80. Words

Fuu was never a girl of many words. Many would find her quieter than a mouse. After all, why should she waste her breath speaking to her peers? If she had anything to say, she said it in as few words as possible. The person she spoke to was left to decipher the one-to-two word phrases. That was how she was, and nobody dared to question her why.

So when she walked up to the unsuspecting blond male, no one knew what to think.

She stared at the ground, her face almost as crimson as her eye. Her hand had a death grip on the opposite arm. A single word was muttered from her lips. “Date.”

Ven tilted his head quizzically. He gave a sheepish smile, laughing nervously. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Could you please repeat what you said? I couldn’t quite catch that.”

She shook her head, letting her hair cover her face. “Forget it,” she replied, running off, leaving the boy baffled.

A familiar hand rested on his shoulder. “Poor girl. Isn’t that the girl you told me you liked? What’d you do to her, Ven?”

“Terra!” Ven exclaimed, surprised at his friend’s approach from what seemed like out of nowhere. “I don’t… How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see what happened,” he replied, frowning. “She seemed like she really wanted to tell you something. Care to fill me in on what I might have missed?”

“Not much I could really fill you in with. She just sort of… walked up to me out of the blue. I think she said something, but it was so quiet, I couldn’t make it out. She looked kind of nervous. And when I asked if she could repeat it, she just sort of… ran off,” he said, looking in the direction that Fuu took off in, even though she wasn’t in sight anymore. “I’m really curious as to what she said.”

Terra smirked, shaking his head. “It almost looked as if she wanted to ask you out. How cute, Ven. You might just get your first girlfriend.”

Ventus blushed a deep shade of red at Terra’s words. Was he actually serious? Ventus fumbled with the inside of his pants pockets. If Fuu, the girl with such a cold exterior, actually liked him and had the nerve to ask him out, he couldn‘t be happier. She seemed quite shy about it, so the fact that she was able to go up to him in the first place and attempt to make out the request gave him shivers up his spine. If Terra was serious, then maybe his crush on her actually isn’t an impossible one!

“So uh… what should I do?” Ven asked, looking nervously up at his best friend. Asking a girl out was totally foreign to him. After all, he was only in his second year of middle school. He knew little to nothing about girls, other than what Aqua and Terra would tell him. But that was mostly friend stuff. How was that supposed to help him ask a girl out?

Terra smiled, patting the underclassman’s head. “I’m sure you get the girl by just being yourself. And it shouldn’t be that hard since she approached you earlier.”

Ven blinked a few times, trying to absorb the simple piece of advice. Just be himself? And Fuu would go out with him? He was himself when she spoke to him earlier, and she ended up getting upset and running away. How was being himself supposed to help? But  then again, Terra has had experience with other girls in the past, so he probably knew what he was saying…

“Wait, Terra!” the middle school boy shouted, realizing his best friend was nowhere to be seen. “You just left me by myself?” He humphed, walking off to his first class, pondering how to talk to Fuu.

“But… maybe I should see more of what she’s like before I try asking her. That way I know how to do this right,” he mumbled to himself as he took his seat.

Fuu sat in the desk clear across the classroom, talking to a group of guys, though could hardly identify them. He could hardly see her past all of the taller people blocking his way. She didn’t seem to speak much. Instead, she sat with perfect posture, staring out the window, seemingly paying little attention to what the others were saying.

The bell chimed in the background and the teacher walked to the front of the room. “Okay class, open your books to page 137...” he droned monotonously. Ven, though, didn’t pay attention to anything he said after that. Now that everyone was seated, he had a decent view of the silverette girl. 

Her head rested on the palm of her hand, propped up by her elbow as she continued staring at the window at how-knows-what. The way she daydreamed seemed so beautiful to Ventus. Her relaxed expression was so soft looking, unlike the usual cold looks she normally gave, or the hidden face, too stiff and nervous in front of him. The latter was adorable to him as well, but for a different reason.

He sighed. If she could look at him with such a soft, kind expression everyday, he would be the happiest guy in the world. Even though he was just a middle school student, he sincerely adored her. Probably more than any of the other boys in his class.

“Ventus, Fuu isn‘t your book. Unless she has its contents written all over her,” his teacher said crossly. Ventus jolted from the words that brought him back to Earth, his face turning a deep shade of crimson. The class erupted in a roar of laughter from the teacher’s words and Fuu glanced over at him, not saying a word. Their eyes locked for a millisecond, then she looked away, her face seeming a little pinker, or so it seemed from the distance he was looking at her.

She probably thinks I’m a creep for staring at her like that in the middle of class! Ventus thought, letting his head hit the desk. Stupid, stupid, stupid! 

For days Ven reminded himself of his embarrassment. It hung over him, like a demon, possessing him, stealing away his confidence. How could he possibly talk to Fuu, let alone look at her? She probably doesn’t like him anymore…

So much with asking her out.

“Hey Ven, you seem troubled. What’s wrong?” Aqua asked, seating herself by him on a bench. Her facial expression was like a mother’s: concerned and caring. That’s why he always liked talking to Aqua.

Ven explained the situation, and she thought for a second, then smiled. “Ven, I wouldn’t think for once that Fuu wouldn’t find you creepy. Even if you did happen to stare at her during class…“ She pulled him into a soft hug then continued. “I may not know Fuu, but she seems like a smart girl. She wouldn’t assume something like that about you. After all, you’re a genuinely nice boy.”

Ven smiled. “You really think so?”

The blue haired high schooler nodded. “I wouldn’t lie to you, now would I?”

He shook his head.

“Go. Tell her how you feel. Make it as genuine and Ven-like as you possibly can. I’m sure she’ll like that,” Aqua said, pushing Ven onto his feet and beckoning him in the direction of Fuu’s locker.

Ven started off towards his crush, but looked back at Aqua for a second. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Fuu stood at her locker, throwing books she needed to take home into her bookbag. When she shut the locker door, Ven approached her, trying to remain as calm as possible. Just be yourself, Ven. It’s what both Terra and Aqua told me. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Except for her rejecting you after the whole staring incident… No! You won’t think negatively about this! You can do this, Ven. Just be yourself…

“Hello?” Fuu spoke, looking confused by him staring at her.

“Oh! Sorry!” Ven said, blushing as he realized he had stared off into space again. “Listen, Fuu, I wanted to apologize for staring at you in the middle of class. You must find me weird for that.”

She looked away and blushed, but Ven managed to see her head shake.

“And a few days ago, when you came up to me before school and said something, I’m sorry I couldn’t understand what it was. I guess my hearing isn’t all that good…”

Fuu began to walk away, only to have her hand grabbed, keeping her where she was. “What I’m meaning to say is, well… do you want to go out with me, Fuu? It would make me happy if you would.”

Fuu had the same expression as when she first talked to him. “Pity.”

“Pity? No, I’m not doing this because I pity you. At least, I think that’s what you meant…”

“Then why?” Her visible eye looked desperate for an answer.

His stomach did backflips. This was it. He was going to tell her. “Because I really, really like you.”

She gasped. “Really?” she whispered, continuing to hold onto Ven’s hand.

Ven smiled, his face as red as a tomato. “Truly.”

Her face became calm, like when she stared out the window during class as she said her reply. “Same.”