Yeah... so I'm just gonna leave this here so you guys can read it and review, which I'm sure you will, right? Huh, let's face it, I can not let you guys read anything without an annoying author's note. Well, I wanna thank you all for the reviews and my beta-readers for always being super awesome. I was planning on updating twice last month but a lot of things happened, to summarize it I got sick and also I had to study for a college test and yay! I'm so excited tomorrow's my first day in college. Freaaakinggg out. Anyway, you guys should dig in 'cause I'm not gonna shut up anytime soon, run! Now! I can't hold myself off for long.
Chapter: 11
"Ebullient."
Meeting someone for the first time can't exactly be described as the beginning of a story. Actually, the story begins when that person starts having a meaningful impact on your life. Based on that, I can't really say when our story began or how it ended; to be honest, I'm not really sure it ever ended. As I had once told him, we were complete opposites. I realize now that I couldn't have said it any better; following that principle we were bound to be attracted to each other and even though we had to fall apart at some point, we couldn't defy the laws of physics for long.
I saw it in his eyes, the moment he walked away; that even though he'd disguised it as a coincidence, we would meet again and that would be where our story would begin and resume at the same time.
So, our story isn't exactly about a boy and a girl liking each other and walking into the sunset with a happy ending—no way. Our story is about pain, about loss, about risk, about acceptance, about heartbreak, about facing the impossible and a whole load of other shit that'll probably drive you crazy. But let me give you a hint, if I had to repeat this crazy ride that gave you goose bumps a hundred times, as insane as that sounds, I'd do it.
I brought my dripped hand to the door and retracted it after three quick raps. Today, I had discovered that the weather had a mind of its own and when it decided to fuck people, well, it'd do it and, once it was done, it was as sunny as nothing ever happened; except that there were two completely soaked people and a catastrophically wet town to provide the proof for it. When I said I had forgotten my umbrella home, did I mention I left my fucking keys too?
The door opened after a few minutes. "Claire, honey, I've been trying to reach your phone for—" My mom's mouth hung open. "What— how? Wha—" she babbled as words failed her.
I pursed my lips and attempted to smile as I turned to a thoroughly dripping Killua, with his wet silver strands covering parts of his face, if this was how he looked, I dreaded just the thought of my own state. We needed telepathy right now to decide who was going to lie. Just one look from him, and I knew it was going to be me.
I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to the chase.
"Just— just get in." It was very rare that my mom lost her temper but when she did…
"Mom I—" I tried to explain.
"NOW!" she bellowed and then turned to Killua. "Killua, honey you too."
I gave Killua a skeptical look and he slightly smirked. Life was smooth, with an extra o.
We both walked inside, water still dripping from us.
She pointed in the direction of the lounge.
Once we were both seated and she had her arms crossed, standing in front of me and my nonna was in the background to spectate, she glared at me. "What. Happened." The words were slow and terrifying.
I took a deep breath. "I forgot my umbrella," I mumbled.
She pointed at the one Killua had just left near the door.
I cleared my throat. "I forgot my umbrella," I repeated. "And tried to reach here in a run," I said as I looked at Killua for approval but he was just staring at his feet. "Luckily," I emphasized the word carefully. "Killua caught up with me halfway with that," I said pointing at the abandoned umbrella.
"Well that doesn't explain how he got wet, now does it?" she asked, boring her gaze deep into mine. I knew she knew I was lying. She gave me 'the look' which said 'you and I are going to have a talk later.'
She walked out of the room. "This is— absolutely reckless!" She reappeared with two neatly folded towels after a few seconds. "Here you go Killua honey." She smiled at him as she handed it. "Seventeen— Se-ven-teen," she broke down the word while handing me mine. "A young lady, who goes to high school, tries to run through a storm. Real smart. You just—" she paused and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Where's your phone? Do you know how many times I've been trying to call you?"
"Battery died," I mumbled looking away. I wondered when my embarrassment would go numb; it had already reached the hundred mark.
"Real mature Claire, I'm impressed," she said sarcastically. "Not you Killua, honey," she assured him. "You— you could've—" she paused to find the right word. "Drowned,"she said the word like it was cursed, returning her attention to me.
I raised my gaze to meet hers. "People can't drown in rain mom," I muttered, and from my side Killua coughed.
"People," she said, pressing at the 'L'. "Drown."
