The next day, Aimi sat in her seat, trying to avoid the stares of Ichirou. Sure, she would try to be friends with him, but she would never feel fully comfortable around him. He WAS the reason her and Sasuke had that whole fight. But she would try to look past that, because she knew he was new kid, it was never easy being the new kid, and he didn't mean to cause any trouble… he just… liked her. Don't all guys get weird and their minds get washed out of all common sense when they like a girl? Aimi looked at her desk and tried to avoid his gaze. Too. Much. Staring. Well, be nice… Whatever. Humor him. Aimi looked up at Ichirou. She smiled and waved. He looked shocked for a second, then he smiled and waved back. He had a nice smile.
--SASUKE'S POV--
Sasuke saw Aimi wave at that Ichirou kid. He tensed up. Quit tensing up! He's just some kid who likes Aimi! Why should I care? Sasuke tried to look the other way, feeling odd about himself. What was wrong with him lately? Why did he get so stupid around Aimi? He couldn't help but look again. Sasuke caught Ichirou look shocked and wave back with a smile. Sasuke was sure Aimi didn't see it, but when Ichirou saw Sasuke watching him, he shrunk in his seat. Yeah, you better hide. I saw you eyeing Aimi! Mm. You like her, don't you? No. We're just friends. And how can I talk to myself like this? Its like a whole different person! Mm. I am your mind. The usually unused part. But with hormones and puberty kicking in, I'm used a lot!! Ugh. I HATE hormones!! Hate is a strong word. Hmph.
Apparently, Aimi saw Ichirou shrink. She followed his gaze and saw Sasuke giving Ichirou a mean look She saw me… Aimi mouthed "be nice" and glared at him. Sasuke mouthed back, "why?" Aimi glared at him again and scribbled on a piece of paper for a minute, then threw it in Sasuke's direction. He caught it in mid air and opened it up. It read:
Sasuke,
We don't want another fight, do we? Bear with me, please? Its just a little crush! Don't you get those, too?
Signed,
Aimi
Sasuke sighed. No, he didn't want another fight. And as for him having little crushes… he wasn't sure. He didn't know what some things felt like, so he wasn't sure. Was it possible that those weird feelings he had about Aimi was a crush? He shook his head. Impossible. He looked up to see Aimi, right in his face. He almost fell out of his seat. "Don't do that!" Sasuke said, recovering. "Well? Are you gonna deal with this?" Aimi asked. Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Yes." he said through his clenched teeth. Aimi nodded, said, "That's all I needed to hear," and returned to her seat.
--ICHIROU'S POV-- (wow a new one!)
Dang, Aimi is so cute! Ichirou thought. He had promised himself he wouldn't fall for another girl, and yet, here was another one. He moved frequently, and the last time he had liked a girl, he had to move. Again. So he promised never to get attached-- walla. A new one. At least she didn't seem to like him. Well, romantically, anyway. She said they could be friends. But she seemed to be with that Sasuke guy. Even if they didn't know it yet. They were together, and they'd find out soon enough. But he didn't need to help. Although it would be cute to see those two realize they loved each other… Nah. I like her… why help the OTHER guy?!
Ichirou stopped staring at Aimi when Sasuke shot him ANOTHER death glare.
--AIMI'S POV--
Why are guys so stupid?! Why was Sasuke acting so weird?! Ah well. Ichirou obviously had a crush, it made sense if he was acting weird… but Sasuke! Sasuke was the last person Aimi thought would get protective of her… well, they were friends, but JUST friends… right? Aimi was so confused. Sasuke was acting so different than he made out to be and how people said he was. Did they get him wrong, or was he being different? Ichirou was making this harder… but he meant well, the poor guy. What a complicated life she was living lately…
--FAST FORWARD, AFTER SCHOOL--
Aimi walked home with Sasuke, again. On the way, Aimi spotted Ichirou kicking leaves by himself on his way home. She sighed and began to walk over to Ichirou. Sasuke grabbed her wrist. He felt stiff and tense. "What now?" Aimi asked, annoyed. "Uh. Uhm. He could be dangerous." Sasuke gave a lame excuse. Aimi rolled her eyes. "Come on, Sasuke. Face your fears." She continued walking, dragging Sasuke who was still holding firmly to her wrist. "I'm not SCARED of him…" Sasuke grumbled. He stiffened even more when Aimi got to Ichirou- if that is possible.
