Connect

24: In the Flesh

"Here we are," Miku pushed the door open and we entered the halls of the second floor. There were a lot more people there, and I saw some familiar faces, people I didn't really know, but had seen.

"It's going to be like last year all over again, huh?" I said softly.

"Hmm?" Len looked down at me. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm just giving myself some assurance."

"Are you scared?"

"I don't know," I frowned. "It's strange, what I feel. I'm kind of nervous."

"Maybe we'll be in the same classes," Miku smiled. Len nodded.

I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped as a deluge of girly squeals washed over the halls. Miku winced.

"Kaito," she said quietly.

"Let's go," Len said.

"Where?" I asked.

"To get our schedules," Len answered.

"Why's Kaito here early?" I asked without thinking twice.

"He dropped Rin off. Her school starts early today. They have an assembly and stuff on the first day."

"It's prestigious!" Miku said, jutting out her chin and acting high and mighty.

"C-Can I...see him?" I mumbled, cupping my hand over my mouth.

"Who? Kaito?" Len frowned.

I felt my cheeks starting to grow hot. Len wouldn't like it if I tried to get close to the blue-haired boy again, but I couldn't get my mind off of him, no matter how hard I tried. I wrung my hands nervously, wanting to take back what I had just said about seeing Kaito.

"Sure you can," Len said suddenly, surprising me. I looked up at him with wide eyes, not expecting the dorky smile that he had on his face. "Say hi to him, you haven't seen him in months!"

"B-But..."

"There aren't any more secrets," Len said. "You know about him and Rin. You didn't know before. And besides, I'm sure these two months let you sort out your feelings, eh?"

Len was right, I had, kind of, sort of, figured out how I felt about this whole matter. I still wanted to see Kaito. I couldn't stop myself from feeling that. He was out of reach, but we could still be friends, couldn't we?

...If he wants to be friends...

I walked towards the sound of joyous screaming. My shoes scraped against the tiles and the walk down the hall felt both too slow and too fast. I wasn't sure how I could adjust my pace.

The crowd of adolescent females around me got denser and I hurriedly began pushing through, reaching what was literally a thick, nigh impenetrable wall of squealing, shrieking, obsessive girls.

"Ugh..." I pushed a few bodies and tried to inch my way deeper into the wall's dense core, silently praying that I'd make it out alive. Behind me, the wall continued to build and get thicker. As I pushed forth, the crowd behind me grew and got larger and denser.

"Get away, get away! Dammit, I just want to have a moment to speak with him! Crazy girls..."

That voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I recognized it immediately, under the clamouring of the several fangirls that crowded the hall. I craned my neck and caught a glimpse of blue in the distance, partly hidden behind a blot of purple, the source of the voice.

"Gakupo!" I yelled. At the sound of his name, he looked my way and his eyes widened.

"Not you, too, Gumi," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Though I always knew you were a Kaito fangirl, just like all the others..."

"H-Help me!" I cried, shoving girls back as they grabbed me and tried to push me further away, probably thinking that I was just another predator after the prey, said prey being Kaito, of course.

"I can't help a fangirl!" Gakupo's troubled tone gave his teasing remark a strange twist. "I just need a damn minute to talk to my guy friend before all his admirers jump him!"

I growled and pushed harder. "Move!" I yelled, dropping to my knees and crawling under the girls. They squeaked in alarm and the ones wearing skirts or dresses pressed their legs together and covered their bottoms. I had no interest in seeing their panties, of course.

Grunting, I scrambled out of the crowd, still on my knees. I slipped right in front of Kaito, falling onto my stomach.

"You okay, Gumi?" I heard Gakupo's voice from just a few feet away. The girls were still loud.

"Everybody, please!" I yelled, still lying on the floor. "Shut! Up! Stop! Moving! Calm! The! Hell! Down!"

Somehow, my yelling worked and the girls stopped moving. I exhaled and put my head down on the floor, my cheek against the cool floor.

"He's just a boy," I mumbled, closing my eyes for a moment. "Urgh...I'm beat."

"The roses all have their thorns, hmm?"

"Shut up, Gakupo, and help me up if you really want to be a gentleman," I scowled.

"Did you hear that, Gakupo?" The voice snickered and I realized that it wasn't the purple-haired teen, after all. "The flower's comparing me to a being so inferior..."

I heard Gakupo click his tongue. I looked up at the person looming over me, a small smile on his narrow face. The crowd of girls had begun to dissipate. I was sure they'd all be back at lunchtime.

"It's not like I want to be compared to you, anyway," Gakupo said. The boy looking down at me offered me his hand and I reluctantly took it. He slowly lifted me to my feet and I dusted off my clothes, suddenly realizing something.

"Did you just call me a flower?" I frowned at him. He just laughed softly in response and ran a hand through his moppy, pale pink hair, which was really too long, longer than Kaito's but much shorter than Gakupo's hair. "I've never seen you around here..."

He pulled out his phone, his green, catlike eyes flickering down at the screen before up at me again. "Let's be friends, sweetheart. Or maybe, something beyond that?"

"Erm..."

Gakupo snickered and Kaito groaned.

"We should get moving, class starts soon," Gakupo grabbed the pink haired boy's shoulders but he squirmed away.

"May I have your number, my sweet?" He whispered, leaning awfully close to me. I stiffened, catching a whiff of the teal, chewed-up piece of mint gum he held between his teeth, and stepped back.

"What?" I said. "I don't even...stop, no, you can't have my number."

"Oops, that's right," he nodded, pressing his lips together and eliminating his smile momentarily before breaking out a huge grin. "I already have your number!"

"You creep!" I growled, irritated. I turned around and started to walk away. "Disgusting flirt!"

He laughed at me again, putting his hands on my shoulders and pulling me back. "Gumi, who do you think you spent your entire summer texting?" He breathed the words against the nape of my neck.

My cheeks started to heat up. I realized immediately who this person was.

*sobs in a corner* I'M SORRY THIS IS HORRIBLE I WRITE ON THE BUS AND SUBWAY NOWADAYS I'M SO SORRY--