“Later, champ.  Let me know how the class goes, okay?  You’ve been yammering about this non-stop for weeks – it better be the ‘intellectual cornucopia’ you said it was.”

“I hope so.  One more period and we can go home.  See you in a bit!”

I gave Chann’s hand a gentle squeeze and slipped into the room.  Stephens gave me a friendly nod as I entered the room.

“Come see me tomorrow morning and we’ll catch up,” he murmured as I passed him.  “I’m sure you’ve got plenty to tell me.”

I nodded and sat down.  It felt so good to get off my feet.  The insides of my thighs were twitching with pain and my gut felt like it was full of oily sea water, heavy and nauseating.  Not a great feeling, and definitely not ignorable.  I was careful not to let my face betray my discomfort; I didn’t need any more lectures or people begging me to tell them how I was hurt.  I distracted myself with American Gods, throwing me back into an eccentric, mystical world that seemed to resemble the American heritage exactly.  It made me sick to think that current Americans were about as against immigration as a person could be and still let it kind of happen, even though every single American was an immigrant or a descendent of an immigrant who had brought a piece of their native culture with them (with the exception of the Native Americans, who were still stuck on wretched reservations and spoon-fed promise after broken promise).

“Hello, Mirai.”

What felt like liquid sunshine flooded my body as Sasuke sat beside me.  His presence was so sweet and comfortable.  I turned to look at him and I was sure he was glowing.  His smile was affectionate, and all I could manage in return was a shy smile I’m sure looked awkward.

The bell rang and I felt a thrill of excitement go through me.  But Stephens stayed at his desk, reading and touching the petals of his pink lilies, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the bell had rung.  Sasuke and I were silent, but the rest of the class continued to yammer on obnoxiously.  As the minutes passed, more and more students noticed that Stephens hadn’t begun the class, and fell into an awkward silence.  At the fifteen-minute mark, he got up and strode to the front of the room.  The last of the students fell silent.

“Social expectations are a funny thing,” he began in a bold voice.  “People know what is expected of them, but a fair amount won’t yield to said-expectations until an authority figure steps up to enforce it.  I can tell from my little experiment who will obey expectations…  and who is self-absorbed enough to break rules unspoken but obvious.  Rebellion and originality are important, but not in a situation like this.”  Stephens began to walk down the aisles between the desks.  “In this class, you will be expected to study the human mind by learning vocabulary and participating in experiments.  You will be encouraged to work and study hard, but it is not required.”

“Are you saying we don’t have to do any work?” Shaw called from the back, clearly thinking he’d shown up Stephens.  I winced; of course, he was in my class.

“Yes, I am.  You don’t have to do any work.  You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.  However, you will be quizzed periodically to check your progress and you will have a trying final exam, complete with a research paper submission and an experiment you develop yourself.  It is advised you study, to achieve the grade you wish or to scrape up the bare minimum to pass.  Whatever the case may be, the choice is yours.

“Why is this how I express my class?  Because sound advice and evidence to back it up is so much more persuasive and effective than outright orders.  Many people go so far as to say that orders betray their right to freedom, but they cannot protest suggestions.  And the power of suggestion is strong.”  Stephens chuckled.  “You can even consider this a form of manipulation.  That’s what psychology is – social manipulation and suggestion and excellence in research.  You will learn it all in this class.”  Stephens had reached the front of the class again; he turned on his heel and leaned forward, a smirk on his lips.  “This class will push you to your limits.  You will have to live and breathe the ways of the brain.  We know so little about an organ that is within each of us; it is my job to teach you what I know about it.  Within the constraints of the CollegeBoard standards,” he added out of the corner of his mouth.

“Anyone who doubts their ability to cope with this class, they have full permission to walk out that door, right now, and go straight to the counseling office to have their schedule changed.  If you can’t hack it, leave.  Drop down to Honors or on-level, bail altogether, do whatever you want – but know that whatever I teach you will change your lives.  Stay if you’re willing to work, learn, and achieve.  Leave if you’re not.”

Nothing could’ve dragged me away from my desk at that moment.  I wanted this class as much as my next breath.  I didn’t want anything short of the full expanse of knowledge Stephens could impart to me.  I was excited to see that Sasuke was looking just as enthralled as I was.  A couple of the people from the class actually got up and left, although Shaw stayed where he was.  I could tell that he didn’t care about his education; he just wanted to disrupt the class and possibly keep tabs on me.  I tried not to react when Stephens stalked over to him and lowered his face down to his, even though my interest was beyond piqued.

“Do you really want to stay here?  Because if your only goal is to make trouble for me and the rest of the students in this class, I can assure you, I’ll make even more trouble for you.”

“You don’t scare me,” he retorted.

“This isn’t meant to scare you.  This is meant to inform you.  Make your choice.  Oh, and one last thing,” Stephens continued as he stood up straight once more.  “You have two weeks – ten school days – to drop out of this class on your own.  After that, you can only leave on my recommendation, and I will not let you go if you have the potential but not the will.  If you would rather I choose for you at the end of the ten days, I will, since it is a fact that making a decision is much harder than living with one.  Today counts, so after today, you have nine days left to choose.  Keep that in mind.

“Now, let’s begin with going over the parts of the brain,” he began as he pulled up a diagram of a brain on the SmartBoard.  “This area at the back of the brain is the cerebellum, responsible for the coordination and regulation of muscular activity…”

Stars above, I loved Stephens.

