Chapter 19: June's new "boyfriend"

~June's POV~ We were all left staring at him in awe as Leo finished his story about skydiving in Fiji.

I mean, that's kinda freaking awesome. HE SKYDIVED IN FIJI.

Ibuki and Sayaka were completely amazed by it.

Ishimaru thought Leo was crazy for skydiving; but he also said he had respect for Leo because he had been brave anyway.

Both Hina and Erin (after hearing the story) decided that, apparently, they were going to start idolizing Leo. Erin also said that Leo was a keeper, which made me blush about fifty shades of red.

Even Kyouko was impressed. Everyone was impressed.

Me the most, I mean, I had NO IDEA Leo did all these cool things...! He's amazing!

"Wow, Leo, you're so cool!" Sayaka said.

"The coolest!" Ibuki added.

"Yes, fellow classmate, although you did something dangerous, I have to admit that you are indeed cool!" Ishimaru said.

"Honestly, he's one of the coolest guys I've met." Erin said.

"Same here." Kyouko said.

Leo smiled his dazzling smile. "Why, you all are so kind! I'm glad my life experiences fascinate you! I have more stories... Would you like to hear them? Like, I can tell you all about the time mi familia and I went scuba diving in Hawaii and encountered a shark!" he said.

All our eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! That sounds awesome! Tell it!" Ibuki said.

"Yeah, tell it!" Erin agreed.

Leo grinned. "Of course I'll tell it," he said before he cleared his throat. "About two months ago, my family decided to go on a vacation since they've all been working so hard running Gonzalez Tech and managing our recently developed oil mills..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"... and then the rescue helicopters came and saved us just in time. The end." Leo finished.

We stared in awe.

"That's amazing...!" Hina gasped. We all nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe you actually managed to save your family like that! You're really brave, Leo!" Sayaka said.

"Most definitely." Erin agreed.

Hina leaned over to me. "June, I hope you realize how lucky you are to have a boyfriend like Leo; guys like this don't just come along every day... I mean, Leo is everything; he's smart, funny, adventurous, kind, incredibly hot, and extremely RICH." she whispered.

My cheeks tinted pink. "He's NOT my boyfriend...! Even though, yes, he is definitely all those things... However, he probably doesn't even like me like that."

Hina rolled her eyes. "Please, June, this guy is CRAZY FOR YOU... And don't even PRETEND you haven't been picking up on all the flirting he's done with you!" she argued.

This time, I rolled my eyes. "That's all he's doing--just flirting. It means NOTHING." I argued back.

Hina sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Uh huh, you keep tellin' yourself that, June."

"I will, because it's TRUE." I said.

Our "conversation" was interrupted by someone's voice...

"Hello, Leo. Have I interrupted you telling all of June's gullible friends your obviously FAKE stories about your 'life'? My apologies if I did."

We all looked up to see Byakuya and Makoto standing next to our lunch table.

I shot Byakuya an immediate glare. "Togami, what do you want?"

"Oh, me? Nothing. It's what Leo here wants--your affection and sympathy, which he's NOT going to earn, because he doesn't earn anything by himself." Byakuya replied simply.

My glare intensified.

Byakuya stood his ground.

Makoto sighed. "I tried to keep him from coming over here... It didn't work. Sorry..."

Leo took in a deep breath and eyed Byakuya calmly. "Hola, Byakuya. Why are you here? To spy on June and me, see us together, and pretend NOT to be jealous? Well, so far, I'm sorry to say that you're doing a pretty crappy job of doing so." he replied, his voice even.

It was silent.

Wait, why would Byakuya be jealous of Leo and me...? It makes no sense; Byakuya HATES both of us...

And, wait a second... Did Leo just say he and I were TOGETHER?!

I blushed deeply.

I mean, I wish.

Back when I was in middle school, I had a bit of a crush on Leo and I could tell he liked me too... But, I also had feelings for Byakuya... really strong feelings, stronger than the ones I had for Leo. So, I abandoned the feelings I had for Leo in hopes Byakuya would say he liked me back... Of course, it never happened... And before I could get the chance to give Leo a try, he moved back to Mexico.

But, now he's here... and... and I have mixed feelings about all this...

