Akari's POV

It was after school, Mari and I picked Natsumi up at her class like usual and head to the art club. But it's usually her who ends up waiting for us in front of our class. We met with Shou and Ryouta on the way so we ended up going together to the art club.

"Anyone wants cake??" Natsumi said as she took out a white box from a bag that she brought to school.

"OOoo... cake!!! Did you bake it?? You're the best!! Baking a cake for us, I feel so touched," Ryouta exaggerated teasingly.

"Ahahaha....no.... I just got this as a present from a friend of my father who just recently opened up a bakery. My mom said that I should take it to school and share it with you guys," Natsumi said as she scratched her head.

"How nice!!" Mari said joyfully, looking at the box.

Natsumi took out the cake from the box and hand each of us a slice.

"Oh..? It's a cheesecake," Shou said.

"You don't like it?" Natsumi asked.

"Then give it to me!" Ryouta said with a mouthful of cake.

"No, I love cheesecake," Shou puts a piece into his mouth and started chewing it, "this is good..!" He said with a smile, and started eating gobbling the cake down.

"I'm glad you liked it!" Natsumi smiled. I started eating the cake too and it was indeed delicious. "Is Ken not coming? He's missing out on the cake."

"H-He had stomach ache so he went back home early today," Ryouta said.

"Awn that's too bad. Hope he's okay now," Mari said.

We all had two pieces each, since it was so tasty. "Shou, you have cream on your face. What are you? 7?" Natsumi laughed as she gets a tissue and wiped the cream on Shou's face.

"A-Ah, thank you," Shou replied while covering his mouth with his hand.

"Hm? What is this I'm sensing?" I smirked and stared at Natsumi.

"W-What?" Natsumi stuttered.

"Heh heh," Mari and I eyed each other and gave signals. "What's this, Natsumi-chan~"

"L-Like I'm saying! What?!"

"You two are awfully close. For you to even wipe off food from his face, are you in lo--"

"W-what are you talking about!!" Natsumi waved her hand and covered my mouth. "And I'm pretty sure you know who I like, right??"

"Ah, of course. It's Sho--"

"NOO! I already told you!! ><"

"Hmm?" I said tilting my head. "You only told me about Sho--"

"NOO! Ugh!! It's Nishida-senpai!!! I told you this many times, haven't I?" She whispered-shouted.

"Hmm...who knows?" I smirked.

"Ooo! Nishida-senpai meaning the one from class 2-B?" Ryouta said from behind Natsumi.

"Eekk! You heard me?" Natsumi yelled.

"Oh, you know him, Ryouta-kun?" Mari questioned.

"Yeah," Ryouta started. "We go to the same cram school. I see him there most of the time."

"Ohh, really?? That's so cool!!" Natsumi beamed.

"So you like him, huh?" Ryouta asked.

"Ah.." Natsumi's face turned red. "U-umm...I-I...yeah I do..!"

Then I turned to see if Shou reacted but he was peacefully eating his cake. But as I turn back, I saw that Ryouta's face went a bit gloomy.

"Ohh!! Is that so? Maybe I could help you with him?" Ryouta grinned.

"Eh? Really??" Natsumi said cheerfully. I guess she didn't notice how he went gloomy.

"Yup!"

Then we cleaned the mess up and returned to what we normally do. Natsumi was reading her magazine beside me and I had nothing to do so she lended me some of her magazines. A blonde hair model was on the front cover she had huge sapphire eyes, she looked just like a doll. I skipped several pages and start reading random pages. Then I saw the same girl from the front cover. Apparently it's an interview about her. Her name was Nao Yumiko. 'Is she Japanese?'

"Aki-chan, what are you reading??" Natsumi said as she puts her head on my shoulder looking at the magazine. "Ah, Nao Yumiko?"

"You know her?" I asked.

"Well yeah everyone does! She's so cute!! She's half French half Japanese!! I'm so jealous of those genes of her!!" Natsumi squealed.

"Eh?? What are you guys talking about?" Mari said as she took a seat beside me. "I'm a big fan of her too!! I get inspired by her fashion!!"

"Moreover she's 16!! The same age as us!! How can a person that's the same age as us be a 1000 times prettier than us? The world is so unfair!!" Natsumi cried.

"I know right???" Mari joined Natsumi. "She's coming back to Japan right?"