By the time the bell dismissed class, my mind was fuzzy and my fingers were trembling.  My notes were a shaky mess.  Last night was finally catching up with me.  I was sore and distracted, hardly able to focus.  I exhaled in relief as I spotted a familiar shock of fawn-brown hair through the window of the door.  As it opened to let the students out, Chann slipped in, flashing one of his award-winning grins.

“Mirai?” Sasuke prompted as he joined Chann in the doorway.  “Are you coming?”

I nodded and forced myself to my feet, swallowing against a wince as pain shot up my thighs.  I was insanely aware that I wasn’t walking straight; how must I look to him, limping around like I’d been shot lame?  I glanced sideways, catching Sasuke’s gaze.  His sweet, sky-blue eyes were round and soft with concern.  Goddammit.  I didn’t want his pity, I wanted him to like me.

I sharply shook my head.  Wanting more would only get my hopes up and hurt me when it became clear that it wouldn’t happen.

…Right?

Once again finding myself between Chann and Sasuke, we headed out into the hallways.  We didn’t get very far before another insult was spat at me.

“Hey, faggot!”

“Surprised to see you without your master, Taylor,” Chann growled.  “White finally decide to let you off the leash?”

“Shut it, Tomlinson,” Taylor sneered.  “I came for your stupid boyfriend.”

“You came for him?  Oh, God, I should’ve known – usually only closet cases are this homophobic.  Hey, he’s flattered, but not interested.”

Taylor’s face twisted.  “What…?  Oh, gross!”  He actually gagged as his single brain cell made the connection.  “You’re sick!”

“Oh, definitely.  I look at your face and I want to puke.  Y’know, I heard that your shirt would actually go up in value if I did.  British charm and all that.  Keep talking and we’ll find out.”

“I don’t wanna talk to you anymore!”

“Mate, who’s keeping you here?  I wouldn’t complain if you fucked off forever.”

“I told you, I came for your boyfriend.”

“And I told you, we’re not dating.  We’re best mates, not that you’d know anything about friendship.”

Taylor let out a growl and took a threatening step forward.  I shuffled aside as Chann towered over him, green eyes ablaze.  It was at times like this that I realized just how tall and threatening Chann could be.  If Taylor had a single hint of common sense, he’d run before he said or did anything else.  He drew breath, no doubt for another insult, and Chann’s fist clenched as he prepared to strike.  Before anything else could happen, Sasuke shoved between them, his chest pressed to Taylor’s.

“I know you,” Taylor said, his voice accusing.  “You’re that new kid who insulted Richie!”

“He insulted me first.”  Sasuke’s voice dripped with disgust and fury.  “Go away.  You have nothing good to say.  We do not want you here.”

“Well, we’ve only got so much patience.  You can hang with the best of us, or you can hang with the worst.”

Chann lunged forward, his pupils shrinking in anger, but I grabbed his arm and pulled him backward.  Sasuke was handling this.  Unless Taylor tried to hit him, we’d stay out of it.

“I told Richie already:  I can decide the good and the bad myself, and I say Chann and Mirai are the good.  They are my friends and I will defend them.  We do not want you here.  Leave.”

Taylor raised his head and stared down his nose at Sasuke.  The muscles in my shoulders tensed; if he wanted a fight, he’d get one.  Screw what the school would do to me as punishment.  If Taylor laid one hand on Sasuke, I’d start throwing knives.  But there was something in Sasuke’s deep blue eyes that made Taylor turn and run, and I mean run.  I’d never seen the guy move so fast off the football field.  I was stunned, to say the least.  Chann was looking from Taylor’s fleeing form to Sasuke’s smoking eyes and back again, as if he couldn’t believe what had happened.

“I…  I’m sorry.  I do not know what happened there…”  Sasuke sounded a bit awkward as he turned to face us, the power gone from his voice and eyes.  “I was out of place.”

“Are you kidding?!  That was badass!  You should stick around, blondie, if you can see off a better beaut like that.  I say we keep ya.  How about you, Mirai; what do you think?”

I smiled and nodded.  I wanted him around so badly it hurt.  Sasuke’s expression shifted from amusement with Chann to relief and warmth as he gazed at me.  His eyes were so kind, so intensely clear and blue.  They were as refreshing as a cool drink of water on a blistering summer’s day.  I could read his emotions so clearly, it was as if he were inviting me to read him.  A strange comfort flooded me.  Looking into his beautiful azure eyes was like falling into an ocean in the sky, surrounded by a weightless, suspended safety.

“Are you okay, Mirai?”  His voice was sweet and concerned.

My legs trembled and the world momentarily swam before my eyes.  Sasuke was closest to me; he caught me before I fell and held me against him.  He was trembling, his heartbeat was quick, and his cheeks were hot.  The confidence he’d shown when squaring up to Taylor was long gone, and I vaguely wondered how he’d done a full 180 in his demeanor in such a short time.

“I am here, Mirai.  Everything is okay.”

I began to believe that he genuinely cared.  That he wasn’t just acting.  He had one hand on my hip and the other on my back, his hold strong yet gentle.  It was similar to when Chann held me, but this was somehow…  romantic (if a little cliché).  It felt more like a lover’s embrace than him grabbing me to keep me from falling.

For once, I was happy to have almost passed out (but not happy about needing the help), because that was the moment I began to fall in love with Sasuke.