Len was feeling a lot better by the end of school on Monday, and Tuesday came by pretty quickly. I had just gotten off the bus when someone hooked an arm around my neck yanked me to one side, making me cry out with surprise. I crashed into the person's side and he laughed.

"Good morning!" He beamed. I looked up at him, my eyes lighting up just because of the smile on his face. I laughed and pushed him to one side playfully.

"You're acting more like normal, Len!" I grinned. He pinched my cheeks and then dragged me across the street like a rag doll. I giggled and gladly let him do as he pleased.

"My mom came back," he said, pulling me with him towards the school. "She came back last night, around midnight. I was in the kitchen, getting a banana and a glass of milk when she walked in, looking exhausted and absolutely beat. She dropped her things and stumbled up to me, suddenly hugging me and crying.

"She held me so tightly that I felt suffocated, almost. Then she suddenly let me go and started stroking my hair...Gumi, it was so...I can't...and then she kissed me a couple of times before running upstairs. I followed her, running after her, as she barged into Rin's room and embraced her."

"What about your dad?" I asked.

"They didn't talk about it," Len replied. "They're talking and stuff. It's kind of awkward between them but at least they're not arguing."

"It'll be fine," I grinned. "Didn't I tell you that, Len? She cares about you. They both do."

"Yeah, I guess," Len nodded. "Gumi, you're awesome, I swear."

"Hmm," I crossed my arms and my voice took on a fake, pompous tone. "Yes, yes, of course I am!"

He smacked my back hard and I yelped. He laughed and grabbed my head, giving me a noogie. It felt good, being with him like this felt nice. I didn't want things to change between us.

"Come on, let me drop you off today," he said, leading me into the school. We headed upstairs to my classroom.

"Exams are in a few weeks," I groaned as I thought about Accounting and Science. He patted my back.

"There isn't an exam for Accounting, right?" He asked. I shook my head.

"But for Science, there is," I mumbled.

"You'll do fine," he said. "Oliver's in your science class, isn't he? You should study with him."

"He's much better than me," I mused.

"He's okay," Len said. "I can't really say. He's getting a decent mark, that's all I know."

I groaned. "That's good enough for me..."

We saw Gakupo standing outside my class. He waved to us and I scowled. He acted melodramatically, raising a hand to his heart and gasping, falling back. Len shook his head disapprovingly.

"Because of you two and mopey old Kaito, we had to play three against one," the purple haired teen pouted. "And I was paired up with Piko. That guy is seriously afraid of the basketball!"

"We'll play another day," Len said, gently pushing me towards my classroom's door. "Get in, you little carrot muncher!"

I giggled and waved to him. "Better get in before the bell rings, Gakupo!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Gakupo replied.

I was really happy that morning. I mean, sure, exams were coming up and Kaito still had a mob of fangirls who wanted him, but Len's mom was back and the relief was evident in his behaviour. Even Gakupo's constant teasing during class didn't faze me.

At lunch, I headed over to our usual place with Miku. Neru and Teto weren't there yet. We plopped down on chairs and sighed melodramatically, putting our feet up on the desks.

"It's peaceful," Miku giggled. I grinned, nodding. "Is Len okay?"

"He's a lot better," I replied. "Like, a lot better. He's back to his old self, actually."

"That's great," Miku smiled. "See, I called him last night..."

"Y-You did?" I would've called Len last night but I didn't want to bother him and Rin. Miku didn't know about that, obviously.

"Yeah," Miku went on. "I asked if I could come to his home on the weekend."

"And?" I wanted to go, too, now that Len was feeling better.

"He said sure, but I have to bring you, as well," Miku smirked. "So I guess that's what you're doing this Saturday, Gumi."

"Hey, I've got no problem with that," I said. "I want to go!"

"There they are!" I turned to see Neru entering the room, followed by Teto and three other girls. One had jaw length brown hair that curled inwards at the ends. The second had long, extremely pale and beautiful blond hair. The third had silky looking blue hair. They looked familiar but I didn't really know them.

