Leila Stewart & Odessa Covington

August 30th, 2006

Neon Genesis Evangelion:

Premonition

Chapter 2:

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Premonition

Chapter Two: Arguments, tears, and another man's kiss.

Hikari, the class president, stood up in the front of the room watching as their teacher, Misato, walked into the class room "All rise", she said in a slight tone indicating that she was in charge of the class and thus above everyone else when it came to status in the class room.

Some of the student's chose to stand in respect as Misato walked into the class room, earning them a thankful glance from Hikari and a small one from Misato. Though the glances from the two women quickly turned to a scowl when they saw that several students sitting down; Toji, Takiko, and Asuka. There was really nothing they could do about it. Two of them had anger problems, and the other was just stubborn.

As Misato started to call roll, she looked down at her clipboard "Ikari, Shinji?" she called, silence. "Is Mr.Ikari here? Has anyone seen him?" She had to admit that it was a rather strange thing for Shinji to miss school, knowing his parents; they'd make him come even when he was sick...so Shinji being absent was rather unheard of.

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Sitting on the other side of the school, Shinji sat thinking. He honestly didn't want to go back to class, not now...not with Asuka there. Sure the handprint had faded from his cheek, but the emotional sting of her hitting him hadn't. It was still something of a shock for him to actually accept that she had hit him.

With a deep sigh, he tilted his head up to look at the dull ceiling. Maybe I should make her jealous or something... He thought off handedly. The real question though...was how exactly would he make her jealous to the point where it was painfully obvious, what exactly would make her jealous. Sure there were plenty of things that he could think of, but would they actually work or just get her mad?

Just at that moment, something clicked. She and Rei Ayanami had been on rather bad terms for as long as he could remember...what if he was suddenly dating her? It wasn't like he'd have to face Rei for quite some time either, she was out of school for weeks at a time. Supposedly she had some sort of chronic illness, it was rather cruel...but he thanked god for a minute that she was sick again this week.

Putting his hands on his knees, he gave a heavy sigh as he stood back on his two feet. Smiling a bit at his idea, he began to walk back to class with a bit of a spring in his step.

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Droning out the sound of Misato's voice, Asuka sighed heavily to herself. It wasn't very easy to get over the fact that she might've lost Shinji as a friend. He had been a lot of firsts for her; her first real friend, her first non-family hug, her first real kiss...but then she had to go slap him and ruin all of it. She had kept thinking about all the times she had been wrong about him, all the times he had proved to be more then just a spineless wimp that she had thought he originally was. All the times he had held her and stuck up for her, then she just had to have the nerve to yell at him and hit him for what she had been telling him to do all along, to stand up for himself. What a great friend she had been, honestly.

Just as Misato had finished calling role, Hikari put her hands on her waist. Clearly upset that no one was paying attention to either of them. "Hey, you guys! You're being rude!" her cheeks had a slight red tint to them from her outburst.

"Awe, who cares?" this of course...came from Toji. He lent back in his chair with his hands behind his head, feet propped up onto the desk. Feeling a pair of eyes other then Hikari's glaring at him, he turned his head to look at Takiko. Watching her smirk slowly, he got the smallest feeling that something bad was going to happen, but all to quickly before he had time to respond, he felt his chair being kicked out from under him. Falling face first onto the floor, he groaned and spat out a few colorful words that caused a few people to look over at him laughing.

"You should stand when a teacher comes into the room" Takiko knew that she was being hypocritical, but she just wanted to get a rise out of Toji, it was to fun to resist.

Toji stood up and gave Takiko a good hard glare. Pointing an accusing finger at her "You didn't stand up either, you damned bitch!"

Raising an eyebrow, Takiko got an evil glint in her eyes. "Now Toji...You wouldn't want your secret to get around school now would you? After all, I never knew a guy like you was able to l-" In the blink of an eye, Toji had rushed forward and put his hand over her mouth.

