InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Another High School Story ❯ Art and the Decline of Music ( Chapter 2 )

 

Another High School Story

 

Art and the Decline of Music

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will not ever own Inuyasha. Also, I don't own Barbie. I don't own The Cars, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, Velvet Underground, or any songs made by those groups.

 

 

***

 

 

"Watch out for that tree!" Kagome Higurashi screamed as Eri, one of her best friends, sped down the road.

 

"Kagome, don't be ridiculous, the tree's got to be like twenty feet from the road," Eri complained from the driver's seat.

 

"Yeah," Yuka said, "but you still managed to hit it yesterday."

 

"That was a fluke!" Eri retorted.

 

"Guys!" Ayumi shouted from the back seat. "Just concentrate on getting us to school in one piece okay! There's a cute guy in my second period, and I don't want to show up missing an arm!"

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and settled back into her seat as Eri slowed down a little. Though she may have looked as though she came straight out of a Barbie fashion show the day before, today she was much more casual. She wore dark, tight fitting jeans, and a soft brown sweater over a white blouse, only the cuffs and collar showing. Her friends, however, continued the Barbie charade. Yuka had a form fitting baby blue mini dress, while Ayumi matched her in a soft green. Eri wore a retro looking skirt, with huge black platform shoes. It was a wonder she could drive at all.

 

"Are you going to the party Friday?" Ayumi asked Kagome. She nodded her head. The party would be at Kouga's, and she wondered how different it would be from the other parties she'd attended at his house, if it would be different at all. She shifted in her seat and looked down at her lap as a feeling of sadness flew through her. It was a feeling she'd often felt when thinking of her ex boyfriend. She was grateful that the feeling seemed to be reducing. She no longer felt the pain of their separation.

 

Straightening her shirt, Kagome glanced outside at the approaching school. She had been without Kouga for three months now. Sure, he had been a major part of her life since eighth grade, but she couldn't waste all her time pouting about it. She was the one, after all, who'd broken up with him!

 

Someday, they might be able to be friends again, but until then, Kagome couldn't just mope around. There were far too many other guys to waste her time on. She grinned when a certain silver-haired, golden-eyed new student came to mind.

 

 

***

 

 

Inuyasha Honda slid into an empty desk near the back of his first period class. He took out his torn and tattered book, trying to remember what class he was in. He glanced at the cover. It was dark blue with a few drawings of test tubes and Bunsen burners with the word chemistry written out across the top. Science had always been easy for him. He fished a pen from his book bag and a half used notebook, preparing to take notes, or at least look like he was.

 

"Hey."

 

He looked up to see a familiar looking girl smiling at him in front of his desk. He smiled back, remembering her face from outside his English class yesterday. "Hey," he greeted.

 

"Mind if I sit here?" she asked as she took an empty seat beside him.

 

Inuyasha nodded almost imperceptibly and watched her discretely as she took out her supplies, displaying them in perfect formation on top of her desk. He visibly swallowed as his eyes trailed down her body to her tightly fitting jeans. He fought the sudden impulse to reach out a hand and touch her.

 

"So," she turned in her seat to face him, and he couldn't help but notice the way her soft brown sweater hugged her in all the right places. His fingers tingled with anticipation of running a hand over the fabric. "How do you like it here at Bluffside?"

 

"Huh," was his intelligent reply. Why couldn't she wear all pink again? It had been easy to keep his control with a five-foot-tall Barbie doll. "It's…okay."

 

The girl laughed lightly. "If it was me, who'd had to change schools, I'd hate it!"

 

Inuyasha couldn't help but smile inwardly at that. Hate had defiantly been the word to describe his impulsive feelings, but after months of getting use to the idea, he supposed it really wasn't all that bad. After all, he'd just found his tongue. "Well, there are certainly some good things about this school," he stated, not taking his eyes from her for one moment. He watched in satisfaction as a light blush tinted her cheeks.

 

"Umm," she started. Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk; now she was the speechless one. "My name's Kagome, what's yours?"

 

Kagome? Inuyasha was sure he'd heard that name before, and some little voice inside told him she was dangerous. That little voice was quickly stomped out. "Inuyasha."

 

Kagome's eye brightened. "The quarterback!" she exclaimed, only to further fuel the blush on her face. "I mean…"

 

The final bell chose that moment to ring, prompting Kagome to turn suddenly and fully towards the front of the classroom.

