The sun was warm across his face, neck and shoulders. It was a gorgeous day: the sun was shining and there wasn�t a cloud in the sky. It would have been the perfect day for lounging at the beach or having a picnic in the park, but unfortunately, neither of those choices were open to him at the moment.

His name was Rioroute Vilgyna and he was the star midfielder for the high school�s varsity soccer team.

Sure, being star midfielder might not sound like much, but Rio knew for a fact that he was an essential part of the team. Not only was he the second leading scorer - Garu was first, of course, as he always must be - but he had also been voted captain now for two years running. And considering that he was only a junior, Rio figured that was pretty good. Of course, Garu was his co-captain, which meant that Rio was more or less second in command, but Rio didn�t care; if Garu wanted to be the �top� as he called it, Rio wasn�t about to challenge him for it. In all honesty, Rio didn�t care that much. As long as everyone knew that he was just as good as Garu, Rio couldn�t care less if Garu was the �leader of the leaders.�

But there were downsides to being such a good athlete and a contribution to the team, and right now was definitely one of them; the entire varsity team was on the soccer field at six o�clock in the evening, working their tails off in the nearly blistering heat. They had been there ever since three o�clock that afternoon.

It wouldn�t be that bad if we didn�t have to run around so much, Rio thought, rolling his eyes. At the moment, he was dashing across the field, cutting behind the opposing team�s stopper. Sweat was practically pouring into his eyes as he called for the ball, at the same time thinking, I really wish I was at the pool right now. I wish I wish I wish-

The ball was passed in his direction and Rio snagged it out of mid-air, his foot just barely landing correctly. Shit. If that had been an inch to the left I would have been out with a broken ankle for sure. Rio didn�t have much time to think about the possible outcomes of a fall as he moved up the field, his eyes scanning ahead of him for a decent passing angle. The only difference between the two teams was the fact that his team had pennies and it was difficult for him to distinguish the blue-colored mesh from regular t-shirts sometimes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Garu; he thought of passing-

From out of nowhere, Yu popped up, startling Rio with his abrupt entrance. The lack of the blue mesh on his chest signified that no, he wasn�t on Rio�s team, and it was only then that Rio realized he had fallen into Yu�s favorite trick. Yu jumped in front of Rio, his gray eyes narrow as he poked a swift kick at the ball.

Oh, SHIT...

Before Rio knew it, he was minus one ball and off balance. He desperately tried to regain his equilibrium but found that he couldn�t; his foot caught on a small hole in the ground and he fell, ever so gracefully, face first onto the ground. He lay there, sprawled out on the soil and plant-life, the wind knocked out of him and his pride vanquished.

Well, isn�t THAT dandy? Rio rolled his eyes. Just when I�m feeling all extra special and everything, of course Yu has to come along and take me down. Geez... Rio rolled over as quickly as his body would allow and used his arms to prop himself up. Standing up shakily, he tentatively began to move back to the correct position. A brief spasm of pain shot through his shin, but Rio knew that it wasn�t bad; it would only be really bad if he was limping. He knew that, since he wasn�t, it most likely wasn�t a break or even a sprain; if it hurt later, he�d put some ice on it and that would be that.

Just as he reached a good spot to scan the field, the coach blew a whistle, signifying that both the scrimmage and practice were over. It took all of Rio�s will power to not jump up, click his heels and cheer, but in all honesty, he was too tired to even speak. As he began to walk off the field, Rio found himself walking besides Yu, who was staring calmly at the ground.

Rio raised at eyebrow. To speak or not to speak? That is the question... eh, whatever. I have to die eventually anyway.

�So, w�sup?� Rio asked, grinning brightly at the brown haired boy walking beside him. Yu looked up from his intense gaze at the ground - what on Earth does he find so interesting about that, anyway?! - and calmly raised at eyebrow. Rio sighed; Yu apparently wanted him to just get on with it. Rio stated, �That was a cool little trap you pulled. Can�t believe I fell for it, though. I mean, geez, I�ve seen you pull that thing since we were on the little kid league, y�know?�

The corners of Yu�s mouth turned slightly upwards in a smile. �I know. It�s difficult to track.�

Ya think? Rio kept his sarcastic remark to himself; rarely did anyone on the team get Yu to have an actual conversation with them and Rio wasn�t about to pass up the opportunity. And he knew from experience that speaking sarcastically was one of the quickest ways to either piss Yu off or make him ignore you - or both.

In any case, Rio plastered a grin on his face and continued, �I totally didn�t see it coming though. I mean, I was all set to just pass it to Garu and do a cool little give-�n�-go, y�know? Though I doubt that would have worked either, considering that it IS Garu. He�d have probably have tried to score himself.�

�It wouldn�t have worked.� Yu responded quietly, pensive. �He had a bad angle.�

Yes!, Rio thought triumphantly, mentally jumping up and down, cheering. In the mini-battle between Yu and he, he had won; Yu was involved in an actual speaking discussion with him.

�Yeah, you�re right!� Rio continued immediately, not wishing to ruin the small chance he had of actually speaking with Yu. He commented, �I wonder why the coach never says anything about it.�

Yu smiled almost unnoticeably. �He practically dotes on Gareas. I doubt he would say anything even if Gareas decided to sit down in the middle of a game.�

�No shit,� Rio replied offhandedly, and instantly regretted his choice of phrasing as he saw Yu�s eyes narrow slightly. Wishing to salvage the interlocution, despite his mistake, Rio mentioned, �How�s Kazuhi doing, anyway? I saw her at the mall the other day with Leena.�

Yu�s eyebrows lifted and his shoulders relaxed; Rio sighed, pleased that his change of topic had worked. Yu calmly stated, �Kazuhi is fine, as far as I can tell.�

�That�s cool,� Rio responded accordingly. He was about to say more, but just as he opened his mouth, he saw Garu approaching out of the corner of his eye. The green-haired boy look pleased about something and was smiling smugly; Rio halted in his speech as he saw the taller boy coming near them.


