After school, I was in the library with Oliver. We were going through our science notes and marking up things that were important. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out.

"Hello?"

"Gumi, it's me," Len said. "I said I'd call, didn't I?"

"Right," I nodded.

"I don't want you to feel bad."

"How did you know?"

"It's obvious."

"I can't stop. I hurt you. You...loved me," I lowered my voice. "I'm sorry, Len...I wish things were the same!"

"They are, gumdrop," he laughed softly. I blushed at his use of the nickname. "Me and you and Miku are still going to hang out together. I'm still going to tickle you and hug you."

"But now I know," my voice was cracking. "That you did all that because you liked me."

"That's not true, Gumi. You're my friend. Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Just this, I guess. Len, I'm confused and stuck. I don't understand any of this."

He sighed. "You're going to make me start to feel bad about telling you how I felt about you. That's the root of all this, isn't it?"

"No, Len. Don't say that."

"Then what is it, carrot muncher? Some guy, isn't that right? Who is it? Oliver?"

I squeaked and glanced at Oliver, who was sitting across from me. "N-No!"

"It's Kaito."

"It's not..." I lied.

"Please, Gumi. It better not be Kaito. Gakupo is better than Kaito."

"What? Why? Not that I...you know..."

"It's complicated. I don't want him to turn you down and end up hurting you."

I bit my lip nervously. "Okay. Thanks."

"I'm not going to lose you," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're still my best friend. So is Miku. Only difference is, she's my girlfriend now."

"Have you two..."

"Kissed?"

"Y-Yeah," I mumbled.

"Maybe," Len teased. "Nah, we haven't. Okay, maybe once. But that was it. It's only been a day, anyways."

"Okay, whatever, I was just curious," I said quickly. "Well...bye, Len."

"Next time I see you, you better be smiling," he said. "Or I'll tickle the life out of you."

"Right!" I answered.

"Goodbye, Gumi."

I hung up and exhaled loudly, hanging my head back over my chair's headrest. I closed my eyes and told myself that I wasn't missing anything. I hadn't done anything wrong. I had already made up my mind about Kaito and nobody was going to make me change my mind.

Whether he turned me down or not, I still had to tell him. I wanted to hold it back but I was finding that I couldn't.

"Is everything alright, Gumi?" Oliver asked. I nodded and looked at him.

"It's fine. Thank you for studying with me."

"No problem," he grinned.

I pushed all my problems aside and focused solely on my work. Exams would be here before I knew it, and then there'd be a day of school before it was all over.

Len invited me to come with him and Miku for a picnic on Saturday. At first, I kept telling them that they should go alone, but then Miku called me and said that Len needed some cheering up because his father was moving away in a few months.

We brought Rin along as well, so it really wasn't a date for Len and Miku and I didn't feel like a burden as much. Whenever I saw Miku embracing Len or kissing him sweetly, my heart ached.

But I don't even like Len...

I had to convince myself that even if I did, he was completely out of my reach. There was no way I was going to try and get him from Miku. That would hurt all of us.

Why am I even thinking this? I like Kaito.

A week passed since Len and Miku had started dating. I didn't hang out with them very much. Sometimes, I sat with Neru and Teto, but mostly, I sat with Kaito. He didn't mind at all. Sometimes, we just sat silently, and other times, we talked about various things. He really loved discussing ice cream.

After school, I still walked with Len, Miku, Neru, Teto and Oliver, and they were all pretty lively, as well. It had been a week and a half since Len had told me that he liked me, and we were all walking together. It wasn't very hot that day; it actually looked like it was going to rain soon, with clouds covering up the sky and the wind blowing.

"Summer's almost here!" Teto exclaimed. Neru nodded, texting as usual. Miku giggled. I was walking alongside Oliver, who was walking next to Miku and Len. Neru and Teto were leading the group.

"It's going to be boring," Oliver said. Len patted his back.