 

"Class, please turn your attention to the front of the classroom." The teacher continued on, "Today, I will assign lab partners."

 

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome out of the corner of his eyes and discreetly crossed his fingers.

 

 

***

 

 

Miroku Jacobs tried his very best not to skip as he walked out of first period. Today was turning out to be even better than yesterday.

 

Tapping his pocket, Miroku rejoiced in the small crinkling sound that told him her phone number was still in there. It had been a breeze to get it, really. Amy, the five-foot tall bronze goddess who sat behind him during his first hour Calculus class, had a soft place for art, as Miroku had quickly realized. Though his stepsister thought he was crazy to spend so much time hunched over art books, Miroku had found the skill invaluable. Mention the name of a few classic painters, and there seemed no way for the ladies to resist him.

 

Ahead of him, two giggling girls glanced back his way. Miroku couldn't help but grin back at them. When Amy's friend waved goodbye and set off down a hallway towards her next class, Miroku took the opportunity to talk a little with Amy.

 

"Hey!" he grinned.

 

"Hey!" she grinned back. "You aren't going to forget to call me, are you?"

 

"Of course not! Actually, I was wondering… A friend of mine is throwing a party Friday, would you like to come?"

 

Amy's entire face seemed to light up. "You mean Kouga Myers?" she practically demanded.

 

"The one and only."

 

She flashed him a wonderful smile. "Oh, I'd love to Miroku!" she said, pulling a stray strand of curly black hair behind her ear.

 

"Great, I'll pick you up around seven?"

 

Amy nodded, then waved as she parted with his company to find her locker, leaving Miroku grinning like the schoolboy that he was. Only two days in, and already he had a date with one of the hottest girls Palm Creek had to offer. He couldn't help mentally congratulating himself.

 

Taking a sharp right turn, Miroku found his locker. He managed to open the lock after only three failed attempts. "Damn school locks," he muttered.

 

"Hey Miroku!" The sharp, high-pitched voice coming from behind him, told Miroku that Rin Matthews had finally located him. And he had been doing so well at avoiding her.

 

"Hey," he greeted, not even bothering to look her way. Now where was that English book? He needed to finish up a few things during study hall.

 

"Well, I just wanted to remind you," the sophomore went on, totally unfazed by being completely ignored, "that if you wanted to join art club again…I mean, of course you're going to join, you're a great artist! But we did up the price. Five dollars. We were thinking of getting t-shirts, isn't that great!?"

 

"Uh huh," Miroku stated when he heard her pause before launching into an extremely long explanation dealing with something about the previously mentioned five dollars. He was a little too busy rethinking his conversation with Amy to pay much attention. Miroku grinned, feeling particularly proud of himself at the moment, though he couldn't help notice the way her eyes had brightened at the mention of Kouga's name.

 

"And the first meeting's on Thursday. Next week of course, not this coming Thursday. We were going to have it Tuesday, but then I realized that there was a student council meeting on Tuesday, and with you being class treasurer and all I knew you wouldn't be able to come, and you have to come, all the freshmen and new Palm Creek students are just dying to meet you!"

 

"Right," Miroku said, turning to meet her. No matter how many girls drooled over the captain of the football team, Kouga was just a guy. Miroku had a lot of things going for him that Kouga didn't. Like intelligence. "I'll see you, um, Tuesday then."

 

"Okay! Wait no!…"

 

Miroku fought the urge to run away. Rin was a really nice girl, but her over bubbly attitude was just annoying. Not to mention the obvious fact that she rambled on and on unless someone duct taped her mouth.

 

"…and we got permission to use the art room, so we should have a lot of fun!"

 

And she had the habit of ending everything with an exclamation of predicted enjoyment.

 

Miroku looked down at her to find her smiling up at him. He had often considered whether or not she was actually just high all the time. At least she was being quiet now; Miroku took the opportunity to escape.

 

"Gotta go!" he shouted as he walked quickly away. He placed a hand over his pocket where the torn piece of notebook paper still lay as a vision of Kouga and Amy slow dancing at Friday's party filled his mind. Somehow, he didn't seem quite as happy about it as he had before.

 

 

***

 

 

Kikyo Folst glared at the closed door of the classroom across from her, willing it to open. The bell had rung thirty seconds ago, but the teacher still held the class, giving out last minute homework assignments. She sighed, and shifted to the right, allowing a student to access his locker. She glanced at her watch; a minute had passed. Every second she waited was a second she would have to make up if she wasn't going to be late to her next class. But if she left now, it would all be wasted.

