Target Acquired - VOLUME 1

CHAPTER 14 - "Compromise Time, Part One"

Asano's lips draw back from my thigh and curve into a smirk. "Already giving up?" he asks condescendingly. I exhale deeply and try my hardest not to appear intimidated. I shake my head.

"You really don't know when to quit," Asano remarks. "Do you?" He goes back to kissing my thigh, and I have to cover my mouth. Damn it! Why do I have to be so sensitive around him?

I lay my head down on the desk and sigh. It's so weird to think that last year, we were scared to even hug. But now, we make out, and...

"Gakushu!" I gasp, pushing his head away from me. He had started to move up from my thigh.

"Sorry, pet," he says, moving back towards me. His lips touch my skin once again, this time safely at my neck. I hold onto the back of his head and rest my chin on his shoulder.

He moves up to my face and stops for a second. He takes a breath and softly kisses my lips. His hand picks up his phone, and he walks away from me. I slouch down off of the desk and onto the floor, trying to regain my breath.

"One minute, forty-two seconds," Asano tells me. He looks back at me and waves his phone. He's not lying - I really did last that long. Ugh, are you serious? I feel so... weak? What the hell? I'm supposed to be a badass! This is so wrong.

"I'll let you cycle through the stages of grief," Asano teases, walking towards the exit of the office. I groan and rest my back against the desk. He takes once last glance at me and leaves. I sit on the floor, staring at the door he's just walked out of. Something needs to happen about this, and it needs to happen soon.

"We can talk about what happened today later," he calls from the hallway. He's gone. Shit, how am I going to lie my way out of this? I don't think I can... wait! Finals - it's the perfect excuse! They're coming up in a week or so, and I haven't studied. Oh my god! I haven't studied!

I spring to my feet and grab my schoolbag. Running out of the principal's office, I can't help but wonder why this kind of stuff always happens to me.

~

"Here," I call over to Okuda. I glance behind my shoulder and see her struggling with a bag of fertilizer. We've been working on the gardens outside the building. My shoe gives one last stomp on a cluster of pesky weeds before I walk over to her.

"Oh! Thank you, Yanagisa!" Okuda beams. She hands over the large bag of fertilizer and hurries off back inside the building. I start drag the bag to where I want to plant some poppies. While dragging the heavy bag, I overhear a conversation within the classroom through the open windows:

"Oh, hey, Okuda," Karma says.

"Hi!" Okuda replies enthusiastically.

"Okuda, you're just in time! We were talking about our classmates," Nakamura tells Okuda. "Let's see, now we're on... Megumi!"

After my name is spoken, everyone goes silent for a moment.

"I like her," Okuda says quietly. Everyone makes a quiet noise of agreement. The room goes quiet again until someone's ringtone starts playing.

"It's Shindou," Sugino tells the group. "Hello? Hey, what's up? I haven't seen you since the tournament!"

I brush off my hands and walk into the classroom. Nakamura waves at me and invites me to sit down next to her. I do quickly, not wanting to miss any of the conversation.

"Yeah, hell of a game. Remember how I said we're rematching in high school? I'm worried that you guys might not even make it here," Shindou replies on speaker phone.