EDIT: June 17, 2013-Rewriting all chapters before Chapter 9 (which is now chapter 8, since I deleted Chapter 7) So now this is Chapter 7. Woot! Three cheers for confusion!


STORY RECCOMENDATION: "Romeo and Cinderella – A Fairytale Untold", by lizzie-rivers. Read it! Because it's attention-grabbing, nicely written, and there's SO MANY UNEXPECTED MOMENTS!:D


Last Chapter.

"I'm...sorry," I whispered. My dainty fingers touched the bruise, and as I swept them along his arm, I saw goosebumps rise. "I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say," he told me. "I just want you to be here for me."

I nodded. "I will."

"Forever?" Len placed a finger on my cheek and traced the line of my jaw.

"Forever," I confirmed, a smile forming on my lips.

"Promise?"

"I promise."


Chapter Seven.

"I really am sorry, though." Len blinked slowly, his cerulean eyes betraying a storm of emotions: Pain. Love. Tenderness. Maybe some kind of happiness hidden deep within, from his time with me? When he caught on to my bewildered expression of trying to read his feelings, Len's hand returned to my waist and he pressed his forehead to mine. "I've dumped so much on you in the past couple of days," he explained.

"It's okay." I gave him a reassuring nod, accompanied by a gentle smile. It truly was. I was a faithful person, and I would never betray him if he confided something to me, not even if my life depended on it. "None of us are perfect."

He stared into my eyes for several long moments, his nose brushing against mine and his warm breath hitting my lips. My hands found their way up to wrap around his neck, holding him close. As he gently pulled me closer by my hips, I thought he would bring me into a kiss. But, he rested his chin on my shoulder instead, so that he could whisper directly into my ear.

"You know what we need to do?" he asked quietly.

I gave a weak shrug, my voice muffled from where my face was pressed into his shirt. "What?"

"We need to forget about the negatives in our life." He lifted a hand to my head and let his fingers tangle in my locks of golden-blonde hair, the tickling sensation causing me to shudder against him. He chuckled at that before murmuring, "We need to focus on the positive things. Just you and me. And our relationship."

I smiled into his shirt. He didn't have any concerns with us moving too quickly into our relationship? I really had nothing to go off of, though, because I'd never been in a proper one. I didn't know how it was supposed to go. I supposed it was only like being best friends.

Well…best friends who hugged and kissed on a regular basis.

But best friends trusted each other with all their hearts, right? And Len seemed to already be doing just that. I knew I could do the same, but…for some reason, I just wasn't ready to open up about my life completely. It wasn't like I had something to hide, though. And I knew he would be willing to wait for me to feel comfortable with sharing personal stuff with him.

I pushed the thoughts back and replied, "That sounds like a great plan, Len."

::::::

The next day

"Where do you wanna go first?" Len asked, swinging our hands back and forth as we walked. He kept his gaze fixed ahead of himself, glancing at the line of stores around us.

"It's a mall, Len," I said matter-of-factly, with more or less a teasing tone in my voice. I lifted my free hand to push back a few strands of my hair that had fallen free from the sparkly purple hairpins. (I seriously have every different colored hairclips I could find, usually with a boy or headband of a similar color, so I always have my signature accessories with any outfit I chose. Today, I wore a baggy shirt with sleeves that reached my elbows and hugged my arms, covered with intricate silvery designs. My shorts were pretty short, a faded black-and-white color.)

"You expect me to take you shopping the whole time?" he said teasingly, glancing over to meet my amused gaze with his own bright azure eyes.

"You invited me." I scooted closer to him to bump my head against his shoulder affectionately before looking around. What could you do in the mall that didn't involve clothes shopping?

"There's a game center, isn't there?" the blonde boy suggested with a shrug.

"I suck at games," I groaned out, but I followed him anyway as he pulled me around the mall, trying to find it. I knew he'd have trouble, since he'd probably never been to this place before. After all, he'd just moved in. I actually found it quite comical that he dragged me past it twice before giving up.

