A/N: So, let's just be honest for a second. The old version of this story was a complete trainwreck. I don't know what the hell 12/13 year old me was thinking, especially with the whole 'Rinta' theme. All the chapters were pointless filler, as well. So I've decided to (possibly) scrap Rinta being the main 'enemy' in the story, and replace him with Luka. I've come up with some good enough ideas to incorporate her into the story – ideas that are far better than Rinta just popping into the scene out of nowhere. Maybe he'll return, I don't know. Hope you all enjoy and sorry for delaying! I'm too lazy. :')

…

Chapter Three: Luka

...

It had been quite a while since another student caught my curious eye. I was fed up with my crushes going nowhere, yet at the same time, my mind yearned for more experiences. It was easy to not pay attention in class, especially as a thirteen-year-old kid. It's not like we could prepare for exams or anything at this stage. So, I found myself tuning out of my surroundings in class a lot, losing myself in thought. I didn't care for the lessons – at the time, they were boring and never piqued my interest.

I felt myself snap out of thought at a sudden, hard prod against my arm. "Ow…!" I hissed, hoping the teacher would not hear. I turned my head to the side, to see my brother staring at me with narrowed eyes. "What?" I kept my tone low. We were sat near the back of the class, so it was easier to get away with small conversations, without the teacher noticing. Most of the time, anyway.

"You spaced out again," came Len's irritated whisper. "I'm not going to look out for you much longer. You need to pay more attention."

"I did not space out," I huffed. "I just thought for a bit, that's all."

"That's the exact same thing, genius," he scoffed, in response.

I rolled my eyes, turning my head away from him, looking back towards the teacher. Currently, her back was turned; she was scribbling something down onto the blackboard.

"Rin, I'm serious."

"Hi, serious. I'm not listening."

That's usually how most of our interactions went, for a long period. Len was always irritated at me, or I was irritated at him. We barely had peace. Yet at home, he was the complete opposite. Kind, caring, respectful, and not a jerk at all. It made me confused for a long time. But now, I was starting to get used to it. That's when I also started up my sharp comebacks.

"Hey, did you hear, Rin? There's supposed to be a new girl starting today," said Miku, grinning eagerly towards me.

I was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables, eating lunch as always with my friends, along with Len. Our friendship circle had always been the same, ever since we first started school. We were paired together for some team-building assignment on the starting week of school, and the rest is history from there.

Upon hearing that there may be a new girl, I started to get my hopes up a bit. "Really?" I wondered, raising a brow at Miku.

The teal-haired girl nodded, pausing to take a sip from her juice. "It's only what I heard. Some teachers were talking about it when I was passing one of the classrooms."

"Interesting…" Kaito chimed in, resting both hands under his chin, literally poking his nose into our conversation. Well, it's a free table, after all. "I bet she'll wanna sit with us. We're clearly the coolest kids here."

Ouch, that sarcasm. It's harsh, but it's also true… Compared to other groups of friends, we're… dare I say it, average. We're unique in our own way, though. "Well, hey. You can't say that just yet. We haven't even met her."

"Like she'd even look at us," Len scoffed. I turned to him just in time to see his famous eye-rolling. Always such a downer.

"I'd love to have a new bestie! Oh, but they wouldn't replace Rinny and Mi-Mi. No one can get on their level of besties!" Meiko squeaked, interrupting with her usual bubbly tone.

I couldn't help but laugh at this. "I certainly hope they wouldn't replace Miku and I," I teased.

"I wouldn't mind her joining our circle… One of us could finally get a date," Piko added. That was all this guy seemed to care about – popularity. He was convinced every boy except him, Kaito and Len had already been on at least two dates each.

"Dating isn't that important, Piko," I responded. Though this never got through to him.

"Oh, please. Rin, that's easy for you to say, being a girl and all," Piko argued, sticking to his guns as always.

I simply gave a shrug, deciding not to test him today. I opened my mouth, turning my glance back towards Miku, but before I could speak, the school intercom made its typical 'beep' noise. This alerted us that an announcement was coming. It was also meant to try and shut kids up, but the conversations continued as normal in the cafeteria.

I closed my mouth, trying to listen to the announcement, over the many voices.

"Good day to everyone, we hope you're enjoying your lunch! Could we please have two students, preferably Year 9 students, come to the foyer and volunteer to show a new student around? That's two Year 9 students to volunteer. Thank you."

