(I exist. Whaddaya know. Thank you all for your reviews, favourites and follows!)

Chapter 14: Pauses
Rating: T

He stared at the telephone with a belligerent eye, though his lip quivered. Inwardly, he was trying to muster as much courage as he possibly could, which equated to... somewhere close to Fujisaki's self esteem.

That was bad.

Still, he supposed that he had to try to do this, because, honestly, it was gnawing at his mind all night and day, like a bad rash that just simply. Would not. Go. Away.

He shook away the thoughts of a similar irritation that plagued him for a few months back in fifth grade, before glancing at the phone once more. He had to do this. He had to tell her, otherwise his emotions would drive him bonkers.

Slapping his face, he apprehensively inched his hand closer to the phone receiver, which gleamed in anticipation. C'mon... he could do this...! Almost there!

RING!

He screeched in surprise, leaping four feet in the air, as the phone went off, signaling a person on the other end. For a minute, he thought the worst: what if she was calling him? But then he quickly banished that thought. She only had his cell phone number, and, from what he knew, neither his parents nor Komaru had been contacted by her (and he knew they would tell him if they were contacted by her. It wasn't everyday when an idol just rang up your landline after all, and every time she had called him had been on the cellphone, though they did that quite often). Ergo, it simply couldn't be her. Still, he was slightly nervous as he picked up the receiver.

"H-hello?"

"...Makoto-kun?"

He blinked. The voice on the other end was higher pitched, but it was definitely recognizable. He slowly picked through the mental files of the people he knew, flitting from one person to another, before one face in particular slowly jumped out at him. One with tanned skin, ocean-blue eyes and chocolate brown hair.

"...Yuuta?"

The voice let out a cough in surprise, before answering.

"Erm, yeah." Aoi's brother responded, "Hey, is Komaru-chan there?"

The volume of Maizono's voice, filtered through a radio, seemingly amplified in response, though it was still muffled by the walls. He rolled his eyes, before returning to the receiver, his earlier doubts momentarily pushed towards the back of his mind. "Yeah, she's upstairs. What do you need her for?" He inquired curiously. The receiver shifted, before the voice answered.

"Well, uh... You know the kids we babysit together, right? The, uh, 'warriors of hope'?" The image of a few, video-game fanatical children popped into his mind, and he winced, before making a noise of agreement. A loud exhale followed, before the brunette continued. "They've decided to go on another 'raid', and I need her help again. Can you tell her that, please? I've gotta go,"

A loud explosion filtered through the receiver, and he winced, his understanding of why Komaru continued to babysit the little brats further eluding him. Nevertheless, he nodded. "Alright, I'll tell her. Where are you, again?" He questioned.

"Fujisaki towers. Now, I've gotta go! Bye, Makoto-kun, have a nice day!"

The line went dead, aside from the standard dial tone. He stared at the receiver in disbelief, before slowly pocketing it in its cradle. Numbly, he trailed up the steps to the second floor of their house, walked towards Komaru's room, and opened it. Immediately, his senses were bombarded with a lot of the colour grey, along with the familiar lyrics of "Monochrome Answer". Komaru squealed in surprise, before glaring at him.

"What are you doing here?!" She demanded. Still in disbelief, he told the girl of what happened to the younger Asahina, and she paled, her anger forgotten. "Oh, shit, shit shit... uh... uh..." She quickly began scrambling around, tripping over in her messy room, before picking up an odd megaphone, which had been decorated with a lot of dollar-store markers (and labelled in the same kind of marker... Hacking Gun? strange, but he didn't really care). "Alright, I'm gonna go! Don't tell mom or dad about this, alright?"

He nodded dumbly, as Komaru quickly sped down the steps, and out the door, before shutting the door to his sister's room and slowly walking back towards the phone receiver, his earlier nervous behaviour now returning. Was he ready to do this? Was he ready to throw away any chance of a normal relationship for the possibility of pursuing it? It was almost sure to fail, and he would become the laughing stock of gossip columns. He could just picture it now, 'unknown boy confesses to idol in horrendous manner', and he shuddered. However, his mind was set. He had to do this, otherwise he couldn't deal with himself.

Bravely, he picked up the receiver, dialed her number, and put the receiver to his ear, ready to profess his attraction.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

"The number you have dialed is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later."

The phone returned to its flat line. He pulled the crème receiver away from his ear, before staring at it, the sound of the flat line just barely audible. His olivine eyes were glassy, as his brain struggled to comprehend what had transpired.

"Did... did that just happen?" He asked confusedly to no one in particular, completely lost.

An hour later of painstaking waiting, he had gathered up his nerves to try the phone once more. Still completely anxious to try and complete his goal (and fearful of what would happen afterwards), he slowly reached out towards the phone an extra time.

