You are? That’s cool, I haven’t decided on where I want to go myself Seika wrote back. Its a big city, but I’ll need to show you around sometime, I know all the best places to eat, haha
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano envied Seika so much right now. She'd never been to Tokyo, and it had always been a dream of hers to move to a big city. The dream of like, every country girl ever.
From that point onward, the conversation had to stop. The professor asked the class to answer some of the questions from the textbook, and Ayano wouldn't want to get Seika in trouble on her first day in a new school by being a distraction. Before the class was over she managed to sneak in a small doodle of two stick figures getting on a bus with the sign "tokyo".
The bell rang, and Ayano sighed in relief that the class was finally over.
Classes passed by quickly, thanks in no small part to Ayano, and before Seika knew it it was time for lunch. The little picture Ayano had drawn of the two of them heading to Tokyo brought a smile to her lips whenever she thought about it. Was that silly when they still barely knew one another, but her new friend was so easy to talk to that Seika couldn’t help but think about how fun it would be to take her on a tour of her old stomping grounds. It was hard to know when that could be, but they were bound to have some time off sometime, right? Well, no reason to get too far ahead of herself.
With a yawn Seika flipped her notebook closed and raised her arms over her head in a stretch. Only a few more hours before she could finally check out the track team and see if she could make it on. She looked over at her friend, and grinned. “Well, I’m in your hands today so where’s the best place to eat? Or, are we just sticking in the classroom? As she spoke she nudged her bag out from under her desk before pulling out her lunchbox.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the tall boy that’d been behind them all morning.
“Seika, isn’t it? I’m Ryuu.” He said, wrapping an arm around Ayano’s shoulder and offering the new girl a hand to shake. “We eat on the patio. Come with us, meet the gang!” He smiled.
Ayano wasn’t as thrilled about the idea of introducing Seika to her other friends, but she smiled nonetheless. The trio walked together while Ryuu talked some more about himself and the school’s football team until they got to the table where three other people were waiting for them.
Seika’s smile froze for a moment as a tall boy added himself into their conversation. He was tall and handsome, which rather wasn’t her type, though it was the casual arm he slid over Ayano’s shoulder that irked her a little even if she knew that was irrational. She had just met Ayano so of course she would have her own life already, it wasn’t like she could just have her all to herself. So, Seika put on her best smile and reached up to shake Ryu’s hand. “That’s right, it’s nice to meet you Ryuu.” She said, before rising to her feet and following the other two out of the classroom.
Seika nodded along as Ryuu talked excitedly, mostly about himself and some about his team. It seemed he thought the soccer team would do well this year, so Seika slipped in a small ‘good luck where she could. Before long they were out on the patio, in the pleasantly warm sun. Some students had already gathered at a table in the shade of a large old tree, and Seika raised a hand in greeting as they approached.
“Hello,” she said with a smile to the other three students. As nice as Ayano was, she couldn’t help but wonder what her friends were like.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
“Seika, these are Junko, Takako and Brian.” Ayano said after the three teenagers looked at the couple and the foreigner curiously. “Guys, this is Seika. She’s new here.”
Brian was, unsurprisingly, the first to nod at the girl and open a wide smile that’d make most of the girls in school giggle. He stopped smiling like that at Ayano after he and Ryuu got in a fight over it.
“Nice to meet you, Seika. You’re cute.” Ayano rolled her eyes. “What? It’s a compliment.”
Perhaps it was wrong of her, but Seika was surprised to see that Iwami of all places had a foreign student attending. It wasn’t like she had never met one before, there had been some back home, not that she really knew them other than in passing. Still, it might be nice to have someone else who knew what it was like to move away from home— oh. Seika offered a thin smile to Brian as she cast a quick questioning glance Ayano’s way at the boy’s compliment. Maybe he was just trying to be friendly? Boys were like that sometimes, awkward and overly friendly so… Seika shifted her weight between her legs before giving a small bow of her head to at least acknowledge his introduction.
“Hm,” one of the two other girls said, Takako, as she eyed Seika with a piercing dark gaze. Her posture was impeccable and after a moment she smiled neatly in a way Seika was sure had been well practiced in front of a mirror. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Seika. Did you come far?”
“Tokyo, so a few hours ride.” Seika said, her posture relaxing slightly. The girl nodded, with her perfectly manicured smile.
“Well, welcome.” She said, before tapping the other, taller girl on the shoulder. Junko looked up from her food. Seika could tell she was taller than Takako at least, but it was hard to gauge with how scrunched her posture was. The girl offered up a smile that didn’t seem to spark in her eyes at all.
