Hold: To grasp or grip

Kazuki checked his watch for the thirteenth time and sighed.

It was only 3:39 pm which meant that there were only two hours, fifty-one minutes and twenty-three seconds left before the ride back home would be over.

Not that he was counting.

He ran a hand through his green hair. He was bored. Extremely bored. And what's worse was that all the food he brought was gone, all eaten on the first fifteen minutes of the trip.

His brown eyes scanned the area. Unlike him, everyone seemed to be preoccupied. Ryoutarou and Len were busy reading books, Azuma was enjoying his tea, Shouko seemed to be sleeping, unaware that Keiichi was sleeping on her lap.

And Kanazawa, well, let just say that he was nowhere to be seen.

Everything seemed to be normal.

But he noticed that there was something amiss. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but he knew that there was something missing. All he had to do was to remember what it was.

Kazuki felt a light pressure on his left arm. He looked down to find the young violinist resting her head on him, barely reaching the top of his left shoulder blade. The butterflies in his stomach acted up again, making him blush deeply and hold his breath.

Never has he been this close to her - or any girl for that matter. Sure he was pretty popular with the students at Seiso but he usually veered away from the female species. Plus, there was always the chance that whenever a girl would want to talk to him, she would magically be whisked away by Azuma's prince-like charm.

Now that he thought of it, if he didn't stick around his best friend too much, he wouldn't be single anymore. Fancy that.

"Hihara-senpai... Oi, Hihara-senpai!"

Not wanting to wake the sleeping beauty beside him, the trumpeter turned his head slowly to face the jounalist sitting next to him who, to his dismay, was grinning like a fox.

"I was about to ask you to do a small favor for me but seeing that you and my dear friend Kaho-chan over there," Nami said as she pointed at him and Kahoko "are busy with some very special matters, I'll just leave you guys alone."

And with that, Nami stood up and smoothed her skirt. But before she went back to her original seat, she gave a wink and mouthed something Kazuki couldn't quite comprehend.

'She said something,' he thought 'I don't get it thou-'

But suddenly, a flash interrupted his personal thinking space.

Kazuki groaned. 'Not this again! I better stop her before those pictures get leeked' he thought. He was about to sprint off and chase the brunette when he heard a small sigh coming from Kahoko. Immediately, he sank back in his seat, praying that he didn't wake her up from her sleep.

Sleep. The word rang through his head. Maybe he could try that. There was nothing wrong in taking a quick nap so he might as well try it. Plus, he had absolutely nothing else to do at the moment anyway.

So, Kazuki closed his eyes and fell asleep.

. . .

Twenty-nine minutes. That was how long Kazuki slept until he felt a warm, tingling sensation course through his body.

He yawned and stretched his arms. Taking that nap was definitely the best decision.

While rubbing his eyes, he placed a hand on his stomach. But instead of feeling the soft texture of his cotton T-shirt, a hand was in its place.

'A hand? Since when did I have three hands?! Wait a sec...If this isn't mine, then that must mean...'

He looked down and blinked once

Twice

Three times

And froze

The butterflies fluttered endlessly in his stomach as his mind processed what he just saw.

Kahoko who, not only was leaning on him, was also hugging him!

His pulse quickened and his breathing deepened. Must he really hyperventilate at a time like this?

But even with his dizziness and confusion, he still felt the strange feeling of being watched.

So, slowly, he looked up, only to be greeted by the stares of the other occupants of the train. At first he thought that their gazes were all towards Kahoko but when Ryoutarou gave out a loud cough, it was clear that their attention was on him.

Kazuki felt nervous. He hated being the center if attention. Especially when his two male kohais were glaring at him viciously like wolves ready maul their prey. Even Azuma's gaze had a somewhat menacing feel to it.

The only ones who didn't seem angry were Keiichi and Shouko. Both of them were wide-eyed with shock but planted on their faces was a small smile. As happy as he was when he saw that not all of them were angry at him, he was still confused. What did they want him to do?

What did he want to do?

The practical side of him wanted to tap Kahoko on the shoulder, call out her name, or nudge her. Heck, he even wanted to shake her if it meant waking her up. It wasn't that he didn't like her, not at all; it was just that he didn't want to lose any of his friends. Plus, it was getting awkward by the second, especially with the glowers most of his male companions were giving him. Death was not something he wanted to experience at the moment.

Now, the other side of him, the emotional side, wanted nothing more than to let her stay there with her head resting on his side, her slender figure pressed on his with her arms wrapped around his body. It was hard for him to fight the urge to caress her hands and give her small peck on the head right then and there. He always did love her pure and comforting presence. Why wouldn't he? He liked her. And he would definitely want her to know how he felt.

