The bus stopped in front of the mall and Len and I walked out. We sauntered across the parking lot and towards one of the entrances.

"Do you think they're already there?" Len asked.

I shrugged and looked at the time on my phone's display. "We're early," I said. "It's only three...we're supposed to meet in half an hour!"

Len shrugged. "Your fault."

"How is it my fault?" I balled my fists and yelled, "You're the one who showed up early!"

Len poked my arm. "You're the one who ran after the bus and nearly tripped down the stairs as the subway train sped away!"

I scoffed and crossed my arms. We walked towards the mall's glass door entrance. I grabbed the silver metal handlebar and pushed it gently.

"Ladies first," I smirked at Len. He stuck his tongue out at me and walked in.

Instantly, we were blasted with cool air. We both closed our eyes, stopped in our tracks, and let out a long, overly dramatic sigh of relief.

"It's not that hot but I still love this," I said as we moved on, our sneakers slipping slightly against the reflective floor.

"It's cool," Len smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"What should we do?" I asked.

"Let's look around," Len suggested. "I can watch you buy panties."

"You're so gross!" I wailed, smacking his arm and making him laugh.

"I'm kidding!" He stifled his laughter and I crossed my arms.

"Let's go to the pet store," I said. "They've got bunnies."

"Oh, so you're going to look at bunnies," he drawled. "If you're not going to buy the bunnies, then leave the bunnies!"

"Oh, shut up," I grabbed his arm and dragged him past the shops. Occasionally, he'd resist and comment on the places we were passing.

"Hey, they've got the new edition of Ultra Road Fighter II!" He gaped at a video game poster in front of a large game shop.

"Come on!" I grabbed both of his arms and pulled. He crashed into me, his eyes still glued to the poster.

"Geez, Gumi, I just wanna see the game...," he whined, "Maybe they have it set up inside!"

"Come back on your own time!" I said. He kept looking at the poster but he didn't resist. I pulled him away and we kept walking.

"I am here on my own time," Len mumbled, "I only came 'cause you asked me to."

"Okay, okay," I said, "Let's head back to our meetup point."

"Where's that?"

"The other end of the mall," I said, leading him over to a mall of the area. "It'll take maybe five minutes if we walk."

Len grinned deviously. "Wanna race?"

"Huh?" I blinked. "Race?"

"Okay then, it's settled," he clapped his hands together and got ready to sprint. "Let's race."

"I don't think we should..."

"Loser has to treat the winner to something tasty and expensive," Len interrupted me, upping the stakes. "Come on, Gumi...I'll even toss in a picture of Kaito if you win."

I growled. "Why do you have to bring him up?"

"Hey, you could use it to bribe Neru or something," he said, "Anyway...you up for it?"

I nodded slowly, letting the blonde have his way.

"Ready?" He glanced at me. I nodded and he took a breath before saying, "Go!"

I dashed across the mall, making a sharp turn and nearly crashing into a group of giggling teenage girls. I leapt over a bench. Glancing back, I saw Len sprinting after me. He was pretty fast, but I was faster.

"Gumi!" He sang as he came closer. I got distracted and nearly tripped over a stroller. The lady glared at me and I apologized quickly. I started to run again when a hand grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back.

"H-Hey!" I cried out as Len rocketed past me.

He ran faster and faster, his hoodie flapping behind him. I stumbled back before chasing after him, my aggressiveness apparent in my expression. I watched as he slipped and caught himself with one hand against the ground.

I slowed down, feeling hopeless as he slammed into the glass entrance doors and turned to face me. There was a huge grin on his face and he was out of breath.

"I won," he said before taking in a few gulps of air. He stumbled over to a bench that was close by and sat down. I sat down beside him and looked down at my shoes.

"What'll it be?" I asked. He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders, leaning back.

"A banana split," he said. "Listen, I was only kidding."

"No, you deserve it," I smiled a little. He shook his head.

"I was just having some fun with you, Gumi," he said.

"I know that."

"Then why're you so glum?"

"I'm not," I said. "Just tired."

He nodded. "'Kay," he said before leaning to one side and resting his head against mine. His blond hair flew in my face and I blew out a puff of air, moving it out of my eyes.

"I could fall asleep here," he mumbled.

"You do that," I said, "I'll leave you and you can sleep here till the mall closes."