Although I normally would have turned to Miku or Meiko, I immediately traced my glance towards Len, who was staring down at his food and looking uninterested with Kaito's talking. "Len?"

"Hm?" He lifted his head up, looking straight back at me and connecting our eyes.

"Did you hear the announcement? They want two students to show around the new girl. It must be the one Miku mentioned," I responded.

Len narrowed his eyes at me, staring for a moment before answering. "…so?"

Ugh, God, he was so unbelievable. "So! Let's go?"

Before Len could answer, Meiko immediately butted in. "Ooh, ooh! Rinny, I wanna help show around the new girl! We're going to be besties instantly."

"Actually, I was going to ask Len," I said, feeling awkward ever so slightly.

"No, it's okay, Rin. Meiko can help you out," Len replied, shrugging it off.

I let out a sigh, before nodding. "Fine, miss out on your dating opportunity," I said, pushing myself back in my chair and standing up.

Meiko sprung up beside me, full of excitement once more. "Let's go, go, go!"

"If she needs more than a guide, you know who to mention, Rin," Piko said, winking to me, thinking he was being all sly and clever.

I giggled under my breath at this poor, pathetic romantic. I gave him a nod, though had no intention of doing that for him, and began to walk out of the cafeteria with Meiko. We headed towards the foyer, and once we got there, that is when I set my eyes on Luka Megurine for the first time.

There she stood, some of her light pink locks spilling over her shoulders, and the rest falling neatly against her back. She had one arm crossed under her chest; her other arm held outwards slightly, so she could impatiently stare at her perfectly decorated nails. Her lips were pursed into a thin line, and her irritated expression shined through.

I took in her appearance within a couple of moments. At the time, I never thought much of her. She was rather pretty, but that was all I thought.

Meiko, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to burst. "Oh, my gosh! Hey, hey! I'm Meiko, welcome to the school! You're in our year, right? You're our age? Yeah?!"

Luka let a light scoff pass her glistening lips. She trailed her glance away from her nails, shifting her arm to cross over the other, before scanning both Meiko and I with her eyes.

This made me feel a little uncomfortable – it was like she was judging us during the silence. I felt the urge to swiftly apologise for Meiko's outburst; I didn't want the new girl to be offended or completely put off from us.

However, she spoke before I could even think of what to say. "Uh. Thanks, yes, and yes." She had a sort of mature tone for her age. I could tell she was way out of our league at this point. She also appeared to be a bit stuck-up at the time, which initially drove me away from her.

"My name's Rin," I said, giving a little wave, just to be polite.

We began to show the new girl around the school. Our little tour was made easy due to it being lunch time; we strolled through the halls, taking her to all the classrooms scattered around the building, along with showing her where fire exits were. We lead her to just about every place we could think of.

Looking back on these memories, I wish I had never volunteered to show her around school. She was the most insufferable child I had ever come across – and there were a lot of jerks at school. She had a sly way of being rude; she'd come out with veiled insults, in her typical sickeningly sweet tone, before strutting off with her cronies. She came to hang out with us sometimes, but not a lot. Unfortunately, that was enough to make Miku and Meiko convince the rest of us to let her be part of our friendship circle.

Despite Luka Megurine being a 100% grade-A jerk, there were rare moments where she showed her true self. I told myself that the whole jerk thing was just an act, and I actively tried to seek out proof. When I finally saw her being nice to some kid, who had homework problems, I was half-convinced about my 'act conspiracy'. Though what fully convinced me was a whole different matter.

Len warned me not to get involved. I didn't listen to him.

...

I stare with wide eyes, looking out the front door, and tracking Luka Megurine's every move very closely. She's coming closer, inviting herself in without asking. Once I'm able to finally take my eyes off her, I notice she's being followed by her original cronies. Gumi, Lily and SeeU. Then, my eyes drift over to Miku. I didn't realise she was there at first. What the hell is she playing at?

Before I can even open my mouth, I can hear an anger-filled shout come from behind me. "If I were you, I'd stop in my pretty little boots, Megurine!"

I let out a shaky gasp, quickly spinning on my heels, to see my brother stomping towards the front door. Why is he defending me? "Ugh. I can handle this myself, Len," I scoff.

