A/N- So… I hit a wall. Between doctors appointments, physiotherapy sessions, work, apartment hunting and not enough sleep and that awesome thing we all know and love as writers block… this took me a little while to get out… at least compared to my other updates. Gomen to all of those who had this image of me as a master of updating. I am however only mortal and my flaws prove that. Having said that, this chapter is… I don't know really. It kind of just is, I suppose. Anyways I hope that it's not too bad and that you guys are at least mildly entertained by it.

Life Ch 7

Two weeks had gone by since the horrible event that had so drastically changed Michiru's life. She had finally gone back to school once she felt that she could deal with any questions and not break down. The gash upon her head was still there and healing nicely, but it wasn't that hard to make up a story to go along with it. She and Haruka had told anyone who inquired about where they had been those past weeks that they were involved in a small motorcycle accident. They felt that would account for the cut on her forehead and Haruka's fractured hand. All the bruises that would have indicated a fight, such as the ones on her throat and Haruka's black eye, were gone so the story did very well to cover up what had happened. With Haruka's constant encouragement and presence at school Michiru was surviving… But when she was alone it was another matter.

For the first week Michiru had barely let Haruka out of her sight, begging and pleading that she stay with her. She had even managed to spend every night in Haruka's arms… though that wasn't always because of fear. She had finally fully accepted in her mind that she was indeed in love with the blonde racer and though she wanted to say it every time she saw Haruka she couldn't bring herself to do it. Takashi had left Michiru in a state of vulnerability when it came to relationships. Although she knew that Haruka would never hurt her in any way she was hesitant to even attempt starting something with her. Aside from that fact, she also continued to tell herself that Haruka wasn't in love with her and rejection would be a crushing if not final blow to her. So while Michiru was battling memories of what had happened, the here and now of her love for Haruka was slowly eating away at her.

The second week Michiru had eased up on her almost suffocating grasp on Haruka and had stayed home alone a few times while Haruka ran out to do errands. She would play some sad melody on the violin or sit outside on the balcony in the cold fall air waiting for Haruka to return. One time Haruka had practically yelled at Michiru for being outside saying that the last thing she needed was a cold. Once again Haruka's caring nature made her yearn for her more. She had watched from a crack in the door as Haruka painted her room and fixed the door frame. She couldn't believe that Haruka was doing all this with her fractured hand and when she had offered to help, Haruka adamantly refused to let her in saying that she wasn't allowed till everything was as it use to be… with no traces of the altercation that were tangible. When the room had been restored to its original design she had forced herself to spend time and sleep there. She couldn't continue to burden Haruka so. The first night she hadn't slept at all and instead had curled up on her bed and silently cried. She sometimes muffled the sound by turning her face into the pillow, trying hard not to disturb the occupant of the next room. The following nights were spent in much the same fashion, with her thinking about both Takashi and Haruka and crying into her pillow. However her body's need for sleep started to overcome her and she would cry herself to sleep. Anytime she was alone, thoughts that she had tried desperately to push to the back of her mind resurfaced and claimed her completely.

Now that she was back at school she had a lot to focus on. She needed to catch up on what she had missed during her absence and that included not only homework and assignments, but her music as well. She had missed quite a few rehearsals and even though she could easily play any piece she still felt that she needed the practice. Michiru welcomed the almost overbearing workload… anything that could occupy her mind and distract her from her own thoughts.

The last two weeks had been taxing on Michiru, but Haruka was also dealing with her own problems. She had spent every waking moment trying her best to comfort and reassure Michiru. This act however was tearing Haruka up inside. Each time she held Michiru in her arms she wished with all her might that it was for different reasons. She wished that Michiru would for once be happy in her embrace and not reliving a personal tragedy inside her head. Every night that she would sleep with Michiru next to her she thought about how great it would be if each morning she could wake up next to the aqua haired beauty and not have to restrain herself from kissing those soft lips. However that was not to be.

