Chapter 6
The rest of the week went by pretty quickly, with Ryou's classes easing up for Christmas. His presents from his parents arrived in the mail, so he and Ahri set up a little Christmas tree, as well. Ahri understood the concept of Christmas well, making the comparison to Snowdown that League has. Ryou sighed to himself, thinking, "Man, what will I get Ahri for Christmas?" Even though it had only been two weeks, Ryou had gotten quite fond of the fox girl, even though he didn't admit it out loud. His thoughts were interrupted when Ahri came bounding down the hallway and tackled him onto the couch. "Hey peasant, let's... go..." She trailed off as she noticed how close their faces were. Both teens blushed and looked away, embarrassed by their current position. As she got up, Ahri continued, clearing her throat, "Anyways, let's go shopping. I'm tired of seeing my clothes in a pile next to the nightstand so I want to get a dresser." Ryou groaned, "Let me guess... I have to carry it all the way up here?" "Yup!" Ahri said, beaming. "You wouldn't say no to this face now, would you?" She asked, giving him her puppy dog eyes. Ryou blushed and looked away, and growled, "God, I hate it when you do that." The kitsune giggled, and walked out the door. Ryou shook his head smiling, and followed her out.
The shopping center was alight with Christmas decorations, giving it a cheerful air. As Ahri skipped from one shop window to another, Ryou couldn't help but stare at how beautiful Ahri looked in the lights and snow. His thoughts were shattered as he still felt the piercing gazes that all the jealous people threw his way. He had gotten used to it, but it still bothered him. He could feel their hateful glares drill deep holes into his back as Ahri grabbed his wrist and dragged him to a store, saying, "Here, this is the store I was talking about!" After entrancing yet another clueless store owner, Ahri and Ryou began to make their way home, the latter carrying the heavy peice of furniture. They stopped for a break halfway home, and Ryou saw Ahri longfully gazing into the display of a nearby jewelry store. After glancing at the item she was looking at, Ryou smiled to himself. He had found Ahri's Christmas gift.
"I still don't know why you didn't just go convince the shop owner to gift it to you like you always do," Ryou teased as they got home. Ahri huffed, "I might enjoy being thrifty, but I'm not going basically steal something that's worth $10,000." "Well that dresser did cost $850," Ryou answered, setting the dresser down and rubbing his shoulders. "Hush," Ahri said indignantly, "that's a whole different story." "Totally," Ryou replied. The two looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "You know," Ahri started, "this is my first time ever having such a close friend." Ryou looked at her with amazement. "Why? I thought you were popular in the League?" She looked down sadly. "No, I didn't really have much allies either. All the males were infatuated with me, trying to impress me and get my attention, even though I wasn't interested. Except for guys like Shen, Attrox, and Wukong. Everyone thought that me and Wukong were close... at least that's what I wanted. But our relationship wouldn't even work, he's not serious enough, and he's always training with Yi, so I gave up." Her face brightened up as she recalled, "Let's not forget about Taric. Everybody knew about him and Ezreal, we just didn't say anything about it." Ryou laughed, and replied, "Well, that wasn't in the lore. What about the females? Weren't any of them your friends?" Ahri's face flashed an expression of painful memories, and she said, "Many of the female champs and summoners disliked me. They knew me as a whore or tramp, because my charm affected the men that they wanted. I tried to avoid the men, I really did, so I could make friends, but that didn't work... Only people like Soraka, Sona, and Karma would talk to me, much less acknowledge me." Tears were threatening to pour down Ahri's cheeks, when Ryou suddenly hugged her. She squeaked with surprise, and blushed as he started to pet her head. "It's alright now," he assured her. "I'm here for you. Let it all out." Every single tear that Ahri held back until then began to flow freely down her face. That night, Ahri cried her heart out to her one true friend.
Sorry for the late update! I had a bunch of events happen, like prom and stuff, so I haven't really been able to dedicate my time to this. But I'm back, I think I'm making good progress with the story so there shouldn't anymore interruptions! I always like a favorite, follow, and review, so help me make the best story I can for you guys! :)