HEY GUYS! Earlier update because...TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY XD haha so happy birthday to me and what not. I managed to finish this chapter really quick despite all the hecticness in my life and I'm really happy about that. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews from last chapter and I hope you guys enjoy this one.

P.S. I changed the summary of this story, do let me know what you think of it!

All Too Well

Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it. I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it. After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own, now you mail back my things, and I walk home alone. But you keep my old scarf, from that very first week, cause it reminds you of innocence, and it smells like me. You can't get rid of it, cause you remember it, all too well.

Even before Misaki woke up, she was aware of two things; firstly, it was incredibly warm and cozy considering how cold it had been last night. Secondly, someone's arm was wrapped securely around her waist.

Her brain didn't fully register these details and groggily, the raven-haired girl opened her eyes as she tried to stretch but found she was stuck and unable to move.

It was then that she finally realized that she was facing the warm, toned chest of none other than Usui Takumi and that he had his arms wound tightly around her in a comfortable embrace.

Blushing profusely, Misaki made a move to kick him off the bed when she realized something; it wasn't just him doing to hugging, she was clinging onto him as well. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and she had been using his shoulder as a pillow. Furthermore, her legs were entangled with his as she had thrown her right leg over his.

Mortified at their positions, Misaki desperately tried to wriggle away from his grasp while trying to make sure she didn't wake him up (even god couldn't save her from the teasing that would occur after that).

She should've known it would never have worked though, he had always been a light sleeper (stubbornness was what kept him in bed even after he woke up more than anything really).

"Misaki?" he called out dazedly as his eyes fluttered half open.

Misaki could tell he was as groggy as she had been with she first woke up because his grip on her waist unconsciously tightened as he drew her even closer in.

Then, he promptly fell back asleep as he cuddled comfortably with her.

"Usui!" she hissed as she struggled to get free from his grasp, "Get up!" she demanded as she whacked him.

Usui however, just grumbled something incoherent and pulled her closer to him.

"Usui Takumi you get up right now!" she growled angrily as she poked him on the cheek.

When he still refused to wake up, she poked him some more and after a few minutes of prodding and kicking, the disgruntled blonde finally woke up.

"What is it, Misa-chan?" he grumbled unhappily, obviously still not in the right state of mind judging by the name he had called her.

"Don't 'Misa-chan' me!" she hissed, "Get off me, Usui!" she ordered.

That snapped him out of his sleepy daze as he realized the position they were in.

And cue the teasing…

He chuckled at her embarrassment.

"I didn't know you wanted to be so close to me, Misa-chan," he taunted with a suggestive wink, referring to their entangled legs, "All you had to do was ask though," he joked.

Misaki blushed an amazing shade of red at what he said and hit him hard on the head.

"Ow!" he protested with a pout but she ignored him.

"YOU-YOU BLOODY PERVERTED OUTER SPACE ALIEN!" she screeched as she continued whacking him.

Usui just laughed as he untangled them and moved away from her and her hits, enjoying her red face and spluttered comments.

Some things just never change.

Other than that incident, the week leading up to the gala was rather uneventful as the duo spent most of the time adjusting to each other's schedules.

Misaki would usually get up first to put on make up and prepare for a long day on set (Misaki's predictions about Aoi grilling her as revenge had unfortunately come true…). Then, about forty minutes later, Usui would come down to join her and he would prepare breakfast for the both of them.

The two would then bicker playfully over breakfast with Usui teasing her and Misaki constantly blushing. Finally, after, the two of them would head off for work and Usui would drop her off at set before heading off to Walker Corps himself.

Later in the evening, he would pick her up from work and they would head back home where Usui would cook dinner before they headed to the showers then slept (Usui had now permanently relocated to the bedroom).

They had more or less adjusted to each other and unknowingly grew accustomed to each other. Their three-week honeymoon had rekindled their friendship but the week had really allowed them to become comfortable with each other again.

But, it all changed on the day before the gala when Misaki was rummaging through the room, looking for something she misplaced and instead stumbling upon a bunch of boxes hidden at the back of their closet with her name labeled on them.

What on earth were her stuff doing at the back of a closet?

Misaki pursed her lips in confusion as she looked at the boxes before timidly reaching in and taking them out of the closet, piling them onto the floor below their bed. She was sure she'd unpacked all of her things already…so why were there so many unopened boxes that supposedly belonged to her?

She frowned again and debated whether or not to open the boxes before curiosity got the best of her and she sat down on the ground before gingerly prying open the nearest box.

Then, as soon as she saw the contents of the box, the raven-haired girl gasped in shock, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at the contents with wide eyes.

They were all the things they'd ever gathered as their time together as a couple. Gifts, letter, photos, anything and everything that meant something in their relationship had been stored away neatly in these boxes.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she picked up a familiar looking scarf. The knitting of the scarf was crude but decent enough to hold it together. She fingered the blue material in a daze, not really believing what she was seeing.

This was the first scarf she'd ever knitted for him. The first present she ever gave him for Christmas.

Her breathing became labored as she struggled to keep a steady head.

"I can't believe he'd kept this…after all these years," she whispered.

Ever so carefully, she placed the scarf on her lap before she began opening more boxes and rummaging through more things. It was then she realized that the boxes didn't only contain his things…hers were inside as well.

