A/N: I haven't posted anything for a while. To my reoccurring fans, I am retyping the third chapter of Dead Flower and Dreams of Noodles will have no real pace, so just check back every now and then. This fic is based off of a challenge made by Miseria1 on Lunaescence, each chapter is based off of a lyrical quote. No songfics, however.

The AU is where Fuko comes back after she disappears but nobody remembers her. She has to rebuild her friendship with everyone, but it seems that not everyone actually truly forgot...

"...And as the light fades from my eyes, I smile but I don't know why..."

Fuko leaned against the wall of the classroom, the party hat on her head drooping to the side and her mouth open in a wide yawn. This was it. This was her last day roaming around the colorful Earth and talking to her friends. It would be the last day that they would remember her. She was sad, but she was also happy. Not because she was leaving, but because she was lucky enough to have people who cared about her, people who would stick around with the "ghost girl".

"Hey! You aren't sleeping already, are you?"

Fuko jumped at the sudden shout, and then fixed the party hat on her head. "No," she replied, turning her attention to the blond haired boy sitting a few feet away from her. "Fuko was just bored, is all! You haven't said a word to Fuko in at least two whole hours!" The girl put up two fingers and pushed her hand close to his face for emphasis.

"I just had a long conversation with you thirty seconds ago!" Sunohara shouted, pushing her hand down and out of his face.

'Well, it feels like forever to Fuko," Fuko muttered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and whipping her head away from her closest friend to stare at a wall, a scowl tugging on her face.

"Fine, fine," Sunohara sighed. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

Fuko slowly turned back to him, but her eyes were nearly blank. She was at a lack of ideas. "Fuko doesn't know, that should be for you to figure out. This is Fuko's last day, you should do the thinking."

Sunohara let another sigh escape his lips and he relaxed his body against the wall, turning his head up to look at the ceiling. "…Hey, Fuko, am I your closest friend?"

Fuko blinked and tilted her head to the side. What a stupid question! Of course he was, why would he think otherwise? Why else would she hang out around him all the time and cling to him more than she did to Nagisa? She huffed and sent a glare his way. "What kind of weird question is that?" she snapped. "Why else would Fuko be here on her last day with you in this classroom?"

Sunohara didn't look at her, and his expression did not change. It was difficult to read his emotions. If anything, he looked sad, and Fuko did not like that.

"…Do you like me?"

"Of course Fuko does! If Fuko didn't like you, then she wouldn't tolerate your weirdness!"

"No, I meant like-like. Like, go-out-with-me like."

Fuko was silent. She stared at him for a moment, hugging her legs into her chest before shifting to her hands and knees and crawling over to her friend. She sat next to him and leaned on his shoulder, not a word escaping her lips.

Sunohara said nothing either, but turned his gaze over to the girl.

"Fuko is sorry that she has to leave," Fuko said finally, shutting her eyes. "Fuko will not forget you."

"I won't forget you either," Sunohara replied, sad eyes focused on her.

Fuko opened her eyes again, a faint smile on her face. She was silent for a moment, but a sentence escaped her lips. "You don't have to lie."

Sunohara frowned at her, but he did not defend himself. Instead, he just pulled her into an embrace, with the girl in his lap and his eyes shut tightly. He did not let her see his face or the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Fuko returned the hug and did not let go. She could not see him cry, but she could feel every jerk of his body and she could hear his quiet sobbing. Her own eyes began to water, but she already promised herself she wouldn't cry.

The two students remained that way the entire night, even as Sunohara's heavy eyelids closed and he fell into a slumber. Fuko shifted into a more comfortable position, where she could rest her head in the crook of his neck and she could wrap[ her arms around his body and rest her legs over his and her feet rested against the floor. She felt like she should have been crying, but she wasn't, and as the light faded from her eyes, she smiled but didn't know why…