Len POV
I noticed her stretching her injured limb out, trying to reach the last bit of writing on the top of the whiteboard.
In a panic, I quickly rushed over to lend her a helping hand.
"I..I'll do it!" I stuttered a little as I took the duster from her hands and tiptoed to erase the last bit of writing. Despite being a guy, I wasn't much taller than Shion. In fact, we were probably around the same height.
She stared at me intensely and remained silent.
I explained, "Well you know, I thought stretching your arm like that might have been a little straining so I..."
Her gaze softened but her eyes remained fixated on me. Feeling a little awkward, I scratched my head and turned around, walking away.
"Haha, isn't this troublesome? I wish we could go home already... haha" I forced a laugh trying to break the intense atmosphere.
...
"Can I try one?" I flashed a grin.
She looked at me in silence for a few seconds. Before I could blurt out "Just kidding~", she nodded her head to my utter surprise.
"R..really?!" I blurted a little too loudly. I thought sounded like an excited school kid, how embarrassing.
She nodded again and offered her lunchbox. I took some of her food and to my surprise,
"This is good!"
She stared at me.
"No kidding, I can't believe you made this yourself. Unlike this other girl I know, you know our classmate Gumi, right? That loud, sporty girl always with Gumiya. Mmhm, she was never good at home economics. Heck, I was probably better than her," I noticed I was rambling and quickly wrapped it up, "What I'm trying to say is, you're amazing Shion!"
She placed her finger in front of her lips telling me to keep quiet.
"Oops, I'm sorry."
She then looked away and began brushing her fringe.
Did I make her feel uncomfortable?
...
Shion was instructed by the teachers during the break the carry a stack of handouts to the staff room.
That's right, the teachers don't know about her injury. She probably didn't tell them about it either.
I followed her out of the classroom and took (I might have snatched it away instead) the stack of paper from her.
"Leave it to me!" I exclaimed heroically before she could say anything and made a dash to the staff room.
...
"Where have you been all this while, geez," Gumiya turned around with his hands behind his head, "You've been running around an awful lot lately."
"Nothing much, I guess," I shrugged. Gumiya casually placed his arm on my desk, taking up most of the space.
"Hey, what are you..." I looked up at him.
"It's happening again," he looked outside the window.
I turned towards the direction of Gumiya's gaze and noticed Miku with a female student behind the school courtyard. The female student was fidgety and seemed nervous. One of her fans maybe?
"It has already happened more than twice the past few weeks," Gumiya explained, "Students have been making their move on Miku and confessing to her..."
Even from afar you could tell the girl was becoming more and more flustered.
"...including," Gumiya continued, "girls."
At that instant, the girl outside bowed and I finally understood what was happening. It was a confession.
I looked away, embarrassed.
"I... I guess Miku's attractive both ways huh.." I mumbled while awkwardly brushing my fringe.
"Is that all?"
"What do you mean?" I looked at him.
Gumiya leaned forward, resting his chin on the back of his hand. He narrowed his eyes at me for a few seconds, making me feel very much uncomfortable before sighing and turning around.
"Never mind, forget I said anything" he muttered, "Class is starting."
I blinked twice, baffled by his words, but decided to ignore it when I heard the bell ring.
Corridors were filled with the noisy footsteps of students running back to their classrooms. One of which belonged to Miku's.
It wasn't difficult to see the faint flush on her cheeks when she entered the classroom. It was either due to the sprint or... due to what happened earlier.
She dabbed her sweat away using her handkerchief while walking back to her seat. After returning to her seat, she sighed and coincidentally turned to my direction where we made eye contact.
I hesitated looking away and maintained eye contact awkwardly. Luckily, Miku responded with a smile and turned to the front.
"Such a sweet girl," I thought to myself, "the epitome of perfection."
I turned away and closed my eyes.
A man lay on the ground. The wound on his head began oozing red liquid.
"M..mister...?"
"Someone like me," I opened my eyes, "would never stand a chance with her."
...
Rin POV
Noise...
The noisy chatter in the hallways rang in my ear painfully.
Everywhere around me there's noise.
