Hey guys, thanks for all the amazing reviews. To LittleMissElaine- you are exactly correct. I'm so happy someone got the reference! I love Kaichou wa Maid-sama. :3
Here is the next chapter, hope it's okay.
Two years ago (13 years old)
"Fang!" I shout as I catch sight of messy black hair through the swarm of students. I shove them aside one after another before I catch hold of the black clothed shoulder and whirl him around to face me. I sling an arm around his shoulder and gin down at him in a teasing way.
He was away over the summer and this is my first time seeing him since he got back. To my enjoyment, I had grown about an inch taller than him. He scowls at me when I make a 'subtle' notice to this fact.
"So how was your summer?" I ask him.
"Fine." he says making no move to express any details.
"Oh, that's right, we're around people so you can't show emotion." I slap my forehead. "How can I forget." Somehow it doesn't come out as a question.
His response is to flick a feather of dark hair out of his eyes.
I hold out my hand and he gives me the crumbled paper that is his schedule. I drop mine, just as wrinkled, into his open palm.
"Yes!" I give a little fist pump. "We have all the same classes except Geography, Math, and of course P.E. Iggy has same subjects as you except English and he has my period Maths."
"You've seen him already?" He asks tucking my paper into my back pocket while I slip his into the side pouch of his backpack.
"Yup. You looking for a bro talk?" I tease but it is ignored.
"My god, you are! Why wont you talk to me? I'm your best friend." I start tugging on his sleeve. (I don't know how he's wearing a sweat shirt, it's nearly 90 degrees. I'm just wearing a simple white t-shirt.)
"Jealous?"
"Oh, don't tell me you're gay because that would be-"
"No." He says before I can even finish.
"Is it a girl- oh it is, okay let me think- is it Ginny? No, Tess? Oh, how about-"
He turns to me an grabs each of my arms, looking me in the eye. "It's no one okay? Don't worry about it."
My bottom lip sticks out to a pout but I drop it. I'm his best friend, I'll get it out of him later.
When I get out of Math class I head straight to the cafeteria, my stomach protesting the lack of food in it.
With one glance around crowded lunch room, I see Iggy alone at a table of the far side of the room. He snuck out of class five minutes before the bell for a bathroom break, but never came back. Seventh year Nudge finds her seat beside him and I notice Fang nowhere in sight. Mr. Brendan must have held the class over time. We had him last year in 6th grade too.
I make my way through the cafeteria line and am on my way to the back table when another eighth grade girl pops up out of nowhere. One of her friends hang farther back, not meeting anyones eyes.
I have time to begin opening my mouth to ask what she wants when she trips over, seemingly, thin air and the plastic cup of water she was holding, goes all over the front of my clothes. By the time she tips the cup back up the right way, the contents are empty and my tray clatters to the floor from my slacked grip.
"Oops, sorry!" The entire cafeteria had fallen silent and it takes only a moment before I realize that my clean white shirt had turned completely see through. All eyes, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grader's were on me.
My face slowly darken to a nasty shade of red before I get the ability to move again and cross my arms over my chest and take off in the direction of the half-open lunchroom doors.
Behind me I hear the scraping of chairs in the general direction of Iggy and Nudge.
My eyes sting with the threat of tears and a large lump finds its way crawling into my throat. I don't even notice when I slam past Fang in my rush to get out of everyone's attention, our shoulders banging painfully together.
I throw myself into the first girls bathroom I come to and lock myself in a stall.
With difficulty, I swallow the lump in my throat and blink up at the ceiling until the threat of crying disappears.
I give one definite sniff and lean against the stall door.
I hear the creak of the bathroom door opening and closing and the unmistakable footsteps of my best friend.
"This is the girls bathroom, you'll get in trouble."
He doesn't answer as there is a rustle of clothing.
"I'm fine, it was just embarrassing, that's all." Still he doesn't answer.
The only response I do get is something flying over the stall door and landing on my head.
I know instantly that it's Fang's sweat shirt. It's just got the unmistakable scent of... Fang.
I sling off my ruined T and pull the gift over my head without words. It surprises me that instead of heat, it as a kind of cool pocket inside that caresses my skin like a feather.
If I had this, I would never want to take it off either.
Unlocking the door, I immediately fling myself into my best friend's arms and he just holds me.
"Thanks." I breath and let go.
He catches my hand in his and pulls me to the bathroom door. Pulling it open, we come face to face with a waiting teacher, thumping his foot impatiently.
Now
The phone was flying across the room before the video screen went black. I does a shattering crash against the wall and pieces fly in every direction.
Fang stares at the remains of his phone, slack in the jaw.
My fingers find themselves running through my dirty hair and set my blazing face in my hands. A low embarrassed moan escapes my lips.
"I just got that." The dark-haired boy grumbles.
"You didn't show anyone else did you?" I plead with my eyes to say that he hasn't.
He shrugs with an irritating smirk.
