"Addicted To You"
Author Note: I have discovered DDR (Dance Dance Revolution, to those of us who are entertainmentally challenged). That's right! DDR has come to MY CITY. glomps arcade machine and growls at anyone who comes near it I'm shamefully addicted to it. Not only that, but I have a new job (don't laugh, I'm a telemarketer, I could have called your house an you wouldn't even know it…. So be nice to the next person who calls trying to sell you DVD's. lol) and I haven't been at home much lately. Coincidentally, home is where my stories are. This one in particular...I'm working on it still, I have some more typing to do before you get any more goodies from me. hugs loyal and PATIENT fans I'll be back! -Saku -----
The bell rang.
"Kurama?"
The redhead blinked a few times at the voice that pulled him from his vacant state.
"Kurama, what's up guy? Class is over." Yang helped his friend to his feet. "You don't look so good. You're not wigging out over Yin and Hiei are you?"
Kurama shook his head, giving the impression he was scoffing at the idea, when in reality he was trying to clear his head. He didn't remember hearing the teacher's meditation instructions that whole period! The image of Yang's sister and Hiei sitting next to each other filled his thoughts. They looked….good together.
"I was just thinking about something, that's all."
Yang raised an eyebrow at his transparent compadre. "Obviously."
Kurama stole a glance at Hiei, who was putting his matt back against the wall with the others. Hiei caught his stare and held it for a moment before running his hands through his healthy black hair almost alluringly and heading for the door with the others, bag in hand. Kurama almost fainted. Damn that boy was fine.
The teacher's voice rang out over the excited chatter of her students as they prepared to exit for their next class, reminding them to read up on Buddhism in their texts for tomorrow. Kurama heard something about a pop quiz before he was rushed out the door with his laughing classmates.
Quiz? On what! Okay, this was starting to freak him out. He had sat there for an entire class and thought of nothing but the new guy and whether or not he was being hit on by a long time friend of his! What did it matter anyways? Why did he care so much? So what if they liked each other? It had nothing to do with him. Maybe that's what was bothering him so much….the thought startled Kurama. He was not the type to demand attention, nor to obsess over another person. Sure he'd had his share of minor infatuations, but that never lead him to block out an entire class session thinking about them! What was it about Hiei that was so attractive?
Yang, who happened to be following the redhead, caught on to Kurama's distressed look and he put a hand on his shoulder. "You're wierding me out, Kurama. What's wrong?"
Kurama was about to shrug him off when a commotion not to far away took place in front of the bathrooms and drew everyone's attention. "OH MY GOD, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME I HAD A RIP IN MY SKIRT!"
They watched as Yin ran for the girl's bathroom in a fit, followed closely by a few of her friends who seemed to find her predicament hilarious. Well now everyone knew about her torn skirt.
Yang snickered and shook his head, "I'm so glad nothing embarrassing happens to me." He declared triumphantly, leading Kurama down the stairs towards their next classes.
"Uh huh. Watch it, Mr. Confidence or you'll fall down a flight."
"Hey, guess what?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
It's funny isn't it? How your life can be altered by one person- a complete stranger- in a matter of minutes, no matter how many years you've spent trying to keep your life the way it was. It's as though the straight and orderly lines of your existence are suddenly tossed about carelessly and you find yourself haphazardly being flown about by the wind. Without control or understanding you follow that person blindly. You are helpless; lost. And yet…
You've never been so happy.
Art class consisted of paper Mache model-making and Yusuke.
The casually cocky teen talked the whole class and Kurama found himself tuning in and out of his one-sided conversations. "…and then the guy thought he would try to pull a fast one on me so I cole-cocked him in the groin. Man did he ever drop like a stone."
"Uh huh." Kurama mindlessly dunked pieces of newspaper in the pan and lay them across one another to cover the mesh figure he'd made. "That's nice."
"What? What's nice?"
"Huh? Oh! The fact that you can beat someone up and get away with it…" The redhead covered, "Must be nice." He glanced over to see whether the other had seen through his bluff. He simply had no interest in Yusuke's extra curricular activities. They were complete opposites really; Kurama would much rather relax on his front porch in the sun reading a good novel than take Yusuke's approach to life and knock someone unconscious for a seat on the subway.
