"Is this seriously the most requested thing?" Rin checked the request board outside the student council office. Most of the time, she wondered why she had even joined student council in the first place.
"Apparently, people want the baked goods. Bake sales are so overrated and predictable." Miku said as she looked at the request board.
Rin looked at the student council event requests in disbelief and disgust. "I mean…these people just go requesting things. Its so easy for them because they aren't the ones who have to do this crap."
"What? We could make it into something nicer. Maybe a cancer patient fundraiser or something?" Miku looked at her friend. "Do you like, really really really hate baking or something?"
What could she say? She hadn't done much baking at all in her entire life, aside from occasionally helping her mom around the holidays, she had no experience.
"I don't hate it. I just have…no experience. But I'll do it for the sick kids."
Miku smiled and high-fived Rin. "That's the spirit!"
Rin nodded and continued walking down the hallway with her backpack hanging on her shoulder. It was still a bit early before school was scheduled to start.
She wasn't looking where she was going and her face rammed into someone's chest.
"Oh crap, Rin you klutz!" She started cursing herself before she had even looked up or apologized at the person she ran into.
Miku wasn't standing by her side anymore; that much was obvious.
"Um…" A voice said above her.
"Why can feel the voice vibrating in my ear?!" It wasn't long until Rin realized she had been wrapped up in her own thoughts and had froze in time, her head still against the chest if the person she ran into.
"Oh crap crap crap crap crap! Double crap! Triple crap!" After backing up off the person she ran into and checking his identity she almost passed out.
"I….am. So. Sorry." Rin's face was beet red all over. She had ran into Len.
It was times like this Rin wished she hadn't come to school so early everyday. Then maybe she could pretend she had to run off somewhere. But school wasn't scheduled to start in forty five minutes.
"Don't sweat it your fine." Len told her.
"Thanks." She blushed some more and picked her backpack up off the floor that had slid off her shoulders. It was a little to heavy for her. "I'm a stupid klutz I need to watch where I'm going."
"No. It happens. Don't stress over it. Seriously. See you around I guess. Who knows? Maybe I'll run into you next time." Len meant it as a joke, but it only made Rin more anxious.
Rin could hear someone clapping behind her once Len was a good distance away.
"Wow. Great move. Just run into him!" Miku couldn't help laughing. "Forget getting to know him!"
Rin laughed a little too. "I didn't MEAN to do it!"
"I know."
Rin paused and started biting her lower lip. "You…you saw it?!"
"Yup!"
Rin couldn't believe it. "Well, one things for sure…"
"You like him!" Miku interrupted in her sing-songy voice.
Rin turned beet red again. "What?! I barely know him! How do you determine that? You aren't me! What the heck, Miku?! You're crazy!"
Miku giggled. "Look how quickly you lied! Admit it, you thought he was a little cutie! Len is perfect for you now that I think about it."
"Nope nope nope." Rin pulled out her fluffy black and white kawaii panda beanie and pulled it over her eyes. "Shut up shut up shut up!"
"Awww!" Miku marveled the beanie. "Its so cute!"
Rin was triple relieved Miku had gotten distracted by the beanie. She couldn't stand talking about the opposite sex, regardless if she liked the boy or not.
After school, student council meetings were held. There were only three people on student council that she knew. All her other friends were in either choir or band.
"Hello students." The school counselor, the head of the student council had gathered everyone into the meeting room. "Today, we will be addressing the request board that other students have recommended for student council to hold."
"I bet she picked cancer patients." Miku whispered to Rin.
Len walked into the student council room suddenly and sat in the first seat he could find.
"Sorry Miss Toru. I forgot today there was a meeting."
Chapter 2 - The Pairings
Rin immediately reached for her cellphone out her backpack to text Miku two seats away.
Rin: Oh. Crap. Since when did he join student council?! ﾟﾘﾦ
Miku heard her phone vibrate and she reached for it to respond.
Miku: He's been in student council 4ever, Rin im surprised u didn't notice him first?
Rin: Ok i need 2 just like breath a minute?
Miku: Y is this intimidating for u?
Rin: well it makes me anxious c-ing a guy u ran in2 & finding out he's in the same club as u!?
Miku: grl chill k? Its gonna b ok?
Rin: fine?
"The next event that student council will be holding is the Kids Cancer Patients baking gift baskets. I hope you're ready. We may not get any money for it, but it will be a nice thing to do. I will assign you partners to work with and you will have to have a total of four gift baskets made." Miss Toru went to the board and started sketching out the plan.
"Each of you must have four baskets with a total of five cupcakes in each. You have all next week to finish these, but I will assign partners today!"
