Chapter Text
My mom settled into her seat on the airplane beside me, carefully sidestepping my tapping feet. She took a look at my relaxed face, and then ripped one of my earbuds out of my ear.
“Turn down that whiny ballad- I can hear it from hear loud and clear.” My mom scowled softly, her face concerned.
“It’s not whiny, mom.” But nonetheless, I turned the music down. I rolled my eyes as the music became a mere whimper in my ears. I guess she was looking out for my hearing, but I wasn’t in the mood. Apparently having the same notion, she just sighed and shook her head, and decided not to comment on my attitude.
“Let’s be nice today, okay, Yuu? It’s too hot to argue.” Mom muttered, pulling out her own earphones to listen to whatever thirty year old moms listen to. I agreed internally with that-it was truly too hot. I was sweating in my seat despite the rather pathetic air conditioning in the plane. It was probably cooler in hell, in my opinion.
Dramatics aside, it was about ninety degrees in Phoenix, Arizona, while it was January everywhere else. The sky outside was a perfect blue-I was glad I had begged Mom to give me the window seat now. The clouds would hopefully help my motion sickness, because I’d be focused on the pretty shapes rather than the fact that we were about 40,000 feet off the ground. Can you tell I don’t like heights? I’m not scared of them-I’m not scared of anything, of course. I just don’t like the fact that if this plane in particular were to crash, I’d be nothing more than a flattened pancake named Yuu and I’d never eat another chicken nugget again.
Now that was a fate worse than death. I shuddered just to think about it, earning me a strange look from a passerby flight attendant.
Anyway, I’m not one to dwell on doomsday things like that. The thing I really should be thinking about is our new home. I sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. I didn’t really want to think about that either, but it was inevitable. I was going to be living in Forks, Washington in a matter of a handful of hours whether i liked it or not. Maybe being a flattened pancake wouldn’t be so bad.
My mom-who I sometimes called by name, Akane-is a police officer. She was stationed in Arizona with her wife-my other mom-until last month, when everything went to shit. I’m still in shock about all of it. I’m not even sure entirely what happened. One day, Mom Number Two was sending me off to another day of highschool, all smiles, then I came home when school was over to find my house swarmed with cop cars and ambulances. It was also the same day that Akane was re-assigned to the quiet, rainy town of Forks by her police station’s head honcho. Something about how cops aren’t allowed to work on cases that are personal because that cop might make a really bad, rash decision. Which kind of strange and ironic, moving to Forks, as it had been the hometown of my other mom and the birthplace of their marriage. That’s the only days of their marriage they spent in Forks-the early ones. Akane loved Forks, but it was her wife who detested it, and they fled with me to the sunny skies of Arizona, where there was no constant cover of clouds. Akane and my mom were happier in Arizona, I think.
I missed my other mom. I missed her so much. I have no idea what happened to her except for the fact that she’s passed away. But I do know that there wasn’t enough left of her to put in a coffin. I really wish I hadn’t eavesdropped on that particular conversation between Akane and the doctors.
I guess it’s Akane’s way of protecting me, by not telling me the specifics. For that, I’m glad, because I harbor enough vengeance and I don’t even know what happened. I’m sure you’re wondering why I don’t ask Akane straight up what happened, and that’s because it makes her start crying if I bring it up. Believe me, I’ve tried to, but I learned quickly that the wounds are too fresh for her. I keep my mouth shut, which is a wonder in itself. I’m not known for my ability to read the mood.
So now it’s just Akane and me. Heading off to one of the rainiest, most depressing places in all of the Olympic Peninsula in a shitty, hot airplane that would probably, with my rotten luck, end up crashing and overheating and smash us into flattened pancakes over some homophobic southern hick’s corn field.
Whatever. Least I had Brendon Urie’s soothing voice in my ears to tell me that girls love girls and boys. Very soothing.
-------
I have never woken up in a freezer before, but there’s a first for everything, apparently.
“Why is it so cold?” I mumbled, shivering. Akane chuckled and shrugged off her coat and tossed it in my lap.
“Welcome to Forks, honey.” She announced cheerily.
“I don’t need your girly, pink peacoat, mom.” I huffed, the breeze ruffling my messy, noir hair all around. “I am a man.”
At this, she rolled her chocolate eyes. “You’re going to be a man who’s going to get soaked if you don’t put that on. We’re about three minutes from getting off.”
“And what about you?” I countered, a pout settling onto my lips. “You only have on a T-shirt.”
Akane winked at me. “I’ve got an umbrella.”
It was clear she wasn’t gonna let me use the umbrella instead, so I sucked up my pride and yanked on the trenchcoat. It was about two inches short on my wrists and clung desperately to my chest.
Great. I’m sure I looked fucking dashing.
After I ran out of swears to rant in my head, we left the plane without so much as a scratch. And of course it was raining, which both fascinated and repelled me. It hardly rained in Arizona, so I found the cool air kind of refreshing. The fog also looked gorgeous, whispering along the many, many trees. The water, however, seemed determined to drown me. Fuck you too, H20.
