[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi was about to lay down and take it like the doormat he was, but suddenly May stepped in to defend him. With a shocked expression, he felt Henry release him as May shoved the other male. May... A person he had just met, was actually helping him.
People filed out of the room around them, just like whatever sense of impending doom had filled Koshi's stomach with lead at Henry's rage. Now, the boy had left them with threats of Hisao finding out about May's betrayal. She was obviously friends with them, and had just done something against their ancient group tradition of bullying Koshi to the brink of the boy's pathetic ability to cope with school. He blinked, leaning back against the desk with a hand on his throat.
She had doomed him, and herself.
"You really didn't have to do that...But thanks, I guess." He offered, weakly.
He was a weirdo, he was an outcast, so why would she bother? He was scared of getting too friendly with her, because clearly she was somehow connected to Hisao and his brother, and their little band of football-playing assholes. Koshi wanted to appreciate her, but instead he flinched away from her touch.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] "I really did. He had no right to do that to you." May said while her hands reached out to help him, but the fact that he flinched away from her caused for the girl to pause then lower her hands so that they rested at her side."There's no excuse to bullying." May murmured after a while of observing Koshi.
May was fully aware of the situation it would leave her with her brother, but it wasn't of importance. It wasn't like he would stay mad at her for the rest of lives and if he did, then it was a foolish reason to do so. "Come on. Let's go before we're late for our next class." May gave him a small smile.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi nodded, although the encounter had left him visibly shaken. Bullying? Yeah, this was bullying, although Koshi hated to admit it. Somehow the word brought to mind little children, not teenagers, and the fact that he was still getting picked on made him embarrassed. He didn't return her smile.
Koshi fully stood up from where he had been leaning against the desk - from where he had run from the girl's hands. "Yeah..." He said, and walked to the door. He stopped and glanced behind him to see if she was following...
And promptly dropped his grey gaze to the floor. "You don't have to walk with me if you don't want to." May was nice, but Koshi figured someone like her wouldn't want to get caught hanging out with someone like him.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] The male stood to his full height, which made him quite taller than her; so to look up at him, she had to tilt her head upwards. May followed after him, but paused to gather her things, before meeting him at the doorway. There, his following words, caused for her brows to furrow. "Am I..." May averted her gaze, a bit saddened. "Am I bothering you?" She finally questioned as she looked up at him.
May hadn't missed the fact that he had kept his distance from her when they had made their way to class. She only figured that it was probably due to them just meeting. However, when he flinched away from her a few minutes prior, well...she couldn't help but to feel that maybe she was pushing her luck with him. Perhaps he didn't even want to converse with her. Koshi just probably didn't say anything because he was trying to be nice. His last sentence was most likely his form of nicely telling her to leave him alone. It was indirect, but that was the message she was receiving.
"I must be annoying you, huh?" May managed a small chuckle, though there wasn't any humor behind it. Just something to try and lessen the harshness of her words.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]He looked up at her, lips slightly parted as he realized that she had interpreted his words completely... Well, not at all how he wanted her to. She looked genuinely upset. "N-no, of course not..." Koshi stammered, growing immensely uncomfortable with the situation at hand. Oh no, he made her sad - something dark and frightening, like anxiety, filled his heart, he didn't want her to leave him. Someone was finally talking to him... And that person happened to be nice, and a girl.
"I... I'm sorry... I'm just..." He started and stopped, mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the right words. "I really want to walk with you to class, but I'm... Well, not a cool kid. I figured maybe you didn't really want to be seen... With me." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck, shyness was crawling up his spine again - an old enemy. But, Koshi's need of a friend was stronger than his embarrassment. "Can we sit together?" His eyes finally met hers, and a light blush spread across his cheeks. Now Koshi was pushing his luck.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] May starred up at him while he struggled to explain. Though once he did, she finally caught on to what he was hinting at. "I honestly don't care about that whole popularity aspect." May responded with a small smile. That wasn't why she was here for. She was here to gain an education and friendships. There was no time to worry about what others thought of her. At the end of day, all that would matter would be her accomplishments and good things during her high school years.