Rin: aw shoot
Miku: dont worry it could b somebody good…like me!?
Rin: i just hope its somebody i know
Miss Toru read off some pairs, some students didnt look to satisfied with the pairings.
When Miss Toru had got to Rin, Rin crossed her fingers so tightly she thought they would snap in two.
"Rin I think I'll pair you with…Len over there." Miss Toru pointed to him with her black inkpen.
Rin: crap crap crap crap crap crap
Miku: u sure do luv saying crap over & over like that lol
Rin: im so screwed.
Miku: meet me after k
Rin: alrite
Len eyed Rin from the other side of the room with a crooked smile. Rin tried to cover up her anxiety with a cute little wave.
Once the meeting was dismissed, Rin saw Len walking out the door. He walked passed her looking a bit confused but looked together enough.
"See you Monday I guess. Here's my number if you need to change any plans or…something."
They switched phones and put their contacts in eachother's cellphones.
"Nice phone case, by the way." Len handed her phone back to Rin.
Rin looked down at her phone case. It was at that moment she noticed the both had the black and yellow diagonal striped cell phone case.
"Um…oh. Yeah I thought it was nice." Rin implied she noticed.
Just like the time Rin had first met up with Len, Miku came up behind Rin. This time she was squealing.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You got his number? Well, rather…he GAVE you his number!"
"Why are YOU so excited?"
"You guys are getting to know each other better. If I were you, I would be happy, too."
Rin looked down at her phone as they walked out the front door of the school.
"Well, Len does seem like a nice guy. He might not be so hard to work with."
"See? Now why can't you just be happy?"
"I am. I'm also very nervous and anxious that I might blow up the house. I'm praying he's a cooking expert."
Miku laughed and looked up and the partly cloudy sky above the houses. "Odds are, he isn't. He's a guy for crying out loud."
Rin snapped her fingers. "Who did you get paired with again?"
"Neru."
Rin stomped her foot. "Lucky."
"I hope I catch some really bad diesese oven the weekend so I don't have to show up."
"But, Rin. You're gonna have a crapload of homework by the time the week is over."
"True. I guess I'll just take it."
Rin and Miku walked up the steps to Miku's apartment.
"Are your parents here?" Rin asked, noticing Miku had the keys.
"Nah. Mom's working. Dad's working. No telling when they'll get home. Tell me, though; why are you so worried about working with Len?"
Rin shrugged and set her backpack on the floor of Miku's living-room carpet.
"I dont know. Working with guys always boggle me and make me get into a huge anxiety fit."
"No. They. Don't. I wasn't born yesterday, Rin. With every other guy you've had to work with in any other class you were completely fine. Well, you were a little bummed, but thats all."
"I'm serious, though. I'm just anxious."
"Nope!" Miku stood before Rin as if giving a speech. "You, Rin, have a crush on him!"
"What?"
"A C-R-U-S-H!" Miku said in a sing songy voice. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't."
Rin was horrible at that. She knew she was going to have to either tough it out or admit it.
"I don't…" Rin tried to give the illusion she was looking in her eye. But she couldn't do it. "Okay yeah. A little one. But that's it."
"See! Told you!" Miku yelled, pointing at Rin.
"Okay I'm like, starving. What do you have to eat?"
Miku slid into the kitchen in her slippery socks.
"We have some hot and spicy Len Kagamine in here! Do you wanna eat some of that?" Miku joked.
"Ugh, shut up!" Rin giggled a little and threw her kawaii panda beany at Miku from the living-room.
Chapter 3 - The Weekend
Miku's dad walked in through the front door.
"Hi sweetie. Hello, Rin."
"Hi." Rin waved.
"Wow dad… your home early." Miku was surprised.
"Have you done your homework, hon'?" Her dad set down the car keys and his briefcase on the dining room table.
"Yup!" Miku said while searching the fridge for something to eat.
"Did you really?" Rin mouthed from the living room.
"No. I've been with you the whole time!"
"Well I just came to get some of these files, MiMi. I'm going back to work. I'll be back later, okay?" Miku's dad grabbed his briefcase and car keys again.
"Kay, dad. Whatever."
Once Miku's dad was gone, Rin couldn't help laughing.
"Did he just call you MiMi?"
"Yeah. He also called me KuKu. I hate that one. They are so cheesy!"
Rin walked the two blocks home later that evening at around seven o'clock. Her mother was there, sitting on the couch wearing her half-frame reading the newspaper.
"Hi, mom." Rin waved.
Rin's mom had short, flaky hair just like Rin's. Other than her more adult-like features, Rin's mother was practically Rin all grown up.