Akane and I grabbed our luggage-which wasn’t much, considering I was a male who practically lived in the same three things and she mainly wore her police uniforms-and easily made it down to a cab. The furniture had already been driven down to our new house weeks ago by some family friends and police buddies. I guess they wanted to help Akane as much as they could, considering she both lost her wife and now had to relocate halfway across America on the fly. I didn’t have much to do with the whole moving process, surprisingly, and maybe that was intentional on Akane’s part. She had mentioned once before me to just focus on my remaining days of school in Phoenix and don’t worry about the mess we were in. I was totally willing to help as much as I could, don’t get me wrong. I had offered numerous times, but Akane is stubborn. Almost as stubborn as me.
I watched two droplets of water race along my window as I thought about the house. I’d only seen the house maybe once, and that was in pictures Akane took. It was two bedrooms, one bathroom, just something simple, from what I remember. She called it cozy. I agreed.
“Here we are.” Akane murmured, suddenly grabbing my hand. I forced a smile, squeezing her hand in reassurance. “And it’s just as I remembered it.”
“It’s okay, mom. It’ll be okay.” I wasn’t sure if I was referring to the house or our situation in general, but it didn’t matter. Akane nodded, finally smiling. She paid the driver, and I hauled the bags and suitcases up the narrow staircase on our small porch. I had barely glanced at the house but had recognised that it was some shade of blue. I honestly wasn’t much into house hunting or color or decor so it could have been rainbow with a thousand shades of sparkles for all I cared. I ran up the staircase and set the suitcases in the first room I saw, which was probably Akane’s, judging from the queen size bed. A lump grew in my throat, looking at the bed. It was the same one she had shared with her wife. My mom. Different sheets, of course, and mom would’ve laughed if she knew that her bedding now composed of little pink bunnies. All a part of the healing process, I remember Akane saying as she had bought new sheets in Arizona. I can’t hang on to that kind of thing forever. It’ll weigh me down.
I just kind of stood there in the doorway to her room, staring at her bed. While I knew it was probably healthy not to keep holding on to someone that was gone, I just wished that mom didn’t have to be gone at all. Sadly there was nothing I could do about it. Mom was gone, and we were going to have to accept that. Even if it meant throwing away perfectly good sheets and buying stupid ones with bunnies on them because we had to ‘move on’.
“Yuu! Are you up there?” Akane’s voice jolted me out of my melancholy. It sounded like she was yelling from the bottom of the stairs. “Go look at your room, tell me what you think. Krul and Asuramaru helped pick out stuff for me while we were packing in Arizona.”
Who the hell is she talking about? I wondered, my eyebrows creasing. “Uh, sure, but who are Cruel and Asura-whatever?” I walked towards the only other room, which was down the hall from Akane’s. I opened the door to my room and prayed that nothing would come out and bite me.
“Krul and Asuramaru Tepes?” Akane repeated, now behind me. I gasped and tripped over my shoe, headbutting the wall next to my door.
“Where did you come from?!” I groaned, rubbing my head. “I thought you were downstairs!”
“I was.” Akane smiled, and caught my hand to steady me. “Then I came upstairs to talk because I don’t like yelling. Didn’t you hear me go up the stairs? They’re creakier than I recall.”
I blushed slightly. “Uh, no. Didn’t hear you at all.”
She sighed, “You are so oblivious, Yuu. Please pay more attention.”
I huffed indignantly at that but asked again who those people were as I crossed the walkway. I admired the room while she explained; my room was a deep gray with emerald being the main supporting accents. I had a lighter grey carpeting, and the lights were really cool, hanging in little strings of mini lanterns around the corners of the walls. Some pictures of my small family were hung in frames around the room. There was only one that was closest to my bed in a drawer on my nightstand; it was the last photo we ever took as a complete family, with Akane grinning while cuddling my mom, who was laughing as she hugged me, and even I was laughing too, my hair sticking up in the annoying way that it does. That shot was frozen in happiness, having been taken by a friend who had come over to see Akane. I remembered that day. It was the last time my mom made chicken nuggets for dinner.
“Krul is Asuramaru’s mom, she’s in a wheelchair now.” Akane sat on my black and white checkered bed to talk. “Asuramaru is--well, was--your best buddy when you two were little babies. You used to pull on his hair, the poor kid!” She laughed, caught up in memories. I smiled, not because I remembered, but because she was laughing. It’s been so long since I heard her do that. “Anyway, they live by La Push--the beach, I mean. They were...your mom’s best friends.” Her laughter stopped right then at the mention of her wife. Her shoulders slumped, and she suddenly looked twice her age.
I wasn’t sure what to do; it was my mom who was the happiness of the family, who could bring a little bit of sunshine on anyone’s cloudy day. I was too much like Akane, and didn’t really know how to comfort someone. I was awkward with emotions, either due to my oblivious nature or by the fact that maybe I just couldn’t relate to everything, and couldn’t always be on the same page with Akane. Hell, my mom, who I had been closer to than anyone else on the planet, wasn’t always there with me. We couldn’t see the same things. I often wondered if I was seeing blue while others saw red. Or felt safe when others felt fear. Maybe I was just naive. Maybe there was just a glitch in my brain that couldn’t compute things.
But the cause didn’t matter. All that mattered was the effect.
“Sorry. It’s just hard because it feels like she’s everywhere, you know?” Akane finally said, talking my silent conflict for confusion. “This was her hometown, where we got married, where we had you. This was our first house--redecorated, of course.”
