Let's Start Over... Aoi X Umeji

- Something Interesting -

Why am I here again?

The test was pretty easy for me, as predicted, since it was Biology. The rest of the day flew by, and I had made my way down to the conference room for the meeting with the rest of Student Council. I thought that it'd be a quick meeting; an overview on every club.

However, that wasn't the case.

Right now, Kuroko was just droning on and on about how Megami had put her in charge due to her absence. There wasn't really anything important going on, so we were all just doing whatever. Shiromi was across the room, doodling on the desk, Akane was pretending to be awake, and the club leaders were just passing notes to each other. I felt my pocket vibrate, announcing that I got a text. Since it didn't look like anything eventful'd happen for a while, I pulled out my phone, reading the text from an unknown number.

"Hey, it's Umeji."

I smiled a little, adding his number to my phone as "⚡️Blondie⚡️", texting back.

"Heya. Stuck in a meeting right now. Lol."

I texted him a picture of my bored expression as emphasis. Within a few seconds, I got a response.

"Boring, Huh?"

I texted back. "Ya. Kuroko turns a 5 minute meeting into a 2 hour rant."

"Need me to rescue you?"

I had to reread that next text a few times. I looked at where I was sitting; close enough to sneak out without causing suspicion. No one was paying attention to me either. It wasn't exactly like I NEEDED to be there. Kuroko just likes to make things SEEM official, so she orders everyone to come to meetings. It was almost too easy. I texted Umeji back.

"Please do."

I coughed a little, getting Shiromi's attention. I scribbled the words, "I'mma roll out." On my hand, showing it to her. She nodded, pretending to zip her lips, giving me a thumbs up. I wrote on my other hand; it was a bit sloppy, but legible. "I'll signal you." She nodded again. We'd done this before, but reversed, so she could hang out with Dora from the Lite Music Club. This is how it'd normally go; I would cause a diversion, and she'd sneak out in the midst of the havoc. I'd usually pretend that I dropped my eyepatch, but this is Shiromi, so I didn't know what she'd do.

The door was open, and I could hear light footsteps coming down the hall. They stopped, and I could see a bit of blonde hair from outside the door. I nodded to Shiromi, and she nodded back.

Suddenly, I watched her almost throw herself out of her chair on the floor, gasping for air. A bunch of different leaders ran to her aid, all looking concerned, including Kuroko. Once no one was looking, I ran out of the room, almost running into Umeji.

"Huh," he muttered, a small smirk on his face, "Either that was a perfectly timed aneurism, or you guys have coordinated these things in the past."

I shrugged a little, sliding my hands into my pockets. "Shiromi might be interested in this one girl, and I may or may not pretend to lose my eyepatch when she needs to bail." I snicker a little. "Didn't think she'd go THAT far, though."

Umeji nodded a little, tilting his head. "Yeah, but it was definitely a better option than MY choice of a diversion." I was about to ask, but he showed me the inside of his uniform jacket, revealing a can of AXE body spray and a roll of tape. "AXE bombs are always effective."

I laughed a little, and then remembered that we were still near the Meeting Room. "Well, lets get the hell out of here before Kuroko notices I'm gone." I motion for him to follow me, sticking my hands in my pockets. He followed behind me.

           We walked over to the vending machines, where a bunch of tables were. I walked over to the machine that had bottles of Ramune with different flavors. I pulled some money out of my pocket, peering back over at Umeji, who was standing behind me.

         "What flavor do you want?" I smiled a little, gesturing to the machine. "My aunt gave me some extra money for helping out at the station a few days ago." He gave my a weird look; like he hadn't expected my offer. He crossed his arms, nodding towards the Vanilla flavored one. I picked two of those, handing him one.

              "Thanks," he muttered, sitting down at one of the tables, opening it, "These ones are my favorite."

            I sat down across from him, opening mine. "Noted." I smiled a little at him. "Besides; I owe you one for getting me the hell outta there." For once, I was worrying less about what I was saying and doing. I didn't pay it much mind, though.

         "So," He started, raising an eyebrow, "How often does Kuroko schedule these lame ass meetings?"

         I took a sip of my Ramune, shrugging. "Once a week, she calls everyone down after school for a check in." I noticed Umeji grimacing a little, which made me snicker a bit. "Yeah, I'm not fond of them either, but I've got a job to do here, and I take it pretty seriously." I rolled my eyes a little, looking sideways. "This week, though, it's like she just wants to listen to the sound of her own voice."

           He ruffled his hair a little, laughing a little. "Well, if you ever need me to rescue you again, you've got my number." He took a sip of his Ramune, leaning back in his chair. "I mean, this shit ALREADY sounds boring if it's a once a week kinda thing; besides, I've been needing something to do after school."

            I thought to myself a little before getting an idea. "You know, you can always swing by my place after school." I peered over at him, smiling a little. "I live alone, since my Aunt has an apartment downtown. It's a weird situation, but it works since I can still go to school here." I finish my Ramune, tossing the empty bottle into the trash. "Like you said, we have each other's numbers, so you just need to text me and let me know if you wanna come over. I always have a spare helmet on my Motorbike."

He looked a bit taken back by my offer, his eyes a bit wide. I looked downwards a little, ruffling my hair. "I mean, only if you want to..." A few thoughts raced through my mind. Did I overstep? He isn't saying anything. I fucked up. He thinks I'm weird. I'm such a moron-

       "Really..? You'd be cool with that?"

      Now it was MY turn to look perplexed. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I be?" I crossed my arms. "You've given me to reason not to trust you, and you're a really cool person." I flashed a smile at him, any anxiety I had in that moment disintegrating. "As long as you let me know beforehand, you're welcome over any time."

        He paused for a few seconds again, seemingly thinking things over. He mutters something, loud enough for me to hear.

      "Is now a good time?"

       I nodded. I mean, this place still had people hanging around, and there wasn't really much we could do at school. At least at home we'd have actual food.

      "Sure thing. C'mon. My bike's outside."

       I guess I had some pretty good After-school plans.