Watari fantasized about violence or some wild declaration of love to salvage the situation, but in reality, he could do nothing but admit defeat. He had to concede to Kuwamori. He felt that Kuwamori and Kaori had betrayed him, and yet he felt that they were better for each other than he would be with Kaori. He felt indignant and humiliated. Though he blamed it partly on the two of them, he mostly blamed it on himself. He asked himself what he had done wrong and what he could have done to avoid this situation. These thoughts ran through his mind over and over again for the next couple of months.

Seeing Kuwamori at practice made Watari sick to his stomach. Kuwamori would always give him this plain, knowing smile. To an outsider, nothing seemed wrong. But Watari knew that implications of his smirks. Every time Watari saw Kaori walking down the halls, he would immediately turn and walk the other direction. He took every step to avoid her. He chastised himself over and over for this.

Why the hell am I acting like little traumatized dog? I should just man up…! Damn it!

It was even worse when the two of them paraded around school as a couple. Watari could physically feel his stomach turning whenever he caught sight of them. This malaise also emanated through the envious eyes of female student body as well. They saw Kuwamori showering her with praise and affection every day, which crushed their own hopes about getting with him. Kaori made it very clear to everyone that she was proud of winning him over and lorded her new prize over them. He was a trophy to her, but he thought that it was the other way around.

Watari would often call upon Tsubaki in the next few months for emotional support. She offered it when she could, but a vast majority of her time was consumed by softball and her studies. She had a new lease on life yet again. It seemed she had easily thrown off the shackles that Kaori had placed on her. Watari wanted the same thing, but his brain kept being dragged down by his heart. For the first time in a while, Watari felt alone, trapped in his own world with these ridiculous love problems.

Kaori saw one of her classmates approaching the window, so she pulled Kuwamori in for a kiss. As their tongues met, Kaori saw the look of disgust from the girl out of the corner of her eye.

Bingo.

After she disappeared, Kaori broke off the kiss.

"Aww, you don't want more?" Kuwamori teased.

"Meh." Kaori shrugged with a smile.

"Suit yourself, Red."

They sat side-by-side in a booth at a cafe. This was one of the most popular places for people to go to after school, which meant it was the perfect place to Kaori to show off her boyfriend. Unfortunately, that was the about the only fun part about it. Kuwamori kept making snide remarks and belittling her for fun, which grew old after about the second comment. That was just his way of flirting. Once she had figured it out, it seemed forced, and talking to him got incredibly boring and predictable. Kaori leaned her face on a hand and looked out the window, idly mixing her coffee as Kuwamori kept talking. Perhaps he thought she was looking at him. That was certainly her intention to make him think so, but she really wasn't.

"Watari's been looking pretty pathetic recently, don't you think?"

Kaori's bored-looking eyes moved ever so slightly to focus on Kuwamori. He continued, "He knows that you're my girl and that I'm his upperclassman, so he's showing deference to me. It's pretty funny, now that I think about it."

"Oh? Is it funny?"

"Well, I guess it's fitting. He never once had the guts to tell me that he liked you. That ain't the type of pussy you deserve. But I know what type of pussy I deserve."

He leaned in and kissed her heavily, his hands moving under the table to certain places. While they made out, Kaori thought to herself. She had gotten her fill of entertainment from the girls at school, Tsubaki, Kuwamori, and Watari. It was time to change things up once again. She came up with another fun idea, but first, she had some housekeeping to take care of.

"Kuwamori," she made out between kisses. "My place sound good?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here."

Watari's phone beeped.

What is it this time? Dang it, I just turned off the lights, too.

He fumbled around in the darkness and his hand found his phone. He turned it on to see that he had gotten a message from a seemingly random number… except that it wasn't random. Though he had deleted her off his contact list, he knew her number by heart. It was Kaori's.

Watari, let's meet up. I want to talk with you. Can you come over to my house right now?

Watari went from sleepy to fully awake in a heartbeat. He felt anxiety take over his body. He stared at the message for a few minutes. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what was the best thing to do. Should he oblige and go over to her like a stupidly obedient dog? Should he delete the message and pretend like he had never gotten it? He knew that cutting her out of his life was the best option for him in the long-term. What had she done for him recently that was for his benefit? She destroyed his and Tsubaki's dreams in one fell swoop. In his position, Tsubaki would surely tell Kaori to get bent and leave her alone. What he should do was meaningless in the end because Watari's body was getting out of bed, putting on clothes, and walking out of his house to meet the chilly night air. He jogged over to Kaori's house, his heart ready to burst. He wanted relief from these months of tension. He wanted closure. He wanted something. Anything. Even just the sound of her voice. Though the logic in his brain yelled at him a clear list of the possible consequences of what he was doing, his body pressed on with deaf ears.

He reached her house and knocked on the door. After what seemed like an eternity, Kaori opened the door.

"Hey Watari, come on inside."

He entered the home and Kaori closed the door behind him.

"Do you want anything to drink? Water? Tea?"

"No, I'm fine. You… wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. Let's go upstairs to my room."

Watari's mind was shouting something at this point, but he wouldn't make out what it was saying.

He sat down at her desk and she laid herself out on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Watari, I just wanted to apologize for putting you through this," she said with her eyes closed.

"Do you really mean that? Because I can't tell anymore. I feel like I don't know you at all."

"This has always been a part of who I am, deep inside. It's really easy to cover up. It's easier to act normal in this world than it is to be who you really are."

"I don't think you're really like this. Are you sure this isn't just something you're going through, Kaori?

"If you think this is temporary, then you really don't know me, Watari."

"I know the Kaori from before. There's no way that that wasn't you."

"It was me, but it was a part of me that I made for myself. Anyways, look, Watari. I didn't come here to lecture you about me. I wanted to make things right between us."

"I… I don't know if that's possible."

"Do you want me? You can take me if that'll make you feel better." Kaori patted the space next to her on her bed. Watari's eyes opened wide.

"Are you out of your mind? What are you saying?"

She turned over onto her side and leaned her head on her palm. "I'm saying that you can get back at Kuwamori and get me too."

Watari gripped the arms of her chair tightly. Kaori saw this and knew that he was close to the edge. Just a bit more...

"Come on, Watari. Don't you want to punish me?"

Watari shook his head. Was he dreaming again? This was eerily similar to what had happened in that dream. He stood up and walked over to the bed. Kaori smiled. Hook, line, and sinker.

"I do want to punish you. And I do want you. But I'm not going to unless you swear to break up with Kuwamori and become mine."

Kaori tried her hardest not to burst out into laughter at that demand. What was he, 8 years old? By some miracle, she maintained her composure.

"OK, I promise. Now get down here and kiss me. I missed your taste."

It was a hasty promise, and it was as thin as paper. He knew that. But he needed her. And so, Watari enjoyed the relief and the release he had wanted for so long. At least for that night, the stresses of his life were lifted from him, and he finally sank into the merciful oblivion of a dreamless sleep.