"Hi, Rin. Was school good?"
Rin shrugged. "Yeah I guess. Student council is doing a baking project for cancer patients so I might be using the oven a lot next week. Or I might go to my partner's house."
"Sounds fancy and fun. I'm going on a short business trip next week. I won't be back until Friday morning. No boys over here. And only friends of parents I know. I asked Sylvia downstairs to come check on you every so often, okay? She'll also bring you dinner."
"Oh…thanks mom." Rin trotted down the hall to her bedroom at the end of the hall and plopped on her bed with a sigh.
"I have two days. Two days to get used to him. What am I gonna do?"
Rin's bed had a yellow stuffing filled cover and teal colored bed sheets underneath. Her headboard was against a wall and the bed faced the door from the left side of the room. Next to her bed was a chest of drawers with socks and underwear along with some other junk and clutter.
Across from her bed was a small walk-in closet. Her floor was a wood polished hardwood with a rug in the center of the floor.
Rin booted up the computer that sat on her desk in one of the corners in her room.
"Why am I even doing this?" Rin muttered to herself as she logged into her Facebook account.
She reviewed the few friends and followers that she had. Rin then closed her Facebook and opened her Twitter page and readied a tweet.
"Student council has me a little stressed out. Have to work with somebody I don't even know. Idek anymore. #screwed #help?"
Miku immediately commented on the tweet. Rin laughed under her breath a little at her friend's social media reflexes.
miku_miku0 Its not gonna be THAT bad! You told me you have a crush on him. It can't be that bad!"
"WHAT THE HECK, MIKU!" Rin yelled out loud. She went straight at the keyboard.
Rin went into the comments.
02kagamine_Rin Miku!1! You better HOPE he doesn't decide to check my Twitter! IM GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Rin was done. She shut down her computer and laid back in her black leather revolving office chair.
"Please, God don't let Len see my Twitter page!" Rin prayed to the ceiling.
On the outside, Rin was just going through the motions, but on the inside: she didn't know how to feel exactly. She was nervous, scared, a little upset at her friend, but for some reason it was easy to forgive Miku. That was one of Rin's weaknesses against her. She was easy to forgive.
"Is everything okay up there, Rin?" Her mom yelled down the hall.
"Yeah, mom!" Rin shouted back to her.
She figured it was so late that she could just go to bed. It was about nine o'clock that night. It had been such a Friday. And she thought Friday's were suppose to be fun and relaxing. But all it had done was bring her embarrassment and stress.
Chapter 3.5 - On and On and On
Rin's mother got up early that Saturday morning, standing at the bathroom doing her makeup.
Rin sat up in bed, awaken by the sound of her Mom's clatter and footsteps.
She stood in the doorway of the bathroom, with a groggy look on her face and red polka dot pajamas with a white stained t-shirt.
"Oh yeah. I forgot your leaving today."
"Oh! Goodmorning sweetheart! Did you sleep alright?"
Rin rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Yeah."
"Do you remember the rules?"
"No friends over unless you know they're parents, no boys. That's all I can remember."
"That's all you needed to remember. I hope your baking student council thing goes well."
"Thanks, mom."
Rin headed into the kitchen and pulled down a box of Cheerios off the top of the refrigerator. This is how 99% of her Saturday mornings began.
"When do you leave, mom?" Rin asked.
"This morning. My flight takes off at eleven. I'm gonna drive my car off at the airport and then park it."
"Have you talked to Dad lately?" Rin asked, pouring the milk in her cereal.
All her mother did was scoff.
"Oh…Kay." Rin put the milk back in the refrigerator.
After she finished her cereal headed back to her room to finish her lazy Saturday.
Her mom came into the room. "I'm leaving now. Bye hon'. I love you."
"Love you too, mom."
Rin turned on her phone and looked down at the message that Miku sent her.
Miku: Hey im coming over
Rin: wait what?! U aren't gonna ask 'is that ok?' or something?
Miku: i figured it wuz ok
Rin: but its still early im not even dressed yet
Miku: oh whatev its fine chill irdc
Rin: ughh fine cmon
Miku: th the best?
Rin didn't want the weekend to be over. This was one of the first times she ever thought this.
Chapter 4.5 - "Too Much Sugar"
Miku walked normal pace down the sidewalk, but Rin lagged behind.
"C'MON! WALK FASTER!" Miku shouted.
"Blah." Rin groaned.
Once they arrived at the school, everyone met in student council board room.
Rin looked down at her feet the whole time. She looked up a couple time an glanced at Len. All the forgetting about the embarrassing encounter from Monday and the Twitter stuff had all come running back into her mind.
