"She's really not feeling much better."

I was walking with Miku and Len through a local park. We found a bench and sat down. Len listlessly kicked the grass by his feet.

"It's only been a week," he mumbled. "She tries, you know. She doesn't want to remember the crap that happens with our parents, but she's only human. It tearing her apart and I feel so weak because I can't help her. She's...she and I aren't as connected as we were when we were younger..."

I sighed and leaned into Len's side. "They're still fighting, huh?"

"I think they might...my mom is thinking about getting a divorce..." Len croaked. "I'm scared, I...dammit, it's not supposed to be like this!"

"Len, maybe it's better if they separate?" Miku tried. Len shook his head.

"It'd break my sister," he whispered, pulling his phone out and putting it to his ear. We waited a few seconds, watching him. He took a deep breath. "Where are you?"

"I think it's Rin," I whispered to Miku, who nodded.

"N-Nothing, sis," Len continued quietly. "I just...I wanted to hear your voice. You're...you're going there?"

There was silence. Len exhaled sharply and held his head in his free hand.

"Take care, Rin, I...I love you, okay?" He said it softly. "Bye."

He put the phone away and glanced at us, one at a time.

"Where's she going?" Miku asked. Len offered a small, almost wistful smile.

"To her boyfriend's," he said. We gaped at him.

"R-Rin has a boyfriend?" I gasped. "Well, she's really pretty, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise, but..."

Miku gasped. "He must also be really pretty!"

Len laughed. "Well, she's always talking about him."

"She didn't tell us about him," I pretended to be angry.

"She was excited to see you two after so long," Len stood up. "Now, can we stop talking about this and go do something fun? I want to get my mind off of all this stuff."

"Sure!" Miku hugged him tightly and he yelped. I laughed and we had a group hug.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, looking up at Len.

"Actually, I just remembered this really nice place we could go to," he grinned, ruffling both my hair as well as Miku's, simultaneously. "Come on, it's not too far. We can take the bus if you're feeling lazy, though."

He led us out of the the park, to a bus stop, where we grabbed a bus and rode it past a few more stops. After no more than five minutes, Len dragged us off the bus and we gasped at the sight.

"There's a beach?" Miku exclaimed. "This close to your home?"

Len shrugged. "I don't know. Rich neighbourhood, I guess. What's the point of having a nice home if your family can't get along, right?"

I punched Len's arm. "We're not going to talk about this," I said firmly. "Right?"

"Right," he chuckled uneasily, nodding. "Thanks, Gumi."

We walked towards the beach, which was littered with people lazing around in the sand, on picnic blankets, with umbrellas over them, stuck in the sand. Children ran around, laughing and screaming. I saw a group of people flying kites.

"My shoes are going to be full of sand..." Miku mumbled. "Should I take them off?"

"You're wearing flats," I said, glancing at her feet. They were bright teal flats. "Just pull them off. I've got a plastic bag in my backpack."

I pulled my bag off and removed a large, white plastic bag. We both tossed our footwear in. I looked at Len.

"I'm fine," he said. I nodded and we continued walking, reaching the water.

"It smells so nice," Miku exhaled, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Len smirked and gently pushed her forward, making her lose her balance. She cried out, nearly falling into the water. Len laughed and I smiled. Miku growled and grabbed Len, pushing him into the water. He yelped and fell on his knees, getting all wet.

"Ugh!" He coughed. "I don't even have a towel..."

I grabbed Len's arms and pulled him out of the water, falling back and getting my dress all covered in sand. Len laughed and Miku helped me up. I dusted the sand off and pouted.

"You have to buy me ice cream now," I crossed my arms.

"Okay, okay," Len chuckled. We headed over to the ice cream truck.

I had a lot of fun that day, probably the most fun I'd had in years. It felt as though Miku, Len and I had never even begun to drift apart. We didn't worry about anything. We just had a great time.

"You better come by more often from now on," Len said to us at the bus stop. He was waiting with us for the bus, seeing us off. "Rin gets lonely, honestly."

"You're her brother," Miku said. He had called Rin a while ago, telling her to meet him at the bus stop. "Pay more attention to her, okay?"

"I do, but..." Len grimaced. "I wish I could make a difference to all this..."

"Len!"

We both looked and saw Rin running towards us, a smile on her face. She looked like she had reverted back to her old self, before we had left the Kagamine household.

She ran past us and hugged Len tightly, surprising us all. He held her close and stroked her hair, smiling sadly.

