Watanabe Haruto is the most popular boy at school, for all the most trivial, superficial and wrong reasons: he's tall, skinny, extremely attractive... and he's dangerous. Rumor has it he's the leader of a gang. Rumor has it he's into heavy illegal stuff. Rumor has it he's the son of a mafia boss. Lots of stories are said about him, but despite the mysterious and intimidating aura that surrounds him, every girl's in love with him.
To be honest, I'm also one of those girls. It's quite impossible to pretend I'm "not like other girls and you have no power over me" when Watanabe Haruto's charm works on everybody. Girls and boys. Students, professors and directives. I have no idea if it's his handsomeness and the way he speaks, or is because of the money and influence his family may have, since despite being involved in trouble during all his school years, he has never been in detention, and has never been expelled.
Just as I can't deny I've been in love with him since my first day of school, I can't also deny that somehow, he's intimidating. If rumors are true and he's son of a mafia boss, the leader of his own gang, or is into heavy illegal stuff, truth is I don't want to get involved in any of it. My strategy has worked for these past three years, and just a week away from graduation, I hope it will keep on working.
I guess things never go as one plans them, since that afternoon, after being done with my classes and getting distracted at the teacher's room (editing my graduation speech), I walk towards the lockers area, so to drop all my books and enjoy my last weekend as a high school student, when my path crosses with his.
I'm just opening my locker, when I hear someone standing next to me, and after hearing how someone leans in my neighbor's locker, I have Watanabe Haruto right next to me, looking at me only.
"Can I help you with something?" I ask, as I do my best to keep it together. We've never spoken before, I actually doubt he even knows me, but here he is, next to me, obviously wanting to talk to me, since I'm the only one left.
"Kim Teume." He says in his usual deep voice, which makes me shiver. Am I in trouble? "Yeah, I think it's time for you to help me with something."
I look at him, visibly confused. I really just got into trouble. Am I now involved in a drama and my life's in danger? Am I still on time to say I'm not interested in being part of anything that's about to unfold? But most importantly, do I really don't want to get involved?
"I don't understand why you would need my help." I reply, trying to find a way out of this. However, I don't even try to drop the "I'm just like any other girl" speech (which obviously involves explaining why I'm actually not like most girls), mostly because the adrenaline has already taken over my whole body.
"You got no idea how demanding it is to be desired by the rest of the female population of this school." He says in a monotone voice, which makes him sound as if he were extremely bored. However, as he speaks, he proceeds to stand in front of my locker (I take a step back, getting out of the way), and starts to look at everything I got there. "Despite them being easily categorized in just two groups, they're all basically the same thing."
I look at his back, as I'm visibly confused. I don't understand what...
"You know them, right?" He continues, as he pushes away my notebooks, kawaii stationery, and the makeup I have in case of an emergency. "There're the ones that are not afraid to confess their feelings, and are always pestering me. And there're also the ones that prefer to pretend they have no feelings, but deep down they wish that coldness will make me fall for them.
I can't help but puff. Haruto has just found my lipsticks, and seems like he's pondering on them, as if he's trying to decide which one he likes the best. Yet, as soon as he hears me, he quickly turns around to see me. I can't help but swallow, nerviously.
"I wonder which type are you, Kim Teume. Although considering these three years of being classmates we have barely spoke to each other, I have the feeling you belong to the second one."
"You're attractive..." I begin, but I got no idea how to finish that sentence. Haruto looks at me in silence. Is he expecting me to play the "I'm not like other girls" persona that's going to reject him, so he can also play to be offended and then force me to love him and him only? Well, I can be a double "not like other girls", if that's what he's expecting, so I finally say. "And you're definitely my type. Although I'm sure your type is a little bit different than... Than this." And proceed to point my whole self.
Haruto giggles. Is that good? Am I out of the prefabricated mold and now I got a chance, a real chance, of being the main character of a teenage romance story?
"Well, Kim Teume. Maybe you also have to ask me what's actually my type of girl, and why any other girl at school hasn't tempt me enough to ask any of them to be my girlfriend."
Now I'm shocked. It's impossible for the hottest and reddest flag boy of them all is interested in me. Just to make sure, I pinch my arm. Haruto sees me, and thus he laughs again, and for a moment, his deep voice makes my knees tremble.
"You said you needed help, right?" I ask again, trying to gain back a little bit of the terrain I had no idea I had just lost. "Help with what?"
I'm waiting for him to talk about a plot, a fight between two mafias, an adventure against-time were we have to run in order to save our lives, a story where I'm the damsel in distress that actually has the power to save the world from destruction, but Haruto just takes one of my lipsticks, closes my locker, and leaning against it, offers it to me.
"Help me to get rid of all those girls, and claim what's rightful yours."
"What...?" I say, as I first look at my wine-colored lipstick, and then look at Haruto's face, who's now looking at my lips.
"Come on, Kim Teume." He insists, taking my hand and forcing my lipstick into my fingers, which makes an electric shock to run through my whole body as soon as I feel his touch. "Claim your territory."
I understand what he means, but at the same time, my brain still can't believe this is true. Unable to believe this is actually happening (and with my eyes fixed on him, afraid Haruto will vanish as if this was just a dream), I open my lipstick, and proceed to paint my lips, trying my best not to do it too slow but neither too fast.
"All yours." Haruto says, as he proceeds to loosen his school tie, and undo the collar button of his shirt, leaving his neck completely exposed.
If Watanabe Haruto is part of a mafia and I'm getting myself into trouble, I don't care. If Watanabe Haruto wants me to be the damsel in distress that will help him save the world, even if that puts my life in danger, I don't care. If Watanabe Haruto wants me to leave my lips printed in his skin, and maybe even in his shirt's collar, making me the most popular and hated girl at school, I don't care.
Set to cover him with my kisses, and claim what's rightfully mine, I hurry to fall over his lips.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The inspiration for this chapter came from somewhere, but I just can't remember where. If you feel you've seen/read something similar to this, please share the name so I can check if that was actually where I took the idea, and thus give the corresponding credits.
With that said, this chapter is one of my favorites thanks to the way I portrayed Teume; the level of self consciousness is just so lol I love it.
Iksan boys are next, and we finish this fic with them. Hope you give them lots of love C:
