Chapter 108

Mikuo.

Meiko and I were walking to school when we spotted Oliver a few feet ahead of us, his head down and his steps sloppy. We hurried up to him and I draped an arm over his shoulder, offering a grin to the gloomy blond boy's somber expression.

"Hey," I greeted him. He looked up at me and glanced at Meiko, smiling at both of us.

"Hey, Mikuo," he said, "Nice weather, huh?"

"You're still not over Ms. Yowane, eh?" I was blunt, but I had to be. I couldn't take seeing the normally spirited boy reduced to a moody personality. He winced momentarily and looked away.

"I'll be fine," he answered plainly before asking, "Did you have fun at the party yesterday?

I frowned, nodding. He was changing the subject, but that was a good thing. "Yeah, it was pretty nice. There was so much food..."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded.

"I think Rin still has a lot of leftovers," Meiko grinned, "We should go after school!"

"Don't you have a meeting?" I smirked, watching her expression transform as she remembered and gently smacked her own forehead.

"Right," she mused, "And you have work..."

"Oliver!" A screech rang out as Neru sprinted up to the boy and pushed him suddenly. Oliver yelped, stumbling, losing his balance and nearly falling back onto the pavement.

"Hey, stop!" He scowled at Neru, and she crossed her arms and pouted her lips.

"You're stupid," she stuck her tongue out at him, "Look at you, so sad and gloomy! Can't you ever cheer up, huh?"

She draped an arm around him, clutching his shoulder and pulling him close so that his side crashed against hers. He winced slightly but then reverted to his scornful expression. Meiko and I just watched.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to deal with a problem," Oliver mumbled. Neru just smacked him on the back hard and scoffed.

"I get it, I get it," she shook her head, eyes half closed before turning up to look at the boy again, "But we all have our troubles, and even though we think that our world's over, it isn't. The sun'll still rise from the east, it'll set in the west. We're still here. You still helped her, y'know? You changed Ms. Yowane's life."

We all stared at Neru, our mouths agape. Even Oliver was dumbstruck, but he was the first person to snap out of the spell.

"That's pretty deep," he remarked, "I never expected you to say something like that, Neru..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blood rushed to her cheeks and she balled her fists. I cleared my throat and clapped my hands together as they glared at each other.

"So...," I began, "Are you guys going to see the fireworks next Saturday?"

They looked at me with frowns on their faces. "Fireworks?" Oliver repeated. Neru sighed and smacked the back of his head, making him seethe again.

"The fireworks they have every summer, genius. Don't you remember last year?" She scolded him. Meiko and I exchanged glances and we continued walking to school, the four of us.

"I remember, okay?" Oliver snapped, "Sometimes it takes a guy a little while to recall a memory!"

"Hmph," Neru crossed her arms and jutted her chin out, "You're getting old, Oliver."

Oliver groaned. I patted his shoulder and he held his anger in. We entered the school and made a beeline for the second floor, where Oliver and I had English. Meiko had art first period, but she insisted that today it was her turn to drop me off.

"You'll have to head back down," I said to Meiko as we hurried upstairs.

"Hey, it's fine!" She assured, taking my hand and pulling me up the stairs faster, "Besides...you're coming with me to see the fireworks, aren't you?"

I answered without a second thought. "Of course!" I said as we walked down the hall of the second floor, Oliver and Neru tagging along behind us, "Why wouldn't I?"

We stopped by the door of our English class. There wasn't anybody inside yet; everyone was used to Ms. Yowane's usual tardiness. They weren't used to being on time.

I leaned against the wall by the door and Meiko clasped my hands in hers, offering a smile.

"See ya," she mouthed. I nodded with a smirk painted on my lips, waving goodbye as Oliver walked past me and into the classroom. He stopped right in front of the door. I frowned and peered in. Ms. Yowane sat on her desk, as in, on her desk, not on the chair. She was flipping through a book when she noticed Oliver.

"H-Haku...," he began before hurrying into the classroom. Ms. Yowane grinned, smiling and tousling the boy's hair. He looked up at her and suddenly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Hey," she smiled, "That's a little too tight, now isn't it?"

Oliver pulled back, his face red and with a grin planted on it. I had never seen him so happy. "You're staying?" He asked, clearly thrilled.

She nodded. "Yep," she glanced at me and I offered a wave, "Dell's letting me stay."