Once the meeting was over, Rin tried to rush out of the room but Len chased after her.
"Hey, um what I wanted to ask you real fast was are we going to your house or mine?"
Rin stopped to think. "Let's just go to your house. My mom doesn't want me to have guys over while she's gone."
Len shrugged. "Okay. See you after school then."
Rin walked to her locker, now thinking about what she thought before.
"Len isn't that bad after all." She muttered to herself as she did her combination. "He's pretty nice. I guess he couldn't be…too bad…to work with." Rin smiled a bit to herself.
"What are you doing over here grinning about?" Luka said as she came up to her locker, which was right beside Rin's.
"Oh…n-nothing."
"You're smiling about nothing? You might have a mental condition."
"No." Rin giggled. "Its nothing important."
"Okay. Whatever you say."
Luka slammed her locker and walked away.
"What am I saying? I can't prove Miku is right!"
Chapter 5 - Day One
At the end of the day, Len stood outside the school waiting for Rin, although Rin wasn't waiting for him.
"Uh hi?"
"Um…hey." Len scratched the back of his neck, looking a bit nervous. "So…what time are you coming?"
Rin shrugged, her backpack slowly sliding off her shoulders. She scowled and pushed the straps back on her shoulder. "Now I guess. I could walk home with you."
"Okay. Then lets walk."
"Okay."
Those words ringed in her ear. "Lets Walk." It was something about them that gave Rin an odd feeling inside.
"Are you feeling okay?" Len couldn't help looking at Rin, staring at her feet all the time.
Rin looked up at him and gave a small smile. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Suddenly everything came to a halt. Rin stood frozen in the middle of the road, a red car stopped infront of her. Len pulled her back and they both fell backwards. The car had only brushed the front of her body, but if Len hadn't yanked her out the street, she would've been done for.
"Hey! Watch it!" The driver yelled out the window, his horn honking.
"Sorry!" Len apologized to the driver, then checked around Rin's head and neck to make sure she was alright.
"You need to watch where you're going, Rin!" Len shouted. "You could've gotten killed!"
Rin wanted to cry. She wanted to bawl her eyes out. She wished she could just rewind everything and look up. This was the second time she had gotten into a situation and ran into something.
"I'm sorry I put you into this situation, Len." Rin stood up and pulled her backpack over her shoulders again.
Len grabbed the house keys out of his backpack zipper and unlocked the door to his house.
"Are your parents here?" Rin walked in an looked around, trying to remember what an actual house looked like. Her whole life she had been confined to small apartments.
"You have a nice house." She stared at the living-room, television and kitchen. It was all so wider. More space.
"It's nothing really. It isn't a mansion. But hey, I guess it means nothing to me because I've lived here my whole life. And no, my dad isn't here. He's working. He'll be here in a few hours or so."
Rin set her backpack down. "Are your parents…nevermind." Rin remembered she wasn't here to chat. They had cupcakes to make.
"Alright one-hundred cupcakes. Lets start with baking twenty cupcakes each day. By Friday, we'll have all one hundred cupcakes made and ready to go, right?"
"Right." Rin said. "Lets do this."
Len pulled out the sheet of paper the guidance counselor gave them. "We have to bake the vanilla ones. I bet at least half the people doing this are gonna eat the cupcakes."
"That'll be me." Rin pulled out the baking instructions out the plastic bag that the counselor had given them.
"Well…I suck at baking stuff so this is probably gonna be a hit or miss." Rin said.
"I never baked anything in my life so."
Rin sighed. "I guess we will have to figure this out on our own." She grabbed three eggs out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter next to a large white plastic bowl.
"This isn't so hard." She grabbed the electric whisk and plugged it into the wall.
Len watched her with a curious look on his face, wondering what Rin was going to do next. He was actually a bit amused at the matter, but tried to keep a bland expression on his face.
"Where's the mix?" Rin searched the counter.
"Right there." Len pointed behind her. "You seem a little eager."
"Well we gotta do this for the kids, right?" Rin reminded him.
"A little too eager."
The truth was that Rin was trying to distract herself from the fact that she had been paired with Len Kagamine.
"Okay." She looked around the kitchen, already sweating. Len couldn't help feeling guilty by the fact that he didn't know a thing about baking and couldn't help her.
"How about I mix the batter, you can preheat the oven, okay?" He grabbed a mixing spoon and twirled it between his fingers.
"O-okay." Rin left the bowl on the counter and went toward the stove. "You know, Len…" She attempted to be friendlier and make it less awkward. "I hadn't even known you were in student council."
"I knee you were." He said. "I guess I'm not so much an active member."
