Connect

1: Follow Your Friends

I was like a fish caught in the current, following my friends wherever they went. There was nothing wrong with that, I guess, or at least, I never thought of the things that could've gone wrong.

We were in an empty classroom at lunch, and let me tell you, teenage girls at lunchtime can get really crazy. That's sort of what was happening, or rather, what was about to happen. They were staring out into the hallway, their fingers pressed against the doorframe, eyes sparkling, hearts racing, huge grins on their faces. I was with them, too, but only because they were my friends. Besides, there was nothing wrong with having a bit of fun, right? That's all we were doing. Having simple, sweet, innocent fun.

It was the school's heartthrob that they were waiting for. It was kind of creepy, I guess, how all the girls in the school absolutely adored him and waited just to get a glimpse of the guy as he would pass by. I had been through this routine everyday with my friends. They'd squeal, call out his name and wave flirtatiously. Were they really in love? I couldn't say; I had never been in love. I had never held any sort of 'feelings' or whatever for anybody. It's not like I wanted to be a loner or something. I just never felt it.

"He's coming, he's coming!" My friend Miku with the long teal pigtails whispered excitedly, making the gang of girls quiver and shake with anticipation and excitement, "Luka says she saw him coming down the hall!"

I couldn't lie, though. This boy really was kind of nice looking, more decent and okay than cute, though, but just because someone's cute or handsome doesn't mean you fall in love with them. Maybe it was different with the other girls, or you know what? Maybe they weren't in love with him, either. They barely knew him, after all. They were just there for the view, for the experience. He was eye candy.

"Oh my God, he's here!" This was Neru, another friend of mine. She loved three things: shopping, her phone...and this boy.

He walked slowly, casually, his hands in his pockets and his head down, appearing out of nowhere and now slowly disappearing. His eyes were set onto the ground and I could barely see them, not that I really wanted to. It was that mop of hair that hid them, hair that was a brilliant dark blue.

"H-Hello, Kaito!" Miku chirped as he passed.

"Kaito!" Another girl giggled. He stopped momentarily, reflexively, at the sound of his name. A split second later, he was walking again. A girl named Teto, with red hair in corkscrew curls, squealed.

"He's so cute!" She giggled. All the girls nodded. I felt Neru's eyes set on my face.

"What, you don't like him, Gumi?" She snapped with a smile on her face, startling me.

"I, um...," I blinked. Miku laughed and poked me in the stomach.

"She was daydreaming about him!" The girl teased. I swatted her hand away.

"No, I wasn't!" I shook my head, "And no, I don't like him."

Teto laughed. "Aw, come on. You don't even think he's cute?"

I pursed my lips and walked over to the desk where I had left my sandwich. "Okay, fine. He's...okay."

"Okay?" Neru smirked. The girls began to sit down, unpacking their lunches. A boy with blond hair ran into the classroom, nearly knocking Neru to the ground.

"S-Sorry!" He huffed before stopping in front of my desk, "Gumi, I need your help."

"Hmm?" I swallowed a bite of my sandwich.

"I need some food," he whispered, looking at me desperately. The girls laughed.

"What, is it a starving cat again, Len?" Miku smacked his shoulder and he yelped, rubbing it.