"Alright, Alright, I get it" he muttered. Feeling her smirk against his hand, he dropped his hand from her mouth with an annoyed glance. Walking over to his seat defeated, he propped his feet up on the desk with his arms crossed over his chest.

Once Misato had finished calling role, she checked her paper once more before looking up around the room. "So I'm right to assume that Mr.Ikari and Ms. Ayanami are the only students absent today?" Looking over to Hikari as she nodded, she then walked over to her desk and sat down. After all, it was homeroom...they actually didn't do all to much.

Takiko had momentarily forgotten about Toji, and lent back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. "Perhaps Shinji and Rei are out on a date, or something. Or maybe practicing how to procreate...if you catch my drift" she added a small wink. In the background, she could faintly hear Toji yelling his complaint of, "Shinji and Miss Silent! No way!"

Asuka sat quietly, her eyebrow twitching. If it wasn't Shinji she was complaining about or yelling at how much she hated him, it was 'Wondergirl'...the girl she had known since kindergarten...she was worse then anyone she had ever known "Don't you dare say that" she hissed angrily, "Shinji wouldn't go for such a tramp anyways"

From where he sat next to Asuka, Kaworu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Oh? Defensive once someone says he's with someone else, huh?" So it bothers you? I thought so" he said smirking a little. He really couldn't help poking fun at her. It had been that way since they were little kids, it was almost like he was acting as her older brother and taking on the job of making her life as miserable as he could.

Feeling her jaw drop, she looked at Kaworu with a mixture of shock and anger. "I am not being defensive! I just don't want a bunch of little idiots and wondergirls running around here! Besides, Wondergirl isn't good enough for someone like Shinji!" She knew that she had gotten herself into a predicament with this one. If only she could just learn to keep her mouth shut...which wasn't very likely

Kaworu, taking advantage of this situation, smirked. "And I suppose someone like you is then?" Tilting his head to the side in mock curiousness, he watched as she covered her mouth yelling muffled 'no's'

Just at that moment, after listening in for a short while, Shinji walked into the class room. His demeanor cold and calm. "Asuka-"he began "Would you stop talking about Rei like that, she's my girlfriend". Walking over to his desk, he began to pull out some of his homework and began to act as if nothing had happened.

From where Takiko sat she slammed her head down on the table and groaned. This was going to cause nothing but problems. How could Shinji be going out with Rei? They weren't going out yesterday, and she wasn't even here today...so how could he have asked her? "Oh boy..." She mumbled under her breath. As if they needed anymore drama between Asuka, Shinji, and Rei.

Asuka's blue eyes widened and her pupils narrowed while they got smaller. Jaw dropping a small amount. Hearing that Shinji was going out with Rei hurt much more then another punch, physical or mental, that she had taken. Staring at Shinji for a moment, not exactly sure what she should say to him in a situation like this. Biting her lower lip and turning her head away from him "Oh...I...I um, I hope you're happy together then..." she mumbled. At this moment, she promised herself to try to refuse to look at him for at least the rest of the class period.

Kaworu tapped Shinji on the back of his shoulder till he saw his friend turn around almost lethargically. Shouldn't Shinji be happy if he had just gotten a girlfriend? Was something wrong with him? "Congratulations Mr. Ikari! When did you ask?" His voice was happy and hiding the concern he couldn't help but suddenly feel for his friend.

Thinking for a moment, Shinji decided what to say. His eyes looked over to Asuka and they dimmed slightly. Resting his chin in his hand while his eyes looked away from Kaworu to the other side of the room "This morning" he mumbled quietly. Sure the reason that he had told everyone he had asked Rei out was to make Asuka jealous...but...it wasn't exactly turning out the way that he had hoped. He hadn't seen Rei in a few days, how could he have asked her out? To be honest, he wasn't exactly interested in her anyway...but since Rei wasn't going to be here today, he came up with the idea of making Asuka jealous...dumb idea on his part.

