Cheers' Like Idols! [Britt/Shouhei]

Just… a couple… more laps, Shouhei Kagawa groaned to himself as he jogged about the Academy’s track.  While normally he would be loathe to set foot in a place like this, he ultimately needed the exercise.  With his move to Endymion, his living quarters in the Academy’s Dorms, and the fact that he traveled nearly everywhere else on his motorcycle, it dawned on him that he still needed to be fit and he might as well take advantage of these facilities.  

To keep my lungs in tip top shape for singin’, and dancin’.  Mariko’d kill me if she ever found out I was outta shape… He could hear her voice lovingly, yet naggingly, urge him to keep himself together.  If not for himself, then for her.  

Shouhei swerved around other students on the lanes of the track field in an effort to best ignore them.  He dreaded hearing what the students would actually say about him, although he definitely overheard their whispered gossip before.  Mutterings about how he was some kind of “man-whore” at the host club, some lush who drank too much, some filthy creature of the night on his motorcycle doing who knew what kind of illegal or illicit activities.  It annoyed him to no end but he had something of a countermeasure.

Music on full blast, his headphones would drown out any student’s acidic words towards him.  And to the tune of some lovely idols, no less.  Heaven would permeate his ears and no amount of smack-talking students could possibly hope to compare.  Almost rhythmically, however, a droning nearly mirrored the choruses of idols singing to Shouhei.  Outside interference… or assistance?

His icy blue eyes wandered over to the cheering squad, whose cries dared to match the siren songs of his idols.  As Shouhei passed the team in mid-stride, their acrobatics seemed to nearly dance in tune to his music.  It was oddly… hypnotic.

To say Shouhei was caught unaware was an understatement; he nearly jumped, literally taking his feet off the ground in surprise.  First of all, his attention was diverted completely to the cheerleading squad.  Secondly, he expected no one from the student body to actually interact with him, let alone make physical contact.  Finally, this person was actually being… friendly?  Not to mention she was rather attractive on top of that.

“...I ahh… t-they’re pretty good,” he mumbled while simultaneously fumbling to lower the volume on his idol-blasting headphones.  What was it with talking to girls his age that made him falter?  Either way he found his words to stutter like his nervous heart, and a sheepish expression lit his features.

“I didn’t… m-mean to stare.”

The fact that she knew nothing about Shouhei meant that she wasn’t privy to the nasty rumors surrounding him.  While it explained her curiosity and overall pleasant disposition towards him, it didn’t change the point that he felt more than awkward around her.

“I’m… part of the m-music club.  Third year.”  The hell’re you doin’, man?  Use your words.  Talk to her, dumbass!

“If you’ve been... eyeing me, then you… shouldn’t mind me taking a glance.”  While it felt like he was ripping out every word that tumbled from his mouth, the words did arrive a bit steadier, slowly but surely.  It was enough for him to quip back at her, as a tiny corner of his lips lifted in a smirk.

“Name’s… Shouhei.  Shouhei Kagawa.  And you are?”

Shouhei basked in Brittany’s theatrical movements and posing.  Had he been more confident and comfortable with her, he would have vocally hooted and cheered.  Instead he could only smile, and deliver a soft clapping of hands in appreciation.  Afterwards she delivered a stream of sentences that he nearly drowned in, and tried to figure out what to actually reply to.

“...Yeah, I’m Japanese.  I didn’t realize my name was tough to pronounce,” he said with a baffled look on his face, as he scratched the back of his head.  “‘Shou,’ like you’re seeing a show.  ‘Hei,’ like ‘hey you.’  But if you’re having trouble, you can call me ‘Shou’ for short, some people do.”

He extended a hand towards her for a proper greeting.  “Nice to meet you, Brit.  How come you’re not cheering with the others?”