A pause. A sigh of relief.

No one had called this time.

He picked up the phone. Dialed a number. Then he put the receiver to his lips and ear once more, his heartbeat steadily amplifying with each and every passing second. The ringing seemed to grow a higher pitch with each passing moment, and he felt perspiration form at the edge of his hairline.

Soon, however, the phone cut to actual feedback, and his heart dropped.

Oh god I don't want to do this Oh god I don't want to do this constantly repeated in his mind, over and over again and rapidly taking up any space in his brain for cognitive function. He trembled in his spot, as Maizono spoke.

"Makoto-kun, why the hell are you calling me so early in the morning?"

He blinked.

That was definitely not Sayaka Maizono.

Quickly, he matched the voice to another person in his mind, and he blanched.

He'd much rather be dealing with Maizono though.

He gulped down his nervousness (which now originated from two sources instead of one), and spoke. "Oh, h-hi, Miaya-san, I think I might h-have dialed the wrong number," He stammered out. The voice on the other end, which belonged to Usami, or Gekkogahara, was tired and cranky.

"I'll say," The robotic voice chirped, "I was in the middle of sleeping! You should be ashamed of yourself, Makoto-kun! I'll have to set you straight!"

The mental image of the wheelchaired girl, chasing him around with a rocket launcher, came to his mind, and he blanched. "No, no, no, no, no, I think I'll be fine without that!" He said in an overtly cheerful voice, trying not to betray his petrification with the girl. Usami sighed.

"Very well. I shall let you go, just this once!" He almost let out a whoop, but restrained himself to silence, "But! If you interrupt my slumber, then..."

He tensed up.

"There will be hell to pay."

He flinched. He knew it was coming, but he flinched regardless. In fact, he nearly dropped the receiver, fumbling with it so it didn't smack into the tiled floors.

"Okay, I'm going back to sleep. Night, Makoto-kun!" Usami's voice returned to chipper from the previous setting of 'hellspawn'.

"N-night..." Was his sheepish reply.

Another dial tone as the blue-haired girl hung up the phone, leaving him utterly baffled.

He rubbed his face with his hands, as an absent realization came to him.

Why was Gekkogahara still sleeping, anyways? It was noon, for christ's sake!

He sighed, pushing the thoughts of his mind once more. No. He was getting off track. He had to call now, and do it fast. This was one of the few times where he knew she would be available for the majourity of the day, before she was flung back into concert after concert. If he didn't act now, then he wasn't sure when he could act again.

He took a deep breath, before dropping the receiver, waiting for two seconds, and picking it up once more. This time, he dialed her number, triple checking to absolutely make sure that he dialed the correct person. Once he was certain that he had dialed Maizono's number, he pressed the green 'talk' button.

Then his anxiousness hit him like a truck.

Thoughts of her, laughing at his confession, before stomping all over it filled his mind, along with the press reception and his complete alienation hit him at once, forcing him to sharply gasp. He slammed the receiver down onto its cradle almost immediately, as he felt his stomach suddenly protest, filling with butterflies faster than a conservatory. It was strong enough to force him to latch onto the table for support, as he slowly began inhaling and exhaling to calm himself.

Why was he being so scared about this? He had been forced to recite a speech that didn't exist at a school assembly, in front of the entire student and teacher body. That was frightening, coming up with a motivational speech on the spot, under pressure. This should've been nothing compared to that, so, why was it so difficult for him to do this?

The answer popped out at him like it was obvious. Because this dealt with a relationship with someone he really cared about. Sure, his class and his school were also important to him, but his relationship with a certain blue-haired girl took precedence over all of it. Probably due to the stupid crush he had in middle school.

Stupid feelings, lasting longer than a gobstopper.

He blinked at the odd analogy, before focusing on the receiver.

No. The time for cowardice had passed, a long time ago. It passed at his middle school graduation. That was two years ago. He had to do this now. For peace of mind, he thought to himself, as he picked up the receiver.

Peace of mind... It was a lie that he could fool himself into thinking. Really, he just wanted the chance to bring things up. Even the slightest chance that she would like him back was better than nothing. Even the slightest chance that they would become... more than friends.

This was a stupid idea, he knew, but his inner optimism hoped for more.

The phone suddenly cut into a ring, and his eyes widened. He had unconsciously dialed her number while monologuing.

Fuuuuuck.

He sighed, before resignedly put the receiver to his ears and lips. He could see the epitaph on his grave now: "died of embarrassment over accidentally calling his crush".

Okay, maybe that was exaggerating a slight bit, but he had every reason to think so. He had one chance to do this, and he was almost guaranteed to screw it up in some manner. Probably his horrid luck, which was always at play in one way or another. He sighed, before leaning against the wall for support, as the phone kept ringing, before it finally picked up.

