Chapter 50

Gumi.

Okay, maybe the weather was getting bad, and maybe I was overdoing it. I guess I kind of overdid everything, didn't I? I overdid my feelings for Yuma, and I overdid all that running. Doing something is usually okay, but overdoing only leads to problems.

It led to a problem out on the track that day. The ground was getting wet and slippery and muddy, but I kept going. My hair was all over my eyes, and my clothes hung off of me, half transparent, but there was nobody around, so I didn't really care.

That was where things got troubling. To put it simply, I slipped, twisting my ankle and falling onto my side with a splash in the cold, wet earth. It didn't seem like a big deal at first, aside from the stinging pain in my leg, but then I noticed that the earth where my head had hit was red.

I wiped my arm against my forehead and saw the blood, mixing with the rain as it came down and creating a pinkish fluid that rolled down the length of my arm. That was when I began to panic. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before.

Groaning, I got to my feet and limped towards the end of the track. The rain beat me down, drop after drop, and I fell to my knees or stumbled every few seconds or so.

I should've just gone home and done my homework. Tears began to well up in my eyes. Now Yuma would find out for sure, and he'd be even more hurt. It was because of him that I left, and because of him that I came here and started to run like crazy.

So was it his fault that I was now lying on the ground in the rain, hurt and bleeding? No, he'd think that, but I wanted it to be my fault more than his. I did all this so that I wouldn't hurt him, but here I was, and I'd probably end up hurting him, anyway!

"Gumi, is that you?" I froze at the sound of a voice behind me.

Miku.

"I should go home," Kaito was blushing and stuttering, still out in the rain. It was sort of stupid, I suppose; we were a step away from being under a dry roof, but we just stood there on my doorstep. Maybe it's love. Love makes you do stupid things, doesn't it?

"You'll catch a cold," I frowned, "At least come in and dry up."

He shook his head. "N-No, princess, I couldn't."

"Just because I kissed you first doesn't mean that you have to act all humble or whatever!" I burst out. Kaito blinked, surprised by my reaction.

"F-Fine, okay, whatever," he sputtered, crossing his arms, "You won, princess."

I laughed, which was really something that I rarely did around Kaito, especially as we entered our teen years and grew both older and further apart. "It's not your fault, if that's what you're thinking," I said, "I kissed you because I wanted to."

Kaito nodded quickly, still bewildered and confused and lost and adorable. I pulled him into my home.

"Come on, it'll be like old times!" I said, "In fact, I think I still have some of your old clothes lying around!"

"I don't think they'd fit me anymore!" Kaito said as I shut the door. Back when we were kids, he'd come by for sleepovers and stuff every now and then, and I still had some of his old shirts and toothbrushes left.

Except I threw out the toothbrushes, like, last week, 'cause they were getting kind of gross.

"My parents are out," I said, leading him upstairs, "They're in Switzerland."

"Really?" Kaito didn't sound very surprised. My parents had been living off of my fame for a few years now, and they were almost always out, going to one country or another.

"Come on, I've got some stuff in this drawer," we walked into my room and I pulled open a drawer and began shuffling through it.

"It won't fit me, Miku," Kaito groaned as I handed a t-shirt to him. It had a T-Rex on it, and to be truthful, it looked a little childish, but at the same time, very Kaito-like.

"Okay," he sighed as I handed him a pair of his old pants that I also still had, for some reason.

I sat down and waited, but he just stared at me.

"So...do I change in the bathroom or what?" He asked. I frowned.

"I'll...close my eyes," I said awkwardly as my fingers crawled up my face.

"Right," Kaito said, walking to a corner of the room.

Oliver.

I looked out the window and grinned. I had checked the weather for the day, and I knew that it was going to rain, so I figured that it'd be best to finish my homework and then work on a song for the Song of Summer.

That's what I was doing, until there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Oh," I frowned at the person on the other side, "Meiko."

She waved, grinning. "Hey!"

"How'd you get in here?" My tone was flat.

"Your mom let me in," she smiled, pushing the door open and letting herself in, "Besides, we're neighbours, so what the heck, right?"

I groaned loudly as she plopped down on my bed and opened my bedside drawer.

My secret candy stash.

She rummaged through the candy and chocolate and pulled out a lollipop. Slamming the drawer shut, she began removing the wrapper. I cringed at the sound.

"So what do you want, freeloader?" I asked, taking a seat on the beanbag that sat next to my bed. I ran a hand through my blond hair, something I did often when I was stressed out.

Meiko threw the wrapper to side and stuck the lollipop into her mouth, making a face and pressing a hand against her chest.

"That hurts, Oliver," she frowned, "You know I'm not like that."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Why're you here? Finally coming back to the music club this week?"

Meiko shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm still kind of sick, you know."

If that's the case, maybe you shouldn't be rummaging through my candy stash and taking whatever the hell you want!

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something, Dr. Oliver," Meiko continued. I sighed.

Apparently, I was good at giving advice and listening to people's problems. Hey, it's not something I liked doing; people just thought that I was good at it, and it just happened to get around, that's all. And now I was Dr. Oliver, advice-giving kid. Not a title I was particularly fond of, you know.

"I'm going out with someone," Meiko frowned.

"That's a first," I smirked. She smacked me across the face.

"Hey!" I yelled, rubbing my stinging cheek.

"Listen," she said, thoroughly enjoying the candy. My candy.

"So who is it?" I asked.

"Mikuo," she said, "Yeah, I'm not even joking. He took me to a movie last night. I kissed him."

"Huh," I frowned. Meiko giggled.

"More than a few times," she smiled, blushing, "But, I dunno...something didn't feel right. Like, he was afraid of being with me in a place with so many people..."

"I don't think he's trying to get some other girl jealous or something," I mused. Meiko sat up straight.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," she said, "He's a pretty nice guy, but...I don't know. I wanna ask him..."

"Maybe you should wait," I suggested, "Don't be so affectionate. Ask him once you two have been together for a while. He might tell you, himself, too, you know."

Meiko smiled. "Yeah, maybe," she lay down, "Thanks."

"Is that all?" I asked.

Meiko nodded. "I'll pay you back somehow, for both the lollipop, and the advice!"

I grinned. Meiko wasn't really that bad of a person. In fact, she was actually pretty nice.

"Oh," Meiko raised a finger to her mouth, suddenly remembering something, "Also, Oliver...can I copy your homework?"

Okay, maybe she was a teeny bit obnoxious.

Hey, everyone! Can you believe it, we're on Chapter 50! That's half of 100!

This chapter is kinda not that great, but it's pretty long, and I'm just developing stuff further. It takes a while to flesh out these things, and I don't want to go too fast! I hope you like it, still!

Meiko is really cool, isn't she? And Miku and Kaito are cute!

Anyway, see you next chapter! (I'm not gonna say that 'vote comment blah blah' line this time! *holding it back*)