He places his hand on my shoulder, shoving me aside, so he can come face-to-face with the gang. I'm quick to turn around, watching the intense situation unfold. "Sorry. I have dibs," he remarks, in a stern tone.

My eyes dart to Luka, who's only a few steps outside the front door now. I bounce my glance between the three goons, only to see they're smirking like the stuck-up princesses they are. To my left, I can hear Meiko's uneasy, low whimpering. She's had bad experiences with the goons, just as I have. And already, Miku's proud smile has faded into a confused expression.

"Aw, I almost forgot all about you, Lenny!" Luka grins, keeping her goody-two-shoes act.

I can feel the tension in the air growing stronger with each second that passes. Len is completely unamused with Luka's friendly approach. I can see his stone-cold expression only grow more tense; his sharp eyes are as narrow as can be. It's almost scary. I haven't seen Len this pissed off since… well, since Luka was last around us.

"I don't think you get it, pinkie. This party is invite only," Len says.

"Right… And I'm Mimi's plus one!" Luka swiftly remarks, grinning brightly.

"Right. Plus one… and they're your plus three?" Len points to the girls surrounding Luka.

Something about their flawless, witty responses doesn't feel right. There's no way this is the first time they've argued so intensely. Yet… I can't recall Len and Luka ever fully engaging like this.

I reach my hand out to grab Len's shoulder. I try to yank him back so I can finally face up to Luka, yet he only budges a little. "It doesn't matter if you're Miku's plus one. You're officially uninvited, by the party planners." I glare over to Miku for a moment as I speak, and I can see her squirm. I'll deal with her later.

"Oh, you need to lighten up," Lily scoffs, rolling her eyes. She takes a step forward, inching closer to the house.

Len grits his teeth together. I can sense he's making a difficult decision in his mind right now. "Lily, you know I've never liked the idea of kicking a girl's butt… But if you step into this house, I can't be held responsible for what happens to that face of yours."

I let out a sigh in frustration. They aren't moving at all. It doesn't matter, though. I have to calm Len down before he does something he regrets. Trust me, I despise the goons and Luka, but I don't want to be responsible for any injuries. Plus, there's just something about seeing Luka again… after all this time… I think something within me is slowly resurfacing. I can't bear to think about hurting Luka, nor do I want to hurt those she cares about.

Before I can speak, yet again, Meiko suddenly pipes up. "M-Maybe we should just let 'em in! Th-They're good old friends of ours, right? Lenny?" She can't be serious, can she? I know she's scared of Lily and the other two, but even so.

"Maybe you should learn a thing or two from Meiko," SeeU giggles quietly, almost sneering towards Len.

"I know you don't like hurting poor, defenceless girls, Lenny… But I assure you, that doesn't mean we'll go easy on you if it comes to it," Gumi adds, speaking in a bubbly tone despite the situation.

I groan quietly, shaking my head. "Alright, enough!" I finally speak up, growing tired of the empty threats from each side. Silence falls, and I can feel all eyes on me. "Just… come inside. But leave once it's night time." I turn my head to look at Len, wanting to see his reaction first.

He does not look happy, not at all. He narrows his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. "Rin…" he starts.

"You heard her. Good decision, Rin. I'm glad we can see eye to eye once more," Luka purrs softly.

As I slowly turn my head to make eye contact with her, I can see her bright blue eyes sparkling. I grit my teeth together lightly, averting my eyes a moment later. I don't bother to look at Len, either. I know he's only going to lecture me.

He speaks up in a low voice, a few moments after the cronies enter our house. "Fine. But the pizza on order is strictly for me, my sister and our friends… Though we'll have to see if Miku qualifies by the time it's here."

I gulp quietly, noticing that Len is glaring sharply at the teal-haired girl. I'm mad at her, too. But I don't want to cause any more trouble.

"Suuure. We can just find some leftovers in your fridge! Your mother was always a good cook, Lenny," Luka quickly fires back, in a sickeningly sweet but subtle tone.

"Feel free to," I interrupt, before Len has a chance to get angry again. I can feel his eyes digging into me now. I give a deep sigh, deciding to greet Miku and try to get an explanation from her. "Miku…" I speak in a tone which clearly announces my disappointment in her. I feel like I've been betrayed.