Ichirou looked over at the two teens. "Oh hi, Sasuke, Aimi." he said. When he said Aimi's name, he said it as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Sasuke was so stiff by then, Aimi leaned over and whispered, "Loosen up, you look like a statue." He tried, he really tried. But there was something about that Ichirou kid he didn't like at all. "Hi Ichirou!" Aimi said cheerfully. Ichirou looked like he melted. Ugh. I don't like him at all. Sasuke thought for the millionth time. "Grrrr…" was all that could get out of Sasuke. Aimi elbowed him in the side. "Uh- I mean- Hi Ichirou." Sasuke said, trying to cover up the irritated sound in his voice.
Ichirou did a little bow for Aimi and Sasuke (mostly Aimi). Aimi smiled at him; Sasuke glared. "See? He's a gentleman. You should try it sometime." Aimi whispered in Sasuke's ear. Sasuke leaned over to whisper in hers, "I'm not gonna bow at your feet like some sort of servant. He treats you like you're his queen. No. Way." Aimi shook her head. "Too bad." she said sarcastically. "What? You LIKE it when guys do that?!" Sasuke asked. "Sometimes." Aimi said simply. Then she ran to catch up with Ichirou. Sasuke followed… unwillingly.
The three of them reached Aimi's house first. She waved and blew a kiss at them before going inside. Ichirou blushed. Sasuke rolled his eyes when he saw it, but he couldn't help but notice his cheeks were slightly warm as well. No way! No no no no no no no!! Poor little boy. doesn't like the fact he likes her. I DON'T LIKE HER, OK?! Ichirou sighed as they walked away from Aimi's house. "She is…perfect." he said. Sasuke stared straight ahead. "She doesn't like you that way." Sasuke said angrily. Ichirou stepped a few steps away from Sasuke a little. "I know. A guy can dream, cant he?" he said. "Not when I'm around." Sasuke whispered under his breath. Ichirou walk in silence for a few minutes. Then he asked, "What's the big deal anyway?" Sasuke glanced at him. "What big deal?" he asked, looking away. "If you don't like her like that, then why can't I?" Ichirou asked. Sasuke clenched his fists, but didn't say anything. "Well…?" Ichirou asked again. Sasuke slammed Ichirou up against a tree. "Just don't try anything with her. Stay away from her. I don't want my… person that I know going out with the likes of you." Sasuke said in a threatening tone. Ichirou tried to get away, but Sasuke pushed him back. "Don't mess with her. don't even go near her. Got it?" Sasuke added without hesitation. Ichirou shivered. Sasuke stared at him, anger flaring up. "Got it?" Ichirou shrunk back. "GOT IT?!" Ichirou looked down. "Yessir." he replied, his voice shaking in fear. Sasuke let go of him. Ichirou ran away as fast as he could. Sasuke smirked. That felt so good.
()()()()()FAST FORWARD, NEXT DAY()()()()()
Aimi noticed Ichirou wasn't happy the next day. Aimi noticed he wasn't smiling, she noticed he wasn't staring, she noticed he didn't come within 5 feet of her or Sasuke, she noticed he didn't laugh, she noticed. And the first thing she thought was, what did Sasuke do?
Aimi walked over to Sasuke and glared at him. "What?" he asked. "Don't play innocent with me. What did you do to Ichirou?" Aimi hissed. "Hn. Lets not talk about him. He's history." Sasuke said in a simple, casual tone. Aimi's hand shot up to Sasuke's neck. "What. Did. You. Do?" she hissed with a voice that sounded…evil. Sasuke blinked. "A-Aimi?" he asked. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Aimi yelled. Everyone's heads shot to them. Gasps. What the heck was she doing? Sasuke tilted his head in her grasp. "I… Uh… threatened him…" Sasuke said kind of shyly, knowing he was in for it. "YOU WHAT?!" Aimi yelled. "Can't… breathe…" choked Sasuke. Aimi loosened he grip but didn't let go.
