Sorry I haven't updated in a while! But Spring Break is over and now I'm typing this in the dark to make up for it!

To those who are reading this right now; to those who have reviewed and helped me; to those who read this story up to this point and is waiting for me to finish talking so you can read the chapter, THANK YOU. Arigatou gozaimasu. I love y'all for following me through the chapters and reading this much. Honestly. All of your names that I know of will be posted on the last chapter!

Format:

-

That little dash above signals the beginning and the end of a flashback.

Whenever you see "-Aya-" on the top of an interval, it means that that part will be told from Aya's POV. Let's go!! XD


-Aya-

One would consider tears as a way of expressing oneself, even if it's the most embarrassing thing you've done, even if feelings aren't allowed to be returned, or whatever Fate has in store for you... Funny how the raindrops resemble tears.

Fuji stood up slowly; I could hear his pants sliding off the mud. I opened my eyes to gaze into his chin, still fearing his open eyes, its cerulean gaze lingering in a corner of my sight.

Now I could tell that his eyes closed again as he put on his smile. He spoke in a hushed tone.

"Please don't cry."

Tha-thump.

"I--I am not crying!" I flung my arms open to show him my tearless face and dry eyes. "I'm not a baby, Syuusuke. I can take care of myself!"

His eyes caught something. He tapped a finger on my forehead and I flinched. "What the heck...!" A tingling sensation washed over my face.

"Don't move..."

Tha-thump.

Fuji held up a ladybug that was apparently making its way up my head before he saw it. "Oh," I murmured. "Gross!" My hands flew to my forehead as I waved my other free hand. "Get it away from me."

Fuji kept his eyes on the ladybug, which was now crawling up his hand. "Minase-san, that was the first time you called me by my name."

"Huh?" I shrugged. "You mean when I said 'Syuusuke'?"

The name sent shivers up my spine and I was afraid that my tongue would grow numb.

He is still smiling at me. "Un."

"Hmph. It's no big deal," I hear myself tell him, but I felt myself straining to smile! Why the hell?? But he actually noticed that I said his name...?

The Golden Smile lingered. "All right."

Wait: my hand was still rubbing my forehead. I had meant to rub the bug's germs off, but my finger still lingered around the spot where Fuji's hand touched. It was still warm.

I removed my hand. "So, should we head back?"

He nodded. "This way," he directed, taking my hand.

During our walk, all I noticed was his palm against mine. Concentrate on getting back to the hotel alive, my brain lectured, but I just stared at his hand like a paralyzed sheep. I try shaking the feeling aside, but like an automaton my eyes stared at his fragile-looking skin. It's so smooth, even though he should get calluses from doing so much tennis stuff. God, what sort of hand lotion does he use?

Men don't wear lotion, idiot, the voice inside my head keeps screaming, but like the idiot that I really am, I stay awed by his hand.

He suddenly slows his pace and turns his head back to me. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I answer, presuming he means my leg.

He chuckles. "No, I mean Tokyo." He stops walking entirely as if he really cares.

I don't stop, however, so I drag him into walking again. "I'm good." He doesn't answer; he is expecting me to say something more, just as anyone would do, but I'm not good at holding conversations like this. "It's different, but I'm still alive."

"I'm glad," he says. Although I am not facing him, I can tell he is smiling by the tone of his voice.

But I still remember the Fuji at the airport.

"Oh, are you?"

By this time I have stopped walking and snapped back to look at him. He looks a little bit surprised as his lips part, but his eyes are still closed. "Are you, really?" I repeat.

"I mean, why should you care?" I babble, "You never think of anyone but yourself. I bet you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

God...what's wrong with me?

I expect him to say my name questioningly. Instead, he...he seems to know what I'm talking about. "On that night..."

Even if he IS a perverted bastard, I couldn't care less, because I have no feelings for him whatsoever...

"Oh?" I glare.

...Absolutely NO feelings...

He looks at me. "...I was happy that you came with us on the trip." I find myself facing his gradual smile. "I didn't think of anything else, Minase-san."

I completely understood.

It wasn't him.

-------------------------------

-Aya-

My grip loosens and I let go of his hand in shock.

-

"...Don't let anyone find out."

-

Was it them? SERIOUSLY? But then, what about Fuji...?

Seconds have flown by when I finally stutter, "Herg."

His laugh completely got the message across: "Herg" isn't a word.

I should probably be angry for him laughing at me. But why am I not? Fuji Syuusuke isn't an airhead, he isn't conceited, and he totally isn't perverted! Fuji Syuusuke doesn't just randomly sit by girls while they are asleep! Fuji Syuusuke doesn't just randomly choose girls to surround him! Fuji Syuusuke... Fuji Syuusuke... Fuji Syuusuke...