I turned to look at Neru, who was standing in front of the door awkwardly, one hand clasped around the wrist of the other arm, eyes on the floor.

"Hey," I said quietly. She glanced upwards, into my eyes, before looking back at her feet, "I know what you're feeling."

"I'm fine," she said quietly, nervously running a hand through her long blond ponytail, "I'm...yeah, I'm fine."

"He doesn't like her like that, you know," I whispered, making Neru blush slightly. She turned away.

"What makes you think I...I like...whatever," she shrugged it off and took a step down the hall. I chuckled.

"I never said that," I remarked quietly. She froze and slumped slightly.

"I don't care," she mumbled, "I have to get to class."

She continued walking and I stood there, leaning against the wall, watching her take slow, hesitant steps away from the classroom. Suddenly, a blue and yellow blur ran past me and I blinked. Oliver, it was Oliver.

"Neru!" He grabbed her by the sleeve. At first, she tried to pull away, but then she relaxed.

"W-What is it?" She frowned, "You look so much happier, now that Ms. Yowane's staying. Go on, lover boy. I knew you had a crush on her all this time."

"You still owe me something," Oliver said with a smile, "A Slurpee, remember?"

"I don't owe you a Slurpee," Neru pulled her arm away and crossed them over her chest, "I just thought you'd want one..."

"Well, today at lunch, you're getting me a Slurpee."

"What? But I can't just...I can't..."

Oliver waggled a finger in front of her. "No backing out."

She blushed, turning away quickly. I stayed in my spot, watching the two. Neru fidgeted a little, and Oliver waited patiently for her reply.

"Fine," she spat, "But you better be at my locker right at the start of lunch."

"Heh," Oliver nodded, "Of course I will."

He turned and hurried back to class. Some students were arriving as well. Neru looked at me from her spot, about seven feet between us, and I smiled. She nodded before walking off, an evident spring in her step as she disappeared down the hall.

Miku.

"Kaito, why did you want to come so early even though you don't have class first period?" I groaned as I helped the limping boy down the hall, "Jeremy could have dropped you off, you know..."

"I wanted to see everyone," Kaito explained, "Besides, I can't miss too much school; my grades'll start to drop."

I sighed. We continued down the hall. My first class was upstairs, with Len: chemistry. I didn't want to drag Kaito along, so I suggested that he sit in the cafeteria or something, but he froze suddenly.

"What's wrong?" I looked forward and saw Ms. Luka. Then I looked at Kaito, who looked downright terrified.

"M-Miku, we should go," he said, his voice low, "She won't like it if she sees me with you..."

Suddenly, Luka gasped and ran up to us, her arms wide for a hug. Kaito screamed and I had to smack his face to make him stop. The teacher ran right past us and to someone behind us. We turned and looked at who she was hugging.

"L-Luka, you're crushing me!" Gakupo grinned, his face red as he hugged Luka back. We watched as she pulled away.

"I didn't think I'd see you right now!" She gushed. I rolled my eyes and Kaito sighed.

"Thank God," he mumbled, "Miku, you should go to class."

"What about you?" I pulled him into a corner so that he could lean there.

"I'll be fine," he smiled, "Maybe I'll go to the library."

"Let me drop you off," I said. He nodded.

"If you want."

"I do," I nodded and dragged him to the library, "Come on, we have to hurry! I don't want Len laughing at me because I was late for once!"

Rin.

"Rin, are you awake?" I opened my eyes to see Doris looking down at me. I groaned, nodding as I opened my eyes and sat up straight.

"You two fell asleep on the sofa," Doris explained, and I looked beside me to see Len, still asleep. My heart skipped a beat at the sight and my face flushed, "I didn't want to wake you."

I nodded. "That's okay. What time is it?"

Doris pursed her lips before answering. "School started about twenty minutes ago."

"Yikes!" I exclaimed, getting off of the sofa, "We need to get going! Doris, could you get something done for breakfast? Len and I will get ready to go. He still has his backpack here from yesterday, so it should be fine."

Doris nodded and I grabbed Len by the shoulders. His blond hair fell over his closed eyes and his lips were slightly parted. He shifted slightly, taking slow, relaxed breaths, probably dreaming about something.

I moved one hand off of his shoulders and stroked his hair. "Len," I said softly, "Len..."

"Hm...?" He turned onto his back and I pinched his nose, which made his eyes open suddenly. He shot up, gasping, and I laughed.