“Wait, this is the same house? As in, the house you first bought in the wedding photos?” I interrupted bluntly. Here I thought we had bought a different house, when in reality we had only moved back. “But it looks so different...I thought you two had bought a yellow house?”
“It was originally yellow,” Akane agreed, the gaze in her eyes a million miles away. “But Krul and Asuramaru had done a lot of work on the place during all those weeks we were getting ready to move back here. They repainted the outside blue, Asuramaru rebuilt a couple things inside, and they, along with a few other of your mom’s friends, put our furniture in and everything. They’ve been an amazing help.” She sighed again, and smiled at me. “We’ll have them over sometime, so you can see them and maybe that will jog your memory. In the meantime, you should probably get ready for bed; your first day of school is tomorrow. Junior year, wow. Do you need anything?”
I shook my head, and she got up and gave me a hug, which was strange for both of us. I awkwardly pat her back, unsure of where to put my hands. Neither of us were what you would call affectionate; that was all my mom. In a few seconds, it was over and she left the room, probably to go downstairs and watch Chopped.
I was happy that she left me to be by myself to unpack my clothes, which would have been a feat altogether impossible for my mom. It was nice to not have to look happy, to just stare dejectedly out the window at the rolling clouds that never seemed to leave. You could never see the sun here-not that you would, it was nighttime-it felt like a cage. I guess the outside was sort of pretty, with the foresty vegetation, the flourishing trees and lush woods in our backyard.
It was too green-an alien planet.
Darkness settled on my room, but I didn’t bother to turn on the light. I didn’t feel like getting up, honestly. I felt a sort of numbness beginning to set in me, but I knew what that was from. It was grief. I missed my mom. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times. I’m not particularly verbose, I didn’t know any poetry or fancy words to describe the ache that burned in my heart whenever I was reminded of her. Sometimes it hits harder to say things in a simple way rather than in a haiku. And now I’m here, in a place that I’ve already lived in but don’t remember. Where everyone knows Akane and me, but I don’t know them. Akane at least has more of a clue, since she already knows her wife’s friends and will know more people when she works at her new station. Me, on the other hand, will be the talk of the town. A newcomer-though not so new, I guess-. A freak. The son of the chief’s flighty wife, home at last.
I snorted and hauled myself up, strolling across the hall to the community bathroom to shower to clear my thoughts. Now, you’d think that sharing a bathroom with a girl would get crowded, but with Akane, that’s not the case. She’s a very clean person, keeping all her stuff in a little box with a pink bow on it. She doesn’t wear makeup and doesn’t need it, so that saves the counters from having foundation and eyeshadow all over it. And, best part, she doesn’t spend hours in the bathroom like some women do. She just does what she has to do and gets out, giving me more than enough time to shower, brush my teeth and put on some manly cologne. In a lot of ways, Akane was the perfect roommate.
I showered quickly enough, because once I turned it to the hot water, I found myself nearly falling asleep from the soothing temperature. Determined not to drown myself, I got out and wrapped a towel around me, using one of Akane fluffy orange ones to dry my hair.
I crossed over to the mirror, and examined myself.
I prided myself on having that nice, Arizona tan, but in this light, it already looked like it was fading. I looked slightly paler, but maybe it was just the lighting. I also looked like I needed to hit the gym, but not in a bad way. I had always been skinny, well, more like scrawny. My body had that hard edge that was clearly masculine, but I’ve always been soft, somehow. My collarbones jutted out, and my stomach wasn’t this glorious six pack; I had some reminiscent of abs, sure, but I was soft.
I did have an amazing ass, though, which was something my friends back at Arizona always commented on. That made me smile, thinking about those wonderful assholes back at Arizona High. I bet they were at some party, trying to get up the courage to ask out some twink that caught their eye. I wished I was right there with them, encouraging them to ride that dick into the sunset.
My eyes were what made me kinda different. They were this striking emerald, and I had these thick eyelashes that some of my friends-who-were-girls sighed with envy. But there was something in my eyes that bothered me. They were the same shade as my mom’s, and on her, they fit. On her, they looked excited and happy. On me, they looked...unresolved. And of course, my hair just decides to do whatever the hell it wanted-no amount of combing or styling ever changed a thing. I would be forever damned with this hellstack of black hair.
I hurried back to my room, now completely blinded by the dark and threw on some boxers. I collasped on my bed, and jammed in some earbuds, which were the only thing that could drown out the rain so I could sleep. I didn’t want to be tired and cranky on my first day of school. Ugh.
It was Halsey’s purr that lulled me to sleep a few hours and several albums later.
-------
I was pretty certain I was in the midst of an earthquake. My bed, my body, my everything kept shaking without any letup. I was about to scream to warn Akane when I heard a sigh.
“C’mon, Yuuichiro, you’ve got to get to school!”
Ah. So the earthquake was Akane. I thought sleepily, which made me laugh. Akane scowled when she heard me laugh, probably taking it for disrespect, and yanked off my blankets.
“Get up, honey. I’ve got to go to work, I can’t babysit you.”
“Okay, okay, I’m up. Totally awake.” I sat up, stretching and yawning. “When’s the bus coming?”
“You aren’t taking a bus.” Akane’s mood changed immediately, her lips curving up into a sly smile. She was already dressed in her boring black police uniform, and her hair was neatly combed into a side pony.