I looked around. My nonna and Killua looked away. "Al— alright. I'm— sorry," I forced the words out.
She sighed and I knew the storm was over. "Honey just—" she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful, please," she added.
I twiddled with my fingers.
"Claire, go change; your clothes are drenched. Killua, love, I think Hachiro's clothes are about your size," said my mom as she and my nonna both walked out of the room. Killua was biting his lip and I smacked him as hard as I could.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"Not a word," I threatened.
We both dried ourselves with the towels and changed, and after a few minutes, my mom appeared with a hair-dryer and handed it to me.
"I'll get you something hot to drink," she said. "Killua, love, do like hot chocolate?" she asked sweetly and Killua nodded lightly.
I got up and plugged in the hair-dryer as soon as she went away. "Come." I gestured to him. "We'll do yours first, it's, um, short—er," I added.
He seated himself in front of me as he fiddled with the hems of my dad's shirt, which was about a size bigger than his previous clothing. I had to admit, he looked cute in over-sized clothes. "Critic," he accused.
I rolled my eyes as I ran my fingers through his soft strands. "How so?" I asked as I turned it on. I could feel its heat on my fingertips.
"You're criticizing my hair, I've already cut more than an inch of it for you, what else do you want?" he asked.
I sighed. "What I was trying to say is that it's not as short as other boys; doesn't mean it doesn't look sexy," I confessed.
He smirked and opened his mouth to brag just when my mom appeared and placed two cups of hot cocoa on the table.
"Lunch is in the kitchen," she announced.
I pinched Killua before he could decline staying for lunch because I knew he was about to and he raised his eyebrow in question. I just shook my head.
"Now you two—" her words were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the caller's ID. "I really have to take this, you'll be fine?"
We both nodded and she walked out.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, grabbing one of the cups and taking a sip.
"Don't ever refuse to her when she's mad," I warned him as I brushed his hair with my fingers, it smelled so nice. "She's really stubborn," I said letting my hair down as I removed my catcher. "She'll get it done, even if it's the last thing she does." I carefully dried the tips of my hair.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "I like her," he confessed. "She makes really good cocoa," he said pointing at his cup.
I smiled and rolled my eyes as I unplugged the hair dryer. I gulped the whole drink down in three huge sips as I peeked at the kitchen. "How about you go to my room?" I proposed. "I'll bring lunch there." This had nothing to do with the fact that my nonna was in the kitchen. Nope. Killua had heard enough of my childhood stories.
He shrugged and walked towards the stairs. I set the food on the tray under the watchful eye of my nonna. Something told me that both these women knew, and it was scary how penetrating a woman's all knowing gaze could be.
"You eat pasta right?" I asked Killua as I entered my room and set the tray on the table.
He just took one of the plates from the tray and seated himself on the chair near my desk. I crossed my legs as I plopped down on the bed and swallowed a mouthful of food.
He poked the thing a few times with his fork until he decided to taste it; something from his expression told me he liked it.
There was an awkward silence, in which I tried to have a conversation with him in my head about what happened a few hours ago. Finally, I cleared my throat and caught his attention. "So um—" I said trying to sound casual. "You—you wanna talk about it?"
He glanced at me. "Talk about what?" he asked, uninterested.
I stared at him in disbelief and paused for a moment. "You kissed me," I informed him.
"I know, I was there," he answered.
My mouth opened slightly. I didn't know whether I wanted to strangle him or myself. "I— You," I tried to speak. "Nevermind," I concluded. He was such an idiot.
He looked at me. "I don't get you girls," he admitted. "Why do you have to obstinately complicate things?"
I glared at him. "Well, I don't get you guys. Why do you take serious stuff so lightly?" I asked irritated.
He groaned. "Just—God, what do you want me to say?" he asked, annoyed.
"Why did you kiss me?" I asked him, my voice slightly louder.
"You talked for a really long time. I kissed you to shut you up."
My mouth hung open as words failed me. "Oh—oh. Wow. That's— oh my God. So basically, you kiss everyone you wanna shut up? Wow. I mean— I'm speechless," I concluded.
"Will you please shut up?" he begged.
"Why don't you make me?" I answered back in an instant.
We both just stared at each other until his usual smirk broke on his face. "You liked that didn't you?" he asked smugly.
"What?" I asked.
