Chapter 52.

Kirihara walked into the gym, bag slung over his shoulder and Miyagi walking behind him. Tanaka was spending the day with her boyfriend. Kirihara insisted on going to the gym, saying it was just something he needed to do, and Miyagi tagged along out of boredom. Kirihara didn't mention that An was meeting him there or that he was relieved Miyagi was coming in case things got awkward.

It had been months since he had seen the girl. They had dated for almost two years – third year of junior high and part of their first year of high school. She broke up with him. He still wished she hadn't some days. It had been a little over ten months since then. They had talked from time to time, but seeing her was a completely different thing.

The two boys changed in the locker room. Kirihara swore when he realized he had forgotten his shirt.

"Just practice in the one you were wearing on the way here," Miyagi said.

"No way. It'll get a sweaty and gross." Kirihara put his bag into his locker and closed it with his foot. "Whatever. The girls can stare."

Miyagi shot him a look. "I will give you a shirt. It's an insult to my man pride to be walking around a guy with a six pack when I have flab. Seriously, how do you get a six pack from tennis?"

Kirihara looked down at his stomach, and then back at his friend. "One, stop checking me out. Two, I have a horrible farmer's tan. Three, it's barely noticeable. Four, have you ever heard of crunches?"

"I'm joining the tennis team next year. I need to get rid of this," Miyagi said, poking his stomach, which wasn't anything near as bad as he made it out to be. With his other hand, he reached into his gym bag, pulling out a shirt. He tossed it at Kirihara. "Just wear a shirt and stop being a man whore."

Kirihara rolled his eyes, slipping the shirt over his head. "Whatever. I'm not washing it and all that courtesy crap that comes with borrowing clothes."

The two grabbed their water bottles, and then headed into the gym towards the equipment section. There were only a few people – a couple girls who were on the bikes and a few guys running. All of the meat headed idiots were in another room where the weight equipment was.

"I'm running," Kirihara said, walking over to a row of empty treadmills that were in front of a row of mirrors (because apparently people need to check themselves out when sweating their skin off). Miyagi followed, setting his water bottle next to the machine. Kirihara stood on the stationary part of the machine, setting the treadmill so it was at angle and would speed up automatically over time. Once the track started to move, he set his feet on it, slowly jogging.

"Err, what's a good pace for someone who gets winded walking up and down the stairs at school?"

"Walking speed. And don't mock the winded fools because you know damn well that I die walking up to the third floor."

Miyagi fiddled with the buttons, eventually setting the treadmill to a low speed. He walked while Kirihara jogged at an angle. Miyagi looked in the mirror instead of focusing on what he was doing. After ten minutes, he saw a familiar face.

"Dude, ex-girlfriend, something o'clock," Miyagi said.

Kirihara grabbed the bars of the treadmill, which was at a pace Miyagi didn't even want to think about running at, lifting him up. He set his feet down on the stationary part of the machine and turned his head. An was walking over, flipping the bird to a guy who whistled. It was her own fault, though. She was wearing tight shorts and a form-fitting sweatshirt, a gym bag hanging low on her back which only drew more attention to those shorts.

He didn't know what to expect to feel after not seeing her for so long. He didn't know how it happened, or why it happened, but his stomach did cliché things that weren't supposed to exist outside of movies and books. Damn it.

She stopped at the empty treadmill next to Kirihara, dropping her gym bag to the floor. "Hey, Akaya, long time no see."

"You grew out your hair," he said, amused. He always told her she'd look pretty with long hair. (She did.)

"You still use mousse," she said, equally amused. She always made fun of him for using hair products. She turned to Miyagi, who was still walking on his treadmill at a slow speed. "Miyagi, right?"

"Yeah. You're Tachibana," Miyagi said, stating the obvious.

An nodded, and stepped onto her treadmill. Kirihara practically jumped back onto his, causing An to smile as she set hers to a slow jog.

"I'm surprised your boyfriend didn't tag along," Kirihara said casually. "He does know you're here to see me, right?"

"Takeshi's in the weight room with Kaidoh and some other guys," she said. "And don't make it sound like it's a date, Akaya."

"That doesn't answer the question. He would never let you near me."

"Oh?" She gave him a look. "Cocky as ever, Akaya. Get your head out of your ass. I'm with Takeshi. You called and asked for a favor, and I needed to run. Duh."

"Don't 'duh' me."

"I'll duh you if I want to duh you."

"Go duh yourself."

An rolled her eyes, smiling. Kirihara grinned. Miyagi thought they were both insane.

.

After half an hour, Miyagi sat with his back to the mirrors, slowly drinking from his water. An had slowed to a walk, saying something about a cool-down. Kirihara was still jogging, sweat dripping down his face.

"Why are you so damn obsessed with working out all the sudden, Akaya?" Miyagi asked. "Don't you do enough with that satanic club you're in?"

An smiled at the club part – Rikkaidai was still known for its harsh leader, Yukimura Seiichi, and the harsher practices. Kirihara wasn't nearly as amused. "I gotta beat those guys."

