Star-Crossed Lovers

Outside, in the chilly, mid-night, in the earlier days of December; a young girl and boy sat on a bench, bundled with various pieces of clothing to keep them warm. It was a clear night, but there was snow on the ground, it reached to up a foot, maybe more. There was no moon yet; thus creating a cold looking scene. But the two didn't mind the chilled weather as they sat and enjoyed a hot cup of cocoa.

"Oh, look! There's Cassiopeia. The queen." Hikari smiled brilliantly. "And her king; Cepheus."

"What?" The boy quirked a brow. "Where?"

She pointed to a group of stars that formed a distinct three. And then to five other stars that made a house-like pattern.

"There."

"Ah, really." He said, not sure of what to say.

Hikari tilted her head to the right, "And, at this angle, it looks like a jagged 'E'. And… a 'W' from this one. And an 'M'."

"Fascinating," remarked the boy, sarcastically.

"Ken!" She laughed and playfully hit him on his upper arm.

He smirked solemnly and looked up again. "There's Orion. With Betelgeuse. And Rigel. And Canis Major; his-"

"Huntin' dog." She finished with a giggle.

Hikari was acting so childish for some reason. Something she hasn't done for quite some time. Being compared to the Genius, Ken Ichijouji, she felt quite inferior. When she was with Daisuke or her own brother, she could talk freely and sound important, or smart. But in more ways than one, Ken was always above Hikari in whatever he did. She didn't feel guilty about it. It was more of a challenging friendship rather than an experimental one.

She sipped her cocoa in thought, "Ken is a wonderful guy. He was misunderstood earlier in our time of knowing each other. But isn't everybody? Do people not judge books by their covers? It's a good thing him and I are together. There are tons of things we could learn from each other. I believe that our friendship pulled down his conceited side. He reduced how much he bragged. And I find it so much fun to watch him struggle with something he has never done... love. Well… is it love? Or am I overreacting? I tend to do that from time to time. Don't I…"

"Hikari?" Ken intruded on her thoughts.

She looked up. "Huh?"

"Do you want to go in now?" He asked gently, his blue eyes staring into hers, "It's getting quite wintry out here. Don't you agree?"

"I hadn't noticed." She admitted, "But you're right. We should go now."

They arose to their feet and gathered their items. Ken slid the backpack over his shoulders and stood on the path, waiting for Hikari. Lost in her thoughts, she finally took a spot by his side and they strolled down the silent pathway.

While Hikari was drowned in her thoughts, Ken was doing the same.

"There must be some way to avoid this." He opinionated, "I mean, people don't just fall in love and know it's love. And if it is love, then it goes through the long process of the friendship stage, the loving stage, the embarrassing, the loathing, then back to the loving. I merely started to touch upon this friendship deal.

"Yes," he came to a conclusion, "I believe friendship starts a romance. Just as a seed does to a flower. It takes time. Therefore this can't be what I'm feeling- Love that is. What a confusing concept."

They turned the corner to go to Hikari's apartment building. The maiden came to a rushed stop.

"Is there a problem, l-" He held himself back from saying the last word.

"What were you going to say?" She avoided the question.

"Nothing." He said quickly.

She tilted her head, "Ken-Chan?"

"Is there a problem?" He repeated from before.

"Hikari!"

Ken turned around, as well as Hikari to see who was the owner of the voice.

"Ugh," Ken cringed, "Daisuke."

Bitter rivalry still happened between those two. They never seemed to puts back any hatred. And, to make things worse, when Takeru was around, all three of them started to burst in anger. Hikari never knew why. She always found it amusing to watch Ken stump them with the heavy words he brought into the quarrel.

"Ken." Daisuke said coldly.

"Daisuke." He returned the tone.

"Hi, Hikari." Daisuke's voice suddenly brightened.

She nodded, "Hi."

"What'cha doin' out so late?" His curiosity started to get Ken angry.

"Doing our homework," Hikari shrugged, "for science, you know?"

"I do?"

"Oh, c'mon. We have to go outside and find a certain amount of const-" Hikari started.

"He's not in our science level." Ken smirked as he reminded Hikari.

"Oh," she blushed, "I'm sorry."

"That still doesn't mean I'm any less smarter than you!" Daisuke snapped.

"I highly doubt the fact," Ken began, "that a pathetic, trivial, and contemptuous human being, like yourself, can even compare to mine, or Hikari's, intelligence; let alone top the information we are capable of holding. Go be a rube in your own part of the neighborhood and leave us be."

"What's a rube?" Daisuke asked, dumbfounded, obviously proving the lack of information he gathered from that shortened speech.

"Ken," Hikari said in a pleading tone, "Daisuke didn't do anything. C'mon, let's just go."

He smiled triumphantly and continued to walk.

(Sorry all you Daisuke fans. I just thought it was necessary to put it Ken's verbal attack against him. And everyone knows that D' isn't able to keep up with Ken. Nobody can, really. O.o.)

Instead of taking the elevator up to Hikari's floor, Ken suggested that they take the stairs. She willingly said yes.

He opened up the door for his friend and she walked through, the warm air greeting her frostbitten nose. Breathing in the heat, she turned around to look at Ken. His eyes were searching for something to focus on other than the girl.

"Is something wrong?" It was her turn to ask that question.

"No, no." He replied and started up the stairs.

"Okay," she shrugged and followed him up.

The first flight of stairs:

"The stars are amazing," Hikari tried to make conversation. "Aren't they?"

"Yes," he answered, "very."

The second:

"Did you get the homework in Algebra done?" Ken asked.

"Sure did."

"What'd you get for number sixteen?"

"Uh… I think seven and three fourths."

He chuckled, "Recheck your fractions, Hikari."

"H-hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She wailed. "How off did I get it?"

Third:

"How about the work in English?" Ken asked in his solid tone.

"Yeah," she said, not going into detail.

"Ah, so did I."

They both knew he did…

Finally, they reached her flat.

"I'll see you at s-uh, school tomorrow?"

"Sure," Hikari nodded. She turned to enter her apartment.

"Hey," he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah?" She looked up at him.

The young man, for once in his life, was lost in words.

"Ken?" She asked, a little worriedly. "Is there somethin' I can do?"

"Yeah," he thought. "You could kiss me instead of me kissing you and feeling like an ignoramus."

"Ken?" She repeated.

The youth stepped forward the girl and propped her chin on his finger. He leaned just a little so their lips met in a gentle touch. Instead of breaking the kiss, Ken cupped his hands around her neck and pulled himself closer to intensify. Hikari's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink before she returned the kiss, her heart was thumping wildly; as was Ken's. At last, they broke the lip-lock and looked at each other. Both were blushing madly and both were unable to say anything.

Ken was the first to break the silence. "Forgive me." He whispered and dashed away.

Hikari sat with confusion in front of her door. A small giggle escaped into the silence and she then walked into her home. She understood why he was so embarrassed. She giggled again and climbed into her bed, flicked off the lamp, and closed her eyes, awaiting a wonderful dream to fill her mind.