"You really liked that," he bragged. "That's why you're doing this whole drama. Seriously, you girls..." he said, shaking his head.
"What?" I scowled at him. "You're an asshole, you know that?" I said digging my fork hard.
"Humour me," he said, resting his chin on his palm. "But out of the two of us, who's being the dramatic asshole right now?" he asked.
"You know what?" I said, gritting my teeth. "I don't even wanna have this conversation anymore."
"But I do," he answered.
"Go to hell," I said, chewing slowly.
"See?" he asked triumphantly. "There. You girls try to get things complicated on purpose and when they do, you complain about it."
I ignored him and concentrated on my food.
"You're mad," he stated.
"No, I'm delighted actually," I said sarcastically.
"What if I said let's pretend this never happened?" he suggested.
"I'd punch you."
"What if I asked for your number?"
"I'd punch you," I repeated. "And then I'd give it to you," I added.
"Good," he said pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and throwing it at me.
"Yeah," I said, entering the digits.
"Cool," he shrugged as I tossed it back.
"Fine," I pressed.
"Alright," he added, clearing his plate.
"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Okay," he said, gazing at me.
"Seriously now?" I asked, giving him a skeptical look. "Are we really gonna compete on who gets the last word?"
"Of course not," he said. "Because we both know I'm the one who's going to win." He shrugged.
"Idiot," I said.
"Psychopath."
"Loser," I muttered.
"Jackass."
I glared at him. "Asshole," I interjected. "And I got the last word!" I said stuffing my fingers in my ears. "Lalalalalala," I blabbered. "I can't hear you."
He rolled his eyes at me. "You can't say 'lala' forever," he informed. "But I can," he said as he imitated me.
Suddenly the door opened and his cousin appeared, who was apparently freaked out by the scene before him. We all exchanged perplexed looks.
"What are you doing here?" Killua asked him, surprised.
He scratched the back of his neck. "I—"
"Oh my God," I said as I face palmed. "I'm so sorry Gon," I said as I remembered. "I forgot about your test—how, how did you find my house?" I asked, confused.
He pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket on which my address was stated in my clumsy hand writing. "I found this in Killua's room," he admitted.
Killua glared at him. "What test?" he asked.
"Wait," I said turning to Killua. "You kept this?" I said indicating at the piece of paper. "From a month ago?"
"That was—" he justified. "What test?" he asked, reverting his attention to Gon.
Gon looked at me for backup. I got up from the bed and placed my plate on the table. "Gon and I are studying together," I explained.
"Why?" he asked, looking, repeatedly, between the two of us.
"How does that concern you?" I asked as I patted my bed to invite Gon to sit.
Killua just speechlessly glared at me.
Gon gave me an apologetic smile, which assured me that the afternoon was not going to be easy.
I shook my head. "f," I said calmly. "Gon, f. We've already found x."
He bit the back of his pencil and began scribbling.
"Not like that you idiot, said Killua, gritting his teeth. "What part of 'f' do you not get?" he asked exasperated. "f," he repeated. "Fuck."
I scowled at him and pointed at the bed. "Go."
"What—" he began.
"Nobody asked for your help, he's doing great, even without your awesome encouragements," I said sarcastically.
"Tch." He shrugged and walked to the bed.
"Now Gon, listen," I said breathing deeply. "All you have to do is arrange d and x to find the frequency."
He looked at me and shook his head. "I don't get this," he admitted. "I suck," he exhaled.
"You do not s—" I began.
Killua coughed loudly from behind. "Kick me if he's done by midnight."
I gritted my teeth and threw the pencil in my hand right at him.
He caught it as smoothly as if he was expecting it and smirked.
"That's it," I said, getting up and walking to him. "Get out." I grabbed his arm and pulled him up with all the breath that I had and I could tell he wasn't even trying to hold back. "All you've been doing since the past hour is distract him," I said as I lead him to the door. "Why don't you go and spend some quality time with my family, huh? Your divine presence has already blessed us enough." I shut the door to his face and took a deep breath. "Now," I said turning to Gon. "Where were we?" It wasn't a real question; we were still where we started.
A very obvious piece of information, which I had acquired today, was that Gon had an incredibly thick skull in which things hardly ever sank in. Repeating the same thing five times was equivalent to once for him, but at least the guy was trying and the guilt on his face put my temper to shame and I had to admit, without Killua around he was doing much better.