"Oh, hey, Makoto-kun! I was wondering when you'd call!"

He couldn't help but feel his breath hitch in his throat, as a smile spread across his face. This was the voice that he was expecting, and it sounded like heaven; as always. It was as if honey, maple syrup and sugar had combined into one voice, that sung to him in particular. He knew that this was over exaggerating, but it's what he felt. A pause ensued, before she spoke again.

"Uh, Makoto-kun? Are you there?"

He gasped in surprise, before fumbling for words. He forgot, not everyone slowed down in time whenever someone entered a monologue. "Uh, yeah! Sorry about that, I just got distracted for a bit," He lied, chuckling nervously. Better not tell her that he was enamoured by her voice. Not yet, anyways. Maizono laughed, a melodious laughter, as his heart soared for a little bit more.

"Okay! So, what'cha wanna talk about?" He heard her ask from wherever she was. Probably driving across the nation, or something to that degree. He didn't really know how the idol life worked. He laughed nervously, before responding.

"Eheh, just wanted to see how you were doing," He said absentmindedly, realizing that oh god oh god he did nothave a plan. Maizono chuckled.

"Ah, how nice of you! I'm currently in an RV right now, with my groupies. Say 'hi', girls!"

He vaguely heard the greetings of different voices from the garbled receiver, which he assumed to be her group mates. Maizono continued without missing a beat.

"Yeah, that's all that's happening. No concerts or tours right now, but I might be going on one soon! Stay tuned~"

He heard the melodious, enchanting laughter once more, and he gulped. This was the moment.

"Hey, uh, Maizono-san, I've gotta ask you something," He said, cautiously waiting for her response. A silence ensued, before she spoke.

"Oh?"

He gulped. This was the moment that he had been waiting for. This was the moment that he would take a step into unknown territory.

"Well, uh, I've gotta say... I-"

A sudden squeal interrupted his suicidal sentence, as the receiver suddenly peaked. The feedback turned to near gibberish, as events that he didn't know had suddenly taken place. He actually had to pull the receiver from his ear so the noise didn't punch a hole through his eardrums. He could make out screams of "What the hell?!", "Holy shit!" and other things that he wouldn't expect from a group of idols who were all specifically advertised to promote to pubescent girls.

...And middle aged men, but he really didn't want to think about that.

Egh.

He returned to the receiver, where Maizono had returned to the receiver, and the noises had become bearable.

"Uhm, sorry about that! We, uh... had a bit of a problem, but it's all fixed now!" She proclaimed proudly. He blinked, as she continued. "So, what did you want to say?" He coughed in surprise, fumbling for his words.

Right, this was about to be about his confession. He chuckled nervously, before continuing.

"Well, uhm, Maizono-san... I-"

A loud crash suddenly echoed throughout both sides of the receiver, and he shrieked, momentarily dropping the receiver, clattering it to the ground. He whirled away from the object, as he looked for the source of the crash.

His eyesight landed on the grey clouds outside, and he stared in disbelief as the clouds began pouring onto the ground in a heavy fashion, accompanied by a symphony of lightning and thunder. He blinked.

It wasn't supposed to rain today. Quite the opposite, in fact. The forecast predicted sun, all day long.

But, then again, he supposed he shouldn't have trusted a meteorologist to be accurate.

He stared out the window for a few seconds, before he heard the phone, still producing noise. He blanched, before hurriedly picking up the phone and putting it to his ear.

"Are you okay, Makoto-kun?" He heard Maizono ask frantically through receiver, concern lacing her voice. His heart flew at her concern, before he answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a thunderstorm that appeared out of nowhere," He laughed, as his brain tried reassembling itself from the situation. Maizono clicked her tongue.

"Well, I guess that things have been kinda wonky lately over there. Be careful, alright?" She asked fervently. He let out a mumble of acceptance, his heart still racing.

"Thanks, Maizono-san," He said gratefully, trailing off into silence. An awkward pause ensued, before Maizono spoke once more.

"So, uh, what were you going to tell me?" She asked.

In an instant, the butterflies returned, full force, taking up the majority of his stomach space. His smile abruptly faded, and he started sweating profusely, all words disappearing from his mind at an instant. His lips quivered, as his breath escaped his lungs. An awkward silence ensued, as Maizono spoke once more.

"Uh, Makoto-kun?"

Numbly, he raised his hand, and struck himself across the cheek, wincing at the pain. It was an odd wake up tactic, but it worked to an astonishing degree. He quickly returned to the phone, though he was still shaking. He inhaled, then exhaled, still feeling completely nervous.