"You don't need to order anything for me, Len," she says, looking straight past me and at my brother instead. She completely ignores my presence and words. "I'll just eat something with Luka and the others."

I can faintly hear a gulp from someone – though I immediately know who it comes from. I trace my glance to Meiko, and give a slight pout. I can hear the chatter from Luka, Miku and the other three become more distant, so I can only guess they're heading towards the kitchen already. Or maybe Miku has been told to show them around. Shaking my head, I stand beside my only ally.

"I… I didn't want to make them mad…" Meiko mumbles, as soon as I step beside her.

Before answering, I briefly look over my shoulder, but my brother is already leaving. I can only see his back. So, he's mad, too. Is he really that annoyed over Luka's treatment of me? It wasn't that bad, in the end. I learned to bury those painful feelings and memories, so he should, too. Turning to look back at Meiko, I give my response. "It's okay. I understand." I don't understand at all. I can't even begin to wrap my head around why exactly Luka has showed her face after so long. But I want to let Meiko know she did nothing wrong.

"After all, Luka was… our friend."

That's right. To Meiko, and probably Kaito along with Piko, Luka had been a friend. They never found out about everything that happened between that girl and I. Only Len knows. Maybe Miku knows now, too. But if I had it my way, Len wouldn't know at all. "Mm… Our… friend," I hesitantly respond, going along with her words.

Okay. I'll quit beating around the bush. Luka was never just a friend in my eyes. I'd be lying if I said it was 'just' a crush. But I don't think it was love. I really liked her, though. Maybe it had just bordered on lust and it was my strange phase of becoming interested in many different people. Long story short, I confessed my feelings to her one morning before school, after feeling attached to her for around three or four months. I just couldn't get her out of my head. This is more or less how it went.

…

I was standing awkwardly in front of the school gates, after just calling Luka over to a secluded spot underneath a tree. The cool autumn breeze gently pushed my short locks, and teasingly prodded at the white bow in my hair. A few stray leaves slowly twirled down from the tree, all while Luka looked at me expectantly. I liked to think I was close to Luka. Sometimes, she really could be nice. She had told her own circle of friends to 'shut up' at times when they mocked me. She had said to them I'm one of her oldest friends at this school. With all this in mind…

"Thank you for coming over here with such short notice," I said, making small, awkward talk at first.

"Well, you just called me over out of nowhere," she stated, matter-of-factly.

Even though it clearly wasn't a joke, I let out a laugh. Perhaps I was getting far too nervous. "Mm, yeah…! About that," I began, swallowing after to try and push down my fear. And so, I told her. I poured my heart out, confessing my feelings and even letting her know, 'I know you have a kind heart deep down'.

How foolish of me. How utterly foolish.

There was a silence for a painfully long time once I finished speaking. I trailed my glance up to look at Luka's face, since I had been looking down at the grass beneath my feet the entire time. She appeared to be clenching her teeth together… No. That's not it…

Slowly, the sound of laughter began to overflow from her mouth, and its volume grew until it was painfully clear that she was mocking me. "Whaaaat? You can't be serious! Hey, tell me you're joking…! Ahahaha!"

Those words crushed me. Her words penetrated deeply into my heart, slicing right through it. I could practically feel that agonising pain, and I swear I could feel my heart breaking. I stared up at her, my lower lip quivering and my knees growing weak. She was… laughing at me…? She thought I was joking? "N-No, why… why would I joke about…" My throat was closing up. It was closing up, suffocating me, and I was choking.

"Eh?!" She ceased her cackling, glaring at me with irritated eyes. "Eww, no way. You're one of those… lesbians? One of those freaks?"

I wanted to gasp at her words, but only a small choking noise escaped. I could only stare, wide-eyed. I thought she was better than this. I thought she knew better, I never thought she held such an opinion!

"Oh, that really does say it all… It explains why you've been following me around like a lost little puppy," Luka finally said, after breaking through the shock and disgust. She reached a realisation, apparently. "And to think I defended you at times. To think I considered you at least a good friend."

Those insults continued for quite some time. And to make things worse, one by one, her own group of three friends arrived at school… and they instantly came towards Luka. I could only stare still, not quite feeling connected to the world anymore, and the rest was a blur. I could hear their laughter as Luka probably explained what just happened.

