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A/N: Here is chapter two, and yes, I know, the title is getting to be clichéd at this point, but I prefer to think of it as more of a symbol that I want to be remembered for. I want my readers to anticipate the fall, to wait for the leaves. To stare at them and think of the stories I have made for them. After all, this IS all for you guys. I don't do it for my health. Well, maybe my mental health. Expect more chapters, and SOON. Enjoy. Love and be loved. Read… and review!
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Autumn Leaves

'I picture myself in the sun… wondering… what went wrong?'

I stare down at my math text book and wonder what the hell 'x' is in this dumb problem, but I really couldn't wrap my head around it because I was too busy thinking… thinking about it all. Thinking about her, thinking about Rika, thinking about… thinking about Henry, and thinking about school and thinking about everything else in between. How could I possibly juggle school on top of everything else that I was already dealing with? Whoever it was who came up with the whole idea of school should definitely die. I briefly shift my eyes and turn attention to the ever changing clock, and watch it slowly march towards 3:15, but I felt it would never get there!

Again I shift my eyes around, but this time I find them on the one thing that I actually care about more than any other; Jeri. She sits at her desk, quietly conversing with her neighbor about this or that; they speak into their sweat shirts, that way they're barely audible and my teacher can't yell at them. I smile serenely at her; 'She's all mine.'

Jeri… how do I even begin to explain the type of relationship I have with her, anymore? Well, she is still a shorter brunette, with those same brown eyes and a same cute little nose. She has a scar on her right forearm from an accident a couple of weeks ago that she refuses to tell me about, but it makes her veins really visible. She has a lot of freckles on her face, but also, and what gives her the most recognition among both guys and girls, in the past year or so she has developed, what many would call a, ah, 'largess.' Let's just say that she stopped wearing her tighter-sweatshirts because she hated having people watch the letters get stretched out. Anyway, she retains those slender legs, a stomach most girls would kill for and yet, she still has a smile that lights up my day. But on an emotional level, everyone knows that she and I have been friends forever, and they better damn never forget it! She used to be this kind of outcast… the girl that nobody really wanted to know or be associated with… except me. Her mom died with the birth of her younger brother, but despite growing up without a mom, she really turned into a girly girl. I mean, she did have her step-mom, but she is and never really was close with her. It's kinda sad, but that's just the way it worked out.

Well, anyway, back to the real world. In school, Jeri was always so, egh, I don't even know how to explain it… removed? She was always away from the class; purposely setting herself apart from the group. At first, it was almost like an isolation kind of thing, but then as the years went by it turned more into an individualistic kind of thing. She was becoming and acting as her own person. And, I guess, I saw in her what no one else could see.

While everyone else was sticking their tongues out at girls and screaming about cooties, I was watching her hair dance around her shoulders as she glided along the halls in school. I knew what I was getting myself into, but I didn't care. I'm not sure I quite realized it, but unconsciously I saw in Jeri everything I wanted in a woman, and so I quickly turned her into my best friend. I was the only guy at my age to have a girl best friend, but it was totally worth it, because now everyone wants to be me and be in my position. The guy with the 'in,' with the hot girl. Like a flower I watched her blossom into

BRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!

My gaze on her is torn apart as I shift my eyes again over to the clock—3:15! Let freedom ring, let freedom ring! I jump out to my feet and quickly shuffle anything that seems important into my backpack. 'Sweetness, thy name is Weekend!'

I hustle out of the classroom and begin to try and navigate the traffic of a slowly filling hallway. It's amazing the way the hallways fill up after the bell rings, it's like a slow but steady flow and then and explosion. A drum beat, perhaps. It builds up slowly with people, creating a volume, and then, quite suddenly, it's as if the entire school has filed into the hallway. I felt like Indiana Jones as he's trying to run through a death trap hall that has walls slowly closing in on both sides; if I don't get to the end doorway before the two opposing sides come together, then I'll be trapped forever in the swarm… well… actually, I guess Indiana Jones would die if he was crushed on both sides of those walls. But, nah! He's freakin Indiana Jones! He'd like lasso himself up and away or something crazy and kick ass like that! Whatever! Have… to… make…. … it… . … . …..

About 30 feet from the exit of the school building a classroom door swings open, knocking over a trashcan which is, for some odd reason, pushed up against the door. I watch as a girl and guy trip over it as they too try and make it out, but I hurtle the can, and—

"Ugh! C'mon, man, what the hell?"

I hear a familiar voice as I and the person I have collided with fall to the ground, and a flurry of blue hair flashes in front of me. I sit up and look at the familiar face, "Henry!"