He laughed softly. "I meant, with my head against yours, Gumi."

There is was again, that feeling. I swallowed my spit and shifted in place. My heart was pounding unbelievably hard, creating shockwaves across my body. I wondered if Len could feel it. For a split second, my body remembered the feeling of his eyes scanning my features, of his fingers holding my face, of his breath against me. I didn't want to remember because it made me feel weird but at the same time, I couldn't help it.

"L-Len?" I began.

He was quiet for a moment. "...Hmm?"

"Were you actually asleep just now?" I asked.

"Maybe..."

"Could you...move over a little?" I squeaked.

"Huh?" He lifted his head and looked at me with weary eyes. "Okay."

"Gumi!" I heard a familiar voice. Len and I turned towards the mall's entrance. Miku, Neru and Teto were hurrying over to our bench. Miku was waving. She ran over to me and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"You're early," she smiled.

"What, no hug for me?" Len pouted. She looked at him and laughed.

"Are you serious, Len?" She crossed her arms. "Wait. Why are you here?"

"Yes, I'm serious," he nodded. "And Gumi dragged me along because apparently, you three are too boring. No worries, though; I'll be the judge of that."

"Gumi, as you requested, I brought the banana...," Teto noticed Len beside me and her voice trailed off. He waved causally and she finished her sentence. "...Bread."

"You don't mind, right?" I grinned sheepishly, watching as the redhead took a few deep breaths at the sight of the blonde. He grinned at her.

"Thanks for bringing the banana bread," he smirked. She cringed suddenly and looked at me.

"He wanted you to bring banana bread," I explained, shrugging. "It's a compliment, Teto..."

She huffed and crossed her arms. I glanced at Neru. The girl was busy texting.

"Can we start shopping now?" I asked. Neru looked up and nodded along with the other girls. Len stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Where to first, ladies?" He asked, eyeing the large bag of baked goods in Teto's hands.

"Dresses," Neru said. We all nodded. Len snuck his hand into Teto's bag and she yelped in surprise.

"What is it with you?" She snapped. He shrugged and she rolled her eyes.

"I'll hold it for you," he said. She handed the bag over hesitantly. Immediately, Len began looking though its contents.

"Just don't finish it all," Teto said.

We started walking towards the dress shops. I watched as Len pulled out a slice of banana bread. It was blanketed with plastic wrap. His eyes sparkled at the sight. He hooked the tote in the crook of his arm and unwrapped the food, gobbling it down. I stared at him. So did Miku. Teto and Neru were talking about Kaito. This went on until we reached the dress store, where one of the employees kindly requested that Len not eat in the store.

"I'll just stay outside then," Len said as we walked in. I pulled his arm.

"Oh no, you're not staying out there," I said, reeling him into the store, which was painted with various solid, pastel hues. "You need to look at the dresses, too."

"But I'm not buying any!"

"You could get one for Rin," I said.

"She gets enough," Len grumbled. I frowned at his sudden change of tone.

"Okay, fine," I said. "Just...tell me which ones are nice, okay?"

He crossed his arms. I walked around him and pressed my palms against his back, pushing him in.

"The things I do for you," he sighed loudly, grabbing the attention of all other ladies in the store. He looked at them and smiled. "The ladies like me, huh?"

"You're being delusional," I said, pushing him towards a rack of dresses. I pulled a bright orange one out and held it in front of my figure. "Well?"

He furrowed his brow and thought long and hard before taking the dress from me. It had two thin straps for each shoulder and reached down to my knees.

"It's too short," he said. "And it shows off your arms."

"Is that good?"

"Nope. It's too much skin. And besides, you don't want guys like...," Len stopped and shuddered before continuing, "...Gakupo...wolf whistling or trying to look up your skirt..."

He put the dress back. I didn't bother trying to argue with him. Instead, I browsed the racks as he observed Neru, Teto and Miku, who had just stepped out of the changing room, sporting a sky blue dress with short sleeves. It reached just past her knees.

"How's it look?" Miku asked us as she spun around. We all nodded in approval, Len included.

"It looks perfect!" He gushed suddenly, frightening the girl. "You have to buy it! I'll even pay for it!"

Miku smirked. "Since you're offering..."

"Hey, I don't get it," I called out to Len. "You didn't like mine but you like hers?"