I closed my eyes, hoping somehow by doing so, the noise would drown itself out.
How I wish the world would be a little quieter for once.
I opened my eyes.
That's right... it wasn't always like this.
There was a time noise was the norm in my house.
"Kaito..." the fiery brunette towered ominously behind her husband. You could tell she was about to blow her top.
"Hmm? vhar bhee zhit? (What is it?)" the blue-headed man replied with a clueless look on his face and a spoon in his mouth.
"How many times do I have to tell you," she crossed her arms, "NO ice-cream before dinner?!"
"Ahh... you see. I bought this from the supermarket along with the groceries and it was a new flavour so..." he smiled and explained himself.
"That doesn't give you an excuse to..."
"Here," Kaito extended a spoonful of ice cream in front of his wife, "it's delicious."
The brunette looked temptingly at the spoonful of ice cream, perplexed as to whether she should have some. She looked at her husband who only smiled back at her innocently. Blushing a little she decided to give in, "Just one bite..."
Before she could take one, the man quickly retracted his hand and put the spoon in his mouth instead.
"No ice cream before dinner," he quoted his wife with a cheeky grin.
"KAITOOOO!" the brunette turned completely red in the face, a fusion of anger and embarrassment, "Get back here! Don't run away! At least put away the ice cream! Set a good example for the child! Hey Kaito! Stop running!"
I never understood why Dad would purposely provoke Mum like that, but whenever he did I always remember Mum smiling back. I didn't find that noise particularly noisy... It was almost calming.
Things were so different then, until...
...
"C..come back soon.." my voice trembled on the phone.
...
"Shion!" Kagamine-san's voice rang in my head.
I sighed and opened my eyes again.
That's right... there's a different kind of noise around me now.
A little loud, but slightly different from the others.
I guess, I don't really mind this noise either.
I walked down the stairs returning to the classroom for cleaning duty.
I noticed Hatsune-san walking up the stairs as well. When we made eye contact, she flashed me a smile.
Not knowing the correct response to make, I simply averted my eyes like usual and continued walking.
"Rin-chan.." Hatsune-san startled me my grabbing my arm.
It just so happened to be the injured arm and her grip was slightly painful. "...can I call you that?" she smiled again.
I panicked slightly and brushed her hand away as her grip began to hurt. Anxious about thinking of a response, I tried to walk away.
She grabbed me again, this time with a stronger force that almost made me lose my footing.
"Whoa, hey wait! I'm talking to you here!" her voice almost sounded intimidating.
"Hey Rin-chan, I can call you that right? Aren't we in the same class? I never really talked to you since school started since you were so quiet and all," her voice sounded sweet like usual, it must have been my imagination.
I scanned her body. I knew Hatsune-san was always known as the Madonna of the school, the number one model on the recent trending magazines, and other titles basically describing her beauty.
Upon closer inspection, I think...
I still don't understand what they mean.
Is it her eyes? Well, her eyes were pretty huge actually with an interesting shade of blue... No wait, is it green? Or is it turquoise...
"Rin-chan?"
I snapped out of my thoughts and forgot she was talking to me.
She simply smiled and continued, "As I was saying," she held up my hands, "Let's be friends!"
I looked at her, perplexed by her words. It's been a while since someone said they wanted to be friends with me. I honestly felt a little happy, but at the same time terrified.
"As friends we should help each other shouldn't we? Friends should always help each other in need shouldn't they?"
She turned around with her hands behind her back walking up the stairs slowly, "You know, Len is my good friend too."
Why is she bringing up Kagamine-san out of nowhere?
"As his friend I hate to see him suffer the past few days... Don't you think so too?" she turned around grinning at me.
Suffer? Has he been suffering? But why...?
"The truth is, Len has been pretty troubled the past few days hasn't he? Having to do all that work for you don't you pity him? Aren't you relying on him too much?"
That's wrong... I never wanted to trouble him or anything... Is it my fault?
"As his friend I'm asking you," her voice sounded close.
I looked up and noticed her face was but a few centimetres away.
"Don't bother Len anymore okay?" she whispered.
I walked away, not knowing what to do. What was I doing again?
