Ice and Ice

When I think about something deeply...

"Shanlalalala~!" Aki sang all the way to the cafeteria.

"What song is that?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know, just heard it on the radio." she replied.

"Ah..." I replied. It was weird for Aki to be acting this way; she was not skipping. Usually, she would be if it was lunchtime…

"Gazel-san, would you like to sit with the soccer club?" Fuyuka asked me.

"S-sure!" I stammered and gulped. That would mean Nagumo and Kiyama would be there! I made a mental note to myself to not stammer again, especially in front of the soccer club.

"Aki-san! Fuyuka-san! Gazel-san!" some familiar voice called. I looked up.

"Kato-senpai! Sasaki-senpai!" Aki beamed.

I smiled at the duo. Sasaki grabbed my arm and asked, "Wanna buy us lunch?"

"No." I replied immediately, "Though I could use some escorts..."

"On it!" Kato said. She quickly glared at everyone who walked near her.

I sweat-dropped at the scene and said, "Er... I didn't mean acting like body guards, but let's go."

I was referring for them to join me to buy lunch… but this is kind of nice as well.

After we were done buying lunch, the duo dragged me to the soccer club room. I felt my heart beat with nervousness and excitement. Aki and Fuyuka skipped at the back, slowly catching our pace.

Sasaki made me halt. She snickered, "Look at those two."

Kato and I looked at each other and followed Sasaki's gaze.

What I saw was a really romantic thing. The auburn-haired girl and the goalkeeper sat beside each other, enjoying a quiet picnic with each other. I praised them for having such a great relationship.

Then I remembered I have a problem: I had my neighbor as my boss. Instantly, my body temperature went down to 20 degrees below.

"Come on, we don't wanna be heard." Kato whispered.

I nodded, and we quietly went to the soccer club room.

I looked back to where Natsumi and Endou were. They were laughing, chatting and acting like a couple. My heart did a dance and I saw an image flash by me that had a girl and a boy, sitting on the grass, sharing a kiss.

Instantly, my cheeks felt warm.

"Dude!" Sasaki told me, "We're not even near Hiroto, yet."

I snapped out of my daydream and glared at her, "Shut up! I don't give a damn to him!"

"A dam? Are you richer than Nagumo or something?" Kato teased.

For some reason, I felt like I didn't deserve anything. Why I thought of that, I do not know. But once I process what Kato said, I definitely knew that I was thinking about Nagumo.

"Minna-san~!" Aki shrieked at us.

We were in the soccer club room, which the duo and I arrived on. I was just finishing my food with Fuyuka and the duo, talking about stuff and such... though; the weirdest part was that Kato always seem to disappear.

SPLAT!

"KATO!" I heard Kiyama yell.

I looked at Kato with amazement and asked, "That's what you've been doing?"

She nodded, biting a large part of her chicken.

I looked around us and realized everyone was laughing. I looked at Kiyama whose face was covered with pie. I snickered, then laughed with my friends... but Kato seemed uninterested to watch, as if she does this everyday.

"She does, you know." a voice said beside me. I jumped and tilted my head to my left.

"Yo." Nagumo greeted and grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes and replied, "Hey, too. And what do you mean, 'She does, you know'?"

"It's kinda obvious you were thinking if Kato-senpai pranks everyday. She does, and it's lucky I'm not the person she pranked today." Nagumo said as she shrugged.

I blushed ever-so-slightly.

"Minna-san~!" I heard Aki call again.

"Aki?" Fuyuka questioned.

"The Raimon team... they're here." Aki breathed out.

Boys smirked as almost everyone in the soccer club filed out, including the managers.

I looked up to Nagumo. I heard his jaw clicked, and then looked at me with an amused expression in his eyes. He told me, "Come on, Princess."

"Uh... right."

Nagumo and I neared the soccer field. From where we were walking, I saw glimpses of yellow and blue uniforms (probably junior high schoolers). I tried to remember where I saw them.

Beside me, Nagumo snorted.

"What?" I asked him.

"Well, it's just that those 'junior high schoolers' are annoying!" he exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes and asked him, "Why would you think that?"

"It's just that... they act like we're friends with them for 20 years or something!"

"You're sixteen." I told him, "It's impossible to know them for 20 years… or something."

"How do you know that?" Nagumo inquired and looked horrified.

"Because you look like one," I told him.

"Well... stop being so literal!" Nagumo snapped.

I grinned at him and mocked, "Come on, hot-headed king, I'd like to see these people who annoy you."

"Nagumo~! Gazel~" Aki called and waved at us.

"Gazel?" Nagumo asked.

"My nickname."

"Sure," he said. His tone was filled with sarcasm.

"But it is." I huffed.

"Come on, guys!" Sasaki told us.

Nagumo and I gave each other a look, and then jogged to the soccer field.

"...besides, I'm pretty sure Zeus Academy is very strong," Kidou was saying.

I shot a questioning look at Fuyuka, but she just shrugged. I focused on the yellow-and-blue guys. I remembered then they were the Raimon team. I looked at the only girl at the group.

"That's Otonashi Haruna, Kidou's sister," Nagumo whispered.

I looked up to him, not questioning how he knew what I was thinking, but I continued the conversation, anyway, "Sister? But- ?!"

"They're both orphans, but they're still real siblings," Nagumo cut me off.

I frowned for two reasons. One reason was that Haruna and Kidou were separated from each other and the other was that Nagumo cut me off. I started growling in my mind.

"We have a girl in the team!" I heard Kiyama's voice announce.

"She better be grateful that girls are allowed to play at the FF and FFI," another boy said. I tilted my head to the voice. He was probably in junior high. He looked like a monkey, that's all.

"Kurimatsu! Don't be rude!" I heard Otonashi spoke.

"Though, she didn't say she was going to play with the team." Hino said.

"Eh? Then, why did you even say that aloud, Hiroto-senpai?" Kurimatsu said.

"Yeah, senpai!" another voice agreed. I looked at the boy at Kurimatsu's was weird that he resembles like a tiger for me. If I was correct, he was still in junior high. His eyes looked so serious to be in junior high.

"I don't know," Kiyama continued, "you can ask her over there."

I realized Kiyama was pointing at me. I glared at him, and then shuddered inwardly because of the stares everyone was giving. Nagumo seemed to be stunned as well.

"Er..." I started.

"Hokkaido..." a voice whispered. I looked for the owner of the voice. A figure went out of the Raimon team. He had short gray hair and cute teal eyes.

The other guys were looking at him, too.

"Fubuki!" I heard Endou called, "What are you doing here?"

"Hokkaido's... best..." Fubuki faltered. I realized right then and there who he was.

"Fubuki Shirou... the Hakuren's best striker and defender." I stated.

Fubuki came closer to me and held out a hand. He told me, "Nice to finally meet you."

I clapsed my hand against his and replied, "Same here."

"What's happening?" Endou asked out of nowhere.

My heart thumped against my chest. He was so handsome, was I having a teeny crush on him? Maybe, the thought of it made my heart skipped a beat.

Opposite attracts, Fuusuke. Fire's the best for you.

Out of the corner of my eye, so it wouldn't be noticed, I looked at Nagumo.

SilverShadowNinja: Hey, it's alright; no hard feelings! ^.^

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