"Fuji?"

"Un?" he answers calmly, softly, in his molten voice.

I take a deep breath.

"I'd like...to be friends. Sound okay?"

"Sure," he answers. I wonder why I never get tired of seeing that smile. It's almost...contagious now. In fact, I did smile.

"Cool!" I reply in English, grinning.

"English?"

He sounds impressed! "Uh-huh." I smile harder. God, I am such a dork! "Me, my sister, my mum, and my d---" I swallow.

My DAD. I try again, "Me, my sister, my mum, and my dad---went there for our vacation one summer."

"Saa," he nods understandingly, "America."

The sun is shining and the clouds and rolling above our heads, setting a perfectly good example of a perfect weather. It illuminated the outline of the hotel, which seems to be not so far away now. We've reached the edge of a cliff and looking down on everything---the trees, the huge blue sky, the buildings. "Wow," I say.

A gush of wind blew across Fuji's face, revealing his clear forehead, which is usually covered by his bangs. He nods in agreement. I suddenly hear a sound that sounded like a camera shot and turned to see Fuji taking pictures of the view.

It's just so weird that all of a sudden, this guy I've terribly loathed is now being my friend? What's going on...?

I watch his face, completely focused to looking through the camera lens.

-----------------------------------

Aya hesitated before entering the hotel. "Um!" She turned to Fuji.

"Thank you," she shrugged. "I mean...well...you know what I mean!"

His eyebrows fall in a sad position as he smiles broader. "I think I do."

"R-really?"

He simply nodded. His sleeves creased as he took her arm in his, escorting her into the hotel. As the doors opened, the two examined to see if Seigaku had come back. Nobody was there; the lobby was completely empty, except for the hotel staff. One man in a tidy uniform looked up from his counter and asked with a grin, "Back so soon, lovebirds?"

Aya blushed; Fuji chuckled. Aya tried to laugh, but her loud and warbly laugh came out like a horse's neigh.

All of a sudden, someone entered the hotel.

An Tachibana wore a silky, silver dress that illuminated her face. She looked like she just stepped out of the streets of London, complete with a mock diamond necklace. She smiled at the two, her thin lips clad in sweet lipstick. There was an air of stillness about her, even though she must've moved somehow to enter the hotel.

Her hair swayed as she cocked her head and feigned surprise. "Oh, you guys are back?"

"We're here, aren't we?" Aya tried smiling like An.

The short-haired brunette put a finger to her lips and giggled, her eyes shimmering to match the sparkling dress. Trying to drown out the giggling, Aya eyed her dress and asked, "Why're you dressed like that?"

"You didn't hear about it?" she asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I'm afraid not."

"The Christmas party, silly."

Nobody told me about that... she wanted to kill someone for not telling her, but she stayed quiet, not wanting to give An the satisfactory of being ahead of her.

But An could tell that Aya didn't now anything about a Christmas party. "Didn't Fuji tell you?"

"What?"

This time, she'd truly done it. She couldn't contain her shock and immediately whipped around to face the boy, whose expression was unreadable.

"Didn't you tell her, Fuji? That's a shame that nobody told you," An said, reverting back to Aya. "I asked him if he would come with me, and he agreed."

Perhaps it was the untimely moment that An decided to show up; perhaps that it was Fuji's polite attitude toward An; whatever it was, it left Aya completely baffled and made her twist herself free from his arm and run---not walk, not sprint, not dash, but run---for the stairway, far, far away from any type of living existence, far away from Fuji Syuusuke and An Tachibana, far away from the actual happiness that she was actually starting to feel. If only she had turned back once to steal a glance, she would've seen that Fuji had no idea about anything that was happening or what An was talking about at all, for he was honestly surprised to see her run and his hands gripped together tighter, leaving fingernail marks on his palms.

She bumped into Eiji, Momo, and Miyu in the hallway.

"Oi---"

"Aya-chan!! What're you doing here, nya---"

"Aya, guess what Tezuka-sama---!"

She raced through them, rounded a corner, dashed into her room, and locked the door after her.

-----------------------------------

-Aya-

Here's what happens in a Japanese anime: single girl goes on a winter vacation with gorgeous guy, they share a hot cup of chocolate by the fireside and relate to their dark pasts, realize that they love each other.

Here's what happens in real life: single girl goes on a winter vacation with gorgeous guy, the guy happens to have a soon-to-be female dog girlfriend, the single girl locks herself up in her hotel room.

But I haven't cried. And I don't feel like crying. I'm way too exhausted from Lord knows what to cry.

