Chapter 2: Best friend meets best friend.

The setting sun cast an orange glow through the glass windows and it filled the room 2-B. Kira continued with the duties assigned to him, while Lacus sat elegantly on the tabletop sipping on her hot chocolate. The young lady stared mindlessly through the windows her face was a bit flushed from the recent encounter as was Kira's. The ominous sound of the clock ticking was the only sound heard within the tiny confines of the classroom. Kira was sweeping the same spot continuously, as his mind kept wandering and he was unable to hear Lacus' voice as she called out to him.

"Kira?" she called out once more. The third call proved to be successful as Kira replied with a quick "Yes?" without looking in her direction, as well as increasing his sweeping pace.

"If you sweep that spot anymore I don't think we'll have much of a floor left" she grinned noticing his uneasiness. Kira turned to face Lacus and replied with an embarrassing laugh while scratching the back of his head.

"I think we should go home… It's already six, and it's getting pretty dark outside…" Lacus stated a bit of disappointment could be detected in her subtle voice. Kira looked up at the bland clock and nodded his head; he never knew that cleaning duties would pass so quickly. Lacus approached Kira and removed the black blazer from her shoulders "Thanks for letting me borrow this" she extended her hand towards Kira.

Kira simply shook his head and refused to take it back "It's going to be cold outside, you should hang onto that" he explained.

"But…"

Kira cut Lacus off with a gentle smile; she knew any further negotiations would end up with the same conclusion. Lacus clutched the blazer tightly to her chest and whispered "Thank you" while properly equipping the blazer onto her small frame. The blazer was a bit too large for her as it clearly showed, several sections extending further than they were suppose to. Kira couldn't help but stare at Lacus, 'She's cute no matter what she wears' he thought. The broom crashing into the floor awoke Kira from his trance. Kira picked it up and returned it back to the closet.

"May I walk you home?" Kira asked cautiously as they approached the school gates. Lacus looked up to Kira in a very shocked manner and gave him a slight nod while hiding her face behind her silky pink hair to cover the sudden colour in her cheeks.

The gentle yet cold breeze blew upon the two teenagers as they made their way to Lacus' house which was not too far away. Although Kira had offered to walk her home, he was still a nervous wreck, his face was sweating dreadfully and he concealed his hands in his pockets. Kira's sweaty palms fumbled around with the letter of his feelings, 'Maybe I will give it another try' he thought Without realizing it the sky became clouded and there were faint sounds of thunder in the distance, then, a single droplet of water fell and slid down the side of Kira's face. Kira wiped the single raindrop dry with his fingers as he looked up.

"It's raining…" He stated while grabbing Lacus' hand and starting to run.

"Eeeeh?"

The rain which started out peacefully began to pour heavily and they were starting to get soaked but none of it seemed to matter. Lacus couldn't keep her eyes off her hand, her heart was racing but it wasn't because they were running, she was sure of it. They finally arrived at Lacus' house, and they stood in her porch gasping for air, droplets of water dripped from their hair.

"Umm… Kira?"

"Huh?" Kira turned around only to see that he was still holding onto her hand. Kira noticed the situation and quickly let go and apologized "I'm sorry, I … I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay" she smiled.

"Well… I'll be going now." Kira started heading back towards the rain once again when a sudden tug was felt at the back of his dress shirt. Lacus had pinched a part of his shirt then she placed her forehead onto Kira's broad back. The rain had completely soaked through his shirt, and his physique was apparent.

"Do you want to come inside…?" she asked still clinging on tightly.

The whole world seemed to stop, even the rain seemed to have froze in midair as it waited for Kira's reply.

"Sorry…" that one word felt so heavy, Lacus lost all of her strength. Kira started to walk forward and although she did not want to she regrettably had to let go. Her hair hung over her head covering the pain in her eyes.

Kira was running as fast as he could back to his house until about half way where he slowed down and then eventually stopping. Kira recalled the pain in her eyes, he didn't mean to hurt her, he was only trying to protect her, from him. Looking up towards the sky with eyes closed and water drenching every inch of his being Kira simply stood there, as though he was trying to wash his sorrow away.

The sound of a key rustling as it tried to find its correct slot alarmed a young lady as she looked up away from the television to her front door. She rested her head on her hands as she leaned over the couch to get a better view of the guest. The old door slowly creaked open and revealed a soaked young man. Water dripped periodically from every part of him as he left a puddle of water with every step he took.

