Authoress here.
I really should NOT be here, though. I have Pre-Calc (hiss) to finish, and the logarithms are flying over my head so fast they're breaking the sound barrier.
But this story has been gamboling around my brain for the last couple of days, and even though this means again neglecting my Hana-Kimi story (and my homework), I'm on board with another chapter.
Changes Made
Chapter Three: Rainy Day Session
"No way am I letting you sit there and do nothing!" Jou glared hotly at the teen sitting across the isle from him. Seto barely looked up from his laptop screen, crossing his long legs absently.
"Oh really." Seto continued to type quickly, eyes darting across his screen as figures and statistics rolled past.
Jou bit his lip to stop himself from picking up his textbook and chucking it at Seto's head. "Yeah, really. I took off of work t'come here and do this stupid stuff, and if I'm workin', you sure as hell are workin' too!"
Seto glanced up briefly. "You said yourself you would study hard and just pretend we met. So study hard already, Mutt."
"You're such an ass."
"Noted." Seto looked up again, sighing as if he could hardly believe Jou had the gall to bother him so much. "Look, I don't want to be here either. If Sensei Fusuko hadn't cornered me after class, I wouldn't be here. But that doesn't mean I'm going to teach you. All I have to do is be here, and I get my credit."
"If you fricken' help me, then we're done sooner." Jou growled. "As much I hate your fricken' guts, I'm big enough t'admit you got a brain."
"Oh, how noble."
"Shut up, will ya?" Jou scowled down at the open textbook. "I got t'get t'work in an hour and a half. Just explain this shit, an' then we're done. An hour tops."
"For today, at least," Seto gently shut his laptop before getting up from his desk in a very business-like manner. "Fine. But only an hour."
"Fine." Jou nodded curtly, wondering if he should have simply left Kaiba sit and work through the math himself. But the other teen had smoothly seated himself next to Jou, and had seized the textbook.
"This? This is easy." Seto stared at the page, skimming the problems. "What don't you get?"
"Everything." Jou sat back in his chair, suddenly noticing a small pattering sound on the roof. A glance out the window confirmed his worst suspicion; it had started to rain. He suppressed a groan. If he came to work wet, he could forget looking nice enough to get decent tips.
"Oh, thanks, that narrowed it down immensely." Seto's eyes narrowed as he returned his glare to Jou's face. "Then we'll start from the beginning."
It was almost forty-five minutes later when the classroom door slid open. Anzu and Honda, coming by with the intent of taking Jou to work because of the rain, stopped dead in their tracks at the sight that greeted them.
The room, being close to the boilerroom, always got uncomfortably warm, thus explaining Jou and Seto's removal of their school blazers. They were left in only the school uniform white undershirts. Jou had even gone so far as to undo the first three or four buttons, and Seto had rolled up his sleeves.
Jou was leaning over the desk, scribbling furiously. Seto had put his lanky legs up casually on the desk-chair behind his seat and was leaning back on his desktop, watching Jou's progress intently. His hair had become mussed, probably from running his fingers through it in frustration or out of habit.
But the thing that caught and held the intruders' attention the most was the close proximity of the two self-proclaimed arch-rivals (well, perhaps Seto was Jou's arch-rival, and not the reverse). As Jou looked up from the problem with obvious triumph, his face was less than a foot away from Seto's. And then as Seto reached one arm to turn Jou's paper towards him he leaned foreword to inspect it, making the distance even smaller between them.
Anzu was the first to break the silence. "Hey, Jou! Honda and I came to get you to work!"
Her overly-bright voice caused both Jou and Seto to jump, sending textbook and notepaper flying.
"Anzu, you fricken' scared me!" Jou gasped out, beating his hand against his chest to slow his speeding heart. He looked up, and grinned. Anzu caught his look and smiled as well, knowing the reason why.
Her hair, usually straight and somewhat lacking in body, was a now textured, wavy bob cut to accentuate her flattering features. As well as the new style, she sported dramatic brunette and red high and lowlights that gave her even more allure than the new cut. The hair-change had had the desired effect on Yuugi; he almost walked into a wall when he saw Anzu.
"Thanks, guys, you're lifesavers." Jou stretched his arms above his head, wincing as the knots in his shoulders worked themselves out. "Whaddya say, Kaiba, we pick it up later?"
Seto got up so fast he almost overbalanced. "Yes. We'll speak of the next time tomorrow."
"Sure. Later." Jou gathered up his things with his usual haphazard style and shoved the lot into his bag before following Honda and Anzu out of the room.
Seto watched him leave, still standing. Once he could no longer hear the retreating footsteps, he sank back into his desk, running a hand through his hair absently.
Damn, it's hot in here.
sc
Jou, Anzu, and Honda piled into a small car, borrowed by Honda from his mother. At times like these, the motorbike couldn't transport the desired amount of passengers. Once on the road, Honda looked at Jou in the rearview mirror, smirking.
"Well, that was cute."
His comment earned him a smack to the back of the head.
"Hey, no abusing the driver!" Honda protested, but Jou merely scowled at him. "Anyway, it's weird he actually agreed to help you."
"He didn't agree, he was forced t'help me." Jou said shortly. "And call that asshole and me 'cute; one more time and I'll do more than abuse the driver."
"Ooh, I'm quiverin', man." Honda grinned toothily at his best friend. Anzu sighed and beat Jou to the punch, rather literally, by smacking Honda's head again.
"Lay off, will you?" Anzu said curtly. "It's not his fault he got stuck with Kaiba as a tutor."
"Listen t'the girl, Honda, she says smart things."
"It's more than I can say for you, Jou!" Honda ducked as Jou's hand came flying at his head. "Just jokin, man, don't get your undies in a bunch!"
"Quit with the undies comments, you sicko." Jou sat back, sighing.
It really hadn't gone as horribly as he had imagined. Seto had explained everything quite patiently and thoroughly, probably due to working with game designers and the like. Slowly, the strange symbols and letters started to come together to make understandable formulas, and it wasn't too long before Jou could solve the problems without Seto's guidance. Seto had acted quite human, and after awhile Jou had forgotten how much he disliked the CEO.
Honda pulled up to the curb in front of the salon. Jou checked the car's clock, noting with delight he had almost a full half-hour to make himself look presentable. "Thanks, man. See ya, Anzu."
"No sweat, Jou." Honda winked at his friend before adding, "I'm like a limo service, kinda like what your pal Kaiba's got!"
Jou slammed the door extra-hard, suppressing Honda's yelp of pain as Anzu swatted at him again. He wasted no time in the rain, running to the salon's door and darting inside.
Natsunou greeted him with surprise, having rarely seen him so early to work. He just gave her a smile before going into the backroom to change.
As he worked a thin layer of gel into his blonde hair, Jou contemplated the differences he had seen in the CEO. He was fiercely cold during duels, aggravatingly snide in conversation, and patient and supportive in teaching. Jou wouldn't have guessed that Seto would be that multi-faceted.
Honda had sworn for awhile that the teen was merely a super-intelligent robot, programmed to make people miserable, and Jou had been inclined to agree. But this Seto, the one who hadn't said a single derogatory comment while Jou sweated over difficult problems, was brand-new and a little disconcerting. Jou didn't quite know how to react.
Don't think too hard. Jou thought to his reflection sternly. Thinking about a prick like Kaiba is a waste of time.
Only now he wasn't so sure.
Dismissing the thoughts of the CEO from his mind, Jou headed out to greet his first customer.
End Chapter
Authoress here.
Huh, this chapter only took me an hour to write. That's really good for me. Hope it isn't crap…I mean, I wrote it trés fast, so one never knows… Geeze, I need a beta.
Review, please!