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1. Your laughter is crap
My entire body ache, and I reeked of sweat and sun. For the past half hour I've been running around the soccer field kicking a ball around cones or into the net. My legs are cramping and I hated my disgusting smell. I hated soccer and would never have signed up for it, but my father doesn't really care for what I want
Only that I excell
"Good game everyone!" The coach said, blowing his whistle. "Alright that's enough for today! Hit the showers boys!" He shouted. I felt relief at the knowledge that I could finally wash
Like a zombie, I trudged with the others to the boys' shower rooms, grabbed my extra uniform in my locker, and locked myself in the shower stall
I gave a pleasured sigh when the cool water hit my skin. "That's the stuff" I thought, smiling with relief. I then reached for the shampoo and soap
I usually loved to enjoy my showers, but I still had things to do and a tight schedule. So as much as I wanted to take my time, I couldn't.
Ten more minutes later, I turn off the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and left the stall.
"FUCK!" one of the boys screamed in shock. I frowned and gave him a look "what?" I asked
He surveyed me up and down, his face twisted in a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Ahem--Asano-kun.. You uh" he stammerer, clearing his throat.
"Holy shit!" Another one exclaimed, a big grin on his face
"Pfft-" two guys covered their mouths to muffle their laughter.
I was starting to lose patience. "What's so funny?! Why are you all looking at me like this?" I demanded angrily.
"Asano... you might want to look at a mirror" Ren said. He looked like it was hurting him not to laugh at me, but I appreciated his restraint nonetheless.
Irritated I opened my locker because I hung a mirror in there.
I nearly screamed at the boy staring back at me.
Instead of soft pinkish, strawberry blond hair, I had disgusting broccoli colored locks. "AHHHHHH!!!" I screamed... And they finally lost it. Everyone(yes including Ren) started laughing while pointing at me
My entire face turned dark red from embarrassment and anger. Then, my eyes caught a small note taped below my mirror. I reached for it and pulled it out
How do you like your new look? I bet everyone will be GREEN with envy at the sight of you, much more handsome
Akabane Karma
"AKABANE!!!!" I screamed, hurrying to put on my uniform, not caring if I had my pants backwards of if my shirt was buttoned properly. I had only one thing in mind. "I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU AKABANE!"
"Wait! Asano!" I heard Ren yell. I ignored him and ran out of the main building and straight up the mountain
"Where are you?! Come here so I can kill you damn it!" I probably looked ridiculous. Green hair, face red with anger, and screaming like a buffoon. But I couldn't care about how stupid I looked, I just wanted to get my hands on that asshole and wrap my hands around his neck!
I reached the E-class building and saw the students outside doing various exercises.
I stormed over to Shiota and Nakamura
"Hey! Where is he?!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me in bewilderment. "Trying for a new look Asano-kun?" The blonde girl teased. "You uhh...are really rocking that green look" A couple of snickers and giggles were followed by this remark
I blushed, feeling even more embarrassed and upset, but I held my head high and crossed my arms. "Where's Akabane?!" I tried again. "What do you want with Karma?" Shiota asked.
I pointed to my head "I know he did this to me! So he'll be punished"
"Punishment? You say" came Akabane's flirty voice behind me.
"What kind? You gonna spank me?" I imagines the bastard winking at me
"No!" I spat, spinning around with my finger pointed at him, ready to give him a piece of my mind.
But I didn't anticipate him standing very closely behind me though, so our lips brushed against each other
I heard squealing hooting all around us
Akabane smiled with satisfaction. No doubt, enjoying my mortification and unattractively red face
I must resemble a tomato by now
I felt so embarrassed, angry, anxious, and stressed. "SHUT UP!" I screamed, finally snapping after all the humiliation I've been subjected to
"You!" I thrusted a finger against his chest. I know that I'm so angry, that it's possible steam is coming out of my head. "You've been a giant pain in my ass--" I began with a huff
"No you will be the pain up my ass" The red head was quick to remark, causing more laughter from the watching E-class students.
I didn't realize it but tears were gathering in the corners of my eyes. Just to make matters worse
Akabane must have noticed, because his eyes softened to hold guilt.