"Yeah!! I would like to meet her, she's so adorable!!!" Natsumi squealed again.

"Do you guys know her too?" I turned to Shou and Ryouta who has been awfully quiet for some time now.

"N-Nao Yumiko?? Of course!! Everyone knows her!" Ryouta said. Shou nodded continuously.

"But I don't ._." There was a silence. I guess I'm the only one outdated when it comes to celebrities and such.

"Everyone except you! Aha.aha.ha.." Ryouta said. 'What's wrong with this guy? He's acting strange..'

>>>>>>>>>>>

Classes were over and I packed my things up. I looked out the window and rest my head on my palm as I waited for Mari, who was taking her time packing her things up. The sky was clear blue with a few birds flying around tree to tree. Everyone in the class has left. "I'm done! Let's go Akari!" We were about to go to Class 1-C's room to pick Natsumi up, but she was already at the hallway, waiting for us.

"You guys take way too long!!" Natsumi said as she folded her hands. "I'll be the one to pick you guys up from now on."

Mari let out a laugh, "Aheheh, it's because I was taking too long, sorry~"

We then headed to the art club, but on the way, Natsumi stopped us and pointed us out to the window. "Hey, isn't that Ken? Where's he going?" In the distance we saw Ken heading out of the school gate.

"He's skipping art club?" Mari was surprised.

"It seems like it," I said.

"Ehh, he didn't even inform us!"

"He didn't come yesterday either."

"Is he still sick?"

"I wonder what's going on..." Mari looked out to the school gates.

"Well, let's ask the boys!" Natsumi suggested as we all went to our club room. There we found Shou and Ryouta just hanging out as usual.

"Do you guys know where Ken is?" Natsumi asked.

"Ken? He said he has to go somewhere and left as soon as school was over," Ryouta said.

"Did he tell you where?" Mari questioned furthermore.

Ryouta and Shou looked at each other and Ryouta turned back to us. "I'm sorry, we don't know either...."

"Oh...." The club continued today, silently. Even Natsumi was quiet. She didn't complain like usual and sat there reading mangas.

>>>>>>>>>>>

Ken did not come to art club for 3 days straight. He would rush out of school as soon as it was over.

"That's it! We need to find out the reason why Ken keeps disappearing after school!" Natsumi said as she slammed on the whiteboard in the art club. Natsumi began to draw and write on the whiteboard. "These are the only explanations! Maybe he's doing something illegal??" Then suddenly it looks like something else hit her. "Oh my god! What if he's being blackmailed?!"

"What if it's family matters?" Mari said worriedly.

Natsumi gasped, "That might be true!! If--"

"Or he could be going on dates with girls," I interrupted.

"Maybe he got a girlfriend?! Hmm...but considering Ken, he wouldn't rushed out to go see a girl like that. OH! What if he's in a relationship with a girl for real??"

"Lol like that'll ever happen--" as I was saying that, I saw Ryouta and Shou became stiff. "Wait," I looked at them. "Are you serious?"

"Huh? A-ah, of course not! There's no way Ken's in a relationship. If he is, then he'll tell us, right Shou?" Ryouta elbowed Shou and he nodded quickly in response. Natsumi narrowed her eyes and inspected their face carefully.

She rubbed her chin as she kept thinking, "Hmm..something's going on, isn't it?" The two of them shook their head simultaneously with their mouth shut. She continued staring at them for a long period of time as she stepped closer to them. Ryouta and Shou backed away as Natsumi closed in, but soon they reached their backs to the wall.

Ryouta sighed and gave in. Shou gave him a quick glance as if warning him not to tell. Ryouta placed his hand on Shou's shoulder assuring him.

"I'm sorry, Shou but I can't keep this a secret anymore! >~<" Ryouta yelled and turned to us. "So Ken's ex-girlfriend just came back from abroad and he's been meeting her!!"

"EX?!" Natsumi started.

"GIRL-" Mari continued. 'Ah, this is the part where i joined them and say FRIEND?'

"freind.....?" I said emotionlessly.

Natsumi exclaimed, "So, it is about a girl!"

"But, why would he always meet with his ex after school?" I questioned.

"Yeah! Normally wouldn't you avoid your ex?..Or something like that?" Mari gasped, "Unless....he still likes her??"