I raised an eyebrow. “Then how the hell am I getting to school?” I was pleading that she wouldn’t drive me around in her cop car. I refused to be driven in something that has flashing lights on the top. I’d rather walk the two miles in the rain.
“Why don’t you go outside? Maybe you’ll find something there.” She said mysteriously, then patted my leg before going downstairs.
Confused and excited, I sprinted my way into my clothes-which was a simple jade longsleeve and black leather jeans that made my ass look delicious-and hurriedly shovelled chicken nuggets into my mouth and tumbled out the door. Akane stood proudly in front of it, leaning delicately on the front bumper.
“Surprise! Your very own truck!” She gestured happily, grinning.
To my intense surprise, I loved it. It was this bright orange truck, with some age to it, of course, but looked like it was definitely sturdy. Not even a tank could take out this old monster, I was sure of it. It had bulbous fenders and these amazing tires, which were newer than the truck. I had no idea if it would start, but I could definitely see myself in it, cruising around town, beeping my horn at all the cuties and blaring some good ol’ Adam Lambert.
“Thank you, Akane! Holy fuck, I just...this is amazing!” I could hardly contain my excitement, and I ran to her and hugged her tightly. The gesture seemed to surprise Akane, because her hands were fluttering for a moment before she mussed up my hair, an action that my mom loved to do. A sudden wave of sadness poured over me as I realised that it was intentional, and so I carefully pulled away.
“You’re very welcome, dear You should really thank Asuramaru, he’s the one who sold it to me cheap, after he did work on the engine and cleaned it up.” Akane winked, but then turned serious. “But don’t let this become like your other cars. Please follow the rules of the road, and--”
“Mom, don’t worry.” I interrupted, not in the mood for another repeat of how to drive. “I’ll be safe. I’ll stop when the signs say to, and I won’t get mad at other dumbass drivers. I promise.”
Akane huffed a bit at that. “That doesn’t sound very reassuring.”
“Alright, I swear on Chris Hemsworth’s abs that I will be a great fucking driver.” I amended, eagerly taking the keys she held out to me.
Finally, Akane stepped off towards her car. “Alright, alright, I guess I’m convinced. You better leave now, Yuuichiro. I love you! Have a good day, honey. Oh! And check into the office first, to grab your schedule and any other things, okay?”
I nodded, hitching my backpack in the passenger seat. “I know, mom, you told me a thousand times. I’ll be fine, okay? Love you.”
Akane pulled out of the driveway to go to the station, which was her second wife and family. Meanwhile, I started up the car only to scream in horror when the engine shrieked in protest. Oh well. A truck this old was bound to have a few flaws. I made a mental note to thank Asuramaru, whenever I’d really meet him. The antique radio disk player worked, a plus I hadn’t expected, so I fed it one of my many CDs. The Pierces sang about how glorious today was, and I completely agreed.
Finding the school wasn’t too hard, though the only thing that really told me it was a school was it’s sign, “Forks High School”. Other than that, it looked more like matching houses placed side by side, only they didn’t like each other, so they had built walls of greenery to keep from seeing the other neighboring houses. Melodramatic, I know, but this was unlike anything I’d experienced. Where were the chain link fences? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the metal detectors, the real feel that this was an institution?
Forks High school had a shocking total of three hundred and fifty eight-now fifty nine- students. There were more than six hundred student in my junior class back at Arizona alone. These kids all knew each other, and their grandparents had been toddlers together. I was the newcomer. A freak, my thoughts echoed from last night. My lips pouted a bit as I thought about my disadvantages. I didn’t know anyone here, and even in Phoenix, I hadn’t really fit in. How the hell was I going to fit in here, in a place where everyone already established their cliques generations ago? The thought train about my inability to connect with my peers from last night came chugging through again. The few friends I made in Arizona were the outcasts as well as I was. I never was the type to be prom king, or the save-every-game jock or even the nerd. I was just average. So if I couldn’t find a niche in Arizona, how would I ever find one here? Whatever. I wasn’t here to make friends anyway.
I found a parking spot easily enough, and found out I was early. There was not another car in sight. That was fine with me, it gave me more time to look over my schedule. I shut off my music and forced myself towards the building I assumed was the main office. It wasn’t raining, only drizzling slightly, misting. I thanked the rain gods for that; I didn’t bring a jacket.
I wasn’t nervous. Definitely not. My hands weren’t shaking as I reached for the doorknob. I was just cold.
I stepped in, and found a motherly lady who was working behind a cluttered desk. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which made me feel over dressed and very gothic in my leather jeans. I didn’t think she would comment on my very fine ass.
“Hi, may I help you?” She asked, eyeing my leather pants.
“Uh, hi. I’m...Yuuichiro Amane.” I introduced myself, nearly sighing at my name. My full name was long and difficult, and it was never on those fucking customized keychains at theme parks. I was sure everyone was going to mispronounce my name. So I preferred the Americanized nickname, ‘Yuu’. “I think I’m supposed to get my schedule here, right?” I wondered if everyone in the school had heard about the death of my mother.
“Yes, of course, dear. I have it right here.” She gave it to me, and a map of the school. She helpfully highlighted the best paths to take, as well as a slip for all the teachers to sign and I would return at the end of the day and wished me a good day. I didn’t miss the hint of sympathy in her eyes.