Oh yeah, heading back to class. But, isn't Kagamine-san there?
"Oh, didn't Len tell you?" Hatsune-san continued, "He said he wanted to switch his cleaning partner with me today. Something about... 'I'm tired of doing all the work for her?' Haha, just kidding~"
Is... that so..
No good... It's happening again.
"Ah? Leaving already?"
I knew I shouldn't have trusted anyone
Things like this only hurt people.
In the end...
I huddled in my usual corner in the library.
...people just leave me.
Len POV
"Ugh..." I grumbled, "what did I eat today? I took a bit of time in the toilet I hope Shion doesn't mind... Ah... will she be mad..." I stumbled towards the classroom.
"Sorry I took so long Shion, what are you..." I looked up and noticed Miku in the classroom, looking out the window. I felt my heart tighten a little.
"Uh.. ah.. eh? Hastune-san? Where's Shion?"
She turned around, "Ah... Len-kun you're finally here! If you're looking for Shion-san I saw her leave just now. She didn't look well, she must have gone home."
"Ah.. I see. Seriously that girl, she could have at least told me... So Hatsune-san why are you still here?"
"I was thinking if you needed any help cleaning or something? So I decided to stay back!" she smiled.
"Ah, that's really helpful, thank you!" I bowed slightly.
"She wasn't feeling well? I didn't notice at all..." I thought to myself.
...
"...and then, the photographer told me I was Perfect during the photoshoot. I was so embarrassed~ I still have so much to learn so it was embarrassing..." Miku was sharing about her experiences as a model.
I would have never thought a day I could walk side-by-side with Miku come. I must have been really nervous because I could feel my heart palpitating.
As I went to change my shoes, I noticed someone else's were still in the locker.
"What's wrong, Len?" Miku stood at the entrance and asked.
"Does that mean she hasn't gone home? She's still in school? Wasn't she feeling unwell?"
"Len...?"
I turned towards Miku, "I'm sorry I think I left something behind. You can go first Hatsune-san!"
"W...wai..." I left before Miku could finish.
If she's still in school, there's only one place she can be. That idiot, ditching the cleaning. You'd better have an explanation for this!
Panting slightly, I crouched under the table. Noticing a familiar shade of yellow sitting by the table. I exclaimed, "Oi, Shion, what do you..."
I did not notice she was sleeping soundly and immediately stopped talking, not wanting to disturb her.
Does she not get enough sleep at home? Who the heck sleeps somewhere like this? It's almost night time you know...
Her glasses were crooked and looked terribly uncomfortable. I decided to help her take them off.
I kneeled in front of her and reached for her glasses. I was very cautious during the removal process so as to not wake her up.
Out of the blue, Shion grabbed my wrist.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You just looked really uncomfortable so I..." I was flustered thinking she woke up.
"Are you leaving again?" she mumbled, her half-open eyes seemed to be glaring at me.
Huh? Did she just speak?
"I'm asking you... Are you leaving?" her grip tightened.
Is she asking me? How am I supposed to reply?! I panicked. Is she half-asleep?
I noticed tears began to well up in her eyes.
She's... crying?
She's never looked so helpless and vulnerable. Seeing her behave like this almost made my heart ache.
"Are you..." she choked on her words.
"No, I'm not," I replied.
I reached out my hand, caressing her head, hoping it would calm her down.
"I'm right here."
She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Mixed feelings welled up in me as my perspective of Shion began to change.
"Her hair is surprisingly... soft..."
Hello!
First of all, I am so sorry this took so long to update. It's been what? One year? Ever since school started it's been really hectic and busier than I ever expected. I had no time to think about Rin/Len fluff. But I finally updated it! [I swear I wrote this chapter draft in August]
I apologise for the long wait but I am grateful for the support that was given even though I'm a horrible writer. There's so many things I just can't wait to get to for this story but who knows when I'm going to update it again (I'm sorry!)
Once again, if you spot weird English/grammar mistakes (English isn't technically my native language) please forgive me, or you can PM me and I'll take note of it!
So how did you like this (really late) chapter? :) Hope you enjoyed it!