I woke up the next day to Koko and Kitsuneme shouting at the creek. They were yelling about discovering some lost city underwater. Sometimes, I wonder if it was normal for twenty-four-year-olds to do that, or they're still seriously stuck in eighteen-year-old bodies.

I got out of the cabin. Anna was already serving breakfast. The sweet waft of pancakes and honey reached my nose.

"Here," Mochu said from behind me, offering a cup of coffee, "I thought about what you said last night, and I figured I'd make you one."

I saw Wakako wiggling her eyebrows at me. I ignored her.

"Thanks," I smiled at Mochu. "How long have you guys been up?"

"Not too long," he said, as we approached everybody else on the logs. The fire had been put out, and the ashes dusted away. Mats were now laid on where we sat last night. Hotaru had her own strandkorb out. Ruka sat leaning against her chair, petting a stray squirrel he had probably attracted from five miles away. Natsume was reading a book, with Mikan on his chest.

I had breakfast with Anna and Mochu. Yuu and Nonoko from across the table were discussing what I vaguely heard included nuclear and a couple more of terms that I couldn't get a grasp on. I had just finished my pancakes when a pair of wet arms grabbed me from behind and took me down the creek with a loud yell.

"You nasty crap!" I shouted at Koko as soon as we resurfaced. He still had his arms around me, laughing loudly. "I just ate!"

"Don't say that," he said, and pointed out, "I let you finish your breakfast."

"You could have warned me, then we'd prevent myself from puking all over the creek," I grumbled, tying my hair up.

"But you're not," he smiled up at me, "Listen, I want to ask you something."

"So you pulled me in just to ask me something?" I practically whined.

"Shh," he muttered, pulling us away from the deck. "It's a secret."

"What's up?"

He threw the crowd another cursory glance. "I need help."

"About what?"

"It's a girl."

I caught on. "Go on."

Koko looked abashed for a second. "I got her this thing, but I'm not sure if she'd like it, so I brought another thing and—"

"Koko," I stopped him, "It'd really help if I knew what those 'things' are."

"Right. So I got her flowers, because she's a romantic one, and she loves being spoiled. But I wasn't sure if she was okay with that, because it was the typical thing you give a girl, and I didn't know what kind of flowers to give her because I don't want her to misinterpret me. I went to buy chocolates but she always complains about how fat she's getting even though I tell her she's not. I figured I get her—"

"Hold on," I stopped him for the second time. "Just tell me the kind of girl she is."

His look was one of relief. "Oh, that's easy. She's fun, and goes along with my type of humor. She puts down everything she wants, and is forceful when she doesn't get her way." A small smile was now on his face. His eyes became warmer. "She used to think being a beauty queen was a career… Gets angry a lot but forgives way too easily… Believes in horoscopes like a kid with Santa… She likes lemon with her tea… Cupcakes after an argument…"

I recognized the look at once.

It was Koko's faraway stare.

"Oh my god," I gasped.

"What?" He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, frowning up at me.

"Oh my god, you like this girl!"

Koko's brows furrowed and he seemed in deep thought. It was after a few seconds when his mouth broke into that same, cheery smile. "If that means she's someone really important to me, then yeah, I do."

"That's the look of someone smitten," I accused him, my grin almost as big as his. Almost. "So, when am I going to see her?"

"Well, you won't see her here," he said. "I'll show you when we get home."

It was barely nine in the morning, and we usually drive back to the city in the afternoon, but that's not until having dinner somewhere.

"You're going to make me wait for almost nine hours?"

"What about it?" Koko asked. "You've been waiting five years for me to introduce someone."

I thought about it. "Good point. I'm going back to the deck," I told him, and he messed up my hair before swimming away.

Yuu was looking at me when I approached the tables.

I frowned. "What's up?"

He shook his head with a small smile. "I could practically hear the both of you from here."

I looked at him, not believing. "This is a trick, right? We were on the creek, and you're way up here."

Yuu pointed at his ears and winked at me. "I've got ears like a bat."

I laughed at that. I shouldn't have wondered. Yuu could smell trouble better than a dog. With a class like ours, he probably needed to hone his other senses as well.

"I lied," he told me a little while later. I was peeling an orange. "I didn't hear, but I knew."

"Like a bat," I repeated his earlier words. "You're creepy."

"I wouldn't say that," he said. "Besides, I read it off his lips."

I stared up at the blonde in front of me. "It's either he told you first or he told me last."

"Nah," Yuu swayed it off, "It's more like I know you guys. You know the look Koko gets when he talks about something he likes?"

I nodded. I guess I wasn't the only one who knew about it.

"I see that look from him a lot." He downed the remaining contents of his tumbler and got up. "I'm going to go clear the dishes, want to help?"

I snorted. "Go away, Yuu."

He laughed, taking the remaining used utensils from the table. "I hope you don't mind, but we're having seafood later. I bet they'll serve your favorite fish. Meow."

I rolled my eyes up at him. The others have been rubbing off on him, but at least he wasn't the serious kid he was anymore.