"You know," I tear the sheet from my body and step onto the cold tiled floor. "That wasn't the first thing I wanted to see waking up- where are my clothes?- I should sue them for drugging me."
Fang, very obviously, keeps his eyes trained out the window as I walk past him and to my neatly folded clothes that lies on a chair.
After buttoning my jeans, I go to sit on the small bed and lay the opposite way I'm supposed to. Fang is now collecting the bits of phone he could find. He looks up at me when I roll onto my side and he sits back on my heels.
"You should rest. They said you had a high fever, from lack of sleep." He studies my face as it darkens considerably.
"Just nightmares." I whisper, finally flicking my eyes away from his dark piercing gaze.
"I thought they stopped." Before he even finishes I'm shaking my head.
"They never stopped Fang, I've just gotten better at keeping quiet." He sighs and stands up, walks over to the bed and pushes me over a little so he can lay down facing me, head propped up on a hand.
For the first time ever, I feel uncomfortable with the close proximity between us. Something about his eyes makes my stomach squirm and I judge that to be the feeling of him stripping one barrier after another away like paper.
He's always been able to do that.
"You know it's just going to get worse now right?"
"You've got to stop blaming yourself for his death. It was almost ten years ago..." His fingers brush against my arm in a comforting way, and my body instantly starts to relax.
"I know."
Iggy barges in then, closely followed by Gazzy, Nudge and then, Janie.
"Woah!" Iggy turns away with his hands over his eyes. "Eye-muffs!" He slaps a hand over Gazzy's eyes as well. "Are cloths on? Can I turn around without being blinded?"
"You told him?!" I glare fiercely at Fang as he looks on in amusement.
The entire room seems to have gone stiff from my words. Iggy turns slowly, hand coming away from his eyes and staring at us in a scrutinizing way. Gazzy peels Iggy's hand from his own eyes with difficulty.
"I didn't tell them anything." His smirk was still irritatingly growing in size.
"Then what-" I look from Iggy to Janie, her face extremely red, then to Fang whom is sharing the extremely small bed and my eyes widen. Red creeps up my neck, igniting my face and ears as quick as one of Iggy's bomb.
"Oh." I look back and forth quickly before it actually dawns on me and, even more than before, I'm aware of Fang's close proximity.
"Oh-" I shove Fang from the bed in one heave and he easily catches his feet under him. He actually has the nerve to laugh.
I sit up quickly to face my flock and manager. "No, it's not like that. They had me under a sedative and I had a fever, and he took a video-"
Iggy's complete shock of silence turns into a sly smile as he sidles his way over and throws his arm around my shoulder.
"So you use the excuse for being drugged to get naked for Fang-" Nudge gasps. "- I always knew you guys had a thing for each other."
"I did not-"
"-Janie Max tried to rape me again!"
Nudge sputters "Again?"
"I did not, just show them the fucking video, it's less embarrassing than this."
"Ooo a sex tape, I'm in."
"Gazzy!"
"I can't show them the video because you broke my phone."
"Eek, so you two are together now-"
"No!"
"Everybody be quiet!" Silence falls around the room, all eyes on Janie. "Now, weather Max and Fang slept together-"
"We didn't!"
"DOES NOT MATTER." She raises her voice to go over mine. "It's none of our business. What is my business is Max almost getting killed."
My embarrassment dissolves instantly, my face instantly going stiff.
"Max, you can not run out in front of a bus like that, you could have gotten killed."
"But I didn't."
"That's besides the point. I know you have a kind heart, and that's good, but you can't go doing huge risks like that."
Though Fang is several feet away, I can feel him stiffen as much as I am. I feel brick after brick being cemented back down around me till my face is stone. My voice becomes cold and steely.
"I'm fine, the girl is fine, drop it." She stares hesitantly at me for a moment, scrutinizing my icy glare, before letting the lines on her brow relax, and a sigh escape her.
The entire room relaxes the tiniest bit.
A fresh burst of air blows into the room as the door swings open and a doctor sweeps in. He hands Janie a clipboard to sign, carefully avoiding my bone freezing glare.
I imagine taking the needle he stabbed me with and chucking at his head. My mood lifts the slightest bit.
She turns back to me with her accusing look but is met with my innocent one. "The concert has been pushed back due to obvious reasons and we have offered refunds to anyone who wants it since it's the last one this summer."
"Cool, when is it?"
"Two weeks from now. The 15th."
"But that's-!"
She looks at me and my mouth snaps shut.
"Nothing. Never mind."
"Right then, the doc said we can leave now, and for you to take it easy. No more jumping out in front of busses. The press has already gotten hold of it and there going to be worse than ever."
I nod wordlessly and stand up.
When we get to the door Iggy leans in close.
"So what's this that happened with you and Fang?"
My face flushes with embarrassment once more. I. Hate. Summer.
Some answers about Ari are coming up next. Let me know if you want me to do a filler before the depressing stuff, but answers will have to wait another chapter if that happens.
Thanks for reading.
-Fantasy