The Stars In The Sky

Hey everyone! I got a really good idea, and I've decided to use it for Rin's past right away before I forget. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 2 - The Colorful Cosmos

"Well..." Rin sputtered, biting her thumb. She didn't want to admit it, but she had no idea of what to ask Len. Before she could confess that she really didn't know, an idea popped into her head. "Why did you have to transfer here?" She asked. Len just chuckled, but eventually he stopped laughing and got serious. "My parents...um, they got a divorce." He said, still mataining his smile. "...O-oh, I'm sorry to bring up bad memories like that," Rin apologized, "I understand your feelings. Do you have any siblings?" Len shook his head and brushed his hair back. "I'm an only child. I do consider one of my friends like an older sister though. I just met her when I first moved here. I've known her for only a week, but she seems to understand what it feels like. She...she lost her mom in an accident." Len explained.

"...Now there's something I want to ask you." Len whispered quietly, but Rin could hear.

"Why don't you want to be my friend? Did I do something wrong?" He asked, nudging her in the shoulder. Rin closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Something wrong? Memories flashed back into Rin's mind. Fearful ones.

Darkness... It was a quiet summer night at camp, and everyone was paired into groups of five. Rin was with Neru, Yuko, Aihara and Mizuki. Neru seemed to be ignoring everyone for some reason, but nobody bothered her. It was the "Courage Test" Activity. Apparently, the elementary school children would go through the forest, and the highschool volunteers would dress up as monsters and try to scare the elementary school children. However, three of the highschoolers did not dress up.

Rin held the flashlight, and led the way. She scanned the area in the forest, but stopped when the light revealed two highschoolers, who were not in costume. One boy, one girl. They stayed still, though they looked pretty pissed off for some reason.

"Oh, it's just these guys." Aihara smiled. "They're dressed completely normally!" Mizaki pointed out. "Lame! This isn't scary at all!" Yuko giggled. "You're so dumb for highschoolers!" Rin teased.

"Huh? Who do you think you're talking to?" The male glared. "Don't you girls think you're acting a bit cocky?" The female scowled, continuing, "We aren't exactly your buddies you know." She said menacingly. It made all five of them slightly afraid.

The girl approached them, still glaring. "Hold on... I could've sworn one of you called us stupid or something. Which one of you was it?" She spat.

"I-I'm sorry..." Rin mustered up the courage to say. She was the one who said it in the first place, and feeling intimidated, she felt the need to apologize.

In anger, the highschooler girl kicked a tree, resulting in the elementary girls to wince. "I said I want the smartass to fess up." "Do you think this is a game?" The male highschooler shouted, raising a fist like he would hurt them. "Do it!" The girl chanted with a smirk. "Maybe it's our job to teach them some basic courtesy." She snarled.

Another boy appeared, and all of the girls got even more worried. "Let's do it this way," He said emotionless, "Half of you can leave. Half of you will stay." He looked up at the five girls in front of them. "You can decide who will stay." He pointed to the five.

"W-We're sorry!" Mizuki whimpered, hoping they would be able to leave, hoping it was just a cruel joke. "We don't want your apologies." The emotionless one said, crossing his arms. "I said half of you will stay here. Now which of you will it be?"

The girls stayed silent and huddled together.

The female highschooler put her hands on her hips. "Did you not hear the man? Or do you think you can just ignore him?" One of the boys cracked his knuckles. "I don't have all night. Who's going to stay?" He got close up to Rin. "Is it going to be you?!" Rin took a step back and shook with fear.

Rin turned to Neru. "Neru..." She whispered. "You stay back." Neru's eyes widened and turned to the other girls, but they just nodded in agreement. Neru clenched her fists and kept her head down as she walked up to them. She didn't turn back.

"Two more names." The highschoolers said icily. Mizaki Aihara and Yuko turned to Rin. "If only Rin hadn't said that earlier." Yuko blamed, averting her eyes from Rin. Rin gasped, and gripped the flashlight in her hand."Yeah, it's your fault, Rin." Aihara agreed. "That's right." Mizaki nodded. Rin's legs shook, and her heartbeat increased it's speed, yet she protested back. "No! Aihara was the first to open her big mouth!" Aihara quickly objected back. "I didn't do anything wrong! ...I-I'm sure Yuko was the one who ticked them off!" Yuko spun around giving Aihara a glare. "W-What?!" "You're always like that!" "How I normally act has nothing to do with this!" Mizaki, who hated to see her friends fight, interuppted. "Stop it! Let's all just apologize!" Tears had already began to fill her eyes.