 

Everybody's been in my face
Tellin' me I gotta make a change
All I ever hear day and night is, "You better hurry up and get a life,"
I need some direction - 'cause the clock is tickin' away
Then a friend of a friend of mine says
I've really been on her mind
And wants to go out and check out what the feelin's about
Says we have a deep connection - well, it sure is news to me
And all I can say is

 

�Hey, Rio! Yu,� Garu greeted, the partial smirk never leaving his face. Rio was slightly upset that Garu had interrupted his conversation with Yu (after all, when was that ever going to happen again?), but he calmed down as Garu�s mischievous ambiance caught his attention.

�What�s up now?� Rio answered the greeting, raising an eyebrow. Garu�s expression interested him, and he knew from past experience that whenever Garu had that �I�ve-got-a-cool-idea� look on his face, everything started to get either fun or dangerous. Rio grinned. Or both.

�Nothing, really,� Garu started casually, keeping his gaze mainly on Rio. It was clear to Rio why that was; Rio knew from prior conversations with Garu that Yu creeped the green-haired boy out. Not enough to truly bother Garu, but enough so that he wouldn�t make any out of the way steps to talk to the younger boy. And naturally, since Yu was introverted and generally tried to avoid other people, no bridges were built between the two boys.

�Right, nothing,� Rio repeated, rolling his eyes. �Please, Garu, I can see that �I�m-plotting-something� look on your face from a mile away. Ne, Yu?�

Yu raised an eyebrow, saying nothing in response to Rio�s comment. Rio mentally sighed, giving up on possibly returning to his conversation with Yu; now that he�s officially back in his shell, there�s no way I�d get him to speak up again. At least not today.

With that thought in mind, Rio turned back to Garu. He prodded, �So? What is it?�

The three boys were still walking away from the field, though Yu was now noticeably in front of Rio and Garu. Rio was walking slowly, his arms raised and his fingers entwined, creating a rest for his head to relax against. Garu, on the other hand, was trudging along beside the sandy-haired boy with one hand gripping his bag and the other being used to illustrate his words. Yu, as usual, was walking with near-perfect stature; his back was straight and his head was high, though he was still shorter than both boys behind him.

�What is it?� Garu repeated, his smirk fading into a mere grin as both of them continued talking. �Nothin� much, actually, no matter what look I have on my face. I just wanted to invite you to the pizza joint. Seriously, everyone is going to be there.�

�Hey, sure!� Rio said with a bright grin, his eyes lighting up at the thought of food. He had been planning on snagging a sandwich and actually looking at his new textbooks for awhile - after all, it was nearly September - but with the prospect of pizza hanging in the balance, studying was a foreign concept to him. �So who�s going, anyway?�

�Ernest is meeting me there,� Garu started, his eyes narrowed as he tried to remember the people he knew. �I know that Leena�s coming; she�s the one who asked me. And Force, I think; he and Aracd might show up.�

Rio listened to Garu with an intrigued expression on his face; it did seem like everyone was going to be there. Ernest was Garu�s best friend and Leena was the green-haired boy�s girlfriend. As for Force and Aracd, they were a couple of soon to be sophomores that sometimes hung out with Garu�s group. Personally, Rio thought that out of the sophomore class, Yu was a better candidate for a friend than either Force or Aracd, but Garu liked them.

�Oh, and one other person.� Garu�s voice suddenly turned sly, the mischievous grin reappearing on his face. �I think her name is Phil...�

�What?� Rio gaped, his maroon eyes widening, �Phil? Phil Deed is going to be there? Aw, man, why didn�t you tell me earlier?!� I could�ve tried to actually look decent instead of like a walking pile of... sweat. Rio frowned irritably, even though he knew that it probably wouldn�t have mattered anyway.

Garu snorted, ��Cause I knew you�d spazz out, that�s why! Shit, Rioroute, you act like a fuckin� psycho when that chick gets involved.�

�Like hell! I just don�t want to look stupid.� Rio defended, scowling at his companion. �Besides, girls are confusing.�

�Now Rio,� Garu began in a mocking tone, �If you two are meant to be together, it won�t matter who looks like what.�

�That a bunch of bullshit and you know it, Garu,� Rio muttered, his momentarily irritated disposition fading. �Oh, well, it doesn�t matter anyway. I heard she�s going out with Yoshino, anyway.�

Garu laughed derisively, scoffing, �That loser? No, I assure you, she�s single. Which is precisely the reason why you�re coming. I mean, you�ve got a thing for her, she possibly has a thing for you, it works!�

�What?� Rio gaped again, mentally reprimanding himself for constantly repeating the same thing. �She does? She likes me?�

�Possibly.� Garu stressed. The green-haired boy looked as if he was going to say more, but at that point in time, the grass ended and the parking lot began. Yu was already taking off his cleats near his car, having effectively tuned out the other boys� conversation.

Garu turned away from Rio, calling out, �I�ll meet you there, �kay?�

�Sure,� Rio replied as he looked around for a place to sit. Ironically enough, his own beat-up car was parked right next to Yu�s brand new Porsche. As he strode up next to the brown-haired boy, Rio conversationally greeted, �How the hell can you afford a Porsche?�

Yu lifted his eyes from where he had been pulling off a shinguard and raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. For a moment, Rio was afraid that he was going to be ignored, but Yu quietly responded, �My adopted parents are rich and like to spoil me.�

�You�re adopted?� Rio repeated incredulously, his eyes widening. He plopped down on the grass next to Yu, yanking off his cleats in a harsh way; at least, it was harsh when compared to Yu�s careful arranging of his equipment. Rio continued, �That�s cool! The only other person I know that�s adopted is Ernest�s little brother.�

�I am adopted,� Yu confirmed as he zipped his soccer bag up. He paused, as if he was debating on saying more, but then added, �As is Kazuhi.�

Rio grinned as he pulled his shin guards off and stuffed them in his bag as quickly as possibly. Jumping up, he responded, �Yeah, you two look way too much alike not to be related.� Though she IS a lot cuter, for obvious reasons. Rio grinned mentally, but he didn�t dare voice his thoughts; not only would the pointless comment irritate Yu, but the last person who had made a sexual reference towards Yu�s little sister had wound up with a concussion.