Yes, yes they did know. Of course, my mother had gone to this very highschool. Of course the teachers knew. They were probably the same teachers she had growing up.
That was both comforting and saddening.
I spent the next ten minutes in my car, listening to music and studying my schedule. I was determined not to have the map stuck under my nose all day and look like the clueless idiot everyone knew me as. Soon, I couldn’t avoid it any longer; I had to get to class. I took a deep breath, and opened my door. I just had to relax; nobody was going to bite me.
I followed two unisex raincoats into my next class, which was English. They had stopped in the doorway to hang their coats up, and I noticed they had very pale skin. Huh. So even if my tan does fade, at least it wouldn’t be a stand-out here. One of them had violet hair, and it was a great dye job, honestly. The other was a little taller than Mr. Purple and had jet black hair. The purple haired person chattered on and on while the other listened intently. I smiled a bit, and made my way to the teacher. I gave her the slip, introducing myself to her, and she gawked at my name-not a very encouraging response. I blushed and stammered then when she-Miss Sayori- teared up, remembering my mom. She told me I had her eyes, and because I didn’t know what to say to that, I just sort of stumbled away to my seat.
That literally could not have gone any worse.
Miss Sayori passed out our reading list, and that consisted of Shakespeare, Faulkner, and a bunch of other people I had already read. I felt myself drifting off, the teacher’s voice only becoming a hum in the background. Since I had already done essays on the books, I could just use my old essays and turn them in as if they were knew. I wonder what Akane would say about that. I went through different arguments with her in my head until class let out.
As I got up, the purple haired kid I followed into the class came up to me.
“You’re...Yuuichi...Youichioro...Ah,...?” He smiled questioningly, eyes apologetic.
“Just call me Yuu.” I compromised with a small grin. Great. It was already starting.
“Okay, Yuu. Where’s your next class?” He seemed really...excitable. Like a puppy dog, actually.
“Ah, I think it’s Trig, with Makoto.”
“Hey, that’s my next class as well!” He seemed thrilled. He also had a very nice smile, I found myself admiring. “I’ll walk you there, if you don’t mind. I’m Lacus, by the way. Though I’ll warn you, Makoto can be kind of a hardass about being late, so we’d better hurry, okay?”
I nodded, and he tucked a strand of violet hair behind his ear and led the way. Behind him, I could see that his hair was pulled up into some kind of bun, or pressed into one with a pin. I didn’t know enough hair stuff to really name it, but it looked really intricate.
We half-ran, half-walked to Trigonometry, with Lacus filled the silence with his endless chatter about teachers, boys, and a mysterious person called Rene. I could only listen, because I didn’t know the people he referenced and couldn’t have any opinions, but it was nice to listen to him. He seemed to have only positive views of people, the only exception being Makoto.
Lacus was the nicest person I’ve met so far.
“Ah, so you two finally decided to join my class!” The teacher called scathingly as Lacus and I entered, late only by twenty seconds. “Lacus, please go sit down. And who is your friend?”
I blushed horribly, fully embarrassed as I stood awkwardly in front of the class alone. Lacus sent me a sympathetic look from his seat.
“I’m--” I was prepared to introduce myself, but the teacher decided he’d butt in.
“You’re late, I know.” He finished for me, sounding bored and dismissive. God, this guy was an asshole! He pissed me off, and my temper spiked.
“No, actually, my name is Yuuichiro Amane, Mr. Dick.” Then I pretended to look all surprised, and even pulled out my schedule. “Oh, sorry, I meant, Mr. Makoto.” I said his name with such snide I hoped he could taste it.
You could practically feel the class holding their breath, and I instantly regret what I said, but hell if I was backing down now.
“Since you are a new student, I’m going to excuse this episode we’re having and give you tomorrow to make a new first impression on me. I’m sure you are just tired and distraught from your travels. So please, take a seat, Mr. Amane.” Makoto got up and gave me a Trig book and gestured to my seat. Not feeling like such a badass anymore, I merely turned tail and went to my seat without another word.
What the hell was I thinking, talking that way to a teacher? I scolded myself. Akane would have my head if she knew about that. I need to get a better cap on my temper, but I hated being dismissed. That was so rude, and I wasn’t afraid to correct that. So I did the mature thing and glared out the window for the remaining forty-five minutes, and did not pay attention to a single thing that asshole teacher had to say.
The second the bell rang, I was out of my seat-not without stumbling over someone’s books-and heading to lunch. I didn’t wait up for Lacus, but that didn’t matter because he found me in the line with a few other people.
“I can’t believe you stood up to Makoto like that!” Lacus exclaimed, eyes wide. “That was amazing!”
“It really was!” One of Lacus’ friends had spoken up, a short girl who looked kind of like Lacus; maybe they were siblings. They had the same purple hair. “Dude, Yuu, that was fucking hilarious!” She snickered at my earlier remarks. “‘Mr. Dick’. I loved it.”
“That’s Chess,” Lacus nodded to her, and started to point out his friends. “And that’s Rene!” Ah, so that’s what that black haired guy’s name was earlier, I remembered. I smiled politely at all of them, and laughed at myself. “Yeah, sorry. I really didn’t mean to snap like that, but he pissed me off.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve said everything that we’ve always wanted to say.” Rene chuckled, clapping me on the back. “So thanks for that.”