In his surprisingly deep determination, he had already snapped three pencils while concentrating. There were groans, deep calming breaths, words of encouragement and motivational speaking from my part while he mostly nodded and scratched his head. After about fifteen whole circuits of repeating the same things, a miracle happened.
"Oh. My. God," I breathed, covering my face with my hand as I examined his sheets. "Right answer!" I screamed. "Damn, right answer!" I felt like crying.
Gon's face split into a holy grin and he caught me in a bone crunching hug. We both jumped around the room for a few minutes, caught up in the excitement.
The rest proceeded, not very easily, but a lot better than before, and finally just when I felt like I would throw up on the calculus text book, we were officially done.
It was nearly eight o' clock when Gon and I walked downstairs where Killua was apparently busy talking to my mom and my nonna. I didn't even want think about the topic of their conversation but suspiciously my mom's face was glowing like a neon tomato, which I wasn't even sure was a thing.
"You're done?" Killua asked, raising his eyebrows as he spotted us.
We both nodded smugly like Batman and Robin, tutoring Gon was way harder than saving Manhattan.
After politely declining my mom's request to stay for dinner both the boys walked out and I followed. The fresh air felt amazing after a tiring afternoon or day as for that matter.
I took a very deep breath and in one swift movement I kicked Killua's shin with all the force I could manage.
He groaned. "What the— " he said gritting his teeth.
"You told me I could kick you if Gon was done before midnight," I reminded him.
Behind me Gon howled with laughter.
Killua rolled his eyes and dug his hands in his pockets.
"If you want, I could drive you home," I proposed as they both began walking forward.
"Nah, one walk home isn't gonna kill anyone," Killua assured.
"Actually," Gon said, digging out a pair of car keys from his pocket.
"You brought my car?" Killua asked wide eyed, as if someone had stolen his baby.
"Our car," Gon corrected, smirking. "I provided half the share," he informed.
"I thought we agreed only I'd get to drive," Killua argued.
"In your dreams," Gon said, grinning as he sped away towards where I supposed the car would be as he waved to me.
I raised my eyebrows and waved back.
"Hey!" Killua called behind him. "I know where you live! I live with you!"
I snorted; these boys were slightly insane.
Gon just ignored him and disappeared in the dark.
"One scratch on her and things are gonna get ugly," he muttered and turned to me. "You know I meant the car, right?" he said as he saw the way I was looking at him.
I rolled my eyes. "Stop being mean to him."
"I'm not mean to him," he assured. "I just act like I'm mean to him so he doesn't know that I really care."
We both looked at each other and he sighed. "And that slipped," he concluded clicking his tongue.
I smiled at him. "Aw, there's a sweet guy deep within that gigantic asshole cover. Very, very deep within," I added.
"So," Killua said, ignoring me. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
I shrugged. "Whatever."
"I'm assuming you're still mad."
"You assumed correctly," I said, eyeing him skeptically.
"So, why don't you guide me? How exactly could that be changed?" he asked.
I sighed and dropped my gaze. "Killua I—I want you to," I paused to find the right words. "I want you to be honest. I mean—if what happened earlier was something totally spontaneous, I get it. It's okay, you can tell me. I know, we all get caught up in the moment sometimes, I mean I don't know, do I? If you want, we can totally pretend like it never happened, because like— when I was eleven my mom started making this meat loaf, it was horrible and well I really didn't wanna hurt her feelings so I ate it, but thing is she made it over and over and then well— I told her it sucked and— she stopped making it, I learned that day that you should always let others know—"
He raised a hand to silence me and pursed his lips. "Seriously?Meat loaf?" he asked, confused.
"Yeah." I pursed my lips. I really needed to start shutting myself up.
"Wow," he mumbled. "You know, you should just let people think you're an idiot rather than opening your mouth and proving it."
I gave him a skeptical look. "You're not getting my point, what I was trying to say—"
He put a finger on my lips. "You're talking non-stop, again," he added. "You know what happens when you do that," he informed.
I blinked. "Right," I muttered as he removed his finger.
"I have two words for you," he announced. "Stop. Over-thinking."
"That's three words, technically," I said, raising an eyebrow. "And Killua really—"
He groaned. "Alright, as awkward as this sounds, let me say it," he sighed. "I kissed you," he said simply.