�Yes,� Yu agreed, casting his eyes to the ground as he began to turn away.

�Ne, Yu! Wait!� yelped Rio suddenly, remembering something. Yu looked back up at him, and Rio grinned, asking, �You want to come to the pizza place, too? It�s going to be a lot of fun, even if Garu is kind of a jerk sometimes. I mean, Leena�s gonna be there, and so is Ernest and Phil and most likely Tune, if Ernest is there. It�ll be fun.�

Yu looked back at Rio passively, his gray eyes blank. Briefly, Rio thought he saw a ghost of a smile on the younger boy�s face before Yu replied, �I apologize, but Kazuhi has a violin recital. I promised her that I would attend.�

�That�s all right,� Rio commented, shrugging. A part of him felt let down, mainly because it actually seemed like Yu would possibly have come. Usually, Yu turned down invitations to events without a second though, as few and far between as they were. In any case, Rio grinned and stated, �Hey, wish Kazuhi good luck for me!�

�I shall,� was Yu�s response and way of saying goodbye. The brown-haired boy immediately turned and walked to the front seat of his car, saying no more.

Rio, left standing, only shrugged and partially rolled his eyes at Yu�s dismissal. At least he actually spoke to me. Rio thought, trudging slowly over to his car. He fought off a yawn as he climbed into the driver�s seat and tossed his bag unceremoniously into the back. That�s more than practically the entire world can say.

But team relations didn�t really matter to him at the moment, and Rio was grinning as he started the car. Switching on the radio as he buckled his seatbelt, Rio was pleased to hear the opening cords to an upbeat song playing; LFO�s new hit, if he wasn�t mistaken. He pulled out of the parking lot singing along with the music.

 

Intuition tells me how to live my day
Intuition tells me when to walk away
Could have turned left
Could have turned right
But I ended up here
Bang in the middle of real life

 

�The life of the party is here!� was Rio�s greeting as he walked into the brightly lit pizza parlor. Scattered groans and a few eye rolls met him, as well as two wadded up napkins and a plastic fork. Rio grinned brightly; it was good to be loved.

The pizza parlor was brand new and high-tech; there were fluorescent lights and sparkling bar stools everywhere, not to mention a video game area that put most restaurants to shame; Pac-Man and The Claw Game were not to be seen in this restaurant, that was for sure. The entire place was arranged in a unique and truly cool way. Generally, the place was more or less busy, but today, the place was packed. Rio found himself gaping in something akin to amazement; it seemed like everyone from school was there.

�Rio!� was Garu�s greeting from the middle of the store. The green-haired boy was sitting with Leena on one side and Ernest on the other, while Tune and Phil sat across from them. Rio didn�t see Force or Aracd, but that was fine with him; he�d sooner have the younger boys leave them alone anyway, but Garu liked them and Rio didn�t care enough to actually caused a fight about it. Then there was also the fact that no matter what Rio did, Garu would find a way to win; in the end, it would just equate to pointless stress.

�Hey, all!� Rio chirped cheerfully, a jocose expression etched on his face. He plopped down next to Phil, ignoring the slight twinges of nervousness in his stomach; she looked at him with a laughing expression. Rio, deliberately ignoring her so that he wouldn�t do anything too fatuous, raised an eyebrow at Garu. �Have you guys ordered yet?�

�Yeah. Two large, one pepperoni and one with everything.� Garu responded, sipping from his large Pepsi. �I figured that you�d be coming soon, so you�re set. As long as you pay for your share.�

�Garu, I�m shocked.� Rio replied, an aghast expression on his face that belied his sarcastic undertones. �When have I ever not paid for my own food?�

�Oh, I don�t know, always?� Garu rolled his eyes. �You always seem to find a way out of paying for the bill.�

�And yet, you keep inviting him,� was Ernest�s calm intervention from the corner. Garu glared at the blond-haired boy, who only gave a small smirk and went back to munching on a breadstick.

�Whatever. All that matters is that this time, no matter what, you�re paying for your food.� Garu instructed Rio sternly. �You�re not leaving the facility until you fork over some money, and that�s a fact.�

�But Garu, I left my wallet in the car and-�

�Like hell. Your wallet is in your pocket, like it always is. You have cash, and if not, you have a checkbook.� Garu responded calmly, leveling a stern and irritated glare at Rio. �I know you do; I stole it from you last year, remember?�

Rio raised an eyebrow, the cheerful grin never leaving his face. He knew what incident Garu was referring to; it happened a year ago when the entire group had gone to the pool. To make a long story short, it ended up with Garu nearly getting arrested - for the third time - and using Rio�s ID to try and pledge innocence. It hadn�t worked, since Garu and Rio looked about as similar as night and twilight, and Garu conveniently forgot to return Rio�s wallet afterwards. In the end, Rio had been forced to resort to desperate measures to get his items back.

�Yeah, I remember,� was Rio�s calm response, and he smirked. �So, how long did it take you to get the strawberry Jell-O out of your car?�

Garu�s eyebrow twitched. �Shut up.�

�Hey, guys, let�s just forget about the past for awhile, okay?� Leena intervened, a compassionate expression on her face. Rio could tell that she was getting irritated with the debate; her eyes were glinting in agitation. �I mean, we came here to relax, right?�

�Fine,� Garu muttered, but it was with no irritation. Leena smiled kindly at him, grateful; after all, it wasn�t often that Garu would be so appeasable.

Rio was about to agree as well, but from beside him he heard a giggle. Looking down at Phil, he raised an eyebrow as he heard her say, �You have to admit, though - seeing Garu freak out about the Jell-O was one of the most hilarious things I�ve ever seen.�

That did it; Leena, Tune and Phil burst into giggles and Garu glowered at them. Rio was just smirking cheerfully, knowing for a fact that he had two taped copies of the aforementioned incident. Ernest, in contrast, was merely looking around the restaurant, either uninterested in the conversation or trying not to look for fear that it would cause a chain effect on him.

