#koushiroxoc

Aris turned to look at Taichi, feeling a small leap in her heart at the mention of Koushiro. Taichi nodded to his mom and then caught Aris’ eyes.

“Aris, why are you giving me that look?”

“Nothing, nothing!”

Hikari kicked her brother from under the table. “Ow!” She shook her head at him and then looked sympathetic towards Aris. She wasn’t able to say anything before Mrs. Yagami set breakfast on the table and smiled.

“Eat up!” Aris looked at the breakfast, it all looked so good. She had almost missed having a breakfast she didn’t have to cook. “Th-thanks Mrs. Yagami.”

She looked up to see her putting her hands on her hips. “What do I always I tell you? You don’t have to thank me, you’re welcome here anytime like you live here.”

Aris could only nod in response, feeling almost a little choked up over it.

Breakfast passed quickly, Aris had enjoyed it a lot. She soon found herself laying on her back on Taichi’s bed as he fussed with a really old looking computer on the floor.

“Shouldn’t you wait for Izzy before breaking it?”

“I’m not going to break it, Aris!”

“Suuure you’re not.” She rolled onto her stomach and watched him for a little while.

“Taichi, can I ask you something?”

“Hm?” She rested her head in the palm of her hand.

“I’m not… a bad person for shutting you guys out… am I?”

“I don’t think you are, now that I know why. Is that why you were killing yourself studying?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. She wanted me to study these stupid law guides and wanted me to go to Meiji.”

“So what happened last night?”

“I told her I wasn’t going to Meiji. I told her I was going to Tokai and studying history.”

“Is that why she hit you?”

“Not one hundred percent why, but yeah.”

“What else happened?”

Aris rolled back onto her back and stretched her arms above her, briefly checking her phone before responding.

“She said it was a pathetic goal. She said she was setting me up for a good life, so I told her it wouldn’t be very good if I was doing something I didn’t want to be doing. Then she said I was too much like my father. She insulted the way he raised me, the way he taught me… I yelled back at her for saying those things… My dad was a great person… I told her…”

Aris hesitated. “I told her that… I told her that dad was much better than she ever was and that I refused to follow her dream… So she hit me.”

They both were quiet for a moment before she felt the bed give a little beside her. She looked over just as he reached over and squeezed her sides. She yelped and kicked her legs as he started tickling her. Finally she got him to let go, but now she was crying from laughing.

“Feel better?”

She nodded to his question, short of breath. “Thanks Tai. But dang, I can’t believe I let you sneak up on me like that. I’ll get you next time for sure.”

“Sure, suure.” He got up and went back to his spot on the floor.

“By the way, Aris.”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re like your dad, then I think that’s better than anything, but I think you’re best off just being you.”

She smiled, laying her head over the edge. “Thanks Tai.” The two of them were quiet for a few moments before someone opened his door. Koushiro thanked Mrs. Yagami as he entered the room, but was taken off guard seeing Aris there.

“Hey Iz, thanks for helping again!”

He looked to see Taichi on the floor with what he assumed was the computer in question. “It’s really no problem, Taichi.”

Aris watched him set his stuff down before she decided to speak up. “Hey, Izzy.” He looked over and gave her a small smile. “Hey.”

Taichi looked between the two and felt like he was missing something but shrugged. “Don’t mind Aris, she just happened to come over last night.”

That struck with Koushiro. She’d stayed over last night? Was there something more between them? He was interrupted by Aris.

“Yeah, only because Mimi and Sora were both asleep.” She stuck her tongue out. “You’re my friend, yes, but I definitely would go to them first for a few things.”

Taichi rolled his eyes and directed Koushiro’s attention away from Aris to the computer. Koushiro’s first true love, technology. However, even he couldn’t focus on it completely with Aris in the room. Part of him kept thinking to her, part of him kept making him glance over at her. He’d caught her eyes a few times, but both of them had looked away about as quick as it had happened. He also had wanted to ask her about the mark on her cheek, it looked like it had hurt.

Aris got down off the bed and sat down on the floor between the two of them. “Could I help in any way?” His heart sped up a little as her shoulder bumped against his.

“Nah, we can handle it, Aris!”

Koushiro regretted that he let Taichi answer before he could. Koushiro nodded, though.

