basically, she has trust issues," Moonbay said with a shrug of her shoulders. She did not really want to get into the issue of why Fiona was like that.
"I see," Van said in thought. He didn't ask what it was about because he somehow knew that he wouldn't get any answers to it. Moonbay didn't look like she wanted to talk about it either. So he just dropped the subject.
After school, Van walked into a small restaurant that was at least two blocks away from the school. He was used to it because this was where he had eaten most of the summer when he was still training under Irvine. He liked the food here and was glad to come back to it.
There were few people there since most were at work or heading home from school. Van had pretty much ran here so the usual rush of people after school had yet to reach the place. It made the place seem calm and peaceful, just the way that Van liked it. He hated to be in places that were terribly noisy.
Neither Irvine, Moonbay, or Fiona were there yet so Van was able to take first dibs on the seats. He took a seat next to a window because he liked to look out it at the beautiful afternoon sky.
Van wasn't there for very long when Irvine and Moonbay came walking through the door with Fiona trailing a few steps behind them. She was silent compared to how Irvine and Moonbay were talking animatedly to each other.
Irvine and Moonbay noticed Van and walked over to him with smiles. They sat down on the end seats at the table, leaving the only open one right in front of Van. He gulped slightly when he saw Fiona take a seat in the seat. She didn't even look at him but instead just looked out the window like he had done a few minutes before.
"So you guys finally decided to show up. I was beginning to think that you were going to ditch me and leave me here by myself," Van said in a joking tone that made Irvine and Moonbay laugh. He was disappointed when Fiona didn't laugh at his joke but he didn't say anything about it.
"Yeah well Moonbay seemed to be taking her time so it took us longer than I thought it would to get here," Irvine said with a smirk while pointing towards Moonbay. A moment later he was sporting a large bump on his head courtesy of Moonbay. "I was just joking," he said rubbing his head.
"Yeah well it wasn't very funny," Moonbay said cracking her knuckles but decided against it and put his fist down. "I'm hungry, what shall we eat?" Moonbay asked completely changing her attitude from before.
"I have already ordered a pizza but I will get something else as well if any of you want that," Van said but everyone just shook their heads. "I did it when I first got here so it shouldn't be much longer," Van said leaning back and taking a quick look at Fiona who was just doing her homework.
Moonbay looked towards Fiona as well and groaned before pulling the book Fiona was going over. "Fiona, Fiona, Fiona, we are not here to do our homework. We are here to eat and hang out. Loosen up a bit," she said holding the book out of Fiona's reach so she couldn't snatch it back.
"Come on Moonbay, give it back," Fiona said trying to get it back but she couldn't reach and eventually gave up and went back to looking out the window. "Fine, I won't do my homework now," Fiona said a bit angrily.
Van stood up and walked towards the counter. "I am going to see what is taking them with the pizza. They are usually faster than this," he told them before he walked away without another word. All eyes followed him in the process.
Irvine stood up as well and walked towards the counter. "I just remembered there was something else that I wanted get," he said walking up to the counter and talking to the person that was there.
When the two of them were out of hearing range, Moonbay let a smirk cross her face. She turned to Fiona who seemed to cower a bit at the face. "So, Fiona, like anything that you saw?" she asked with a playful tone to her voice. She growled when Fiona just looked away.
Fiona turned and stared out the window. "No. Why? Should I have?" Fiona asked in a solemn voice that reflected the look that was on her face. "I know what you are up to Moonbay and you should know that it won't work. I am not going to get involved with anyone again," she said sadly as she laid her head down upon the table.
Moonbay just sighed at her friend's attitude. "Fiona, it has been over two years. Aren't you over it yet?" Moonbay asked but Fiona just shook her head wildly. "I did warn you. You should have listened; it would have saved you a lot of trouble. But don't start blaming other people for that," Moonbay said rather roughly but it had no effect on Fiona.
Fiona didn't even flinch at the tone in Moonbay's voice. "I know that Moonbay and I know you are trying to help but I refuse to go through it again," Fiona said trying her best not to just stand up and run off.
"It doesn't mean that it will happen again. Van is a good person Fiona, give him a chance. Maybe you will be surprised with things that you will find out," she said but shut up when Van and Irvine returned to the table. Van was with the pizza, and Irvine had a giant thing of bread sticks.
"I knew that you would end up forgetting these," Irvine said grabbing on as everyone else grabbed one. "So, what have the two of you been talking about while we were gone?" Irvine asked to two young ladies sitting across from him.
Moonbay looked to Fiona before turning back to Irvine. "Nothing of importance. Now let me at that pizza," she said grabbing a piece that was already in Van's hands. "Thanks Van," she said after he gave her an annoyed look that she grabbed the piece that he wanted right out of his hands.
"Some friend," both Van and Fiona muttered at the same both highly aggravated at Moonbay. Van for the piece of pizza, and Fiona for the pestering that Moonbay had just been giving her.