Toji looked at Shinji and Asuka out of the corner of his eyes. Letting out a quiet, but heavy sigh. This whole 'Ayanami' thing was going to turn into a big mess. The last time Asuka had acted sad and depressed; there were rumors of her running away and not showing up for a week. If she was this depressed over Shinji, then he'd have to suggest that he head to a bomb shelter sometime soon.

The only person, who was left smiling through this whole thing, was Kaworu. "Well I'm happy for you that you finally found someone that can love you without abusing you as well at the same time. I must say, I was starting to get my hopes up about you never finding anyone but boy was I wr-" before he could even finish his sentence the bell signaling the end of class and the start of lunch had rung. Looking around the room, many people were quickly getting out of their seat and gathering their things, determined to get their lunch before anyone else before all of the good things to eat got sold before they got down there.

Asuka, getting out of her seat and walking past Shinji knew that lunch today would be different. Sure, she at with both Hikari and Shinji...they all ate together, they had since grade school...but she really didn't want to face Shinji right now, hear his name, voice, or anything about him let alone be in the same eating space as him. Walking over to where Hikari and Takiko stood waiting at the door, she put on a cheerful smile. "Um, let's go up on the roof, shall we?" Grabbing a few Hundred Yen coins from a pouch in her school bag, she shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I gotta stop in the cafeteria first though, I'm going to buy lunch today" She refused to eat the lunch that she knew Shinji had made for her.

"Okay, meet you up there then!" Hikari said in her normally cheerful voice, though perhaps she had hoped that if she was cheerful, then it'd rub off on Asuka.

Takiko, who was standing next to Hikari, also nodded "Alright, If you're sure..." She turned to follow Hikari up the stairs and towards the roof. Mentally, she was cursing Shinji...Why did he have to say something like that to Asuka, especially right after they had a fight like that, didn't he have a brain? She sighed heavily. Now that Shinji was supposedly going out with Rei, things were going to more complicated then usual, just great.

Returning from the cafeteria, Asuka had bought some gyouza dumplings. Opening the door to the roof Terrance where she knew Hikari and Takiko would be sitting. "Hey! I'm back!" She said smiling a little as she walked over to them and taking a bite of the dumpling. "Wow-"She started, observing the school's food."- I haven't had the school's food in a long time! I've had boxed lunches constantly, it's nice for a change" She continued to speak with a fake smile on her face. She couldn't ignore that she had practically been dumped for Wondergirl. Well, her and Shinji weren't exactly dating...but still!

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Walking with Toji and Kaworu, Shinji sighed and threw away the extra lunch in the trash bin that he had made for Asuka that morning. His plan wasn't going exactly how he had planned, and that wasn't fair. How come Asuka could get away with being...Asuka, and he couldn't do anything to make her feel bad or else it came back and bit him in the ass? He had wanted Asuka to declare her everlasting love for him instead of getting angry and ignoring him...but perhaps he was hoping to much that Asuka would actually do something like that, he should've thought this out a bit more.

Kaworu sat next to Shinji out in one of the school's courtyards, starting to eat from a small black box that he had packed himself "So..." He started randomly, determined to break the heavy silence that was between the three of them. It was nerve wracking.

It was during this time that Kensuke decided to bring up the subject of the relationship of Rei and Shinji, if there was one at all. "I never would have thought that you and Rei would get together in the long run. I've always thought that it would be you and Asuka" That was probably what everyone thought. After all, no matter how often Shinji and Asuka would argue in the past, they always forgave each other...though this time, who knew how long that would take.

Refusing to look at either Kaworu or Kensuke, he opened his bento and frowned. This wasn't the lunch that he had packed for him; it was the one he had packed for Asuka. Putting the bento to the side, not being able to look at it. He looked down to his lap and sighed heavily. "I'm not going out with Rei" He mumbled quietly.