"It's got sleeves," he said. "And it's longer than yours. Besides, you're always hanging around guys like Gakupo and Oliver..."

"I don't see how that makes a difference," I said.

"I don't want them staring at you," Len said plainly. "Okay?"

Neru and Teto oohed and ahhed. I blushed. What was it with Len always acting like my brother or father or something? It ticked me off.

"What's it to you?" I mumbled, pulling out another dress. This one had sleeves that reached to the middle of my upper arms and it was longer than my last one. It had bright green with flowers printed on it. Len nodded and walked up to me.

"I like it," he said. "And listen, I'm sorry, okay? I'm always nagging my sister, too, you know. I can't help it."

I was about to snap at him, saying something about how I wasn't his sister, but I held it back. I didn't want to start another petty fight.

"Okay," I said, holding the dress up in front of him. "So you like this one?"

"Yeah," he smiled warmly. "I do. Try it on."

I nodded and scampered into the changing room. Hurriedly, I stripped myself down to my underwear and then pulled the dress over my body. I adjusted it quickly, examining myself in the full length mirror inside, before stepping out.

"You guys," I began, feeling a little shy as I turned around so that they could all see. Teto squealed and jumped around at the sight of me. Neru took a picture.

"It's so cute!" The redhead squeaked. Miku nodded.

"You should get it," she said.

"I-Is it actually nice?" I asked. They all nodded.

"Told ya," Len said. I looked to my left and saw him standing by my side.

"You did," I nodded.

After that, we went to buy hair clips, because Neru, Miku and Teto really wanted some. My hair wasn't very long; it just reached the middle of my neck from the back and my side bangs framed my face, dropping down just past my jawline. A few bobby pins were all I ever used for my hair, if I ever used anything.

"I think you should let your hair grow longer," Miku commented as we entered a large store that was stuffed with hair accessories.

"Yeah, a ponytail would look cute on you," Teto said.

"I second that," Len added. "But it's fine the way it is now, too."

"You could wear it like me," Neru said. "Wear it in a side ponytail."

I imagined Neru with green hair like mine. It didn't look right at all but I didn't comment.

Initially, I was afraid that I'd be bored at that shop, but I found an unexpected source of amusement as my girlfriends browsed through hundreds of hair clips and hair ties. Len was my source of amusement.

The idea struck me when I saw him standing in front of a mirror, fiddling with his hair.

"I look like my sister," he remarked, meeting my eyes in the mirror. He had pushed his hair back and kept some of it over his forehead, using his hands to hold the bangs to the sides of his face.

"That's not how it works," I said, grabbing a few bobby pins that were lying around. I spun Len around to face me and used the pins to hold his bangs back. Taking a step back, I let out a sigh of content and smiled.

"What?" He asked, turning to look at himself in the mirror.

"You're so cute!" I gushed, teasing him. He pulled the pins out and I swiped a hair clip off of a counter. "Let's try clipping your hair back..."

"Gumi, I'll look like...," his voice trailed off. He looked at me in the mirror as I grabbed a handful of his locks and folded them upwards against the back of his head before clipping them down.

"You'll look like what?" I asked before letting him turn to see.

"I actually don't know," he said. "Can I see now?"

"You look like a very pretty girl," I poked his cheek and he glared at me momentarily before examining his hair's appearance in the mirror.

"Huh," he mumbled. "Not half bad."

"Gakupo ties his hair," I said. "Maybe you should try wearing it long like he does."

Len scoffed and I pulled the clip out of his hair. "My parents would kill me."

"Speaking of which...," I began, "Is it still...as bad between them?"

Len looked at me but he didn't say anything. The uneasy silence between us was something I wasn't used to.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," I mumbled, breaking the silence. I don't think he expected me to react like that, judging by his response.

"No, it's...it's fine, Gumi," he said. "Sorry, I wasn't...I didn't mean to make you feel this way, of course you can ask. I mean, who else would I talk to about this sort of stuff, right?"

Silently, I put the hair clip back. He looked at the bobby pins in my hands and suddenly took them from me.

"Come here," he said, pulling me close with one hand till there were only a few inches between our figures.

I looked into his eyes and they were clouded with regret. He didn't look back. I figured he was still intent on making it up to me for being silent. I wasn't angry with him at all, actually. I was just reflecting upon my own brash behaviour, and that's what I told him.