It's currently 6:30 I bet no one's inside the hotel but me. Yeah, I know: why rent a hotel room if you're not going to do anything for your "vacation"? I lie on the bed, grab some chips, and turn on the TV.

Click.

"Oh, Henry, I've always loved you and I've never doubted you, not even once!"

"Diana! I feel the same way!"

I throw a potato chip at the screen, where the lovers are now crying and kissing under the starlight. I scream, "Wimps! Get a life, will you?? Or you can at least get decent jobs! That scarf needs to go back in the trash bin!!"

Click.

"On this week's Shocking Couple, we're going to hook up this lady right here with a lucky young man---"

Click.

"Here, the male lion can be seen penetrating the female."

Click.

Click.

Click!

I throw the remote control against the floor. "ARGH!! There's absolutely nothing on!!" This calls for plan B: stuff your face with anything you can find. I call room service and wait for the huge platters of ice cream that I've ordered, all the time finishing up the bag of chips. The room service guy enters and stares at me as if I sprouted two heads. I wave him off and as soon as he leaves, I find out that I have two perfect relationships: one with Ben, and the other with Jerry.

"Ha," I scoff through a mouthful of food. "Who does she think she is? That idiot attention grabber An Tachibana." Yes, I am very aware that I'm talking to no one. "Thinking she can just pop her head in at any time, then leaving like a breeze... Acting all nice, with that stupid giggle..."

I fling the spoon across the room and use my bare hands as a shovel to spoon up what's left of the dessert. I never knew that I had belly fat, but now that I look at it, I should probably lose some weight. When I first came to Japan, I wanted to look on the bright side and start over; lose weight, become good at sports, possibly even gain a dumb boyfriend... screw it all. I'm going to bed with my one and only source of happiness, chocolate mint ice cream.

Now, I look at the bowls of empty dessert dishes. They're bothering me...how can they look all sparkly and transparent while others are suffering from an overdose of fat?! I must've digested a million calories, and all you idiotic dessert bowls do is just sit there and sparkle?!

Crash!

As the ice cream bowl shoots at a wall and splits into two crescent moons, its bits of glass flies across the floor. I cackle evilly at the sound of breaking dishes. Instead of cackling like: "Mua ha ha ha," I choose to take evil to a whole new level and laugh: "Ma ha ha ha!"

How could anyone do this to me?! Have I offended anyone in any way?? Why the freaking hell did Fuji Syuusuke have to walk in my life?! Hell-o?! God, I'm waiting for an answer!!!

Crash!Another one broken.

"Ma ha ha ha!"

-

"Daijobukai?"

-

CRASH! And another.

"Ma ha ha HA ha!!"

-

"You mean 'mine'?"

-

CRASH! ---BANG!!--Chlang!!

-

"Ano...Minase-san...?"

-

"Ma ha ha HA HA HA!!!"

I must've either sounded really evil or really nasal, because someone starts tapping at my door. I peek through the little hole and I see Eiji Kikumaru standing in the hallway, his childish face pasted with a worried expression. I open the door big enough so that he can see my face but can't enter.

"What do you want?" I try asking this calmly, the excitement of breaking dishes still alive in my adrenaline.

He raises an eyebrow at my voice and stammers, "Hoi...some guests heard noises coming from your room... They said that someone might've been breaking and entering, nya." He stretches his neck to try and see above my head, checking for anything unusual.

"Just breaking," I laugh.

He tries to laugh. He coughs, then asks, "How're you, nya?"

"How am I?" I furrow my brows and smile. "Whatta ya mean?" Before I could even finish saying my sentence, Eiji slips past me and jumps inside my room.

"Eiji!!" I shriek, trying to revert his attention back to me so that he wouldn't notice the broken shards spewed over the carpet.

"What's this?" He peers curiously at a cracked dish on the floor.

"Uh...that's... that's none of your business!"

"What happened between you and Fujiko?"

"Muweh?" That was totally uncalled for! "Why do you ask?"

"You have 'baka Fuji Syuusuke' scribbled on the wall," he says, and sure enough, those words are written all over the top of my bed. I must've grabbed the nearest pen and done it in a flurry of anger, because I can't remember writing them. "The hotel's going to charge you for this... Shizuka sensei will be aaaangry!"

"Could you please leave?" I slam the door close and walk in his direction, crushing pieces of broken dishes on my way. "Like, now?" I jab my finger at the door. He cocks his head and stares at me.

"So it is Fujiko-chan?"

"LEAVE."

"Tell me what happened!"

"I don't want to talk about it, Eiji."

"What did he say, Aya-chan?"

"He said nothing. Nothing happened. I'm fine. Go. NOW."

"But you're crying!"

