Best of Surprises

"Hey it's Will, Kriss gave me your number. I'm sorry we fought." I then replied,

"Me too." Then I turned off my phone and went to sleep. It's a little annoying that Kriss gave out my number without asking... but I know she meant no harm so I'll just let it go.

After Mom woke me up the next day, I put my phone on its charger, washed my face, and ate breakfast before doing anything else. I then returned to my room to get dressed, after that I grabbed my phone turned it on, then swiftly put it into my pocket. I wasn't surprised to have received a text, I was surprised there were two though. So I went ahead and checked my phone. One was from Will and the other from Serco. I checked Serco's first and was disappointed all it said was,

"Thanks." so I sent,

"Now you return the favor, I want to use your voice as a jingle." I waited a moment before checking Will's text.

"We're still going out Friday right?" his text inquired.

"Sure," I answered and at about that moment Serco sent me an audio file of him saying

"Answer my text." aggressively and a text message, with it, saying "Here you go, hope you like it :) ." Does he have a split personality or something?

"Yeah, it's perfect," I replied since it made me chuckle. I personalized his text tone... I wonder if I can get him to do something for the ringtone too.

A little later, Serco replied with,

"Hope you have a better day at school than yesterday." I smiled and put my phone away as I headed downstairs where Nacina was waiting. Nacina ranted to me about her latest dream and a late-night conversation she had with Cam before bed,

"...Can you believe he said that?!" She asked with a sickening level of energy. Morning people baffle me. I shook my head no so she continued. "Then I was like 'It's late, I should go.' but he kept talking anyway. So I eventually just hung up. Then he called me back like twice so I answered and was pissed at first but then he said 'Good night, it was fun talking to you.' so I calmed down." Nacina ranted about our mutual friend, so I asked

"So are you into Cam?" Nacina gasped.

"No! No way! Not at all." She shouted, defensively. That means yes.

"Why don't you tell him?" I asked, ignoring her blatant denial. Nacina glared at me and then she looked away pouting.

"Because I don't like him." She retorted. I rolled my eyes and let out a huge yawn. "Fine, I'll tell Cam I like him if you tell Shion you like him." I gasped at her words and suddenly felt wide awake.

"It's just a crush it doesn't mean anything!" I stated. It's my turn to get flustered. She smirked at me.

"It's worth exploring... it's your first crush! Just tell him! What do you have to lose?" She teased.

"No... I'll just get rejected anyway... and feelings fade so I'll just wait it out." I retorted. I'm more afraid than anything, it's a miracle he even talks to me at all, I don't want to ruin that.

"Fine, then so will I." She replied. I wanted to argue but I was at a loss for words and it was now time for us to split up anyway. When I entered the classroom Will cut me off and trapped me in a hug. I froze on impact.

"Good morning!" He greeted.

"Hi," I responded and lightly patted his back.

"How did you sleep?" He asked. I smirked and said,

"On my back." Will laughed, letting me go, and then began playfully tickling me.

"You know what I meant, answer my question." I giggled and pushed his hands away.

"I slept horribly! Is that what you wanted to hear?!" I shouted.

"Why was it so horrible?!" He asked at the same high volume I answered.

"I don't know! Maybe, I need a new mattress!" I answered back, adding faux anger to my voice. Will could tell I was kidding so he gave me a grin and then I finally made my way to my seat. I stretched my legs after sitting down. Will stood by my desk to chat with me until the teacher came in. School went at a pace I've grown used to. It was okay, uneventful, but as I was leaving school, I saw Serco standing by the school gates. He had on a white hoodie, with one black sleeve and the AngelGear logo on the front and back of the hoodie, (which I find amusing) and black jeans. There was a girl, I don't know, talking to him. I wonder who that is... because they were talking I felt afraid to approach him. Before I could make up my mind on what to do he looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey, Akina!" He shouted, waving me over. The girl looked at me frowning, Serco seemed unfazed by it. Hesitantly, I came to where they were.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered, trying to ignore the daggers the girl was throwing my way with her eyes.

"I wanted to walk you home... Does that bother you?" Serco asked causing me to blush and glance at the girl.

"No, it's fine, really. Um...is she a friend?" I queried. He laughed before giving this reply,

"No, she's a total stranger."

"I told you my name! It's Jennifer." She corrected, pasting on a smile and playfully pushing his shoulder.

"I do not care. You do not matter. You are a stranger... Never touch me again." Serco clarified, in a completely detached tone, making it obvious he wasn't joking. Jennifer huffed as she trotted away. The way he spoke to her surprised me slightly because even if he's rude sometimes, he's very considerate when talking to me. "So are you ready to go?" He asked, putting his hands into his pockets and standing so perfectly it looked like he was posing for a photoshoot.

"N-no." I answered averting my eyes from him, so I could calm my heart. "My best friend always walks with me... we should wait for her," I stated shyly.

"Okay." His reply was quick and he smiled again while staring at me. A few seconds passed so I asked,

"What's wrong, why are you looking at me like that?" While pulling my hood down over my face.

"Nothing is wrong." I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"So... what's with the hoodie?" I inquired, to tease him and ease my anxiousness a little.

"It was free... I get all the new AngelGear merchandise before it is released in stores." He replied. Oh! so expensive limited edition fan gear is just handed to him at no cost? Well, it's not like I'd buy it so I have no right to complain... 

"It looks nice on you." I complimented, peeking out of my hoodie slightly to see his expression. He had a sweet smile, like the smiles people wear when they're looking at puppies or infants.