And that was how I ended up all weak and pathetic by the end of the day. I didn't want Len to find me. The entire day went by so fast, so before I knew it, I was slouched by the lockers in a completely embarrassing state. The instant Len tells me he was listening… Everything comes out uncontrollably.

…

So, naturally, my brother despised Luka from that point onward. Although, just two months later, Luka mysteriously transferred out of our school and hadn't been seen again. Obviously, she kept in contact with her three minions, or so I'm assuming. And she must have finally decided to show her face again after two years, first by working her way back into Miku's life. Why now…? I'll never know. After today, I don't want to see her face again, even if she comes back to school. As much as I want to respect her, since some feelings have been brought back, I must resist.

Eventually, Kaito and Piko arrive together at the house. With Meiko and I still at the door, we briefly go over the events of the past fifteen minutes, to make them aware of unwanted presences. Kaito is the first to sigh, mostly in bitterness because of his failed attempts to impress Gumi, one of Luka's minions. Yes, I will continue to call those girls 'minions'. Piko, on the other hand, being desperate as always, seems ecstatic at the thought of four more grown up girls in the house.

"Ahh, Gumi, I'm coming for you!" he suddenly exclaims, shoving my brother's present into my arms, along with the present for me. And with that, he dashes off deeper into the house, knowing this place like the back of his hand. I can't say I blame him. He's an emotionally charged fifteen-year-old boy. As they say, at this age, they tend to think with their privates… Not their brain.

As the remaining ones, we collectively groan at Piko's idiotic behaviour, before finally laughing. It seems like Kaito is my ally, too. Now that I think about it, Kaito and I have always understood each other well, too. We just never hang out much by ourselves. Well, with our other 'guests' today, maybe we'll have some time to really catch up.

Naturally, such a hope had been far too optimistic. As soon as the pizzas are ordered, Luka takes charge and lumps us all together in the sibling's joined bedroom. She claims she wants to 'catch up' and have 'lots of fun' with us all before night time. Well, there's always hope for tomorrow to be a better day. The instant Luka opens the bedroom door, she takes a few steps inside and begins to judge its appearance.

"…A shared bedroom for twins. How cute," Luka openly remarks, thinking out loud. Way to make me feel weird about it. Our friends never had a problem with the fact that Len and I share a room. They always thought of it as normal, just as my brother and I do. Gumi, SeeU and Lily all casually stroll into the room behind Luka, and then we're graciously allowed entry after them. Luckily, our room is fairly big in the first place, so we can all manage to fit in. She turns on her heels after passing judgement, a seemingly innocent grin spreading across her features. "Well, then! Let's have some fun!"

Although we're not directly ordered, we're invited to sit down on the floor together in a circle. Len places the two large pizza boxes down before sitting, and I'm the one to place our birthday presents aside for now. Luka glances expectantly to Lily, who has been burdened with the task of carrying a decent amount of snacks and other leftovers for their dinner. Lily gives a smile to her 'boss', setting the bowls down closer to their own group.

The atmosphere begins to grow rather intense. Miku is sat with Luka, Lily, SeeU and Gumi. Although they're just sitting opposite of Meiko, Kaito, Piko, Len and I, it feels like they're on an entirely different side. It sort of feels like a forbidden meeting between two mafia gangs… or something like that. I'm not so good at thinking of metaphors on the spot, see? Anyway, the air is still very thick. I can't help but curiously glance between everyone. I notice that Len is staring intently at Luka. Ah, if looks could kill, Luka would surely be a dismembered mess by now.

We spend the first few minutes eating in silence. Our 'side' each grabs a slice of pizza, and while Kaito, Piko and Meiko laugh and happily scoff it down, I find myself not feeling very hungry at all. Despite this, I guess I should put on a show. Sighing lightly so that I'm not heard, and so that my strange emotions aren't noticed, I take a small bite out of the slice. I suppose mushrooms aren't so bad at cheering me up…

Eventually, after savouring some mouthfuls of pasta salad, Luka speaks up. Yeah, I can see what leftovers she stole from the fridge. Damn it… I was really looking forward to having that tomorrow, as well…! "Hey, how about we play some truth or dare?"