Once all the cupcakes were all baked, Len stored them in a bag in a container and put them in his freezer.
"We'll take em out and warm them back up on Friday, okay?" He told her.
"You put the icing on pretty good." Rin admitted.
"Thanks." Len smiled and shoved his hands in his apron pockets, covered in wheat flour.
"So how did it go?"
Rin was now in the comfort of her own small apartment, laying upside down against the wall on her cellphone, talking to Hatsune Miku.
"It was kinda boring, but it was fun I guess. He was kinda nervous at first to help me, but that's okay."
"Oh that's okay. He'll come around."
Rin sighed relieved. "So how was your day?"
"It was fun. We did a lot of fooling around, Neru and I. We only baked like one batch."
Rin bit her lip and turned over on he stomach. "How much was in the batch?"
"Fourteen. She had to go home early anyway. So we wouldn't have gotten that many cupcakes baked even if we HAD been super focused on our stuff, you know?"
"Yeah. But you guys need to be more serious about this. Its a student council thing." Rin warned.
"You're right. Anyways, I have to go. Bye."
"Bye."
Rin hung up her phone and set it down next to her computer desk.
There was a knock at the door. Rin dashed down the hall to go answer it (she hated when people complained about not answering doors and waiting, especially if it was a scary, mean neighbor she didn't like.)
It was Sylvia, the neighbor her mother told would come check on her every so often.
"Is everything okay in here?" Sylvia stepped inside.
"Yes. Everything is fine." Rin braced herself for a long, boring adult conversation.
"Well." Sylvia clenched her purse. "That is all. I have a dinner to go to in ten minutes so I can't stay."
"YES!" Rin exclaimed in her head. She liked to be alone in her apartment.
"Goodbye." Sylvia waved behind her.
"Bye bye!" Rin said.
Chapter 5 - Head in the Clouds
Rin and Miku found a spot in the courtyard on the freshly cut grass during mid-day break. She opened her laptop.
"Ugh the screen is glaring out here." Rin squinted at the sky. "Should we go inside?"
"Nah." Miku laid down on the grass and smiled as the blades brushed her arms and legs. "Its nice out here."
"Yeah it is." Rin put her computer back in her backpack and laid down next to her friend. It was peaceful and quiet.
They stared at the sky for a while, counting the clouds, saying animals they looked like. It wad a serene and quiet.
Rin could see someone standing above her in the corner of her eye. She turned around and her eyes locked with Len's.
"Oh…" She gulped and flared up. "Hey Len. What's up?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to say hey. I was just walking by."
Miku giggled and started to pack up her stuff. "I just remembered, I gotta be somewhere."
Rin shot a glare at her friend. Miku shrugged and grinned back and gave her a thumbs up.
"Don't leave me with him! I know what your up to!" Rin mouthed to her as Miku walked back into the school.
"Trust me!" She mouthed back and disappeared through the school doors.
"Uh…" Len put his hands in his pockets and looked around awkwardly. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah its cool." Rin laid back on the grass and huffed at the sky. She almost flinched when Len laid beside her in the grass.
"You don't mind, do you?" he looked at her and asked.
"Uh…uh….nope!" She smiled nervously.
"Are you sure you're okay? You can tell me anything. I'm not gonna go scream it to the world or like…tweet about it or something."
"I…I know. I trust you. But nothing's wrong with me. Promise." Rin assured.
"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"
"N-no." Rin stuttered. "I wouldn't."
A wispy breeze blew across the courtyard and Rin basked in it. It was nice like this. She looked over at Len, she could see he was enjoying it too.
Then his phone chimed.
Len sat up and unzipped his backpack, checking the message. He sighed and slung it over his shoulder.
"I gotta go, Rin. I'm sorry. See you later."
"Oh." Rin tisked under her breath. "Bye, then."
Once Len had left, everything wasn't the same. The courtyard started to get crowded. Students started to come and bring their friends, so it wasn't as relaxing as before.
"There's no point in laying here if its going to be like this." She lifted up her backpack and flipped it over her shoulders and headed for the school.
Rin immediately found Miku talking to one of their friends.
"So much for having to be somewhere." Rin put her hands on her hips.
"Well hey, I bet I helped you anyway."
Rin sighed. "Nah. He had to go. I guess one of his friends were texting him or something."
"Oh. Bummer."
"Who are you talking about?" Luka asked.
"N-nobody!" Rin shouted.
"Nobody." Miku glared at Rin.
"Look, I don't want all these people to know. My Twitter page is still exposed. The only thing keeping it unexposed is my prayers." Rin explained.
The bell rang for class and everyone disbanded and left for class.