"Takato! What the hell man, you tying to kill me?" Henry says, looking up, exasperated.
"Nah! Hahaha, sorry, Henry, I was just Indiana Jones-en it up!" I say with a smile.

He looked at me as if I was the most peculiar creature and I just smiled even wider. If only he knew the inner-workings of my mind.

"Ugh, do you boys need a hand, or are you OK?" I look up and see a beaming Jeri.
I open my mouth to respond, but before the words come out, Henry replies, "Well, if you wanna get down and dirty with the boys, than we won't stop you."

I take a sideways glance at him. 'Did he really just say that? I was the one who was supposed to come up with some good, witty response to her question.'

"No, I don't think I will. I like to say nice a clean, and not roll around on the ground."
"Yeah, OKAY! I bet you love to roll around on the ground in the confides of your own house. In fact," Henry said, as he and I both got up off the hallway floor, "I bet that's exactly what you do for fun on the weekends. Ya know, grab a helmet, some pillows, throw em on the floor in your room, strap the helmet on, and just roll and roll for… oh, probably hours!"

"Oh, is that so? That's what I do on the weekends, for fun?" Jeri said, half amused, yet still trying to combat his satirical comments, as the three of us non-verbally decided to head down the stairs of the entrance to school.

"Oh, absolutely! I'll even venture to bet you're a world class roller, since you've been doing it for as long as you can remember." He said with a matter-of-fact tone about him. Jeri and I burst out laughing as Henry just smiled as his own wittiness, and even chuckled a bit at our laughter. I mean, after all, laughter is contagious.

Without actually saying it, nor without agreeing on it, the three of us set on our way back home. I was excited to get home, but I was certainly more excited about spending time with two of my best friends. I think the only way it could have possibly been better would be if Rika had been here with us, but, unfortunately, she wasn't. Speaking of whom, I had actually heard rumors recently that she was running around with Ryo somewhere, going to card tournaments and sharking out money from pigeons. I don't want that asshole to be a bad influence on her and turn her into something weird, or crazy or anything that has to do with drugs; I'll kick his ass and he knows I will.

"So, Henry, how's the martial arts stuff coming along? You still opening a can of whoop ass on everyone?" Jeri wakes me from my own world by asking.
Henry burst out laughing, and, after a few seconds, replied, saying, "You don't just 'open a can of whoop ass' on people. That's not what martial arts is about; It's about—"

"Yeah, yeah, save it, I know all about that. 'It's about strength of mind, inner tranquility and making peace with your enemy' Blah, blah, blah. But I wanna see you break BRICKS!" Jeri exclaimed, laughing all the while.

I snorted and laughed a little and Henry rolled his eyes, and then turned his head back to her and said, "Well I wanna see you perform some of your excellent rolls!"

I smiled broader and laughed, as I watched her push him away. As we continued walking on, with them in front of me, he moved over a few steps to the left and then came swiftly back to her side like a magnet and gave her a soft push as well. She took a few steps sideways, looked at him as if he had just insulted her and came back to his side, shoving him full force. He skipped over a few steps and I chuckled at their jockeying for position, but, again like a magnet, he swiftly ended up at her side. This time, however, he didn't push her away, but simply stood next to her as they walked along. 'Hey… what the hell!?'

I snuck up behind them, grabbed each by the shoulder, and separated their togetherness, and then put myself in between, because that was my rightful place! They both take sideways looks at me and smile, but I feel some sort of distance amongst us… but we're right next to each other… or… are we?

Nah! These two are two of the most important people in my life! I love em, and I don't know what I'd do without them! "So, you guys get psyched for the card tournament at Rika's next weekend?" I ask them.

"Dude, don't even mess around. Don't bother to come, because I am totally just gonna smash you so bad." Henry says boastfully.
"Oh really, fool? You think shampoo is better than conditioner?!" I say, referencing Billy Madison.
Neither says anything, and Jeri actually gives me a strange look, "Stop looking at me, SWAN!"

A look of realization sweeps over her face and Henry just turns away in embarrassment that he didn't catch the reference. Jeri laughs and I laugh too, and Henry only keeps walking, almost trying to ignore us.

He walks for a couple of seconds in front of us, turns his head slightly, sees that he's a little in front of us,
And he's gone! Henry breaks out into a full out sprint. What the fuck? Jeri laughs next to, "Hahaha, he's trying to get away! Last one to the park losses!"

Jeri too takes off running, and I simply watch. I look at my feet and shake my head, 'They never learn, do they?' I give them another second to try and gain any head of steam they need, and then I look up, take a skip and then blast off. I take long, lengthy stride, all for the purpose of gaining ground over a shorter time span. My arms swing mechanically at my side, as I have taught myself. I control my breath as well as I can. A machine… I am a machine. Created to seek and destroy my prey who are constantly trying to get away from me. To run away from me… they're always running… but they never get away. They always stop running… they always get caught. I always find a way.