I then start screaming at him in various different languages. He looked confused for most of it but I know that he knows I was cursing him and his whole ancestry to hell and back
Then I grabbed him by the collar of his black jacket and started shaking him. "What is wrong with you?! Why are you this way?!" I demanded
And then I let out one final scream
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!"
And then I let him go
I stepped back, and stared at Akabane Karma with big, furious, probably still tearful, eyes.
I was heaving, my chest rose up and down quickly
Akabane looked at me with a mix of guilt and adoration. He smiled at me, which pissed me even further
I'm like this because of him
I'm only like this to him
If it were anyone else, I'd have ignored them, because they are not, and never will be worth my precious time
He's the only one who can get this intense, insane reaction out of me. The only one
He's special, I know he is...
And I absolutely hate him for it!
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU KARMA!"
"Catch me if you can second-place-kun!" The red head challenged, sticking out his tongue before running the other direction "Karma!" I yelled angrily
Whenever I get pushed too far by this boy, I call him 'Karma'
Not 'Akabane' or 'Hey you' or ' You E-class student'.
He becomes simply Karma to me. The asshole who gets my attention by being a piece of shit
"Wait till I get hands on you Karma!"
"How'd you know it was even me?" He laughed
"NEXT TIME YOU PLAN TO DYE SOMEONE'S HAIR THIS DISGUSTING COLOR DON'T LEAVE A NOTE WITH YOUR NAME ON IT!"
He laughed freely, he laughed enjoying my misery and anger. He laughed because he knows I'll always chase him, he laughs because he knows how to get my attention
His laughter is cocky, childish, and somewhat infectious. If I wasn't so angry I would laugh along side him. But it would take more than good looks and melodious laughter to calm me down!
I swear I will kill him when I get my hands on him!
2. You made me happy by taking me to a cheap cat cafe
I excitedly hurried to my cat waiting for me under the bridge.
Well it's not really my cat per say, it's a stray cat, he doesn't belong to anyone. But I plan to keep him for myself. Once I cleaned him up and finished tending to his wounds, and when he's returned to his full health
I'll take him home with me
And tell my father that this cat is mine. I'm keeping him and he can't make me give him up.
This is my first time standing against my father. It's kind of exciting
"Shiro, Shiro I'm here" I said. I had a bag of cat food, bandages and other necessities in my arm.
"Shiro!" I called again, this time it was followed by me making cat noises to lure him out.
"Meow~" sure enough, the white cat limped out of the box and headed towards me.
I smiled and knelt in front of it
"Hey buddy... I missed you" I told the white cat. I reached to touch it's nose, but it must have thought I was going to hurt him, because it hissed at me and scratched my finger
"Ah!" I exclaimed, pulling my hand away. "Owe.. " I winced, watching the thin trail of blood slide down my finger.
Good thing I came prepared. This is after all the third time I got hurt by Shiro. Twice I was bitten, and now I've been scratched. "Sorry, I shouldn't have tried to touch you without your permission" I told him
"Meow" was the cat's response.
The following days, I've set up a routine
I would come down to Shiro, waitimg for me under the bridge, everyday after school
I would spend half an hour hanging out with him
Feeding me, brushing his fur or cleaning up any wounds he got while I was gone
And then I would go home
Father doesn't care enough for me to wonder why I was coming home late, or even bother to ask me why I've been wearing band-aids and bandages around my hands and occasionally on my cheek(Shiro scratched my cheek when he allowed me to pick him up once, I brought him up to eye level with me so I could admire his eyes)
Two more weeks passed
Exams are fast approaching. I need to focus on my studies so I can come out on top. But that means I'll need to avoid distractions, which means I can't go see Shiro for a while.
I was pondering this while walking to the bridge.
Maybe I should ask Ren for help? He can look after my cat while I busy myself with reviews.
"Hey buddy"
"Meow!"
I stopped in my tracks. I saw a red head sitting under the bridge, cross legged, with Shiro comfortably in his lap. He was petting it's fur while humming. "Akabane" I called. He whipped his head up and brightend up at the sight of me
"Hey Shū!" He greeted. I frowned "Shū? How chummy, what are we friends?"
I approached him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check up on him" He told me. I looked at the cat, he appeared to be having a nice, relaxing nap. "And I wanted to see how well you've taken care of this little fella" he added.