"You're soaking wet!"

"It's nothing Cagalli…"

"But… you'll catch a cold like that Kira" Cagalli objected. Cagalli was Kira's twin sister; her blonde hair fell to her shoulders in a rather boyish style. The two were separated from birth, due to the divorce of their parents. They had met on several occasions, but they never formed a strong sibling bond. Cagalli was studying abroad in the States, but after the passing of their mother who had taken the custody of Cagalli she returned to Japan to live with her brother and father.

At the moment his health was the least of his problem. Kira simply gave Cagalli a weak smile, and made his way upstairs. Kira made a right on the stairs and opened the first door; he tossed the crumpled and now soaked letter onto his table. Bits of water dripped from the corners of the envelope, in the end it ended like this. Frustrated at himself, Kira grabbed a change of clothes from his closet and a towel and headed to the bathroom.

A few moments later Kira emerged, a white towel with a single black stripe at one end hung over his head. Kira was on his way to his room with his head bowed and his eyes fixated on the floorboards until he saw two feet standing in his way. Kira traced the legs upward until he was looking directly into the eyes his twin.

"What's wrong?"

There was a slight pause followed by "Nothing"

Cagalli gave him a glare, her eyes pierced into his, and he was forced to look elsewhere. This confirmed her suspicion, she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a warm, tender embrace.

"There, there, it's okay, everything is alright" she whispered into his ear. Cagalli knew that further inquiries would be useless but at least this would signal that she will always be there for him. Kira always bottled up his feelings, especially the most painful ones.

Kira returned her kind embrace and replied "Thank you…"

'If I had stayed with her any longer, I don't think I could have controlled myself' this shameful thought kept repeating in his mind as a tear trickled down the side of his face.

"C'mon, I'll heat dinner up for you"

"No… It's okay… I think I'll just go to sleep" he wiped away the tear and let go of her.

"Oh… okay…"

The next day began just like it always did… well, since Cagalli arrived that is. Kira's door swung open and slammed into the wall.

"Wake up Kira!" she yelled

"Five more minutes…." He replied hiding under his blankets.

"No!" She grabbed the lower half, and yanked them as quickly as she could. Kira squirmed for a while as his eyes squinted as they tried to adjust themselves to the bright morning light. Reality finally sunk in, the morning she-devil won, she always did, and today would be no different. Kira sat up on the edge of his bed still rocking back and forth in a dazed fashion as he tried to stay awake. Cagalli left the room noticing that her job was complete, on her way out she gave a slight smile recognizing Kira's improvement from last night.

"Are you ready to go yet?" Cagalli yelled from the base of the stairs while tapping her feet impatiently.

"Just a minute" he yelled back.

"Well hurry up!"

Kira rushed out of his room hopping as he tried to put on his sock. "I'm surprised you're so energetic in the morning"

"I'm more surprised that you left the house yesterday without me" she responded.

"Well… that's… because…" his eyes showed signs of pain, and he stood motionless with his sock placed on half way. "Bah! Whatever! At any rate, hurry up!" Cagalli screamed trying to change the topic.

The same classroom which he had attended every day had an awkward feeling. Kira stepped inside all the memories of yesterday flooded his mind. He attempted to locate Lacus but was unsuccessful, perhaps yesterday had caused her to stay home 'Maybe it's me' he thought sighing loudly. A sudden push launched Kira into the room as he stumbled a bit at first.

"Who d…?" he started but quickly stopped after realizing who it was. The culprit was none other than his teacher. Kira sighed once more then proceeded to his seat. Mwu began to close the door when a hand squeezed its way into the tiny slit. A surprised Mwu re-opened the door to find Lacus standing on the other side, she appeared out of breath and there were beads of sweat trickling down the side of her cheeks.

"Sorry… I'm… late" she said while gasping for air.

"You're only late if this door is complete shut" he grinned "Alright everyone! To your seats!"

Lacus rushed to her seat to avoid further confrontation. Along with her regular school bag she carried a medium sized white bag with a pair of black strings on each side. Kira looked curiously at the bag wondering what it could be. As Lacus sat down she placed the bag to the left of her but folded the top making the content's identity still unknown.

