Also dedicated t'the ShhTiger.

Happy Birrrthdaaaaaaay~ :'D

Rin silently slipped near the designated tree, holding on tightly to her accursed phone, the thing that was probably going to ruin her life. Her lips were downturned, the breeze toying with her short hair gently. She eyed the ground, foreboding welling up inside of her like a curse.

"Rin-chaaaan." sang a soft voice, one that Rin had grown to hate with a passion. She turned around slowly to see the person who had been making her life absolute hell for near ten years. Her eyes slowly traveled up the preppy, accessorized uniform, the hands planted firmly on her waist, the thick, silky curls that fell down her back, and finally, the sharp amber eyes that were neither hot nor cold, yet both hot and cold at the same time.

"Rui," the name was a sigh, but a worried sigh. "What do you want?"

Rui held up her phone- It was a picture of Rin and Len, her arms looped around his neck, her lips pressed against his cheek. He had a brilliant smile on his face, and his glasses were crooked. Rin found herself smiling slightly; How happy they looked.

That smile quickly faded.

"What about it?" Rin said unsmilingly, in that calm voice of hers.

"Who knows about it?" Rui said quietly, rivaling the simmering calmness of Rin's voice.

"No one," Rin said honestly. "Except maybe you."

"Aren't you upset?" Rui demanded, moving forwards. "Aren't you just terrified that I know about this, that I'm going to tell?"

For their sake, Rin kept calm. Yes, she was terrified. She should be on the floor, pleading at Rui's shiny black shoes, begging her not to tell. "Not quite."

Rui paused, contemplating. Her shrewd eyes calculatingly roved over Rin's form. Finally, a sharp smile adorned her pretty face.

"Then break up with him."

That drew a gasp from Rin. She stared, wide-eyed at Rui, feeling something shatter with a little burst of sound. "Wh...What?"

"You heard me. Break up with him. Or I'll tell everyone that you're a whore who sells her body out. Why are you pestering Sensei? You seduced him, didn't you? And now, because of you, he'll lose his job! D'you want that?"

Rin shook her head wordlessly, each word Rui said stabbing a little deeper.

"You seem to be thinking only of yourself." Rin flinched at the accusation, her eyes wide with pain. "You love him, but it's easy for you to just throw everything away. I mean, y'don't have parents or anything." Rin didn't bother disproving that, because she realized with painful clarity that what Rui was saying was true.

"See? You know what I mean, don't you? He's got a life, a paying job, a house to pay for... If you get caught, you can just walk away. He can't. He has to be hit in the face with the aftermath; He'll lose his job, his reputation... He'll even be arrested. And you'll be too busy running away with his heart to care. So end it. Before you think you're truly made for each other." Rin gasped. She was right, of course... Len would be knee-deep in trouble, and she... Well, she'd get off scot-free.

"Okay," Rin said, her chest constricting as she cut Rui off mid-word. "Okay. Okay. I get it. I'll..." Rin stopped abruptly, looking straight ahead, unseeingly, at Rui. A decision had to be made, even though that decision was currently smashing her heart into tiny little pieces.

"I... Will... Break... Up... With... Him." she said in a slow, monotonous way, like she couldn't quite believe it herself. Break up? With Len? A month ago, hell, two hours ago, the mere thought of breaking up with Len would make her shiver outwardly. Love couldn't be broken just by words, she would have said. But now... Now, with Len's future and safety on the line, Rin would not only break up with him, but she'd move to a different country as well. She didn't know she was crying until she felt the drop hit her hand.

She looked down in wonder and smiled bitterly. How she'd rather stab herself with a wooden stake than go about breaking up with Len. Something had to be done, though, and that thing had to happen before Rui released their secret, like a bird, into freedom. However, Rin intended to keep that bird caged forever.

"Good." Rui said in a calm, very quiet voice. "Good." Her eyes, deadly in and of themselves, seared into Rin and pried her apart to dig deeper, deeper, for secrets that Rin was trying her best to keep locked up. "Today."

"Today?" Rin repeated like a broken record. "Today? Are you sure?" That sounded incredibly stupid, but suddenly, the word today was her least favorite in the world. It implied that Rui knew that Rin and Len had little rendezvous after school was over, that by 12:00 today their relationship would be a thing of the past, that she was going to kill both herself and Len in one shot.