I was surprised
"You--"
"I saw you down here a few weeks ago. Checked it out when you left, and saw the cat" he explained.
"Oh" was all I said, sitting down in front of him.
I suddenly blurted out about the exams coming and that I wouldn't be available to come down here for a few days because I needed to study.
Akabane offered to take care of him
"I'll just bring my books here, I'll study for the exams as well as keep our kitty company" he said. "I umm... thank you" I said, feeling reassured. But then I added "for the record he's not yours, he's mine"
"I said he's 'ours'.. Like our baby" he winked flirtatiously. "No! Nothing like that!" I exclaimed, turning red.
And then time sped by in a flash
_______________________
"Meow, meeeow " I knelt down in front of Shiro. "Meow~" the white cat licked my bandaged covered fingers. "Careful, it might scratch you again" Karma warned.
"He won't, he's gotten used to me now" I reasoned.
It's been a few days since the exams arrived and ended.
Now I'm free to play with Shiro again
This is one of our few tranquil moments. No school, no teachers, no students, no nosy friends, and my father isn't looming over us.
We've gotten quite... well acquainted over the past couple of weeks. I think it's thanks to Shiro that we became friends
I still haven't allowed him the right to say my first name though.
"Meeeeooow!" The cat purred, rubbing itself against my legs. I heard Akabane scoff irritably.
Oh right, for some reason he became quite petty and easily jealous whenever Shiro gets affectionate with me. Really, this red head is such an attention starved child. Though that's not surprising considering his parents are gone six months of the year
"No no wait! come back!" I called when the cat suddenly just backed away from me, turned around and ran
"Well the cat's gone, let's go" said Karma "Oi, Asano-kun, what are you staring at?"
I was still looking at the spot the cat was standing at moments ago.
"That cat was a bitch anyway" Karma muttered. "It was always biting and scratching you"
"But I thought we had made progress today" I insisted. "It didn't hurt me when I reached to pet it, and it rubbed itself against me, it's never done that before" I muttered
"Come on" Karma grabbed my elbow, and I jolted as if I was zapped by electricity
We arrived at a cafe
A cat themed one
"Welcome!" Greeted a waiter. All the staff here wore cat ears and tails
"Meow!" Suddenly, I was surrounded by dozens of cats of every shape, color, and sizes.
"Meow~ meow~ meow!" The cats all rubbed themselves against me, and I was trying to divide my attention with each cat equally.
I was enjoying myself a lot
"Meow~"
"Owe! Fuck!" Karma yelped.
I looked over and saw him glaring at an orange tabby cat, before turning to look at me with a kicked puppy look. "Did you see that?" He asked with a cute pout. "I saw, the cat scratched you" I answered sympathetically.
Karma brightened up
"You probably scared the poor guy, go ask for a first aid kit" I told him, not taking my eyes off the kitten I was playing with.
I smirked when I heard him huff in irritation
"Meow!" The kitten in my hand purred, licking my cheek.
I watched Akabane stomp over to the counter, showed them his bleeding hand. The receptionist got out a first aid kit began to wrap his hand with a bandage after she disinfected it
During which, Karma started to complain to her about my lack of attention and preference of cats over him.
I snickered. Really, he can be so silly
Eventually it was time to go
"Come again!" The receptionist called after us
"--what a cute couple" I overheard her tell her friend. "He's jealous of cats because they steal his boyfriend's attention!"
"But his boyfriend is happy being around cats..awwe the red head endured for him!
I blushed. They... think we're together?
We left the cat cafe in a hurry
And walked to our neighborhood in silence
"Thanks" I told Karma when we reached my street
"For?" He raised a brow
"For..everything" I said to him. And I meant it, he's a very good, compassionate person. Sure he can act petty and annoying sometimes but those are overshadowed by his wonderful qualities.
People just need to look past the delinquent mask he often wore
I wanted to tell him this, but the way he was looking at me.. Like he was expecting some kind of grand confession.. it made me bite my tongue.
"See you at school" I told him instead
I hurriedly turned around and headed straight for my house.
I had a smile on me
3. You're always staring at me
My ear twitched, and I resisted the urge to look out the window, knowing full well he'd be there sitting on the branch watching me.
I bet he's making faces at me, waving his arms childishly.