"We'll hang out with the other guys, won't we?"

"But you've got her now."

"She's not clingy," Len grinned. Miku punched his arm playfully.

"Besides, Neru and I are planning to kidnap Miku for a few days this summer," Teto laughed evilly. "You, Gakupo and the others can kidnap Len!"

"But you'll have to kidnap Rin, too," Len frowned. "I don't want her to be alone."

"We're taking Rin," Neru said. "And Gumi."

"This sounds like a sleepover," I mumbled, a small smile on my face. Miku ran over to my side and stared at me.

"There will be carrots," she said in a creepy voice. "Carrots...carrots...carrots!"

I chuckled and watched as she pulled a leek out of her backpack and started to chew on it. I distinctly remember this day, because it was the day when I realised that we were still friends. Len was right; all I needed was some time. The uncomfortable feeling inside of me had started to wash away.

We arrived at the bus stop and I said goodbye to everyone. Len and Miku stayed by me. I frowned at them.

"What is it?" I asked. They both grinned. It was almost creepy.

"Nothing," Miku said.

"We're just waiting for the bus," Len said,

"B-But...you guys don't need to take the bus..."

"Yes, we do," Miku looked at me like I was crazy.

"Are you going somewhere other than home?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Where?"

They exchanged glances. "Your place!" The said in unison.

"Huh?"

That's basically what happened. They climbed onto the bus with me. Kaito wasn't at the stop that day, to my surprise. That made it easier to hide the fact that I liked him.

All three of us took the train and eventually reached my home. Miku and Len stood behind me as I unlocked the front door.

"My mom's going to be surprised," I mumbled.

"In a good way, right?" Miku asked.

"We'll find out," I said, opening the door and walking in. I ushered the two up to my room and then I ran around the house, trying to find my mom. She was in the kitchen.

"Mom!" I said, running up to her. She was standing in front of the stove, cooking something in a large pot. We hugged and she grinned,

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm great," I said. "Miku and Len are here."

"What?" My mom gasped, which was a bit of an overreaction, in my opinion. "Why didn't you tell me that they were coming?"

"They just sort of tagged along!" I said.

"I haven't even cleaned up the house yet!"

"It's fine, we're sitting in my room."

"But your room isn't exactly clean either, Gumi," my mom tilted her head to one side and frowned at me. I sighed.

"It's fine," I said. "It's an unplanned visit, after all."

She nodded. "Okay. Go on up, I'll drop by and say hello in a while."

I hurried upstairs and into my room. They were sitting on the floor, cross-legged, leaning against the wall. Miku had her head on Len' shoulder. He waved to me and I sat down in front of them.

"So," I began, looking at them. "What is it?"

"What's what?" Miku asked.

"You guys came here," I said. "What's the reason?"

Miku sat up straight and Len got to his feet. He plopped down on my bed, which was actually clean, and started rolling around on it. Miku giggled and I rolled my eyes.

"We just came," Miku said. "Do we really need a reason?"

"No, but...ow!"

Something big and puffy hit the back of my head. I grabbed it and glared at Len. He was laughing. Miku started to laugh, too.

"Why'd you throw a pillow at me?" I yelled, hurling it at his face. He caught it and sent it right back, hitting me in the face. Before we knew what exactly was going on, we were all throwing pillows and blankets and each other.

"Haha!" Miku threw my blanket over my head and worked with Len to wrap me up and hold me down.

"It's dark in here!" I yelled, giggling, thrashing around and shaking the two off.

"Let's tickle her to death!" Len laughed evilly.

"Yes!" I heard Miku. I managed to slip my hands out of the blanket and grabbed someone's legs. Miku screamed and I pulled her into the darkness, quickly escaping.

I grinned at Len. "You're next," I pointed at him.

After about ten more minutes of this, we were exhausted. Miku was slouched against the wall, catching her breath. I had my head against her shoulder and Len was splayed out on the floor.

