"…Aone-kun, are you happy with me?"

Your question comes out quiet, much softer than you had intended. You had wanted it to come out self-assured, confident…but your courage had run out the moment you opened your mouth. As it was you'd practically whispered the words, and for a moment you wondered if maybe Aone hadn't heard you. After all, he is a fair amount taller than you are, and the two of you are walking down a busy sidewalk bustling with loud, excited students. But Aone stops in his tracks, just as you had right before you asked your question, and he looks down at you in surprise.

Of course he heard you…no matter how loud it was around or how he towered above you, Aone always heard you. He always listened to you. And even though he very rarely spoke, he'd always respond to you in his own way.

You stare hard at the ground before you slowly look up at him from the corner of your eyes. Your heart is beating hard against your chest, and your hands are clasped together tightly behind your back. You have no doubt you look as uncomfortable as you feel.

And then Aone looks down at you kindly, even with his face looking as harsh as ever, and he gently pats your head. You turn to face him completely, and he smiles at you. It's a small smile, but it conveys an amazing sense of warmth and gentleness. He leans down slightly so he can look you straight in the eye, and he answers your query with a decisive, strong nod. You feel a wave of relief, and you smile back cheerfully at him.

Then, you notice how close your faces are. Due to the difference in your heights, you're usually not this close to him. You feel your cheeks flush, and your heart start to beat faster as, tentatively, you lean closer to him…

But before you can get any closer he straightens up, giving you another friendly pat on the head before he turns back to looking straight ahead and starts walking forwards. You find yourself frozen in place, staring at the place he had just vacated with wide eyes, and you slowly turn your head towards him. He'd stopped walking, pausing to look back at you, and now holds up his wrist to show you his watch. His message is clear.

Time is running out before school starts, so you have to get a move on.

You sigh loudly, taking a moment to rub your red cheeks in annoyance, but you obediently jog towards Aone. He hadn't gone far from you. In fact, he never does. Somehow, despite the difference in your bodies (especially his long, powerful legs) you never have trouble keeping up with him.

Sometimes you liked to think maybe he slowed down just for you, but…well, Aone didn't think of you like that.

Three months ago, you'd started writing a love letter.

Two months ago, you'd finished that letter. You put it in a pastel blue envelope, sealed it tightly, and on the front wrote the name of the boy it was meant for…the boy you liked.

Aone Takanobu.

The letter itself was nothing really gushy (you hoped). In it, you just told him that you really admired him. In fact, considering you didn't mention the word 'love' at all, you could have even called it an admiration letter! Not that it made it any less embarrassing. You'd spent weeks writing the letter, and thinking about it still made you blush.

In the letter, you told him how you had come to watch one of their volleyball games, and you had seen him playing. You thought he was really incredible with the way he moved and jumped, and watching him block the other team's spikes had actually taken your breath away. He was truly amazing.

You quickly followed this by saying that you hoped this letter didn't displease him (or something equally awkward and overly apologetic, you'd rewritten the letter several dozen times and still found it impossible to write it like a normal person) and that you wished him the best of luck in his next game.

Two months ago, you'd put the love letter in Aone's gym bag.

You then went about your day, trying to pretend everything was normal with also trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach as you desperately wondered what he thought about your letter. You had been afraid you'd have to wait until the train ride home or, worse, if he had practice this afternoon and you wouldn't see him until the train ride the next morning.

Unexpectedly, you caught a glimpse of him at lunch. There, in a table near the center of the room, Aone had been eating alongside the rest of the volleyball team. However, while they were laughing and arguing amongst each other, Aone was staring down intensely at his lunch.

Your heart had skipped a beat. Did that mean he was upset? Was he mad? Was he afraid you were a creepy stalker or something?

Your fearful thoughts were then interrupted by one of your friends pointing out a table on the other end of the lunch room. You had followed them as they headed towards, trying to hide your fearful expression. Even worse, the path to the table took you closer to the volleyball team's table as you had to pass them to reach it.

And that's when you realised Aone wasn't staring at his lunch; he was staring at his lap…where his hands were rightly clutching your letter! And although his expression had looked harsh and angry from far away, now that you were closer…you had seen his cheeks were a little red, and it looked like he was trying hard to suppress a smile.

"Hey, keep up will you?" One of your friends laughed good-naturedly, and you realised you had lagged a bit behind.

"Sorry!" You said sheepishly, as you quickly walked forwards to keep up with them. It took all your willpower not to skip, and even more not to look back at the table.

"Hey Aone! What you got there?"

You heard a playful voice ring out from the volleyball table, even through the loud, rowdy noise of the room, and you and your friends looked back at the sudden voice. You saw a roguish looking boy with light brown hair, moving his entire body over the lunch table to try and see what was in Aone's hand. Aone quickly folded up the letter and put it in his pocket, looking away from the boy with a stoic expression. The other boy pretended to pout in disappointment, before he burst out laughing and started asking Aone if he'd brought dirty magazines to school or something.

Your friends laughed, and turned away. You had no choice but to follow them, although you did wish you could stay longer…luckily though, you got to see him again.

You road the same train to get to school as Aone. You got off one stop after he did, and he frequently got on earlier or later rides than you due to the team's many volleyball practices, but you still got to see him a lot.

On the ride home, you had seen him sitting a few feet away from you (the seats next to him were unoccupied as always, as you frequently tried to work up the courage to take one of those seats and always failed miserably) and reading the letter with a fierce, intense concentration. It wasn't a long letter, since you had stressed over every word, but he was still reading it when he stepped off the train so he must have been reading it again and again. He still maintained his focus too, as he nearly walking into the door while he was getting off the train due to being so distracted.

The thought that he liked the letter had made you so giddy you'd skipped home.