�Okay, okay, guys,� Rio calmly intervened after a moment, realizing that Garu was verging on snapping and Ernest was looking mildly irritated. �I know it�s funny and all that, but - HA!� With this proclamation, Rio pointed a finger at Garu�s face, cracking up laughing himself.

Garu, being true to his character, immediately lunged at the sandy-haired boy.

�SHUT UP, you ANNOYING-!� the green-haired boy yelled as he leapt at Rio, who immediately ducked behind a chair and tried to hide from his friend�s fury. All around the restaurant, people had stopped their conversations and were now watching the two of them. Rio, always ready to entertain, made sure to make a show of this attack.

�Aw, c�mon, Garu! I�m right here! Come and get me!� Rio taunted from behind the steel chair. Garu looked pissed, but Rio could tell that he wasn�t really angry; Garu loved the attention just as much as Rio did. Sure, the green-haired boy was upset with Rio, but not as much as his expression would imply.

�You are DEAD, Rio!�

�Gotta catch me first, ne?� With that, Rio faked to the right and quickly doubled left as he saw Garu falling for it. He instantly ran to the nearest group of people he could find and grabbed a random person by the arms, hiding behind the form he had seized.

�What on Earth-?� was the person�s response, and Rio suddenly perked up as he recognized the voice. Immediately, he glomped the voice�s owner.

�Zero!� Rio chirped cheerfully as he saw Garu stalking toward him. Rio looked down at the boy in his grasp curiously, saying, �It�s been so long since I�ve seen you! Wanna help me live a few more minutes?�

�Okay!� Zero agreed immediately, as soon as he realized that it was just Rio who had grabbed him and not some serial killer or anything. As Garu approached, Zero perked up and smiled at the green-haired boy, ignoring his menacing glare. �Hiya, Gareas! I know you from Ernest, ne? Ne? He�s Erts� older brother, ne?�

Garu looked slightly taken aback by Zero�s cheerfulness, but his glare stayed level. Slowly, he stated, �Stop protecting Rio and let me kill him, Zero.�

Rio peeked out from where he was cowered behind Zero and gave Garu a small wave, smirking. Garu�s eyes flared and his fists clenched as Zero responded, �But Gareas, Rio was going to help me with my, um, geometry homework, and he can�t do that very well if he�s dead, ne? Besides, Kizna thinks he�s cute; ne, Kizna?�

�ZERO!� gasped a pink-haired girl standing beside him. She looked furious, but Rio just grinned. Kizna snapped, �I do N-!� before Rio interrupted her.

�You think I�m cute? Really?� Rio asked with mock wide eyes, and he winked at her. �Aw, that�s great! I think you�re cute, too!� Rio moved away from Zero, glomping the younger girl and patting her on the head. �She has good taste, ne, Garu? Ne?�

Garu said nothing in reply, but merely lunged at Rio yet again, making the sandy-haired boy �eep� in protest and dodge away. Both boys ran off, leaving the startled group of younger teenagers in their wake, confused. Briefly, Rio heard something along the lines of �I�m going to kill you, Zero!� before being distracted by Garu�s fist nearly hitting his cheek. Rio winced; methinks I need to rethink this whole �pissing Garu off� thing...

The chase went on for a few moments longer before Garu cornered Rio and pinned the sandy-haired boy against the wall. Once there, Rio gave Garu a meek and sheepish grin, requesting, �Um... please don�t kill me. It�s a federal offense, after all.�

Garu said nothing, continuing to glower at Rio and waiting as the latter boy soaked up the nearly palpable aura of foreboding that surrounded both of them. After a moment, it appeared that Garu was going to reply, but he was cut off by a soft �ahem� from behind them. Both Rio and Garu turned slightly to see Ernest standing beside them, one eyebrow raised as he regarded both of them with a reproving stare.

�I do believe that you�ve made your point Garu, and I doubt that Rio wants to get beaten up.� Ernest admonished calmly, stepping forward to remove Garu�s hand from Rio�s shoulder. �Besides, the manager says that if you two don�t stop, he�s going to permanently ban both of you. That wouldn�t be cool. So stop.�

Garu and Rio exchanged brief but significant glances and in the end, Garu released Rio without another word. All three boys made their way back to the table quietly, trying hard to ignore the baffled and incredulous stares from the rest of the crowd. Rio grinned, Garu scowled, and Ernest blushed slightly as they walked back to their booth.

Once they arrived, Rio realized that all three girls were staring at them with disapproving stares. Garu sat down in a huff, ignoring them, but both Ernest and Rio stood there sheepishly. Briefly, Rio wondered why Ernest was embarrassed - he didn�t even DO anything! - but didn�t think much about it. He had more important things to think about, after all; like, say, the fact that Phil was looking irritated.

Rio grinned guiltily and put his hand on the back of his head, saying, �Well, ah, it was fun while it lasted, ne?�


 

Then another one always says - she'd do anything to get ahead
She doesn't care if she has to scratch and claw to get in the door
She wants her 15 minutes of fame and 20 would be nice
But I guess it's her life

 

It took awhile for the girls to calm down, and for around ten minutes, the boys had to listen to Leena, Tune, and Phil telling them how stupid they had acted and how embarrassing that was. Rio doubted that Garu was even listening, though Ernest managed to look scolded for the green-haired boy. Rio had to hand it to Ernest: the boy sure knew how to look pathetic when he wanted to. Eventually, Tune was upset because Ernest looked so hurt and Leena kept trying to hug him and say that it wasn�t his fault; everyone knew it wasn�t. That left Phil as the only one left for reproving Garu and Rio, and she didn�t have enough energy to keep yelling at them.

Rio grinned to himself as he heard the topic switch to something that had happened at the mall the other day; even if the topic was dull, at least it meant that the girls had forgiven them. Honestly, Rio thought as he fiddled with a napkin, a bored expression on his face, I thought those girls would NEVER shut up...