"Maybe we can do something else."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head lightly. I knew I'd regret it, taking him to the video game arcade, but I yanked him after me anyway.

The place was dark, but it had a dim light from the glow of the game screens. One specific game – a game of chance, where one would have to spin the wheel and hope they landed on a prize – sat smack in the middle, as attention-grabbing as it could possibly be with yellow, orange, and red lights blinking rapidly around it. Len immediately became like a little boy, bouncing up and down with excitement and dashing over to some racing game, which he insisted that I play with him.

So I did.

And it was awful.

Okay, maybe not that bad…

"Ha! I totally kicked your butt! I thought you played this before!?" I shrieked happily, leaping up from the chair and getting all in Len's face about his loss.

He shrugged, his face flushed red. "You got lucky."

High off the moment and not realizing what I was doing, I placed both hands on his shoulders to drag him down to be level with me before pressing my lips to his. He seemed shocked at the sudden action, and he didn't protest when I pulled away. Only because he didn't have time to, though, because I immediately hooked my arm with his and started prancing over to the nearest game.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I squealed excitedly, forcing him to stand at my side while I picked up the little plastic red gun. (Strange…I didn't usually act like this. I mean, play semi-violent games.) After slipping a few coins into the machine, the game began.

And Len really destroyed my big ego that time.

::::::

I sighed as I sat at the table, my head tilted back to stare up at the glass ceiling. The bright sunlight shone through and left the place glowing with an orange tint. Fluffy white clouds dotted the beautiful blue sky. The day was beautiful, yet Len and I were spending it wandering around the mall and enjoying ourselves.

I brought my hand up to touch the little heart charm that hung around my neck. After all of our time in that little arcade, Len had used the tickets we won to get me this gorgeous silver necklace, even though I tried to convince him to get that weird banana plush with googley eyes. He only refused for fear of being made fun of, and instead chose to get me something that I would obviously cherish forever. (Not that he wouldn't have cherished that banana plush when no one was around…)

"Thinking again?"

Blinking, I stopped looking up at the sky and found my eyes staring back at Len's. His face was dangerously close to mine, his eyes wide and innocent in such a cute way that it sent the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Er-er…yea." I turned away from him as he took the seat next to me and scooted closer.

"You do that a lot," he remarked as he placed a single cup on the table in front of me, a pale orange slush filling it to the rim while two white straws stuck out from the top. "I would've gotten us something separate, but I spent all of my money at the arcade."

"Oh…" I leaned forward to place the straw in my mouth. The citrusy sweet flavor of oranges mixed with something else hit my taste buds, and I made a little mmph of delight. "You could've asked and I'd give you some of mine." I took another drink. "What is this?"

"Banana-orange smoothie." He leaned closer to drink from his own straw, our gazes meeting when our noses brushing against each other's. "You like it?"

"It's delicious."

"Glad you think so." Len smiled and leaned back in his chair. "You're having fun today, right?"

"Of course I am," I replied quickly, my words coming out in a flurry. I could tell from the look on his face that my rapid agreement made him think I was only lying. Heaving a sigh, I said, "This is the most fun I've had in a while."

"Me too, actually." A huge grin formed on his lips. "I especially enjoyed winning all those games that you felt so confident about."

"Shut up. You're used to them. I've never played before." I turned my nose up into the air in a feigned stuck-up action.

"You're such a sore loser," he said in a husky whisper, and when I looked back at him, he had his elbows on the table and chin in his hands, staring at me dreamily.

"Am not." I bopped him on the forehead gently with a tiny laugh.

"Are t–" He was interrupted by the sound of my cellphone blaring in my pocket, the music from a well-known song by my favorite pop band, Scandal.

"Hold on a sec." I sighed and rolled my eyes before fishing it out. Immediately upon seeing the caller ID, a huge smile made its way to my face. I flipped open my phone and squealed, "Miku! It's been so long!"