"Ha! I'm sure he'll get over it soon. How many ex-girlfriends does he have anyways," I said nonchalantly.

Ryouta then explained to us, "Well, it's true that had played and dated many girls but she was his first girlfriend and the girl he really had feelings for, unlike other girls he has gone out with. He just wanted to waste time with those girls. But we don't know if he still likes her or not."

"D-does that mean he was in a serious relationship with her??!" Natsumi hollered.

"You could say that," Ryouta shrugged.

"Wow," I said. 'Never knew that he would be capable of having a serious relationship.'

"Unbelievable!" Mari gasped.

"You guys underestimated Ken that much?" Ryouta asked. The three of us nodded together. Shou chuckled and Ryouta laughed. "If he heard what you guys just said, he would be sulking by now," Ryouta said between his laugh.

"Ahahah, that's great for Ken-kun, isn't it? How is she like? Is she pretty? Is she nice?" Mari joined.

"Yup! She's super pretty! And.. she's somewhat nice.. I guess," Ryouta said.

"Yeah..." Shou agreed.

"I want to meet her!!" Mari said as she clapped her hands.

"That bastard could've just told us that he's meeting her or just doing whatever," I said, a bit angered.

"Yeah, he could've told us. I mean, there's no harm in it, right?" Natsumi said.

"Well, Ken has his own stuff he wants to keep so it can't be helped. Everyone has what they don't want to share to others, right?" Shou interrupted.

"Well...that's true..."

"Hmm, maybe he didn't want to tell others so that he won't bother her? I mean she's pretty popular after all," Ryouta said to Shou.

"I agree.." he nodded.

"Huh--" I started. 'What does he mean by popular?'

"Ah! Look at the time, it's already 4:30. I have to go to my part-time job now," Mari interrupted. "Bye everyone!" Mari waved as she rushed out of the room. I checked the clock, she was right. I have to get going soon too.

"I'll get going too," I stood up and head for the door.

"Oh, then I'll come with you!" Natsumi said. " Let's go together!" We walked out of the room and went to get our shoes. We changed into our shoes from the school slippers. Then walked to our home.

"Your car's not picking you up today?"

"No, I have to be at somewhere today. It's near school so I just decided to walk."

"Where are you going?"

"My cousin's birthday! She just turned 3 years old, and she's soooo cute!!!" Natsumi squealed. "I did a photoshoot for her the other day. Wanna see the pictures??"

"Uh..no thanks. I'll pass." She took out a dozen of photographs from her bag. She didn't even hear what I said, she was too busy squealing over her cousin baby's pictures.

"Don't tell me the birthday party is there?" We approached a huge, grand hotel.

"Yup! It is!" I froze. 'Rich people...-.-'

"You're going in there with your school uniform?"

"Ah! Ahaha I forgot about that!" She laughed nervously. "Eliz-chan is gonna kill me!!"

"Natsumi-sama you've finally arrived. You're late!" a really elegant looking lady came out the hotel in a formal dress.

"Speak of the devil," Natsumi whispered to herself, but it was pretty loud. "

"I was just going to ask the driver to pick you up." The lady inspected Natsumi. "I prepared a dress for you to wear since I knew you would be coming here with your uniform," she sighed.

"Ehh?? A dress?? Eliz-chan, you know I hate dresses!" Natsumi wailed. 'Ah, so this is the 'Eliz-chan' that she always talks about.'

"It's Elizabeth-san," she said firmly. "We have no time, let's get going now." Then, Natsumi was dragged into the building, leaving me alone outside.

I sighed and turned around. Well, she's busy so I shouldn't interrupt. I walked away from the hotel and back to the road that leads to my home. As I was passing a park nearby I heard constant sobbing from afar. I spun around to check where it was from. I saw a girl and a guy sitting on a bench in the park, both of them were facing their back to me so I couldn't see their faces. The girl held her head low then she turned to the side and faced the guy, I saw a glimpse of her face. Tears were rolling down her face. The guy puts his hand on the girl's head and made her lean to his shoulder. He stroked her hair blonde hair and consoled her? At least that's what this whole scene looked like to me.

'Why am I even spying on a couple?' After realizing what a stupid thing I was doing I hurried back home, since it was getting dark.

