A/N: Advance Merry Christmas to you all! XD

Pages of a Storybook

Chapter 05: June 8 - Guts

The sun was unusually hot even though summer was just starting. His warm-up exercises alone caused beads of sweat to trail down to his neck.

Squinted eyes gazed on the goal standing a few meters ahead. He would definitely win this race.

And no, he wasn't being overconfident. One look at the other participants made it painfully obvious that they wouldn't put much of a fight. There were panicked whispers everywhere and they were all throwing him nervous looks as he busied himself with several more squats and push-ups.

What were they so tense about? It was just a race. Sure he won pretty much every race he participated in since middle school, but that shouldn't stop them from having fun with the race itself! Wasn't one of the main points of the Sports Festival was to appreciate sports? Were they so willing to give that up just because they believe they were going to lose?

High-pitched cheers exploded from the sidelines as a number of cheerleaders danced and waved their pom poms around. If they hadn't screamed his name at the top of their lungs, he doubted he'd even realize that those girls were actually cheering for him. He spared them a glance and found unfamiliar faces beaming at him with sunny smiles and grins.

Were they new students? That would likely explain the reason they were cheering him on. They had no idea about his infamous reputation when it came to unwanted attention.

He scoffed. Fan girls. He never did like having one. They tended to cluster in groups and surround him like he was a piece of meat. He remembered the days when he had just started his modeling career and how he'd constantly find his locker full of unnecessary stuff they called 'love letters'.

Most of his male classmates had been envious of him because he had been hoarding all the attention. They had no idea how much he hated it.

The cheering grew louder and he glanced at the other competitors and saw how even more deflated they looked as if they didn't want to race anymore. His hands balled into fists. Sheesh. The last thing he wanted was to make others think he was showing off. He didn't join the race just to intimidate the others into submission!

He just wanted to eat the bread hanging on one of those poles. He liked the race because not only was it fun, he was also going to be rewarded with a tasty treat. Who knew that he would cause this much trouble for a piece of bread?

Terribly annoyed, he backed out from the race at the last minute much to the dismay of the cheerleaders. The other participants were happy, though, and that was all that mattered. He wanted them - particularly the new students - to enjoy their first Sports Festival in Habataki High.

Next year, he would show them no mercy. He disliked people who give up easily without even trying.

The day passed by in a blur as he languidly spent his time sitting on one of the benches and watching the activities flash before his eyes. Before he knew it, it was time for the folk dance and every student was required to participate. The music blared across the field as his body moved rhythmically - almost robotically - along with the others. He could barely even remember the faces of the girls he was forced to dance with.

It wasn't until half an hour later when he was finally paired up with her.

The first thing he noticed was her bad limp, no matter how much she tried to hide it. She was biting her bottom lip too hard and was wincing at every other step as she tried to keep up with the merry tune of the folk dance. Her smile also looked a bit forced and she sometimes leaned too heavily against him whenever her clammy hands were clutched against his own.

He continued to watch her with steady interest.

The dance was soon turning towards the part where she would have to twirl in place while the music would draw into a close. She must have realized it, too, because the smile was wiped off her lips and she was now looking nervously at her right leg. He followed her gaze and found that she had scraped her knee.

It was surprising that those cuts were the only ones she got after that pitiful display during the three-legged race. She had been paired up with Suzuka and everyone watching from the sidelines had been saying that if she hadn't fallen so many times, they wouldn't have ended up in third place.

That didn't stop her, though. Even her partner had been impressed with her determination to continue the race even if the odds were against them.

Clumsy, yes, but definitely gutsy.

She had apologized profusely to Suzuka afterward and the defeated look she wore as she mingled with her friends for the rest of the day was enough for just about anybody to feel sorry for her.

The tune picked up a few minutes later and he lifted their joined hands over her head so she could do the twirl. Their eyes met and she grimaced at his expectant look. He didn't say a word as he waited for what she was going to do next. He knew her wounds were bothering her more than she was letting on, so she caught him off-guard when she gave him a small smile. She tightly grasped his hand and - with understandable hesitation - turned to place all her weight on her bad foot.

She was signaling him that she was ready to turn.

Gutsy? She was bordering on being stupid for his liking.

Before she could take another step, he instantly dropped her hand. "I'm tired." He stepped back with no other explanations whatsoever, blatantly ignoring her questioning look. Without another word, he retreated to the bench he'd been spending most of his time on while the music kicked off again for the next dance. He watched at the corner of his eyes as she politely refused a fellow classmate and headed inside the school building, possibly to the clinic.

He supposed he had to admire her courage for at least trying. She had to be careful not to overdo it, though. One cannot achieve anything with only a strong will, after all.

A/N: Once again, thank you so much for reading! Reviews are always welcome. =D

nattie: I love that scene, too! First time I got it I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to poke him while he's talking to the cats or else I wouldn't be able to read the rest of what he was going to say. ^^;