Five hours later, and after emptying all of Anna's pans, Wakako's cooler, and Koko's cases of drinks, we all started to pack up our things and dump them on our cars. Since there was less food, Kitsuneme and Nonoko were going to ride with Natsume and Mikan. I got on Koko's jeep and jumped on the seat beside the driver's before Wakako could. Anna and Yuu were chattering in Hotaru's car, the owner doing some last minute check on the place with Ruka. Natsume and Mikan were on the deck, flattening the former's inflatable pad.

I was tired from the ride back. Even Wakako didn't bother forcing her album to be played. Mochu and Koko were talking about someone named Kiyo, the bartender they work with. I had apparently fallen asleep, because it was already dark when Koko nudged me to wake up. We were parked on a corner, and I could see the rest of the gang going through red-painted doors.

"Come on," Koko said, going out through the door on his side. "I hear they serve the best tuna."

I scowled at him as I jumped down his jeep. "Go on and I might not help you with your girl problems."

"Nah, you love me too much to ignore me," he grinned. I couldn't help it, so I just kept on a smile. He was, after all, right—he's one person I certainly couldn't resist.

It wasn't difficult to spot the others once we got in. We had four tables aligned in one corner, because Hotaru didn't like being around crowded places. I took the empty seat beside Mikan, and Koko pulled a chair beside me.

Mikan was already looking through the menu. "Sumire, what do you think of the tuna?"

Koko tried to hide his laugh.

"Please don't ask me that," I muttered. I pointed at the beef negimaki on the menu, because it wasn't fish. "I want this," I told the waiter.

"Don't be three," Koko commented in a motherly voice, "Say what you want."

"Seriously, are you trying to piss me off?"

"I'm not exactly trying, per se."

"I want the lobster tail, the crab roll, filet mignon and the sushi platter," Hotaru dictated her order. She turned to Ruka. "What are you having?"

I bit back a smile.

Mikan, from beside me, was arguing with Natsume.

"You can't have that, it's bad for you."

"How do you know it's bad for me?" Natsume snorted. "Last I checked, my girlfriend wasn't a doctor."

"Because I'm doing research," Mikan replied simply. "Why don't you have the eel instead?"

"You want me to have eel? Woman, are you honestly—"

"Shush!" Mikan waved him off and called the waiter to narrate her orders.

"Wuss," Mochu coughed from across us.

"Chicken," Kitsuneme mumbled loud enough for Natsume to hear.

Natsume eyed them evenly. "Pardon me?"

"The chicken tempura," Kitsuneme grinned, "Heard it tastes good."

"Hey," Koko nudged me while we were served the dishes, "Can I sleep over tonight? I forgot my keys and your apartment is nearest to mine."

"You didn't have to ask," I told him.

Twenty minutes before the clock hit seven, we began bidding each other goodbye. Hotaru, whose fingers had been glued to her phone ever since we left the creek, was the first to leave with Ruka, who had to catch his three o'clock flight to Cuba. Nonoko, Yuu and Kitsuneme took separate cabs, while Mikan insisted to take Anna home because of all the things she brought. Mochu and Wakako were having an animated talk at the car seats behind us. We dropped Mochu on his parents' home, before riding back to our apartment.

"I think I'm sick," Wakako grumbled as we got off the car. "I'm going around the corner for something to drink."

Koko and I took our stuff in our room. I was asking him about the girl. After all, I have been waiting for five years.

"Sounds to me like this girl is a piece of work," I jokingly said. I opened the keys to our apartment and turned on the lights.

Koko agreed. He slumped on the couch and kicked his shoes off. "It's like she can never have enough of everything."

"Then why do you like her so much?" I called behind me as I grabbed for two cans of soda from the refrigerator.

He popped his open and drank before replying. "I don't really know, she just gets me."

"Well, I'm happy for you," I told him. I dropped on to sit on the couch's arm, my feet tucked with his.

He had on a big grin. "Are you?"

"Of course I am," I said, "Why shouldn't I be?"

"So if I took off my controlling device…" he trailed off, his eyebrows doing the talking.

I rolled my eyes. "Really mature. I'm going to go change." I stood up and went for my room. "Are you okay with the couch?"

"Where else would you let me sleep?"

I laughed as I opened the door to my room, but stopped as soon as the lights blinked open.

There was a bouquet of tulips on my bed. A box of chocolates. A small paper bag of a jewelry store. A plushie of a cat eating tuna.

I slowly approached my bed. A simple white card hung from the ribbon tying the flowers together.

I couldn't give you forget-me-nots, because we have more than that.

Not geraniums, because I long for something better.

Not magnolias, because then I'd be lying. (I'm kidding)

So I got you these tulips, and because I want you to know that you're the most important to me.

Koko.

A/N: Forget-me-not - memories, faithful love; Geranium - friendship; Magnolia - splendid beauty; Tulip - symbol of the perfect lover.

For AoGA House Cup 2013. :)