Chapter 1
Middle School Days
8th Period Science Class

Everything that ended

Once had a beginning.

So in order to prepare for the end

One has to first begin.

"Ia Shizen."

Urgh...what? Can't you see I'm busy here...? Well, not busy, I guess, but still-.

"Miss Shizen."

Woah, who called me that? Sounds eerily formal.

"Can someone please wake up Miss Shizen?"

Hey, hey, who asked you...?

"Sorry about this Ia."

And then suddenly, I was violently whacked on the backside of my head with an orange. Yes. An orange. How Rin managed to sneak that little bugger into class, the world will never know. Unless Rin Kagene is indeed the world, then yes. The world will know.

"OI. What the heck was-" I began to yell out while standing up abruptly in my seat. Realization caused my voice to soften quickly, due to the fact that everyone was staring at me with more or less bemused expressions. Biting my bottom lip, I wiped the accumulating sweat off my palms on my school uniform skirt. Mom will probably get mad at me, but whatever. I never liked it in the first place. Would've bought the pants that the boys wore instead, but apparently it "isn't allowed for such a delicate doll-like girl to ruin her figure with such inappropriate clothing." Really?

"Glad you were able to join us Ia," Mr. Utatane smiled slightly, thankfully more amused than angry. Immediately the heavy weight of guilt pooled into my stomach. Looking away from my favorite teacher, I sighed.

"So, can you answer the question I was going to ask you...if you were awake, that is," the young science teacher requested, his smile still plastered on, yet I got a more mocking feel from it this time. Most would be fazed by this sudden demand, and it would most likely end in humiliation for the poor person. Not me. I'm always ready.

"Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, Quaternary," I listed without hesitation. "And the answer to the question Kaito couldn't figure out was that the reason why the higher the altitude, the less atmospheric pressure there is, is simply because there is less atmosphere above you. The less atmosphere pushing down on you, the less pressure there is."

Satisfied, Mr. Utatane's smile grew wider, and he placed his teachers' edition of our textbook on the counter behind him. The rest of the students gazed on with a mixture of admiration and exasperation. They were probably used to this by now.

The thing is, for some reason, whenever I sleep, I always dream of what happens around me currently. It's like watching a live show, but you're also in it. Perhaps to explain better, think of it as an out of body experience. I knew that Mr. Utatane wanted to wake me up. And I could have before he called me out, but I just chose not to. Simple as that. I stayed up late the night before studying for the 2nd period's algebra test.

"As a reward for Ia's somewhat creepy way for answering correctly even though she was asleep, you all get to change seats," Mr. Utatane announced, knowing the class would be overjoyed. We have stayed in the same positions in class for nearly half the year, and Mr. Utatane probably noticed the increasing level of restlessness. I, on the other hand, was not thrilled at all. Rin was my closest friend at the moment, and I didn't want to move! Plus, the person sitting next to you also became your lab partner, and if your partner did badly, then so did you. Rin and I were both amongst the smarter people in our class, and I didn't want to get stuck with someone who-.

My mental ramblings were cut off as my ears pick up on something.

"And Ia Shizen will be sitting next to Len Kagamine in the middle section, last table on my right," Mr. Utatane finished, closing the folder.

Len Kagamine...? Who's that again? I pondered, trying to recreate some sort of memory that involved a Len Kagamine. Oh wait, does he have a twin? He looked an awful lot like Rinto. Gathering my textbooks, I resolved to question Len about it later. Sliding into my new seat, I took out my pencil case and started organizing my many writing utensils.

"Cool pens you got there," a voice came from above me. Looking up, I see a boy, perhaps a couple or so inches taller than me (I'm 5' 0'' for reference). His blonde locks were tied back into a tight, small ponytail. I had to look away when he smiled. Among other things, it's inhumanly bright.

"Ah...thanks," I muttered softly, looking down at my worn-out sneakers, hastily slipping the case into my backpack. "It's 'Len,' right?"

"M hm," the boy nodded in affirmation. "And you're Ia."

My own azure eyes traveled from Len's cerulean ones back to his extended hand. Hesitantly, I placed mine in his. I liked his eyes. They were welcoming.

"Nice to meet you, Ia!" Len exclaimed, while vigorously shaking my hand clasped in his. At this point, I couldn't help but laugh a bit at his eagerness.

"Let's get along from now on," I contributed with a smile of my own once he finally let go of me.

"Of course," he winked. I let out a small giggle once again and rested my head on my hand. I wasn't as bothered that I had to get separated from Rin now. It seemed like a fair trade. Glancing back at Len, I saw him taking notes in preparation for our upcoming unit final next week. I was glad that he had the sense to do such a thing. I only thought Rin and I did things like that. It took me a little while to realize that he too noticed my stare, and Len met it with his own soft look. Blinking back in surprise, I turned my face away from his and began scribbling random things Mr. Utatane lectured.

The bell finally rang after what seemed to be the longest 45 minutes of my sixth grade career. After a series of goodbyes between Mr. Utatane and the students, everyone gradually funneled out of the classroom. Pushing back a long lock of hair behind my ear, I was tapped three times on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Rin!" I waved slightly. She smirked a bit in response and grabbed Len's shoulder, shaking it vigorously.

"R-Rin, what are you doing?" I sputtered out, clearly taken aback. I was used to Rin being forceful with other people, but she was usually gentler with strangers. It wasn't possible for Rin to know Len, right? Eyebrows drawn together, I compare Len's features with Rin's and was slightly shocked with what my examination came up with.