"Len, I'm not angry," I said. "I shouldn't have asked, that's all. It's your business."

"No, it's not," he said. "Hold still."

"Yes, it is," I insisted.

"Listen, Gumi," he said sharply, suddenly, before glancing towards Miku, Neru and Teto and lowering his voice. "Rin's going through enough because of my parents. She never vents out to me because she knows it'll hurt me. We're twins, we know each other like that. I'm not going to vent out to her for the exact same reason."

"So she keeps it bottled up?" I asked quietly. Len parted his lips, running his tongue along the edges of his teeth as he clipped back some of my hair with a bobby pin. His hand slipped and the pin scraped my forehead. I winced slightly.

"Sorry," he said. "And no, she doesn't keep it bottled up. She's got an outlet of sorts."

"But you don't," I said.

"I do," he said. "I've got my friends, right? Gakupo, Piko, Oliver...Kaito...others..."

"And me?" I smirked, not expecting the words he was about to say.

"You?" He shook his head slightly. "Gumi, you're a special case."

I stared at him blankly, feeling blood rush up to my cheeks. I didn't get it. Why had those words made me feel the way they did?

"I mean, you're the only girl I played basketball with yesterday," he laughed softly and pushed some of my hair out of my eyes before turning me to face the mirror. "How's that?"

I giggled. He had stuck pins in left and right. I looked hilarious. Behind me, he shrugged.

"I'm not very good at this," he said. I turned to face him, glad that we were past our earlier topic of discussion.

"It's nice!" I half-lied. "Besides, you'll get better with practice. Maybe you should buy some."

"Nah," he shook his head.

"For Rin?"

He hesitated, holding back an absolute 'no'.

"You could practice in her hair," I offered as I pulled the pins put of my hair. "It'd be a nice...um, twin bonding thing. And maybe you could lighten her mood."

That last part got to him. "You're right," he said, grabbing a few packs of pins. "Should I get sparkly ones?"

I laughed. "You know her better than I do!"

"Hmm...," he looked at the ones in his hands. They were bright blue, yellow and pink. "It says over here that if I buy five packs, I'll get a discount."

I walked up to him and picked two more packets off of the shelves. One had bright green pins with little daisies painted on, and the other was a nice, deep scarlet hue.

"Take these," I said, handing them to him. We headed over to the cashier and he made the payment.

"Neru! Miku! Teto!" I yelled at the girls. They were talking, strolling towards the cashier.

"We're coming!" Miku yelled back.

"Let's wait outside," I said to Len. We walked out of the store and waited right outside, where there was a bench. That was when I remembered that Len still had Teto's bag of snacks. He pulled out a plastic box and opened it. I peered in at the contents.

"Brownies," he grinned evilly. He picked up two of of them and quickly shut the lid, dropping the box back into Teto's bag.

He offered one to me and while it looked delicious, I was reluctant.

"So now I'm your partner in crime, huh?" I smirked, caving in and taking the chocolate sweet from his hands. We both glanced back into the store, where the girls were almost done with their purchases.

"Better hurry," Len said, stuffing the square into his mouth. I laughed and he took the opportunity to grab my piece and stuff it down my open mouth. I nearly choked but managed to chew it down.

"I would've eaten yours," he said, "But your mouth was so wide open that I had to do that."

I swallowed and pulled a pack of tissues out of my pants pocket, handing one to him. We quickly wiped our mouths and Len grabbed both tissues and sprinted over to the trash, tossing them in and making it back just before Teto and the others arrived.

"Ready to move?" Neru asked, her hands completely occupied with the bags containing her dresses and hair accessories. "We're going to eat next."

We all headed over to the food court, taking our time. Len took my bags from me and he took Miku's as well.

"That's very nice of you," I smirked at the blonde. He shrugged.

"I have to be useful, right?" He said.

"You know this isn't why I invited you," I said.

"I know," he said. "I want to help."

"Could you hold ours, too?" Teto looked at Len, batting her eyelashes. Neru was doing the same, except she was also pouting her lips.

I watched, laughing softly as Len's face reddened a bit. Girls had stopped flirting with Len after Kaito had come along. He suffered the same fate as all the other males.

"You like them?" I nudged him softly.