“Really though, you’re our hero!” Chess winked at me. “All the girls were talking about you after class, I heard them.”
I internally groaned at that, embarrassed.
“Even some of the guys.” Lacus quipped with a slight smirk. Maybe this guy wasn’t as innocent as I thought he was.
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter. Hopefully it’ll blow over.” As if I needed anymore attention drawn to myself, I thought wearily. What happened to the ‘fly low under the radar’ idea of mine?
“Hey, do you want to sit with us, Yuu? We’d love to have you.” Lacus asked me as I got chicken nuggets from the lunch line.
“Oh, sure, that’d be awesome.” Better than eating lunch alone and looking like a total freak, in my book. But in all honesty, I liked these three people a lot. Lacus was a total sweetheart, Chess was really funny, and Rene, while mostly quiet, had the tendency to make the occasional sarcastic quipp that never failed to make everyone snicker. It was very clear that Rene and Lacus were...something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but they just seemed so close, and they always had a smile for each other. I smiled, finally figuring it out; they must be best friends.
“You see it too, don’t you?” Chess whispered to me once Rene and Lacus started talking to each other.
“Yeah, it’s so incredibly obvious.” I agreed vehemently.
Chess looked shocked and gleeful. “I knew it wasn’t just me! Finally, someone who sees it too! So, what do you think? Do you think they’ll actually get together?”
Now I was confused. “Huh? Why would they get together? They’re clearly the bestest friends ever.”
She looked at me as if I had just told her that two plus two equals four hundred and three. It was clear I was missing something obvious, but I had no idea what it was. Now I looked at them again, doing a double-take, that I saw them.
They were seated at the far end of the cafeteria, tucked away in a corner, set apart from everyone else. There were five of them sitting there, not eating their food, though they each had a plate full of it. They weren’t gawking at me, unlike most of the other students in the room. But that was good, because it was safer to stare at them without the fear of them catching me staring. But it was none of these things that made it impossible to look away.
They didn’t look anything alike.
There were two girls; one I could tell was super tiny, thin in the extreme, but short. Her lithe legs hovered a few inches above the floor on her chair. Her hair was a dusty lavender, parts of it braided around her head in a sort of crown, and the rest of it hung gorgeously in flowy tresses. She had porcelain like features, all delicate and dainty. It was her smirk that made me think of a succubus. The other girl was curvy, and she had an amazing rack. The kind all the boys lusted after, and the kind that only showcased itself in airbrushed Playboy magazines. She was a blond, and her hair was pulled up into childish pigtails, but that didn’t take away from the fact that she looked strong. There was a certain air about her that was one of a veteran from war. She looked like she could kick some serious ass.
There were three boys sitting there as well, and they were fine. One had pink hair, choppy and cut close to his head, but there was absolutely nothing feminine at all about it despite the color. He had three piercings in his left ear, bright red glasses, and he was very much a man, by that I mean he didn’t look like he belonged in high school. Besides his punk-y features, this guy was fucking built, but not grossly so. But he looked really pissed off, and even doing that, he was beautiful. The second boy was that male’s opposite; this boy was surprisingly feminine, with his adorable curly brown hair and wide eyes, and there was a certain purity to his face that I could clearly see. He wore a thick scarf and a vest, with lighter jeans; that boy was a mix of darks and pastels. He was so incredibly cute that I was filled with an urge to just cuddle the fuck out of him. It was clear that he had Little Spoon Syndrome. Last but certainly not least, there was him. This guy was the kind of beauty that you only saw in magazines with ten shit tons of photoshop. He had platinum blonde hair that looked so fucking irresistible, the way the bangs would fall into his eyes. He had the best facial structure out of all of them, I’d wager, his cheekbones could cut glass, hell, the kid was a delightful mess of angles and curves and it was in all the right places. Even sitting, his hips were curved more femininely, but his collarbones were all angles. He was built, though not so much as his burly pinkette brother. It was clear that this blonde one could seduce you with only his eyes and a few whispered words, and you’d be under his spell.
Totally different, and yet, they were all alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students here-the albino. They all had very dark eyes-from here, they looked black- despite their range in hair tones. All their features were angular, crafted in perfection.
But that wasn’t why I couldn’t look away.
I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all insanely, inhumanly beautiful. The girls and guys both-beautiful. These were faces you never saw in real life. These were faces you saw in museums crafted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was truly hard to believe they were real.
I tried to decide who was the most beautiful; maybe the cute brunette male, or the seductive blonde guy. Or maybe the dusty violet-haired girl. Now, most of the female student body would probably go for the punk-y guy, and the males would go for the purple haired princess, but they would all be totally fucking wrong. There was something about that platinum blonde with the bedroom eyes that stuck with me. There was just this...intensity about him that drew me in instead of driving me away.
They were looking away; away from each other, away from the students, away from anything in particular as far as I could see. Then, the princess-like violette rose, carrying her tray, and daintily danced across the linoleum floors to the trash can, in one fluid motion throwing her untouched plate away-unbitten apple, unopened soda-all into the can before loping away faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others; they hadn’t moved.
“Who are they?” I asked Chess incredulously.
