Fanfic of Ao Haru Ride. If you're a reader from my KHR fanfic, you'll see a major difference: It has more mistakes. Sadly, there's no proof-reader, because I'm just too embarrassed to send a romantic story to my friend. LOL, no, that wasn't funny.

Chapter 1: Sunny Days, Many Strays

She saw nothing but him,

His lips hesitant, his nose caressing her cheek, and his hazel eyes half closed. She felt his arms encircling her in a light embrace, so lovingly that her heart couldn't bear it much longer. Ah, how warm, she thought. Today, he was wearing a yellow sweater with an open collar. His cute neck was open to her only and that enticed her to nuzzle him more closely. For as long as she could remember, they embraced shyly, neither of them wanting to break this tender moment.

And yet, Futaba couldn't help but to lift her chin just sightly higher, as her lips came to a mere centimeter away from his. They stared into each other's eyes, so vulnerable and sentimental.

At last, he gave her a timid peck on the lips. Perhaps their lips have just brushed momentarily, but to Futaba, it was an eternity. She peeked again at his face and she instantly blushed even more. Her lover had his cheeks flushed as red as a strawberry. A small giggle escaped her lips as he tried to hide his blush away from her. Stray lights appeared above them and painted their surroundings in snowy white. She shielded her face in his chest, savoring his fresh fragrance. If only time could stop here.

And then...

She couldn't feel the warmth. She couldn't feel his arms, his embrace. "Futaba," he suddenly said, "sayonara."

No, no, no. Her hands flew to reach his. Her mouth went dry, her eyes teary, and her legs weak. She searched for his expression, but his black hair shadowed his face. Time has ceased as they both came to a stop. Drowning deep into the sunny light, all she could see was the white void.

.

.

.

.

"Love sucks," she whispered lazily as her eyes fluttered open. That dream was still vibrant in her memory. She slid her legs down sluggishly to the cold wooden floor and reached for her fluffy pink slippers. With an idle hop, she was off the bed and strolling out from her bedroom. With one glance at the mirror next to the kitchen, she frowned upon seeing the dark circles under her eyes. Yes, today was their "anniversary". It was a common occurrence to be sleep deprived whenever she had to think of him. Three years since then, she thought bitterly. An unusual silence reigned heavily around her. Her parents must have left early.

Over the years, she has managed to leave most of her past far away from her mind, but just once in a while, her heart would drift back to those days, to those happy and colorful days. That is until that farewell happened. When he uttered weakly his last goodbye, things didn't seem so sudden. Perhaps, they were both expecting it. Somehow, she has accepted it with a sad smile, mimicking his exact expression. Both knew it was the least they could do for one another. At least I would remember you with that smile...

A week later, she broke down. Ah, how has she wished for her to go back to those days.

Not anymore.

She grabbed her bag at the hallway and reached for the front door.

After her break up, her family was worried sick over her as she always came out of her room with puffy red eyes each morning. Those weeks were heavy and terrible. And she silently promised herself to never let herself fall that weak again.

She knew that, as a couple, a relationship was likely a never ending roller-coaster ride. There were always ups and downs. But her ride has reached to the bottom and stopped after the day he left. The excuse of a long distant relationship was just the tip of the iceberg. There must have been other reasons but she wouldn't dive into the cold water.

Not anymore

"Hey, you listening?" Futaba suddenly snapped back her attention and looked at her impatient friend. "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. Her classmate seemed to be satisfied with that one word and went back to her talking.

"I planned a Goukon with some students of Sekai High! Three boys will be coming," she continued, "all looking very handsome," then Asumi's eyes went dreamy, along with Chie. "You should come," she finally finished.

"Asumi," she gave her thrilled classmate a questioning look as she sat down carelessly on her seat, making sure that one of her knee is lifted up. "Why all the trouble? We can ask the boys of our school instead." Really, she preferred seeing familiar looking people than just some strangers. "Plus, I'm not into those kind of things. So I'm good."

"Please," she started, her voice drawling with disappointment, and continued before Futaba could try to speak again, "Sekai High is an all-boys school," she emphasized, "most of them are interested to have a girlfriend. I wouldn't have asked them if our guys at school weren't already head over heels for that Yuuri," her last word was obviously dripped with venom.

You don't need to be that mean... Futaba has talked to the said girl yesterday and she made her realize how similar they used to be. There was no denying that Yuuri was a cute girl. Not to mention, she even gave her a bunny-strap. Of course, in reality, Futaba kept her mouth tightly shut in front of her two friends.

"We need you," Chie-chan pleaded, "since boys won't go for you. We get to have more choice! I don't think you're interested in any boys, so do it as a favor please..." The slip that no-one-liked-her-romantically hit hard on Futaba. But she laughed it off as usual, pretending that she didn't have a care in the world. She brought it on to herself the day she decided to change.

The change started in the last two years. In her previous school, she was beginning to attract unwanted attention since her breakup, particularly from the male students. The other boys would dare each other to ask her out as a game, making bets and so on. However, there were some of them that had serious feelings for her. They would often whisper to each other how calm and graceful she was, unlike the other girls, and then glanced at her in the corridor.

"Can't they see? Futaba just want to replace her ex," one girl snarled.

.

.

.

As soon as the memory entered her mind, she promptly discarded it. No one has expected for the relationship to come to an end. There were even terrible rumors such that she cheated on him. Some girls would also glare at her from time to time. Futaba admits that they were quite young and immature in middle school, but she was too scared to ever relive those rumors and unnecessary attention. What she wanted was a fresh start. Now, boys wouldn't consider her more than a tomboyish friend and girls have already forgotten about her.

She looked at Chie-chan and Asumi-chan and gave them a begrudging nod. She didn't want to disappoint them.

And yet, there she was walking down the hallway with her arms filled with sweets and pastries, barely able to keep everything in her hands. Her two friends have left her alone to buy snacks, while they went out shopping for clothes before the goukon. It's okay, I don't need to shop. They probably didn't ask me because they knew that.

"Ah!" Too absorbed in her thoughts, she bumped into someone's shoulder, dropping one bread from her busy arms.

Thankfully, someone caught it in midair.

"Sorry," she mumbled out, too embarrassed to stare at him directly. Even for her, this was too much pastries for one person. She awkwardly stared at the ground, awaiting him to give it back. Strangely enough, he didn't move.

"I never thought that my ex-girlfriend would eat more than me," he chuckled with an perplexed look.

Frowning in confusion, she slowly raised her head to look and turned speechless at the sight in front of her, gawking at his bemused face. He unwrapped the plastic around the bread and took a bite without asking. "Consider this as a payment for all the times I have treated you for lunch," his unwavering brown eyes never leaving hers as he spoke, "hmm, you do look chubby."

The tile floor seemed colder; outside, the harsh wind blew and grazed the branches like knives; leaves flew around in a frantic dance; the clouds stretched wider than ever before; her breath hitched.

Someone was calling for her, but she simply ignored the distant calls. Her mind was only on him.

... As well as a sudden thought, THAT JERK.

I am actually enjoying this. I'll see when I can update. School is killing me lol