Both Irvine and Moonbay couldn't help but laugh slightly at how much their two friends were alike. 'Looks like this is going to get interesting,' Moonbay thought before taking a bite out of the piece of pizza with a broad smile upon her face.
They stayed there for hours. The problem that Van had with it was that Fiona acted like he wasn't even there the entire time. She would talk, but only to Irvine and Moonbay. He didn't think that she even looked at him once the entire time that they were there.
Feeling as if he didn't belong with them, Van stood up without any of them noticing and walked out of the restaurant. They knew the owner, so he allowed them to stay there a lot longer than they let any of their other customers.
He stood outside in the warm night and stared up into the cloudless sky at the stars that were shining brightly from above him. A warm breeze blew past his place. It helped him to relax a little.
'They were trying to do something for me but they seemed to totally forget about me as the time went on. Maybe for the better, Fiona didn't even seem interested in talking to me. If she can't do that, then I don't want to try and get her into something that she obviously doesn't want to be in,' he thought with a depressed sigh.
Van heard the doors to the restaurant open and saw Irvine and Moonbay walking away without Fiona. 'Where is she?' Van asked himself only to suddenly see Fiona walking in his direction with her head towards the ground. He wondered why she was walking by herself.
Van saw her just walk by him. "Fiona?" he asked making her stop and look at him. "Why are you walking by yourself? It is dangerous with the type of freaks that are out," Van said in a quiet tone but he was sure that Fiona had heard.
Fiona just gave a small half-hearted smile towards him. "I'll be fine. I don't live that far from here. It is within walking distance," she said before turning around and she started to continue to walk in her original direction.
Van knew Fiona didn't want to get into relationships but he wanted to see if he could at least become friends with her. He quickly walked towards her until he was by her side. "Mind if I walk you?" he asked quietly and a little nervously.
Fiona looked over at Van with a confused look on her face but it disappeared quickly. "It's ok, you don't have to. It is just a block or two from here," she said turning her head back in front of her. She was trying to avoid looking at him.
"It's ok. I live this way anyways. Plus it will make me feel a lot better if I were to make sure that you got to your place safely. It would plague my conscience if something was to happen to you when I could have avoided it," Van said in a light-hearted tone while putting a smile upon his face.
Fiona just sighed. She was tired, so she didn't feel like arguing. "I guess," she said pushing her backpack into a more comfortable position upon her back. She took a quick look over at Van before looking back just as quickly.
'Try and start a conversation Van. Wait, what is there to talk about? I am afraid whatever I do will either be too stupid or end up boring her,' Van thought nervously. He may have had a bit more confidence, but there would always be those insecurities that he has had for the longest of times.
The silence was broken but it was by Fiona rather than Van. "You're different Van. Very different from what you were like last year. Why go through such a drastic change?" she asked although she had a feeling that it was Irvine and Moonbay who had put him through it. It seemed to have their names written all over it.
Van thought it over wondering if he should tell her the truth or not. He didn't want to scare her away when he was finally having an actual conversation with the woman he had had a crush on few the last few years. "I felt like it was time for a change. I was tired of all the torment people put me through because of what I was like. Although my looks have changed, I am still the same person on the inside," he said with a small blush although it wasn't visible because of the darkness.
"Some won't stop what they used to do because of a small change. You should try to earn their respect by being you rather than gain it because of this change you have gone through," she said in a wise tone.
"My mother said basically the exact same thing. I could actually care less what others thought of me now. Although it was kind of fun to watch their reaction when they first saw me," Van said with a laugh and was amazed when he heard Fiona laugh as well. It made him feel good to know that he managed to do that.
"I guess that those were kind of amusing to watch. Is that why you did it though, to get back at those that hurt you? That isn't exactly a very good reason," Fiona was kind of surprised at the ease she was having at talking to Van.
Van just sighed and looked up at the stars again. "That isn't the reason. I have my own reasons. Irvine and Moonbay were willing to help me though. It wouldn't have been possible if I didn't have friends like that. Even if they do tend to piss me off," Van said with a smile while looking towards Fiona.
"The two of them can be good friends if you get past their quirks," she said before suddenly coming to a stop. She saw Van turn around to look at her. "This is my place," she said pointing towards a house to the left of her.
"Oh, seems like a nice place," Van said looking at the large house. There didn't appear to be anyone there because there were no lights on in the house. "You live here with your family?" he asked wanting to just keep talking to her.
"Sort of," Fiona said and was glad that Van didn't continue on with the subject. "I had better get going. It was nice talking to you Van," she said before walking up the driveway and into the house. It was easy to talk to him but at the same time there was also too much tension between them.
Van just sighed before he walked away. 'It was good to talk to her but it will probably be a one time thing. At least it was nice until it ended,' he thought continuing to walk in the direction of his home.