>>>>>>>>>>>

It has been a few days since that day. Everything was normal except for that bastard not coming to club activities of course. I walked into my school campus as usual, but something was different. People huddled amongst each other and were whispering. I walked past them and went inside the building. There was a ruckus going on recently in the school as well.

"Hey, I heard a new student is transferring!"

"I heard it's someone popular!!"

"Which class?"

"I heard they're transferring to Class 1-B!"

I was a bit taken aback. Our school have never been this loud. I ignored them and went to my classroom and take a seat.

"Morning, Akari-chan~!" I turned to the voice, Mari came to my desk and greeted me with a smile.

"Morning," I casually replied.

"Did you heard about the new student??"

"Yeah, it's everywhere," I said while taking out my pencil case and books.

"Do you think it's a girl or a boy?"

"Who knows?"

"I think it's a girl!! She's moving to Ken's class moreover!"

"So?"

"It'll be bad for you won't it?" She winked at me and tugged my shoulder.

"Huh?"

Then she became quiet for a minute and it looked like she was in a deep thought. "Oh my god! What if....she's Ken's ex girlfriend?? Maybe, seeing him after school wasn't enough so she decided to transfer to this school???" Mari gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. Then she gave a smirk and giggled.

"Good for them...?"

"You don't care at all??" She pouted.

"Why would I? It's not my business." Mari sighed. "Did you just sighed??"

"You don't get it do you, Akari? We might not get to hang out with Ken anymore! What if his ex takes him away!! He'll only be with her!" Mari wailed her arms.

"I wish that happens. I can't stand seeing that bastard's face," his face came into my mind as I finished my sentence. 'Ughh go away!' I thought to myself as I shook my head to try to forget his face.

"Akari you idiot!" Mari stomped back to her seat.

Just as I was about to ask her what was wrong, the bell rang and the teacher came in. He taught lessons as usual and I jot down notes like usual. 'I bet Class 1-B is going insane right now after getting a new 'famous' transfer student. The next break might be a wild one.'

Some time pass by as class went on and break was approaching soon. I needed to use the toilet, I wish I could just hold it in just a bit more. To be honest, I never went to the toilet during class. Well, mostly because I didn't want to miss out on what the teacher says. So this was my first time I remembered that I had to ask for permission. I slowly raised my hand and when the teacher spot me I asked politely, "May I go to the bathroom?" She nodded and I quickly got out of the classroom and dashed to the bathroom.

I got out the stall after I was done with my business, but there, I saw a girl. She was checking herself in the mirror and fixing her hair. She was really tall and attractive. She had long wavy blonde hair that goes all the way to her back and a pair of sapphire orbs that stood out from her pale skin. She looked like a foreigner. With all those features, she seems like a model. Model?

If I have to recall, I don't remember seeing a girl like her in school. Could she be the new transfer student? But as I inspected her further, I feel like I've seen her somewhere. She looks somewhat familiar... I wonder where I've seen her before.

I guess she caught me staring at her that she decided to say something. "Ah, hello!~ What's your name? Sorry, I just transferred to class 1-B today so I don't really know everyone other than people from my class," she smiled, rubbing the back of her head.

I stood there staring at her. 'Isn't it the common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?'

"Ah, I'm sorry I should introduce myself first right? I'm Yumi! Nao Yumiko! But Yumi's fine," she giggled. "What's yours?"

"Miura Akari. Nice to meet you," I slightly bowed.

"Huh? I feel like I've heard of this name before, I thought back hard and remembered the model from the magazine Natsumi let me read. It was her. Blonde hair, emerald orbs, and her doll-like face.

What Mari said to me this morning came back to my mind. "Oh my god! What if....she's Ken's ex girlfriend?? Maybe, seeing him after school wasn't enough so she decided to transfer to this school???" Why did I thought of that for no reason?

Then I remembered the girl from the park, she had blonde hair too. Maybe....if she was the same girl that I saw, then....the guy next to her was Ken?! Ken's ex-girlfriend was Nao Yumiko, a model?? Oh god....

But what is she doing here?!

A/N: We're sorry we didn't update for 2 weeks (シ_ _)シ Our school had just ended and it's now summer break yayy ＼(￣▽￣)／ From this week on we'll make sure to update regularly! Hope you're enjoying Mixed Feelings so far if you do, make sure to vote and comment what you think!! Thanks for reading till the end~

- Kuroi & Yukine