Oh my goodness, I updated! Somebody call the cops! *gets rotten vegetables thrown at her* Really, I am very sorry that I haven't update sooner. And so, in an attempt to make it up to you, I'm posting two chapters at once! Yay! *readers give an unsatisfied stare* I'm sorry, it's the best I can do. Please forgive me! And I just want to thank everyone for supporting me, the reviewers, and the people that read and decide to favorite the story or put it on alert. That really encourages to get my butt posting again. So here's the fourth chapter of JoA! Please enjoy!


Chapter4- A Rhythm

As time went by, Sakuno got into a steady rhythm of making Ryoma a bento about every other day. It wasn't that he wasn't decent everyday; he was. In fact, they'd became somewhat friends. So let us peek into of their seemingly inconsequential meetings.

"Here you go, Ryoma-kun". Sakuno held out the bento for him to take.

But being the sleepy boy he was, he didn't respond but merely gave a little yawn and continued resting.

"Do you want lunch or not?" Sakuno gave a little huff, finally gave up, and left his bento next to him.

As she turned to leave, he said, "Ryuzaki?"

"Ryoma-kun?" She looked back and saw him peering at her, even with his cap pulled low over his eyes.

"Stay" he merely said. He pulled his cap off and sat up, taking the bento in hand.

"Um…okay," she replied slowly and moved to take a seat on the cement roof next to him.

Frankly, this was a change for Sakuno and it baffled a bit. He'd never asked her to eat with him before. Maybe he really did enjoy her company. But if it's one thing Sakuno learned over the years, it was that she should never get her hopes up about Ryoma…ever.

They both silently started eating and there was silence until Ryoma said, "Arigato" and Sakuno just nodded her head. Although neither said much of anything, the silence was semi-comfortable. Sakuno finished first and put her bento aside.

Sitting with her back against the wall and legs folded beside her, she took a look up at the sky. The same sky she'd cried under months ago. But that was mid September and this was late November. She was a different girl. She gave a little sigh and closed her eyes in contentment.

"Thinking?" was what the voice asked next to her.

"Yeah," she replied and was silent again.

"About?" Ryoma prompted.

At that exact moment, Sakuno was thinking that Ryoma must've been in the best mood of his whole 15 years of life. She opened her eyes and was just a bit surprised to find him lying about six inches beside her, his arms behind his head.

"The clouds, the sky, that Biology test I have, just…stuff."

"How can you spend time thinking about the sky?" Ryoma questioned, his eyes now closed.

"I just do. You've thought about why it's blue or how it got there?" Sakuno asked.

"Not really," he replied and opened his hazel eyes to meet her brown ones.

Their eyes stayed locked for what seemed minutes, but was only a few seconds. Ryoma was the one to break the stare and looked up to the sky, And to Sakuno's amazement that weird short staring contest didn't faze her at all.

Oh yeah, she was definitely different.

"Do you think the sky is suspended like on strings or just there?" Ryoma piped up. He'd blurted it out and didn't even heave a chance to think about whether or not it sounded too stupid.

Not that Sakuno would care anyway.

"I think the sky is just there for us humans to look at. Like us, for example," Sakuno responded, looking down at Ryoma's now closed eyes.

"Hnn," was his reply and Sakuno knew he was likely to be asleep in several minutes. So she sat back, closed her eyes, and listened to Ryoma's quiet breathing.

And when Sakuno glanced at her watch and saw it was time to go to class, she didn't wake Ryoma. She merely scooped up the two empty bentos, her bag, and quietly left the roof, stealing one last glance at Ryoma. When she closed the door, sealing off all traces of noise, she wasn't flustered or troubled over her time spent with Ryoma. And although she'd just got over her feelings for him, she was content to simply sit besides him.


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