Chapter 6 - The Do's and Don't's
Rin had left class and had beat Len outside. She didn't want to be the one to wait on him, but she had to. At least she didn't have to wait so long.
"Hey." Len stood before her, his hands still in his uniform pockets. "I gotta tell you something."
"Yeah?"
"My dad is having our house worked on today, so he told me don't go there straight after school. So can we go the baking thing at your house?"
Rin played with the end of her uniform skirt, thinking about what to do. Remembering what her mom said.
"My mom said not to have boys over though." She mumbled.
"O-oh."
Rin was so conflicted she didn't know what to do. She never had broke her mom's rules. Well, that was true; but she still didn't want to do it.
Was she about to cross the line between goody two shoes? Not exactly. But she knew the reason why her mom didn't allow boys.
"I guess you could come. My mom isn't there though." She spit out.
"Okay. Thank you, Rin. How far is your house?" Len asked as they headed down the sidewalk.
"We have to take the bus." Rin told him.
"Okay."
The walk was pretty silent. They didn't say too many words. Rin hated that it was like this. She wished it wasn't like this. To be honest with herself, Rin liked it when they talked.
When they got to the bus stop, Len reached in his backpack.
"Do you need money for the bus?" He asked.
"Um…nah. I can pay for you, too."
Len shook his head. "No. I don't want you to not have enough for tomorrow."
"Okay. Thanks." Rin said.
Rin and Len stood outside the apartment building.
"Okay, listen closely." Rin grabbed Len by the shoulders and stared in his eyes. "Mom told one of the neighbors to check on me every so often."
"So…?" Len asked.
"When I go in, you follow me, but don't follow me in the house. Go sit beside room 106. When I knock three times, that means its safe. I will unlock the door and you run up and step in, okay?"
"Gotcha." Len nodded.
Rin opened the apartemt front doors and headed up the elevator, Len following a distance behind her.
Once they arrived on her floor, she tip-toed to her apartment and closed the door behind her. Len listened for the lock click and went up the stairs and sat outside room 106.
Sylvia stepped outside to take her trash out. She looked at Len curiously.
"Do you live here?"
"Uh…no. I'm waiting for somebody." Len lied.
Well, he was waiting for somebody, but he couldn't tell.
"Oh." Sylvia was confused. "The lady living there almost never goes anywhere. Its odd. Why are you seeing a old lady anyway?"
Len didn't know what to do. He had no idea an old lady had lived there.
"Um…um…I'm helping her…grocery shop today. Yeah." Len managed to think of something believable.
Sylvia bought it. She threw the garbage down the incinerator shoot.
"Alright, boy. Just leave that girl across the hall alone, alright?"
Len's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't breathe. Did she know what they were up to? Would it have been better to just skip the baking today?
"What girl?"
His last resort was to play dumb.
"Oh. So you don't know?" Sylvia realized.
"Nope." Len shrugged. "No idea."
"Alright alright fine. Sorry about questioning you." Sylvia walked back into her apartment and Len felt the weight of the world fall off his shoulders.
He listened for the lock unclick and he dashed inside the apartment.
"Nice one! Thanks for not getting me busted."
"It wasn't easy. You owe me one." Len joked.
"Ha. C'mon less bake this stuff."
Chapter 7 - Thanks to a Traffic Light…or is That What to Blame?
"It looks like we are going to need some more frosting for tomorrow." Rin said as she squirted the last bit of chocolate onto the last cupcake of the day.
Len rinsed all the dishes and licked the remaining frosting off his fingers.
"Probably because you couldn't stop eating it!" Rin giggled as she noticed Len.
"I swear I wasn't!" Len ducked as Rin playfully threatened to hit him in the head with a whisk.
"Okay but seriously, we won't have enough time tomorrow to go get frosting. We should run to the grocery store today." Rin told him.
"Okay. I'll go get my stuff." Len untied his apron and hung it back on a hook in the kitchen.
The two walked around the corner to a grocery store and got their frosting. Little did they know they had been lollygagging, and it had started to get dark.
"Oh its getting dark. You'll have to go home soon, huh?" Rin asked as the walked down the slightly damp sidewalk back to her apartment.
It had started raining a bit, Rin used her backpack to cover her head, for it was the only thing she had. She was kinda happy it was big, so it could cover her. Len did the same with his backpack.
"Good work today, Len." Rin finally said after moments of silence.
"Thanks. You too."
They'd come to a crosswalk eventually, so they had to wait.
Len couldn't help but notice that Rin's teeth were chattering and she was extremely anxious about something.
"Are you okay, Rin?"
All she did was nod at him.
"Are you sure?" He asked with more concern.