Byakuya cheeks turned slightly red. He was embarrassed at what Leo had just said but was desperately trying to hide it, and failing. "I... I never...! That is NOT in the slightest true at ALL! I am in no way 'jealous' of you and June! It's ludicrous that you would even suggest that! You can have her, I don't care! I'm just saying that she would be a fool to take you considering what we both know you would do to her. That's all," he said before he huffed and turned to Makoto. "Come, Naegi, let's leave these imbeciles to their foolishness." Then, he and Makoto left, Makoto mouthing, "Sorry!" as they went.

I sighed and gave Leo an apologetic look. "Leo, I'm really sorry about him...! Byakuya can be a real ass some times! He doesn't know half of what he's talking about! Don't listen to him, you're a great guy, we all know that." I said honestly.

I was fuming at Byakuya. How could he just say stuff like that?! In front of LEO and my friends! He was practically saying that I was easy--the very thought made me want to kick Byakuya where it hurts.

I would have if we weren't in public.

Leo smiled. "It's okay, June; it's not your fault he's an ass... That's his call, not your own. You have no need to apologize."

I smiled back. See? Leo's sweet! I never understood why Byakuya hated him so much... He's such a nice guy!

I smiled back. "Thanks, Leo, for being so understanding," I said seriously. "And, by the way, I'm so excited that you were one of the students chosen for the Student Exchange Month! Now that you'll be here for an entire month, we've got a LOT of catching up to do!"

Leo sent me a smirk. "That we do, chica. And I can't wait to do so."

The way he looked at me made my cheeks heat up. Although, if he looked at ANY GIRL that way, he'd get the same results.

No wonder I used to have at crush on this guy... In fact, it might still be in tact... I'm not sure, though...

Back then I didn't have time to look into my crush on Leo... because I was too infatuated with my crush on Byakuya.

And, even before Leo, Byakuya was the one thought always on my mind...

"Okay, class, copy down the pronouns I've written up on the board for your notes, please!" our third-grade teacher said.

I began copying the notes from the board into my notebook.

I looked over at Byakuya to see him squinting at the board and writing a word per minute.

"Hey, Byakuya, why are you squinting at the board like that?" I whispered.

"It's weird... I think I'm having trouble reading the words on the board... The words look all blurred together and I can hardly make them out... It's like I'm trying to read them from twenty feet away or with the lights off or something...," Byakuya replied before he squinted harder. "It's kinda weird... I've never had this problem before..."

"Maybe you have something in your eye?" I suggested.

Byakuya rubbed his eyes and squinted at the board again. "I don't think so..."

"It's fine, the feeling will probably be gone by the end of the day." I said. Byakuya just nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, it was Wednesday.

Byakuya hadn't been at school yesterday. But what was REALLY ODD is that he didn't TELL ME he wouldn't be at school; whenever one of us isn't going to be at school, we call the other and explain that we weren't going and why. But that's the thing--Byakuya never called me.

Which is really strange.

It was about two hours into the school day when Byakuya arrived at school.

I was in the hallway going to use the bathroom when I saw him.

He was wearing a hoodie and had the hood pulled all the way down, practically hiding his entire face and he had his head down. I immediately approached him.

"Byakuya! There you are! Where were you yesterday? Why didn't you call me? Did anything happen? Were you SICK? Is everything okay? I was KINDA WORRIED about you...! What happened???" I said all at once.

Byakuya just stood there, staring at the ground, not replying at all; not so much as a mumble escaped his lips.

Then, suddenly, before I could say anything else, Byakuya just stepped around me and WALKED AWAY.

My eyes widened as he left. "Byakuya! Hello? Didn't you hear me? Are you okay???" I called after him.

He didn't answer as he turned the corner and disappeared.

Okay... WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT??? Why is my best friend just suddenly IGNORING ME??? Did I do something to make him mad??? If so, WHAT WAS IT??? What's up with him??? He just walked away like I didn't say anything; it's like I wasn't even THERE!

I probably did something to make him mad! But what? I have no clue! How can I solve the problem if I don't even know what it is??? Maybe I said something that was offensive but I didn't realize it...!

Well, whatever I did, I need to fix it, because Byakuya is literally my only friend and if I don't fix it I will officially be friendless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later and Byakuya still isn't talking to me. He must really be angry with me! I wish I knew what I did to him to make him so mad!

As the school day began, I sat down at my desk which was next to Byakuya's. He was working on our assignment, the hood of his hoodie still blocking my view of his face.

How am I supposed to fix what I did???

Suddenly, I got an idea.

I took a scrap piece of paper and wrote a note to Byakuya.