"It's going to be fine," he said softly. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah!" Rin nodded, pulling away from him. "We went to the mall afterwards. It was nice. I didn't buy anything, though."

"Rin, you never told us about this special someone of yours," Miku giggled. Rin's cheeks flushed. The bus arrived and Len gave us both a gentle push forwards.

"I'll tell you about him next time, he's the sweetest thing ever, I love him so much!" Rin gushed, spinning around in circles. Len grabbed her shoulders and stopped her spinning, frowning at her. She glared at him momentarily before waving to us. "Bye, you guys! Please come back soon, okay?"

We nodded and stepped onto the bus. Len waved and I grinned at him, waving back.

"See you on Monday, carrot muncher," he smirked.

"Of course, banana loving blondie," I replied, recalling Neru's words from last week.

Miku and I climbed in and paid our fare. We sat down next to each other and looked out the window, at the Kagamine twins as they walked down the street. Rin was talking nonstop. She seemed so full of energy now. Len looked as though he was listening passively, and as the bus's doors hissed to a close and the vehicle lurched forward, he glanced towards our window and met my eyes, smiling slightly.

And in that one instant, my heart thumped loudly and the memory from a week before, of Len's face being so close to mine, his breath against my skin, his fingers on my chin, sped through my mind. Goosebumps peppered my skin and I smiled to myself. The memory made me feel good. I just didn't know why, at that point.

I spent the next day, which was a Sunday, lazing around, sleeping and just looking over my notes. Exams started in a few weeks and I wanted to work hard and do well, especially for the classes that caused me difficulty. I contemplated calling Oliver and discussing the possibility of studying together, but I decided to put it off till school started, so that I could speak with him in person.

On Monday, I woke up earlier than usual and decided to take advantage of it. After getting dressed, I snuck into the kitchen and frightened my mom. She screamed and nearly spilled the pancake batter that she was mixing up.

"Good morning!" I grinned, hugging her tightly.

"You're up early, Gumi," my mom smiled. "I'd hug you back, but my hands are covered in flour...I don't think you want to get your clothes dirty."

"It's fine," I nodded and pulled back. "I'm going to go to school early today."

"Oh, is that why you woke up early?"

"Nah, my eyes just opened earlier than usual, but now that I'm up, I might as well take advantage of it!" I sat down at the breakfast table as my mom started to cook the pancakes.

"Speaking of taking advantage, your exams are coming up," my mom pressed a finger to her lips and glanced up at the ceiling. I nodded furiously.

"I've started looking over my notes and today, I'm going to talk to a few of my friends about studying together!"

"That's a good idea," she smirked. "Just make sure it doesn't distract you."

"It won't," I smiled.

I had breakfast and then I scampered off to grab the bus, climbing in and finding a nice spot towards the back. After the bus came the subway, and then another bus. But the time I got off at the school, there were still over twenty minutes before classes started.

The sidewalk and road was empty. I grinned and strolled down the street, towards the school buildings, grinning. I thought about maybe hiding and waiting for Miku or the others, or maybe getting to Accounting early and excessively rubbing it in Gakupo's face.

When I thought about Gakupo, I remembered something suddenly. I had been remembering it for a few days now and the thought always kept coming back to me. I thought about how I gave him my number to give to Kaito. So many days had passed and I hadn't brought it up. I didn't want to seem like I was obsessed or anything, and I was too scared to bring it up in front of Kaito.

"Boo," two hands clamped down on my shoulders and I squeaked in alarm.

"G-Gakupo?" I spun around and gaped at him. He snickered.

"Why're you walking down the street like you're the queen of the universe or something, kid?" He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Maybe because I am the queen of the universe," I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Bow down to me, purple haired delinquent boy!"

"Hey, I'm not a delinquent, you carrot annihilator," he grabbed a fistful of my green hair and yanked it back and forth. I screamed and swatted him away. "I'm getting a better mark than you in Accounting."

"Ha! By only two percent!" I poked him in the stomach. He rolled his eyes and walked right past me. "Hey! Why're you so early today, anyway?"

He didn't even turn back to look at me as he replied. "Because I want to?"

"Gah, I was supposed to be earlier today!" I yelled, running up to him, which made him laugh.

"Haha! I have a fangirl, too!" He grinned, grabbing my cheeks and pinching them.

"Agh!" I pushed him away and kept walking. "Nobody but Len's allowed to do that!"

"Tsk, why does that guy get all the privileges?" Gakupo clicked his tongue.

"Because he's not you," I muttered. "Speaking of which, I don't see Len anywhere."