"Yes I'm sure. I'm just a little paranoid is all."
"Paranoid about what?" He lifted her backpack up so he could look into her eyes.
"Well, I'm afraid I might get struck by lightning. Whenever it rains I usually run inside because I get paranoid that I could get struck by lightning."
"Its okay, Rin. I understand you're scared. We're almost back to the apartment anyway."
For some reason, even if somehow it wasn't okay, the sound of Len's voice saying those words calmed her paranoia.
Rin looked into his eyes and she felt safe. But she didn't understand how a simple person could make her feel safe. Someone who isn't like a mother or a father, even an older sibling. How could someone the same age as her make her feel safe? She didn't know why, but it was working on her.
Before she knew it Len was leaning towards her, about to kiss her when they noticed the light had changed by making a loud dinging sound.
It had totally ruined the moment.
Rin was hoping they would finish the kiss later in the walk, but all there was was awkward looks exchanged between the two for the whole rest of the trip.
When Len left back to his house they only waved.
Why was it suddenly so silent? ~ Rin wondered.
Later that evening after she had dinner and gotten ready for bed, Rin grabbed her phone to give Miku the daily rundown.
Until she did her password and it didn't work.
She tried it again and again, it didn't work. Then she realized the lockscreen was unfamiliar.
"Who did this to my phone? Len would never…" Rin tried to piece her thoughts together. It was only matter of time before she realized the phone wasn't hers,
It belonged to Len Kagamine.
Rin didn't know if she should unlock the phone or not. She remembered that they had the same exact phone case, black and yellow diagnol striped.
She continued to guess the password, until Rin realized she could just take a picture and push the homebutton and she could be inside the phone.
Now that Rin unlocked the phone, what would she do?
Snoop?
"This day must be national rebel day." She thought it herself. "I let a boy into my apartment and now I'm about to snoop through his phone."
Rin sat back in her spinning leather desk chair and went through the phone, mainly looking for anybody she knew. Her finger scrolled on the screen and she eventually found her own contact.
She saw most of the boys, Kaito, Nero, Mikuo…
Almost no girls. Except for herself and someone else by the name Saiko.
It didn't take long for her to realize who Saiko was.
Saiko was Len's boyfriend.
Rin couldn't stand looking though the texts exchanged from a boy she liked to his girlfriend. It didn't look like they got along much, but it made Rin's heart hurt awfully.
And to make matters worse…
It dawned on her that HER phone, the SAME phone with the Twitter message was now in the hands of Len Kagamine. The TOPIC of the tweet.
"My mistake. Its national DOOMSDAY." She complained to herself as she plopped down on her bed.
It was officially the worst day of her life.
Chapter 8 - A Toll on Fury
Rin's sadness had carried on that night, but through the night and into the morning, her sadness molded into anger.
She slammed her alarm clock and flipped the covers off her bed. Rin didn't even look at the phone.
Her feet boomed down the hall and into the bathroom. She vigorously combed her hair and brushed her teeth. The cute white hair-clips she normally wore stayed on the counter and was replaced with a simple black headband. She was not in the mood to look adorable that day.
The sidewalk was still damp from the rain the night before. Rin trotted furiously though every puddle and slippery spot before her.
She didn't want to be mad. But she was.
"I'm never talking to him ever again…" Rin muttered angrily to herself as she stomped down the sidewalk and walked through the gates of the school. "Never again."
"Hey, Rin? What's the matter…you didn't text me last night with the rundown. How was it?"
"Horrible. He's such a player."
"Uh oh." Miku put her hand over her head. "What happened?"
"He has a GIRLFRIEND, Miku."
"He does? Wait…he does? So what? You aren't dating. That doesn't make him a player."
"No, I mean he was going to kiss me. And he ALREADY had a girlfriend!" Rin shouted in frustration.
"Oh. Well, who is it?" Miku asked.
"Some black haired girl named Saiko. She's really pretty. I looked at some photos."
Miku gasped. "Saiko is sooooo pretty! I didn't know she was dating anyone! But how did you see any pictures?"
"He left his phone and took mine. That's why I couldn't text you."
Miku consoled her friend with a hand on her shoulder. "I know this must be a bummer. Did you know Saiko even goes here?"
"No. I never even seen her here before. I thought she went to a different school."
Miku tisked. "Wow. You didn't know Len went here, you didn't know his girlfriend, you didn't even know they dated. You know if you were on the soc-meeds more you would know these things."
"What's a soc-meeds?" Rin snapped out of her angry state.
"Social Media. Duh?"
Rin saw Len opening his locker a distance away. She couldn't bare to look at him. Rin decided that if he tried to talk to her, she would ignore him.
