Ongoing Cycle

33

Every year, the school would organise a school trip for the senior students. It happened during winter break, so students got to bond with their grade since it was everyone's last year in high school. After the trip, people would always talk about how amazing it was. When [Y/N] was an underclassman, she would overhear these seniors and feel depressed — she knew from the beginning that her parents would never let her go.

      And now, it was [Y/N]'s senior year winter break, but things have changed. Due to these new circumstances, her parents had let her go on this trip, leaving her really elated. A week without worrying about her parents was the best thing that could possibly happen. Of course, they wouldn't just let her go without some evil mastermind plan. Not surprisingly, they wanted her to get closer to Kuro.

     So here she was, boarding the bus with Miku by her side. There were six buses and people were put in each one based on their last names. Luckily for the two of them, they were in the same group.

     They stuffed their belongings into the storage room of the bus and climbed onto the large vehicle. They plopped down together on one of the twin seats. Getting herself comfortable in her soft seat, [Y/N] wondered what this trip was going to be like. She had heard people complaining about how they were going to the woods and will have to stay in cabins. She thought that sounded kind of nice, but it seemed like others thought differently.

     Someone poking her arm grabbed her attention and she turned to Miku. The beautiful girl had a bright smile on her face despite how early in the morning it was. "I'm so glad you're coming. You deserve having time away from your parents!"

     [Y/N] grinned alongside her. "Don't go all soft on me now," she teased. "I'm still really shocked they actually let me go. Since freshmen year, I've always thought I'd miss out on this."

     "But you're here now. That's all that counts."

     She was going to respond to her friend, but someone had interrupted her. "[Y/N]! I knew that was you!"

     Frightened by such a loud voice, she flinched. Turning her head the other way, she was met by the one and only Shou. He was wearing goggles on his wet head and his outfit was, for some reason, all yellow. He looked as crazy as a crackhead. For a few moments, she didn't know what to say to him; he just looked to bizarre.

     "Um... hi. Why does it look like you're ready for a swim?" [Y/N] questioned. She didn't want to see Miku's expression right now, who was going to make fun of her forever.

     He laughed a boisterous laugh. "You're so funny. We all know that dressing like the sun will make you happier and that wearing goggles can protect you from radiation," Shou explained, acting very confident in what he's saying.

     [Y/N] didn't want to burst his bubble, so she giggled along. "Right... I knew that."

     "Sorry to interrupt this lovely conversation, but who the hell are you?" Miku asked the bright boy, who was still blocking traffic in the aisle. Someone had enough of him and shoved Shou into their seat. He stumbled and fell on both of their laps. Stunned, they all stayed in this weird position for a good while. Shou being the total airhead he was, didn't even bother to get up.

     His head on Miku's lap, he looked up at her and grinned. "Hi. You must be [Y/N]'s friend. I'm Shou," he mumbled, raising his hand for her to shake it.

     Ignoring his outstretched hand, Miku turned to look at [Y/N]. "What's the meaning of this?"

     She scratched her head sheepishly. "He sits next to me in science. He's harmless, really. He's like a kid."

     Miku crossed her arms. "I still want him away from my... lap."

     Finally getting the message through his head, he pushed himself up from their laps. He was pouting and seemed a little sad. "I guess you don't like me. Well, I'm sorry [Y/N]'s friend. I'll stop bothering you guys now." Like before, he bowed to Miku three times.

     His head drooping, he got out of their seat and entered the aisle again. Trailing behind other students, he headed to the back of the bus, where his other friends were sitting. Watching him go, she turned back to her friend.

     "You shouldn't have done that. He's a sweet guy."

     "He's 18 and yet he's acting like he's five. If anything, he's creepy as hell," the dark haired girl argued; she did look like she felt bad for what she'd done though.

     [Y/N] didn't want to be fighting with anyone on this trip, so she stayed silent. She was hoping that Miku would like Shou, but that had already gone wrong. She didn't understand how her friend couldn't like him. He had such a carefree personality, and that was something she needed in her life. Could there be a way to get Miku to like him? At first, [Y/N] didn't like him much either, but he had grown on her.

     When the attendance was set, the bus' engine jumped to life.

     "Hey look! There's your lover boy!" Miku suddenly whispered to her. Curious, she looked out the window to see that Kuro was indeed out there. He was about to board one of the other buses. Interestingly, he was speaking to an angry teacher, who was probably upset that a student was late. He had bed hair and his clothes were all rumpled. He looked exhausted. Even so, he had an easy smile on his face, probably as an attempt to charm the angry teacher. [Y/N] shook her head with a wry smile on her face. Typical Kuro behavior.

     She wondered what had happened to him. Did his father do anything to him? She sure hoped that wasn't the case.

     Miku had other theories for his tardiness and appearance. "What if he cheated on you?" she gasped. "He looks like he just had sex."

     She rolled her eyes. "We're not actually dating, so it doesn't count." Though, as she spoke all of this, she couldn't ignore the disappointment lutrking in her stomach.