"Miku, Gumi!" Teto ran in and hugged us one by one. She grinned slyly at me. "How was it with Kaito yesterday? You're sooooooo lucky, he touched you! It looked like he was gonna kiss you! You two are so cute! But I still like him so I dunno..."

I laughed sheepishly. At least she wasn't strangling me. Yet.

"We didn't do anything," I said. "He just walked me to the stairs and I ran outside to see Len."

Neru clapped her hands, grabbing our attention. We all quieted down and looked at her.

"Teto and I have brought these three students in," Neru announced. She gestured towards the brown haired girl. "This is Meiko Sakine."

She waved and offered a small smile. She was really pretty, sort of like Luka but bolder, I guess.

"That's IA!" Teto scurried over to the girl with the long, pale blond hair. It shone with a tint of pink. IA giggled and waved to us with both hands. She didn't look like the bubbly, energetic type but looks can be deceiving, I suppose.

"And this is Aoki," Neru pulled the blue haired girl forward. She laughed sheepishly, looking down at her shoes. Her hair wasn't teal, like Miku's, not was it a dark blue, like Kaito's. it was an almost electric blue.

All three of them were extremely pretty. I admired them as I chewed on a carrot.

"They all talked to Kaito!" Teto exclaimed. I nearly choked.

"And they all got turned down," Neru mumbled.

"What?" Miku frowned. "Why?"

"Oh, it's fine, I'm over him!" IA grinned from ear to ear, her cobalt eyes sparkling. "I was really sad when he said no, though..."

"He's an idiot!" Meiko crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a desk, whipping her head to one side, sweeping her chocolate coloured bangs out of her eyes. "He never even gave me a reason!"

"I just...thought he looked cute..." Aoki pressed a finger to her pale pink lips, whispering her words and sounding very innocent. "That's all I told him."

"Uh, girls?" IA grabbed Aoki's arm and Meiko's. "We stopped talking about him, remember? Come on, chin up!"

"I blame Neru for bringing us here," Meiko scowled at the blonde texter. "What is it that you wanted, anyway?"

"We wanted info on Kaito!" Teto said.

I glanced at Miku, who was watching the scene quietly. With a sigh, I shook my head and got out of my seat. As I grabbed my things and walked towards the door, a voice called out.

"Where do you think you're going?" Neru asked. I turned to look at her, my backpack tossed over one shoulder.

"To see Len," I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Len's just your excuse to see Kaito," Neru muttered. I blinked.

"Excuse me?" I balled my fists. "Len is my friend! How could you say that?"

"Don't pester her about Len, Neru," Miku said, meeting my eyes. "He's our friend. She wouldn't do something like that."

Neru scoffed. Teto eyed me, suspicion evident on her features.

"And even if she is, what's the big deal?" Miku raised her voice suddenly. "She's better than you!"

Neru's eyes widened.

"All you guys do is talk about him!" Miku continued. "If she's using Len as an excuse to see Kaito, then at least she's being strong! She's moving forward, unlike you! But...she's not doing that. She's not using Len. I know her well enough."

I exhaled. Neru looked both angry and sad. She glanced at me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. I nodded.

"I'm sorry, too," I replied. "I wish I never saw Kaito...this is all..."

"It's not your fault," Miku interrupted. "Nobody should have to suppress their feelings. Kaito will still only pick the one he wants, right?"

I heard Meiko scoff. "And clearly, I wasn't good enough for that idiot..."

"R-Right," I nodded quickly and headed out the door. "See you."

I hurried down the hall, not really sure of where I was headed. I just wanted to get away from there. I felt kind of bad, leaving them all behind, but I couldn't take it. I didn't like hearing about those girls and how they told Kaito how they felt, only to be turned down. It scared me. I was going to tell him someday, wasn't I? I didn't know when, and I certainly wasn't ready to do it now, but I was sure I'd tell him one day. I didn't want him to say no.

"Gumi, is that you?"

"Eek!" I squeaked, stopping suddenly and turning to my right, looking at Kaito. He was leaning against a locker, doing something on his phone. "You!"

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to!"

Kaito sounded different. Very different. He looked at me apologetically and I shook my head.

