*ahem, couch……cough, cough* *wiggles fingers over the keyboard*

Let’s see…. Haven’t done this is a while. I’m rather lazy as of late, can’t seem to find it in me to write anything. I need some good motivation once in a while. Anyways, sorry bout that, I’ll try to write more faster, don’t really have a good excuse ‘cept that I have to wake up at 5 in the morning just to get ready for school >.> <.< >.> that’s just too early…. Anyways, here’s the chapter. Have fun.

Bebop High

By: Setryochi

* * *

“Shin, Lin,” Spike pointed to them as he said there names, “this is Faye. Faye, Shin, Lin.”

Faye waved weakly saying a soft “hi” seeming to not care so much.

Shin and Lin both waved back at the same time smiling happily not noticing her un-interest. Spike coughed and began to explain, “These are my cousins--the ones I was telling you about.”

“Um, that’s great! But, let’s go, I’m hungry!” She smiled to the twins and began to wave and pull Spike along with her.

“Hey, that sounds like fun!” Lin said all but inviting himself to go. Faye stopped in her tracks her fake smile failing, “it’s eating, eating isn’t fun.” She sighed as Spike invited them both. Faye slumped a bit and started for the car slower then she had been before. Spike followed behind her chatting casually with the dreaded cousins.

‘Is it so much to want a quiet lunch with a friend alone on a nice day? And on one of the very few days we have before SCHOOL starts?’ She thought bitterly.

They all piled into the car Spike driving, Faye in the passenger seat, and the twins in the back. The ride was short but somewhat uncomfortable. Faye was slightly, only slightly, irritated with the boys chatter. Spike seemed to observe her irritation because he became uneasy with talking to her. He didn’t want to have to deal with PMS Faye because that was just a nightmare. And anyways, they’re his cousins and if he wanted to invite them he could, why should he care about the half-wench (half-wench because they‘re better friends now)?

Well, she did kind of suggest this, and he kind of didn’t tell her his cousins were over at the moment when she had called, and maybe he should have told them to stay home… But he had to entertain them some how right? They were his guests (sort of) after all! He’d get her a double fudge, extra large brownie over chocolate ice cream, that’d make her happier.

* *

“Oh! Yummy!” She squealed happily licking her lips at the tasty treat in front of her. Her eyes were glazed over slightly as she dug her spoon into the thick chocolaty goodness. Lunch had gone over quietly on Faye’s side, she hadn’t eaten much, she seemed rather upset over something, Spike couldn’t tell what. Shin and Lin didn’t seem to notice her loathing of them so they kept talking t her and asking her questions. Well, at least Lin did, being the more talkative one. Shin just watched quietly, Faye was pleasing to the eyes.

When the chocolate and Faye met was when she had first really smiled with true happiness. Chocolate was to Faye what life was to a dying man. With her fudge oozing brownie over chocolate ice cream she was able to block out all the bad things and just melt like the ice cream under the warm (and very yummy) brownie.

‘She’s even prettier when she smiles,” Shin thought smiling a little. “Most women wouldn’t dare eat that. They’d be afraid of getting fat.” He said bluntly.

Spike nearly choked as the spoon came to rest in Faye’s mouth. She glared at him about to say something to him when he said, “But a beautiful woman such as yourself wouldn’t have to worry about something like that.” Faye slowly smiled to him, “You’re not really Spike’s cousin! You couldn’t possibly be related to him, he would never compliment a gorgeous woman like me properly.”

Spike fell out of his chair awkwardly. The other occupants of the table looked at him startled by his sudden action. He looked up a bit angry but the emotion was gone from his face by the time he sat back down in his chair. Faye and Shin talked for a while and Lin tortured Spike with his constant chatter.

Spike grumbled unhappily, cousins suck.