I watch the distance between Jeri and me disappear until I am literally next to her, and I waste no time in blowing past her. I see Henry still sprinting up ahead, but he's a fool. 'You must endure. You must not waste your energy with such senseless things. You must endure it all. You must endure.'

Henry nearly comes to a stop, as he is now running short of breath. His lungs are expanding and contrasting too quickly, and soon he may be wheezing from the strain of trying to catch his breath. His lungs aren't used to this kind of strenuous activity… mine are. I will endure. I will endure it all.

I come striding up to him, as he stands with his hands on his hips, his head to the sky, begging for air. As I go to pass him, I say, "Lookin good out here today, kid."

I don't bother to stop and look, I just keep on trucking. I don't stop until another couple of blocks later when I reach the entrance to the park. I finally turn and see Henry and Jeri coming up slowly behind, talking about something or other. They look so happy, so honest. They look cu… they look like they need me to separate them. Like Henry, I now put my hands on my hips and look up into the sky. The sun beats heavy onto my face. The light seems to absorb me and welcome into its warmth. However, the image of the two of them chatting… smiling… flirting. It makes me wonder… what went wrong?

They finally reach me and smile brightly. We have, as Jeri had mentioned before, come to our point of departure; the entrance to the park. Henry must sweep right of the park to reach the apartment buildings where he and the rest of his large family lives, Jeri must go left so she can get back to her Dad's house, and I must venture through the park in order to get to my family's bakery on the other side. "Well, I guess this is where we say we've had enough?"
Henry stares at Jeri questioningly, but I stare at her with a smile. It's our song, and so I start, "And no one should ever…"
"Feel the way that I feel now!" The two of us burst out singing.

Henry gives a forced look of shock; his eyes are wide open and his jaw dropped to exemplify a look of surprise that screams out 'overkill.' I simply smile at him, while Jeri giggles. "Well, anyway, I guess I'll talk to you guys later." Henry says to us.

"Yeah, definitely." I reply with a huge grin, but I feel saddened to see my friend go.

"Alright, well, Takato, you have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday! Love you, BFF." Jeri says, as she gives me a big hug, and I squeeze back extra tight.

When I finally let go, I figure my good-byes are done, and I turn to leave, however, as I turn I hear something whispered, and then I hear Jeri's voice say, "Yeah, of course we're still on."

I turn my head around as I begin to walk away, and see Henry nod his head with a big smile and then the two friends depart from one another, not before giving each other a tighter, better hug than the one I myself had just shared with Jeri. What… what's going on?

I hear a crunch underneath of my foot, and turn to face front. I look to my feet and see what it is that I have stepped on; leaves. I look up and around and see the beauty of the world around me; the beauty of Mother Nature at work. It's autumn again… my favorite season. Leaves are probably my favorite thing in all of nature… more than thunderstorms, more than snow, albeit I'm much happier when I get a snow day, and much more than sweltering sun heat on summer days. No… autumn leaves are my favorite part of all of the seasons.

The leaves in Autumn are beautiful, with their colors of gold, red, brown, and green. They make you feel safe, welcome, good… loving. They dance around your head when they fall, tempting you to reach for it, daring you to out reach and touch something real that won't be there anymore very soon. So soon you can't help but reach out and touch them. Because if you never reach out, how will you ever know if there was anything to touch? If you can't reach out and lend a helping hand to someone that is falling apart, or breaking down how would you ever know if that person was willing to return your love? But still… the leaves are beautiful in Autumn.

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A/N: So, this is chapter two. I liked it, but it's a sh-sh-sh-shawty. Not too long, but good for moving the story along. Yeah, kill me for the OOC (out of character) of some people, notably my systematic changing of Jeri into a popular girl, as well as possibly falsifying her background a little as the outcast girl, when, she probably was far from it. Regardless, this story will be done sooner, rather than later. I liked this chapter, and this was my first fanfiction update in MONTHS, so I hope ya'll liked it. Let me know what you think, please, because, as I said before, I don't do this for my health. I do this for you. I do it so you can make me aware as to what is going right and what is going wrong with my writing. I want to correct mistakes and adjust problems, but also maintain good things and keep suspense up. Well, on a side note, the opening to the last chapter of Autumn Leaves came back up, if you noticed. Read my opening note for how I feel about the cliché of it all, and such. Please review. Thanks for everything, folks. I love you guys.

Love Always. Rukato Forever!

Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
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