Chapter 112

Oliver.

I just wanted to get out of there, I wanted to leave the store...but those damn women, they just couldn't keep their hands off of me!

"Are those bandages a fashion statement?"

"You have the prettiest grey eyes! Er, I mean...eye!"

"Is this your natural hair colour?"

"If you buy me some nice underwear, I'll go out with you, cutie!"

"This hat of yours is so adorable!"

"You remind me of my boyfriend...my ex-boyfriend," this lady glared at me.

"Are you buying something for your girlfriend?" A teenage girl about my age pouted.

"Oliver, you weirdo!" A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the crowd. I looked up at Meiko and she smirked.

"T-Thanks," I mumbled, my face bright red.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, leading me out of the store. I shook my head and put my hands in my pocket.

"This is all Neru's fault," I mumbled. Meiko waved to a young woman who looked a lot like her, but with longer, lighter brown hair. She was older, too, maybe twenty, I guessed.

"What did she do?" Meiko and I walked up to the woman, "This is my sister, Maiko. Maiko, this is Oliver, a friend from school."

"He looks like the weird type," Maiko frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scowled. Meiko patted my back.

"Don't mind her, she's obnoxious most of the time," she said, "Come on, we're going to eat food!"

I sighed and walked with them towards the food court. "Hey...Meiko?"

"Hmm?"

I looked down at my shoes before looking up at her again. "Y-You're not teasing me or anything."

"What, for being in that store, surrounded by girls with underwear on your head?" She was so blunt.

"Y-Yeah," I nodded. The tables were almost all full, but we found a table and three chairs.

"Hold my seat," Maiko said to her sister, "I'll go buy something. What do you guys want to eat?"

I shrugged. "I'm fine."

"He'll have some pizza," Meiko smiled.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to!" I yelled. Maiko winked at her sister and nodded.

"And pizza for me, too," Meiko added, "Oh, and French fries and something to drink! Coke!"

"Okay, okay!" Maiko laughed and walked off, "You two wait here!"

Meiko nodded and grinned at me. "So, tell me, Oliver. What were you doing in the lingerie store?"

I blushed. "D-Do you want the simple but wrong answer or the long but right answer?"

She glanced back at her sister, who was waiting for her order at the pizza shop. "I don't think we have a lot of time. The simple one will have to do."

Oh, great.

"Well, it's like this," I began, clearing my throat, "Why was I in the store? Because Neru pushed me in. Why did she push me in? To...buy underwear."

"What, for Ms. Yowane or something?" Meiko cackled.

"Listen, Neru's annoying and she makes me angry, okay?"

"Sure, sure...if that's the case, then why did you let her drag you here?"

I didn't have an answer for that.

"Ha!" Meiko clapped her hands together, "Exactly!"

"Exactly what?"

She giggled. "You know what I'm talking about..."

The problem was, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Neru.

I walked through one store after another, whiffing one perfume after another. Nothing smelled quite like Oliver, and that was driving me crazy.

"Maybe I should just get him a lighter...," I mumbled, walking into a cigarette store. The man behind the counter eyed me, raising an eyebrow. I shot him a glare before browsing the lighters.

Long story short, it was a big failure. There was absolutely nothing that screamed "Oliver" in the entire store. I left the place feeling gloomy and let-down, pulling out my phone and checking my messages.

"It's been half an hour already?" I slumped only a little. Inside, I was actually feeling kind of happy. I'd get to see Oliver, even though I had completely failed to find a gift for him.

I had come to realize that he was my 'cute blond boy' the moment I opened my door and he told me about Len. It was sweet of him to care about my feelings like that, but he was sort of hard to talk to, partly because I liked him. I wasn't sure how to tell him, but I figured that getting a gift would be a good first step.

Of course, the problem was that I couldn't find a decent gift. I didn't know what to get the guy at all!

Oh well...I sighed and hurried towards the food court. I didn't want to leave him waiting, and I was wondering if he actually bought something for Haku.

"This place is packed!" I huffed, weaving past the masses of tables and chairs. I spotted him at a table, eating pizza with Meiko and some other girl. Now, I know that Meiko's going out with Mikuo or whatever, and that other girl sort of looked like she was related to Meiko, so maybe it was her sister, but still, I felt kind of jealous.