As if he suddenly remembered who he was, Sasuke pulled himself together and shook Aimi off him easily. Then he gave her his famous death glare. She crossed her arms. "Why did you threaten him?!" she asked angrily. "Its annoying to see him act like a trained poodle around you. Yuck." he said simply. Aimi rolled her eyes. "So you threatened him for THAT?!" Aimi asked. "Well… there's more… but I don't quite know what it is." Sasuke said dumbly. Aimi whacked him. "You don't know. How can you not know?! You are such an idiot!" she said strongly.
Ichirou walked over. "Could you two quit the love fest?" he asked timidly. "We all know you two obviously… like each other, but you two don't know yet. So now you know. Just don't yell at each other 'cause that'll screw up any chance you two have." he added. He regretted it, but then thought, Well they are cute together.
Sasuke and Aimi looked at each other. Then they looked in opposite directions. "We don't like each other. We're just friends…. That are fighting for the moment." Aimi said. Sasuke nodded. "True, true. Now what did I tell you, kid? Don't come near her…" Sasuke said. Aimi whacked Sasuke upside the head. "He can come near me if he wants." she said.
They were in for an awkward day.
()()()()FAST FORWARD, AFTER SCHOOL()()()()
Aimi skipped beside Ichirou. They talked about each other, asked each other questions, and listened with the answers. They had been doing this most the day, with Sasuke in the background glaring at them.
This was one of the nicest days Ichirou had in a long time.
Same with Aimi.
This was one of the WORST days Sasuke had. Not as bad as others, but bad enough.
Sasuke followed them… more like stalked them. After a moment of silence, he began to feel very uncomfortable. He peeked to see them looking at each other deep in the eyes. "Grr…" he growled softly. Ichirou then spoke. "ilikeyoualotarealreallot!" he jumbled out. Aimi was silent for a moment. "What?"
"I-Like-You-A-Lot-A-Real-Real-Lot." Ichirou said slower so he wouldn't jumble it out again. "Aww…" Aimi said sweetly. Hello? Remember ME? Sasuke? You're friend?! Sasuke thought to himself. Ichirou leaned in for a kiss. He kissed her on the cheek. Aimi blushed and smiled. That was it. Sasuke jumped out from the hiding spot he was in.
"Sasuke?? Wh-what are you doing here?" Aimi asked, sounding scared. He ignored her. He pointed a finger at Ichirou and began to circle him. "You. I told you…" he said threateningly. As he lunged at Ichirou, Aimi jumped in between the two. He stopped short. "Move." he growled, looking at Ichirou. "No." Ami said simply. "MOVE." he said again. Her eyes changed red. "NO." she hissed back. "You're acting like your brother." she added. The words dripped with venom. He blinked. "I'm. Not. Itatchi. I will never be…" he growled, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice. She stared at him. "Yes you are." she said, looking at him angrily. He blinked. I'm… Itatchi… No… Then he did something he didn't EVER do. He began to cry. And backed away. He bowed his head. Aimi turned and walked Ichirou back home.
About half an hour later, she came back alone. "Sasuke." she said simply. He opened his eyes. "I'm acting like Itatchi… no…" he whimpered. She put her hand on his shoulder. "GO AWAY!!" he yelled. "I'm not leaving." she replied with no hesitation. He pulled himself together as much as he could. "Go!" he yelled. She didn't. she did the opposite. She came closer. She hugged him. It began to rain. They just stood there together. "You will never be Itatchi." she said softly. "Anger. I bet it runs in your family. But you will NEVER be Itatchi." she added. She hugged him tighter. She kissed him on the cheek. His eyes went wide. "Wha- what?" he stammered. She curtsied and left him alone.