"Y-yeah! Uh, Maizono-san, I... I have to tell you something..." He stuttered, out, clenching his eyes shut. The silence suddenly took over, as he gathered his nerves into one, antsy bundle known as Makoto Naegi. The line went dead, as Maizono sat, waiting for the brunette to speak. "Maizono-san, I-"

Boom.

His toaster exploded into a burst of flames abruptly, setting off his fire alarm into a frenzied mess, as it began alerting to the obvious new presence of fire.

"Oh, come on!"

This was getting absurd now.

He shouted a quick apology into the receiver, before rushing off to try and find the nearest fire extinguisher, to make sure his house wouldn't be set ablaze.

This was very aggravating.

It wasn't even nerve-wracking. It was just plain stupid. How many times had he been interrupted from doing this, anyways? It wasn't even funny. It was idiotic.

Tiredly, he set the extinguisher back on the garage floor, before backpedaling towards the garage door and shutting it, his mind exhausted from the last three attempts. Honestly, his patience was wearing thing. One more thing going wrong, and he'd be ready to scream. As he picked up the phone for the final time, Maizono had noticed his fatigue as well.

"Uh, Makoto-kun, are you doing alright?" She asked. Her concern was nice, but frankly, he was too tired to care.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, Maizon-"

"You don't sound well. You should get some sleep," She interrupted him. He smiled, though with grit teeth.

"I'll do that, Maizono-san, but-"

"And be sure to eat something, too!" She hollered through the phone. He sighed.

"Yeah, I will, Maizono-san, but-"

"Also, I think you should-"

"Damn it, Maizono-san, I like you!"

That shut her up. His raw, tired revelation that had taken him at least two-and-a-half hours to properly convey. Frankly, he was too annoyed and tired from the last few attempts to bother with subtlety. He would take whatever answer at this point.

Only... the answer never came. It was only dead silence on the receiver, as both people processed the information. Finally, after a while, she started giggling. A sweet, high-pitched frenzy, that made him blush in embarrassment. The giggling continued, as the white hot shame stretched from his cheeks, slowly creeping down his chest. After a while, Maizono grabbed her composure, enough to speak.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Makoto-kun... I just didn't expect you do tell me so soon!" She laughed from the other end.

Wait.

"You knew?!" He demanded, his voice slightly twinged with anger. Maizono took a pause in her laughing to respond.

"Makoto-kun, you're cute and you're smart, but you can't keep secrets. Or hide your thoughts," She said merrily, still cracking up. He would've been offended, if he wasn't tired beyond all belief. In fact, it took him a few minutes to even process the sentence.

"Wait... what?"

A sigh on the other end.

"I. Think. You're. Cute, Makoto-kun. I like you, too," was her overly simplified answer, spelt out in clear words. He was too tired to be surprised by anything anymore. He just needed a nap.

"Oh..." was all he said, before it trailed off into silence once more. "Sorry I'm being so quiet... I'm kinda tired right now..." He whispered. Maizono laughed.

"It's okay, Makoto-kun..." was her response, as the conversation trailed off into awkward silence. He absentmindedly twirled the phone cord with one hand, awaiting for a response. It took five minutes for her to think of another conversation. "...Do you want to go on a date, when I return from this trip?" She asked.

"...I'd like that a lot, actually," He said, smiling. Maizono laughed.

"Okay! Well, I've gotta go, Makoto-kun. I'll see you soon, alright?" She said. He smiled.

"Stay safe... Sayaka-chan,"

"Sleep tight!"

The landline went dead, as he stared at it. Apathetically, he hung up the receiver, before backtracking, and walking towards the couch, as if the entire past day hadn't happened. Let it be clear, however, he knew that Maizono was now his girlfriend of sorts, and he was very happy about it. He was just tired from the whole ordeal, and still very confused at why his bad luck blocked him for so long.

Which explained why he was surprised when she stood on his doorstep at the first thing the next morning, launching herself at him, arms outstretched, butterfly kisses at the ready.

Poor Naegi. Ah well, at least it had a happy ending.
Apologies for the delays, by the way. My computer suffered a hard drive failure, and I had to take it in for repairs. Luckily I had the prompts stored elsewhere, and I'm still able to continue (though my progress on chapter 14 and 15 were lost... probably for the better.). Nevertheless, things should return to normal.
This turned out to be way more comedic than I anticipated. Oh, and it's filled with a bunch of my random ideas for the warriors of hope in an non-despair universe. Being annoying, but adorable, little brats. Pauses is based off of getting interrupted and being forced to stop, as Makoto is constantly forced to do, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.
pauses
: temporary stops : periods of time in which something is stopped before it is started again
: a control that you use when you want to stop a recorded song, movie, etc., for a short time
music: the sign that is placed over or under a musical note, rest, etc., to show that it should be held longer than usual