What is it with these people!! Nobody understands me...is that why they don't tell me anything?! They think that I'm just some stupid, clumsy nobody who wants to look like a klutz all the time? Is that why Dad never told me that he had cancer? Is that why nobody told me about some party? "Buh!" My eyes and nose gush as if I've sprung a leak. Clumps of my bangs get in my mouth but I don't brush it away. I stand there, waiting for him to leave, all the while trying to control my sobs. But then the sobs turn into uncontrollable weeping, and it feels like kindergarten where you have to pant every split second. "Pwease g-go."

He smiles at me. "Sorry about the plane," he says.

"What?"

"I should've never done that to you on the airplane. If I had known what was going on between..." His shoulders sag as he shrugs, as if that covered the rest of the sentence. "...Gomen ne."

"Breally?" I sniff and wipe my nose with the back of my hand. "Really?"

He pats my arm. "Breally."

He's in his joking mood by now, and I laugh. I put out a hand, and we shake hands. I got a bit of tears and mucus on his hand, and he wipes it on his shirt afterwards.

-

"Who the hell is God, Daddy?"

He spit out his morning coffee and looks up from his paper. "What did you just say?"

"Is God a smart man?"

"Oh, He's very smart, with a capital H."

"As smart as you?"

He ruffles my hair and sets down his mug. "I should think so."

"Okay." I grin. "When I grow up, I want to be exactly like God."

"You should be like him," my dad nods in agreement. "He's a very, very smart man."

-

I now know that I have friends after all. Eiji leads me into the hallway, and I see Miyu standing there, holding two shopping bags. Eiji peeks into one of them and shrieks, "NYA!! Women's stuff!!"

Miyu laughs as he runs away. "And don't come back!!"

She turns to me and her eyes suddenly glitter as she peers at my uncovered belly.

"Been eating much?" she asks.

"Oh, tons."

"Let's get to work!" She dashes into the room and dumps all the contents of her shopping bags onto my comforter---make-up, dresses, and... Lingerie? "That's only for accessories," she grins.

"Uh-huh," I say. As I listen to her talk about her day with Tezuka ("He actually heard me sneeze!!" "Really? What did he do about it?" "Nothing! He completely ignored me, but that's our first step in our relationship!!"), I nod and smile with her.

I wonder if God is smiling at us too? Smiling and nodding because He, with a capital H, just understands that way? He deserves His name to be capitalized. I want to scream and tell someone that there are some people who truly understand. Just hearing Eiji's apology and seeing Miyu's girly excitement is enough for me to realize that. I don't need someone like Fuji Syuusuke or anyone else to make my life happy.

Miyu finishes the last touch to my dark red dress and adjusts the last straps on my back. "...There. This dress will make your eyes look blazingly copper!"

I look at myself in the mirror, and may I say that I don't look that bad. Not bad at all. My gold earrings dangle as if it's caught in a swift breeze when I link my arm in Miyu's. "We've got a party to go to," I announce, and we walk down like two of the most graceful women who have ever lived, our glossy hair swaying in the night air.

-----------------------------------

Fuji Syuusuke positioned himself more comfortably on the top of the brick wall. People were lingering outside, laughing and chatting, with music playing in the background. He had chosen to remain outside, not caring if it were windy and cold. The full moon shined on his cheeks and he touched them, feeling the coldness of his own skin.

It's a full moon, but the night was dark. There weren't many stars on that night, either. Rather, there was an ominous cloud floating above all of Yamanashiken.

He remembers what An had said to him after Aya ran away.

-

"Christmas is for lovers, Fuji."

-

Lovers? He couldn't think of An any more than a friend. But lovers? The only, only name that pops into his mind when that word is mentioned is...

He jumped off the wall and righted his poise at the sight of the lover. "Minase-san...!"

She smiled. But not a friendly, affectionate smile. It was rather like a polite smile. Her slender finger pointed towards the door. "Aren't you going to go inside, Fuji-san?"

His cheek muscle twitched slightly, but he still kept his smile. His usual smile. "Of course."

There was a thundering noise above their heads, and a sudden gust of wind blew at them. Nonetheless, neither was provoked to move. The cloud rolled slowly and heavily, carrying a dreary midst of damp atmosphere with it.

Aya's hair coiled itself on her slender neck, flicking in the wind. Her eyes appeared very copper and intoxicating; her bangles jangled when she raised an arm to stuff her hair behind one ear.

Fuji's own polite smile revealed nothing. "Should we head in?"

"I think we should."

Both of them knew that they weren't going to take off their unrevealing smiles.


(yawns!) Well, it's about 3 in the morning... but I had fun writing this chapter! Comments? Reviews? Thank you for reading, see you next time!! (falls asleep)