You Don't Forget Your First

(High School Years)

Forced to clean the house while his family went out, Eiji decided to turn on the radio so he'd have something to listen to while cleaning. It was almost the Christmas season (November), so a classic Christmas song filled the living room.

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special I'll give it to someone special Once bitten and twice shy I keep my distance but you still catch my eye Tell me baby do you recognize me? Well it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me

Listening to the song, Eiji slowed his cleaning. A rush of memories hit him. It would soon be a year… a year since the day Eiji thought, in his naïve high school second-year head, was the happiest day in his life. The day Fuji had asked him out…

(Happy Christmas!) I wrapped it up and sent it With a note saying "I Love You" I meant it Now I know what a fool I've been But if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again

They hadn't lasted. A month of happiness had followed that one day. They would always talk about the smallest of things. They would always hang out together. They would laugh together about everything.

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special I'll give it to someone special A crowded room, friends with tired eyes I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice My God I thought you were someone to rely on Me? I guess I was a shoulder to cry on A face on a lover with a fire in his heart A man undercover but you tore me apart Oooh Oooh Now I've found a real love you'll never fool me again

But after that month of happiness… came three months of silence. They didn't talk. They saw each other but had nothing to say. They didn't hang out. Fuji was always with Tezuka and Taka-san. Eiji, in turn, hung out with Momo and Oishi. They had practice together; they had class together. That didn't change things at all. They no longer acted like friends… they were mere acquaintances.

Three months of silence. Then, finally, Fuji had emailed him…

"Eiji-
I'm sorry for everything that has been going on. I don't know why we haven't talked or anything, and I can't forgive myself for it. I've caused you too much pain, and no matter how much I like someone, I don't want to keep hurting them. That's why I think we should break up. Something tells me that in the end, I'm going to end up hurting you much more if this continues, and I don't want that. I hope you understand because I don't want you to get hurt any more. I've had a great time with you and I hope we will still be able to talk and do things together.
–Fuji"

It had hurt. It had really hurt. Eiji did not want to break up, but it was inevitable. He had replied in a cheerful email about how he understood and how he'd like to be friends. He had typed the email out in tears.

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, you gave it away This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special I'll give it to someone special

It took three weeks and Momo to get him out of depression. Even after saying how they'd talk and still be friends, Fuji and Eiji hadn't done much of that. Finally, Momo had become fed up and forced them to talk. For an hour, they had talked about how they'd been acting and how they'd hurt each other. The two promised once again to be friends. One question from Fuji, though, made Eiji wonder.

"Do you like Oishi?"

Eiji didn't know. Did he? Oishi had been there the three weeks after the break-up. He'd helped Eiji forget all about Fuji while he hung out with him. Sure, they'd been friends and doubles partners before, but they really hung out a lot during those three weeks. It could have partly been because Fuji hung out with Tezuka a lot, and Oishi didn't. Eiji had thought about the question. A few days later, he came to the conclusion that yes, he did like Oishi.

A month later, and a month into the new school year where they were high school third-years and Ochibi had joined them, Oishi had asked him to stay behind after practice. Eiji agreed, thinking it was something to do with their doubles combination. He turned out to be wrong. Oishi had confessed to him and asked him out. Eiji hesitated a bit. He knew he liked Oishi, and apparently vice versa. Eiji agreed because he knew that he was finally fully and completely over Fuji.

Now it's almost his and Oishi's six-month anniversary. Fuji and Tezuka had started going out a few months back. Fuji and Eiji could not be any better friends. They talked about everything and anything. Eiji was even the first to know about how Fuji liked Tezuka. He had even helped them get together. They were best friends. They say the "let's be friends" thing doesn't work with your ex, but that's not true in all cases. Eiji would say that he and Fuji were closer now because they went out and broke up.

A face on a lover with a fire in his heart (Gave you my heart) A man undercover but you tore me apart Next year I'll give it to someone, I'll give it to someone special special, someone, someone I'll give it to someone, I'll give it to someone special who'll give me something in return I'll give it to someone hold my heart and watch it burn I'll give it to someone, I'll give it to someone special I've got you here to stay I can love you for a day I thought you were someone special gave you my heart I'll give it to someone, I'll give it to someone last Christmas I gave you my heart you gave it away I'll give it to someone, I'll give it to someone

Still… you never forget your first. You never forget the first person you go out with. Just in this way, Eiji would never forget what he and Fuji had, even for that short while. He'd never trade what he had for anything. He's happy with Oishi and loves him dearly, but Fuji would always have a special place in his life and heart.

Knowing that, Eiji went back to cleaning with renewed vigor. If he finished, he'd get to go see Oishi. Or maybe he could gather all the regulars and play street tennis together. Then, he'd have the love of his life and his best friend there with him together.

A/N: Hey… long time? "Last Christmas" was a song on my play list… I don't really know why… and when I heard it, I remembered my own… first. Actually… this whole thing is based off my life… with a few changes. Like the time periods and stuff. Sorry if it's crap, but I kind of needed to get it out? Yeah… Oh, I was "Eiji," if you wanted to know… and if that break up email doesn't sound like Fuji… well… that's because that's the email (with a few changes) that was sent to me… so… yeah… sorry…