"Then why did you say you were?" Kensuke asked while frowning. Sometimes, even though Shinji was pretty smart in all subjects, he was pretty damn clueless when it came to actual people.

"Just...Just because" Shinji continued to mumble. He didn't want to let them know that he wanted to make Asuka jealous...It seemed like such a stupid thing to do when he looked back at it, he was just ashamed to admit that he lied about his relationship with Rei to hurt Asuka.

Pushing his glasses up his nose a tad bit "So...let me get this straight...You said you were going out with Ayanami...just to say it?" Kensuke asked. He wasn't exactly following Shinji's line of thinking, or planning for that matter.

Kaworu looked up to the roof terrance and sighed. Asuka's attitude about this whole thing wasn't getting Shinji any further in his whole 'Jealousy act' that he had started. He was proud that Shinji had stood up to Asuka today...but, he wasn't exactly taking the right approach to getting what he wanted.

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Looking over to Asuka, Takiko smiled. It didn't seem like she was too hurt, but she knew better. Her grandfather and parents had worked with their parents daily so she had known them since she was a little girl. "I suppose...it's not as good as Miss Ikari's cooking though" Even though Asuka was trying her hardest to act like there was nothing wrong with her, she knew that it was only a façade.

Asuka nodded feeling a tad more happier then she had before "Yeah, Aunt Yui's cooking is great! I just feel bad for what an idiot son she has-" She mumbled "-but then again, her cooking sills passed onto Shinji as well! He's a great cook...hey! Did you know that Shinji has been making me lunch for the past five years?" Looking down to the tiles, she couldn't stop the thoughts that were flowing into her head. Was it all going to be different now? No more lunches, no more late night studies, no more walks to the park and back, no more movie nights...no one to hold her when she was upset. She took in a deep shaky breath as she tried to stop the tears from developing in her eyes. The walls that she had been building up all day to protect herself from the pain of the situation started to crumble. Grabbing onto Takiko, she began to cry.

Smiling sadly, Takiko held Asuka close to her. Gently running a hand up and down her black in a comforting manor "I'm sure this 'Wondergirl' is just a fling Asuka, Shinji can't be serious about her, there's no way" She mumbled quietly, trying her hardest to consol her friend. "Actually, I don't think he's going out with her at all you know why?" She felt Asuka's head shake back and forth slightly as a 'no' along with a small sniffle. It hurt her to see the normally strong and 'invincible' Asuka reduced to this, Shinji would have some serious groveling to do. "Re hasn't been to school in a few days, she's not even here today...so how Shinji could ask her?"

Frowning, Hikari reached over and put a comforting hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Exactly, had hadn't even seen Rei today...I'm sure Shinji is just trying to figure out what he really thinks of you" She said calmly as she tried to reason out Shinji's actions.

From beneath Takiko's embrace and Hikari's comforting hang, Asuka took in another deep shaky breath, sobbing a little as she continued to hug Takiko. "He...He has her on his cell phone" she mumbled quietly "He could have called her before school ha-had even started" She clenched her fists, feeling another wave of anger hit her from out of the blue. "I hate him...I HATE HIM. I HATE HIM SO MUCH!" The repetitive phrases of her hate for Shinji had started out in a quiet mumble, but then had escalated to loud screams, loud enough for the people on the school grounds to hear.

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Shinji looked over to Kaworu and Kensuke with a nod. Hearing Asuka's angry shouting, he sighed. Perhaps they were right, maybe he did go about this whole thing with the wrong approach. He could've asked Kaworu or something before he started this, he after all, was never one to make up plans that ended well. "Yeah, but this whole thing isn't going like I hoped it would..." He mumbled and looked at the food that he had set aside. All of a sudden, he didn't even want to be around food, it was making him fell sicker then he already felt.