“Hello, I hope we can get along” she said, her voice light and small.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano hoped Seika wouldn’t fall for Brian’s pretty green eyes, she’d hate to see her new friend heartbroken. She didn’t like Brian that much, but he was Ryuu’s best friend, so she had to accept his presence within the group. Takako eyed the brunette with her judgemental eyes, that reminded Ayano the reason why she’d been apprehensive about introducing her in the first place. She was sure the moment Seika turned away her friend would have something mean to say about her behind her back.
“Seika is gonna try out for track, right?” Ayano smiled, nudging her with her elbow. The smile was mostly directed at Seika, and she didn’t mind that much when Ryuu’s arm left her shoulder as he sat by Brian’s side, leaving two empty seats for them next to Junko.
“Bo-ring! No one cares about track.” Brian laughed, and Ryuu followed suit, despite his apologetic shrug that followed. Not wanting to create a situation, Ayano chuckled along.
“Yea—” was all Seika managed before Brian cut in with a laugh. She felt a quick spike of annoyance when Ryuu also laughed, which only got worse when the boy offered up an apologetic smile. What sort of person, let alone a boyfriend would laugh at someone else’s hobbies like that? Her lips parted, but Ayano's soft voice in her ear caused her to pause. Ayano clearly didn’t want a fight about it, but that felt even worse to her, like having someone leaning on her shoulders.
Seika turned her head and looked into her friend’s light brown eyes for a moment before her shoulders slumped faintly. She released a breath before sliding into the seat next to the tall girl, though she still felt sour about just leaving that comment there, even if it left a bad first impression.
“Well, then what do you think is fun, Brian?” Seika asked, with a thin smile.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
“How about going out for ice cream after class?” Brian ansked, winking at Seika. Ayano was feeling uncomfortable for her, so she decided to get them a way out.
“I need to go to the bathroom real quick. Seika, will you join me?” She stood up, taking the girl’s hand before she could protest. “I’m sorry about Brian. He can be nice sometimes, but he acts like a jerk when there’s a pretty girl around.” She smiled apologetically when they were far enough from the group.
Ah, he wasn’t just a little awkward, he was just one of those types of boys. Seika looked away as Brian made his offer, there wasn’t much she thought could be less enticing than going on a date with him, but that again seemed like a very rude thing to say to the friend of her friend so she instead bit her tongue. Ayano however rescued her from trying to figure out the most diplomatic response, which Seika was very grateful for.
She followed along behind Ayano as she led the duo out of earshot of the group. Seika glanced back over her shoulder as Ayano spoke, half expecting to see Brain had followed them or something, but she relaxed when she saw that he hadn’t.
“I’ll… have to take your word for that. He doesn’t give a very good first impression,” Seika said, with a faint chuckle. After a moment she squeezed Ayano’s hand, her lips slipping into a little frown. “I’m sorry, if this is too forward given how new I am, but are you… happy?”
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
The sudden touch of hand surprised Ayano, and so did the question that followed. She let go of Seika's hand, crossing her arms around her chest.
"What kind of question is that?" She laughed nervously. "Of course I am. As happy as I can be in that shit hole… Sorry, that wasn't a nice thing to say."
She stopped walking when they entered the empty hallway, releasing her arms along with a sigh.
"I hate it here. This town is boring, and if you think my friends are bad, wait until you meet everyone else."
“Oh, I see.” Seika took a step back when Ayano pulled her hand away, she flexed her fingers and as the warmth lingered for a moment longer. Seika’s lips dipped down for a moment as she glanced away from Ayano. She had definitely struck a nerve with a question like that, but it just didn’t sit right with her. Sure she didn’t really know the town at all and she hadn’t really been looking forward to moving here but… focusing on only the negatives like that didn’t seem healthy. Seika drew in a sharp breath and looked up.
“Well, that all might be the case but, y’know,” Seika’s lips split into a grin, “that sounds like all the more reason to try to have as much fun as you move away at the end of the year.”
“It’ll help the days go by faster, anyway.” Seika added with a wink.
//... into the dark she stepped, but never did she feel free of the gaze...//
Ayano chuckled and looked up at Seika, who smiled back at her. She had a pretty smile, and her comforting words were all she needed at that moment.
“Thank you.” She said, both for what had been said and for moving into town, though she wouldn’t voice the second part out loud. With her cheeks slightly pinker than before, Ayano returned to the table by Seika’s side and luckily, the subject had changed into something that had nothing to do with them. While they ate lunch Ayano caught herself looking over at Seika and thinking how different this year was going to be because of her.
The final classes of the day dragged by, until it was finally time for club gatherings. She changed into her gym outfit and headed off to the field behind the school building.