"Honestly… you're not as upset as I expected you'd be," he said.

Tsubaki and Watari were at the cafe. They hadn't talked to each other for a week since they had found out the news. They had shared knowing glances when they passed each other at school, but there hadn't been a good time to talk until now.

Tsubaki crossed her hands behind her head. "You know, I suspected that bitch would do something like this from the beginning. She said she had changed for the better, but a small part of me knew the truth."

Watari simply stared at Tsubaki. He had wanted to believe in Kaori, and he still held dearly to that precious image of the pure Kaori he had knew before. It was almost impossible for him to reconcile that Kaori with the one that existed right now. People couldn't change that drastically, could they?

"Look, Watari. We don't need her in our lives anymore," Tsubaki continued.

"But I love her."

Tsubaki's eyes bulged. That came out of nowhere. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"You haven't confessed to her, have you?"

"...I did."

"Oh, woooow." Tsubaki leaned in, cupping her mouth with one hand. "Did you confess before or after Kaori and Kuwamori had each other?"

Watari scowled. "Ugh! Before. Are you trying to rub in or something? There's no need for that. I'm telling you everything, here. It's not easy."

"Honestly, guys are so stupid. I'm just trying to reinforce the fact that you made a dumb choice and that she's not worth your time."

"But don't you remember all the good times we've had together?"

"Yeah, but that was before. This is now. And now she's a bitch. Think with the correct brain for once, Watari."

"How can you understand how I feel?"

"Idiot. I liked Kuwamori too. What, do you think I had a picnic when I found out the news? The key was that I realized that Kuwamori never really liked me in the first place if he gave into her so easily. You should realize the same thing."

"I… I guess that makes sense."

"Anyways, cheer up, Watari. Don't let one person get you down. At least we still have our friendship, right?" Tsubaki stuck out her hand.

"Yeah…" he said as he shook her hand.

Watari had a particularly vivid dream that night:

"I just want to hear it from you."

Watari was sitting across from Kaori at her dinner table. It was a nice afternoon, with sunlight flooding the room and a delightful breeze coming in from the open windows.

"Oh, so he told you? I guess that's what boys do."

Kaori didn't look surprised at all, nor did her tone imply anything otherwise.

"Did you guys do it or not?"

"Yeah we did…"

Watari looked down into his lap, then looked up with a manufactured smile.

"Do you actually like Kuwamori?"

"He's good-looking, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm a guy."

"Yeah, so? Guys can still tell if other guys are good-looking, right?"

"I guess."

She cocked her head and a put a finger to her chin. "Wait. Are you upset by this?"

"Kaori! You can do whatever you want! It's your choice! I don't have the right to say what you can and can't do!"

"Is that so? Watari, Kuwamori's a nice guy. I invited him over to teach him piano, and things just kinda… happened, I guess."

"Are you happy?"

"I don't know. Is this all you wanted to say to me, Watari?"

"Well… I wanted to talk. About you."

"What exactly about me?"

"It's just that… you've changed, Kaori. Ever since Kousei passed away, you've changed."

"Do you not like me the way I am now?"

"I still like you. I like you a lot, actually." His face showed momentary glints of pain, despite his smile. He hated the fact that he still liked her.

"I like you too, Watari. You know what? I think I was a little too rash in the past. About turning you down." Kaori got up and stood behind Watari. She draped her arms around him and whispered into his ear, "Is there any way I make it up to you?"

Half of his body was yelling "NO!" and the other half was yelling "YES!" He felt an unmistakable burning urge from within. These urges pulled him up from his seat and forced his lips onto hers.

A sudden rush of adrenaline and dopamine. It was incredible. Blood rushed to every part of his body. He had waited ages for this moment. It was something that he had longed for every time he saw her, every time he laid eyes on her. Sometimes at lunch, when she wasn't looking, Watari would just stare at her. He would see her and imagine her radiant smile, the twinkle in her eyes, and the way she practically floated when she walked. He imagined her laugh and remembered the way she used to stare exactly the same way at Kousei. When the two of them performed on stage, all of that radiance and twinkling was magnified thousandfold. This is what Watari saw when he looked at Kaori. But this fairytale image of Kaori disappeared with a blink of an eye, only to be replaced by the unscrupulous, new Kaori.

That was why Watari kissed Kaori with eyes wide open. He knew if he so much as blinked, his precious ideal Kaori would be replaced with the real one that was in front of him. To his deep surprise, Kaori had her eyes open too. She looked into his eyes, and he met her gaze. It felt awkward at first, staring at person while kissing, but something about it made him even more aggressive. He put one arm around her waist and put his other hand on the back of her head, pulling her even closer to him. He kissed her hard and their teeth clinked together.

"Watari…!" she gasped, but he pulled her back in.

He wanted to punish her. He wanted to break that fake persona of hers. He wanted preemptive revenge for what she was going to do to Tsubaki. He wanted to punish her for cheating on him with Kuwamori, or at least what he felt like was cheating on him. She was in his grasp now, and he intended to reap what she sowed. This was too good to be true.

"I -mmph- hate you," Watari said when he came up for air.

"And that's what I love about you," she moaned back. In a fit of passion, he undid and pulled down her skirt.

He wanted nothing more than to become one with her, to share her warmth, but instead, Watari awoke to the cold, hard floor of his bedroom.

"Ow!" he yelped as he rubbed his head. It was only a dream.

He found himself filled with disgust, but he felt something obviously present in his nether regions. Logically, he knew that Kaori was nothing but trouble, but his body wanted nothing more than her touch. Adrenaline, desire, angst, denial, and hope were all pumping through him at the same time. And so, at 3 am, he picked up his phone and texted Kaori:

Can we meet up and talk? I have some stuff I want to discuss with you.

He hesitated for a brief moment before sending it, but it quickly passed. Afterwards, he put his phone on silent and placed it on the other side of his room. He decided he would figure things out tomorrow after getting some sleep and settling down.

As soon as he woke up the next morning, he got up and picked up his phone. There was a reply from her:

Hey, bud. Kaori doesn't want to talk to you right now and she would appreciate it if you stopped messaging her.