I just stared at him. "I know, but—" I objected.
"Wait," he ordered, raising one finger this time. "I don't know how things work in this insanely insecure brain of yours or if your thoughts are clouded or something," he said tapping my head lightly with his knuckles. "Has it magically slipped away that we've been trying that for the past week?" he asked, annoyed. "That wasn't some spontaneous, in-the-heat-of-the-moment kiss in the rain, okay?"
I just looked at him with my mouth slightly open.
"This is the part where you say something," he informed me.
"Okay," I mumbled like the idiot I was.
"Something besides that."
I stood there like a moron until my arms moved on their own and I embraced him.
He froze for a few seconds until he placed one of his hands behind my back. "Claire?" he asked lowly.
I shut my eyes and breathed in the scent of his shirt. "Yeah?" I asked.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I bit my lip. "You smell really nice," I admitted. "And your hair too."
"Uh— okay?" he said awkwardly.
"Are you two done?" Gon asked from behind us.
I jumped and we turned away. I placed a hand on my heart, I was definitely gonna have a cardiac arrest soon.
Killua scratched his head awkwardly. "Let's go," he mumbled and Gon followed.
"I'm up for Chinese tonight, what about you?" Gon proposed as they both walked away. I could hear the dingling of the keys in his hands.
"Haha Gon, joke's over," said Killua. "Hand me those keys now."
"I wasn't joking," Gon said as he pressed the button of the key and I heard a car beep.
"You'll crash her!" Killua objected as they disappeared in the darkness.
"No, I won't, I can drive just as well as you can."
"Really? Tell that to the old lady you almost got in the hospital and besides—"
I leaned against the door and listened until their chatter died away. The night smelled so sweet or maybe it was Killua's spread out scent. I passed a hand through my hair and looked at the sky. Maybe it was just me, but the stars seemed just a bit brighter.
I messily tied my hair up in a ponytail as I was trying to read the open book on the table. I had a free period, so the library was where I belonged. I groaned as I tried to blow off the strand of hair on my face since both my hands were busy. Not so shockingly, I stepped on my own feet and almost fell until I was barely caught by a set of arms that pulled me back up.
I was mentally ready for a sarcastic remark from Killua, but I just pursed my lips when I saw that the person holding me was a man, not a boy; his hair were a deep shade of brown instead of silver and emerald green eyes were sparkling before me, in contrast to the sapphire blue ones I was expecting.
"Bah," I nearly screamed as I took a step away.
The man in front of me, more commonly known as my new calculus teacher, giggled.
"Oh— God, I'm really sorry," I mumbled.
"Don't be," he said as he set me back up. "Is that a novel?" he asked, almost astonished as he stared at the book on the table.
"Uh—yes," I said, scratching my head. "There are others on the shelf," I said, pointing.
He chuckled. "No, actually, it's very rare to see a teenager holding a book that isn't included in their study course."
I shrugged. "Well, books are a good escape from reality."
"Why? Is your reality unsatisfying?" he asked as he bored his gaze into mine.
For some dumb reason, I took a step back and hit my head with the shelf. "Ouch," I gasped, holding a hand to my head.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Yes," I said, waving. "That totally—happens all the time," I sighed. The sad part was that I wasn't even lying.
He nodded slowly. I just realized that I might have seemed slightly mysterious and cool; awesome that I ruined that impression down for good. "I better go," he said, looking behind me. "Goodbye." he walked away real fast.
I just stared in the direction he went. Was he weird or was I too weird to realize what was going on. I shook my head, life was weird.
"Hey," said a masculine voice as I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Hi," I said as I bit my lip. Now this was definitely the guy I wanted to see. Killua passed a hand through his hair. "What did he want from you?" he said, staring at the direction in which Keitomaro went.
"I wish I knew," I mumbled as I picked up my book.
"Can you do me a favour?" he asked, smiling at me.
I could only stare like an idiot; his smile was so damn breathtaking. I mean, was he doing that on purpose? "Ya," I blabbered as I held my breath.
"Stay away from that guy," he said, still smiling.
I raised my eyebrows as I walked towards the hall. "Do you guys know each other?"
"No," he said as he dug his hands in his pockets. "I just don't have a good feeling about him," he admitted.
