Chapter 53

Kaito.

I knew Miku's house like the back of my eyelids, and I also knew the entire layout of her huge kitchen. It was a big, tiled place, a cook's dream, with huge freezers and a row of stoves, as well as a spacious oven.

"Let me show you how it's done," I grinned at Miku, who scoffed as she followed me into the kitchen.

"You've been making tacos since...when?" She asked, crossing her arms. I pulled some vegetables and meat out of the fridge.

"Since two days ago or something!" I proclaimed proudly, raising a finger in the air, "It was that night, the one where I watched a ton of your music videos while eating ice cream!"

She smirked. "You mean, like every night," she said.

"I advise you not to make such cute faces, Miku, or I may feel obligated to kiss you or cuddle you or hug you...or something."

She stifled a laugh. "You idiot."

"You mean that lovingly, right?" I asked, "Just making sure."

Miku.

I nodded slowly, feeling his words sink in. Yes, I had meant that lovingly. It was how much I loved him that was still bewildering me.

"Can you get us something to drink?" He asked me as he got the food ready. I nodded and walked towards one of the refrigerators.

"How about leek juice?" I asked, "Or...orange juice...I guess?"

Kaito frowned for a moment. "How about both?" He smiled.

"Yeah, that works," I pulled out two pitchers, one of orange and one of leek, "I'll set the table."

I headed out of the kitchen and down one hall, to a smaller, more private dining room than the one that was a few doors down. We usually used the larger one for parties and other events, but Kaito was a close friend...or maybe a boyfriend.

"Kaito?" I called after returning to the kitchen. He held two plates in his hands, each with a taco.

"What is it, Miku?" He asked.

I frowned. This was harder to ask than I thought it would be. I kept looking at the food and not at him, wondering how on earth he just made two tacos appear.

"Are you my b-boy...friend?" I sputtered, my cheeks flushing madly.

Kaito smiled and walked past me. "That depends."

"Huh?" I followed him down the hall.

"Are you my girlfriend?" He asked as we headed into the dining room.

"What do you mean, am I your...," I lost my words as we sat down.

"If you want to know what I really want, Miku, then it's this," Kaito sighed, still smiling as we bit into our tacos, "I would love to be with you forever. It's a dream of mine."

I nearly choked. "B-But..."

"I know," Kaito frowned, "How can you make such a commitment, right?"

I swallowed. "Yeah."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that," Kaito took a glass and filled it with orange juice, "You can take all the time you need to decide whether you love me that much or not, Miku. It's enough for me to be your boyfriend for now."

I think I actually almost lost it there. I loved Kaito, and I had been so sure of my feeling the moment he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me in the rain. I was so sure, but maybe not as sure as Kaito was. He seemed intent on committing to a lifelong relationship with me.

"I'm just afraid, Kaito," I answered honestly.

"It's okay to be afraid," Kaito said, reaching forward and taking my hand in his, "I was afraid when I learned that you liked Mikuo. I was even a little afraid when you told me just a little while ago that you didn't like me the way I liked you. Sure, I could wait another ten years if I had to, but the thought of losing you always hurts me."

"I won't leave you," I said, shaking my head, "Whether I can love you forever or not, I'm not sure, but I really do love you right now, and I guess...yeah. I'm your girlfriend, now, aren't I?"

Kaito smiled. It wasn't a half-smile or a stupid, adorable grin. It was a smile that just expressed almost absolute happiness.

I sighed and tried to bring up something else to talk about. "The Song of Summer is coming up," I said, "You weren't at the last meeting, and Rin brought Len along. He sang a couple of songs with her. You won't believe how good he was."

"Sounds like I missed a lot," Kaito frowned, "Don't worry, I won't miss the next meeting."

I smiled wickedly. "Even if you tried to skip the next one, I wouldn't let you get away," I said, "Anyway, I forced Len to take part in our concert during the Song of Summer."

"He's that good?" Kaito's eyes widened.

"He's amazing!" I flailed my arms and got up, "And he sounds even more amazing when he sings with Rin!"

Kaito smiled. "You know he likes Rin, right?"

I picked up my plate and glass. "Yeah," I said softly, "That's part of why I asked him to sing with her for the concert."

Kaito blinked. "You what?"

"You heard that right," I answered as we left the dining room, "They're going to be performing a duet."

Rin.

I was absolutely out of breath by the end of it all. We had danced to an awful lot of songs, and while I could tell that Len hadn't really dabbled in dancing much, he was both naturally talented and a fast learner.

"You're amazing!" He grinned once the music was turned down.

I smiled, tilting my head slightly to one side. "That's because you haven't seen professionals!"

"Dancing with these professionals you're talking about probably wouldn't lead to me plunging deeper into love with them," Len said softly, caressing my face.

We were standing in a corner, near the music system. My fingers drummed against the stack of CDs as Len's face slowly grew closer to mine, and his hand reached past my cheek, pressing firmly against the nape of my neck.

I chuckled slowly, still out of breath. My heart rate wasn't slowing down, but my drumming against the stack of discs did.

"You're not so bad yourself," I whispered. Len pressed his nose against mine.

"But you're perfect," he whispered, cobalt eyes sparkling. I shut my eyes as he kissed me.

Luka.

"Hey!" I waved my arms and called to Gakupo, who was frantically searching for his cat around his neighbours' garages. I was near an alleyway, not too far from him, and after a lot of yelling and hollering, he finally turned and came running towards me.

"Is that her?" I asked, pointing to the petite bundle of striped fur in the corner of the alley, "Is that Meringue?"

Gakupo nodded slowly. "Oh my God," that was all that escaped him as he ran into the alley and picked up the kitten.

"Meringue," he whispered, pressing her against his face, "I...I can't believe it..."

"Is she okay?" I walked up to Gakupo. He shook his head solemnly.

"I think she's...gone."

Yes, another cliffhanger. Aw, come on, you know I update every day or so, just wait it out!
Yeah, I know, that's not an easy thing to do...*slump*
See you next chapter!