"N-No!" He shook his his head before walking up to the blonde and the redhead. "I'll take them."

At the food court, there were rows and rows of gleaming silver tables. Unfortunately, they were all packed with hungry and tired shoppers. Just looking at all the people tired me out.

Len groaned. "What now?"

"I don't know," I said before looking at Miku, Neru and Teto. "What do you guys think?"

Neru was texting. Teto and Miku exchanged glances.

"I think we need to be vicious," Miku said, smacking her fist against her palm for added emphasis. "Let's hunt down some chairs first!"

"Right!" Len and I said in unison.

"Neru!" Teto smacked the blonde's shoulder.

"Uh-huh?" Neru didn't even look up from her phone.

"You need to go and loom over people as you text!" Teto instructed. "Annoy them so that they eat faster and leave!"

Neru nodded and kept texting God-knows-what to God-knows-who. She sauntered over towards a table where the family of three was almost done with their French fries.

"Let's get those chairs!" Miku yelled.

We all split up and headed in different directions. I wove in and out between the tables and chairs, eyeing a couple. They were talking and sipping coffees. I spotted an unoccupied chair beside them. I made a beeline for their table and gasped softly as someone else took it.

"Great...," I looked around and caught a glimpse of another available chair. As I hurried towards it, I spotted Miku, who was much closer to the chair than I was.

"Miku!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, jumping up and down and flailing my arms.

She finally met my eyes and I pointed at the chair. Her eyes lit up and she nodded, grabbing it. I looked towards the table Neru was standing by. The family was glaring at her as they packed up their leftovers and walked away. I hurried over and patted the blonde's shoulder.

"Good job!" I said. She nodded.

"That's three, right?" She said. "Oh, and Len left the bags here..."

"Miku got one," I said, pushing our shopping bags closer to the table. Miku was running up to us, holding the chair with its legs splayed out in front of her. That frightened everyone in her way and they all scampered to the sides.

"Got it!" She exclaimed, slamming the chair down. We all took our seats. Teto and Len still weren't back.

"We only need one more," I said, counting us up. "There's five if us and we've got four chairs..."

"Look!" Miku pointed behind me and I spun around to see the sight.

Len was holding a chair over his head, but that wasn't the crazy bit. Teto was sitting on the chair as he carried it. She looked like an empress or something, albeit a scared one. She was clinging to the chair's base, yelping every time Len shifted the chair forwards or backwards.

He walked up to us and slowly lowered the chair. Teto let out a huge sigh of relief and slumped in her seat. Len sat down on the chair beside me.

"What was that all about?" Miku asked the redhead. She groaned.

"I told him he owed me for all the brownies and things he ate," she said. "So he grabbed a chair, told me to sit on it and then he lifted it over his head and..."

"Wow...," I smirked at Len, who was sitting beside me, panting. "Didn't know you were so strong, Len. You certainly don't look like it."

"Hey, don't get too mouthy, Gumi," he pinched my cheek, knowing full well that I was teasing him. "You still owe me a banana split, remember?"

"I thought that was a joke."

"I don't joke about food, especially when it involves bananas," he smiled slyly and I nodded.

"Fine," I said. "You'll get your ice cream..."

"Aren't you supposed to eat something before dessert?" Miku said, looking at Len.

"I'm going to have a sandwich!" Teto chirped. "But I don't know what I want besides the bread..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Len said. "Obviously, you want a peanut butter and...banana sandwich."

"They don't sell those here," Teto wrinkled her nose.

"You could buy a tuna submarine sandwich," Neru said suddenly. We all looked at her.

"Where did that come from?" Teto mumbled, peering at the girl's screen.

"It's what Luka's status update says," Neru explained. "Why not?"

"Maybe...because I don't like tuna?"

"Well, you can't have just bread, you know," Len frowned. "If that's what you want, then go to the salad bar and buy breadsticks! Or buy some garlic bread from the pizza place, but that's got garlic..."

"No, I think I like that," Teto tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Breadsticks sound good."

Len nodded and put his head down on the table. I got out of my seat and tapped his shoulder, making him look up.

"I'll get that banana split," I said. "Teto, are you coming?"

"Yeah!" She hurried out of her seat. Miku followed. Neru was texting, so we assumed she didn't want anything.