"I hate people who think all they have to do is cry above everything else!" The female highschooler said, still giving them that icy stare. "You have thrity seconds to make a decision. We need two more names." Rin gulped, praying her friends wouldn't turn against her, yet the thought of how she turned against Neru didn't wipe against her mind either."We...We'll tell on you!" Mizuki cried."Oh, but I don't think that's a good idea. We know what you girls look like."

There was twenty seconds left, and everyone turned to Rin."It's gotta be Rin!" "Yeah! Stay back, Rin." Mizaki frantically nodded. Rin felt tears fill up in her eyes, and she didn't move. Aihara pushed Rin, physically telling her to go. "Don't push me!" Rin yelled. "Rin!" Aihara pushed Rin. They were wasting precious time here. "W-We don't have a choice!" Mizaki said.

Rin gasped again, looking at how frightened her friends were. She too, was scared, but she knew that she shouldn't have said what she did. Aihara gave Rin one more push, and it hurt. Rin tripped, and stumbled to regain her balance, but she then stood next to Neru, who had her hand in her pocket.

"One more. You have ten seconds remaining." The highschoolers three girls sobbed, scared to death, and Rin just continued to give them a horrifyed look. Neru stared at the ground, as the highschoolers counted down.

"Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three...Two...One-"

"Um, wait!" Neru raised up her hand. She pulled out her cellphone from her pocket, and clicked a button releasing a bright flash. "Run!" She screamed, and everyone dashed away.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?!" The highschooler girl gripped onto Neru's wrist. The two boys were on the ground regaining their vison. "Rin!" Neru cried out, and Rin haulted, turning around. "Leave her!" Aihara screamed. Rin turned to go back and save Neru, but Yuko and Aihara grabbed Rin and pulled her away. "N-Neru, no!" She cried.

There was another click and flash, and the highschooler girl fell to the ground. Neru ran, passing Rin, Aihara, Yuko and Mizuki. This was a night that she would never forget.

Rin was shaking as she came back to reality. She realized she had a firm grip on Len's hand, and was shaking. "Neru..." Rin muttered. She rarely remembered that memory. Nobody reminded her of it...but Len... Rin gave him a cold stare, yet she looked terrifyed.

"R-Rin? Are you okay?" Len asked, but Rin shook her head. "Leave me alone." She hid her face, but raised it back up when she didn't get a reply. She maintained a stoic expression.

If he brought back bitter memories, why should I be his friend? Rin thought.

Neru never talked to me ever again after that incident. I tried to help her, but Aihara and Mizuki held me back. But...I can't blame them for everything. I was the one to tell Neru to stay in the first place. If only we had ran right away... If only I hadn't been so foolish.

"What did I do?" Len frowned, reaching out to her. Rin noticed that some people were staring, so she slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone," She hissed. "You...You didn't do anything, but you brought back a certain memory I concealed for purposes I don't want to discuss. I can't be your friend if you bring bad memories back. It's like you're... a bad luck charm!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

As soon as the bell rang, Rin grabbed her items, and dashed out of the room.

It was like that for the rest of the day, too. Rin avoided Len. She didn't even face him, much less talk to him. Len knew that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel guilty for bringing up something awful... and if it made her react like this, it must be pretty bad.

Afterschool in the literature club, Rin sighed. It had been a long day of avoiding Len, and it made her exhausted. Rin felt awful for being so harsh to him, but she didn't want to take the chance of traumatizing herself with horrible memories.

"Hi, is this the literature club?" Rin met eyes with a familiar person and gasped, turning away. "I-I'm sorry..." Rin mustered up the courage to whisper. Just like the camping trip. Except this time, she was extremely sorry.

Well? I don't think anyone knows, but I got the idea from Episode 8 of OreGairu. Except I changed things up a little bit.

Questions!

Why did Rin choose Neru to stay?

Do you think Rin is at fault? *The part when Neru calls out for Rin, but Aihara and Yuko drag her back.

Who entered the literature club room? Hint: Neru or Len.

Until Next Time~