Though she could probably tell just from my tone, she looked up at the table I had been looking at. Suddenly, he looked at us, the perfect blonde one. He looked at Chess for a fraction of a second, and then his gaze flickered to mine. Dark eyes, angled up at the corners, long lashes.
He looked away, faster than I could, though I dropped my gaze as soon as he’d glanced our way. I started to blush. It was strange; it was as if Chess had called him by name, and he’d looked up in response, already having decided not to answer.
Chess laughed slightly, uncomfortable. She kept her voice down as she explained. “Those are the Ichinoses and Hiiragis. Mitsuba and Mikaela Hiiragi, and Yoichi and Shiho Ichinose. The one who got up was Shinoa Hiiragi. They live with Dr. Hiiragi and his husband.”
I peeked at the blonde boy, who was talking very fast to his family, though it didn’t even look like they were hearing him; they made no move to show that they were listening.
Weird names. Even weirder than mine. Mikaela, especially. I assumed it was spelled the same way as Mikayla, but why was it said like ‘Mee-kai-luh’? Kinda pretentious. Who knows. Maybe that was a small town thing?
“They are all very...good looking.” Jesus Christ. What an understatement.
“Hell yes!” Chess agreed with a giggle. Then she smirked. “But they’re all together, though. Yoichi and Shiho, Shinoa and Mitsuba, I mean. Like, dating. And they live together.” Her tone was clearly suggestive.
I blushed, of course. “Which ones are which?” Yeah. It was definitely time for a subject change. “They don’t look at all related.”
“Oh, they aren’t. Dr. Hiiragi is really young, early thirties at the most. They’re all adopted, but some of them took Dr. Hiiragi’s last name, others took his husband’s. I don’t know why. I think they’re some kind of foster kids. None of them are blood-related, I don't think. ”
“They look a little old to be foster kids.”
“They are now. Yoichi and Kimizuki are both eighteen, but they’ve been with Mr. Ichinose-Dr. Hiiragi’s husband-since they were little. He’s their uncle, I think.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. For them to openly accept all those kids, I mean.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Chess sniffed, and I got the impression that she didn’t like the Hiiragis that much.
Throughout all of this, I couldn’t stop staring at him, that blonde with the alluring gaze. This time, however, he looked towards me, curiosity evident in his searching gaze. Though I looked away, I could have sworn I saw the look on his face held some sort of unanswered expectation.
“Mr. Platinum blonde with the bedroom eyes. Who is he?” I asked Chess. Again, I peeked at the boy-he had the most frustrated look on his face that I didn’t understand. I looked down.
“That’s Mikaela. He’s hot, of course, but don’t waste your time. He doesn’t go out with anyone. Lone wolf. Apparently none of the girls are good enough for him.” Chess’s happy expression turned sour. Huh. I wondered when he’d turned her down.
I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. Then I glanced at him again. Mikaela. His face was turned away now, but I thought from the shape of his cheek that he might be smiling, too.
-------
I walked with Lacus and his friends to my next class, which was Bio. We chattered together, finally getting on a subject I could talk about; music. Lacus and I had the same taste, which ranged from a bit of Britney to the glorious Adam Lambert to Twenty One Pilots and everything in between, except country music. We both despised country music. Chess liked all the screamy shit, which made Lacus cringe. Rene was more into piano, softer music, which I didn’t expect. Lacus and I were arguing which Panic! At the Disco song was better- my Golden Days vs his Ballad of Mona Lisa- when we finally came upon the classroom.
The group immediately went to sit in their assigned seating behind black topped desks while I lingered by the teacher’s desk. Miss Aoi, as her name plate suggested. I looked around the room, having nothing else to do until the teacher noticed me. Lacus sat next to Rene, Chess sat next to some other girl with a beanie, and…
He was sitting right there. Alone.
Mikaela Fucking Hiiragi was sitting next to the only available seat in the whole entire room. My heart sped and my eyes widened.
I suddenly turned around, marching right up to the teacher’s desk. I kept my voice low, not wanting another mishap like in Makoto’s class to happen. I politely introduced myself, gave her my slip to sign, and she gave me a book with no nonsense about stupid tardy policies. I could tell we were going to get along. But she had no choice to send me to the only seat left.
I prayed to whatever God that was listening that I wouldn’t trip on anything on my way to his desk. I walked carefully, but my heart was racing and my palms were sweating. I couldn’t believe I going to be sitting next to the world’s sexiest ma--
“Fuck!” I gasped as I tripped over Lacus’ bookbag right next to the middle seat. I stopped myself on Lacus’ desk, luckily enough. Though I nearly headbutted Lacus in the process. I hurriedly sat down in my seat, blushing madly at the fool I’d made of myself. I guess the gods hated me in particular. I peeked at Mikaela, to hopefully gauge his reaction. I hoped he wasn’t laughing at me.
And I was suddenly sorry I had looked.
I’d been right about the eyes. They were black-coal black.
He was leaning far away from me, as far as the seat would allow. And he had the most pained expression on his face, his eyes murderous. I kept my eyes down, confused and awkward, wondering what I could have done to earn the antagonistic glare he’d given me. He sat on the extreme edge of his seat, and he leaned his face away as if he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I lifted my sheathed wrist up and sniffed. I smelled like laundry detergent and my cologne, Noir. How could that be offensive? I scooted my chair to the right, giving him as much space as I could, and tried to pay attention to the lesson.