"I just wish some guys would smarten up a little. Geez, they can really tick me off sometimes, almost as much as mom and her stupid drinking habits. Yesterday she came home with a cross dresser! I mean common! She's gotta be pretty dumb to--"
"Yusuke? What are you making?" Kurama asked, noticing the boy's model for the first time since the beginning of class. The thing looked like a blob on four legs.
"It's a horse."
Kurama stifled a laugh, "Where's its head then?"
Yusuke seemed to look down at his work of art for the first time himself. "Aw SHIT! I knew I was forgetting something. So it's a headless horse. Like in Sleepy Hollow." Yusuke wiped his hands off with a rag and stood back to observe it. Some strips of paper slid off the mesh wiring and glue dripped from his station onto the floor. The poor thing looked as though it were about to fall over. Yusuke sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head.
Kurama had to say it, "There was no headless horse in Sleepy Hollow, Yusuke. I believe it was the headless horse-MAN."
"Aw SHIT!" The frustrated teen repeated, attempting to replace the falling paper before it dripped to the floor in a gooey pile. "What a stupid project. Who makes these things anyway? It's not like we'll go to a science fair presenting paper and wire and expect to win anything. What the hell."
"Here, I'll help you." Kurama handed Yusuke what appeared to be a tiny horse head made from the quick application of paper around a base of pipe cleaners tied around each other.
"You know I was kind of liking the whole headless thing." With this said he pulled out a red permanent marker and began to colour what appeared to be blood all around the area where the head should have gone. Then he proceeded to place the head at the figure's feet as though it had fallen off.
Kurama watched him with smug amusement. "You never cease to amaze me, Yusuke."
Yusuke looked at his friend seriously. "That reminds me," he said suddenly very coldly. "YOU surprised me when you decided to run off with that thief of a new kid this morning. He's a thief, Kurama and you stuck up for him. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't stealing a bad thing? I don't get why the hell would you stop me from kicking his ass."
Kurama dipped another piece of paper in the pan of glue and spread the strip neatly across mesh, smoothing out any wrinkles. "I'm sticking up for him, and I don't believe he stole your friend's anything. I believe it was Tim Diego who stole your friend's money."
Yusuke jolted in light of this new evidence. "What makes you think it was that chump?"
"Hiei told me he saw him do so."
"Uh huh. And you believe him why? Of course he's going to deny—"
"How are we coming along, gentlemen?" A deep and authoritative voice boomed from behind the two teens. The teacher was a frail looking man with white hair and one spectacle that made him look-comically enough- like the Monopoly Guy from the classic game. Though his looks leaned more towards that of the pushover type, the art teacher was not one to be disobeyed. If you were caught goofing off during class, he wouldn't say much, he would just shake his head and walk by you. It was what appeared on your report card every term that reflected any bad behavior.
Kurama liked his reports spotless and so he did the talking, to prevent any unnecessary comments on the class's uselessness courtesy of Yusuke. "Things are going well, Sensei. We are just finishing up." He put on his friendliest smile for the old man. Worked like a charm. The teacher nodded and continued on to the next table.
"Of course he's going to deny everything!" Yusuke continued relentlessly. "That little chicken strip knows how to get away with his crimes. I know his type."
Kurama stopped working on his project and turned to his friend. "His type? And what exactly is his type, Yusuke?"
"Why are you defending him? You act like you know the guy."
"I... Just trust me on this one, Yusuke, I have a feeling about him."
Yusuke picked up a piece of dripping paper from his pan of paste. "Oooooo, you have a feeling. Yeah, I know what you're feeling and it ain't coming from your head. At least not the one on your sh—"
Kurama took this opportunity to plaster his strip of mache on Yusuke's forehead. The gooey substance that covered it dripped down the teen's nose. "Oh you did not just do that."
Kurama ducked away as Yusuke wiped the paper from his head and proceeded to dump his pan of paste on him. Too late, the pan slammed down on Kurama's paper mache figure, flattening it into the table.
"Ahh! Yusuke Urameshi that was my project!" The redhead exclaimed trying vainly to recover its original look. It was hopeless. Kurama looked as though he were about to cry and Yusuke couldn't help it, it was too funny. He started to laugh hysterically.
It didn't take long for the teacher to get up from his desk and make his way over to the trouble-makers. He was surprised to have looked up from his work to find Minamino Kurama part of the disruption. "What's going on here?"
Kurama could only look sadly up at the elder. The mess that had been his project was enough to piece together what had happened. Yusuke was on the floor rolling around in a fit of snorts and hiccups. The bell rang.