"Of course!" May answered only this time she wore a genuine smile as she stared up at him. "Let's go before the bell rings." May said as she motioned for him to follow. She made her way down the hall, walking slow to allow him to catch up. "If you don't mind me asking, but why did Henry suddenly bully you?"
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi gave a humor-less chuckle as he responded to May's question."Heh, I stepped on his shoes. Overall, it wasn't even a popularity thing, it's just... Kaito started with it, and everybody else jumped on the bandwagon. I would have been left alone otherwise..." He said, pinning the blame on his brother only because it really was the other's fault. But, Koshi really didn't want to talk about that kind of thing.
It was strange to have someone to walk with. Most people just tended to ignore him, well, most people except for the ones that wanted to hurt him. There were only a few of them. It only hurt when it got physical. Koshi could manage. Everything wasfine. It was a lie - the pain in his eyes as he mentioned his brother was obvious.
On the way to English, Koshi still kept his distance from the girl, still conflicted about whatever new 'friendship' was forming between them. It was only when a group of people were coming down the hallway that Koshi moved closer to her. And when they passed, he stayed there beside her, feeling strangely comfortable. "I like to read and write... English is one of the few classes I actually like." Koshi said, and glanced at her shyly. "What classes do you like?"[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] May starred up at Koshi in disbelief. All that just because he had accidentally stepped on him? This was unbelievable. "Talk about melodramatic." She commented before taking in the fact that Kaito was the cause for Koshi's social issues. "That's horrible. How could he do that to you, especially since your his twin brother." May was honestly taken aback by this. Maybe it was due to the fact that Hisao and she, shared a brother-sister bond and got along with each other and she figured that all siblings should share that type of bond.
It didn't go unaware to her that he got closer to her as the people passed by, but she didn't pay much attentention to it. "English is an interesting subject, but Art is more of my forte." It was her passion and she loved the concept that you could express yourself without using words but with what you create. "I can connect more than other subjects. I also have a liking to music, I just haven't given it much of a try."
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi nodded and sighed. "Well, we never really got to grow up together... I don't blame him for how he is though, honestly..." 'We're both a bit messed up - me more than him,' the thought went unsaid for obvious reasons.
He hated talking about his family life, and tended to avoid the subject whenever it came up. That was another reason people didn't like him - Koshi was distant. It was because of the fact that all the people around him always tended to ask him the wrong things, 'Oh, you're foreign. Where did you grow up?' 'Here.' 'Cool... Uh, what nationality are you?' '... Half Japanese, half American.' 'Which one of your parents was Japanese?' '... Father.' One word answer, deadbeat voice, downcast eyes - every conversation with him beginning with his personal life ended just as quickly and strangely as it began, and that meant most people grew an aversion to the boy. It wasn't his fault that Americans tended to ask about his foreign appearance first. It wasn't that noticeable... But still.
"Yeah, I like art too." He said, smiling. He perked up when May mentioned that she liked music. "I just transferred to Music today. Chorus, specifically. I don't know if it's a good idea... I'm pretty shy, and I don't like to sing in front of other people... But, well, I have to put my singing lessons to good use."[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] The brunette furrowed her brows a bit confused by his words. They never grew up together? "I don't mean to pry and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what do you mean by that?" She questioned as they rounded a corner and made their way through another hallway.
May was rather touchy about her childhood and didn't like to talk about it much. Heck, she hadn't even open up to Hisao until two years ago and she had even shown him the scar on her back. So, she understood if Koshi didn't want to converse about that. She would respect his feelings.
"Really?" May questioned, surprised at the fact that he actually changed to sing. "I didn't picture you as the type to sing, but that's amazing."
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Something dark and painful stirred in Koshi's stomach, like a porcupine rolling onto its back in his gut, it pricked him - anxiety, here come the questions again. Here comes the remembering, and Koshi wanted neither, especially since May knew Kaito, Henry, and Hisao. All three of the males that had thrice cornered him when he was alone, walking home, and beat him up. Needless to say, he didn't trust her, even though she seemed nice... And was really pretty. Koshi's eyes hit the floor again.