 

Her eyes brightened as the doorknob turned, and students began to spill out into the halls. She licked her lips in anticipation. Scanning the passing faces quickly, she looked for her so-called competition. But the crowd was quickly thinning and the girl was nowhere to be found. Kikyo sighed and pointed her feet towards her next class, looking over her shoulder for one last chance.

 

Then she saw her. She stood inside the classroom, talking to the French teacher. Kikyo immediately hated the entire five and a half foot frame of the Bluffside original cheerleading captain. From her wavy coal black hair to her long tan legs, there was not a part of Kikyo Folst that did not hate Kagome.

 

Kikyo wasn't sure why she hated her with such sudden passion, but she knew she did. Even when she had heard her name spoken in quiet whispers from her so-called friends, she had remained calm and collective. For whatever reason, now, as she laid eyes on the infamous girl, she hated her. It was undeniable.

 

Kagome exited the classroom, with Kikyo on her tail, continuing her comparison. She was defiantly taller than Kikyo, who herself had only barely passed five foot. While Kikyo's hair had been carefully pressed and straighten, Kagome's hair looked wild and a good half a foot shorter than Kikyo's own hair.

 

Kagome's eyes were blue, like her own, but were deeper in color, while Kikyo's were like ice. She was also well tanned, while Kikyo had stayed pale, even though she had spent the entire summer outdoors.

 

When Kagome stopped suddenly to open her locker, Kikyo walked quickly past, aiming to high tail it to her next class, but some hidden force caused her to stay. Turning, Kikyo hid behind an open classroom door. She cautiously looked back towards Kagome, but she found her view blocked.

 

"Move!" she commanded under her breath. As if hearing her, the guy leaned back against the row of lockers, giving Kikyo a much better view. Kagome was smiling, and obviously carrying on a conversation with the boy who had previously blocked her view.

 

Kikyo switched her gaze to the boy and gasped. She recognized that long silver hair and those broad shoulders. He moved slightly so his back was against the lockers, instead of his shoulder, giving Kikyo a perfect view of his wide grin and nervously darting eyes. Quickly, she moved behind the door and clutched her books closer to her.

 

She narrowed her eyes. Kagome Higurashi would pay.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

I don't mind you coming here, wasting all my time. Cause when you're standing oh so near, I kinda lose my mind. It's not the perfume that you wear. It's not the ribbons in your hair. I don't mind you coming here, and wasting all my time.

 

A smile formed across Sango McConnell's face as drummer, David Robinson, of the 1980's group, The Cars, went in for the kill; hitting his instrument in a quick succession that always made a feeling of euphoria spread throughout her system.

 

Granted, there were few things she liked about her new found home of Bluffside, but study hall was defiantly one of them. Compared to Palm Creek, where this particular class meant sitting quietly at your desk, allowing boredom to slowly eat at your brain, study hall at Bluffside was a party. The only rule: stay on campus, and even that could be broken with a simple note.

 

Currently, she was nestled under a large oak tree in the northeastern section of the courtyard, listening to her newly burnt CD collection as she slowly finished her history homework. Staring at the names of past presidents, she let a long sigh escape her lips. Try as she might, she found it so much easier to memorize the histories of her favorite bands than the history of her own country. As the song switched over to "What I Like About You" by the Ramones, she closed her eyes and let the pre 80's music sooth her tired mind.

 

"Hi!" a much too happy voice interrupted her hazy thoughts. It didn't sound like any voice she recognized though. Sango cracked open one eye to stare at her intruder.

 

"Sorry for bothering you," the familiar looking girl chewed on her bottom lip, "but I saw your American History book, and thought you might be able to help me with a question I had."

 

Sango laughed, trying to quickly place the girl's face. "Sorry, but I suck at history. I doubt I'll be of much help."

 

The girl laughed. Sango grinned back at her; the girl had a very contagious smile.

 

"Well, I see you have a few answers down. So you can't be completely clueless! Maybe we could work together."

 

Sango nodded, pulling the headphones from her ears, and cutting off the harsh sounds of the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" "I'm sorry, I know I've seen you before, but I can't remember your name." Sango confessed.

 

"Oh, I'm Kagome! Kagome Higurashi" the girl exclaimed, causing Sango to stop her hand midway from placing her CD player back into her backpack. "You're Sango McConnell, right? We have P.E. together."

