A/N: Hey, Please read the announcement posted after this chapter. It's important to where this story will be going! :)

Chapter 11

"Everything seemed to start with the dolphins." Haruka gritted his teeth together. "When I saw them that day, a strange feeling had crept up inside of me. Like I was being drawn to them. They felt so real, so familiar..."

His hands flew to his head and he squeezed his eyes shut. "Images have begun to show themselves in my mind. Flashes of things that I know nothing about." His voice began to lower, an anguished whisper loud within the silence. "For a while." His tone wavered. "I thought I was crazy."

Haruka's piercing eyes met Ayame's once more. "But then, the images started to clear. There was...something there." He paused. The sound of a nearby clock was all that could be heard.

Ayame clasped her hands together in her lap. She was trying to process what Haruka was telling her but her mind felt like it couldn't keep up. There was so much new information coming at her so suddenly, and on top that was the worry for Haruka's health. She felt as if her head might explode.

Her body oozed out her nervousness in waves. She wasn't sure if she should dare say anything but she needed to break the silence somehow. Everything about this conversation was crucial. "What...What did you see?" She waited with baited breathe.

Haruka looked away with clear hesitance, but eventually his eyes met hers in defeat. His answer was simple and short. "A whale."

Ayame could see the emotions swimming in his eyes as soon as he had uttered the words. Fear, confusion, uncertainty - they were holding him captive. She wanted to reach out and comfort him but thought better of it. It was clear he had more to say. She simply nodded her head in understanding, waiting for what was left unsaid.

"That's not all."

She gave him her full attention.

"As well as the images, Iv'e been hearing voices. Someone is calling me, but I have no idea who. I think that there must be a connection somehow."

He heaved a low sigh, "I've been searching around the area, trying to track down the person, Find any clues. But there is nothing."

So it was true, She hadn't been mistaken when she thought she'd seen Haruka the other day. He must have been out trying to find answers.

She gloomily glanced down at the earrings, now resting on the table in front of her. In some ways, she wished she'd known his feelings sooner. She may have been able to help him. No, It's better this way. It would have been more painful for him if he hadn't come to terms with what was happening on his own. He'd thought everything over leading up to this point. Though it pained her thinking of the torment he'd gone through.

As if sensing her overcast thoughts, Haruka slowly reached towards one of the pair of earrings and held them up in the air. He inspected the beautiful jewellery with a mixture of emotions. "I went to search for the dolphins. Seeing them brought back the images again." His fingers gently rubbed the cerulean stone as he became lost in recollection. It's whole being sparkled remarkably in the light.

For a moment, his eyes shifted away from the jewel and met Ayame's. They were filled with a sudden blatant guilt. The blue in then was dull and lifeless, the only emotion seeping through was that of regret. But why? Why was such a feeling drowning him?

With a slow but cautious hand he guided the earring to her face and held the silver chain up against her ear. His irises never once broke contact. She held her breathe. What was he doing? His face was so close. She couldn't help but notice how long and defined his lashes were. A strange sense of timidness washed over her but she shook it away. Instead she looked upon Haruka with resolve and ever-growing curiosity.

"I saw that they were something you liked." Slight bashfulness was laced into his words. " I wanted to surprise you with them. I've confused you all this time... and wanted to make up for it." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

Ayame could feel her eyes beginning to well up. Haruka had done nothing wrong. He had felt nothing but uncertainty and unexplainable sadness these past few weeks. Had lived through such painful moments all on his own - yet here he was telling her he was sorry. Here he was apologising for something out of his control. Her heart cried out for him.

She lightly rested her hand on the arm he held out towards her. "First of all." Her tone was soft and gentle. "You don't need to be sorry, not at all. None of this was your fault."

She lowered his arm down to the table and gently clasped his slightly shaking hands within her own. His skin was invitingly warm, encouraging her to keep going.

She kept the calmness in her voice. "Thank you for being brave, I can't even begin to imagine how frightening it was going through that alone." I want to reassure him. She needed him to know that he wasn't on his own. " I'm here for you, whenever you need me. You know that right?"

He nodded. She gave him a comforting smile. "Thank you for putting your trust in me."

She hoped she had brought him some kind of peace with her words. And sure enough the light began to flourish again in Haruka's eyes. They were practically beaming.

She let her words sink in and slowly lowered his arm down to the table. Her hand lightly placed itself on his and she could feel how soft his skin was. "I'm not upset at all. I just want to help you..."

She absentmindedly turned Haruka's hand over and stared at the earring that lay within his palm. The dazzling blue dolphin gazed back at her. It seemed to slightly taunt her, as if the answer was right in plan sight but she just couldn't see it. It was frustrating.

Her lips sucked inwards as she began to wonder. An endless cycle of thoughts span around her. And then an idea struck. "Oh!"

Haruka flinched as Ayame stood from her seat, her eyes shining with new found determination. He'd been quietly watching her as she'd been lost within her mind and didn't expect her to move so abruptly.

"I have an idea!" She announced excitedly. This in turn caused the young boy to lean away, unsure of how to react to her sudden burst in energy.

She seemed to catch on and sheepishly lowered her tone, though the fire in her eyes was still prevalent " Oops sorry haha. Its just that... I thought of something that may help in finding the connection to the whale."

A mirrored expression of new found of hope etched itself onto Haruka's face.

A/N:

Hey Guys, it's been a while hasn't it? I wrote this chapter about 2 years ago and reading back through, I'm really proud of how it turned out. I did change a couple of sentences but all in all it's still what it originally was intended to be,.

I remember rewriting this particular scene over and over as I wanted the rawness and vulnerability of the characters to come out but not so much so that it felt forced or awkward. I hope Haruka didn't seem out of character? He's quite difficult and complex to write about - he's very reserved and to himself, but I feel like he's someone who would bottle up everything and need time to open up about what he's feeling, even if it's in so few words. And he's been through a lot so I'm glad Ayame was able to comfort him in some way.

Anyway, those were my thoughts behind the writing, please feel free to leave any feedback or thoughts. Also, please check out my announcement, it's very important to the future of this story

Freedomofexpression7 out! :)