"Um, we didn't have much time, and for a few years I lived somewhere else." He dodged the question sloppily - he was good at keeping his personal life to himself, but some burdens just become too heavy to bear. Today, he was especially worn out from the weight knotting his shoulder muscles with stress, but that didn't mean he would tell her...
Koshi brightened up again when she mentioned singing. "Yeah?" He asked as he approached the door to their class. "It's the first time I'm ever going to sing in front of people, I'm actually really nervous."
He walked into the the room and immediately, as if by instinct, targeted two distant desks at the back of the class, by the window."Lets sit over there..." He said, and made his way towards the two empty desks rather quickly, as more students were filing into the room and heading to where he had wanted to sit.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] "Ah, I see." It was a vague answer, but May didn't question him further. If he wanted her to know about it, then surely he would have gone into much more detail on his relationship with Kaito.
"Don't be. I'm sure you'll do well. Just have confidence in yourself." May said as they stepped into the classroom and they made their way to two desks situated at the back of the class. "What are you planning to sing?" May questioned as she took a seat in one of the desks, before watching him take a seat.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]"From what I heard in passing, the class isn't learning to sing anything yet. Everyone's still being placed in groups according to vocal range... I have to audition for my group today. I still don't know what song to do. After we get placed, I think we're going to learn music terminology or something." Koshi place his backpack on the floor besdie the desk and pulled out his books and a pen while he rambled. "It's Chorus, I mean, come on... I doubt we'll ever actually do anything. We might sing a few Christmas carols on stage or something later in the year..." Koshi had heard from other students how useless his subject of choice actually was.
But, he was hoping to meet other people who also liked to sing. Who knew, maybe he'd make another friend or something. But, Koshi highly doubted that.
The lesson began, and Mr. Brown began to halfheartedly talk about characters and literary devices.
Instead of listening, Koshi tore a small strip of paper out of his largely empty notebook, and he wrote (in really neat script): 'Can I have your number? You're really cool... I mean that in, uh, an entirely platonic friendship kinda way.' Ohhh boy, what a lie. Honestly Koshi really liked May already, even though he was afraid of getting close to her - she was the first person to reach out to him like this, to single him out from the crowd.
After some hesitation, Koshi passed her the note to her with a very obvious blush - contradicting the 'platonic friendship' thing he wrote.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] "Music Terminology? What's that?" May questioned sparring him a glance before pulling out her notebook for the class, along with the novel the class was reading. "Well, maybe if you and others try your best, then you can do much more than just Christmas Carols."
Right after, Mr. Brown stood up from his desk and began the lesson. May had been scribbling something down into her notebook when Koshi passed her a small sheet of paper. Her emerald gaze moved to the paper and she read the elegant writing before she quickly scribbled down her number. 'Heh, you didn't need to add the whole platonic part, but here's my number...' Handing him back the paper with her cellphone number on it, she offered him a warm smile before turning back to the lesson. She was rather happy to have finally met Koshi and she honestly didn't understand why Hisao and Kaito didn't like him. He was an intriguing person. Perhaps they were things she just didn't know.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi Nagamine, lightcyan, dashed, 10"]Koshi accepted the note, and eagerly took out his phone to add the number to his very short list of contacts.
He stuffed his mobile back into his pocket, and spent the majority of the lesson doodling things in his notebook, and somehow, May's likeness had found itself on the corner of the page. Koshi blushed soft pink and shut the book, because it'd be embaressing if May noticed it.
A little while later, the bell rang. Koshi quickly packed up again and stood with immense caution this time, wary after his encounter with Henry.
"So now you have art, right? Oh, the auditorium is next to the art room, so we're right next to each other." Koshi smiled eagerly and began walking.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] The lesson reached an end when the bell rand and immediately everyone packed up their things to head off to their next class. May stood after placing her things away. "Oh, that's right." May nodded before heading out into the hallway with Koshi.
