A/N: I hope you enjoy, dears! :)

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Chapter Five: Love and Hate

…

[Len Kagamine's P.O.V]

The day I heard about Rin's feelings being brutally rejected, something snapped deep inside me. Something pushed me to lose it. Perhaps it was because no one ever took my sister seriously. She only gained enough confidence to confess a few times, and each time, those brain-dead fools mocked her relentlessly. The teasing lasted two to three weeks at the most, but those days were filled with merciless bullying – they mocked her appearance, her behaviour, and even her grades. The number of things I had heard from those bullies ended up slowly killing both Rin and myself on the inside.

"Eh! Does Rin seriously think she can go out with someone like you?" Those kinds of remarks usually came from girls, when the boys shared the 'hilarious' news.

"She asked you out, too? Man, she must be pretty desperate. She asked me out just last month!"

Since they saw themselves as the 'victims' of Rin's feelings, the few of them gathered around to laugh even harder and share their own experiences of being around her. One time, one of them even came up to me and asked me to 'control my desperate sister'. I should have punched him in the face right then and there, but I knew Rin would only get mad at me.

This was the first time she had confessed to another girl, anyway. That day was so much different – those previous bullies were tolerable, I suppose. But perhaps they were only tolerable because I didn't shout at them. This time, I lost my sense of control, and unable to hold myself back, I threw myself at that evil witch Luka after hearing the disgusting things she said about my sister. I didn't care if Rin's sexuality was lesbian or bisexual, or even if she was confused. That was completely her choice. Yet, for Luka to have scoffed and look down on Rin's fragile heart, and act as if she were a filthy human being… That, I could not forgive.

When I found Rin in that mess by the lockers, I wanted to search for Luka right away. But Rin needed me more. So, I took her away from school, as the sun was beginning to set at this time. I could have just taken her home, I could have just ignored her and let her cry herself to sleep later. I did not do that. She had always thought I was heartless, and that I truly didn't care. Honestly, when it all started with her first crush, I didn't care. Then the bullying began, so I had to care.

Making sure Rin was holding onto the coat I had given her, I leaned down and held my hand out to her. She looked up at me with sparkling, yet heartbroken eyes, and she seemed hesitant at first. But soon, she trusted me to take care of her, and she gently pressed her fingers on top of mine. I wrapped my fingers around hers, tightening my grip on her so that she could feel safe. I helped her to her feet, and she slowly pulled her fingers from mine.

"So, what? Are we going home now?" she quietly asked, in an obvious bitter tone directed towards me.

I simply shook my head in response, before digging my hands into my pocket once more. "Let's go get some ice cream, or a milkshake. Heck, or whatever you feel like having. My treat." When I looked at her, I saw her blink a couple times with a confused expression. "What?"

"Heh…" Rin's soft, sweet laughter came out at last. "You're actually offering to buy me whatever I want."

I cocked a brow, a teasing offended expression crossing my face. "Hey, I'm not that stingy, am I? It's my duty to look after you while you're sad, anyway."

"I mean, it's not like it's a big deal…" Rin muttered, averting her gaze, in clear embarrassment. She shouldn't have to feel stupid or anything over her feelings. I was sure ice cream or whatever other sweet treat would fix that temporary low self-esteem.

"C'mon. Once we're there, I can text Mom to let her know we'll be late. I'll say we're with friends or something." I urged her to start walking, and once I finished, she did just that. So, I began to follow after her, and we made our way out of school. I did my best at that point to suppress the burning fury in my heart – I suppressed the urge to go beat Luka up. I just wanted to make Rin happy.

It took the two of us about five minutes to reach the closest bus-stop to the school. After that, we hopped on a bus into town, so we could search for the best possible ice cream parlour or something similar to that. The bus ride was quiet. Usually, some kids from school would probably be on this bus. However, it was quite late for any students to remain now. So, Rin and I sat next to each other, in complete silence, and surrounded by complete silence. It was rather tense, to say the least. She probably had a lot on her mind, and she probably wanted to say a lot. But she had put a block up; I couldn't hear any of it.

