(F/N)'s POV

Another week had passed like a wind. It was weekend, we just got back from the grocery store. I helped out Himiko-okāsan since Kei was busy cleaning the house. I heard he's classmate is coming over for a group project.

I came to a realization that if his classmates find out that we live in the same roof, it's going to be a pain to explain it to them. But it doesn't seem to bother Kei, he didn't even tell me that I should stay inside my room. He even asked me to help his mom prepare lunch and snacks later. I don't know what he was thinking, I heard he has a great reputation at school.

"We're home," I said, taking off my shoes and change it to close toe indoor slippers.

"Okairi," Kei got out of the living room to help us carry the groceries to the kitchen.

"What time do your classmates arrive, Kei?" Himiko-okāsan asked.

"They'll be here soon," Kei placed the bag on the countertop.

"Is it really alright to let them know that we live in the same roof? I mean, your girlfriend will probably get mad." I said.

"Kei, you have a girlfriend? I didn't know that," Himiko-okāsan looked at her son.

"That's the first time I heard that," Kei looked at me, "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Eh? Then, why did Sakamoto Nanami approached me last Monday and told me that she's your girlfriend." I tilted my head in confusion.

Kei sighed, "That girl..." He muttered, "She's just playing around. She did confess to me but I rejected her,"

Hitoka did mention that Kei is popular among the girls and many confessed to him over the last 3 months. She said that after the rumors were cleared between us. The girls in our year level started confessing their love for him. I wasn't expecting any of that, I wonder if my past self knows about that.

"Say, how many confessed to you already Kei?" I teased.

I heard Himiko-okāsan chuckled standing in front of the pantry. She was arranging all the foods as she listens to our conversation. Kei kept his mouth shut but I can see his cheeks blushing. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Stop laughing," He said, annoyed.

"Sorry," I said between my laugh, "It's nothing to be ashamed of Kei. It only proves you're good looking,"

"(F/N)-chan has a point, Kei." Himiko-okāsan agreed.

"It's embarrassing for me," Kei replied.

Our conversation was cut off when the doorbell rang. Kei went to answer it while I was left to finish putting away the groceries. Himiko-okāsan started heating up the water in the electronic kettle and I prepared the teacup and macaroons for their early snacks.

A group of people entered the living room, three boys including Kei and two girls. They stopped in their tracks when they saw me by the kitchen pouring down the hot tea on the teacup. Himiko-okāsan approached them, welcoming the group into their house. They took their seat but their eyes were still in my direction. I can also hear their conversations from here.

"Hey, Tsukishima! Isn't that (L/N) from Class 5? Uwa~ Nobu, it's your crush!" One of the boys said to his friend and the guy with dark hair blushed when eyes.

"Shut up, Takeshi!" The guy named Nobu said, "It couldn't be! Hey, Tsukishima, why is (L/N)-chan here?"

"(L/N)-chan?" Kei comically sweatdropped.

"Oh, you guys didn't know? (L/N)-chan lives nearby." That girl, Sakamoto spoke, secretly giving me glances.

"Eh!? Really?" Then another girl said, looking at Kei, "Nana-chan, how did you know?"

"If I remember it was during the summer festival, Kaori-chan. I bumped into them," Sakamoto answered.

"She's actually lived here," Himiko-okāsan suddenly spoke as she served them the macaroons, "We're taking care of (F/N) for the meantime," She turned to me, "(F/N)-chan, sweetie, can you bring the tea?"

"Be right there, mom," I answered placing the small container of sugar cubes and milk box on the tray.

"Mom!?" Kei's classmate said in unison.

Himiko-okāsan chuckled, "She's like a daughter to me already. I told her to call me that,"

"Mom..." Kei clearly embarrassed about but Himiko-okāsan doesn't seem to care about it. She excused herself while I serve them their tea.

"(L—L/N)-chan!" Nobu called, I looked at him and his cheeks blushed, "I—It's good that you're back to school and you're doing fine."

I smiled at him while hugging the tray, "Thank you, Nobu-kun."

"It was really shocking when we saw the news, (F/N)-chan," Kaori said, taking a sip of her tea.

I only smiled at them, "Please, enjoy your tea." I looked at Kei, "I'll be in my room," I excused myself.

"Ok, call me if you need something, alright?" I nodded, "(F/N), I'm serious,"

"I know," I smiled at him.

"Tsukishima, you sound like an overprotective boyfriend. Are you sure nothing's going on between you?" I heard Takeshi said as I placed the tray on the countertop.

I giggled before going out of the living room, "Kei's too dense to even have a girlfriend." I said.

"Really, (F/N)?" Kei said in disbelief.

I grinned at him before completely leaving them. I went upstairs but a hand grabbed my wrist. I turned to see a flustered Sakamoto looking at me. I raised an eyebrow at her before yanking my hand away from her gripped. I've been feeling hostile around her, I don't know why but my mind is screaming that she's bad news.

"Shouldn't you be back there doing your project?" I said.

"What are you trying to do?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"You're so unfair, (L/N)-chan. You lost your memories but you still wrapped everyone around your fingers. You can't do whatever you want!" She really sounds frustrated.

"Excuse me? How did I become unfair? You badly like Kei that much? Look, I'm not trying to compete here or anything. I don't even remember you! If anything is unfair, that would be my life. Do you know how hard it is to act alright in front of everyone why I struggle to remember everything? They looked at me and see me in 16 years of memory. I can't give them (F/N) before the accident." I poke her on her chest, "Stop venting your frustration on me just because Kei won't look at you the way you want to. The bathroom's on the end of the hallway, excuse me." I said, dismissively.

