CHAPTER TWO guardedly

"Your mom hates me."

The wind was blowing, a cool shallow breeze that made the hems of their jackets flutter and their hair to softly twirl around their head. The sky was muted and blue-gray, the morning sun just barely peaking out from a cluster of thick white clouds. Cold moisture hung in the air and clung uncomfortably to their skin.

They both shivered and tucked their hands inside their pockets, hunching their shoulders to try and block the chill from breathing down their necks. It would get warmer later, they knew, though it never felt like it in the morning.

Sora's mother never took a liking to Yamato. But despite the woman's unpleasant disposition towards him, he never failed to be polite. (Polite, almost to the point of sarcasm, noted Sora, but not quite, he always countered, though it was sorely tempting.)

Her mother, in return, never failed to ignore his existence completely. Sometimes she would compliment him coldly with a subtly veiled insult; he didn't know which yet was worse.

"You're just unlikable," she said calmly.

Sora would reach up and ruffle up his hair, or tease him on his choice of apparel in an attempt to cheer him. It never really worked. Recently she had resorted to pushing him out the door before her mother could reach him, but she seldom succeeded; she was always late.

He shook his head as if hurt and put his hand over his heart. "That hurt, Sora. Right here."

"And he can act, too!" She punched him in the arm.

"She doesn't like me hanging out with boys so much."

"Boys, in which case you mean me."

She shrugged. "Pretty much, yea."

He pushed her away from him.

His scowl soon turned into an involuntary smile, however, because she grinned and tackled him into a hug from the side.

xxx

"Taichi, I'm tired."

"You want me to carry your bag?"

"No, it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea."

xxx

Taichi sat on one of the rickety, colorful table-benches scattered across the school quad. A group of his friends stood around him, discussing sports, and girls, and maybe something about a party a classmate was throwing that weekend. He wasn't too sure; he wasn't paying attention.

He subconsciously looked passed one of the cheerleaders standing in front of him and his chocolate brown eyes caught the sight of two very familiar figures walking by. His gaze rooted to the spot he had seen them even after they had disappeared from his line of vision, his sight blurring and the voices around him turning into a murky buzz.

"You ok, Tai?" Mimi. Honey brown eyes, long brown hair.

But Taichi wasn't listening. He was pensive, his eyes glazing in a faraway gaze, staring into space.

"…Tai?"

He snapped out of his reverie. "Huh?…Oh, hey Mimi."

A look of irritation flickered on her face.

"You ok?"

He looked down and tiredly nodded his head. "Yea, yea, I'm fine. Listen, Mimi, I have to go." He edged off the table and began to back away. "See you at lunch, yea?"

She watched with a curious expression as he disappeared into the crowd.

xxx

"It's getting dark. We haven't been out this late before."

"Do you know where we are?"

"No…you scared, Sora?"

"Of course not."

"…Me neither."

xxx

Taichi slowly walked down the empty hallway. It was 3:46 in the afternoon now, and he had just completed a particularly boring session of detention. Books clutched at his side, and his free hand stuffed into his pocket, he trudged down the sunlit corridor and towards the front door.

A few steps and around the corner, he stopped short as he noticed a lone figure searching through her locker. Short auburn hair, slim frame; he knew her.

He stood still, wondering if he should approach her. The afternoon sunshine streamed through the windows, and he could see the dust particles dancing in a patch of light behind her.

She was always a pretty girl, he mused. But the light and the empty surroundings gave her a soft, ethereal kind of prettiness that made her look blithe and too innocent to touch. He guessed she had gone home and come back, for in lieu of the school's monotonous school uniforms, she wore a charcoal pleated miniskirt and a black pullover.

She slowly pulled out a dark green textbook and moved to shut the metal door closed with her free hand, peering thoughtfully into the open storeroom to make sure she gathered everything she needed. He walked up to her then, lightly touching her arm to get her attention, and just as quickly, she spun, her hand flying to hit him in the head with her calculus book.

