Author's note at the end of the page!

Short but important chapter! :)

-I wrote this in a hurry because my roommate is trying to sleep, please let me know if there are grammatical errors or spelling errors that I didn't catch-

As soon as Azumi closed the front door behind Mori and Honey, Sari and her mother saw their opportunity and pounced.

"Where did you meet them?"

"They're so handsome!"

"Their manners are impeccable!"

"Are you dating one of them?"

"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Let's have a spa night so you can tell us everything!" Her mother cried, sharing an evil glance with Sari. They latched onto her arms, picking her up with strength that Azumi didn't know they possessed. They dragged her towards her mother's bathroom, calling for some of the other maids to get them some towels and lotion and nail polish.

When they had successfully sedated Azumi with her favorite juice and a bowl of fruit, they sat down across her on the bathroom floor. Each of them was bundled up in snow white robes and had toe-separators wedged onto their feet. Her mother and Sari faced each other, trying to find the right color for each other's toenail polish.

"You like that tall boy," Sari said, eyeing her. Azumi's eyes widened.

"What? That's crazy!"

The look Sari gave her in response said all the sarcastic comments that were left unspoken, and Azumi decided to give up the act. She never was a good actress.

"How do you know that? You weren't even at dinner!" Azumi said, sighing. Sari hadn't been present at the dinner table like she usually was. It might seem unconventional to eat with their servants, but the Hisakawas have always told all their employees that they are family and are more than welcome to eat with the family. The product of this invitation has been many close friendships formed with many of the Hisakawa employees.

"I know everything," Sari said, holding her chin up as she selected a lavender purple polish for her mother to wear. Her mother eyed it against her fair skin tone before nodding in agreement. She pointed to a deep red for Sari, who smiled and nodded.

"I do like him, but I don't know what to do. I don't know why I should do anything, I'm still waiting to hear back from Otis," Azumi said, sighing as she got lost in her thoughts.

Otis College of Art and Design was Azumi's dream. One of the top art schools in America, it produced some of the greatest modern artists. The level of work that Otis put into its students and the quality of pieces always astounded Azumi each time she saw works from an Alumni show. She sent off her application and portfolio a month ago, and she has a few weeks left before she is supposed to hear anything back.

Her mother has a house in Los Angeles, and is only about a twenty minute bus ride from Otis. If she gets accepted, she's taking the first step towards everything she's ever wanted. If she doesn't, she's decided to travel and get inspiration from foreign countries. Azumi has always had an affinity for languages, and she currently speaks fluent Japanese and French, along with a fair amount of Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

"Azumi, are you with us?" Her mother asked, chiding her teasingly. Azumi blushed and nodded.

"You can't let things that may happen govern your decisions. Just because there is one way your life could go, doesn't mean that it gets to rule the way your life is currently going. Do you understand?" Azumi nodded.

"Good. You should invite him to dinner," Sari said, smiling.

"I already did invite him to dinner," Azumi said, confused.

"I mean just him, his friend is very nice, but we want to get to know him, and it would be good to see if you enjoy spending time with just him alone," Her mother explained, and they made so much sense it was a little frightening.

Azumi pondered this for a while before nodding and agreeing. They were right after all, she hadn't spent much time with just him. Would they even be comfortable around each other that long?

Over the next week, Azumi let herself get more acquainted with her feelings for Morinozuka Takashi. She observed him as she sorted through her feelings. She observed the way his eyes saw everything, even her incessant staring. She noticed the way his hands were firm and steady, hands that meant safety and stability. She learned his different smiles; the crooked one when he thought something was funny; the small, happy smile he got when Honey asked for his opinion; the secret one that he was almost unaware of. That was her favorite smile, the one he didn't know had slipped onto his face.

She had come to the following conclusion through her shy observations: Being brave is horrible.

Azumi's stomach had been twisting itself into knots all day long, and she wasn't able to even think about Mori without blushing. All through her classes with him, Honey babbled away while they both remained completely silent. Mori in his usual stoic nature, and Azumi in a state of gut-wrenching fear, like she could see him shaking his head no when she invited him over.

Everything spilled out of her mouth in the hallway, of all places. Everything seemed to happen in the hallway, even their first meeting. She stared up at him, wide eyed and heavy-breathing while he stared back down at her, calm and unmoving, a steady point in her sea of terror.

"Takashi, would you like to come to dinner this week?" Azumi spit out, rushed and all jumbled together. Mori glanced at her, his face the usual mask of stoicism.

He stared at her for a second, and the anxiety only built up inside of Azumi, wondering what he could possibly be thinking of. Was he finding the gentlest way to let her down? Was he looking for a way to get out of it? What if he invited Honey along? Nothing against Honey of course, because Honey is quickly becoming one of Azumi's best friends, but she wanted to spend some time with just him. Did he understand that?

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me," He said, nodding to her. She stared at him in shock for a minute, not believing what she heard.

"Just you," She said, and oh god why did she say that? What's wrong with her? Why is she so anxious over this stupid boy? Except he wasn't stupid he was wonderful and kind and caring and-

"Yes," He said, nodding again, that secret smile quirking up and doing all sorts of funny things to Azumi's stomach.

She smiled back at him, and he walked her to her next class, even though they didn't share it together. Azumi spent the rest of the morning with a big smile on her face, happy and excited in a new way that she had never experienced before.

A/N: Okay so I'm all moved into my dorm and I have a light class load this semester, so hopefully this story will continue at a reasonable pace. I have the whole plot worked out, so let me assure you all that I have more planned, the story isn't going to be over for a while. :)

The rating is going to go up to an M rating, not for anything lemon, but for mature themes such as anxiety and depression. I am warning everyone now, if this seems like a trigger to you, please take care of yourself and be cautious as you read.

I start classes the 24th, but I don't have any classes on Fridays so I hope that next weekend I can get another chapter out. We'll see, though.

Thank you to everyone who has read and been patient with my move and schedule, you're all wonderful!

And especially a thank you to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! It means so much to me and always brightens my day! Thank you for keeping the reviews kind and sweet, it makes my day to read them! :)

TL:DR; hopefully updates should come during the weekends, RATING WILL GO UP TAKE CARE TO READ WHY, thank you to everyone for being wonderful cinnamon rolls!