Just as he was thinking this, Rio heard a shout from the corner of the restaurant. He perked up, interested, and turned to see what the commotion was about.

A big group was gathered by a booth, and after a second glance, Rio could see that it was Zero�s crowd. For a moment, Rio thought of ignoring the incident, but the general ambiance of the corner was hostile, and Rio figured that he owed Zero something for helping him out earlier. Stealing a glance at the rest of the group, Rio realized that he wouldn�t be missed. He was the only one who had noticed the shout; everyone else was busy talking about a new teacher coming to the school who was supposed to be a total jerk. Quietly, Rio slipped away from the booth. Thank GOD I�m on the aisle seat; I�d never get out if someone actually had to move for me.

Casually, Rio made his way over to the crowd by the booth, a curious expression on his face. He found himself standing by a short, gruff-looking kid and a thin, green-haired boy; the latter of which was hiding behind the short kid with a frightened expression on his face. It didn�t really matter who was standing by him, though; Rio�s eyes were fixed on Zero, who was at the moment glaring daggers at a white-haired boy.

�I told you, Hiead, leave us alone!� Zero snapped, looking irritated. Erts and Kizna were seated inside the booth, with Zero on the aisle. Across from them sat a red-haired girl and a blue-haired one, and the three other people (the short kid, the scared kid, and a really tall girl) were standing around the booth.

The white-haired boy, apparently named Hiead, only smirked. His arms were crossed smugly across his chest and he replied, �Zero Enna. So nice to have a proper greeting.�

�Go away!� was Zero�s irritated reply, �Thanks to you, I don�t have pizza anymore, you jerk!� Zero gestured towards the ground, where Rio could see the remains of a plate of pizza. Zero continued, �All this over some stupid soccer thing! You�re sitting because you got a red card, not because I did anything!�

�It�s your fault, Enna!� Hiead retorted coldly, his eyes narrowed. �You disgust me. All you ever do is goof off; I can�t believe that Azuma even plays you.�

�I�m good, you moron!� Zero responded, rolling his eyes. �Whether you want to admit it or not! Everyone seems to know it but you.�

�You�re pathetic, Zero Enna.� At this point, Hiead�s brief burst of anger disappeared; a calm disposition came over him once again. Hiead smirked. �I�m going to win, Enna.�

For a moment, it looked like there was going to be an all-out brawl in the restaurant, and Rio tensed up nervously. Not only would it be bad for yet another fight to start up, but Rio knew for a fact that Zero was a good fighter. That meant that Hiead probably was, too, if he was challenging the brown-haired boy, and Rio didn�t look forward to breaking those two up - which he knew he�d have to. Maybe if Garu was with him, he would feel more confident, but - he took a brief look over his shoulder - Garu was still in his pissy mood and was listening to Leena talk about something. As he was looking, Rio suddenly realized that someone was missing-

�What�s going on here?� a voice asked softly from behind him, and Rio jumped slightly.

Plastering on a wide grin to hide his surprise, Rio turned; he was met with the curious face of Phil, who was trying to observe what was occurring. At the moment, Zero and Hiead were snapping at each other - Zero had stood up - and Erts was hastily trying to calm Zero down.

�Uh... what�s happening?� Rio repeated dumbly, his eyes wide. Quickly, he scanned his brain for something intelligent to say; it was hard for him to summarize what was going on with so little information. �Well, apparently, Zero and this Hiead kid hate each other.�

�Oh?� Phil questioned, edging in front of Rio to get a better look. Rio thought about saying something, but his thoughts were cut short as something happened.

Erts, trying to calm Zero down, had stood up and moved out of the booth. Before the blond-haired boy could efficiently try and tone down the hostile ambiance, Hiead�s hand shot out and grabbed him by the shirt. Erts� eyes widened in surprise; it was obvious that he hadn�t expected the attack.

Hiead smirked at Erts, who looked like he was debating on either fleeing nervously or trying to forcibly make Hiead release him. Cruelly, Hiead hissed, �So, how�s everyone�s favorite fag today?�

That was all Hiead was able to say, because Zero�s sense of containment had instantly disappeared when Hiead grabbed Erts. Lunging at his enemy, Zero pried Hiead�s hand from Erts� shirt and shoved the white-haired boy into a wall.

Pinning Hiead against the barrier, Zero hissed, �Don�t you ever touch Erts.�

�Aw, worried about your boyfriend?� Hiead responded, smirking and raising an eyebrow. �Cute, Enna. Nice taste, though. He�s so pretty.�

This comment only infuriated Zero more, and he pulled back his fist, prepared to have it meet Hiead�s face yet again. Rio, standing off to the side and watching the incident, suddenly realized what was going on.

Ooohhh, shit. Not good.

�Ne, Zero!� Rio called out quickly, much to the surprise of Phil and all of the other kids standing around. Zero paused, glancing at Rio out the corner of his eye, looking confused and slightly pissed for being interrupted. Rio, his face perfectly serious, apprised, �You do know that if you punch that asshole, you�ll get kicked for two weeks, ne? I think that what he wants.�

Zero�s eyes widened in understanding, and he immediately pushed away from Hiead, who looked irritated about having his plan ruined. The white-haired boy snarled at Rio, �Who the fuck are you, anyway?�

�Name�s Rioroute Vilgyna!� Rio replied cheerfully, grinning brightly. He wasn�t stupid; no, he was just playing the odds. Rio knew that if he acted tough and, well, Garu-like, Hiead would most likely get angry and try to start another fight. Acting blithe seemed to be the best option for Rio at the moment. Besides, that always works on TV, ne? Rio thought, Oh, well, if it doesn�t, I can get Garu over here, and I KNOW that Garu can kick this guy�s ass.

Hiead glowered at Rio for a few seconds and the rest of group waited in silence. For a moment, Rio was slightly fearful that Hiead was about to attack him (which would be extremely hard to explain to the manager of the store), but just as the white-haired boy was going to say something, another voice broke through.

