"Honoka?" You ask into the darkness. I nod sleepily, your head a comforting weight on my chest.

"Why do you love me?"

I sit up and you grumble in protest.

I was on the verge of tears as I was sitting at the table with Yukiho as she read a magazine on the floor.

I can't believe the school is closing. Why is this happening? How could this be?

As I was lost in thought, I stared around the room vacantly. A pamphlet next to Yukiho's foot caught my eye. I reached over and pick it up; on the front there was a picture of a skyscraper and in bold font the letters 'UTX.'

"This is... UTX?"

"Huh?" Yukiho looked over her shoulder and saw me holding the pamphlet. "Ah, UTX. I'm applying there next year."

"Hmmmm..." I murmured to myself as I flipped through the brochure, her words not yet reaching me. As I flip through it, I noticed a picture of three girls in costumes smiling. One of them had the most vivid green eyes I've ever seen and I thought to myself, She's kinda pretty. Before I can ruminate on that further what Yukiho said earlier finally sinks in.

"Ehhhh?! Yukiho, you're not applying to Otonokizaka?" I shouted. The ensuing argument about where Yukiho would be going to school completely distracted me from thinking about your eyes until much later that night. I decided while lying in bed to go see what UTX was all about, and set my alarm earlier than usual.

To my surprise, I woke up when my alarm went off and managed to get out the door before anyone else was really awake.

"See you later!"

I slid the door closed behind me and began running in the direction of UTX. Before I got twenty feet, however, Yukiho slid the balcony door open, yawning, and I spun around.

"Yukiho!" I waved the pamphlet in the air. "I'm gonna borrow this!"

Before she could protest, I turned around again and sprinted off. As I ran off, I heard her yelling in confusion to my mom.

Halfway to UTX, I realized I should've let Kotori and Umi know that I was going to walk to school on my own. I paused for a moment to pull out my phone from my bag and write a quick text.

kotori, I'm going to be a little late today. dont wait up for me

I think for a moment then add, Plz dont let umi get too angry at me. :3

With my friends notified I began on my way to UTX again.

I almost got lost on my way there, but the pamphlet had very helpful directions on the back and when I looked up, UTX High was in front of my. It was a skyscraper that looked like it was made entirely of glass and screens, completely in contrast to Otonokizaka's brick and mortar style of building.

"This is a school?" I gasped, pressing my face up against the windows of the entryway. A little squeak escaped my lips as I watched the girls in their white uniforms pressing their phones to the scanners. As though my squeak was a signal, a cheer erupted from the crowd beside me.

When did they get there?

I backed up from the window to see what the crowd was looking at and found myself lost in your eyes. They were even prettier than in the picture and on the big screen, I could see specks of gold hidden amongst the green.

"Welcome to UTX High!" you said, along with your two shadows. I couldn't move anymore. Your eyes held me captive, rooted to the spot. My heart rushed back and forth, beating frantically.

Who are these girls?

A few moments later, to my surprise, a voice answered me.

"You should know that. It's in the booklet you're holding," the voice disdainfully. "What have you been reading?"

I tore my eyes from yours to look at the speaker. She was short, with her hair in twintails, and was wearing a facemask and sunglasses. She was tugging roughly on my arm that held the UTX pamphlet.

"Uh... I didn't... wait... how did you know what I was thinking? Are you psychic?"

She found that hilariously funny and laughed so loud I couldn't hear your voice. When she calmed down finally, my eyes were glued to the screen again.

"They're A-RISE. School idols. I suppose you don't know what school idols are either, do you?"

I numbly shook my head.

"School idols are idol groups formed in schools to - HEY! Pay attention when someone's talking to you!"

Before I could remove my eyes from you, a music beat started playing over the speakers. You said something about your new single and previews, and then I was lost in a whole new world of dancing and song.

Can I do? I take it, baby. Can I do? I make it, baby.

I was entranced. The girl in the mask was furious. She ranted to me about respecting your elders and other unimportant stuff, but my eyes and ears only knew you. I followed every twist of your body with rapt attention, every note you sung sent shivers down my spine. Every time you smiled, I smiled too, and every time you winked, I felt a dull throbbing in my heart. I needed to hold you.

All too soon, the song was over, and I came crashing down to reality. The only thought in my head was:

How can I see her again?

I wanted to know you, I wanted you to be my best friend. The girl in the face mask had given up on trying to lecture me and had wandered off somewhere, but I barely noticed. My mind was spinning through possibility after possibility of how I could set up a meeting with an idol. How could someone ordinary like me become friends with a superstar like you?

And in that moment, I had the greatest epiphany. I knew how to meet you on my terms, and keep meeting you! This was the perfect plan! And it had the upside of being able to save the school, too!

"Why do I love you, you ask? Well, first: I love the way your eyes sparkle with happiness."

A/N: This is my very first fanfic ever. There will be 20 more parts and potentially a few extra chapters. Most will be in this narrative style. I may come back and add a few lines at the beginning of this chapter, but I haven't decided yet.

I felt like there aren't enough good fanfics out there that are truly happy to read, so I'm trying to make one. The pairing should be obvious by now, but I won't say it if you haven't figured it out yet.

Please excuse any obnoxious typos (but let me know about them). I wrote this on my phone since my computer is out for repairs. Because of that, there likely wont be any chapters till September. I will be pre-writing what I can in my little notebook, but nothing will be posted.

See you after the next chapter!

Gwen