"You sleepyhead, we're late for school!" I took his hand and pulled the sleepy blonde off of the sofa. He groaned, nodding and suddenly pulling me close and kissing my cheek.

"Good morning," he smiled, still sleepy. I blushed before hurriedly leading him up to the bathroom.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked once we were in my room. He yawned and put a hand in his hair.

"Feeling better?" He asked, "About what? A-And were we...sleeping in the same place?"

"Er...sort of?" I shrugged nervously, "Apparently, we both fell asleep on the sofa, but...wait, you don't remember? Your mom and the accident?"

His expression changed suddenly. He looked fully awake now, eyes wide and a small, frown on his face. "I thought that was a dream..."

I sighed and pulled him towards me for a hug. "It wasn't. But she's okay, right? We'll go visit her after school."

"She still doesn't know about you," Len mused.

"She'll be fine with it now, won't she?" I pulled away and looked the boy in the eye. He nodded slowly and I smiled, "Hurry up and use the bathroom, okay? I'll use the other one. Doris is making breakfast."

He nodded and stumbled towards the bathroom, dragging his feet along. I headed towards my closet and pulled out a bright yellow sundress before leaving the room and heading into the guest room to take a shower and change.

I flicked the light switch of the guest room and tossed my dress onto the perfectly made bed before walking into the bathroom, where I stripped myself naked and stepped into the shower, turning it on before screaming.

"Gah, cold!" I plastered myself to the wall and quickly reached for the hot water tap, turning it a couple of times and waiting till the water warmed up. Sighing, I walked back under the shower and washed up quickly.

Once I was done, I left the bathroom and pulled my dress on, my hair still wet. I clipped it back with a blue hair clip and headed back into my room. Len was sleeping on my bed, toothpaste on his lips.

I walked past him and pulled the hair dryer out of my drawer. I sat down on my knees on the floor, and grinning mischievously, I plugged the hair dryer into the outlet, aimed it at Len, and turned it on to full blast. He screamed and sat up, the hot air blowing his locks out of his face and the noise muffling my laughter. He smirked, walking back into the bathroom. I dried my hair and watched as he returned and sat down beside me, staring at me.

"What?" I yelled over the dryer's roaring. He grabbed the hair dryer from me with a grin and pinned me down before tickling my sides. My face hurt from laughing, and finally, when he stopped, he reached up and pinched my cheeks.

"S-Stop, Len!" I giggled. He let go of me and I unplugged the hair dryer, "Let's go have breakfast."

"Right," he nodded and we headed downstairs to the dining table, where Doris had left some fruit, toast, jam, cereal and milk.

We sat down on the chairs right next to each other and exchanged glances before reaching forward. I took an orange and a piece of toast, and he took a banana and some cereal - corn flakes - and milk.

"I'm going to put bananas in my cereal," he grinned. I giggled and watched. He took a bowl, poured some cereal in and then the milk. The cereal began floating and he took a spoon and popped it in. Then he peeled the banana, took a butter knife, and began cutting the fruit into thin slices, letting them fall into the bowl.

"Well, I'm going to put orange marmalade on my toast," I boasted. He snickered and I stuck my tongue out at him as I spread the marmalade on my bread.

"I really thought it was a dream, you know," Len said before putting a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and chewing. A drop of milk dribbled down his chin and I swiftly wiped his face with a napkin, blushing afterwards.

"R-Really?" I frowned. He nodded. I started to eat.

"I wish it was just a dream," he said softly. I looked down at my food, letting one hand slither into his lap.

"She's going to be okay, Len," I said with a nod.

"Right," he turned towards his cereal and ate quickly. I leaned forward so that I could see his face.

"If you don't want to go to school, that's fine," I offered. He shook his head.

"I won't be able to sit still unless someone's around...preferably you, Rin," he said flatly, "I need you, or I'll go crazy. I know it's not that bad, I know that, I get it, but...it still hurts. I'm still worried. What if she can't walk anymore? What if she loses her job?"

"She won't," I said, "They'll understand."

Len sighed and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Sorry. I'm being stupid."

"No, you're not."

"I should make her proud," he tilted his head slightly and met my eyes.

"You should."

"I will," he finished, "But I won't get anywhere without you."

Okay, the ending of the chapter was abrupt. It'll get better.

See you next chapter. I hope to update earlier next time!