�What the fuck is going on here?� Garu snapped, sounding as annoyed as he looked. Rio�s eyes widened in surprise as he saw his friend; he hadn�t expected Garu to actually come. The group of kids parted slightly to allow Garu in, and Rio was pleased to see that he was followed by Ernest and Leena; Tune was hovering behind Leena, looking as nervous as Rio felt. Garu, obviously the spokesman for the group, continued, �C�mon. Tell me. I want to know.�

�Hiead�s being an ass,� Zero informed him, shooting Hiead a �ha!� glare. �He said some stuff to Erts.� This, Rio knew, was only part of what Hiead had done, but even Zero knew that talking about Erts was a way to thoroughly piss Garu off; Erts was his best friend�s little brother and Garu would be damned if he�d let anyone be a jerk to the younger boy.

�What�s that?� Garu snapped immediately, clenching a fist. He stepped forward to glower menacingly at Hiead; Hiead, for his credit, did nothing but glare back. Garu hissed, �What the fuck are you trying to pull, asshole?�

Hiead said nothing, but smirked and narrowed his eyes into slits. Rio watched nervously; he did not want a fight to start. But with the belligerent ambiance, Rio was afraid that a fight was unavoidable, especially considering the how irritable Garu sounded.

The tension was mounting to unnatural heights, and Rio could sense it solidifying in the air; it was an almost palpable sensation, as if the apprehension could be cut with a knife. Rio was considering trying to lighten the mood (even though he knew that it probably wouldn�t work) when another voice interfered.

�That�s it!� the voice snapped, and everyone turned to look at a tall, scrawny man in a blue uniform. He looked Hispanic; his eyes were dark and his black hair was curly. On his shirt was a pin that read �My Name is Mark : Manager.� The man, Mark, continued, �You kids are disrupting the other customers. Get out now.�

There was silence as the order sunk into the group of kids, who stared at the astute man with a mixture of baffled and irritated expressions. Mark grew impatient as the children showed no signs of leaving, and he repeated, �Get out now, before I have to call the police. Go on. Now!�

�B-but,� Rio began, the first person to break the silence, �We haven�t gotten our foo-�

�GO!�

 

'Cause intuition tells me that I'm doin' fine
Intuition tells me when to draw the line
Could have turned left
Could have turned right
But I ended up here
Bang in the middle of real life
Should have turned left
But I turned right
And I ended up here
And I feel alright

 

�Well, this sucks,� was Rio�s muttered comment, irritated at the establishment that had just thrown him out. Annoyed, he kicked a lone pop can onto the street. �I mean, c�mon, they could have at least let us get something to eat before we left, ne?�

�Shut up, Rio,� Garu snapped back. �It�s your fault that we got kicked out in the first place.�

The parking lot was dark, and the six friends sat on the side of the road. Well, Rio and Leena sat on the side of the road, at least; Garu was leaning disgruntledly against the wall of some old building while Ernest calmly stood next to him, the latter boy not looking the least bit perturbed at Garu�s grumpy disposition. Phil was seated on a small pile of wooden boxes and Tune stood in propinquity to her; the pale-haired girl didn�t want to risk getting dirty from the less than sanitary boxes, but Phil didn�t seem to care too much about a bit of dirt.

Rio stopped looking at the ground and swiveled around to glare at Garu momentarily. �My fault? I didn�t do anything. It was you who decided to go all psycho controller on the whole thing, not me!�

�Yeah, but I wouldn�t have even noticed if you hadn�t gone over there in the first place!� Garu snarled in reply, glowering at Rio with equal intensity. �And besides, you and I both know that you were about to get your ass kicked.�

�I could�ve won!�

�Please, Rio, you�re, like, the least violent guy I know, excluding Ernest.� was Garu�s reasoning. �You and I both know that you can�t fight worth shit. Not that you�re a pansy or anything, but you�d get your ass kicked in an actual street fight.�

Rio turned back around and stared at the cement underneath his feet. He frowned, repeating, �I could�ve won.�

Garu chose to ignore that comment, instead turning to Ernest. The green-haired boy poked the blonde lightly as he asked, �You want to go get some burgers?�

�That sounds fine,� Ernest replied, moving away from the wall as he reached a hand up to straighten his hair. Garu likewise moved from the side of the building, turning to Leena.

�What about you, Leena?� Garu asked, �Up for McDonalds?�

�No, I was going to go home soon anyway,� Leena replied as she stood up, leaving Rio sitting alone on the curb. The sandy-haired boy looked up as she moved, an eyebrow raised, but he said nothing. Briefly, a compassionate look crossed Leena�s face - Rio wasn�t usually this quiet; apparently, Garu�s analysis had gotten to him - but it soon faded away. Rio hadn�t ever been one of Leena�s close friends, though they did talk to each other every so often. Leena brushed off her pants as she continued, �I need to go home and do some of my chores anyway; my mom has really be hassling me about that lately.�

Garu shrugged in a non-committable way, a gesture which Leena took in stride. �Tune? Phil? Coming?�

�I�m sorry, but Leena�s my ride home.� Tune replied apologetically, looking sincerely upset that she was going to miss out on the outing. She gave a soft smile, saying, �Perhaps next time I�ll be able to, but if Leena isn�t going, then-�

�It�s quite all right, Tune,� Ernest interrupted with an almost comforting hint. �I�m sure you�ll make it next time.�

Tune said nothing in return, but turned away from the group slightly. From his angle, Rio thought he could see a faint tint of blush on her cheeks, though it could have just been his imagination.

�I�d like to come, Garu, I really would, but I don�t have a ride.� Phil said, shrugging. �And I�m not going with Leena, either, so actually, I�m stuck here until my mother comes to get me.�

Garu frowned. �Well, shit, I could give you a ride-�

�Yeah, except that I live on the other side of town.� Phil retorted calmly. �Forget it. Besides, my mom said that I can�t go anywhere but the pizza place anyway, so I�m stuck here unless I go home.�

There was a bout of silence as Phil�s predicament sunk in, and Rio felt a pang of worry for the red-haired girl. Not that she couldn�t protect herself; no, it was the fact that it was after dark. Rio knew that the pizza parlor wasn�t exactly in a wonderful neighborhood to begin with, but during the night it was practically crawling with miscreants. This was precisely the reason that Rio decided to open his prodigiously large mouth yet again.

