HOMEWORK -
chapter thirteen
"What's the theme of this short story?" Korei hummed, scanning the page of homework they were completing. Shinsou would much rather be sleeping, but his green-haired crush wouldn't let him because he needed to bring his grades up. "Come on, Shin-kun. This is the second to last question. We just have this one and then we have to identify the irony that was used in it, which is easy." He groaned loudly and dropped his head down to rest on her shoulder. Korei wrapped her arm around him, her hand tangling in his purple locks as she soothingly scratched his scalp. The feeling was much more pleasurable than Shinsou thought it'd be, his body twitching from excitement. "I can re-read it for you if you'd like?"
"Please?" His voice was muffled into her shoulder. Korei hummed again and began reading the short story they were assigned. Shinsou drifted in and out of paying attention, unable to focus on anything other than the fact that Korei smelled like him. She was wearing one of his shirts, not his dad's, his. The pride that swelled in him was unreasonable but also understandable.
"They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills-" Korei was still scratching at Shinsou's scalp, a soothing feeling enveloping the boy. He had never experienced something like it, not knowing why or how it could be so enjoyable. "-and the man looked at her and at the table..." she continued reading the short story, not knowing that Shinsou was dozing off against her.
The purple-haired boy pulled away from her, prompting Korei to look at him strangely. She didn't want him to feel like a bother to her! Relief flooded her veins when he shuffled and laid down, planting his head in her lap. She couldn't help but giggle and shake her head at him.
"What's so funny?" He asked, not bothering to open his eyes and look up at her. Korei hummed once more, tangling her fingers in his hair. A relaxed sigh left his lips, a moan building in the back of his throat.
"You're so cat-like, it's adorable. I wonder if people imitate their favorite animals unknowingly," her lidded gaze dropped down to Shinsou's peaceful features. Smiling, she brushed his hair back and listened to him let out quiet noises of appreciation. "See, my favorite animal is a green pheasant. I know, stereotypical cause it's our national bird but I just think they're so pretty."
"They taste good too," Shinsou said and Korei gasped, smacking his shoulder. Snickering, he apologized lowly. She didn't understand the underlying euphemism.
"I've never eaten one before and I don't plan on it. Honestly, I'm not a big meat-eater," she shrugged, returning to running her fingers through his hair. Shinsou cracked one eye open, looking up at her from a relatively unflattering angle. He reached up towards her face, watching her flinch away ever so slightly before letting him graze his knuckles over her skin. Her acne wasn't that bad but she was having a mild break-out because of nerves surrounding the festival.
His touch was gentle, brushing over her cheek and jaw before he unfurled his fingers. "Meat is over-priced but it's not like I'll stop eating it," he mumbled out, poking her bottom lip and slowly pulling it down. Korei's lips were plump and soft, leaving Shinsou to fantasize about how they'd feel against his own. His lips weren't anything to write home about; thin and slightly chapped. If he started using chapstick then he'd probably have some really pretty lips. Not that his lips aren't pretty! Korei would kiss them all day long if she could-wait what? No! She's far too young to be thinking about kissing! Her grandmother would kill her!
"We should probably finish this homework up. I know you're not gonna want to do it tomorrow, and you still have to turn it in before you transfer to the hero course."
"Have you ever kissed someone, Korei?" Shinsou asked as he sat up. Korei blushed upon hearing the question and the way he used her first name. He jumped back and forth between her first and last name, but that didn't upset her or anything. It actually did quite the opposite.
"W-what? No! Why would I?" She stammered out, trying to lean against the table so Shinsou couldn't see how flustered she was. The boy simply chuckled and made her look at him. "I-i mean...have you?"
"No, I've never kissed anyone before." He shook his head, his hand cupping her cheek. His thumb played with her bottom lip as he stared deeply into her golden-brown eyes. "Would you like to kiss someone?"
"I-i don't know? So-sometimes, I think I might want to bu-but then I realize that like...maybe no-one will want to kiss me, or-or maybe I'll have an asthma attack. It's not something I-i like to think about," she rambled, setting her pencil down on the table. Shinsou's eyes were such a gentle indigo color that it made her stomach do flips. Was he planning on kissing her? "Why? Do you want to kiss someone, Shin-kun?"
"Yeah..." he nodded, continuing to caress her cheek. Korei waited patiently for him to continue, her whole body covering itself in goosebumps. "I find myself thinking about it a lot here recently."
"D-do you want..." her gaze dropped down to where she fiddled with her hands in her lap. Shinsou tilted her head back up so she would look at him. "...do you want to ki-kiss me, H-hitoshi-kun?"
"Yes, I do." He didn't give her time to decline, though she wouldn't have. He simply dropped his head down and placed his lips against hers. Korei felt like her heart was about to explode. Was this really happening? She's kissing Hitoshi Shinsou! Gosh, this is a dream come true!
fluoxetine