Looking at Shinji with a slightly sympathetic smile "Maybe she thinks you really like Miss Ayanami? I mean...Miss Sohryu is not the type to sit around and wait, she takes such things much more seriously. Just try to be more careful. Try to...do more things to make her jealous. I suggest really asking Ayanami out and if she accepts, spend a lot more time with her while Asuka is around. It's sure to make her feel like she wants to crawl back to you, and once she's on the verge of doing so, you can swing in and save the day...if that's the approach you're going for." Kaworu paused for a moment. "Don't worry Shinji, we'll figure something out. Besides, nothing's impossible."

With a quiet sigh, Shinji looked around at Kensuke and Kaworu. He didn't really want to go out with Rei, she wasn't even his type...he wasn't even remotely interested in her. Just how much did he like Asuka; did he like her more then just a friend? Why didn't he notice it until now? Maybe he didn't really like her and just though he did. He didn't want to really even think about his fake relationship with Rei, or the possibility of asking Asuka out...if she ever forgave him that is, until he came to terms with his own feelings. Though...who would he talk to about it? Kaworu and Kensuke were great friends, but they didn't understand where he was coming from. His mother was out of the question, all she would do is squeal and act as if it was a great thing that he had fallen in love with a family friend. But he wasn't falling in love, or in love...he was just confused about his relationship with Asuka.

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Letting go of Takiko, Asuka gently pulled away and stood up. Wiping her face clear of tears and willing her breaths to become even. She hated being reduced to tears; it made her feel as if she was weak. "I'm going back to class..." She mumbled. Grabbing her garbage and throwing it in the bin next to the staircase on her way down. Sure she had hated Wondergirl before...but now, she loathed her for taking away the best guy friend she had. Wiping her eyes again, still slightly crying she walked into the bathroom. Heading over to the white porcelain sink, she turned on the cold water. Cupping her hands, she let the water fill up her hands before she gently splashed the water onto her face, hoping the cold water would take some of the swelling down. The redness of her face was a tell tale sign that she had been crying...that or she had an allergic reaction quite recently.

Takiko watched as Asuka left the roof top and sighed quietly. Hikari left soon after Asuka did, claiming that she had some 'class president responsibilities' to do...So that left her all alone on the roof top. It was so hard to keep Asuka happy...not that she didn't like her or anything, Asuka was her best friend and all...but it was just that Asuka's mood was so fragile and it changed so fast you couldn't really predict what it would be like. The only time you could remotely tell what her mood was going to be like, is when it came to Shinji. With a sigh, she stood up from where she sat on the roof. Walking over to the chain link fence, not really that surprised to see Kensuke, Kaworu, and Shinji sitting in the courtyard...although they did appear to be deep in thought. She took the opportunity to gaze at Kaworu. There was something about him that she couldn't help but like. Though...if Kaworu were to like anyone, it would most probably be Rei. They were both quiet and mainly kept to themselves. She could understand where Asuka was coming from...'Stupid Wondergirl' she thought to herself with a small frown.

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Asuka walked down the hall and into the classroom, there were only three other girls eating in the classroom, then at a desk towards the corner of the room sat Toji. Walking down to sit in her seat, which was right in front of Toji's. Turning in her chair to look at him "So...why'd you come back? Got tired of the idiots gloating about Wondergirl?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course, after catching a tramp like that, any guy would be happy to have such a slut in his grasp!" She turned her head, felling tears filling up in her eyes before taking a deep breath and blinking them back. It was bad enough that her face as already red and puffy, she didn't want to start crying again...especially not in front of Toji.

He looked over at Asuka, concerned. She wasn't one to cry... let alone cry in public. "Asuka..." He started slowly, he had rarely ever used her first name, usually only calling her names and teasing her "its Shinji isn't it?" He couldn't stand to see her cry; he wasn't in love with her...no...But he thought of her as a friend, and he didn't like to see his friends hurt or crying over something that another of his friends did. Sure he was supposed to be a heartless bastard but what could he do. Girls and tears were two of his biggest weaknesses, and what could he do as both of them came together?