�I�ll bring you home, Phil!� Rio chirped brightly, and then winced at how unprecedented the comment was. It came from out of nowhere; everyone else stared at him with startled looks on their faces. Briefly, Rio thought, don�t you DARE blush! before Phil grinned at him.

�Really? Great!� was the auburn-haired girl�s response as she smiled. �I was going to have to wait for a least another hour until my mom got off work, and this way I won�t have to! Thanks, Rio!�

�I though you would�ve wanted to come and get burgers,� Garu replied incredulously, though Rio could sense the sly and victorious glint in his eyes. From Garu�s side, Rio heard Ernest sigh softly, but he paid the blond-haired boy no heed. He had bigger problems to deal with; like, say, trying to convince the rest of the group that he wasn�t volunteering for any selfish, crush-induced reasons, even though it was blatantly obvious that he was.

�Well, uh - I�m bored, and I, ah, just want to go home, I guess, so...� Rio babbled for a moment, slowly realizing that he was just making the situation worse. He was going to give his defense another shot before Phil interrupted him.

�It doesn�t matter,� she muttered, rolling her eyes and smiling. �But, c�mon. It�s getting cold.� With that stated, Phil grabbed Rio by the wrist, leading him towards the adjacent parking lot. Rio, taken by surprise, was barely able to wave goodbye to the others before he was pulled away.


 

You make it hard for me
Can't find the real you
You really think that I can't see
What it is that you're trying to do


 

�So, ah, what classes are you taking next year?� Rio asked as he gripped the wheel tightly; he was nervous, though he tried not to appear that way, and his mind was frantically trying to find conversation topics.

Phil shrugged from her seat opposite him, her seatbelt fastened securely across her shoulder. She looked over at him, replying, �I�m not sure, exactly. I know that I signed up for Art Metals 2, but I�m not sure if there are going to be enough people.�

�Why wouldn�t there be?�

�I guess that a lot of people at our school don�t like it enough to take it a second year,� was Phil�s response as she turned away from him and focused her gaze on the road. She was frowning slightly, an expression that Rio thought didn�t really fit her; she should be smiling! I don�t like it when she�s upset, Rio thought glumly after chancing a quick glance at the auburn-haired girl. He couldn�t do it for long, for the obvious reason that he was driving, but also because he didn�t want Phil to think he was staring. He knew for a fact that she didn�t like that.

�I could take it with you,� someone said, and it took a few moments for Rio to realize that he was the one to say that. Briefly, a part of him wondered, Where the HELL did THAT come from?, before Phil interrupted his thoughts by smiling brightly.

�Really?� Phil asked, her green eyes wide and curious. From Rio�s nervously baffled expression, she understood that he hadn�t truly meant it, but her smile remained. �That�s sweet of you to offer, even if you don�t want to.�

�Ah, well,� Rio began, feeling his cheeks turn hot, �I just - ah, well, it does sound like an interesting class, even if it�s kind of, um, dangerous and stuff...�

Wonderful, Romeo. Shakespeare couldn�t have done better. You�re such an IDIOT! Rio thought bitterly, mentally kicking himself. Phil�s expression had turned from pleased to confused rather quickly, which proved to be Rio�s reason for feeling stupid.

�Um - okay,� commented Phil slowly, her expression confounded as she stared at the sandy-haired driver.

Rio blushed slightly, biting the inside of his lip to keep from babbling out an apology. Resiliently, he brought up a different topic, �Anyway, how�s softball?�

�It�s okay,� Phil replied, looking away from Rio and staring out the window. She continued, �Districts is this weekend, so everyone is really nervous and stuff.�

�Are you?�

Phil shrugged, �Kind of. I mean, I think that my team will do well, and well, I guess that I have a pretty simple job. As long as I do pull my shoulder or something, I can pitch pretty well.�

Rio grinned. �Have you ever hit anyone?�

�Of course not!� Phil replied indignantly, frowning at Rio. Rio kept smirking and Phil sighed, rolling her eyes and saying, �Okay, fine - a few times. Not recently.�

�That�s cool,� murmured Rio. He couldn�t think of anything else to say; for some reason, his way of being able to talk about anything and everything was waning, most likely because he didn�t want to say something stupid in front of Phil. He wasn�t like this with most girls; usually, he would just flirt a lot, watch them laugh and feel proud that he was able to make them do that. But Phil had never gone for that; the few times he had tried flirting with her had ended up in anger, as she would become irritated with him. Because of this, Rio had no idea what to do around Phil, and that scared him slightly. He was used to knowing how to talk to girls.

Silence descended upon the car for the rest of the trip; Rio couldn�t think of any conversation topics and it seemed to him that Phil was deliberately trying to avoid speaking with him. Rio was worried about this, afraid that he had said something to irritate her yet again. They hadn�t hit it off when they first met, so to speak (in actuality, most girls wanted to go out with Rio once they met him, though it never seemed to last more than a month or so), and so Rio was constantly afraid of doing something that would make Phil dislike him.

It didn�t take long for the two of them to reach Phil�s house, which was located on the outskirts of town. Rio had never been to her house, so he was interested to see what it looked like; it was a large house, though not irrationally so, and it was off-white with a dark green trim. It seemed likely that her house would be nicely built, as it was in the newest development in town. All of the house out by where Phil lived were nice and gave off the impression of being rich, though Rio knew that it was just a moderately expensive house.

Rio smiled as he pulled into the driveway, placing the car in park and turning to look over at Phil. The auburn-haired girl had unbuckled her seat belt and was proceeding to pick up her bag when she looked up and caught his gaze. Phil paused, and then sat up and stared straight back at him.