So, technically speaking, he had to choose between his heart and his mind.

Not any easy choice.

He felt her snuggling closer to him with her arms wrapped tightly around his body and gave out a whisper. It was soft, gentle, and audible enough for everybody in an ear shot to hear.

And it wasn't good.

"Don't...go..."

OK...Well maybe it wasn't that bad. It was actually quite good. Very good.

'Oh crap. This is bad! Really bad!'

But there are always reasons why he would think otherwise like:

1. a- Len was looking like he wanted to throw his book at his face with full force

b- Azuma was gripping his teacup so hard that Kazuki thought that it would break

c- Ryoutarou was cracking his knuckles while looking at him straight in the eyes

2. Nami began to take pictures of them in every angle possible

and...

3. Kanazawa had already come back from who-knows-where and was failing miserably on hiding his laughter

'This can't possibly be happening!? I'm going to die a horrible, bloody death and I haven't even confessed to her yet! What am I going to do?' he thought. His mind raced for any kind of idea he could think of just to get him out of the mess, no matter how silly or impractical it may be.

And like a jolt of lightning, he did. Just in the nick of time too.

'I have it! I'll just simply stand up, excuse myself, and walk to the bathroom as if nothing even happened. Kazuki, you are a genius!.'

He glanced at the girl again and his heart sank. The mere thought of leaving Kahoko in her state made him feel pathetic. How many times had he run away? How many times had he given up? How many times had he backed down? It would have been endless, the numbers and the situations. What a coward he was.

No matter. It wouldn't do him any good if he felt guilty now.

And so, he decided to stand up.

The plan would have gone perfectly well if it wasn't for his sensei's strong hand pushing him down in his seast, almost crushing Kazuk's shoulder in the process.

"Oi, all of you!! Stop looking at them like that. Especially you three; Tsukimori, Tsuchiura, Yunoki." Kanazawa boomed as he pointed at the three male students. "You can't just expect Hihara to disturb Hino while she's sleeping, can you? You guys know how tired she was when we boarded the train."

The three boys lowered their heads and looked away as Kazuki stared, dumbfounded.

Kanazawa now turned to the direction of the female reporter. "And don't think that I've forgotten about you, Amou. How do you think the whole student body would react to those photos? Most importantly, Hino?" he asked. "Surely you've seen her go berserk before."

The brunette sulked away with a scowl on her face, muttering swears as she did so. It amazed him on how obediently they followed their teacher's orders. They always gave out excuses or objections if they were ordered to do something, so what was so different about this one?

"Be thankful that I came here just in time, Hihara. Who knows what would've happened to you" Kanazawa whispered. "But please do bare in mind that I can't always be there to save your ass from danger. So, you really need to learn how to stand up for yourself. And looking at your present situation, you need to do it fast. It's not only you that's on the line."

He patted his student's shoulder. "Well, we wish you good luck, kid. You're going to need it." he finished and walked away. 'We?' Kazuki wondered. A whistle caught his attention and saw Shimizu and Shoko -both grinning with their thumbs up in the air- which made him smile. It was good to know that he had some people supporting him.

And the least he could do for them was to stay where he was. After all, he only had fourteen minutes left of the trip. He might as well enjoy it while he could.

"K-k-ka-kaho-chan, w-what are you doing?" Kazuki stammered.

"Holding your hand." Kahoko answered calmly, not a slight quiver in the tone of her voice.

He blushed and shook his head vigorously. "Umm... that's not actually what I meant. What I mean is that-"

She stopped walking and looked at him "I know what you mean," she said "You're asking why I'm doing this, right?"

He nodded, looking downward to avoid her gaze and to hide his

"Well, this is my way of thanking you. You know," she squeezed his hand lightly "for what you did earlier. I really appreciate it."

His face was as red as a cherry. 'What I did earlier? This isn't making any sense!' He was, again, confused.

He cleared his throat "Remind me again what I did to deserve this very unexpected 'thank-you'?"

Kahoko giggled at her senpai and grinned. "Senpai, you look really cute when your flustered."

"But anyway, I'm thanking you," she paused and entwined her fingers with his -surprised that Kazuki didn't pull his hand away- and smiled.

"For staying."

I -after grueling weeks of schoolwork and exams- finally present to you my kissless oneshot. Yeah... I kind of felt bad when I noticed that Len didn't get a kiss so I made this to even things out. Thanks a bunch for the reviews (Yes, even yours, 'sara') And about Hino knocking out Tsuchiura, I guess I got carried away...Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll try my hardest to update sooner. Bye!