"Today," Rui said slowly, and they stared at each other. Gears were spinning in Rui's head, supplying her with terrible ideas, but Rin's had frozen- Dust was starting to collect. She tried to get the gears to spin, to give her some idea, some excuse to buy her more time with Len, but they just sat there. Suddenly, Rin felt like inwardly screaming.

For Len, she cursed herself, all the while keeping a flat look on her face. For Len for Len for Len because you owe him your life and his future. Don't you dare let him be held back by you and your petty little crushes, damn you.

"Today," Rin said the final time, stepping back. Funny, the world was becoming dizzy again. "T- Why?" She looked up at Rui, tears finally touching the corners of her bright eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Each word was enunciated, each syllable slow.

"Because..." Rui stepped closer, that terrible smile adorning her face. Rin flinched in preparation for the response.

"...I hate you."

~RantSensei~

Len smiled at the computer, clicking it closed as he heard Rin approaching. For a moment, her shadow just hovered in the doorway.

"Why are you standing outside, Rin?" he asked, tilting his head to see her better. Finally he got a glimpse at her face.

Rin was pale. Too pale.

Her mouth was a flat line, her eyes fixed on his. Too bright. Too bright.

"Rin," Len practically shoved aside his chair as he stood up, way too quickly. "Rin, are you okay-? My god, you're shaking! C'mere..." He approached her, his eyes worried and soft.

"No," she said silently, just the one word solid and loud, even though it was said in soft, quiet tones. "No."

"What? Rin, you can't be serious!" Exasperated, he reached out to maybe touch her shoulder, or her face. "You're not feeling yourself, are you? Here, come in-"

Smack. The action stunned Len more than he thought it would, and hurt him than that. Rin had practically slapped his hand aside, her face stony. Tears continued to trail their way into her skin.

"I said no." she said quietly.

"I don't understand." Len said slowly, locking his gaze onto those eyes. They were fierce, but terribly, terribly sad, and aching with something that Len couldn't place.

The next words that left her mouth rendered him absolutely speechless.

"We're done."

Her voice was dead calm, but her eyes were practically screaming the words at him that he couldn't hear. I love you I love you I love you.

"What?" Len couldn't quite comprehend what Rin had said, and why it was causing a dull, horrified ache to spread through him. "What did you say?"

"You," Rin pointed at him, "and I," she pointed at herself, "Are over. Finished."

"Rin," his voice had become angry, now, and there was an undercurrent of confusion laced within her name. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying," she neared him, pointing straight at his chest. "That there is no more Rin and Len."

"What?"

"I just needed you," Rin willed herself to be strong, reminded herself that it was for Len, nobody else was as precious as him. "I only needed you to listen to me, and I'm done talking. And you don't need to be with me anymore. I admit it," she added coolly. "I admit that I took it way too far, that was my fault." Nonchalantly, she drew her eyes up to his.

And immediately regretted it.

Len's eyes were blazing, his jaw set in a straight line. Rin swore she could see his heart breaking right in front of her. She stifled a cry. He loved her! It had already gone too far, and now... She couldn't do this. She had to finish this and get out, get out so she couldn't see his face.

"What about," Len's voice was calm. "What about when you said that we were never going to do this to each other?" His eyes were genuinely wounded now, and for good reason; he hadn't even done anything wrong to her. Rin wanted to go cry in a corner.

"Things change. Bye, Sensei." She turned to leave, but his hand had somehow found her wrist, and he was pulling her back towards him, holding her in place.

"Rin!" He sounded desperate now, if only slightly. "Rin, what about when you said that we were a story, waiting to happen? And you said this was a fairy tale?"

"All stories must finish, Sensei." She reached up to stare into his eyes, willing herself to make it without bursting into tears.

"The End."

That seemed to be it. Len looked completely anguished as she wrenched her arm away.

"Bye, Len." She choked out again, but of course he didn't answer. And as she felt her heart crack to pieces, she walked away from the most important person in her world, from the one person she truly loved, the one person who listened.

"I love you, Len." Rin whispered, tears shining in her eyes as she forced them closed. Her teeth clenched. "I'm so, so sorry."

I'm just making everyone hate me, aren't I?

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