We went over to the salad bar first, where Teto got some breadsticks and Miku got a bowl of diced leeks. The guy running the place told them that they had to get some actual salad and they began debating the dictionary definition of 'salad'.

"Okay, okay!" I yelled at Miku, Teto and the owner of the bar. "I'll go grab a bowl with some 'actual salad'."

It ended up being ninety percent carrots but that was fine. I added some cherry tomatoes and lettuce to even it out.

After that, I bought a banana split for Len. It looked very tasty but it was his, not mine. He deserved it, for winning that race. Still, I couldn't help but eye it as I walked back to our table with Teto and Miku.

"Took you long enough," Len smiled. I scoffed and put his bowl of ice cream. He lifted his head and grinned at me. The way he looked at me was kind of scary and creepy.

"L-Look at the ice cream like that," I muttered, sitting down beside him. I plunked down a few plastic spoons. Their clear plastic wrapping crinkled. The blonde snatched one up and tore the wrapping off.

"They were selling leek soup, too!" Miku exclaimed as she spooned up some diced leeks and ate them. Teto nibbled on a breadstick and I crunched a carrot. Neru was texting.

"You should've gotten some," I said. "You could still go."

Miku groaned. "I'm too lazy..."

"Len will get some for you," I said. Len was bringing a spoonful of ice cream to his mouth but he stopped as it brushed his lips.

"What?" He frowned, looking at Miku and then at me. "W-What are you the talking about?"

"I want some leek soup," Miku smiled widely.

"Oh!" Len nodded, grinning. "Good for you!"

"Huh?" Miku watched as he resumed eating. "No, I mean...Len, can you get me some?"

Len looked at Miku. "Me?"

"Yes."

"You want me to stop eating my ice cream, which will surely melt, put my spoon down, push my chair back, stand up, walk to the restaurant, wait in line, order leek soup, wait for the leek soup, take the leek soup, pay for the leek soup, collect the change, bring the leek soup here, hand the leek soup to you..."

"Stop saying 'leek soup', dammit!" Teto screamed.

"...wait as you smile and thank me," Len went on. Miku waited for him to finish. "Smile back and say that I'm welcome, hand the change to you, walk back to my seat, sit down, pull my chair in, pick up my spoon, and then resume eating my ice cream? Only to find that Gumi has stuffed half of it into her face?"

"Hey!" I smacked his arm. "I'd never do that!"

He ignored me and kept looking at Miku. She looked back cooly and they were quiet. Finally, she took a breath and answered him.

"Yes, Len," she smiled. "That's what I want you to do. Please?"

Len impaled one of the bananas in the split with his spoon and stormed out of his seat.

"Fine," he said expressionlessly. "But only because you were being honest. And because you said 'please'."

Miku handed a bill to him and he quietly walked away. She then chewed on her leeks.

"How'd you get him to do that?" Teto asked.

"He's Len," Miku grinned.

"Yeah, you didn't have to do much to get him to carry your bags for you," I said. Miku nodded.

"He's a nice guy," she said.

"Huh," Teto glanced down at her bread. Then she looked up and her eyes widened. Crumbs fell from her mouth and she started hyperventilating.

"She's having an asthma attack!" Miku began to panic, even though the girl doesn't have asthma. Neru was texting but even she stopped and looked up from her phone, her eyes also widening. "They're both having asthma attacks!"

"Kaito!" Neru and Teto squealed, hugging each other. Miku and I turned around and spotted a head of dark blue mixed into the crowds. Those girls were eagle eyed.

Just then, Len returned with Miku's soup and a spoon. "Here you go," he said. Before they could go on with their smiles and thank-yous, he noted the odd behaviour of the other two girls. "What's wrong with them?"

"Kaito," Miku shook her head slowly. Len frowned and sat back down. He had a grim expression on his face. Teto and Neru scrambled out of their seat, their eyes sparkling. They were barely able to stand straight.

"We have to go to see him!" Neru giggled.

"Yes, yes!" Teto nodded excitedly. Neru grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my seat.

"You know him so we're taking you with us!" She explained. I protested but my stammering was lost in their giggling. "Miku, you stay here and make sure Len doesn't eat our food or run away with our things! Besides, you're mostly over Kaito now!"

And with that, they pulled me away, my sneakers screeching against the shimmering floor as they dragged me along.

