The room was almost pitch black when I woke up, save for a lamp being on somewhere behind the couch. I wasn't on the floor anymore, instead, on the couch with a blanket draped over me. Pulling the material up over my cold arms, I sighed. Everything is so complicated right now. On top of graduating and choosing a college, Minami picks now to tease me about Alan so much? Especially right in front of him. The thought still mortified me, so I groaned and buried my self under the blanket.

"What did Minami do to you?" Mei asked, from the direction of the piano. How long has he been sitting there? Doesn't he take breaks?

My cheeks grew hot at the question. If I tell him the truth, then he'll know that I like Alan. I chewed on my lip. How do I decide what to tell him? Turning on my stomach, I ran my hand along the fabric of the rug. Minami does a lot to mess with me, so anything should work, but Mei knows when I'm lying…

"Does it have to do with Alan? I saw the two of you leave the hotel together."

My breath caught my throat. He must know…

Mei was quiet for moment, waiting for me to say something. When I didn't, he sighed and said, "Come here, Kaede." He patted empty space on the piano bench beside him.

I could just ignore him. That wouldn't solve any of my issues, but at least I wouldn't have to talk about it. He called my name a second time. Reluctantly, I rolled off the couch, untangling my legs from the blanket. Sinking down on the bench beside him, I rubbed my eyes from the bright light that was now in front of my face.

"Play a song with me," Mei said, opening up an old piano book. It had simple duet songs in it, and he'd bought it for me ages ago when someone suggested he teach me how to play. It hadn't gone over well, since my skill set wasn't in the musical department.

Not that I have any skill sets.

"Huh?" My reaction brought a soft smile to his face. "Why?" As far as I'd seen, Mei hated to play with others because no one could play like he could. And I definitely couldn't play like he did. Sure, I knew the keys and could probably play a few notes without completely butchering the song, but it's been years since I touched a piano.

Mei went silent, simply starting to play the song that was open on the music stand. The familiar melody filled the room. It was a popular song a few years ago that required a partner, and it had been the only duet song that I had successfully played without messing up. "Kaede, just play." Mei said, nudging me with his elbow.

Lifting my hands to hover over the keys, it took a few times for my fingers to remember which keys to play in this song, but I did get it. And for a moment, nothing filled my head except the melody of the song. It was calming, in a way.

When the song ended, Mei closed the book and looked over at me. "You're under a lot of pressure right now, aren't you? Graduating soon, choosing a college to go to, and having dad pushing what he wants onto you."

"Jokes on him, because I'm not smart enough to do anything business related," I said and laughed a little. That's the only thing I have over him. Dad can want me to do business and learn to run a hotel, but I'd fail within the first semester. I sighed. "Everyone expects for me to be like the rest of you, but what if I'm just normal?"

Rei, Toma, Chiaki, and Minami all have their businesses. Shizuka is a model. Mei is a concert pianist. That leaves me… the one who barely scrapes by to make the cut for all A's. The one who has no clear path to her future.

"You aren't normal, Kaede. You're a Kira, and that means you have the resources to be whatever you want. The decision is yours in the end," Mei said and patted my head. He stood from the bench and closed the lid over the keys. "It's late. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

With a nod, I had no response for what he'd said. "Thanks for letting me hide out from Minami." Those were the only words I could say. Giving Rachmaninoff a few pets before I headed for the door, I couldn't wrap my head around that. It's never been my choice. Dad makes every decision. He made me go to this specific prep school, which is probably why I have such hard time at it. It's made for the rich and the talented, and I'm only one of those by default.

"Don't let Minami push you around, Kaede. If you don't like it, tell him. You should stand up for yourself instead of running away," Mei commented as I opened the door.

I laughed at that. "Like that'll stop him. He's like a cockroach, impossible to kill."

Returning to my own suite, I sighed at the quiet in the room. The clock read past midnight, but I'd wasted so much time that I needed to sit down and study more. We have a big test tomorrow and if I fail this one, I might not graduate. Though, at this point, maybe it would be good to stay another year in high school. It would put off making a decision about college for another year.

But that wouldn't make it any easier.

My butt hurt from sitting the chair at the table for so long. At least I'd changed into my comfortable sweatpants and tank top to be comfy. Sitting on the couch would make it easy to flip on the tv and procrastinate so I had to isolate myself at the table. My chin rested on my palm and my head bobbed with tiredness. When the door opened unexpectedly, I nearly fell out of the chair.

Toma sighed at my state. "I should be glad that you're studying so hard, but it's nearly three in the morning, and I can hear your music in the lounge." He had crossed the room and turned the Bluetooth speakers off before I could move.

At this point, it felt like my body was glued to this chair. "Sorry," I muttered, dropping my gaze down to the calculus book in front of me. All the numbers and letters had started to blur together into nonsense. The book was flipped closed, making me sigh in relief.

"Go to bed, Kaede, and don't be late to school tomorrow," Toma said, packing away my books into my school bag. This had been a familiar sight. Toma was always taking care of me. While custody wise, my dad was the one on the paper, there had been some guardianship thing that allowed Toma to act as my legal guardian since dad was "busy" and away on work.

Unwilling to move, I laid my head on the table. "I'll just sleep here."

"You will not," Toma chastised and grabbed my arm to make me get up.

I groaned but let him pull me out of the seat. All my muscles ached. My brain felt like mush with all the calculus problems that I'd been working on. Following behind him into my bedroom, I collapsed on the bed after he'd pulled the sheets back. Snuggled up under the warm covers, I let my eyes slide closed. "Thanks, Toma," I mumbled, sleep already winning out.

Toma flipped the light out and sat on the edge of the bed. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Kaede. You're still too young be to be treated like an adult." He stayed there beside me for a while.

Toma was more like my dad than my older brother sometimes. Some of the workers here would whisper about how tough he could be on his employees, and that his personality was cold. But, I didn't see that in him. Toma worked hard and wanted everyone to always do their best. Growing up with an absent father and a mother who wasn't really ours was hard. Toma had been the one to raised me, really, and I knew he loved me, even if he didn't say it often.

"I don't know what to do," I whispered, half-asleep.

He laughed softly and petted my head. "That's okay, Kaede. It's alright not to know right now."

That's what I needed to hear. What to do about college. What to do about my future. How to deal with my feelings for Alan. Those words coming from Toma meant a lot to me. Falling into a comfortable sleep, everything seemed okay for the moment. Maybe things weren't as bad as I thought they were. Worrying about it all once wasn't the answer. And, doing it all on my own wasn't going to solve any of the problems. I should focus on school this next few days and this weekend, find someone to talk to about my worries about my future.