Her familiar giggle came from the other end of the line. Nostalgia seemed to course through my body for a moment before she started speaking. "I'm so sorry! Miki invited me to go on vacation with her and a few friends. I'll be putting the pictures on my blog."

I smiled sadly, and that attracted all of Len's attention. His brow furrowed in worry, and he mouthed the words, 'what's wrong?' but I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. I was happy for my teal-haired friend; really, I was. But she was out there having funs with her new friends, not even bothering to send me a text to tell me where she'd gone. But I sat there and continued listening to the story of how Miki's boyfriend ended up stepping on a jellyfish on the shore and couldn't enjoy himself for the rest of the time. Some girl named Aria had met a surfer guy and ended up having a one-night stand with him.

Oh, and apparently Kaito was invited, also. So he and Miku had some pretty busy nights.

Before she could launch into the story about their truth or dare game, I told her that I had to go and would talk to her later.

"Oh, okay." Miku laughed a little. "Sorry, I suppose I'm talking too much anyway. I'll call you later tonight, I guess?"

"Definitely! I'd love to hear more!" I told her excitedly, even though I was clearly lying.

"Bye, Rinny~!"

"Later, Miku."

"That seemed like there was something upsetting going on," Len remarked as I shoved my phone back into my pocket. He raised an eyebrow at me when he realized he wasn't going to get a response beyond a grunt of acknowledgement. "Okay, fine." He snatched the half-eaten smoothie from me, much to my irritation, and stood up. "Let's go. I believe I saw one last thing we can do before going home."

"And what's that?" I got to my feet and pushed the chair under the table as he dropped the drink into the nearest trashcan.

"Come with me."

::::::

"Photo booth!" Len pulled back the dark curtain and motioned for me to step inside. I did so as he said, "You'll have to pay for it, though, because I'm broke."

Seeing as neither of us had really taken pictures in a photo booth, we had a pretty entertaining few minutes trying to figure where to pay and how to choose the set-up for our little strip of pictures (which, in the end, we settled on a titled that said 'True Love' in bubbly neon-green letters.)

When the numbers came on-screen counting down the seconds to the picture, it was a mess.

Five…

"Serious or silly?" he asked quickly, turning to look at me.

Four….

I shrugged. "I dunno; you tell me."

Three…

"Maybe we could make some kind of stupid face," Len suggested, his hands placed on my shoulders.

Two…

"Or maybe you could look at the camera and be ready when the picture is taken," I snap back in a voice filled with painfully fake anger.

One…

Our first picture consisted of us kissing. Except…I hadn't been prepared for it, so my eyes were wider than ever, while Len's lips were pressed to mine with so much tenderness shown merely from how his eyes weren't squeezed shut.

Three…

I pushed him away. "You idiot! You ruined it!"

Two…

Len chuckled. "I bet it looked great."

One…

The second picture was captured at the exact moment I thumped him upside the head, my face contorted with an angry expression, while he cringed away from me like a beaten puppy.

Three…

"Why do you insist on abusing me?" he asked, breathless with laughter.

Two…

"You kinda bring it on yourself." I crossed my arms.

One…

The third picture was of Len with his head tilted back in laughter, while I kept my nose sticking up in a snobbish action.

Three…

"Let's do one for real this time," Len said before I could begin another argument, leaning closer to me and placing his hands on my hips.

Two…

"Don't screw it up." I stuck my tongue out at him just before he captured my lips again in a tender kiss.

One…

In the last picture, we were kissing passionately. One of my hands was touching the side of Len's face, my index finger curved under his chin as I forced him to tilt his head back a little. It was painfully obvious just by the concentration on both of our faces that we had been French kissing at that moment.

When we got the strip of pictures back, I scanned over them and sighed.

We acted like a married couple.

::::::

Twelve days later

"Rinny?"