"I'll see you two after school."
"Yes, Sensei." Kurama bowed apologetically. Yusuke was in no condition to agree. He seemed to find the fact that Kurama was in trouble too for a change, hilarious. When he could breath again he grinned at his perturbed companion and patted him on the back. "I hope it's worth sticking up for that guy. 'Cause I mean it's already gotten you into trouble. And I don't think it will matter how much you 'stick up', he's probably straight." Yusuke stuck out his tongue for added emphasis to his playful dig on Kurama's orientation.
It stung, but Kurama shrugged it off, like so many before. "Clean up your mess." He smiled, grabbing up his back pack.
"Huh?" Yusuke looked down at the mess on the table and floor at their stations. "You're kidding me. Kurama get back here and help me you bastard!"
But Kurama had already disappeared out into the halls with the others for next period.
In the time span of three periods the weather had progressed from tiny droplets of rain to an all out downpour. Kurama hadn't seen Hiei in gym class and so, somewhat disappointed, he made his way to his locker for lunch.
"Looks like you're stuck eating lunch with us in the caf, Mr. Anti-Social." Yang took this opportunity to remind Kurama how much he missed on a daily basis when he sat under his tree to eat each day.
"It's a privilege to eat with such commoners, Yang." Kurama responded, pulling his lunch from the locker.
Kuwabara strode up to them from down the hall carrying his backpack and a large blue hatbox tucked under his arm. Yang spied this unusual package and burst into a fit of laughter that turned the heads of every student in the vicinity. "What's in the hat box? Your tiara?" He howled. Kuwabara's cheeks turned a dazzling red that almost dwarfed Kurama's hair. "NO! It's a sun hat for Yukina-chan."
Kurama found himself smiling as he closed his locker. Yukina. That poor beauty of a ninth grader was unmistakably adored by Kuwabara, who insisted on showering the aqua-haired freshman with gifts at every opportunity. They were quite the compatible couple to be honest...
"You actually bought her a HAT? What's next? You gonna go bra shopping for her too?" Yang was relentless when it came to his friend's girlie obsession. Kurama patted Kuwabara on the back, "Don't listen to him. I'm sure she'll love it, Kuwabara." He reassured. Yang snorted at that and decided to drop the subject on account of his rumbling stomach, "Let's go, I'm STARVING!"
"I'm so hungry I could eat deep-greased McDonald's toast!" Chimed in Yusuke once he caught up with the trio heading downstairs to the cafeteria. Yang greeted him with a high-five and a punch in the shoulder before pausing to consider what he'd said, "Wait. McD's doesn't make toast."
"Yeah, but can you imagine if they did?"
The four of them shuddered. "Sick man. Now I'm not hungry anymore." Yang said, leading the way as they entered the large cafeteria filled with chattering students and a variety of good food smells. "Scratch that. I'm still hungry. Common Urameshi, let's grab some grub."
"Bring on the gopher guts!" Yusuke and Yang tossed their bags onto their designated table and sprinted for the kitchen. Their table was situated smack dab in the middle of the room and had a three-meter radius of empty seats surrounding it. Kuwabara set down the hatbox and bag, blue eyes scanning the area excitedly for any sign of his rosy-cheeked Yukina. "Where could she be?"
"In hiding, perhaps?" Kurama suggested. Kuwabara raised a finger in the air, (Kurama could almost swear he saw little hearts in the tall teen's irises) "Yukina-chan would never hide from me! I'm her knight in Samurai armour!"
"Are you willing to bet on that?"
Keiko, Yukina, Yin and Botan made their way over to the two boys from the direction of the kitchen. Yin sat down next to Kurama, setting down her tray of salad and french fries. Botan, Keiko and Yukina sat opposite. Kuwabara eagerly took a seat next to Yukina, who giggled and blushed when she was presented with the large hatbox. Kuwabara's grin was wide enough to fit a banana as she opened it and pulled out the tan coloured sun hat with baby blue ribbons. Kurama and the others 'awed' and complimented Yukina when she tried it on.
"Wow! That's so pretty, Yukina-san!" Botan exclaimed, french fries flying as she threw them to give her friend a hug. Keiko giggled and commented on how sweet Kuwabara was and how Yusuke should take notes. Yin laughed and mixed her ceasar salad while Yukina thanked a lovestruck Kuwabara and gave him a hug.
