I, Sakuma Ryuichi, am carrying Shindou Shuichi on my back for no good reason.

I, Sakuma Ryuichi, feel like the luckiest man in the world.

"Hey Ryu?"

"Hmm?"

"I might break up with Yuki."

"WHAT?" I almost dropped him. "Why?"

Shuichi sighed and I blushed. He was...really close to my ear. Shuichi knew I was in love with him...Maybe he wanted me to know because... 'No, no, he's not implying anything, Ryu,' Kumagoro whispered to me (Shu-chan was carrying him). 'He's just that close so that nobody else hears!' "I just don't get to see him anymore. It was great for a while, but as we both started getting more popular...he has a book signing in another city almost every week. I have a concert tour every three months and all the time in between is spent preparing for those concerts. When we do get a rare day where both of us are off...all either of us want to do is sleep." He sighed again. "Not to mention that I think Seguchi-san purposely makes it harder for us to see each other."

I pursed my lips when he mentioned Tohma. Tohma and I had been together secretly for years, but when he recently dumped me for Yuki Eiri himself, I had needed someone to talk to and turned to Shuichi, spilling out the whole story. I really loved Tohma...he was my first love. My first kiss. My "first time".

For the longest time...Seguchi Tohma was my everything.

FLASHBACK

I bounced happily into work, expecting this to be like any other day. Unfortunately, when I got to the studio, Tohma was there alone.

"Where's Noriko-chan?" I asked him.

"She isn't here yet. Ryuichi, I need to talk to you."

He proceeded to tell me, in the least personal, most businesslike of manners, just why we couldn't be together any longer. It took me a few moments, but I finally dug out the bottom line and tried to put it into more basic terms.

"So what you're saying is, there's just no spark anymore. And there's someone else."

"If you want to put it that way..." he said slowly, "then yes."

It was at that point that Noriko walked in. "All right, let's get to work, everybody!"

As normally as I could, I smiled and stood up. "Okay! I'm gonna go to the bathroom first, though. Just go ahead and start without me!" And I bounded out of the room to spend a good twenty minutes in the bathroom, crying.

"Ryuichi? You still with us?"

I realized that it was Tatsuha talking to me. We (Shuichi, Tatsuha, Noriko, Saki, and Shuichi's friend Hiro and I) were currently at the zoo. A little-known fact about me is that I love animals of all shapes and sizes, so we were here for my birthday. When Tatsuha brought me back to earth, I smiled. "Sorry Tatsuha-kun! I guess I dazed off."

"Oh, Ryuichi. He really loves you...why won't you give him a chance?"

I rolled over in bed.

"Aww, he bought you cotton candy! You didn't even have to ask for it; he'd be so good for you."

I lifted my pillow and covered my head with it.

"You two looked so cute dancing together!"

"SHUT UP!" I roared to an empty house and threw my pillow, hard, against the opposite wall. I proceeded to get up out of bed and simply pace all around my bedroom, trying to get the voices of my friends out of my head. "Tatsuha isn't good for me, because I don't LOVE Tatsuha!" I yelled at the air. "...Do I?"

It was always said that the best way to tell how much you really liked someone is to dance with them. I did dance with Tatsuha; and I won't say it was unpleasant. It was...well, it was nice. He was warm. His arms made me feel secure. But it didn't feel much different than when I danced with Noriko-chan, who, by the way, I definitely don't love. Tatsuha is male, and he's much taller than Noriko-chan. That much was different. But...the way it felt. Not physically, but just...based on what I could feel, in my heart, it was no different. There just isn't any spark.

Heh. That's a perfectly acceptable reason for Tohma to dump me after four years, but it's no reason for me to reject Tatsuha. He hasn't even asked me out yet and I don't know if he will. He was my date to the N-G Christmas party (since N-G is an international company, we celebrate just about everything), but that doesn't mean we're together. I had a nice time at the party. But I would have had a nice time without Tatsuha, too.

Okay, so I don't love Tatsuha. One contender, down and out.

Now it's a simple love triangle.

Hah. Simple, hmm?

Well, at least it's better than a love square.

Yeah. Some bright side.