* *

Spike and Faye sat silently in the car. He was driving her home after dropping the twins off at the hotel they were staying at. Faye watched the scenery drift by lazily. Today was a bad good day--the kind of day that started bad and ended pretty good. This time instead of being called a name or being told she ate too much or was a leach, she was complimented. And although Spike’s cousin was two years younger than her, he was still kind of cute and two years wasn’t so bad anyways. She sighed; his cousins were leaving soon though, so she wouldn’t see Shin again until sometime in the distant future. She could live without Lin, he wasn’t so bad, but he talked an awful lot.

“If you think too hard your brain might ooze out of your ears.” Spike told her nonchalantly.

“I was just thinking about that.”

“About what?”

“How much of a jerk you are and how nice your cousin Shin was.”

Spike coughed slightly and didn’t turn to look at her. “Are you coming down sick? You’ve been coughing a lot lately.” She said to him.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine. Ya know it’s just like you.” She began to explain, “you get some crazy disease or you loose a limb and ‘you’re fine’. You could be bleeding to death! And if someone is trying to help you, you tell them ‘I’m fine’ and you tell them to leave you alone!”

“What? I am fine! I’m not sick, if I was sick I’d know about it. There’s just a lot of dust in here!” He started to roll the window down. “And since when do you care? Usually you want me to drop dead!”

“Yeah well you don’t exactly make it easy to like you.” She crossed her arms and leaned into the corner of the door and the seat.

“You aren’t the most inviting person either.” He shifted slightly in his seat.

“You’re cousin was nice.” she said quietly.

“Don’t you mean ‘cousins’,” he asked.

“No, Lin was more annoying than anything, but I thought Shin was very sweet.”

“That’s only cause he said you were beautiful.”

“So? He’s kind of cute too.”

Spike’s eyes squinted somewhat, “He’s fifteen.”

“So? He’s only two years younger than me. That’s not so bad.”

“Of course cause you’ve dated lots of guys who were like ten years older than you so why not try someone younger for once, right?”

“I’ve never dated anyone even two years older than me!” She glared at him, “And what are you trying to get at? Are you saying I’m a slut?”

“Nope, I didn’t say it.”

Growling, “Stop the car! I can walk home I don’t need this. I thought maybe we could become good friends but that was dumb of me.”

Spike didn’t stop the car. He was mean but he wasn’t going to let her walk all the way home. Maybe he’d kick her out when they got closer to the trailer park.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear me?! I said stop the car!”

‘Just don’t answer her. She’s not stupid enough to try and jump. I don’t think she has the guts, and I don’t think she wants to get away from me badly enough to walk home.’

“See? This is the kind of thing I was talking about!”

“What’s the kind of thing you were talking about?”

“You always do that! You always say something mean to me. You can’t just say something nice, you always have to be mean. Lunch was nice and then I don’t know maybe you had to put in an insult for the day or something but once I started talking about your cousin you went wacko on me!” She stared out the window; her eyebrows knitted together.

“I do not; and so what if I have a minimum of one insult a day for you? You shouldn’t get so uptight about it, gees, women are so complicated.” He started to trail off talking to himself about how women couldn’t take jokes.

“But it’s not just a joke sometimes! After a while you start to think that maybe they actually mean it. You know how often I’m called a slut?”

“It couldn’t possibly be that often,” he said sarcastically.

“Quite often! And it’s because of the way I dress, but you know what? I’m comfortable dressing like this. I’m not going to stop dressing this way because of what other people think. Really I think they should keep their mouths shut but who cares about what I think or feel. I’m the shrew with no feelings!” Now she was just ranting about people in general. But it was all true; she just wanted people to keep their opinions to themselves. If they didn’t like what they saw they could look away.

‘Great, now she’s getting all emotional! Good goin’ asshole!’ He mentally scolded himself. ’Well, maybe this once I could apologize, after all, the whole Vicious thing…’ His thoughts stopped for a moment and he almost didn’t stop at the red light he was so caught up in his small flashback.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

The car fell quiet; they only had a few blocks to go before they reached the park. Maybe the day hadn’t ended pretty good…

* * *

Aw, they hate each other again! Sorry, I don’t think they hate each other? Oh well, it might make sense soon…

Set-chan