I was cooped up in my room the whole morning, I came down to help prepare the lunch with Kei's mom. But I didn't utter a single word while helping around. Kei's group was busy doing their project. Once lunch was ready, I excused myself from them. I didn't even bother eating lunch with them. Kei kept on calling me but I didn't look back. I locked myself inside my room, shutting all the noises and voices.

Tears started falling down my cheeks, frustration building inside me. So, I have reached my limit? I couldn't keep up with emotions anymore and let my tears fall freely without stopping. I heard another knock on my door, I covered my mouth to stop myself from whimpering.

"(F/N)?" It was Kei, "Are you alright? You've been in there for too long," He sighed, "I brought your lunch, please don't skip your meals. I'll leave it here," I heard his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

I got up and opened the door, there was a tray of food on the floor with a small note in it. It says, "Let's take a walk later,". I picked up the tray and locked the door, it would be a shame not to eat it and I was also hungry. I decided to summon all of my courage and went downstairs to wash the dishes. I got inside the living room to see it empty.

"If you're looking for Kei, he went to the convenience store with his classmates. They'll be back," Himiko-okāsan was washing the dishes.

"Oh, I'll wash it for you." I said and took over washing the dishes, "Um, mom, may I go back to our house? I forgot something there. I will be quick,"

"Don't worry dear, you can go."

After washing the dishes, I left Tsukishima's and went to our house. Luckily, I have a spare key with me. The house was pretty much empty as always, I went to my room and rummage the drawer of my study table and found what I've been looking for. It was a small photo album and my phone.

I remember Shin-nīchan handing it over to me. It was destroyed during the accident but they were able to retrieve the files and transfer in on my new phone. Once I gathered everything I needed, I left the house. I locked the door securely. I turn around just to encounter Kei's group.

"(F/N)," Kei stopped and looked at me. I wanted to go back inside but it was too late.

"Oh! (L/N)-chan, is this your house?" Nobu asked.

"Uh, yeah," I replied shortly.

"Whoa! It's huge!" Takeshi exclaimed.

"Are you going home?" Kaori asked, sipping into her slurpy.

"No, I—I just picked up some stuff," I adjusted the strap of my DSLR's bag on my shoulder, "Well, I'll go on ahead." I excused myself and ran as fast as I can from their group. I didn't really like how Sakamoto looked at me as she clings on Kei's arm. I got back to their house, "I'm back! Mom, I'll be in my room!" I heard Himiko-okāsan answered from the living room.

It was late afternoon when Kei's classmate finally left. I decided to take a walk, changing into a winter outfit. White turtle neck top, old rose knitted cardigan, blue jeans, and light pink winter boots. I wend out of the room and saw Kei ascending the stairs.

"(F/N), you're going somewhere?" He was wearing a gray hoodie over his red and white baseball jacket.

"Yeah, I'm going for a little walk," I answered.

"Can I come?"

"Ok,"

Kei led the way, I do remember the note he left earlier. What does he want to talk about anyway? We went to a small playground near the shrine. He told me we went to the summer festival here last August. It must be the one that Sakamoto mentioned earlier, how she found out that Kei and I are neighbors. I sat on the swing, and Kei sat next to me.

"Are you alright?" He spoke.

"Y—Yeah," I internally scold myself for stuttering.

"Your eyes looked puffy, did you cry?" I shook my head eagerly, "You really do suck at lying."

I bit my quivering lower lip, "It's not fair..." I trailed off, "Why do you know so much about me?"

Kei smiled sheepishly at me, "Why does it look like you're going to cry?"

"Because—" I wasn't able to finish what I wanted to say when my tears started falling. I wailed like a child that got lost.

Kei went to squat in front of me, his warm hand cupping both of my cheeks. There he goes again with his warm fuzzy smile. My tears wouldn't stop falling as I cried in front of him.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"It's frustrating not having your memories, you guys looked at me and see me through 16 years of memories and I can't give you the (F/N) from before."

"Hey," He cooed, "With or without memories, you're still you, right? I see you as (F/N) from the very beginning. It won't change the fact that I met you in that library on our first day of school. So, stop crying,"

I burst out crying once again, tackling Kei with a hug. He fell back on the snowy ground with me snuggling my face against his chest. I didn't care about anything at that moment. I felt his arms wrapped around my back and his hand on the back of my head.

Kei is a good guy.

We went after all the drama I did in the playground. Kei was holding my hand while leading the way home. We saw a car parked in the garage. His brother must be here. We got inside to hear voices inside the living room to see I was right. It was his brother, Akiteru-nīchan.

"Ah! (F/N)-chan!" He waved at me in delight, "It's good to see you again."

"Welcome home, Akiteru-nīchan." I smiled at him.

"Oh! You remembered! I'm so happy!" He patted the top of my head, "Let's have dinner!"

It was rather a lovely dinner with the Tsukishima's. When the dishes were washed, we all retreated to our respective rooms. After taking a long bath, I really wanted to go to sleep but I find myself not being able to. I took my chances and made my way to Kei's room. He opened the door, he was still awake. He looked at me with a confused expression.

"I couldn't sleep," I said, meekly.

Kei only smiled at me, "Come on," He gestured me to come inside. He was actually studying at the moment. I sat on the top of his bed. "Here," He lends me his white earphones and phone, "You can listen to any music you want. Might wanna help you relax."

I took the phone from him and scanned his music collection. I looked at Kei, as his back facing me. He does have this studious aura around him. I still can't believe I'm trying to beat him off from the rankings. I lied down his bed, smelling his cologne against the bedsheet. I looked at Kei again with my eyes half open, the music in my ear, the comfortable scent, the sight of his back was making me sleepy all of the sudden.

"Kei..." I said.

"Hmm?" I heard him replied, I saw him looked over his shoulder.

"Stay with me,"