When the teacher called my name, I stood up, and gave the answer to the math problem as well as a step by step procedure on the formula.
I can feel the envious and admiring stared from my classmates
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Karma clapping
I inwardly smirked, knowing I've impressed him.
He's been like that for while now. Not everyday, but every now and again. I would catch him staring at me with a smile, which I have to admit never fail to make my heart race(and I hate that!)
And sometimes he'd be outside my classroom, sitting on a branch, his eyes practically boring holes in my head. Whenever I would look over at him and mouth words like 'leave!' Or 'go away! Go back to your classroom!'
He'd shake his head at me, enjoying my annoyance
Then one day, we had to tutor middle school students who were failing math and science
I lost my temper and yelled at Akabane, who seemed to have been day dreaming
And the brats teased us for having 'sexual tension'
Kids these days, honestly!
4. You and I are more alike than we thought
The pressure and desire to be perfect is very strong in me. I get it from my father
Do you know why my father is powerful? The answer is simple: he's perfect, according to many.
Though, if someone actually asked me, I may not answer. I don't know if I think my father is perfect or not. People may say I am just being sour, but that's false.
Father may be a perfect person, but absolutely not a perfect parent.
Okay, maybe I'm thinking too badly of my father. All father wants is for me to be perfect, and he's assisting me in that, that's caring for his son, right?
I hugged my test papers close to my chest. I stepped one foot in the hallway, my body felt heavy and my vision was blurry. Shit, I'm so tired. I haven't had a proper night's rest since last week.
"I... I'm home!" I called out.
Nothing
No one.
There was nobody in the house. It was just me.
I went to father's office.
He wasn't there
Oh. I guess I'm going to be alone again.
I went to his desk and placed my test papers there, for him to see. Then I went around the house looking for any other signs of life. My mother is in Paris, my sister moved out years ago
Servants come and go
After fifteen minutes of pointless searching, I decided to leave the house.
It's too cold, lonely, and empty
Knowing father, the workaholic that he is, he won't be back until very late this evening.
I walked to the park, with my head tilted down
I don't have the best relationship with my father. What we have is more of a teacher and student than a father and son
When he doesn't have anything to teach me, he doesn't talk to me
We avoid each other most of the time. Unless interacting was a necessity. Our house(really it's more like a mansion) is big enough so we wouldn't run into each other.
I'm much closer to my mother, but lately she's been too busy to spend time with me either.
As for my sister, I haven't talked to her since she left three years ago.
I stopped in front of a certain red head who had his head tilted up to the sky. He was sitting on a bench, alone.
"Akabane"
He looked happy to see me. And honestly so am I, so I sat beside him.
I looked down, starting to get deep in thought, when he poked my forehead "Oi!" I exclaimed, glaring at him
"Hi" he said annoyingly. I groaned. "What are you doing out here? What happened" I decided to ask. Karma just shrugged "what makes you think something happened?" He fired at me
"Because you lack your usual glow..you're too calm" I responded. Sure, as if that made sense "This isn't like you" I added.
He looked at me, surprised.
"My parents came home" he decided to answer
"Mine aren't" I revealed
"Wanna..talk about it?" Karma suggested to me.
"You first" I told the red head
Karma smirked again and scooted closer to me, what is up with this boy and invading my personal space?
"Well I just realized my parents and I spend so little time together, it got to the point we didn't recognize each other. I thought someone broke in, so I grabbed a switch blade and went to investigate" he explained to me, sounding bitter
The two of us ended up spending hours on that bench, until the sky darkened and the rest of the stars showed up. We kept each other company, telling stories about our shitty family.
I realized how similar we are to each other.
"Your whole family needs therapy" Karma joked after I told him about my education obsessed father. I laughed, but really I was considering it.
Karma suddenly slumped against my shoulder
I didn't push him off. Just said "you are, such a pain"
Karma pressed a kiss on my shoulder, which surprised me so I whacked him on the head. But not that hard.
The red head and I just stayed cuddled together on the bench. Eventually I heard soft snoring, so I guess the red head fell asleep.
I sighed, now I can't get up until he wakes up.
I'm tempted to just shake him awake, but he looked too peaceful to disturb.
So, I'll just let him sleep against me for a short while.
But only for awhile! I still hate him after all.
End