Len had noticed her too.
"I gotta talk to her at some point." He thought to himself as he closed his locker. "I can't just ignore her forever. Mainly because…the student council project."
He walked over to her, holding her cellphone in his hand.
Rin saw him, she tried not to make eye contact. Miku had left her again.
"Here. I thought you might need this back." Len handed her the cellphone.
"Thanks." Rin said sharply. Hoping that he didn't have anything else to add on.
"Can I have my phone back? I kinda need it." Len asked nervously.
It was then Rin realized she was the one making him stand there. She opened her backpack and handed Len his phone.
They continued to stare at eachother next to the lockers for a few moments.
A girl with long, midnight black hair and fair skin came behind Len and grabbed his arm.
"That can't be Saiko." Rin thought to herself. "Man she is really beautiful."
"Hi girl. Rin is it?"
"Y-yeah."
"Well, I hope you don't mind but um…Len and I must be going."
"Okay." Rin shrugged. "Its not like we were talking anyways." The way that Rin said it was meant to be to Saiko, but it was directed to Len. Her grudge still going strong.
"Rin! Why won't you guys just kiss and make up already!" Miku complained.
"Its not that easy." Rin slouched in her desk of the English classroom. "He has a girlfriend he's happy with. I don't want to ruin it for him."
"Whatever!" Miku slouched in her seat, too. "But seriously! Why would he kiss YOU if he already has a girlfriend! Obviously that should tell you something!"
"A kiss doesn't mean anything, Miku."
"Yes it does! It means he LOVES you! Even if he didn't ACTUALLY kiss you, he had the full intention.
"Stop trying to make me feel better, Miku. Its over now. After this student council project, I'm never talking to him again."
"Okay." Miku looked down in her hands and stayed quiet.
The bell rang and class was dismissed. The whole day had an awkward feeling to it and Rin couldn't help feeling like it was her fault. Like maybe the world was playing along with her feelings, although she would think the world wouldn't care about some random girl's issues.
Chapter 9 - Withdrawal
It had been two days since the student council baking event had ended. Rin hadn't spoken a word to Len, just like she promised.
But she wanted to talk to him all of a sudden.
So she texted him when she got home.
Rin: Hi Len.
Rin had to wait a while for a response. As ten to twenty minutes passed, she began to give up.
Len: hey.
Rin: well…um. How are things?
Len: okay I guess. You?
Rin: actually um…
Len: yeah?
Rin: I feel kinda bad about not talking to you.
Len: me too a little.
Rin: even if whatever I was mad at about before Im not upset about it anymore
Len: why were you mad?
Rin: I guess because…well…can I call you and tell you instead?
Len: yeah sure.
Rin left the conversation and called Len on the phone.
"What I was going to say was I was mad because you had a girlfriend. And…I liked you. A lot."
"Oh. So why are you calling me now?"
"To ask you if you would forgive me for being so ignorant and crap."
"Ha ha. Well of course I forgive you, Rin. I know that I shouldn't have…tried to kiss you. Even though I already had a girlfriend and all. I made the whole thing complicated and I kick myself over it."
"Do you even still…love Saiko?"
"I liked her at first. But she was really demanding. I broke up with her the night before the student council event."
"I'm sorry about that. I can't help but feel like my whole life is totally crappy."
"Well, life is like that."
"But um…do you remember that day in the courtyard? That was one of the moments that made everything in my life so small. Mainly because…you were there. I was so broken when you left. And all those times we baked together and all."
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I love you, Len."
Rin knew she was being extremely cheesy. At least she believed so. But did it matter?
"Well…to tell the truth, I broke up with Saiko so I could be with you. But I thought you were still mad with me. So this is what we should do. We can make up for our lost time if you want?"
"Okay. What should we do?"
"Meet me in the school courtyard at seven o'clock tonight."
"Isn't that trespassing?"
"Not really. We're students."
Chapter 10 - A Blanket of Sky
Rin had never been to the school at night. The roads were dark. There were fee streetlights. It was like being in a totally different world at night.
She had only been in a car at night. It was hard to read the street signs.
Once the school could be seen, Rin stepped through the school gates. It was still dark, but she could see the few stars above the sky that could be seen in the city.
"Hello? Len?" She called out.
Len flashed a flashlight around her. "I'm over here."
Rin sat down next to him on the grass of the courtyard.
"It seems better at night time. There are stars, and its quieter. But its a little colder."
"Well come here. I'll hold you."
Rin felt like she could die right then and there. She moved closer to Len and leaned her head on his shoulder.
And for once, everything was perfect.