BEHOLD! CONTINUATION! Still own nothing though, but it feels good getting these out there. Been meaning to do this for ages.
Life had honestly changed for one Taylor Hebert since that one simple encounter. Classes were still a mess some days filled with sticky seats, spitballs and stolen assignments, but those were getting farther between with the less classes shared between the worst three bitches.
Gentarou, as she had found out the next day after being shocked by his excited greeting in the hall, was an upperclassman to her, having supposed to have graduated the year before but got transferred back again after moving to the Bay, which explained both why she had never seen him before and the height difference.
Being around him...was an experience. If Winslow and the classes were the storm she had to weather before being blown away, Gentarou was the eye of it. Things just seemed...brighter around him. Watching him call out and high-five, fistbump, or shoulder bump everyone he passed brought a smile to her face, and the people...answered back.
It didn't matter what year, race, or gender you were, he simply treated everyone like they were great friends...and they responded back. It would have made you nervous any other time, moving out of the way of the crouching green and red kids hanging on the stairs at lunch, but they waved cheerily back like nothing was wrong. Blonde haired jocks with crewcuts shared laughs and arms tugs as they shot funny faces back and forth, and even the kids a little out of it seemed a bit starry eyed, massive smiles on their faces.
He made the school seem like an actually good place to be in, and not a bare step above gang warfare like it was on some days.
"Oh? And who's this Taylor? Find a new client who doesn't care about your 'reputation?'" A sweet voice asked from behind her, instantly shooting down the good mood Taylor had found herself in.
As she whirled around to the voice, that dread was surely answered. There stood Emma Barnes, signature prim smile on her face with Sophia Hess like a silent bulwark beside her, scowling away. Madison was there as well, but she was mostly just a sounding board outside of spitballs.
And Gentarou, poor, innocent Gentarou, was right in their sights as he too turned to see the new people. The smile on his face something shrivel up in Taylor for a moment, but she had to be strong.
"Hey! Who are you girls? Friends of Taylor's? Because any friend of a friend is a friend of mine!" Gentarou laughed as he thrusted a thumb to his chest, making Madison giggle and allowing Taylor the chance to see Emma's smile turn a bit sharper.
"Oh yes! We've been friends for years! Why, I'd even say we're practically sisters!" Emma tittered even as she kept her eyes locked with Taylor's own. Taylor could already feel the dread forming a pit in her stomach.
"That's great! Childhood friends are forever, ya know?" Gentarou wasted no time in replying, massive grin on his face, missing the looks as he locked eyes with Sophia instead, making her tense up before narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, I couldn't agree more. Best friends forever." Emma spoke with a tone that couldn't have melted butter.
"But what's Taylor doing here? I thought you had to leave because of your period? I know you have trouble keeping track of things long term." She continued like she was talking to a small child, instantly filling Taylor with hot embarrassment and shame at the insinuation and topic amongst so many people.
She quickly ripped around to see any kind of people who might have been listening in, before turning back to Gentarou...
Who was simply standing there with a confused look on his face.
"Classes just ended, so of course she left that period. That's how western schools work! Hahaha!" He simply stated before laughing to himself, probably believing that was some kind of joke even as Taylor saw both Emma and Madison twitch at the sheer lack of response. Opposite this, Taylor felt a rise in her own gut at the sight, hoping this would dissuade them.
Before Emma could try again though, it was Sophia who spoke next, startling both Taylor, and Emma apparently.
"Why're you hanging around Hebert? You're strong, you should be around someone better. Someone actually worth your time." And the words out her mouth cut Taylor deep with their suddenness.
Gentarou looked shocked for a moment, before going back to confused.
"What...does strength have to do with who I'm friends with?" He said haltingly, as if thinking about his words.
Sophia wasted no such time.
"I mean why stick around with a waste of space like Hebert. If you could be with the best of the best or people who actually matter, why wouldn't you be? A real predator doesn't stick around with prey after all." She stated matter of factly, as if these were simple truths he should already know. Taylor had never felt smaller, and Gentarou?
Gentarou's face had gone flatter and flatter with every word.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He said just as confidently, crossing his arms even as Sophia acted like she had just bitten something rancid.
"Oh? And how's it stupid?" She hissed out through gritted teeth. Taylor felt herself flinch from the sight, but also saw Gentarou not react at all.
"People who 'actually' matter? Strength? Those aren't ways that you judge friends, or make connections. That's just using people or tolerating their presence cause it helps you. That's NOT a friend." With each sentence, he got closer and closer, forcing Emma with her smaller stature to back up, but she was quickly forgotten as the two stood face to face.
"Tine with a friend is never wasted. Anyone can become one with enough time and effort and these bonds are same anywhere in the world. Nobody can do everything themselves, but with friends? One, two, ten, a hundred, a thousand, incredible things can happen any day we want them to. That's why my goal is to become friends with everyone in this world." Gentarou spoke. It was a normal volume, but to Taylor it felt like a shout with how it was ringing in her ears. Or was it her heart?
Either way, she wasn't the only one trembling.
The next words did NOT help her.
"That's why, I'm gonna befriend YOU three next!"
Oh GOD, WHAT WAS HAPPENING!
END OF CHAPTER
Mini-Split After Day
Gentarou Kisaragi had arrived home from a productive day at school and he felt like he was about to fly to the moon! He had to share it with someone!
"Uncle! Uncle! I'm back! And I made some more new friends!"
"Urgh."
Haha! Your Uncle was always so tired and grumbly during the day! It must have been rough having a night job, but he made it work for him!
"And I met these three new girls today, underclassmen! They had the weirdest sense of what a friend was, so I'm gonna teach them a lesson!"
"Murgh?" He grunted back slightly interested.
"BY MAKING THEM MY NEW FRIENDS AS WELL!"
"Murph." And back to the toneless grunting.
This WILL be the best time ever!
"UCHU KITAAAAA!" Gentarou yelled as he ran to the kitchen to make a dinner fit for a thousand friends, even as his Uncle Kenta sank deeper into his Lay-Z-Boy chair desperate for some quiet.
It was a regular night.