Len's voice filled my eyes the moment I answered the phone. I pushed aside the paper I had scritching song lyrics on and said, "Yea?"

"Park today?"

"Definitely!" I leaped to my feet as we cut off our conversation. But the smile plastered on my face vanished when my bedroom door swung open to reveal my mom, her eyes glowing with rage.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, even though I could tell she already knew.

"Uh…" What was I supposed to say? I couldn't tell her I had been talking to Len! She'd kill me!

"Give me your phone." Mom held out her hand, narrowing her eyes. Her voice was like an inhuman growl that I'd never heard before, especially not from her. She must be terribly pissed. I screwed up big time.

I didn't reply.

So she snatched it from my hands and started scrolling through my recent calls. Her eyes burned with anger. "You're grounded. No leaving the house. No cellphone. No anything."

My eyes widened. She couldn't do that! "But, mom –" She just couldn't do that…Tears threatened to surface, but I held them back, no matter how hard it was.

"I gave you specific orders to stay away from him, and you've been going behind my back!" she snarled in disbelief, flailing her arms in frustration. "I thought I could trust you, Rin! I thought you were a good kid! I thought I raised you right! But you go…and you lie to me like this!"

No stopping it now. My eyesight went blurry as tears poured down my cheeks. "I-I just wanted –"

"Wanted what?" she screeched at me. Mom waved her hand at the pile of papers on my desk. "To be happy, like you write about in your music?" She spat out a few of her words with mockery. "Well let me tell you this, Rin. Life doesn't have any happy endings. You think I wanted a child?"

I think my heart just broke in two.

"You think I wanted to just give up my life at such a young age to raise a kid? Well, I did. And I've done my best to make sure you chose the right path so you wouldn't end up like me, but I didn't do a very good job, did I?"

Choking sobs escaped my lips in hiccups and wheezes. I clutched the clothes over my heart, my nails digging into my skin as I collapsed to the ground on my knees. No, no, no, no….

"You think Len really cares about you?" Mom didn't stop her screaming, despite the fact that I had clearly given up. "He's probably just out to use you like all boys are! That's why I don't want you seeing him. Len will screw you like there's no tomorrow. He'll tell you that you're the only one for him. He'll do anything to earn your trust, and once he's satisfied with all that you'll give him, he'll move on to the next girl."

That's not true. Not all people are rapists! Not all people are cruel…

"Rin, you'll thank me one day for keeping him away from you." She shook her head sadly and turned to leave. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

"N-no…" I choked out. "No, you're not!" Even through my pain and sadness, I rose to my feet and shrieked, "I hate you!" at the top of my lungs as she slammed my door shut.


That was awful. I don't think I hit anyone in the feels with that. *starts crying*

If there are any errors, point them out, please. I'm on the computer for the first time in months, so I may have screwed something up since I'm used to my iPod. XD


.::Review Replies::.

44Anifreak44: Thank you soo much for reviewing!(: Now you know how Rin's mom handles the relationship. ^^ Sorry if it seemed kinda rushed, though…

Guest:Lime/lemon-fluff will come in due time.;)

Rinlover101:Thank youu so much! I'm flattered.:3 Sorry this story took so long for me to update! I was having trouble thinking of what to do next.

Lizzie-rivers:I'm pretty sure I replied in that freakishly long PM I sent you, so….

TeamKagamine:Awww! Thank youuu! You're very welcome! I look forward to seeing more from you, too;)

Lithia:Thank you so much for reading and reviewing for me! I never discontinue; sometimes, I just take longer because I'm not sure how to continue. (: None of my stuff will ever get discontinued, though, I can promise you that.

Shadowthorn2013:It actually feels like kind of an honor to have you review my stories since I love your writing so much. ^^ I don't usually write Rin and Len as twins, either, lol. It's just…strange. XD Haha, thanks sooo much for reading and leaving me reviews!:DDD


I'll see you guys next time!(:

(:Mizune