After Hours (Mitsuki)

[Guy]

The courtyard of the new yet already so very unpleasing Public High School of #259 was as good as any place to hang around. Wide, flat grounds that were mostly empty yet impossibly tainted with strings of graffiti, heaps of litter and so on, spread out vastly just beside the tall edifice of the school. A wind was blowing, scraping crumpled bottles and folded sheets of cardboard and paper across the pavement and random squares of grass that made up the courtyard, also kicking up leaves that had long since fallen from the line of trees, fenced up in thick metal plated vases as they were. It, the wind, also carried with it a sweet and somehow at the same time sour indistinct fragrance, that was probably the result of the decaying of many a layer of assorted trash, now emitting their particles into the air. That was possible and very likely. Across a few feet from the middle of the courtyard was a looping bike rack, its bland plaster covering slowly fracturing and peeling off, falling into the embrace of the wind. But only briefly. Either the pieces were too heavy to be carried in the breeze, or else the wind despised their guts and refused to even touch them. Yes, that made sense.The sky was clear and the school grounds were silent with the symptoms of After Hours. Not a single visible soul was present in the vicinity... okay, maybe one. Guy. Of course.
He'd told a girl earlier that day that he would be waiting for her in the school, after hours. He wasn't one to break his word. The black hair youth sat now on one of the benches beside the tree facing opposite, the usual grin on his face, and his arms were spread out upon the back of the bench like he owned it. Gleaming in his eyes was a vicious enthusiasm that he'd had for as long as he could remember, that also burned for what was coming. A very attractive girl would be arriving soon and the pleasure would be his to greet her, and talk to her, and possibly do other things. His eyes still observed the surroundings though; this was his first day and he wanted to explore the school as much as possible. Earlier, he'd wanted to skip class as a kind of a thrill for the first day and for an opportunity to explore, and did just that after finishing in a fight with some burly hunk of meat he'd nicknamed 'Oaf'. But, after finding that there was nothing to do and no one (particularly girls) to flirt with, he aw hecked it and went into class anyways, despite the fact he was thirty minutes and a half late. The Teacher was obviously unpleased with his prolonged absence, but he couldn't care less. Although his Uncle made sure to review and lecture Guy on how to handle his new school at least a dozen times before today, the teenager didn't abide any of the rules or do anything that ol' Unc told him. He could hardly believe his Uncle even expected him to listen. But he knew everything his last close relative and guardian did and told him was just for his own good. Not that he much cared, but yeah, he knew.
Guy let a soft smile take place over his evil-looking grin and craned his head back. Everything was so exciting. He even had no problem that he'd nearly made out with a stranger five days ago(confidental business) even though he had never experienced a kiss with a girl before in his life. Okay, maybe he did have a problem - a big problem - with that, but still. Life was good (not so much good rather than exciting). #259 didn't seem so much of a bad place. Sure, he despised Oaf's guts, but what's better than a High School Rival? And Mitsuki was, well she was rather intriguing.
And Guy sat there. And he waited for her. And his smile never faltered.

[Mitsuki Park]

Backpack was in her locker, neatly stored away. No homework - that crap was finished. She didn't take a lot of time on it, just scribbled some numbers down as if she'd actually done something, circled a couple of stuff here and there, and bam. There you go, math homework complete. It was stupid of teachers to grade homework based on completion points, only because homework is worth shit compared to tests and quizzes. And how the hell are you going to know the answers on the tests and quizzes if you don't practice them on your homework? Unless you had some sort of awesome memory or just found everything school related to be a walk in the park.

Out in the courtyard. Wind brushed her bangs out of her clear brown eyes, blinking slowly before pushing off her right foot and making her way down the steps. She patrolled through the halls a couple of times before actually even bothering to come out, and so she was rather fashionably late for this...meeting...thing.

Saw him, noticed him, whatever. Made her way towards him, hardly giving him a greeting other than the approach.

[Guy]

Guy had barely noticed her arrival. He was looking the other way, but hardly, as his thoughts had subconsciously filled his mind and carried him slowly away from reality. Her footsteps were a blur in his ears, and he shrugged it away as a trick of his senses. But some part of him knew it wasn't and his reverie quickly came to a stop. Guy turned his head and looked up, like he was awakening from a trance. Then he noticed Mitsuki standing right before him. Immediately, he perked up and suddenly tensed. It was rather uncalled for. Sure, she was supposed to be meeting him here at about this exact time, but it still came as a bit of surprise.

