Chapter 9

-Ikku-

Crap, crap, crap! This was the first time a girl had ever leaned on my shoulder! I've seen it dozens of times on television and never really gave it much thought. But actually experiencing it is making me all flustered! God, I hope my face isn't getting too red...

A few moments had passed and I couldn't help but look at Nino-chan. I had never thought of it up until now, but she's actually pretty cute now that I got a good look at her. Her hair even smelled faintly of lavender. After spacing out for a bit I realize that Nino-chan had fallen asleep. I heard soft, cute snores escaping from her lips as a couple of guys from my class approached us and whistled.

"Damn, Ikku! finally got yourself a girlfriend? I knew your English act would get you one in no time!" said one of them.

"Nah man, it's his good looks that got her! I mean look at him, eyes as golden as the sun, long and silky white hair, and not to mention a decent build, any girl would fall for a guy like him!" said another

I looked at Nino-chan, still blissfully snoring away. I raised a finger to my lips and gestured for them to be quiet, a cool yet mysterious stare forming in my eyes. My classmates blushed and immediately quieted down then went back to swimming.

"Now I know how he got the girl, heck even I would fall for him if he stared at me like that!" said the last boy as he and the others jumped back into the pool, sending small droplets of water splashing onto me and Nino-chan.

Nino-chan woke up due to the water splashing her. "Ara? Did I fall asleep?" she then noticed that she was still leaning her head on my shoulder and blushed. "Oh! I didn't mean to fall asleep, Ikku! It must have been pretty awkward for you having to just sit there while I slept!"

I smiled, "Nah, it's okay. I knew how tired you were, so I let you sleep on my shoulder! Plus... it was also fun watching you drool in your sleep, and boy, that snot bubble you made was so big! I was afraid you'd wake up if I popped it!"

After hearing that, Nino-chan became redder than a tomato. "Ummm... Uhhh... I..." I couldn't help but laugh at Nino-chan's reaction as she tried to defend herself. She then looked at me seriously, "Wait... none of that really happened, didn't it?"

"Yep, you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker!" I said as I laughed way too hard. Nino pouted and started hitting me softly. "You should have seen the look on your face! It was priceless! I should have taken a picture to show you!"

Nino-chan pouted and leaned her head on my shoulder again, which effectively shut me up. "Ikku you jerk, and here I thought you were the nicest out of your brothers..."

"But I am though! I had to set a good example for my little brothers after all!" I said jokingly

We suddenly heard a loud whistle coming from the other side of the pool, Nino-chan immediately sat up straight as the teacher called out to us. "Uesugi! Nakano! No PDA on school premises! And Uesugi you better get your ass back in the pool or I'm gonna give you a failing mark!"

I sighed, "Guess I have to go back to the pool, I guess I'll see you later then, Nino-chan?"

Nino-chan nodded. "Yeah, see you later Ikku!"

And with that, I left Nino-chan and got back into the pool. I couldn't stop myself from repeatedly looking back at her. Although she had a smile on her face as she was checking her phone, it seemed like she was still feeling some sort of sadness that I couldn't exactly describe.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my shoulder. "You know that your girlfriends gonna see you later anyway, right? So stop worrying about leaving her!" said one of the guys from earlier.

"Sh-She's not my girlfriend. We just happen to know each other through family connections! Nothing romantic involved!" I exclaimed.

A devilish smirk showed on his face "Uh-huh... if you say so..."

"I'm telling the truth though! You can even ask Nino-chan, she'll tell you the exact same thing I said!"

After several more attempts to convince him, he shrugged his shoulders, "Fine. She isn't your girlfriend... yet."

I groaned, "There's no end to this, isn't there?"

"Took you long enough to notice!"

And without a second thought I swam away and headed towards Goro. "Hey man, I heard you finished doing all your laps already, would you mind staying with Nino-chan for a bit? I'm not 100% sold on the fact that she's feeling better."

Goro did a salute and smiled, "Sure! leave it to me, big bro!" and he immediately got out of the water. He started running towards Nino and ignored the wet floor sign, slipping and doing several rolls as he landed face first right in front of Nino-chan. After a couple of seconds he slowly raised his hand and gave everyone a thumbs up gesture, much to the amusement of everyone from the two classes.

"Honestly... how has he survived till this point?" I thought as I shook my head.

-Chapter 9 End-