At last, the dreaded day arrived. The first day back to school after the winter break. There was, thankfully, a small reprieve from the ski trip before we had to return to school. But no matter how many days we were allowed before returning to school, never would've prepared me for what I was about to find out. As Liz and I walked through the halls heading to homeroom, there was a lot of awed chatter.
"What do you think all this is?" Liz asked me as we cautiously headed for our first class.
I shrugged, "Beats me".
An uneasy feeling settled into my chest. Something wasn't right and whatever it was, it was rubbing me the wrong way. When we reached our classroom, there was a crowd of people amassed just outside the door. Between the fortress of students' bodies, I caught a glimpse of black hair and a flash of red. It was Sasuke and Gaara. Liz was not far behind me as I pushed my way through the crowd towards Sasuke and Gaara.
I reached them first, breathless, "What's going on? What's with the crowd?" I asked, grabbing Sasuke's arm.
He had a look of frustration on his face. But even if pigs had started to fly that day, I never would've expected to hear that voice again so soon.
"Hey! Long time no see, Elvira, Liz..." a smooth voice chirped.
I turned my head slowly towards the owner of the voice. Standing there as if their presence was absolutely normal, Hana and her two cronies, Hime and Hitsumi, and on top of that, wearing the Konoha High school uniform.
I turned the rest of my body to face them, trying hard to keep myself composed, "As I expected from someone like you. Skipping school just to come visit your little crush" I sneered.
For some reason, I had the urge to gag whenever I saw her face. She disgusted me that much.
Hana forced a laugh and took a few steps closer, her high heels clacking noisily on the linoleum floor, "Skipping school is actually the exact opposite of what I'm doing" she smirked, "I'm now officially attending Konoha High as well as Hime and Hitsumi".
I unconsciously clenched my fists, "Isn't that a just a tad bit similar to 'stalking'?" I questioned, matching her steps so that our faces were just inches away from each other, bringing us to an equal height.
She shrugged, "If you really think so, but according to the new heap of crisp bills under the school's name, I'm the best thing that ever happened to this place".
I sighed, "Of course! It's the only way someone with grades like yours will get in here".
Hana just smiled pleasantly as she backed away, "Oh, and another correction, I'm not visiting a little crush" she said, slinking past me and latching herself onto Sasuke's arm, "We've known each other since we were in diapers...only" she emphasized unnecessarily.
Surprisingly, my anger seemed to disappear after she said this. Or maybe it was just that I couldn't feel anything at all.
"As if you had much to show then, anyways" I tilted my head playfully as my insult hit her like a slap in the face.
She opened her mouth, about to say something else when the bell clamoured persistently through the P. A system, "I'll save it for later, honey" she said with a sickly sweet voice.
She reached up and pecked Sasuke on the cheek quickly before dashing away with Hime and Hitsumi on her heels. I blinked and turned to head into our classroom.
"Wait!" Sasuke called, the first sound I've heard from him in a while.
"Hm?" I answered, stopping myself at the edge of the doorway.
He had a pained expression in his eyes, "Please...please don't get me wrong" he begged, his hand reaching for mine.
I took it away without a moment's hesitation, "My view of you hasn't changed in the least, Sasuke" I said calmly though I could hear a hint of ice in my voice.
He paused to think over what I said while I quickly found my seat and drowned myself in my own thoughts.
When the bell finally rung for second period, I literally exploded out of my seat. Sasuke and Liz had been harassing me from both sides asking for details, plans and understanding. I just about had enough. Grabbing whatever books I had with me, I left in a hurry for the gymnasium, my next period. As I stormed through the halls with Liz calling after me in frustration, I thought I caught a glimpse of the bright, golden hair that made me want to hurl but I was going much too fast to focus much. Arriving at the girls' change room with a sour expression, I'd expect several to be curious but more were scared and seemingly concerned...or was that pity? I threw down my stuff and changed in record speed before entering the gym through the next door.
"Oh! Hi Elvira! You're quite fast today!" Gai greeted happily.
I tried to contain my bad mood but all I managed was a half-hearted grimace, "What's the activity today?" I asked as calmly as I could.
"Well, I was thinking-" he started.
"How about dodgeball?" I interrupted right away, "It feels like a dodgeball day today" I said, determined.
He blinked, a little dazed by my abruptness, "Oh...uh, sure...if you'd like..." he mumbled.
"Great" I confirmed, "I'll get the balls from the storage room" I volunteered without missing a single beat.
I left without waiting for a reply. I felt a little light-headed, as if all my blood was pounding in my head. Adrenaline...or was it anger? But what reason did I have to be angry? By the time I dragged the balls out onto the gymnasium floor, most of the kids were filing out of the change rooms. Liz gave me a concerned glance. That look again, it only seemed to make my blood boil hotter and my heart thunder along faster.
"Okay, kids! Today, we'll be playing a youthful game of-" Gai tried to say.
"Yes. Dodgeball. Doctor dodgeball. Two teams. Liz and Naruto are captains. Let's get this show on the road" I snapped as I dropped the dodgeballs in front of the group of kids.
When no one responded, all seeming to be surprised by my behaviour, I enforced my instructions.
"Now!" I hissed.
Liz pouted as Naruto scrambled to pick out his first team member. Liz picked me automatically and this went on and on until Liz tried to pick another member.