“We’re about done with it anyways, but I appreciate the offer.” He’d made sure to say I and not we, he wanted her to know he was only responding for himself. She sighed.

“Alright, sorry that I can’t be helpful then. But now that I’m down here, I’m staying.”

Koushiro nodded to her again and refocused on the computer. However, he was permanently conscious of where she was and each time her shoulder brushed his. But so was she and, sometimes, she would do it on purpose, just to remind herself that he was right there. Each time her thinking was interrupted by Taichi, as if he was doing it on purpose. She silently cursed him each time as well.

“Right, looks like it’s done and fixed!” She jumped a little when Koushiro spoke up and she could hear Taichi laughing to her left.

“Did you get scared there, Aris?”

She pouted, crossing her arms. “As if!” Koushiro smiled, trying to not laugh at the two of them. “I didn’t mean to startle you, sorry Aris.”

She laughed it off after pressing her hand over Taichi’s mouth to keep him from talking. “IT’s fine, it’s fine! I just wasn’t expecting you to speak up suddenly is all!”

Suddenly. She yanked her hand away from Taichi’s mouth. “Ew, did you seriously just lick me?!”

He grinned at her, feeling a little triumphant. She pouted and crossed her arms. “Aris, are you staying longer or do you want to go home soon to study?”

She thought about it for a bit. “Well, I don’t want to study… I could hang out a bit if you don’t have soccer. Hey, Izzy! You should stay too!” She almost felt bad for dragging Koushiro into it, but she actually really wanted to just spend some downtime around him.

“Yeah, hang out a bit, Iz. We’ll watch a movie or something.”

He thought about it for a minute, but made up his mind the moment he caught Aris’ eye. She looked so hopeful, she wanted him to stay dang it. He rubbed the back of his head. “Alright, alright. I’ll stay.”

Aris pumped a fist into the air. “Yes! Okay, okay, what movie should we watch?!”

The changes happened drastically over spring. She didn’t greet them like she usually did, she didn’t even give them a half assed greeting. Everyone else might not have noticed if she’d tried to greet them, but Izzy would have. She was someone important to him, someone he was comfortable around. Why, suddenly, did he want her attention so badly, when he knew he wasn’t going to get it?

For a brief second, their eyes met as she entered the classroom. He felt his heart leap but then sink once he noticed. She looked as if she hadn’t been sleeping again, or as if she’d been crying. Maybe it was both even. He would have approached her, but the moment she sat down, she opened her study book. Another new study book, didn’t she just get the last one last week? He was unsure how to approach her, but he wanted to, so badly. What changed that he couldn’t just approach her like he used to?

He took a deep breath and stood up, but only to sit back down after he stood in place for a few seconds. He couldn’t do it. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed it, but kept trying to focus on her study book. She hadn’t felt the need to say good morning in a while, had he noticed? She found herself wondering often that, if she stopped talking to them long enough, would they still be her friends? Today was one of those days were she found herself wondering it again. Studying was her only excuse to avoid them, she’d never studied this much before… well, before everything.

She sighed, shutting the study book as their teacher called attention to the class. It was another drab day of forcing herself to listen. Today, it was unusually difficult for her to focus. She scolded herself for letting herself lose sleep over some stupid nightmare, that was the cause of her lack of focus. And, it wasn’t for lack of trying because she certainly was trying to pay attention. So, when the lunch bell rang, it seemed like a miracle all too soon for her. She felt as if she’d blinked and half her day had gone, but it was constantly like that. Day in and day out, a blurr. She packed up her textbooks, grabbed the lunch she knew she wouldn’t eat, and took it and her study book to the library.

Her safe haven, it was typically peaceful in the library. However, there was a couple small groups in there today. Aris had forgotten about the group study she’d overheard a few classmates talking about. They would go from lunch through the study hour, her only library time. She saw an arm raise into the air to wave at her and she quickly turned to walk to the other side of the library. She refused to meet any of their eyes, she didn’t want to talk. She sat herself down at the last open table, nearby a group of girls giggling over a magazine. So much for studying, huh. The window nearby was cracked open and the spring breeze was almost lulling.