I turned around as I walked, scanning the streets for Len. "Nope, nowhere in sight. I kinda wanted him to pinch my cheeks..."

Gakupo's eyes widened. "Excuse me? You want him to pinch your cheeks?"

"Only because you can't do it right," I buried my hands in my pockets and walked backwards, in front of Gakupo. He sneered and grabbed my face.

"Oh, I can't, huh?" He squished my cheeks. "Well, let me practice on you, then!"

"GYAAAA!" I screamed. "Don't touch me, creep!"

"I knew this guy who was a great cheek pincher!" He grinned, refusing to release my face muscles.

"Uh...what?"

"Like, he was great at it," Gakupo smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "He used to do it all the time."

"I'm confused," I frowned.

"Ah, pay no heed," Gakupo waved a hand dismissively and flipped his purple ponytail. I sighed, relieved that he had released my face. Furiously, I rubbed my cheeks because they hurt. "Just thinking about the past."

"I wonder where Len is," I mumbled.

"He'll be here," Gakupo shrugged. "Probably hanging out with his twin or something."

"Rin's so pretty," I mused, remembering how beautiful she looked on Saturday.

"She's always been pretty," he replied. "She's not really my type, though."

"She's prettier now," I said.

"I know, I've seen her," Gakupo grinned. "On Len's phone."

"Huh?"

"He's got hundreds of pictures of her!" Gakupo outstretched his arms, emphasizing his point. "Hundreds of her at home, in the kitchen, in the park, half asleep, at parties, at the beach...and then five hundred more of both him and her in the same shot."

"W-Wow," I knew they were close, obviously, they were twins, but I didn't think they'd be that close. "That's a lot..."

"Yeah, well, it's hard for her and Len," Gakupo mumbled as we entered the school. "They've got each other and that's it. Their parents hardly get along and they're not the type to talk about their problems with everyone."

"Len tells me about his problems."

"Don't flatter yourself, kid," Gakupo rapped his fist against my head. "Sure, you're a special case, but he keeps a lot locked away, even from you."

"What do you mean, I'm a special case?" I frowned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gakupo had a deadpan expression on his face. "You've known Len and Rin for practically forever. Same goes for Miku, but from what I know, Miku still isn't as close to him as you are."

"He still keeps secrets," I whispered to myself. "I don't want him to keep secrets!"

"Nothing you can do about it."

"Why won't he open up to me?" I yelled at Gakupo. He flinched.

"Geez, Gumi, how should I know?" He raised his voice.

"But..." My throat felt dry. "I want to be there for him...how..."

"I dunno, hang out with him more? Maybe he doesn't feel all that comfortable around you. For the record, he doesn't talk about his problems much with me and the guys, you know. I'm pretty sure you know more about his hardships than we do."

I didn't see Len that morning. Not before class, not between classes, and not at the start of lunch. I headed over to where the girls hung out and sat down, pulling out my phone, wanting to call him.

"Gumi, are you okay?" Miku put a hand on my shoulder and peered at my screen.

"I'm fine, I guess. Did you see Len today?"

Miku furrowed her brow. "No, I haven't. Are you going to call him?"

"I'm thinking," I bit my lip, the selection cursor on my phone hovering over Len's name. "Should I?"

"Gumi!"

"Huh?" I looked up at the door and saw Gakupo. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he smirked. "Just passing by. Thought I'd tell you fangirls that you probably won't see much of Kaito today."

"Huh?" Neru and Teto, who had been giggling about something, gasped and stared at him. "Why not?"

"He's just not going on his usual walk thing or whatever," Gakupo shrugged. "I'm just heading out to meet with Piko."

"Wait!" I yelled before Gakupo could continue walking. "Did you see Len?"

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Yeah, I did. Don't know where he is right now, though."

He walked away and I glanced at Miku.

"Are you going to call him?" She asked.

"I think I'll just go find him," I said. She nodded.

"I'll probably come by in a while," she giggled. "Won't be seeing any Kaito today."

I smirked. "Like you care."

"He's still kinda nice," she tapped a finger against her lips and grinned. "Anyway, you should go find Len."

I nodded and got out of my seat. "See you!"

Miku waved and I ran down the hall, grinning. I'd smack Len so hard for making me worry. Nimbly, I turned a corner and kept running, my shoes squeaking against the linoleum flooring.

A moment after I turned, I squeaked, along with my shoes. A figure was lying on the floor, unmoving. His dark blue hair was hiding his blank face. His body was static. He looked dead, almost.

"K-Kaito?"