Trying to nudge out of the tension that befell him, he shifted his arms around the bench and took a breath. "You're here," he said matter-of-factly, briefly flashing a grin. He eased it up to just a casual smile. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."
Then he tilted his head. "Not that you could disappoint me. I don't know, I hardly expect anything, so I'm never disappointed. --Not that I didn't expect you to show up, it's just..."
He stopped, knowing he was just making a big ass of himself. Well, he was an ass already, so, a bigger ass of himself. He tried to shove himself back into mode.
"I'm glad you showed up," he added, sliding his arms from over the bench and scooting over to offer her a seat. It was hardly likely for Guy to ever have manners for anyone besides his Uncle. He hardly even had manners for his poor old Uncle. It was the pretense of a first impression; an act of want. He wanted her to like him, not think he was just some hot-tempered, quick-mouthed idiot, which I kinda am he thought. He wasn't ashamed of it. But he had to get to her somehow.
He drew in a breath and admitted, "I really forgot all the stupid lines I was supposed to say to you when you got here, so..." it was true. He didn't have an idea how to start this conversation. Usually he just said the first anything that came to mind no matter how stupid it might sound.
Then he turned. "But I'm Guy. Wanna make out under the tree?"

[Mitsuki Park]

He really wasn't very good with conversations, was he? Well, maybe not toward females, because to be honest, this was beginning to get a little odd. The atmosphere and tension was kind of awkward and Mitsuki was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable in a bad way. The only other person who ever treated her in such an awkward way was Dion, and the only reason she tolerated that was because she knew him, and cared for him.

She didn't even know this guy.

Well, except his name.

Which was kind of weird.

So he asks a stupid question, one that he should blatantly know the answer to. Maybe Mitsuki was just up tight and couldn't take a joke - if it was one - but she started walking away.

[Guy]

Guy frowned. Which was really strange. He never frowned. It was against his unwritten law. Guy was always happy, always cracking wise jokes and bad insults toward people that resulted into big bad fights that nearly left him a fractured bone. But nevertheless, he didn't frown. That meant he was losing his touch. His touch of indifference. He barely had time to draw in a breath.
"Come on," he said flippantly, "it was just a joke." So sensitive. Tch, tch. "I'm just kidding..." he twitched. His voice was darkening. Not a good sign. He was starting to sound serious? No, that wasn't it. It was something else he couldn't put his finger on, but he wasn't going to spend all day trying to sum it up. He stood from the bench and cocked his head to the side.
"It's nothing personal, although making out under a tree would be quick personal I imagine," he added quietly, "but hey. I didn't mean it. I just ..." stuttering. Maybe he didn't get enough sleep. How ever was he going to make it through school? He'd invited a one girl from school on a date-thingy in the courtyard and he blew it. He stuttered. Him: Guy. How unlucky was that?
He flopped back into seat and sighed. "Could we just talk?" he asked finally.

[Mitsuki Park]

Today was perhaps one of the more unusual days. Although she wasn't entirely sure why she had stopped and turned around, nor did she know why she took a seat next to him, allowing herself to relax for once. She didn't think of this as a date, nor did she really think of this as an outing of any sort; it was just a talk between two people. But why she had chosen to talk to him was beyond her. A thought had crossed her, that perhaps the two were similar in the most odd of ways - although not outwardly similar...

"I don't take jokes very well."

It was probably the lack of friends. Sarcasm, well, she heard that all the time. Playful jokes between two people, on the other hand, was a rare occasion now a days.

"Why do you want to talk? To me, anyway."

She wasn't really a social person. There wasn't all that much to talk about with her - no one really knew her, no one really spoke to her because she never spoke back.

Time for some change?

Perhaps.

[Guy]

Guy eased up a bit and he exhaled in relief. He'd never had any conversations, let alone friendships, with a girl before; usually just went up to one, started flirting and got kicked between the thighs for it before the girl ran away. He'd talked to guys before, but that was a different matter. He could say whatever he wanted with guys and not care, and he'd never really had anything you could call a "friendship" since he frequently got into fights and didn't share any mutual loyalty to hardly anyone but his Uncle -- barely.
Searching for a comfortable position in the bench, he answered, "You know, I really don't know.

"I've never actually had any friends, could you imagine?" He chuckled. "Or at least no one who would turn down the offer of a blueback to try and beat me to orange pul[. This may sound melodramatic, but I wanted to see what it was like, you know. I've never actually ..."

He stiffened, not knowing if he should say. "I've never talked wih a girl before." He glanced briefly to Mitsuki. "You may have noticed that I've a crude sense of humor. Sorry about that. It's a habit that tends to get me into trouble. It's also one of the reasons why every single last girl ... that is, besides you, either run off when I approach or take a sock at me with their purse."
He laughed shortly, then groaned. "Oh, I talk too much, don't I?"