The jealousy made me blush and smile. Jealousy. I really did like him, didn't I? I didn't feel jealous when I learned that Len liked someone, and when I found out that he and Rin were together, it didn't bug me, either.

"Hey!" I yelled, approaching the table. There was an empty chair close by, so I pulled it over and sat down by them.

"Hey, Neru!" Meiko smiled. Oliver looked at me and managed a smile, too. I looked around him. He didn't have any bags with him, so I assumed that he didn't buy anything after all.

"You should've gotten me some," I complained jokingly. The girl who looked like Meiko giggled.

"We actually just bought an entire box," she said, "Meiko's got it."

Meiko pulled a slice out and handed it to me. I couldn't believe how hungry I was; my mouth was watering as I took it from her hands.

"Thanks, Neru," this was Oliver. His words nearly made me drop my pizza.

"H-Huh?" I quickly took a bite, hoping that I could focus on the pizza and not blush all of sudden.

"For taking me to the mall, I mean," Oliver smiled warmly. I chewed my bite furiously and swallowed. What was up with him?

"S-So you found something for Haku?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I'll just buy some oranges," he replied. I nodded, deciding for once to not argue with him. He really didn't have a crush on Haku. That made me feel good, sort of relieved.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, "We'll get some after we eat, okay?"

He smiled and nodded.

Len.

Rin and I were waiting outside my mom's room. Kiyoteru was inside, checking on her.

"She's looking better," Rin glanced my way and smiled a little. We were peeking through the open door. The doctor had asked us to wait for a few minutes.

"Yeah," I replied. The doctor turned around and made his way towards the door.

"You two can go see her now," he said. I nodded, taking a step in before stopping.

"What's wrong?" Rin asked. I looked her in the eye and took her hand.

"I need you to come," I explained. She nodded, walking in with me.

My mother was awake, and she looked a lot better. She smiled at the sight of me, wincing momentarily. I smiled back and sat down on the chair by her bed. Rin pulled another one over and sat down beside me.

"Hey," my mom greeted.

"Hi," I could barely speak up.

"How was school?" She asked. I just grinned. We never really spent much time together after she got caught up in her work. I rarely had these sorts of conversations with her, and as odd as it was, it felt wonderful.

"Good, it was good," I answered before glancing at Rin, "Mom, this is...this is Rin. She's a...friend from school. She helped me get to the hospital last night to see you."

My mom looked at Rin and smiled. "Len, it's so funny...she looks a bit like you," she mused. Rin and I exchanged glances, "So was she the one whose house you were spending the night at?"

We both blushed. My mum just grinned. Rin took my hand and I laughed uneasily. There was nothing to hide, I realised.

"She's cute," my mom said, making Rin's cheeks turn redder, "And she looks like a nice girl..."

"S-She is," I nodded. My mom sighed.

"I'm feeling a lot better today," she said with a smile. I nodded and chuckled.

"I can tell."

"Did you tell her about the concert?" Rin whispered. I shook my head and turned to my parent again.

"Mom, there's a festival just a few days before the end of school," I began, "The music club has a concert there, and I...I've kind of joined them."

"That's great!" My mom nodded slowly, as well as she could, "Once I'm out of here, you and your friends better put on a performance for me."

"We could do that right here," I offered. She shook her head.

"I don't think the doctors and nurses would allow it," she said, "But it's fine. I'll be out of here before the end of June!"

I grinned. "You're a fighter, mom."

"I'm a fighter," she repeated, "You should go home now, Len. Do your homework. Take a nap. Eat something."

I shook my head and pulled my bag off of my shoulders. "I'm staying here for as long as I can. I've even got all my work with me, and the hospital has snacks, right?"

"I'll go grab something to eat," Rin squeezed my hand before getting to her feet, "Okay?"

I nodded. "Hurry back," I whispered. She raked a hand through my hair quickly before running off.

"Mom...," I began again, pulling my homework out of my bag, "Do you really like her? Rin, I mean."

"Yes," my mom answered without even pausing to think, "And you know why? Because you love her, Len. I can tell how much you do, and she loves you, as well. That's enough reason for me."