I couldn’t stop myself from shooting occasional glances at the strange guy next to me. Throughout the entire class, he never relaxed from his stiff position on the chair, nor did his hand relish it’s hold on the underside of the table. Fuck, it looked like the table was going to break under his clenched fists, though of course that wasn’t possible. He had the sleeves of his sapphire cable knit sweater pushed up, and his forearm flexed with surprisingly hard muscle beneath his pale skin. I couldn’t help but notice how perfect that skin was. Not one freckle, not one scar.
This class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was coming to an end, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to look like he wasn’t even breathing. What the fuck was wrong with him? Was this how he normally acted? I questioned my earlier judgement on Chess’s sour grapes at lunch today. Maybe she wasn’t just resentful.
This couldn’t have anything to do with me. He didn’t know me from Adam.
Miss Aoi passed back some quizzes they must have taken, and she gave me Mikaela’s to pass to him, since I was on the outside seat. I sneaked a glance at his score. A perfect one hundred percent. Of course he’d have both beauty and brains. It seemed a little unfair that he’d have both, but it seemed the world wasn’t fair at all. I passed the paper over, and looked him in the eyes.
He glared at me, his dark, dark eyes full of hatred and revulsion. His silky lips were curled back slightly in a snarl. I flinched away from him, and the phrase if looks could kill ran through my mind.
At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump. Mikaela was already out of his seat and into the hallway by the time I even registered that it’s time for my next class.
“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself. I sat frozen in my seat after he left. He was so harsh. I began to gather up my things slowly, trying to block out the confusion and guilt that filled me. Why should I feel guilty? I hadn’t done anything wrong. How could I have? I hadn’t actually even met her.
“Yuu, come on! We’ve got Gym next!” Lacus gently slapped my ass. “Nice butt, by the way.” He was clearly trying to make me smile.
“Alright, I guess.” I followed the violette out of the room, and he walked ahead of Chess and Rene, who were following us but lagging behind, talking with each other.
“So, what, did you stab Mikaela with a pencil or something? I’ve never seen him act like that.” Lacus luckily kept his voice soft so the others wouldn’t hear. It was obvious he wanted to talk to me alone.
I sighed. “No, I didn’t do anything to him. I didn’t even speak to him.”
“He looked like he was in pain or something.” He mused, biting his lip.
“I have no idea. Maybe he just hates me.” Even to me, my tone sounded sullen. Why did I even want that boy to like me anyway? Just because he’s pretty? Jesus. I needed to get a grip.
“Strange. If I were lucky enough to be your partner, I would’ve talked to you!” Lacus winked at me, and opened the door to the locker rooms. I smiled at that. Lacus was really kind, and seemed to like me enough. But it wasn’t enough to make me forget the last hour.
The gym teacher, Coach Goshi, found me a uniform, but didn’t make me dress down today. At Phoenix, only two years of P.E. were required. Here P.E. was mandatory all four years. Great. My own special version of hell.
I watched four volleyball games run simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained-and inflicted-playing volleyball, I felt a little nauseated.
The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return that slip all the teachers had to sign. The rain had faded away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wished now that I had had the smarts to grab a jacket this morning.
When I walked into the warm office, I had half a mind to turn around and walk back out.
Mikaela Hiiragi stood at the desk in front of me. Impossible not to recognise his flowy winged blonde hair. He didn’t seem to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood, pressed against the back wall to wait for the receptionist to be free.
He was arguing with the motherly lady in a low, velvety voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade sixth hour Bio to another time-any other time.
This could not be about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I got to the Bio room. The look on her face must have been from another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could have taken such a sudden, intense dislike to me. I wasn’t interesting enough to be worth that strong of a reaction. Hell, did my motherfucking leather pants offend him?!
The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk and fucking up my already fucked up hair. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. The girl who came in merely set a stack of papers on the desk and left. But Mikaela Hiiragi’s back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me-his face ridiculously perfect, not even one tiny flaw to make him seem human-with piercing, livid eyes. For an instant, I felt the oddest thrill of genuine fear raising the hair on my arms. That look only lasted a second, but it was colder than the freezing wind. He turned back to receptionist.
“Never mind, then.” He said quickly, in a voice like raw silk. “I can see that’s impossible. Thank you so much for you help.” And then he turned on his heel and walked out with not another glance to me.
I walked robotically to the nice lady, and handed her my slip. She took it and put it in a folder, and gave me a smile.
“How’d your first day go, sweetie?” She asked.
“Great.” I lied, feeling that weird numbness starting to pool in my bones again.
I walked back out to my truck, and cranked up the heat, trying to cool my shaking hands. I could only sit there for a while, just staring out at the rain blankly. With trembling fingers, I fished out a CD in my backpack that I carried everywhere; it was the last CD my mom ever made me. Knowing my obsession with music, she liked to burn songs on CDs and give them to me. It was this violin lullaby medley, with violins also playing covers of popular songs, and I loved it because it never failed to bring me a feeling of peace. The song playing right now was Safe and Sound, by Taylor Swift, only in a violin format.
I drove home to Akane’s house, trying not to think of anything at all.