[Mitsuki Park]

You could say that, in a way, the two were oddly similar. He reminded her of herself - sort of - and that caused her to reminice of old times. You could say that Mitsuki only really had two friends, both broken down, but only one being brought back up. Everyone else was considered to be acquaintances of some sort, only because she did not know them that well to be considered a friend. There were some who came close to it, many, actually, but Mitsuki was - is - generally a loner, someone who would stand alone. If not, side by side with her one friend and one brother.

But there was one thing he had to get.

"I'm not your friend."

Was it rude of her to say it so bluntly? Was it mean of her to tell him that?

Probably. But it was Mitsuki's way of saying that she didn't know him well enough to be considered a friend.

"An acquantance, possibly."

Possibly, because she did not decide whether or not if she liked him.

Her dog was somewhere on school grounds, probably trailing after her scent - it was only a matter of time before Guy would be introduced to Sikai.

"Do you ever think you're going to get sick of this school?"

[Guy]

Guy cranked his head at the question.
"Probably." He said flatly. "I wouldn't know--I've only been here a day. But if Oaf has any jerk siblings in there, I don't think I'd last very long. I'll probably be arrested and sent away for severe violence." He chuckled.
- "But still, what's to get sick of? There's so much to be done. So many guys to put into their place ... so many girls to hit on. And so much trouble to get into. If I don't get decapitated in the process, it'll be a rollercoaster of fun.

"Not to mention the getting-educated part." He added with a hint of sarcasm. "Maybe I can piss off the guys with high grades."
Then he crossed his legs and asked, "But what about you? How long have you been here? Have you ever gotten sick of it?" He paused for a moment. "And what's with your whole defensive duty role? I mean, not to be critical or anything. It just got to me. And everybody in the hall, when you told them to leave they ... well they listened to you. Are you some kind of hotshot here? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised, but." He cut himself off. Then he glanced over to her. "Why was that?"

[Mitsuki Park]

If Mitsuki were simply a normal student attending #259, how different would her life be? Would it be easier, more difficult, boring, more exciting? Would she be as stressed as she is now? She probably would have never met some of the people she knows now. She probably won't even be in this position if she weren't the School Captain. But in all seriousness, she was getting tired of it. Not her 'title', her obligation, her job, her duty. She was tired of the school, of the fights, of learning. Tired of trying to gain peace through more violence - how hypocritical. She could gain the same thing with words - it only takes four times as more effort and ten times longer.

"Freshman year. Granted, I'm a sophomore now, soon to be junior."

As for the reason as to why they listened to her?

"...they respect me, I guess. Or fear me. Take it as you will."

But she would say nothing of the pillar system. If she could have it her way, there would be 'corrections' made to that particular system.

[Guy]

She was older than him. Well, that made things simpler. For a brief moment he let his mind wander off to how young he was. But fifteen, and he was already the typical troublemaker and jerk -- troublemaking jerk. His uncle had once discussed this issue with him. He took a "walk" during that discussion and was unable to get back into the house given he had been locked out. Guy had broken the window on the back door that night.

Exhaling so sharply his breath almost came out in a sigh, he crossed his arms and said, "I'm ... well, I'm still a freshman, obviously. Fifteen. Nobody respects or ... fears me." He laughed, then stopped abruptly.

"My old high school was full of idiots and hotheads -- I'm carrying on the inheritance -- and I didn't last long there. I wonder how my attendance here is going to turn out."

[Mitsuki Park]

"It's not the greatest thing in the world, you know. Being respected and feared... It's almost.."

Stressful.

She never finished her phrase aloud.

She started looking around, assessing their location, taking note of their surroundings, yet her glancing around seemed so very natural. She only nodded slowly when he spoke of his old high school, but it wasn't very different here either - there are a lot of idiots and hotheads at PHS #259 as well. So stupid, that it makes her wonder if it's from all the damage to the head they've received in the past, or if it's really just the lack of education. Maybe both, who knows?

"Every school is like a jungle. Everyone has their own niche; some find theirs early in the school year, others find them much, much later," she said, standing up while giving him a sideways glance, "You'll find yours soon enough."

[Guy]

Guy listened to her wordlessly, nodding every so seconds. He paused, curious, when she didn't complete her first sentence, and winced inwardly when she finished the last part. My niche, hmm? He thought. I wonder.

He started when she stood up, his brows furrowed in an almost dismayed expression. "You're leaving?" He said, rising from the bench and feeling weak on his feet from sitting so long. "So soon?" He bit his lip to stop himself from saying anymore and took a breath. After a moment, he smirked.

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

[Mitsuki Park]

"Yeah, I have a scheduled appointment."

But for what, she would not say.

"Perhaps. Try not to get into too much trouble - wouldn't want another female saving your ass again, right?"

Her eye brow arched before letting out a high pitched whistle; Sikai, her dog, came running about. Walking toward her car, she gave a light wave.

A new friend? Well. Not quite yet.

An acquaintance, most definitely.