"Wait, you guys aren't-"

"Hey, cuz, stop shaking me!" Len cut me off with his sudden cry. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that you know that if you do anything to Ia, I will personally kill you with an orange, and two hello kitty pencils," Rin threatened, giving Len one last jerk before letting go.

"What are you talking about?"

"You guys are cousins?"

Len and I hollered out at the same time. Startled at our sudden synchronicity, we both turned to face each other, and blue met blue. Then, once again at the same time, we quickly spun in opposite directions, hiding our flushed faces. I was perplexed by this sudden wave of emotions. My face felt hot. My mind was thinking at an impossible speed. My cheeks were probably crimson. Peeking out from behind my fingers, I wondered if Len was feeling the same way.

"Sheesh, if you two are going to deeply stare into each other's eyes, I suggest you don't do it in public," came a new person. Wiping my face with the long sleeve of the uniform, I identified Rinto to be the said person.

"Hey Rin, Ia, and my stupid brother," Rinto acknowledged, nodding at each of us. "Oh, I do feel sorry for Ia that she has you as her lab partner. You've always been a dimwit."

"Not nice Rinto," Len pouted, crossing his arms.

"Eh, it's true," Rin commented, placing a thoughtful finger on her chin. "I have always preferred Rinto to Len."

"See?" Rinto gestured with his hands, holding them out in front of his lanky body and shrugging slightly. Grinning playfully in my direction, Rinto winked. I can't help but think how it was so similar to Len's. "Now that we're all in agreement about Len's stupidity, why don't we all walk home to Rin's house and hold a magnificent study session for next Monday's social studies test? I would be quite delighted to not fail this one."

"Wait just a moment," Len interrupted, standing up. "Ia hasn't shared her opinion with us."

"...Eh?" I snapped out of my daydream and peered up at Len. "Don't bring me into this..."

"But, Ia, my twin here just said 'all,' but he is not allowed to say that until all of us indeed voiced our thoughts," Len explained, not letting me escape this one. "Do you honestly think I'm stupid? A dimwit? Not worthy of being your partner?"

"Um...well..." I wasn't so sure how to reply to this one. I've only just met Len 30 minutes ago, so I was unable to make a good judgment. Rin has known Len for an extremely long time, and Rinto even longer. Surely they're right then. But isn't it a little harsh to casually call Len 'stupid'? My eleven-year-old self wasn't so sure. Tilting my head to one side, I decided to just answer truthfully.

"Remember Ia, Len forgot how old he was a couple years back and had to ask Rinto's age to figure out his own," Rin chimed in, trying to convince me of Len's lack of smartness.

"And he once fell asleep during an English test since he stayed up playing Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time until one AM. The teacher took pity on him and gave him a point for putting his name on the test," Rinto snickered.

"Don't influence Ia!" Len growled, shooing his twin and cousin away who both laughed a bit in response. "Well, Ia?"

"Erm, I think Len is a good person..." I mumbled, playing with a strand of hair that came loose. "I'm not so sure if he's 'stupid,' but I have to say that I'm impressed that he was taking notes when Mr. Utatane was talking. He seems nice enough, but I don't know him that well, so I can't really say for sure."

Rinto sighed and pushed back his blond bangs, clearly unsatisfied. "Fair enough."

"Haha! Thanks, Ia!" Len grinned while gathering his notebooks and the such into a messy pile. "So, your house, Rin?"

The girl sighed and nodded, "Sure. I could use the help. Can't remember which god and goddess is which. Let's not loiter, shall we."

I was about to follow Len and Rin out of the science class when I was suddenly stopped by Rinto Kagamine.

"Yes?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. What could Rinto want?

"Are you really okay with being with Len?" he asked looking directly at me. His eyes bore into mine as if my thoughts were clearly displayed there for him to read. Stepping back a bit, my eyes grew wide.

"Of course, he seems to be a good partner..." I trailed off, not knowing how Rinto wanted me to answer him.

"Just...just be wary of him, 'kay?" Rinto sighed walking past me, patting me on the back on the way.

"Wait, what do you me-," as usual, I was cut off abruptly.

"Len can just be a real idiot sometimes," he stated sincerely with a wave of his hand. "It may be safer for you to just keep your relationship with him platonic."

And with that he closed the door behind him, closing the lights. Leaving me to my thinking.

…

If only I had listened to Rinto.

Hey guys!I finally wrote something~! (cries tears of joy from eyes...not that I'd cry from any other place...or cry something other than tears) So this story is slightly based off of real events. Some things in the beginning chapters are close to what really happened, but towards the end it becomes purely fiction. Not going to say who is who just in case someone from my life somehow stumbles upon this later. I really hoped you enjoyed the first chapter! Throughout the story, Ia and the gang get older and it will probably stop some time in high school (where I'm currently at). The drama just starts in 6th grade. And it gets worse, trust me. Anyways, constructive criticism is welcome, I'd love to hear what you people think. No flames though please, I don't really appreciate them and this is my first story posted so I'm somewhat insecure about it. Thank you!

~JustaRollingirl

P.S. This is also kinda based off of "When the First Love Ends" by Hatsune Miku. Such a sad song. :'(

P.P.S. I got IA's last name from my favorite song by her: "Imagination Forest." It was written by Shizen no Teki-P.