Chocolate brown eyes widened in shock, and he leaned back just in time, seizing her wrist with one hand and quickly unarming her with the other. "Freaking ay, Sora!" his own books slammed onto the floor.

The noise died down; violet crimson stared into chocolate brown and he felt her relax under his grip. Her relief suddenly turned into cautious curiosity, and he felt her stiffen.

"A bit jumpy, don't you think?" he asked lightly. He released his hold.

She shrugged guardedly, clumsily, keeping her eyes on his face. "What can I say; reflexes and instincts and all that."

He allowed a careful smirk. "You always attack people with books?"

Her eyes were still on him. "Not just anyone."

"I should feel special, then."

"What do you want, Taichi?" she asked. She didn't say it bitterly, or sadly, or angrily, even. It was quiet and casual, but to the point.

He didn't avoid her gaze. His eyes were softhearted and maybe sad, and she couldn't help staring at them, at the sunshine melting into pools of gold and chocolate brown.

He shrugged his shoulders and looked away from her face, focusing his attention elsewhere. "What are you doing here?"

She watched him intently, warily, her hands nervously balling into fists at her sides. She was aware he hadn't answered her question, aware that he didn't really know.

"I…forgot my calculus book."

The corner of his lips turned into a tired half-smile in a way that made him look childishly endearing. "Yea? I just had detention." He turned and leaned against the locker doors, his head tilting back and resting on the metal surface. "Apparently I was talking, which is stupid, because I slept through the whole class today. The bastard." He shook his head.

There was a thin, airy silence.

"…How are you?" he asked.

She nodded her head, looking down at the ground. "I'm doing good, actually."

A hesitant beat.

"And you?"

"Same here."

His head dropped, and he distractedly kicked at the floor with the toe of his sneaker. "I just…I just wanted to see how you were doing, I guess."

The front doors opened tentatively and their heads turned to glance at the newcomer. A tall blonde male stood in the entrance, one hand on the door and the other inside the pocket of his blazer. His blue eyes flickered between the two figures in the hallway. The yellow sunlight spilled into the corridor, and Taichi squinted to recognize him.

Sora looked away. She already knew who it was.

"I have to go, Taichi," she said softly.

His attention quickly snapped back to her face. "Of course. Um…I'll see you around?"

Something flashed in her eyes – curiosity, distrust, sarcasm, and wondering if he could possibly be serious. "Yea," she turned to leave. "I'll see you around."

She walked slowly, uneasily, and when she reached the door her head turned a fraction of an inch to the side and her hands briefly held onto the edge. She quickly looked away and pushed her blonde companion out with her.

The door eerily clicked shut behind them, and he was left staring blankly at the closed entrance. The silence deafened, and he suddenly felt fidgety. His eyes wandered down the hallway, at the ceiling, at the opposing wall of lockers. And in spite of himself, thoughts and reflections of what had just happened pieced through his mind – bits of conversation, the shallow awkwardness and the suggestion of a familiar ease replaying in his head.

He swerved to lean back against the row of lockers.

Just what was he doing?

His line of vision fell to the floor. The books he had previously dropped lay haphazardly at his feet, half-opened and upside down with papers he had carelessly stuck in there scattered around him.

It was then that he noticed with some surprise that he was still holding on to her calculus book.

xxx

"I'm getting kind've hungry."

"Me too. We should bring sandwiches next time."

"I guess I should've thought this through."

"Na. It's ok."

"…Hey, Sora? Thanks for coming with me."

"You're welcome."

"…Let's go home."

"Ok…Taichi? You're my best friend."

"You're my best friend too."

"Don't worry, Tai. Next time we run away from home, we'll bring sandwiches."

xxx

A/N: Thank you for your patience. This will still ultimately be a YamatoxSora, but there will be some TaichixSora, if you couldn't already tell. This is only the beginning.

-loveophelia