Miyagi nodded once. "Right. Those guys."

Kirihara would have said something like, "yeah, those guys, the ones people call gods," but Miyagi wasn't paying attention. He dug into his pocket, pulling out his vibrating cell phone. "Hey, Miho, what's up? Aren't you with your – hey, why are you crying?"

Miyagi sat forward, nodding at whatever she was saying. "Yeah, we'll be right there. I promise. Just hang on, okay? Give us half an hour."

He hung up and pushed himself to his feet. Kirihara grabbed the bars again, setting his feet on the stationary part. "What's wrong?"

"Miho and her boyfriend are fighting, and it's bad this time. She wants us to come over," he said. "We gotta go. She's a mess. I could barely understand her."

Kirihara nodded and turned off his treadmill, not caring that stopping without a cool-down would cause his muscles to cramp up. He gave An a look – it was a mix of worry and hurt, emotions people generally didn't associate him with. "Sorry, An, but we need to go. It's our friend. You remember Miho, right?"

"Go ahead," she said, nodding to answer his question. "We'll meet up again?"

He smiled. "Duh."

An watched them jog away in the mirrors.

.

After changing, the two made a quick stop at a convenience store, and then headed to Tanaka's apartment. Her parents were working, but they had a spare key. Miyagi shifted the bags in his hands, managing to find his key ring and open the door. The two walked inside and slipped off their shoes.

"Miho?" Kirihara called. He moved the six-pack of bottled soda he was holding into his other hand.

She didn't reply, so the two walked through the small apartment towards her bedroom. She was sitting on her bed with dozens of tissues on the floor. She had her legs pulled into her chest, her forehead pressed against her knees.

"We brought cheetos and gummy bears," Miyagi said, hoisting the bags he was holding into the air.

"And grape soda," Kirihara said, lifting the bottles.

She raised her head, a goofy smile on her face, tears falling out of her eyes. "You guys – know me – so – well."

The two walked over, joining her on the bed, thankful there weren't any nasty snot tissues on it. Miyagi dumped out the contents of the bags, two family size bags of cheetos and several bags of gummy bears falling out. Kirihara wiggled the bottles out of the plastic that held them together, handing one to her.

"Thanks," she said as she unscrewed the soda. "Even though I'm pretty sure you guys just wanted cheetos."

"Obviously," they said in unison with identical grins.

.

They snacked for awhile, licking their orange fingers, never quite able to get all of the cheese off. Eventually, she stopped crying, but the sadness didn't leave her eyes. They tried to make her smile, to get her to stop looking like the world was going to end, but it was hard. When she was sad, she stayed sad.

"You wanna talk about it?" Miyagi asked, pressing two gummy bears together. "Or we can make a murder-mystery with the gummy bears that starts with these two making out? Your choice."

She pushed him gently. "We were just watching a movie, and there was this scene were the wife cheated on her husband. He made a joke about me kissing another guy in that play I'm in, and I got mad, saying something about him being insensitive because I was worried about it. We just started yelling about everything, and he brought you two up, and I just..."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It was my fault."

"You've fought before, you'll get over," Kirihara said before popping a gummy bear into his mouth. He had to admit that Tanaka had good taste when it came to comfort food.

"I guess," she mumbled, not sounding very convinced. She had fought with her boyfriend before, and they always got over it. But it was bad this time. She brought her hands up, beginning to separate her hair to braid it – she needed to keep her mind off of it or she would break down again. "Did I make you guys stop something important?"

"Akaya was trying to get into Tachibana's pants," Miyagi said.

Kirihara tossed a handful of gummies at him. "I was not!"

"You met up with her?" Tanaka asked, fingers working on her hair. "You two were a good couple. Really cute besides the whole she-hates-you-for-hurting-her-brother thing. And you got over that, leaving just the cute."

"You do not tell a guy he makes a cute couple with someone," Kirihara said. Was he blushing? Miyagi was grinning like Kirihara was blushing. Damn it. "And we were just running. She has a boyfriend. I'm not a sleaze ball."

Miyagi took a sip of his soda. "I saw you checking her out."

"I was not checking her out!" Kirihara practically shouted.

"Whatever you say, Akaya."

Tanaka laughed when Kirihara tossed a bottle of soda at Miyagi.

.

The three had completely finished one bag of cheetos when Tanaka's cell phone rang. She checked the number, her shoulders dropping. Her boyfriend.

"Should I pick it up?" she asked. Before the two could answer, she declined the call. She tossed her phone into the middle of the room, eyes casted downwards. "He's going to be mad. I just can't hear his voice right now. Not after he said, after I said –"

She pulled her legs into her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. She was exactly the same as she had been when they first showed up, sobbing and crying, unable to think straight.

"Miho," Kirihara muttered, gently rubbing her back, "come on. It's fine. You're not going to remember what you said tomorrow."