"My cheeks hurt," Miku mumbled. "All this tickling must be bad for our health."

I groaned in response, blowing out a puff of air, making the hair that covered my face move to one side. Len dragged himself closer to us and dropped his head against Miku's stomach.

"I'll just stay like this," he said, a small, tired smile on his face. "It's comfy."

Miku's cheeks took on a rosy tint and I laughed softly, pinching her cheek.

"You're cute like this," I remarked. Miku chuckled sheepishly.

"Gumi?" My mom opened the door and saw us all leaning against each other.

"Hey, Mrs. Megpoid," Len waved to her. Miku nodded. My mom entered the room and looked around at the mess of pillows, blankets and things.

"Looks like a storm tore this place up," she smirked at me.

"We were playing around," I said. "Sort of..."

"It's fine," she waved a hand dismissively before focusing her attention on Miku. "Your mom called."

"Huh?" Miku's eyes widened. "Crap, my phone must've run out of battery..."

"Did you just say 'crap', Miku?" Len looked up at her and pinched her nose. Miku pouted at him before pushing him away.

"You can call her on our phone," my mom said before commenting, "Len's become...awfully clingy, hasn't he?"

Miku's face flushed and Len yelped, sitting up straight.

"N-No, mom, that's not it..." I said.

"We're..." Miku looked at Len and then at my mom. Silently, she took hold of Len's hand and squeezed it, hoping that my mother got the hint.

"Oh," my mom nodded slowly. "You're not really, erm...just friends anymore."

Len laughed nervously, his face hidden under his hair. "Yeah..."

"Anyway!" My mom clapped her hands together. "Miku, I'll get you the phone."

"I'll come!" She said, getting up and hurrying out of the room. "Be back in a minute, guys!"

"Well, that was awkward," Len said once both Miku and my mother were gone.

"I think my mom knew that you liked me," I said.

"Your mom's pretty sharp."

"Like you would know."

"I do."

I glanced Len's way. "I understand now, Len."

"Hmm?"

"You and Miku, I mean," I continued. "I get it. You moved on."

He nodded. "Yeah," he answered. "I moved on. I told you one day, remember? I can't force anyone to feel a certain way. Nobody can. I didn't want to rush with you. I wanted to make it perfect when I told you, but the whole thing with my parents and Rin left me feeling so...I don't know, it made me tell you earlier than I would have liked."

"I still can't believe I hurt you."

"Hey, I moved on, didn't I?" Len smiled at me. "Besides, I wouldn't want to date you if you didn't like me, you know."

"I do like you," I whispered. "But...not like that."

"I understand, Gumi. It's fine, don't worry about it, okay? You're still one of my two best friends."

"You guys!" Miku ran back into the room. "My mom kinda wants me to come home now..."

"Yeah, we should go," Len said, standing up and taking my hand, lifting me to my feet without my consent. We exchanged smiles and walked out of my room.

"I'll drop you two off at the bus stop," I said, leading them out of the house.

"Have you started studying yet, Gumi?" Miku asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I've been studying for Science with Oliver," I said. "I'm scared..."

"Work hard and you'll be fine," Len patted my shoulder. I nodded.

"I'm going to study some more tonight," I said. "Exams start next week..."

"Yeah, but they only go on from Monday to Thursday," Miku said. "Then we've got Friday, the last day of school. And then it's over!"

"I guess you're right," I said. "It'll be over soon."

"And then we've got summer and..." Miku started rambling and Len put a hand over her mouth as the bus stopped in front of us.

"She could go on forever," Len smiled. "See you, Gumi."

"Right!" I nodded, grabbing Miku and hugging tightly. See you both tomorrow!"

As they got into the bus, I counted the days in my head.

Eight days. Eight days until I tell Kaito.

Urgh. I don't like how I've been writing the chapters lately at all! I might go back and rewrite them but for now, they're just a huge source of stress. I'm sorry.