�What?� she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rio grinned brightly, glad that it was night and his blush wouldn�t seem so apparent. Sheepishly, he replied, �Ah - nothing. Just, um...� Suddenly, an idea struck him, and Rio continued, �Well, a lot of us are going swimming tomorrow at the lake, and I was wondering if you�d come.�

�Okay,� Phil agreed without missing a beat. She had been doing stuff with the group a lot that summer, even though she usually didn�t hang out with them at school, so it didn�t seem odd that she was invited to this event. �Well, I should go-�

�Wait,� interrupted Rio, and this time he was sure that she saw his blush. Pausing for a moment before speaking, Rio nervously tapped his fingers on his steering wheel, a habit that he had been trying to get rid of. Taking a deep breath, Rio asked, �Afterwards, would... wouldyouliketogetdinner? Justthetwoofus?�

Phil looked taken aback; her eyes went wide and then narrowed, and she seemed to be extremely tense. Hesitantly, Phil questioned, �Excuse me?�

�Ah - would you like to go out to dinner with me?� Rio repeated more slowly, now clenching the wheel with a tight grip. Mentally, he was reeling, and Rio was surprised that he wasn�t totally freaking out on the outside. He was trembling slightly, which expressed how nervous he was, though he tried to stop. You shouldn�t be nervous! You�ve gone out on plenty of dates! Rio snapped at himself. He paused before continuing, �Just you and me. On... a date. With me.�

Phil didn�t reply for a moment, and her face was virtually unreadable. Rio�s nerves were jumping everywhere; he was picturing the possible outcomes of this scenario. One, where Phil jumped into his arms, kissed him, and said, �Of course! Of course!� over and over again, though for some reason, Rio couldn�t see that happening. Then, of course, there was the opposite of that, where Phil gave him a snappy, �No,� and slammed the door in his face. Rio was tense, unsure of Phil�s reaction and afraid that she would reject him. It took a few moments for Phil to reply, and when she did, Rio was wide-eyed with anticipation.

Phil smiled slightly, as if she was still trying not to express herself, and responded, �All right. You can talk to me at the lake tomorrow and we can arrange a time. Is that okay?�

�Uh - yeah, sure!� Rio gaped, though he swiftly recovered from his initial shock. �I�ll find a few places that are possible and we can talk about it tomorrow. All right?�

�Great,� Phil replied, opening the door and stepping out. She gave Rio a smile and said, �I�ll see you tomorrow, then.� The door of the car closed lightly and Phil proceeded to walk up the driveway towards her house.

Rio watched as she went, under the pretense of waiting until she was inside to leave. In reality, he was recovering from the shock of what had just happened, thrilled that he had succeeded in his attempt. Only when Phil was already inside did Rio pull out of the driveway, almost as if he was on autopilot. A small voice in his head was cheering, �I did it! I did it!�, but Rio kept his cool. After all, he had just asked Phil Deed out. He was cool.

It was only after Rio had gone a few blocks that he stopped the car, turned the stereo up loudly, and shouted, �YES!�


 

'Cause intuition tells me how to live my day
Intuition tells me when to walk away
Could have turned left
Could have turned right
But I ended up here
Bang in the middle of real life
Should have turned left
But I turned right
And I ended up here
And I feel all right


 

Rio closed the door to his car, humming slightly as he went. He was in a good mood, for obvious reasons, and it felt like nothing could bring him down. Not even when Kazu shoved him into the wall as he walked in did he get upset; he merely smiled brightly at his older brother and continued on to his room, leaving Kazu to stare at him with a baffled expression on his face.

Once he was in his room, Rio pulled out his laptop (a gift from his grandmother for his sixteenth birthday, which Rio was supposed to use for college) and immediately logged onto his account. Once he was on, Rio was pleased to see that Garu was also on. Instantly, Rio sent him a message.


feed_mefood: I did it! I did it!


It took awhile for Garu to respond, but when he did, he was curious.


topgun: What do you mean?
feed_mefood: I asked Phil out!
topgun: Cool - when are you going?
feed_mefood: Tomorrow, after the lake.
topgun: Finally.
feed_mefood: What do you mean by that?
topgun: You�ve been wanting to go out with her for freakin� forever.
feed_mefood: Yeah, yeah! Whatever! I did it! :D
topgun: Great. Maybe you could double with me and Leena sometime.
feed_mefood: Maybe.


They spoke for awhile longer, but soon Garu said he had to leave due to certain irritating younger brothers, which Rio could relate to. After Garu left, Rio got off as well, not feeling up to talking to Leena or Force, who were also on. Instead, Rio sat in front of his computer for a few minutes, staring at his background, which displayed a group of motorcross racers (that was Garu�s idea, after he had seen Rio�s previous background of clouds. In Garu�s opinion, the earlier background had been, �Sickening and wrong.�) Soon, Rio grew tired of staring at his computer screen, so he turned it off and tucked the laptop away.

Rio spent the next fifteen minutes getting ready for bed; he usually didn�t go to bed as early as he was that night (it was only 9:30), but for some reason, Rio was tired. Most likely from soccer, he assumed, though he supposed that some of it could be attributed to the events of the night. First going to soccer, then getting into a fight with Garu, getting kicked out of the pizza place (for only a month, apparently, after the blue-haired girl - Wrecka? - had sweet-talked the manager into letting them off easy), and then asking Phil out. It had taken its toll on Rio, in terms of excitement.

After he had showered, brushed his teeth, and changed into his pajamas, Rio flopped down on his bed and pulled the covers over himself. He took a few moments to get comfortable, but soon he found himself falling slowly into sleep. Rio smiled as he did so, feeling an almost palpable happiness from his chest; he had asked Phil out and they were going to go to dinner tomorrow. This would be after going to the lake with Garu and the others, which was always fun. And if he was lucky, Rio would be able to go to school with Phil as his girlfriend and a starting spot on the varsity soccer team...

Slowly, Rio drifted off to sleep, a smile on his face.



 

And I feel all right