Suddenly Hisao and Kaito, flanked by their jock party, rounded the corner and May felt her breath catch in her throat. Not so much because she was seen with Koshi, but because of what could happen to him.
"May!" Hisao called out to her, a glare on his expression. No doubt, Henry had told him of what happened.
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi and Kaito Nagamine, grey, dashed, 10"]Koshi smiled down at May- she was a genuinely nice person. Those, he figured, were as rare and unseen as unicorns.
May had lasted two classes by his side, and was still willing to walk with him... So, he walked even closer to her, so close that had his hand twitched he would have touched her hand. He smiled down at her, wow, actually smiled - feeling like he had finally found a person to talk to. A good person. The right person. Where had she been last year, and the year before that? "M-May, I, uh, just w-wanted to say that..." He trailed off, sensing danger on the water. Kaito and Hisao flanked them like sharks, and Koshi was drowning at May's side.
"Shit..." He whispered, already sure he knew what would happen.
Kaito stared at May, clearly hurt. He didn't know why, but the idea of May hanging out with his twin bothered him a lot more than it should have. "Hey fuckface, how much did you pay May to talk to you?"
Just because he was scared didn't mean he wouldn't challenge Kaito back, "Isn't calling me a fuckface calling yourself a fuckface too? We have pretty much the same face you know."
Ohhhh no he di'int. Kaito glared daggers at Koshi - this was sure to get ugly.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] May looked between Koshi and Kaito; they were exactly identical and it boggled her mind at the fact that she had never noticed Koshi before. Perhaps she had been to self-absorbed and focused in her classes to bother to look around at her classmates.
"What the hell May?!" Hisao growled out, clearly outraged at the fact that she had dared to talk to Koshi. May returned his glare, before moving to stand in front of Koshi. "What the hell what, Hisao?" "You're not suppose to be talking to this dweeb." Hisao stated as he moved forward, closer to his sibling. "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? I can talk to whoever I want!" Hisao firmly gripped her upper arm, though it wasn't to the point where it would hurt her, and gave her a tug. He pulled her over to them, but May shoved him and struggled against his hold. "Let me go."
[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="Koshi and Kaito Nagamine, grey, dashed, 10"]Woah, things were going downhill fast. Who was Hisao to May? Why was he being so... controlling?
His heart was beating out of his chest- normally, he would take their abuse without much complaining, but this time May was being maltreated... Unbelievable. She had helped him before, and now it was time for him to return the favor.
Using his height as an advantage, Koshi almost snarled as he approached Hisao, hair practically bristling as he clutched his hands into fists and squared his shoulders. "You can fuck with me all you want, I don't care. But don't treat May like she isn't a person!" He said, and stepped forward rapidly, glaring down at the other boy, and looked like he was going to do something drastic - suddenly, he was seized from behind and pulled back. Koshi broke his aggressive stance as his brothers hand tightened around his neck and pulled him close.
"He's getting too cocky, I think we should teach him a lesson."
Too panicked to find the right words, Koshi growled out the first thing that came to mind in native Japanese, "Hanase! Nani yatte n da yo?"And Kaito quickly slammed him against the lockers. "Yurusenai." He spat.[/fieldbox]
[fieldbox="May Tachibana, green, dashed, 10"] Hisao was taken aback when Koshi suddenly took an aggressive stance while approaching them. Of course, the male never backed down, so he straightened up and his glare turned more viscous. "I can do whatever the fuck I want!" He growled, before wrapping his arms around May and moving her out of the way before approaching Koshi while Kaito slammed him into the locker.
In a second he was standing over him and he threw a punch to the male's jaw. "Don't fuck with me, Koshi." He delivered another punch. "And stay away from May. She's too good for you. She doesn't need some fucked up guy dragging her down."
"Stop it!" May screeched as she slammed into Hisao, sending him and her to the ground. "Leave him alone." May say on top of Hisao, trying to keep him down. "He did nothing to you. This is all unnecessary."
[/fieldbox]