"Sa-"
I shot her a glare so malevolent, she would've sustained a fatal hit if the phrase 'if looks could kill' were true.
"Sa...kura" she finished choppily.
Sasuke looked disappointed. The other team ended up selecting Sasuke as we took Choji onto our team. We fairly distributed the dodgeballs and Gai's sharp whistle sounded. I turned the ball in my hands, testing out how it felt in my grip and adjusting it. I hadn't meant to but my eyes always wandered back to one target.
Hana...diapers...only, these random words echoed in my head annoyingly.
I pulled my hand back and turned my gaze on Naruto. He wasn't aware that my gaze was on him and my body poised for a hard throw. A second later, there was a loud yelp and my ball was bouncing idly towards the back of the gym opposing my side.
"God, that must've hurt. Ouch. What an arm..." these phrases were whispered in hushed voices across the gym.
Only then did I realize what I had done. Sasuke was clutching his arm, wincing. I had been trying to aim at Naruto but the ball, out of control had veered off course and hit Sasuke instead.
"God, Sasuke, I'm so sorry" I said, I meant it.
I had no idea that it was going to hit him...at least, that's what it felt like.
He let go of his arm and met my gaze, "I'm fine...it's fine" he said with a frown.
I felt guilty. I knew that it was definitely not a soft throw and it hurt...a lot.
"Keep playing, guys, I'm fine" he insisted but sat down since I had hit him below the neck, meaning he was out until he could be revived by his team's doctor.
I kept a careful eye on the group of people who tended to stay at the back of their court and moved from side to side and backwards, hardly ever forwards. All of a sudden, four or five swarmed Sasuke and each touched some part of him, reviving him. It was one of those guys, that was for sure. After a few seconds, a dodgeball was once again in my possession. Girls squealed and tried to hide seeing as I had a potential weapon in my hands. I found my target, after reviving another fallen team member, I decided that the most likely candidate for doctor would be Ino. She looked absolutely terrified, more so than the other 'doctors' around her. I wound up the muscles in my throwing arm before my concentration was again, divided. Sasuke appeared in my line of fire, a ball in his hands as well. We released at the same time though I could feel that my grip on the ball changed a little. Maybe in the hope of being able to protect myself from Sasuke's good aim. There was a loud smack and another, somewhat quieter one. Sasuke's ball had hit me squarely on the hip, probably hard enough to leave a welt. My pain was already ebbing away but I couldn't say the same for Sasuke. He was coughing heavily and was having a hard time sucking in breath. I had winded him. I immediately rushed to his side, eyebrows turned up in worry. Knowing that there was nothing I could do as he regulated his own breathing again, I just waited anxiously as he steadied his breathing.
"Oh, jeez, I don't know what's wrong with me today! I'm so sorry" I apologized as soon as he stopped coughing.
"It's...okay" he said hoarsely.
I sighed exasperatedly, "Gai-Sensei! May I be excused to take Sasuke to the nurse's office?" I asked.
Gai seemed shocked and just nodded blankly as he stared at Sasuke. I put one of Sasuke's arms around my shoulders and helped him out of the gym.
"I'm fine, really" he tried to persist.
I frowned at him and he shut his mouth immediately and let me help him to the nurse's office.
"Oh my! What's happened here?" the nurse asked as we showed up at the open door.
"I accidentally winded him while playing dodgeball in gym" I informed, the words tumbling out of my mouth, "Could you please make sure he's alright?".
She had already gotten started on that last part, ordering Sasuke to sit on the examination stool, she began to press lightly on his chest to feel for any injuries and used her stethoscope to check his heartbeat. She backed away with a smile.
"It'll be fine, hon, just take it easy for now. Deep breaths and water" she said as she tossed Sasuke a bottle of water, "Nothing a little rest won't cure" she assured.
Filling out a small sheet on her desk, occasionally asking for our information, she left saying that she would be back soon and just needed to drop off a report. I let out a pent up breath as she left.
Sasuke looked a bit amused, "That worried about me?" he inquired quietly.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "I feel awful about this and you think it's a great time to make a joke, don't you?" I sighed, "I swear, I didn't mean it".
He nodded and averted his gaze, "That's what you always say".
I put a hand on his cheek, turning his attention back to me, "Hey...I swear to god that I mean it this time. Even though I'm mean a lot of the time, I didn't want to hurt you like this" I said, trying to put all of my sincerity into just a few words.
He blinked, a bit of astonishment settling into his features. I was usually not this thoughtful or polite so I understood his confusion.
"What's with the change of attitude?" he inquired with a hint of suspicion.
I dropped my hand to my side, "I'm not completely heartless, you know" I pouted.
He smiled at my expression, his initial paranoia going away. Deciding to take the chance before the nurse returned, I replaced my hand on his cheek and turned it so that I could plant my lips on his other cheek quickly. I backed away just as fast.
"Don't be angry...okay?" I requested before disappearing out the door, leaving him dazed the second time in a month.
I really was going to set a record at this rate. I sped through the hallways until I was right outside the gym again. I stopped to take a few deep breaths and try hard to contain the several emotions bubbling inside of me. Happiness, anger, guilt, all at once. I had made my response to Hana's brazen performance this morning. I was confident that he would value my kiss much, much more than Hana's. It looks like there's more between Sasuke and I now than Hana and Sasuke as children. So much for diapers only.