Why was watching him talk to that girl so attractive? Was it the seriousness of his eyes; the way he pointed out the mistakes on the paper and listed ways of sorting them out; the way his glasses accented his professional appearance? Why do I still feel so jealous about it? It was an hour ago, during lunch… in the hallway… I shouldn't still be thinking about it… Had he seen me watching?

"Misaki! Can you come tonight?"

"Huh? Oh…" Uh-Oh. He had promised Akihiko that he would wait on the corner that afternoon. He was fairly sure it would anger the man if he wasn't there… but what right did he have to be angry? You promised, Misaki. Well… I could leave a note in his office…

"Misaki? Come on, we're leaving now, are you coming to Palm or not?"

Misaki blinked at his friend as they stood at the school gates. The way the leaves waved from the tall trees reminded Misaki of yesterday, when Akihiko had strode toward him so definitely… to tell him about Takahiro… I wonder how he feels today… if he's any better… He left you with Akihiko, though, that torturer! But you said you would behave… How is enjoying yourself not behaving! And Akihiko doesn't control you… But he's been so generous... Yeah and he also made you cook him breakfast and wear a yellow pinny... but he drove you to Takahiro... he doesn't control you, though.

"Yes, I'll come. Can you wait just a second though? I need to do something."

And now Misaki was in the village square, with four of his classmates, walking towards The Last Palm, a club that most high school students would often go to. A weird sense of guilt was trembling in his throat- he should have said more than 'Out tonight, will be back late. Misaki.'. He could actually feel Usami Akihiko's glare on the back of his neck and more than once, he peered over his shoulder to check the man wasn't there.

It wound him up the way he had wanted to tidy up the papers on Usami Akihiko's messy desk so that it would be easier for the teacher to look through them… His fingers were still itching to retie the bow on that ridiculous teddy bear so that it was happier. Yes, you actually wanted to make a toy bear happier. That's how badly this man is effecting you. You actually want to make the man-who's-confusing-the-hell-out-of-you's life easier.

"What's pissed you off, Takahashi?" one of Misaki's friends asked. The other three laughed. Oh, great. Unscrunching his eyebrows and putting on a fake, bright smile, Misaki shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing."

By the time the quartet got into the club, had ordered drinks and sat down, tangerine streaks of sunlight were painted across the sky as the sun settled outside.

It was dark in there, but blue, red and white strobes of light flashed through the crowded room as a repeated beat of techno music banged against the walls. A mass of adolescents were dancing on the dance floor, their figures seen every other second in frozen motion as the lights crashed over them.

An hour or two after Misaki had ordered his third beer, he felt his mobile begin to buzz in his trouser pocket. Laughing at a joke a friend who had joined them made, he took another sip from his drink as a slight wooziness began to take over his body. He squinted down at his mobile and the unfamiliar number, discarded the phone back in his pocket and continued to talk and laugh. He enjoyed the sense of rebellion. He enjoyed the heat in the room and the occasional glances he got from a couple of girls at other tables. God knows he enjoyed the independence.

As the beat of the music increased and Misaki's head began to pound with the sound and the clamoring noise, he began to feel sick.

Can I make it home? Of course you can! Don't be such a wimp… don't be… don't… Then, one of his friends spoke. What the guy said brought a very unprecedented sense of security to him… along with actual fear.

"Hey, isn't that Usami-sensei?"

Misaki choked on his beer as he realised the teacher was in fact in there. What was odd, however, was that Usami Akihiko didn't seem bothered that Misaki was there. Standing by a table at side of the club, the man's purple eyes glanced over the boy, then looked away. Then he sat at a table. Ordered a drink. Confused the hell out of Misaki.

What the hell am I going to do?