I raise a brow at her words, gulping down the food in my mouth. I sneak a glance at my brother, and he only looks even more pissed off. Geez. He's scary when he's like that. Anyway, this whole game of truth or dare really isn't going to go well. But because of how we each feel about Luka and her friends, there's no objections in particular. Miku goes along with it, Meiko does so out of fear, Piko gladly does so that he impresses Gumi, and Kaito is just indifferent really. That leaves Len and I. Personally, I don't want to cause any trouble if everyone is okay with it. I look over to Len, connecting eyes and thoughts with him.

Don't look at me with those eyes, comes his thoughts, with a mental sigh.

Don't be so mad at her. We only have to play for a little while, I think. Nothing more comes from my brother, so I take it he's okay with this whole situation. Well, at least he'll go along with it for now. I wish she wasn't here either, you know.

All I can hear in return is a simple, whatever. He probably wants to scold me more, but knowing Len, he'll want to do it verbally.

…

We end up playing a long round of awkward, intense truth or dare. Luka asked relatively easy questions, veiling her insults and judgement as usual. However, her friends asked filthy, personal questions – 'what's the most you've done with a boy?' to us girls, and a similar question for our poor inexperienced male friends. We had been pretty much forced into giving an answer, under the guise of, 'it's just a joke'. Oh yeah, we sure had been laughing… Not. And by the time we're done, it's not even close to night time. We started playing at around 7pm, but it's still only just past 8pm at this point.

Growing quite obviously bored, SeeU takes it upon herself to explore our bedroom. With most of us involved in our own conversations, from the corner of my eye, I notice her pulling herself up and stretching momentarily. She then moves towards Len's bed, as if she's searching for some hidden treasure. Oh, dear lord.

I must have connected that thought with Len, because I can immediately hear his response. What're you so panicked about? His eyes meet mine, and I can only subtly point my glare towards SeeU's back. Once I look back at my brother, I see that he's trying his hardest to hide a terrified expression.

I know what he's like. He's going to shout and draw attention to himself, and to the fact that he's definitely hiding something under his bed – like a complete moron, I should add. I'll handle it!

"Hey, what are you doing near my bed?!" Len snaps out to the female, ignoring my attempt to handle it first. Like a COMPLETE MORON, I should add. I sigh and watch the scene unfold.

SeeU's eyes widen slightly, but a mischievous smile crosses her features at my brother's panicked, yet defensive shout. "Ehhh? Calm down, Lenny~ I'm bored! I'm looking for something entertaining, and judging by your reaction, you're definitely hiding something!~ Ehehe!" Her sweet, yet extremely irritating high-pitched voice comes out. I grit my teeth instinctively at this, the very sound of her laughter like a ten-year-old pissing me off.

"Hiding something?" he repeats, casually scoffing. "Don't be stupid. But this is my house, remember? You're being very rude right now."

SeeU apparently ignores Len's words, and she digs her hands underneath his bed. Gross, gross, gross…! She's got guts, I'll give her that. What kind of teenage girl in their right mind puts her hands under a male's filthy bed? It makes my skin crawl, especially since I know what he's hiding. I let out a sigh, turning my head away from the female on her knees, knowing exactly what sort of reaction she'll have once the cat is let out of the bag.

"Meiko?" I suddenly look towards my dear innocent friend. She's in the middle of talking with Kaito, but this is a life or death situation.

"Mm?" She blinks, turning her sparkling eyes to me. "Rinny! Yes?"

"Hey, we were talking…" Kaito mutters, in a huff.

"Quiet. Meiko, I need you to do something for me," I speak to Kaito first, telling him to butt out, then I continue to speak to my friend. She's my only ally in this world, one who truly understands me… And as she has stood by me, I must now protect her innocence. "I need you to cover your eyes."

Meiko is obviously confused by this. SeeU is going to find Len's stash any second now…! She narrows her eyes at me, puffing her cheeks out in innocence. "Whaaat? That's so weird, Rinny."

"Meiko, please just trust me, I-"

"Oh, my GODDD! Len, what the HELL is this?!"

Well. I tried.

Meiko instinctively darts her eyes towards SeeU, along with everyone else at this point, and naturally, she sees what's in the female's hands straight away. "Eh-?!" While Meiko pretends to faint, and topple backwards with shock, everyone slowly turns their heads to stare at my perverted brother. I look at him as well, an innocent smile pulling at my lips as soon as I connect thoughts with him.

Try and get out of this one, you filthy little boy.~

…