*Dear Byakuya,

What's wrong? You haven't talked to me all week! Have I done something to upset you??? If I did, I'm sorry! Meet me after school today to talk. I really miss you!

your forever friend,

~June*

I smiled when I finished. Why didn't I try this two days ago??? Hopefully he'll read it and talk to me. His silence is KILLING ME!

Besides, if I have any hope of Byakuya realizing I like him more than a friend and doing something about it, then the note I wrote HAS TO WORK.

As Byakuya was busy working, I casually slipped the note into one of his notebooks.

After awhile, he finally noticed it and read it.

A few seconds later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw his head turn slightly as if to look at me, the dumb hood still covering his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough, school ended and it was time to leave.

I waited outside the school for Byakuya. I was beginning to give up hope when he suddenly approached me.

"Byakuya! You came! I'm so glad you came! Look, whatever I did to make you mad, I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I offended you or something! I'll never do whatever I did again! Just, please, start talking to me and be my friend again! I can't take your silence anymore!" I said all at once.

Byakuya sighed. "Look, June, it's not you it's--"

"I swear, Byakuya, if you say 'me' I will flip out."

Byakuya chuckled. I smiled at that; it was good to hear him laugh after days of silence.

"No, that's not it, June... It's... Well...," Byakuya mumbled. Then, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Remember on Monday when I said I couldn't really read the words on the board and they were all blurry? Well... that was because I had a problem with my eyes... And I was gone on Tuesday and part of Wednesday because I needed to get THESE..." Byakuya then lifted his hoodie's hood off of his head to reveal his face...

My eyes widened when I saw his face.

Byakuya's face looked about the same--light skin, friendly smile, blue eyes, but ONE THING was different...

Byakuya wore a pair of GLASSES.

That's right, GLASSES.

Byakuya smiled nervously at me. "Hi." he mumbled, as if we had just met.

I smiled at him. "Byakuya! That's why you were absent on Tuesday? Because you got GLASSES??? Really??? You have glasses...!" I said, shocked.

Byakuya turned pink. "Y-Yeah... That's why I was absent on Tuesday... Because I was getting these... After Monday I came home and told my parents I had trouble reading the board and we went to the eye doctor for him to test my eyes... and he said I needed glasses. That's why I was having trouble reading the words on the board. So... I got glasses." he explained.

"But... That doesn't explain why you were IGNORING ME the entire rest of the week...!" I protested, frowning.

"Actually, it DOES explain that; after I got my glasses and looked in the mirror, I immediately hated them. I look SO WEIRD with these things on! I look like a nerd! I thought that if I let you see me with my new glasses... you'd think I was a nerd too and you'd stop being my friend! So, I avoided you the entire rest of the week... That's why." Byakuya said.

I just stared at him before I burst out laughing.

Byakuya frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing...! It's just, I don't CARE if you wear glasses or not! You're still you! And glasses won't change that. So you have problems with you eyesight! Big deal...! I don't care! I'm your friend and I'll always be your friend no matter what." I said.

Byakuya slowly smiled. "So you DON'T think I look like a nerd with these things on...?"

"No, Byakuya, you look nothing like a nerd. In fact, I kinda like you better with glasses; you look cute." I said.

WAIT A SECOND.

DID I JUST SAY BYAKUYA LOOKED CUTE?!

GAAAAHHHH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?

Byakuya immediately smirked after I said that. "Aw~! Junie...! You think I look cute?"

"N-No...! I take it back!!!" I studdered.

"Too late! Can't take it back!" Byakuya said. "And don't deny it--you think I'm cute~!" he sang.

I turned bright red. "I-I...! I...!" is all I could say. Because he was right--I thought he looked adorable with his new glasses.

Adorable, and more attractive.

Byakuya smirked again. "I'll take that as a big, fat YES! So, just for the ladies, I think I'll keep my new glasses instead of switching to contact lenses!" he said triumphantly.

Great... I may have boosted his confidence a BIT TOO MUCH...

Nice going, June...

I smiled again. "Sure, whatever you say, Byakuya... As long as you're happy."

"Don't worry, I am!" Byakuya beamed proudly.

I sighed. What am I gonna do with this boy???

I shook my head at the memory; I liked Byakuya too much back then... Thank goodness I don't now...

"Yeah," I said to Leo. "I can't wait to catch up with you, either..."

Leo smirked. "Something tells me, chica, that you and I are going to become very, very CLOSE."

I felt my cheeks heat up again.

I feel like I'll be blushing a lot around this guy...