[H2][color=0054a6]H[/color]aruto Inoue[/H2] It was an average day in the life of Haruto Inoue. Homeroom began just the same way it always did, with their teacher making an absolute ass of herself, and Haruto sat in the exact same seat in the middle of the classroom, just like he always did. People tended to give him a wide berth, so his preferred desk went relatively untouched, save for the graffiti people vandalized it with when he was at lunch or in the bathroom. In fact, someone without much imagination had added a new one today. A little carving saying "Die", right underneath a black marker drawing of a dick, one of his favorites. Haruto didn't really care though. A desk was a desk, and he sat there to enjoy the prime real estate, nothing else. From that seat he could see everything in the classroom, front, sides and back. It made him feel like the center of attention, even if it was just a little bit. In reality though, he was about as invisible as air, or maybe Schrodinger's cat. He only existed when people acknowledged him, usually in the form of the aforementioned desk-graffiti. He wasn't bullied per se, but in many ways the way people just forced themselves to completely ignore him was even worse. At least being bullied meant people cared enough to make shit out of you. To the kids at this school, Haruto was a ghost. Say "Inoue" three times in front of a mirror in the dark and he'd appear to ruin your social life. But that all changed recently. Someone had acknowledged him. Haruto looked to his left at the beautiful black-haired girl sitting by the window. Takanashi Kureha, the new transfer student. On her first day here... [hider=written by KoL!][color=ec008c]"Where was it again..."[/color] Kureha was walking absentmindedly through the school's foregrounds in search of the hallway that would lead her to her new classroom. It was the first time she had to change schools before graduation, so Kureha was quite disoriented by experience. [color=ec008c]"I can't believe that I'll be late even thought I woke up so early."[/color] She was starting to feel a little desperate as the hands of the clock marched on mercilessly. Thanks to her nervousness Kureha felt a sudden urge to visit the toilet, thankfully the hall way she had just come in had a pair of them on it. She hurried inside of the female one and washed her face with the cold water, hoping that the freezing sensation would help her calm down. As she was leaving the restroom, running without looking around, Kureha felt something bump against her chest, the force of the impact sent her tumbling backwards and she fell right on her butt. After shaking her head to clear her jumbled sight, Kureha saw a boy crouched on the ground in search of pair of glasses that had landed between her legs. He looked quite flustered, so Kureha thought that he was the type that could see nothing without the glasses. Kureha felt a little guilty for knocking the boy down, so she picked up his glasses, before lightly touching his shoulder and saying, [color=ec008c]"Here, is that what you're looking for?"[/color] The boy picked up the glasses and put them on before Kureha let them go, so the two teenagers soon found themselves in the floor with their hands touching one another. Needless to say, Kureha's face went beet red and she jumped backwards like a scared cat,[color=ec008c]" I... I'm sorry for bumping on you. I just transferred here today and am a bit confused. Could you please forgive me?"[/color] She said, crouching down and helping the stunned boy to his feet. [color=ec008c]"By the way, I'm Takanashi Kureha. I'd it's not too much of a bother, could you please tell me where this classroom is?" She asked while showing him the note that she received from the school yesterday.[/color][/hider] No one had ever spoken so kindly to him before. Realizing that someone could notice and acknowledge him like that was like coming up for a breath of fresh air after years of being on the verge of drowning. A shocking realization that maybe there was something more to life than... this. Haruto had never considered having a love life as being one of the options open to him in his life, but now he was determined to try. Hell, he was determined to succeed. He felt infatuated. For once it felt like maybe he'd found someone who actually cared about him. Haruto stared at her, transfixed. It was hopeless of course. Despite his intelligence and modestly-toned physique he'd attained through years of judo, Haruto was painfully unappealing, not to mention awkward. He dressed plainly and in a way that was very unflattering, he was a know-it-all, and he hardly ever spoke (and when he did it was usually just stammering worthy of Jeff Goldblum). Kureha was beautiful, kind and outgoing, not to mention the rising star of the tennis club (and all that on top of being filthy stinkin' rich if her house was any indication). Best of all, she wouldn't have heard much about his umm... unfortunate reputation. Haruto sighed. [i][color=0072bc]It's not like I want to be a shut-in, dammit. I've just got so much to do! Homework, mock exams, band practice, judo, helping Mom run her campaign...[/color][/i] And now tutoring. It certainly wouldn't help with all the other responsibilities he had to keep up with, but it was worth it just to get a chance to know her better. They were worlds apart as it was. If he was going to have any chance with her, he'd need to make the first move. Waiting for her to approach him wasn't just laughable, it was practically giving up to begin with, because that would never happen. Haruto knew all too well that he was a loser, and that the things he found attractive about Kureha were probably the things that the other guys found attractive about her too. That's why he had to ask her out before they did, and this was the perfect opportunity! But... [i][color=0072bc]How am I supposed to do that?![/color][/i] Haruto nearly tore his hair out just thinking about it. It was impossible. It was definitely impossible! For someone like him, you may as well ask to slay a dragon. So then why did he feel like he had to do this?!