It then took fifteen minutes to travel into town. When we got off the bus, I was in charge of finding a decent place to eat for my sister. I did try to ask her where we should go, but apparently, she didn't hear me, because there was no answer. I knew she was heartbroken and all, but man, sometimes she really was air-headed. Eventually, I found an ice cream parlour in the heart of the town – so I took her there.

We grabbed a table, and the entire time, Rin's eyes were distant. Only when we sat down together, she seemed to snap out of whatever was going through her mind. She looked up to me, an apologetic, slight smile pulling at her lips. "Well… Time to snap out of it…"

I sighed, giving a nonchalant shrug in response. Before doing anything, I pulled my phone from my school bag and began to write out a short text to Mother. She and Father weren't extremely strict, but they always wanted to know if we were going to be late coming home from school. After a few moments of tapping away at my phone, I finally slid it back into my bag and focused on Rin. "So, what will you be having?"

She was already tapping lightly at her chin, in an indecisive manner. "Mm… Let's share the biggest sundae they've got," she finally said, nodding her head as if confirming her words to herself.

"Oh, you're letting me share your special treat? How kind of you," I teasingly responded, with a quiet laugh.

"Make sure to ask for extra cream. And… extra orange sauce…" She hesitantly added that last part on. I raised a brow at her unusual request, but then I remembered she had an almost unhealthy obsession with oranges. I meant 'unhealthy' in a completely different sense, though, considering oranges weren't unhealthy at all…

I just gave a quick nod, and stood up from my chair. I loved bananas in particular, so I guess we were both weird in that sense. But I doubt she'd want bananas mixing with her precious orange, so I had to refrain. I ordered the biggest sundae they had; vanilla ice cream, a mountain of delicious whipped cream, chocolate sauce drizzled over, and also some orange sauce. The worker who served me gave me a strange look when I requested orange sauce, so I just kind of shrugged awkwardly, and she added it without saying a word.

When I returned carrying that glorious bowl full of comfort food, I saw Rin's eyes light up at long last. Her eyes were still a bit red and her cheeks were still flushed, but that gloomy, heartbroken sparkle faded away for now. It was replaced with an expression of pure delight, and when I set down the bowl and two spoons, she instantly made a grab for one of them. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Mmm!" She hummed, clearly overwhelmed by the bliss of such amazing ice cream. We hadn't been here before, but the prices were rather expensive, so it better be good. Either way, I didn't care if it tasted good or bad. As long as Rin liked it, I was happy. She swallowed her first mouthful practically straight away, and she beamed at me. "Wooow… Len, thank you so much! I almost feel better already."

"That's good," I said, taking my spoon and digging out a smaller amount than Rin had. I was going to let her have the most until she was full – plus, I wasn't all that keen on such a large amount of sugar in the first place.

After a few minutes, Rin let out a quiet sigh out of nowhere. It seemed like the sugar rush and delight had passed so quickly. "Len? Is there something wrong with me?"

Cocking a brow, I swallowed the small bit of ice cream I had in my mouth, and was taken by surprise at her question. I set the spoon down, unsure about what sort of answer she was expecting. "What, do you think you aren't cute enough or something?" Girls really were complicated sometimes.

She shook her head. "It's not that. It's… how I ended up getting a crush on a girl," she said, lowering her voice so that only I could hear. Like she was 100% ashamed of her sexuality.

"Huh? Then no, of course there's nothing wrong with you," I responded sincerely.

"She treated me like I was a freak." A short, sour laugh escaped her lips, and I could tell she was reliving the moment over and over in her head. "Sorry, I think I'm just all over the place right now. Still… It would be nice if someone liked me for once. If someone took me on a date for once."

Hearing those words was like a shot through the heart. They truly did pain me. My poor sister was never going to realise that I was-… "Don't worry. It'll happen sooner than you know it, I'm sure."

Her eyes brightened up a bit as she heard my words of encouragement. With that, she began to eat some more ice cream, and would probably continue until she was going to burst. I didn't mind; I wouldn't scold her if she complained of a stomach-ache later. She deserved to, essentially, drown her sorrows today. But tomorrow, I wanted to snap her out of it. I was going to take matters into my own hands.

