Chapter 1

Taeko Yamada breathed in the crisp cherry scented air. She looked up, smiling at Osano. His ginger hair had a few bright pink petals stuck in it, but Taeko was too short to reach up and pluck them from his hair.

She's been friends with Osano for a very long time, ever since they were kids, really. He's always been a little rough around the edges and often called her an idiot for sleeping in, even if it was the weekend. But she knew that he did it out of platonic love for her.

Taeko was laughing as she turned the school, but then suddenly felt a hard pain slam directly into her. She cried out and Osano yelped in surprise.

Taeko nearly lost consciousness after her skull hit the pavement, but she somehow managed to get up and stay awake. Stars swirled in her vision and black dots edges her eyes. But that feeling quickly faded away as she looked up, her eyes gleaming and her heart thudding loudly.

What stood in front of her was a tall, slender boy with ruffled, short, smooth black hair and dark gray eyes. He wasn't wearing the school's uniform coat, but rather just the white collar shirt. His bag was slumped down on the ground, but his face was incredibly concerned. She stared ahead as he reached a hand forward. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

Taeko gingerly took his hand; strong and rough as he pulled her up to her feet.

"I'm so sorry," the boy apologized dipping his head. "I was running too fast and-"

"You should have been watching yourself!" Osano yelled out, quickly pulling Taeko's dizzying body close to him. She couldn't stop staring at the boy. He was rather handsome. She felt Osano's red and white spotted scarf drop onto her head. "She could have been seriously hurt!"

The boy's gaze hardened into something incredibly cold. "I said I'm sorry." He retorted softly.

Taeko turned her eyes up to Osano's dark amber eyes. "It's okay, Osano. It was an accid-"

"Come on," he growled, pulling Taeko closer to him and walking at a faster pace to the school. "What an idiot…" Taeko wondered to herself why Osano would get so aggressive? It's not like he was the one who was slammed into.

The two eventually got to the school, Taeko talking to Osano, but she couldn't help but feel a terrible gaze constantly watching her. But she liked it.

Taeko saw the boy again when she was eating lunch with Osano on the rooftop. He tried to not make it obvious that he was watching her, but she knew that he was. She couldn't help but feel like her heart began to beat just a little bit faster for him.

He was rather handsome.

"What are you looking at him for?" Asked Osano who was munching on a rice ball, a few flecks of it stuck on his face. Taeko chuckled softly and kept looking at him.

Taeko shrugged. "I don't know."

"That's Yanagi. He's a quiet guy." Osano glanced to the right to see a large breasted girl with purple twin drilled hair. She sighed and smiled warmly. It was Kokona Haruka. The girl blinked and a far off look began to glisten in her eyes. "He's so handsome and mysterious. I wonder if he'll ever notice me."

Osano grunted and continued to eat. He was clearly beginning to get a little irritated at the least about all this talk of Yanagi.

"Do you like him?" Taeko asked.

"A little, yeah." Kokona chuckled.

Suddenly, a little piece of her heart shattered inside. So Kokona likes this guy. No wonder, he's handsome, he's mysterious, and he seems kind enough when he helped up Taeko. Suddenly, something snapped inside of Taeko. She stood up and abandoned her lunch. Kokona watched in dismay, her eyes widening.

"N-No! Don't tell him-"

"I'm not." Reassured Taeko with a faux smile. "I just want to talk to him."

Osano growled. "Well, hurry up! Otherwise the food won't be warm anymore."

Taeko rolled her eyes and went to the other side of the roof. Yanagi had his arms on the rails, staring at the cherry tree situated on top of a small lump of land behind the school. Taeko stood next to him, watching it with a dumb smile on her face.

It was quiet.

Suddenly, she startled when she heard a shout of alarm. She turned to see Yanagi's charcoal eyes wide with anxiety. "I didn't see you there!" He declared. After a moment, he breathed out a sigh. "You could have said something." At first, he seemed cool and collected, but once Taeko saw his hands, she noticed that they were shaky and sweaty. Even his eyes skittishly darted between the tree and Taeko.

"I'm sorry." Taeko apologized. She looked out at the tree. "Are you looking at the tree?"

There was a burst of a loud vibration coming from his pocket, followed by a faint blue light filtering through his black pants. He pat his hand on the pocket and swallowed hard, the adam's apple bobbing slightly. That must have been his phone. Finally, he spoke. "Yes."

She grinned and restrained a soft giggle. He was suddenly quite shy about getting a text from someone! She paused for a moment. Did he have a girlfriend? She sidled slightly closer to his elbow, shuddering on the cool metal. "Is that where you confessed to your girlfriend?"

His head snapped to her almost immediately. "I don't have a girlfriend." He glanced at Osano who was casually speaking with Kokona and another violet-haired boy. "What about you? Is that where you confessed to him?"

"Oh, do you mean Osano?"

Yanagi nodded, staring intently at Taeko.

Taeko looked back at the fluffy pink tree. "No, he's just my childhood friend."

"Friend…" he muttered softly.

The girl stared off. Until she finally stole a glance at Yanagi again. He was gorgeous. How did he not have a girlfriend? Or boyfriend, if that's what he was into. She prayed to God that he wasn't a homosexual, just so that she could potentially have a chance with this boy.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the bell sounded below them. Yanagi quietly picked up his bag sitting on the ground, slumped against the rail. He slung it over his shoulder and began to walk to the exit.

"W-Wait!"

He turned around, his eyes steely.

"I haven't even told you my name."

He paused. Then came a yell from across the other side of the roof. "Come on, Taeko! Or else we're going to be late to class, idiot!"

Yanagi smirked slightly, his nose growing into a soft pink. Taeko's face suddenly grew to a boiling temperature. He looked back to the open doors leading down to the stairs. "I know now."