"Well, I apologize to your vibe reading abilities, but he's my calculus teacher. I don't see exactly how I can stay away from him," I said as I opened my locker.
"Don't talk to him, if he comes to you walk away, ignore him," he instructed.
I gave him a perplexed look as I shut my locker and leaned against it. "You were serious?"
"No," he said sarcastically. "I set this up for the sake of your entertainment," he said as he passed his fingers through my hair.
I stared at his hand and shrugged.
"So, I was thinking," he said slowly as one of his hands moved behind my neck while the other leaned against my locker. "Why don't you have lunch with me today?"
I gave him a skeptical look. "You know I can't go in the cafeteria, are you making fun of me?" I asked, gazing at him.
"No, of course not," he assured. "I wouldn't have you doing anything you're uncomfortable with; nobody said anything about the cafeteria."
"Then?" I asked raising an eyebrow.
"I was thinking, a place with slightly less gravity," he said pointing upwards.
I looked up at the ceiling. "The roof," I concluded.
"Exactly," he said as his hand moved up and he grabbed my rubber band, using both hands he slowly removed it and let my hair down while trying to fix it. "There," he said. "Keep it that way," he advised. "So," he cleared his throat. "I'll bring lunch up there and—" he mumbled as he played with a lock of my hair.
"—Killua?" I interrupted.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Are you flirting with me?" I inquired.
He arched an eyebrow. "You know what? Maybe I am."
"Wow, that's— really smooth."
"I'm a straight forward guy," he informed as he shrugged.
"Yeah, no kidding. I wasn't expecting any poetry out of you, don't worry," I assured him.
"Poetry?" he asked, amused. "You want me to do poetry for you?"
I rolled my eyes. "That's the exact opposite of what I just said."
"No, wait. Let me do it. I wanna try out the role of a football player who is actually a poet by heart."
"Isn't that a real character from some lame chick flick?" I asked.
"It is," he admitted. "And that's what happens when Gon gets to pick a movie."
I giggled and rolled my eyes.
He cleared his throat and took one of my hands in both of his while staring into my eyes. "There's this girl," he began.
I think I slightly gaped.
"There's this girl," he repeated. "Who hangs with this incredibly hot guy," he said, smirking.
I rolled my eyes.
"Nobody else can be that hot, they can only try," he mused.
"Get lost." I pushed him back as I held back a giggle.
"He has wonderful eyes, only a shade or two darker than the sky," he added as I walked past him. "And the girl's walking away even though the guy doesn't know why," he said as he matched my pace.
I gave him a skeptical look. "The girl says get lost before I poke out your eye."
He chuckled. "Heart of a poet," he announced.
"I'm gonna be late for class," I informed as I rolled my eyes.
"I'll see you at lunch then."
"Alright, then what's the plan? Just— lunch?" I asked.
"Well we could do— stuff." he shrugged.
"Stuff?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know," he nodded. "Stuff." If I wasn't mistaken, his gaze lingered for a second on my lips.
"Okay then," I agreed. "I'll be looking forward to doing this 'stuff' with you," I mumbled.
"Stuff it is," he said and then turned around and walked away, with his casual wave.
I bit my lip and smiled as I paced on. I didn't even know what was going on anymore.
Killua's P.O.V:-
I impatiently dug my fingers into my seat as I stared at the blackboard with my head leaned on my palm. I swear I could almost feel some sweat on my hands as I desperately waited for the lunch bell and that was saying something; I never sweated. I passed a hand through my hair, there was definitely something wrong with me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the professor continued to blabber in her squeaky voice.
I had to admit, I was slightly surprised at myself. Among me and Gon, I had always seen myself as the sensible one; the responsible one. The one who put duties in front of emotions. Since I had met Gon, I always saw him as the one who would definitely fall for a girl, make breakfast for her and have weird spiky-haired mutant children that would probably call me uncle. Me? As far as I thought, I always pictured myself as the best-man at his wedding, the guy who smoked in a corner at his after-party and muttered 'tch' at least once every minute, while weighing exactly how big of an idiot Gon had been.
It was as if the tables on the future that I had always seen had turned over, and quite incredibly turned. Her rare smiles and the sweet, sweet taste of her lips. I swear running into her was a mere coincidence and trying to pursue her further was a grave mistake, but to be honest, it was the best mistake I had ever made.