Haruka was relieved the next week when Michiru seemed to have calmed down a bit and was slightly more comfortable being alone. She still felt bad when she left to buy groceries or the paint for the room, but she herself needed a break. She felt suffocated to be perfectly honest. As much as she had hoped and dreamed that she would be this close to Michiru it was tainted. She felt that she was taking advantage of the situation and needed to distance herself from Michiru, yet still be there for her as she had promised. After she had finished painting the room Michiru had decided to resume sleeping there. The first night broke her heart as she heard the muffled sobs coming from the room next door. She wanted so much to burst in there and hug Michiru as tightly as she could, but at the same time self preservation had started to take over. She couldn't keep rushing to Michiru's side to comfort her when that very same act brought a wave of depression of her self. She had decided that she would have to try very hard to distance her self physically from her aqua haired goddess if she was ever going to get over her one-sided love. If Michiru came running to her she would of course do her best to soothe her… but she was done with rushing to her side… it hurt far more then any physical wound ever could.

The bell rang signaling the end of classes and the halls soon became filled with people rushing to go home. Michiru was at her locker placing her books inside while removing her violin for her orchestra rehearsal. She had practiced at lunch to make sure she knew the pieces and was set for her first practice. She had just closed her locker when a familiar voice called out her name. She turned to see Haruka walking over to her with her gym bag slung over her left shoulder.

"Are you all set for your rehearsal?" Haruka asked coming to a stop in front of Michiru.

"Yes I practiced a bit today so I shouldn't have any problems."

"I doubt you would have even if you had not practiced." Michiru blushed a bit at the comment. "Are you going to meet me at track after you're done?"

"Yes. I should be done around six and then we can go home." Haruka nodded at the response.

"Alright I should be done by then too. I'll meet you outside the locker rooms then. Bye." Haruka said as she walked off towards the track field. Michiru stood there for a minute watching the blonde racer walk away. She wanted to run after Haruka and tell her how she felt, but her feet stayed glued to the spot. Michiru was still lost in thought even though Haruka was now out of sight and was only woken from her reverie by a passing teacher.

"Kaiou-san? Are you alright?" Michiru jumped a little, but quickly turned and smiled at the teacher.

"Hai, Sensei… Just thinking about something." The teacher gave her one last look before continuing down the hallway. She sighed to herself and trudged off towards the auditorium.

Six o'clock came very fast and Haruka found herself in the locker rooms getting changed. She wasn't moving very fast as she was lost in deep thought about her roommate as she always was no matter how hard she tried to tell herself to just forget about her and move on.

'Another night… another agonizing night of not having her. Oh for the love of God I have to stop this. She doesn't love you just get over that fact. You're ruining you life for someone who only cares about you as a friend. The sooner you realize this the sooner you can move on. Why? Why did it have to be so damn hard?' she thought as she finished buttoning up her shirt. 'You've never had this much trouble getting over other girls before…yeah, but none of there were Michiru.' She sighed and slammed the door to her locker closed. She walked out of the locker room and saw Michiru leaning against the wall with her violin held in front of her. 'Once again she looks so damn sad. God damn that Takashi.' She walked over to the violinist who was gazing intently upon the floor.

"Hey." She said as she stopped in front of Michiru who looked up. "You alright?"

"Yes… I'm fine, really." She said as she pushed her self off the wall.

"Thinking about him?"

'No I'm thinking about you.' "Yeah…" Michiru lied as they started walking towards the parking lot. The walk wasn't long, but the silence between the two of them seemed like an eternity. Once the got to the car Haruka opened the trunk and placed her gym bag inside and then took Michiru's violin from her and placed it inside as well. She had just closed the trunk when a high pitched squeal made the two of them wheel around.

"Haru-chan!!!" squealed a girl with long jet black hair who launched herself at Haruka. Haruka was so surprised she didn't know what to do except for put her arms around the girl so they both wouldn't fall to the ground. Michiru looked at Haruka over the girls shoulder giving her a look the clearly said 'Who is she?' to which Haruka just shrugged. Eventually the girl let go and they could see her face.

"Arian?" Haruka asked in bewilderment looking at the girl in front of her.

"The one and only." Arian said as she once again hugged the blonde.

"Haruka?" Michiru cut in trying to get the girl to unhand her best friend, which worked. "Who is this?"

"Oh I'm sorry. Allow me to introduce you two. Arian this is my best friend, Kaiou Michiru. Michi this is Arian Black… My ex."

A/N-What's this another cliché? Will it never end? Actually it will end shortly cause I think I'm at the end of my rope with this one. Don't think I can really stretch it out more then maybe 1, possibly 2 chapters… but we'll see. Once again guys reviews really makes me feel good, so if you want to find out what will happen now… you know where to click. Thanks for reading.