Misaki shakily picked up a browning envelope that was at the top of one of the pile and shook out the contents, already guessing what was inside before she even saw them.

And, she was proven right as a ring and necklace dropped neatly into the palm of her hands. The cool pieces of metal felt soothing and familiar on her warm flesh. It was the necklace that they had gotten at the couple challenge back in high school and the promise ring he had given her on her birthday all those years ago.

By then, tears had begun streaming freely from her eyes as she traced the contours of jewelries and the familiarity of it sent a new wave of melancholy across her.

Guilt laced her stomach as she recalled what she'd done so many years ago.

In an attempt to get over him, Misaki had packed away anything and everything that she had that he had given her or reminded her of him and shipped it all to his address in England. She didn't actually think they'd get to him, she just assumed they would get lost in transaction, just like all her calls had.

"Misaki?" an all too familiar voice called out from behind her and she stiffened, unsure of how to face him.

The blonde hair man stood by the door as he stared at her and Misaki turned around to look at Usui with tear filled amber eyes.

"Misaki! What's wrong?" he exclaimed worriedly as he dashed over to her side, "Why are you crying? What happened-oh…" his voice trailed off as he looked at the boxes by her side.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Misaki apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop, it's just that they had my name on them and I just-"

"It's okay," he assured her, sighing as he loosened his tie and sat on the bed.

Misaki looked away from him in guilt, hot tears of shame flooding her eyes once again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself, "I never meant for them to reach you."

"Then why did you send it?" he asked, though there was no malice in his voice, just curiosity and…hurt.

Misaki looked to her lap as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, unable to face him.

She contemplated lying to him as a conceivable lie formed on a tongue, but she held it back. She owed him the truth. She owed him at least that much.

"I-I spent months grieving over our relationship," she sighed, "I spent months thinking about the fact that you would never tease me again, that you would never smile to me again, kiss me again, or tell me that you-that you loved me again," she choked, her eyes filling up with tears as she spoke.

"I grieved you for months. And it was only because of Aoi that I was able to get back on my feet," she said with a bitter smile.

"On the night before what would've been our five year anniversary – four months after we had broken up – Aoi found me on my bed, crying and sobbing and clutching a picture of the two of us together…the one we took on the very first birthday I celebrated with you," she said, her voice quivering from the mere effort it took to speak.

Misaki quickly wiped more tears away, "He literally slapped some sense into me and made me stop crying. Then, he ordered me to get anything and everything that even remotely reminded me of you and to pack it away," she breathed.

She took a shaky breath, "It was long, it was tiring, and it was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. Because it meant that I had to make it as if you never existed. That we never happened and it was a horrifying thing to think, but it was the only way I could move on from you."

"Aoi wanted me to burn them, but I couldn't do that. Not to you or me. So I sent them away, thinking that you would never receive them," she sighed.

The tense silence that followed echoed throughout the room so loudly it was practically deafening. Misaki fidgeted uncomfortably but didn't dare to look up to see his expression.

Finally, Usui sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I couldn't bring myself to throw them away," Usui finally said, answering the question she hadn't even asked.

"I loved you a lot, Misaki. And these memories, no matter how much they hurt, were precious to me. You really changed me for the better, and it was impossible to forget you. Trying to throw all of this away would have been like trying to stop breathing and yet still live," he said with a humorless smile.

Her eyes widen in shock at his confession before she clenched her fists and looked down on her lap where she had placed the scarf.

"Why didn't you ever try to move on from me?" Misaki asked tentatively as she fingered the scarf.

It still smelled freshly washed even after all this time.

"You think I didn't try?" Usui snapped, "Of course I tried!" he yelled and Misaki flinched back.

When he saw her reaction, he immediately backed away and tried to calm himself down.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and clenched his fists, "I tried everything; blind dates, not-so-blind dates, clubs, everything," he said exasperatedly as he stood up and begun pacing the room, "Nothingworked. No matter who I tried to see, I would always see you. Your smile haunted me everywhere I looked, your touch followed me no matter where I went and your kissed always lingered on my lips no matter how much I tried to forget you," he whispered brokenly.

Misaki hung her head but didn't say anything. After a while, Usui finally properly calmed down and sat back down on the bed. Sighing once again, he tried to control his emotions.

"What about you?" he said quietly, sensing her uncertainty he made sure to keep his tone gentle, "Do you still have any of our old things? Or was everything mailed back to me that day?" he asked.

He would never admit it, but had torn his heart apart when he found the boxes among his mail. It had torn him apart when he thought that she had moved on from him. That she had found someone better. Someone he would love her more than he could offer.

Having finally composed herself again, Misaki sighed, "Everything that you got was all the things I had that reminded me of you. So no, I didn't keep anything."

"Oh," Usui said, obviously disappointed.

Silence filled the room for a while before Misaki sighed.

"I couldn't keep them," Misaki continued, staring ahead with a solemn expression, "Because keeping those things would have been to painful, they held too many memories and they were a reminder of what exactly I had lost."

She looked back up for the first time since their conversation started and he was shocked by the raw sadness in her amber eyes.

"Getting over you was the hardest thing I ever had to do," she admitted, "And I never allow myself to think of you."