dax sits on the curb, on the corner, by a stop sign. his feet planted in the street, he cups a hand around the flame of his white lighter. he breathes his cigarette to life. the rain stopped about an hour ago; the ambiance of an early-morning storm is evident in the scattered puddles and the smell of the thick air. 

and he hears shoes tapping the pavement, coming right for him. and it’s the pretty, brunette girl from his homeroom class and biology and they have the same lunch period. red and some of the other guys know her better, though --- the jocks. but from what he’s heard, puberty hit her just hard enough to make all the guys go crazy for her. felix kenyuu, especially. 

dax’s eyes assess her, scale her stature. she stands beside him, unaware of him, or perhaps just ignoring him. girls like leaf kusaki don’t talk to boys like dax kanemoto --- boys in leather jackets that keep their ray-ban sunglasses on indoors. certainly, not boys who smell like motor oil and smoke cigarettes and keep one tucked behind their ear for later.