 

Sango nodded, allowing a soft "yeah" to escape from her lips. The girl appeared totally different than she had the day before. Granted, she had been looking at her through the envious eyes of her popularity-obsessed friends, but there were other changes too. For one, she no longer looked like My Size Barbie.

 

"I like your shirt," Kagome exclaimed. "Where'd you get it?"

 

"Oh, umm," Sango looked down at her worn t-shirt. "It was my mom's. She made it herself before going to hear them play."

 

"Hear them play? So was the, umm, 'Velvet Underground' a band?"

 

Sango gawked at Kagome. "Only one of the best and most influential bands ever!"

 

"I see." Kagome pointed to Sango's nearby backpack where her CD player lay. "Do you have a CD of them?"

 

"Of course!" Sango laughed, digging for the CD, her history book long forgotten. As her hand clasped the cool plastic of her desire, she allowed a gentle smile to cover her face. In the five and six odd years she had known her friends, she had grown close to them in a way only time could manage. Still, she had never felt a connection with them as she did now, with this strange girl.

 

Sango handed the player to Kagome, turning to track four. Maybe Bluffside had more favorable aspects than just study hall after all.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," Kagome counted off as she went through her steps. If she wanted to be captain a second year in a row, she knew she'd have to perform at her absolute best. Palm Creek had won the regional and state championships the year before, and had taken an amazing seventh at nationals, a tournament Bluffside had failed to even participate in.

 

Behind her, the entire football team ran laps around the track. She stopped in the middle of her routine to watch Kouga take the lead, his smooth tan skin gleaming in the afternoon sun as his muscles rippled with the strain of running full out. Her eyes followed his steady pace as her mind traveled back in time.

 

"Hey Kagome!" Ayumi brang her out of her daydreaming. "Checking out Kouga?"

 

"No! I mean…" Kagome quickly scanned the crowd of football hopefuls, looking for a way out of the inevitable half hour discussion about what made Kouga the best man for her. She didn't have the strength to sit through another one. Her eyes caught the sight of a particular golden-eyed quarterback. "I was just looking at some of the new students."

 

"I see." Ayumi smirked.

 

Kagome blushed. Turning her back to the football field, she got into ready position and began practicing her jumps.

 

"So," Yuka spoke up, "who do you think will try out this year?"

 

Kagome stopped her movements, quickly going over last year's team. "Well there's the three of us."

 

"Of course," Ayumi rolled her eyes.

 

"Then there's Rachael Lain and Daniel Ruthers," Kagome counted off.

 

"Victoria's at college now," Yuka sighed. "Along with Tara and Joy."

 

Kagome sighed and bent down to touch her toes. Usually, whoever was on the team the year before didn't even have to worry. They were pretty much automatically given a spot. This year, with five girls from Bluffside, six girls from Palm Creek, and only eight spots on the team, there were going to be some pretty tough cuts.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Inuyasha hustled off the field with the rest of the varsity football hopefuls. His muscles were already aching from all the push-ups he'd had to suffer through. The Bluffside coach was anything but easy. Inuyasha smirked; even with such a hard coach, Bluffside had always been hard pushed to get so much as a touch down. No amount of practice could beat pure talent.

 

"Good work, Honda," Hiten exclaimed as he jogged up beside him. He was the team's guard, Bluffside original, along with his older brother Manten. Frankly, they had no competition. His old guards were worthless. "If there's one good thing about this whole mess, it's having you as our new quarterback."

 

Inuyasha glanced toward Kouga, but the former Bluffside all star was pretending not to listen.

 

"Yeah," Manten said a little louder than was necessary. "There's no way we could lose with you leading us. Especially not to some wimpy team like Southwest!"

 

Kouga's fist tightened on his mud-splattered helmet. Southwest was far from a 'wimpy' team and held the title for the last ten years straight, but there had obviously been a hard, maybe even embarrassing loss to them in Kouga's past.

 

"Hell," Hiten quipped, "you could be blind and still have better accuracy than Kouga."

 

"Will you assholes shut the hell up!?" Kouga suddenly screamed. "Tryouts aren't even over yet and you're already congratulating him! As far as coach is concerned, I'm still the captain, so you two can just shut up!"

 

"Geez Myers. Cool down, will ya?"

 

"Don't you tell me to cool it!"