During the lecture Kira couldn't help himself but keep his eyes locked on Lacus. 'She definitely hates me' he began to think, 'I'm going to apologize right after this lecture!' Kira was so occupied with the way he was going to present his apology that he lost track of time. The bell rang signaling the end of the class. Kira quickly arose to his feet and turned to face Lacus but his vision was obscurred by the bag he had previously been curious about. The bag lowered a bit and a soft yet very audiable "I'm sorry" was heard from behind it. The moment the bag was secured within Kira's hands Lacus made a hasty departure. Kira let out a deep sigh and fell back onto his seat with the package resting calmly on his lap. 'I can't let it end like this, not when I haven't even tried' he concluded. Filled with new confidence Kira raced out of the classroom and in the general direction of where Lacus had went, but he was unable to find her. Finally admitting defeat he walked regretfully to his next class.

Kira arrived late to his second period class, as expected. After changing clothes and finally arriving inside of the gymnasium where he was greeted by a stare from everyone who had attended the class on time.

"Why if it isn't Mr. Yamato" the gruffy teacher snorted "Glad you had the time to join us, but next time try to get the time right"

The rest of the class let out a small chuckle. The embarrassed Kira quickly sought refuge next to his best friend; Athrun. After the teacher had gone over the necessary precautions and objective for today he sent everyone off to pair up and head for the basketball court. Kira and Athrun paired up almost instinctively. The two went to grab the equipment when Athrun noticed that Kira was a bit down so he gave a sudden nudge to kira's right abdomen.

"What happened?" Athrun asked.

Kira sighed a bit not wanting to express in words what had unfolded. A sigh wasn't exactly what Athrun was expecting as an answer so he kept nudging Kira until eventually he cracked and told Athrun everything.

"So that's what happened..." Athrun voice trailed off "But..."

"But?" Kira's spirit lifted as he heard that word.

"From the sounds of it... I think she likes you..."

It took a few moments for what Athrun had said to settle in 'Likes me?' Athrun looked at Kira who was staring out into the middle of nowhere. A small grin crept onto Athrun's face as he readied the basketball and launched it straight at Kira. Kira was caught a bit off guard, but regardless he caught the ball perfectly. Kira always had great hand-eye co-ordination even though he was extremely clumsy.

"Why you..." Kira shouted as he started to dribble the ball and made his way towards the opposing end of the court. It wasn't long until he encountered Athrun in his path. Kira tried to fake and go to the left, however Athrun was right there in front of him.

"Not so fast" he grinned. Just then, Kira tossed the ball through the legs of an unsuspecting Athrun and circled around him to regain possession of the ball which allowed him to score a lay-up shot. It wasn't long before this friendly competition turned into a heated battle. In the end Athrun won, 42-29. Class finished and the two boys were changing back into their school attire, when Kira invited Athrun over to his house to watch a movie that they had both been dying to see. While Kira opened his locker he noticed the parcel from before, it had completely escaped his mind. Slowly he unraveled the top. A familiar smell emitted from it, images of Lacus flashed in his mind, yes, this was her scent, he was sure of it. There laid his blazer, it was washed and folded neatly at the base of the bag. On top was a note with a simple 'Thank you' printed on it. Kira leaned upon the lockers as he he thought 'Things were going so well... and I had to...'

Kira once again searched for Lacus during Lunch to apologize but she was not at her regular seating. Kira questioned her friends but they too didn't know where she had gone to. The next period, he shared the same class so he did not concern himself too much with meeting her during lunch but when the time came, she arrived late and left early. It was very odd of her, Kira could only conclude that she didn't want to see him.

School had finally finished for the day and Kira was on his way home. However, his mind was troubled once again; the words that Athrun spoke earlier echoed within his mind as he desperately tried to refute the possibility. 'What would a girl like Lacus possibly see in a guy like me' he questioned himself. Sighing deeply he walked to the front gates where he met up with Athrun.

The gates to the Yamato household creaked opened as the two boys walked to the front door. As they stood on the porch, they heard faint sounds of laughter resonating from inside.

"Cagalli must have brought a friend over" Kira concluded

After unlocking the door, he gripped the doorknob and swung the door open. In front of him stood his sister and Lacus. Kira's jaw dropped opened, it was unbelievable, 'what is she doing here?' he wondered. Athrun shared a similar expression only his eyes were staring directly at Cagalli.

Simultaneously the twins questioned each other's guest "Wha.. What a... are you do.. doing here Lacus?" Kira asked while stumbling on his own words. Cagalli responded in a similar way as Kira "Wha.. What a... are you do.. doing here Athrun" it really showed their connection as twins.

"You two know each other?" Cagalli and Kira questioned simultaneously once again.