Chapter 1: Shame

(Alice pov)

Alice laid in her futon staring at the ceiling. She had found it difficult to sleep in the last month. She looked around to see if anything had changed that would explain the lack of sleep. There was nothing, absolutely nothing ajar in the room or anything that would make her feel different. So why did she feel so strange?

The answer was quite clear for any mature adult. Alice at age 18 had just now hit puberty and with it she had gained access to another side of her she never knew existed. She stood up and glanced at the peacefully sleeping Shino. She blushed a deeper shade of red then she had ever blushed before. A crimson so deep and bright it nearly lit up the room.

She still had her love for Shino but now it was different. She had recently realized exactly what she was and she hated herself for it. She was nothing more than a weeb with a fetish for japanese culture. Alice stayed still now, staring at Shino admiring the way her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. If the word tranquility was brought to mind the image of Shino's sleeping face would be conjured immediately.

For the past month she had tried to hide her feelings and pretend to be the same ignorant child that she had been in the past but that only increased the shame. Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about what her love for Shino truly was.

"Do I love Shino because she is Shino... or do I love Shino because I'm projecting a racist image on her?"

She silently cried as she didn't know the answer. She knew that she loved Shino but if her love was purely just a fetish then how could she ever look at Shino the same way? Shino deserved better and that was what Alice was going to give her. Some how, some way, Alice would overcome her feelings for Shino and see to it that she would live happily with someone that she truly loved. This was her promise to herself and to Shino.

She wiped the tears from her eyes before laying back down on her futon and falling asleep. Beside her Shino woke up suddenly in her bed.

(Shino pov)

"I- I- I truly love Alice Cartelet!"

Shino then passed out after announcing this to the world but the world slept on. The world would never know of her feelings and Alice slept calmly. Her words fell upon deaf ears and the world nor Alice would know her true feelings.