Kurama leaned on the table with his elbow and rested his chin in his hand watching his friends interact. Yang and Yusuke returned with trays full of junk foods that ranged from greasy chicken balls to Skittles candy and set them on the table for everyone.
"Look what we got here." Yusuke greeted them. "Kurama brought the ladies flock'n."
"Hello ladies." Yang cooed, sitting next to his sister and stuffing his face with a chicken ball. Yusuke sat next to him.
"Well, well, if it isn't my dear brother, come to annoy us with his stupid jokes and stupid face." Yin teased, making a face at Yang.
Yang made a face right backat her, "You sure you weren't born with a remote? That would make my life more pleasant."
Kurama winced as chicken ball pieces flew from the talking boy's mouth and landed centimetres from him. "Sick man." Yusuke flicked a piece of chicken ball from his shirtsleeve and watched it land on Keiko's blouse.
"Yusuke don't flick food around! You have no Manners! Ugh!"
"Yeah, Urameshi," Yang offered, "you're so gross."
Yusuke balled a fist and waved it at his blue-haired friend. "I autta…"
"FOOD FIGHT!" Yang sprang up from the table so fast that it nearly tipped over. Yukina and Boton screamed at Yang's sudden outburst and Kuwabara's can of pop spilled all over his nice blue pants. Kuwabara cursed and swiped at them trying to keep them from getting soaked.Yang grabbed a handful of rice and flung it at Yusuke. Grains of it landed on the tables of now angry students.
Enjoying all the dirty looks he was receiving, Yang grabbed some of his cafeteria made coleslaw and tossed it in the air.
"Hey!"
"Ahh!"
"Eww! Coleslaw!"
"That's disgusting."
"You're gonna die, punk!"
Yusuke scraped rice off his face and laughed so hard he fell backwards in his chair. Kurama, Keiko and Yukina ducked and batted away the falling flecks of salad and rice raining down on them. Boton opened Yususke's bag of Skittles and began tossing individual candies at Yang who dodged them dramatically like bullets.
Kuwabara laughed at Yusuke who sat up and rubbed his head. Yin grabbed up a bologna sandwich, took out the meat, tapped her obnoxious brother on the shoulder, and slapped it on his forehead when he turned around. People from other tables were laughing at the fact that the troublemaker had lunchmeat stuck to his forehead. Many were involved with food fights of their own. The entire cafeteria was a mess. Flying food soared overhead and many students were covered in today's special.
Kurama looked at Yukina from their place under the table. "Yang is crazy." She giggled. Kurama nodded. "I think I agree with you on that one, Yukina-chan."
"Yusuke, don't even THINK about throwing that egg roll!" Keiko had recovered from hiding and was desperately trying to prevent her incompetent boy from taking active part in the escalating war of food.
"Aw, Keiko, an egg roll never hurt anyone…."
"YUSUKE!"
Smack. The roll hit Kuwabara in the face and exploded, spilling it's slimy contents everywhere. Kurama and Yukina poked their heads out from the table just in time to witness a soiled Kuwabara physically tackle the slightly smaller Yusuke to the floor. "Damn you!"
Bologna, salad, rice, Skittles, coleslaw and french fries were everywhere. Yang peeled the bologna off his face and retaliated by attempting to shove a french fry up his sister's nose.
That's when Kurama decided to look away. But no matter where he turned, the entire cafeteria had broken out in the food fight. Walls and ceilings were multi-coloured and the floor was practically buried in all kinds of edibles. The sight was less than appealing.
Where were the teachers? Surely they were on their way to break the food fight up?
"Quick, catch!" Someone yelled from behind an overturned table that was being used as a shield from flying coleslaw. Kurama didn't even have time to fully turn around when…splick!
"Oh, Kurama!" Yukina rushed to help her friend get the raw egg out of his beautiful red hair. Kurama just stood there, stunned. Egg white ran off his bangs and onto his face. Yukina grabbed some napkins from their table and wiped at his hair. "You'd better go to the washroom before that hardens, Kurama-kun. I'll walk you out. Hurry, this way."
The two friends rushed around people and food and made their way out into the hallway. There were five or six very angry looking teachers marching down the hall towards the cafeteria and Kurama and Yukina slipped into a storage room to avoid being caught.
"That was close." Yukina breathed.
"Too close." Kurama agreed
TBC