Aris sighed as her stomach growled, it’s not like she’d be able to focus here anyways or with her stomach aching like it was. She set her study book open off to the side, she’d glance at it as she ate, maybe it would help. She set her lunch in front of her, it would be the first time this school year that she’d actually eaten her lunch before she’d gotten home from school. She really shouldn’t have skipped breakfast, so this was where she ended up because of that. The first few minutes went by with no issues. Aris was enjoying her lunch and slowly working through calculus problems, drowning out the giggling girls a table away. She was completely focused, so she didn’t hear someone clear their throat the first time. The second time, she jumped a little and looked up, across the table, to see who was bothering her.

It was unnatural to see Mimi looking uncomfortable, but here she was. “Uhm, Aris, look, we haven’t been talking, but this is the only table open and I really need to study for the test next week-” Aris knew where she was going with it.

“Sit down, Mimi. You don’t have to ask permission to sit with me, even if I’ve been too busy to talk lately.” Aris knew it wasn’t the whole truth, she hadn’t been too busy at all, but Mimi approaching her was rare. If anyone ever gave Aris her space when it was felt that she needed it, it was definitely Mimi. Mimi set a book on the table, dropped her bag next to the chair and sat down, smiling now. She gave Aris a quiet, “Thanks.” and set herself up to study.

Neither of the girls said anything more than that to each other, but being close to one of her old friends, even like this, made Aris worry about giving away her feelings and that something was wrong. They both studied in peace, but soon Aris stopped to pack up her finished lunch. Now that she wasn’t focused, she caught bits and pieces of the conversation from the other table.

“Dating a girl”, “Of all girls.”, “Uhhuh, Mimi…”

Now they definitely had her attention. Aris glanced across the table, looking to see any sign that Mimi was listening to them too. If she was, she was very good at hiding it. Aris let out a silent huff and rolled her pencil off the table, letting it fall to the floor. She leaned over to pick it up very slowly, listening to the other girls.

“Can you believe it? I had heard she was boy crazy. Now this? I bet she’s just wanting attention.”

“There’s no way a girl like her actually likes girls, though. She’s definitely straight and faking it.”

It didn’t take long for Aris to have heard enough. So what if Mimi was dating a girl? She had confessed to her a long time ago about being a lesbian. Aris didn’t care about that, but she did care about these girls gossiping and talking smack. Aris was ticked off and, even though she swore to keep to herself, she slammed her book shut and stood up. She strode over to the other table after picking her things up.

“Hey. Why don’t you shut up and stop spreading this crap around. So what if Mimi likes girls? Stop being so stupid and grow up a little. Some of us were trying to study and would rather not hear idiocy rolling off your tongues. If you have a problem, bring it up with that person for god’s sake.”

She left them staring in shock, silent. She heard Mimi shout wait, but didn’t slow down until she was out of the library. She noticed she was shaking and unclenched her fist. She never thought she’d get so worked up about it.

“Aris, I said wait! Geez!”

Aris turned around as Mimi caught up to her, placing her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Aris couldn’t help but feel a little curious what she would run after her to say.

“Thank you. For back there. I.. I usually don’t pay attention to it, but thank you. That meant a lot.”

Aris looked away, she could see that Mimi genuinely meant her gratitude by the way she looked at her.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Mimi. Those girls were annoying anyways. And stupid.”

“Hey, hold on! Uh, could you… maybe help me study for the test? I promise I’ll pay you back for your time! Remember those donuts we always got after school last year? You liked the fancy curl ones with strawberry frosting, didn’t you? I could, get some of those in exchange for your help..”

Aris stared her down but slowly started laughing.

“Mimi, are you… bribing me?”

“If that’s what you want to call it, then yes! So, help me study a little? After school or during lunch if that’s easier! I know you’re busy studying all the time now…”

Aris sighed, she had to remind her. It was almost impossible to say no, though. Aris wanted to agree so desperately, but for some reason, couldn’t bring herself to outright say yes.

“Well. I guess I could… find the time to help you, as long as the donuts are still part of the deal.”

Mimi grinned and leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Aris’ neck and almost squealing.

“Thank you, Aris!”

Aris froze on the contact, unsure of what to do. She gulped.

“Yeah… It’s nothing, Mimi.. Just.. Let go, please.”

She jumped back and laughed.

“Oops, my bad. So, can we start studying today? After school?”