Wincing at his name, the tears coming back even harder then before. Slowly nodding, her head already tilted down so her hair covered her face, masking her eyes. "Don't cry...Don't cry...Don't cry" she told herself over and over again, like a mantra. "Y-yes..." She sobbed quietly, "I-It kinda...is..." She felt so dumb breaking down about Shinji in front of Toji, especially since she always acted so tough and bad in front of him and Kensuke. Bringing her hands to her face, she continued to keep her gaze to the floor.

With a defeated sigh, Toji got up from his desk and walked a few feet over to where Asuka was. Pulling a chair right next to hers, he sat down beside her. Before she could say anything, or he could think of what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin atop of her head. The least he could do for Asuka was comfort her, no girl deserved to be this distraught over an idiot wimp like Shinji.

Asuka's eyes widened a little as she felt Toji wrap his arms around her. Ignoring the giggles and the small quiet round of 'aww's' of the three girls across the room, she hugged him back. Burying her face into his chest and letting herself cry, not exactly caring that she was creating tear marks on his shirt. Gently gripping the sleeve of his shirt and with the other, she grabbed the small pocket at the chest. She usually wouldn't let Toji comfort her like he was, but...it seemed today as if he was the only guy that cared for her...

Still rubbing comforting circles on hr back "Now don't get the wrong Idea-"he started to speak, his voice in a soft mumble. "-You're still the red headed devil...I just...don't like to see girls cry...especially someone as strong as you" Gently drawing her closer to him, he closed his eyes and rested his head on hers. He didn't care if anyone walked in on them, or saw. It was worse for Asuka to sit alone crying. Let rumors start, let people think what they wanted, he didn't care anymore...

Asuka shook her head silently, tears continuing to fall. "N-No...I-I'm not! If I w-was strong, I w-wouldn't be here r-right now...c-crying about a f-friend dating some s-slut!" she cried against his chest. "It's my entire fault" she mumbled quietly.

Moving his head so he could whisper into her ear reassuringly "It's not your fault Asuka...I don't see how Shinji could ever pick someone like Rei over you. You're an amazing person". When he spoke, his voice was soft and near impossible to hear. He hated to have Asuka reduced to tears and having to cry against his chest, he'd much rather her yell at him. "Asuka...if you weren't strong you wouldn't cry-"His hand gently running over her hair "-but you're strong because you do cry...because you're not ashamed to admit that it hurts"

Pulling away slightly, she looked up at him and bit her lip. She felt like a child, weak and defenseless...just as she felt when Shinji had held her the same when her father had died. Why was it always Shinji? No matter what happened, Shinji was the only one she could think of. Wiping her eyes and cheeks, still red and puffy "N-No...I'm not that amazing...and if I hadn't gotten mad at him and hit him...he wouldn't have asked Rei out as a l-last resort and a way out..." She said in a soft whisper, looking up at him. "I'm sorry Toji..."

His hand slowly trailed from her hair to cup her cheek. Looking deep into her blue eyes with his own brown ones "Don't be sorry Asuka" He mumbled quietly, his thumb brushing a tear away from her eye. Slowly, he lowered his head to hers and he brushed his lips against hers in a soft chaste kiss. After a few seconds, he pulled away slowly. "Asuka...you're a wonderful person and if another person causes you pain and makes you think this way, then you shouldn't waste your time on them" Standing up, he softly kissed her forehead before he turned to leave...For once, he didn't want to be late to class.

Blushing, she watched him go while rubbing her puffy eyes. Her fingers trailing down from her eyes to her lips where she could still feel his lips against hers...Today...for the first time, she had felt safe in Toji's arms...

Just for making you guys wait for so long, I've decided to combine chapters...9 chapters...NINE! I worked hard on this, so I really hope you like it!

You guys had better review this chapter, the sooner we get more reviews, the harder and faster we'll work on this.

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You really do.

Love Odessa and Leila.