"But I meant what I said!" she hissed. "I said I hated him – and I meant it! For a moment, I wanted him to just disappear. I don't care if words are – forgotten. I remember how he looked at me – like – I wasn't even there!"

"Why can't you girls just forget these things?" Miyagi asked, trying to make her smile. She didn't. "Miho, I don't know what you want us to say. Tears are on our list of top ten things we dislike. They're right up there with the meteor that killed the dinosaurs."

"That's just you, Satoshi," she said. "You're the only guy who likes dinosaurs that much."

"Hate to be awkward here, but I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Kirihara said. He patted Tanaka on the back, whispered something Miyagi couldn't hear, and then got up.

When the door closed behind Kirihara, Miyagi took over and put his hand on her back, slowly rubbing circles. She turned her head, her cheek pressed against her knees.

"I look so lame, don't I?" she asked, forcing herself to smile.

"You look –" Miyagi stopped himself. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. She kept sniffing, her nose running. "Okay, you look bad."

She gently leaned against him, his arm wrapping around her. "I don't know if we'll make up this time. I said I hated him. I didn't mean it. I don't hate him."

"Did he say that he hates you?"

She hesitated. "Yeah."

"You deserve better, Miho," he said. "Someone who doesn't make you cry. Someone who lets you run wild because we all know no one is ever going to be able to tie you down. Someone who wants to travel the world with you, see all those places you want to. Someone who likes your smile. Someone who cares. Maybe..."

Miyagi trailed off. Uncurling her legs, Tanaka sat up, moving away from his arm. She stared at him, her mouth open. She was still crying, but she had more control over herself. "Maybe what?"

"Maybe that someone could be me?"

"Wait, what?"

He looked down at his lap, grinning and shaking his head for a moment. He was going to regret saying it, but it was too late to turn back now. He mumbled four words so softly he wasn't even sure if he had said them: "I love you, Miho."

A strange silence fell between them. The two of them were never quiet. They were always laughing and joking, making comments about Kirihara's stupid, curly hair. It didn't feel right not talking or smiling to each other.

"I love him," she whispered. "Satoshi, I love him. I can't –"

"Can't love me, too?" he finished for her. She nodded slightly. "Yeah, I know."

Miyagi grinned stupidly and got up off the bed. His grin wasn't right. It wasn't fun. It was fake and forced and it broke her heart.

"Satoshi," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I love you, just not like that. I've never thought of you like that. I'm so, so sorry..."

He gave her a don't-worry-about-it look, and left without another word.

Miyagi loved her? She couldn't wrap her head around it. For how long? How long had she teased him, maybe even flirted with him, completely oblivious to his feelings? She was a terrible person. She should have realized it. They should have been the cliché, the best friends falling in love, the kiss in the rain after the hero chases the girl. Only they hadn't been.

Tanaka stared at the door, the lingering smell of grape soda and cheetos making her feel stupid. Stupid for not realizing it. Stupid for thinking of him as a brother when he never thought of her as a sister. Stupid for falling in love with someone else. Stupid for not falling in love with Miyagi instead.

Kirihara opened the door, furrowing his brow when he didn't see Miyagi. Walking over to the bed, he asked, "Satoshi run out to the store to get more stuff?"

She didn't answer. Kirihara sat down next to her, asking what was wrong. She put her head on his shoulder, pressing her face into the fabric of his shirt. Her fingers fisted into the material and her eyes were screwed shut, tears blotting on his shirt.

"He told you, didn't he?" Kirihara asked. She nodded, her grip getting tighter and tighter with every passing second.

"He loves me. Me. Why me? Why not someone who can love him back?" she mumbled. Her heart was pounding too fast. She couldn't think straight. "Why did he have to say that? What the hell was I supposed to say? He – I – damn it!"

"Miho, please stop crying." He slid his arms around her a second later, pulling her close. "It's not your fault."

"Is this how it – feels? Not being able – to be with Tachibana – even though you still love her?" Her words were separated by her choked sobs. Kirihara didn't ask whether she was talking about her not being able to be with her boyfriend or Miyagi. It didn't matter. She was hurt, and he hated to see her cry because he knew how much pain she was in.

"Yeah, it feels exactly like this," he whispered. He didn't lie and say that he didn't love An, but he didn't say it either. "It hurts, it still hurts after all this time, and I don't think it'll get any better any time soon. I hate it when she says his name. I hate seeing her happy with someone else. I hate it all."

"I hate it, too," Tanaka gasped against his shirt. She wished people were right when they said kids didn't understand love. She wished they were right so it wouldn't hurt like this. "Akaya, I freakin' hate this."

She was breaking down, and all he could do was rest his head on top of hers as she cried for both of them.


A/N: I would love feedback on this chapter. Just sayin'.

Also, I apologize for not responding to the reviews for last chapter. I always try to make an effort to give some sort of a response since you guys put in the time to give me one, but I've been busy. Even if I don't always respond, I really do appreciate the thought and comments because I do read them.