Suddenly, the bell rang, breaking my train of thought. I got up and reached the door in seconds, I was almost out when—
"Killua," said a high-pitched voice.
I turned around to look at the black eyed woman, the history teacher, and gave her a questioning gaze.
"I need to have a word with you," she informed.
I resisted the urge to glare at her. "Actually, professor. I have somewhere to be, is this going to take long?"
"I'm afraid so," she said as she arranged the sheets on her desk.
I looked around and spotted Gon outside in the hallway. "Just a second," I told her. "Hey, Gon," I called.
He was grinning like an idiot as he walked to me.
"What are you so happy about?" I demanded.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I need a favour," I informed. "Claire's up on the roof, waiting for me. Can you get her some lunch and tell her I'll take a while?"
"Sure." He nodded.
"I owe you one." I sighed.
"Of course you do." He smirked.
My eyes widened as I watched him walk away. "Not the car," I groaned.
"I can't hear you," he called as he disappeared down the hall.
"Damn," I muttered as I walked back in.
"Sit," she invited.
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms around my chest. "I'm good." This woman needed the 'distance' vibe.
"Well, Killua," she began. "This is about your grade record," she informed as she pulled out a white sheet of paper.
"I know, I need extra credit," I replied.
"Oh, I'm afraid, honey, you need more than just extra credit," she answered, gazing at me in a way that could never be mistaken as proper. "See, Killua. You've attended less than half of my classes, of a total of thirteen, you've only completed one of my assignments and that was a group project with Miss Gaspardo, even if you regularly attend now you don't have enough scores to make it through for the exams in November, you're going to have to be d-barred."
I stiffened. She was right, I had bunked most of my classes trying to get access to that old man's office and I doubted it would be any help if I got kicked out right now.
"But," she interjected. "Since you're a smart student," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to offer you a chance."
"Extra classes?" I asked.
"No, just one report. Give me a full fledged paper on your latest history topic; I'll give you an A in the finals."
I blinked. I was positively sure now that she had taken my flirting slightly too seriously. "Sure," I nodded.
"If you want," she added. "I could assist you, guide you through," she proposed smiling.
Don't make me puke. What was she like, fifty? I cleared my throat. "I wouldn't want to put you through the trouble." I smiled. "Thank you for the offer," I said as I almost headed out.
"No," she objected. "It wouldn't be any trouble at all," she said as she stood up. "I could have you in my spare time without any problem or would you like some place after school?" she asked.
I didn't like what she was implying by 'have you'. I passed a hand through my hair. Two children, as I recalled, this woman had two children and besides she was getting on my nerves. "Actually professor, I already have a study group planned out, with my girlfriend," I added, better let her down easy.
She blinked ferociously. "Girlfriend?" she asked as if it was the most vulgar word in existence.
"Yeah," I smiled. "The history project you were talking about, the only one I happened to have submitted, I did it with her. We both got an A in that combined assignment so, it's safe to say she can guide me flawlessly. Now if you'll excuse me," I said as I quickly rushed out.
Women, what insanely delusional and hopeless creatures. Selfish, clever, two-faced— I was wrong. My theories lead me to judge the whole gender on the base of a few, or maybe it was her, it was only her that made me misjudge it all. Was she clouding my senses? Girlfriend, didn't sound so bad when it referred to her, did it?
Claire's P.O.V:-
I sat with my arms wrapped around my legs and my chin leaned against my knees as a light breeze ran though my hair. I stared at the minute buildings from the roof and closed my eyes for a second. There were a million emotions, over-whelming emotions running through me, some of which I couldn't even describe and I wanted to keep it that way, I didn't want to complicate things anymore, I wanted to wrap my head around the thought that I felt good and that was it. No more freaking myself out with my idiotic insecurity. Killua was right, he was so right. He was always right, but it took me just a little time to get his point and besides I couldn't really admit he was right, not to him at least.
"Claire," said a masculine voice.
I blinked crazily as I got startled. "Gon?" I said, looking at the spiky-haired boy in front of me.
"Here," he said as he handed me a wrapped sandwich.
"What— what's this?" I asked confused.
"It's a sandwich; I really didn't know what to get you. I mean, you like sandwiches right? Most people like sandwiches, right?" he asked.
I pursed my lips. "I—I, sandwich, why?" I demanded in a supreme grammar.