"Everything looks good on me." His smug reply caused me to giggle. "But thank you." He added while gently pushing my hood back, cupping my chin with his fingers to tilt my head upwards, and then looking at my face. I stopped laughing and immediately grew stiff, stuck doing nothing except staring back up at him.

"Akina?" Nacina's voice broke me out of the trance I had unwittingly fallen into. Serco put his hands into his pockets and I turned to greet her.

"Hi!" Did I yell? Why did I yell, she's right next to me.

"Oh, you must be Shion," Nacina stated, looking at Serco. He smirked at her and nodded.

"That's me." His response had no hint of deception in it. Nacina grabbed my arm and pulled me a few feet away. Then she whispered,

"Holy hell, he looks even better than the pictures! Is he a model or an actor?" I shook my head no. Well, he has won the genepool lottery! I can see why you're afraid to-" I covered Nacina's mouth before she continued. I don't know how sensitive Serco's hearing is but I know it's several times greater than an average human's. I'm not risking Nacina spilling the beans.

"This is the friend I was waiting for," I said to Serco and moved away from Nacina so she would stop talking.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you," Serco stated, holding his hand out to her. Nacina shook his hand enthusiastically, making him laugh. We began walking home.

"So Shion, how do you feel about ice cream?" Nacina inquired.

"I like it." He replied. Nacina raised her eyebrows.

"Wrong! You should be in love with Ice cream!" Serco looked amused. "Now, where are you from?" She asked.

"Does that have anything to do with ice cream?" He retorted in a playful tone.

"It's just... you don't look like you're from around here and you talk weird," Nacina noted. She can be so gosh darn blunt! I elbowed her arm but Serco only laughed again before answering

"Indeed, I'm not from here, but I'd rather not talk about my home. There are many... bad memories." He answered, "So what about ice cream?" Serco inquired, clearly trying to redirect the conversation. I know he just can't tell her where he's from, but something about the way he said "Bad memories" seemed genuine. My heart ached and I wanted to ask more about his past, but it would probably be better to do that when we're alone.

Nacina began telling him about Icies and recommended that we go there together since it's nearby. "Sure, it's a good excuse to spend more time together." Serco agreed, and then he casually checked his watch, so it was obvious to me that he didn't have much free time. Nacina playfully nudged me.

"He wants to spend time together.~" She whispered to me teasingly. This woman is going to kill me! I'm going to die of embarrassment right here on the sidewalk!

"Yeah, it's because we're friends," I argued back in a low voice, hiding my blushing face with my hands. We sat down in Icies, instead of getting the cones to go, so we could talk longer.

"So what are your plans for my Akina?" Nacina interrogated. I feel so self-conscious, I want to silence her and then die... but she's my best friend so I'll just suck it up.

"I want to... give her lots of good memories." Serco's answer was vague but sweet.

"Why did you approach her?" She then investigated further.

"Why do you assume I approached her?" He countered.

"Because she's too much of a frail scaredy-cat to approach anyone. Especially someone like you..." Nacina argued. I nudged her and gave my best death glare. This only served to amuse her.

"You're wrong... she spoke to me first," Serco answered while licking his spoon. He then stood up to get more ice cream.

"Is that true?" She whispered once he was a few feet away.

"...Well yeah, technically," I replied in a low voice. Nacina seemed very surprised then when Serco came back to the table she asked,

"Do you have a brother?" He looked at me then looked back at her and smiled.

"I have eight." He stated. Wow, Eight brothers?! I wonder if they're anything like him.

"Wow. Any sisters?" She added. She seems to be intrigued by his answers.

"Nope. And yourself?" He counter-questioned.

"I'm an only child, but Akina has a brother in college," Nacina replied. As soon as she said this, Serco's eyes met mine,

"Are you and your brother close?" He asked. Why am I suddenly in this conversation?

"We used to be before he moved away but... We're both bad at staying in touch. So not anymore." I replied while nibbling on my empty waffle cone.

"I'm sure he misses you. You should call him," Serco suggested.

"I don't want to bother him when he might be busy," I argued back. My answer made him chuckle slightly,

"Even if he's busy I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from you. There is no way he would not be." I blushed and shoved the rest of my cone into my mouth to give myself more time to think of a response with the excuse of chewing,

"I'll... try," I answered. All that extra time to think and I still came up with such a weak reply.

"We should go... I have somewhere to be in a few minutes." Serco declared while rising from his seat and heading towards the door. He didn't bother waiting for either of us to respond.

I rushed after him and Nacina walked at her own pace behind me. Somehow we all made it to my house at relatively the same time.

"Bye Aki," Nacina said while waving at the both of us. Serco and I waved back at her as she walked across the street to her house.

"Thanks for walking with me, I had fun." I blurted, since we were alone I gained a little courage, which is strange. Serco stared at me silently for several agonizing seconds so I turned away in embarrassment.

"I had fun too." He admitted, finally. I still couldn't look at him, though, so I just mumbled,

"Good." in response.

"Your friend seems nice." His words made me feel happy and sad at the same time. I should just be glad if he likes Nacina but... for some reason, I'm very bothered.

"I'm glad you guys get along... she's a much more likable person than I am. So... I knew you'd like her if you got to meet her." I revealed honestly, saying that out loud made my eyes sting a little but I thankfully avoided wallowing in my own self-pity. Serco placed his hand on my head gently and in a caring voice said,

"I do find her tolerable, but I only favor you." After saying this he disappeared before I could ask him what he meant. I shouldn't jump to conclusions, but my heart isn't listening to my brain right now.