Hello readers. I am here with yet another chapter! As usual, I hope you guys enjoy.

Youhei was lying at home, listening to music, when he heard the doorbell ring.

"Um, Youhei, it's me. Ryou..."

"Give me a minute... okay, it's unlocked. Come in."

Ryou went into his room, wearing her dress. "So um... do you like my dress?" She said nervously.

Youhei turned and looked, an he felt his jaw nearly drop. The dress itself was a light velvet. It looked a lot more formal than anything he'd seen Ryou where before. "It looks... amazing, Ryou!"

Ryou giggled and smiled. "Thanks Youhei. I was hoping you'd like it."

"Well, of course I would like anything on you, but I think this is the first time I've ever seen you wear an outfit like this. Where did you get it from?"

"Well, my friend Akiko was actually the one who made it for me."

"Wait, she did?" Youhei exclaimed, "I didn't know she was talented with clothes."

"Yep. She's told me that after this year she wants to continue working with clothes."

"I wouldn't blame her," Youhei began, "talented clothes designers can make quite a bit of money these days. I'm no expert, but I think she must be talented enough."

"She would appreciate you telling her that... I try telling her and she just says I say that to make her feel better."

"Alright then, I will," Youhei responded. "Anyways, what do you want to talk about?"

"Um... have you been studying lately?" Ryou asked.

"Y-yes...?"

Ryou laughed, "You know, that response makes it hard for me to believe you."

"Trust me! I'm being honest."

"Oh? Then can I see it?"

"Well..." Youhei sighed, "fine, you caught me."

"Well, I should've known, as your girlfriend, that you'd find a way to not get your work done," Ryou said snidely.

"Hey now don't say it like that! Please, I'll get it done, alright?"

"Alright, fine. But now I'm afraid I have to do it with you to make sure you get it done, huh?"

Youhei chuckled, "Well, let's get going."

"Alright."

With that, they got to work.

After a couple hours passed, they were finally able to get Youhei's work done. Even if Ryou did end up having to guide him through most of it. She thinks he's got it down though... she thinks.

After a minute of silence, Youhei spoke. "My goodness... thanks Ryou, I never could have done it without you," he began. "Hey, it's only 6:00 PM. If you want, you can always stay a little longer."

"Thanks for the offer Youhei, but I can't. My parents want me home for dinner in an hour," Ryou responded.

"Alright Ryou, thanks for helping me with my work. Make sure you get there on time, alright?"

"Of course. Thanks for having me over, goodbye!"

"Goodbye."

With that, Ryou left the dorm.

Youhei fell down, rolled on his bed and finally relaxed. Having just finished all his work, it's easy to imagine he felt relieved.

He grabbed his flip phone and read the date. As of right now there's only a month left in his scholastic career. This gave him something to think about as he dozed off a little earlier than usual.

Most likely a result of his early slumber, Youhei ended up waking up about two hours before school even started. Realizing he had nothing better to do, he took the short walk to the school and, to his surprise, saw Akiko sitting down on a bench right outside school boundaries.

Youhei, called out to her, "Hey, Hamasaki!"

Nothing.

"Hamasaki!"

Still nothing,

"HAMASAKI!"

Yet there still wasn't a response. It was at that moment Youhei realized why she wasn't responding.

She was sound asleep on the bench.

Youhei scanned the area, hoping no one had witnessed his folly. Once he confirmed to himself he was in the clear he walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hamasaki, wake up."

Akiko then awoke, "H...huh? Huh? HUH? I fell asleep?" Her face flustered as she tried to grasp her surroundings. She turned and pointed at Youhei. "You, where am I and what time is it?"

"Calm down Hamasaki! It's just me Sunohara, you're at the school!"

"Oh, right... haha..." Akiko took a second to laugh it off before speaking, "well, I'm sorry you had to see that, I'm never fun when I wake up."

"It's okay, I'm not much better. Anyways, why are you here so early?"

"Me? I just like to get here early because it gives me a sense of calm no other time of the day gives me. I like watching the students gather at the entrance as the city wakes up... what about you?"

"Nothing nearly as philosophical, I just got here early because I fell asleep early."

All of a sudden, Akiko popped up, "Well, since you're here, how about we go walk around the area? I don't usually have anyone to talk to at this time."

"You know what? Sure. Well, let's go," Youhei responded.

A few minutes passed as they walked, when Youhei remembered the dress he'd seen Ryou wearing yesterday. "Hey, did you really make that red dress Ryou wore? If so, that's pretty impressive."

"Yep, I really thought it turned out pretty good myself, it's nice to hear someone else's opinion on it," Akiko said with a smile. "Speaking of which, how are you and Ryou doing right now? Is everything going well?"

"As good as ever actually, I very much enjoy being with her, and I don't feel that will be changing anytime soon."

"That's good to hear... I know I'm just her friend, but I still worry about her so much, I feel like it's my responsibility as her friend to make sure she doesn't end up hurt. As silly as that sounds."

"Well I can guarantee she feels very fortunate to have you as a friend," Youhei responded.

"That's good to hear. Anyways, let's head back. School should be starting soon, alright?"

"Alright, let's go."

With that, we mark an entire year since chapter 6 came out... not the fastest writer ever but it should come out faster now that I'm on Summer Vacation. I know, a little shorter than other chapters. But I feel this story will be wrapping up soon. So this is essentially meant to be a calm before the storm chapter. The last few chapters should be a bit longer. Anyways, make sure to review and critique my work as always. As I always like learning new ways to improve my writing. I hope you guys enjoyed and have a beautiful day!