 

"Now, now, break it up you guys." Coach suddenly appeared. "I won't have any fighting on my team. I want you each to do a lap."

 

Kouga's shoulders slumped forward before he took off running, dropping his helmet on the ground as he went. Hiten and Manten just smirked before adapting a fast-paced walk.

 

"You too, Honda," Coach added when Inuyasha turned to go into the locker room.

 

"But Coach, I wasn't-"

 

"Son, if you want a place on this team, don't question me."

 

Inuyasha fought the urge sneer, a snide comment dancing on the tip of his tongue. "Feh," was his reply.

 

"Now, two laps."

 

"But-"

 

"Do you want to make it three?"

 

If it had been anybody else in his place, he would have laughed. The coach was treating him like a child who didn't want to clean his room or eat his vegetables. Instead, with a loud sigh, he jogged slowly back towards the field, and began the half mile trek between him and a nice cold shower.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Showered and dressed, Inuyasha exited the locker room in a much less sour mood than he'd entered it. Apparently, Hiten and Manten weren't the only ones who thought he'd make a better quarterback than Kouga. It'd been a real ego boost.

 

Scanning the parking lot, Inuyasha noticed the blue-eyed girl who seemed to be following him everywhere lately.

 

"Hi!" she greeted.

 

"Uh, hey."

 

He watched as the girl continued to smile brightly up at him. She really was pretty, but not like the other girls he'd seen. She had sort of a contagious beauty, like her smile. When he was around her, everything in the world seemed to shine just a little bit more.

 

"Is Kouga still in there?"

 

Inuyasha swallowed. Kouga. She couldn't possibly be his girl, could she? "Um, no, why?"

 

"Oh." Her face fell, leaving Inuyasha with a funny feeling. "Did you drive?"

 

"Uh, yeah, why?" Couldn't he form one intelligent sentence today!?

 

"Well, my friends kind of left without me, so I needed a ride."

 

"Oh." Oh! "You could ride with me. Where do you live?"

 

"Not far from here."

 

Inuyasha nodded and started off for his car, making sure the girl followed suit.

 

"You uh…" a light blush tinted Kagome's cheeks. "You're accent, it's faint but-"

 

"Japanese."

 

Kagome nodded. "You don't really look Japanese though."

 

Inuyasha smirked. He'd always thought he look inescapably Japanese, even with his dyed silver hair.

 

"Except for the eyes though," Kagome stated as she noticed the shape.

 

"So what is it that's not Japanese about me?"

 

"Um…" Kagome's blush strengthened as her eyes lingered on his strong jaw line and traveled to his muscled arms. "Nothing specific."

 

Inuyasha grinned. "I'm only half Japanese. My father's an American." Inuyasha turned when they arrived at his car and quickly unlocked the doors. "I'm a half-breed," he added as an afterthought.

 

Kagome nodded in understanding as she stopped to look at the car Inuyasha was climbing into. It was a dark green Honda. She wasn't sure what make, but she knew it was new.

 

"Are you going to get it?" Inuyasha teased from his seat.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and got in. "This is a Honda," she stated matter-of-factly.

 

"No shit."

 

Shooting a glare his way, Kagome went on, hinting at her question, "Isn't your last name Honda?"

 

"Yes."

 

She waited for him to explain further; to answer her unasked question, but he didn't.

 

"Are you…um related to them?"

 

"To who?"

 

Kagome fumed. "You know what I mean!"

 

Inuyasha chuckled, making a sharp turn on to the main road. "No, I'm not."

 

An odd silence settled upon them. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't exactly pleasurable. Kagome gazed out her window, giving the odd "turn left here" as they speed towards her home, her mind on the man who sat beside her.

 

"So," he said as he turned into her driveway and killed the engine.

 

"So," she repeated.

 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak again, but quickly closed it.

 

"Do you wanna go to see a movie?" Kagome blurted out.

 

Inuyasha turned to stare at her, and for a moment she could have sworn he was going to say no, but "yes" escaped his lips instead, surprising Kagome almost as much as Inuyasha himself seemed surprised. Happiness filled Kagome. A moment later, however, it was all gone.

 

"I mean no," he covered. "I'm busy."

 

"What about tomorrow?" she asked half-heartedly.

 

He nodded. "But only if we can go to one in the city, I hate that stupid one-roomed theatre."

 

Kagome grinned, "Sure thing!"

 

 

 

***