"Killua got held back in class, so he asked me to get you lunch, he said he'd be here in a while," he explained.
"Oh—oh. Thanks, thank you," I said, awkwardly clearing my throat.
"You're welcome, I should go," he said as he took a few steps forward.
"Yeah," I mumbled. "Gon?" I said as something I had never considered popped in my brain.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Who were you going to have lunch with?"
"Well, I had pizza yesterday and I was thinking of getting a salad today," he answered.
I blinked. I didn't know whether he was purposely dodging my question or if he had misunderstood, but in that moment, I felt really, really bad about myself. I felt so selfish. How had I failed to notice that I was stealing away Gon's best friend? All the time Killua was spending with me, I was perfectly sure Gon was on his own because I had never seen him with anyone but Killua. He was going to have lunch alone, because of me. "I'm sorry," I gasped as I met his gaze.
"What?" he asked perplexed.
I shook my head as I felt a huge lump in my throat. I felt so evil, so selfishly evil. "Gon," I breathed as I collected myself.
"Yeah?" he asked worried.
"Can you stay? Here, with me?" I asked in a small voice.
"Sure," he smiled as he sat down next to me.
I unwrapped the sandwich and split it in two, handing him one half.
He looked at me, amused as if he was trying to understand what I was thinking.
I smiled at him. "You're Killua's cousin— his best friend and—" I paused. "I don't know anything about you, but— I want to, know you," I mumbled. I was horrible at expressing myself.
He blinked and looked at me and then his face split into a huge grin. "I got a B minus in the test," he informed.
I gasped. "Shut up," I said in disbelief. "That's— that's awesome!" I congratulated. I was glad yesterday's tiresome afternoon didn't go to waste.
He got into a weird sitting position and took a bite of his sandwich. "Well, I grew up on an island and Mito-san, my aunt she—" he began.
I carefully listened to his biography with my chin leaned on my palms. I couldn't help but smile, as he talked I understood exactly why he and Killua were friends. Killua was sharp, smart and deep while Gon was kind, compassionate and ebullient in every way; I don't think they realized it, but they completed each other.
Killua's P.O.V:-
I took a quick turn as I passed the hall and made it to the janitor's closet. It took me about thirty seconds to climb the small ladder. I walked forward and spotted her sitting at one corner with a half eaten sandwich in her hand; side by her side was Gon, weirdly gesturing with his hands. She tilted her head slightly and threw it back as she burst out laughing. "You named your pet Kon?"
Gon nodded as he smiled.
"And he was a foxbear, aren't those extinct?" she asked, amused.
"Well, no. On Whale Island we have—" Gon stopped mid sentence as he spotted me. "Hey, Killua!"
"Yo," I waved as I walked to them.
"I was keeping Claire company," he explained.
I turned to her and she smiled at me. "I can see," I said sitting down next to her.
"He can hold his breath for more than eight minutes," she said perplexed. "I didn't believe him but then he actually did it, is that even humanly possible?" she asked me.
"Just eight? Seriously? And you're bragging about that?" I asked Gon, rolling my eyes.
He stuck his tongue out at me. "Sorry, I'm not professionally trained assassin," he answered.
Both our eyes widened as we looked at her.
She was chewing on the sandwich as she looked between the two of us. "What?" she asked, confused. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked as she rubbed her cheeks ferociously.
Gon and I both sighed. I glared at him as he gave me an apologetic look.
The bell rang and Gon left quickly before he could cause any more disaster.
We sat there silently for about two minutes until she got up. "You're gonna be late for class," she informed.
I sighed. "I need five minutes."
"Are you okay?" she asked concerned.
"Yeah, just got some stuff on my mind." I shrugged.
She gave me a small smile. "Stuff?" she asked.
I rolled my eyes. "Sorry you had to wait so long," I apologized.
She smiled, the same smile that always reached her eyes. "I had a great time," she admitted. "Gon's quite a guy."
"Yeah, he's really something, isn't he?"
"Well, you're not so bad yourself." She leaned down and pressed her lips to my cheek. "See ya." She waved and walked away.
"W-What?" Did I just stutter? I blinked like an idiot and touched my face. Was I out of breath? What was this girl doing to me?
My existence as cracking and empty as frost,
but as the cold lifts, I discover the light I had lost.