"Stop, stop!" I tore my arms out of their grip and they grabbed my shoulders instead. "Do we have to go? Aren't you...worried about me and Kaito?"

"Len said Kaito doesn't like you!" Neru said.

"Yeah, and he knows Len better than all of us!" Teto chirped.

"But I...," my voice trailed off as we stopped in front of Kaito. He was standing by the clothing shops with an ice cream in his hands.

"H-H-H-Hi, Kaito," Neru giggled, her face redder than Teto's hair.

Kaito glanced at them but he looked at me the longest. "Hey," he said calmly, his eyes still focused on me. I figured it must be awkward for him with all these girls coming up to him that he didn't even know.

"Are you shopping?" Teto asked.

Kaito paused. "I guess."

The redhead swooned. I grabbed her before she fell back.

"D-Do you want to come eat with us?" Neru whispered her question.

"I can't."

"Oh...," the blonde slumped. "I'm so sorry I asked."

"Hey, Gumi," he said. I yelped and clung to Teto. She squeaked.

"What...what is it?" I asked.

"It's nothing," Kaito said. "Just...Gakupo wants to play basketball again and we're wondering if you'll join us. We haven't spoken to Len yet."

"Yeah, he's with us," I said.

"You can tell him, then."

Neru and Teto gaped at me. It didn't make me feel any better.

"Okay," I said. Kaito nodded. His phone rang and he pulled it out, glancing at the screen.

"I need to go," he said, walking away and waving to me. "See you on Monday."

"R-Right, I'll...," I began to wave when Neru pulled my hand down and I yowled in pain.

"Stop!" She cried out, her tone laced with anger. "Just...stop it, Gumi!"

"What did I do?" I yelled, pulling my hand away and shoving both into my pockets.

"You waved to Kaito!" Teto wailed. "You had a conversation with Kaito! He wants to see you again!"

"I don't care what that banana loving blondie says," Neru scowled. "Kaito likes you!"

"He doesn't!" I insisted. "And even if he does, I don't like him!"

"You think he's cute!"

"So what?" I spat out, striding back towards the food court. "I'm not like you! I don't...I don't fall in love like that! I've never been in love and you know it!"

I huffed and the girls quieted down, anger still simmering inside them, most likely. I spotted Len and Miku. They were talking casually and eating.

"So, how'd it go with the Kaito?" Len smirked as he examined my reddening face. "Not too great, huh?"

I didn't reply.

The whole thing sort of ruined my mood and Len and Miku could tell. Miku was there for me as Teto and Neru discussed Kaito vehemently. When we all split and headed home, Len rode the bus with me even though his home wasn't in the same area. He tried to cheer me up.

"I wanted you to have some of my ice cream," he said.

"It's fine. It was yours anyway," I mumbled, crossing my arms as the bus shook, travelling down the road.

"But still," he said. "Come on, Gumi."

"What?" I looked at him and he grabbed my cheeks with his hands. "Ow!"

He pinched them and grinned, pulling them upwards to force my lips into a grin. "Smile!"

It was late Saturday afternoon and one of my two best friends had told me to smile. Whether I obliged or not was irrelevant, considering what I saw that following Monday.

I was walking to school alone on that fateful Monday morning. There were no laughing boys behind me. There weren't any dorky, arguing friends ahead of me. I did, however, spot one boy, walking slowly, with his head down. His pace was uneven and sloppy, like he'd lose his balance and fall any moment. His blond hair was messier than usual, I realized, like he had fallen asleep late into the night in some odd cranny and hadn't bothered to even run his hands through it in the morning.

I quickened my pace and hurried over to his side. His blue eyes were vacant and his expression was blank, his pale pink lips slightly parted.

"Len," I called. He glanced down at me but the emptiness in his eyes remained. I noticed a small cut across his right cheek. "Is...is something wrong?"

At first he didn't say anything. I gently clasped my left hand around his right arm and squeezed, trying to comfort him. I knew, just by the way he had been walking, that something was very, very wrong.

*exhales* That was a LONG chapter! I kept trying to cut it in half but it wasn't working!
Oh, and things begin to actually, you know, 'happen' (if you've read SOY then you probably get what I mean when I say things like that) in the following chapters.

Thank you for reading! Oh, that doesn't mean the story's over, of course not...heheheh...