"No, I just..." I smiled and tried to laugh lightheartedly, slowly approaching him. Every step I took resulted in my heart besting harder and faster. "I didn't see you there!"

"Oh," he ran a hand through his hair nervously. "I guess I'm kind of quiet...huh?"

"W-Well..." I wasn't sure how to answer. "You seem different today, I guess."

He smiled. It was a very, very, very, extremely small smile. "I'm better today."

"Really?" I grinned. This was getting easier. I awkwardly stood beside him and he slowly dropped to the floor, sitting down. He looked up at me and patted the spot next to him. My face flushed and I know he saw it but he didn't seem to mind. "Y-You want me to...to sit?"

"Why not?" He asked, acting more like the Kaito I was used to. "I don't want you to stay standing."

I exhaled, feeling a little short of breath. "Okay..." Slowly, I slid down to my knees and sat next to Kaito. It was really scary and thrilling and exciting. I could barely breathe or think straight.

"I had a really nice sleep last night," Kaito mused, looking forward. I tried to look forward as well but I kept glancing to my side, towards him. His cobalt eyes were focused intently on the wall opposite ours. My green eyes were focused intently on his eyes.

"That's good," I replied quietly. "Sometimes things get troubling."

"I know. Sometimes it feels like it can't get better, but...somehow, it does."

He turned to look at me and I smiled as well as I could, hoping that I wasn't looking too goofy. He parted his lips, as though he was about to say something, when we heard a voice calling his name.

"Kaito!" It was a boy's voice. I knew this boy, I realized. He was in my Science class. "Kaito, you there?"

"Oliver?" Kaito frowned, getting to his feet. He offered me his hand and I suddenly thought back to Len in my room, offering me his hand.

I faltered, reaching up but hesitating. Kaito tilted his head to one side and looked at me questioningly.

Come on, Gumi, get it together!

"Sorry!" I quickly gave him my hand and he took it, pulling me up. His touch was firm and warm and I loved it. His hand was soft and somehow rough, too. It made my heart soar.

"It's Oliver," Kaito said.

I nodded quickly. "K-Kaito?"

He looked down at me. I fumbled with the hem of my shirt, trying to appear confident, trying not to look like every other fangirl.

"I just...wanted to thank you again," I said. "For the book."

"It's nothing, Gumi," he said.

"A-And..." I looked him in the eyes. "If you ever have a problem, you can talk to me, okay? I'm sorry if that sounds rude of me, I..."

"It doesn't sound rude," he said just as Gakupo came into view and looked at us.

"There you are!" He said. "Kaito, we have to hurry! The ice cream shop's giving out free ice cream! Oh, and Gumi, Len's looking for you. He's coming this way, right behind Oliver."

Kaito's eyes widened. He turned to look at me.

"I'll see you," he said quickly, his mind focused somewhere else. "Gakupo, I'm going on ahead!"

And with that, Kaito dashed down the hall. I walked up to Gakupo, staring dumbly at Kaito's back as he went further and further, breaking into a sprint.

"What were you two talking about?" Gakupo grinned at me.

"None of your business," I scoffed, crossing my arms. He shrugged.

"I'm gonna go with that guy," he said. "Oliver's right there. Len's somewhere, coming here."

I turned and saw Oliver hurrying towards me. Then, I had a sudden, stupid idea.

"Gakupo!" I yelled.

"What?"

Quickly, I threw my bag to the floor and pulled out a notebook and a pen, scrawling my number down in the corner of one sheet. I ripped it out and handed it to the purple haired teen.

"You're Kaito's friend," I said quickly. "Can you...can you give this to him?"

Gakupo wiggled his eyebrows. I would've snapped at him any other time.

"Please!" I begged. He chuckled softly and nodded, pocketing the scrap of paper. "Tell him that if..if he ever needs someone to talk to, he can call me or text me or..."

"I get it, I get it!" Gakupo rolled his eyes before running down the hall, trying to catch up to Kaito. "See ya!"

And that's how I ended up giving Gakupo my phone number and hoping that it ended up in Kaito's hands.