…

The day after that, Rin tried to make an excuse so that she could avoid school. I didn't allow that. I already told myself I'd be the one to snap her out of her slump. I didn't know how I'd do it, or how long it would take me, but I swore to protect Rin at all times. Anyway, we somehow avoided Mother and Father noticing that something was off with Rin. I told her to just hang in there; it wouldn't do any good if she went crying to Mother. No doubt, our Mother would either pull us out of school personally, or deal with the bullies personally. It was a risk we couldn't take, in the end.

That morning at school, I stood at my locker beside Rin. She was leaning against her own locker, which was a space away from mine; I was rummaging around inside, searching for things I needed today. We were also waiting by the lockers, so that we could walk to class with our friend Piko, whom we shared this morning's first period with. But Piko usually ran late, so we had to frequently endure the presence of Luka and her three friends. Their lockers weren't so far away from ours – Luka's own was about two spaces from mine. Being so close to her nauseated me a lot more than usual this morning.

Just as I was closing up my locker, I could hear Luka's gossiping grow louder. It was clear they wanted us to hear, with their emphasis and volume. They were talking about Rin again. It seemed like she wanted to share the 'hilarious news' with her three friends first – or perhaps they were just re-capping yesterday's events. Either way, I could feel that burning flame of anger grow stronger within me again. Her voice alone was enough to make me lose complete control.

Tutting to myself, I closed my locker with a bit more force than I had intended. I glanced to my sister momentarily, wordlessly telling her I would stick up for her. Her expression showed a clear refusal, but it was too late. I turned, staring at Luka and then speaking. "Just when are you going to be done talking so much shit, Megurine?"

That alone caused the four girls to stop gossiping loudly; they each turned to stare at me in return, seemingly surprised that I had interrupted. Lily spoke in place of Luka, as if their leader had no business with us lower humans. "Ehh? This one has guts.~ I almost find it adorable…" She spoke in a false sweet tone, and as soon as she was done, she flipped it to a pissed-off, dark voice. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to, Kagamine? Turn back around and mind your own business."

I scoffed lightly, shaking my head at this pathetic display of bravery from the girls. "I didn't ask you. I'm talking to Luka. Don't speak out of turn; that's not very obedient of a slave."

"S-Slave?!" Lily choked, appearing offended beyond belief.

"Are you saying I'm just using my dear friends? That's very mean of you, Lenny…" Luka finally piped up, a fake pout pulling at her lips. Even though I knew she was using that irritating fluffy tone to get under my skin, I still couldn't control myself. "I'll stop gossiping once Rin learns being a lesbian is, simply put, degenerate."

Fuck this pink-haired bitch.

Since there was little space between us to begin with, it granted me an opportunity to move fast. I threw my hands forward, connecting almost instantly with Luka's shoulders; I dug my fingers into her skin, and using all the force I could muster, I slammed her backwards against a locker with a fire of fury burning in my eyes. I gritted my teeth together, holding her tightly in place.

Several shocked and worry-filled gasps followed as soon as I acted. Luka's back connected hard with the locker, and there was no doubt I would leave a few bruises and other damage. She let out a yelp in fear, and in pain. But I didn't care.

"Len…!" I could hear Rin's pleading call. She wanted me to break through my heat of the moment rage, but I couldn't.

"L-Let go of me, psycho…!" Luka choked out, gazing demandingly into my eyes.

I tightened my grip on her shoulders, digging my fingernails deeper into her so I could firmly hold her in place. There weren't many students at the lockers, but there certainly were quite a number of witnesses. Yet none of them jumped to defend this pink-haired girl. I narrowed my sharp glare right at her, and spoke in a hiss. "The only degenerate here is you. What the hell makes you think you're so special? That you're so above judgement? That you can just strut around, and do whatever the fuck you please!" My tone eventually grew louder, and by the end of my rant, I was screaming right in her face. Without thinking, while continuing to unleash my temper on her, I shook her violently with my hands, slamming her back repeatedly against the locker with the same force I used to first push her. "Other people might put up with your bullshit, but I'm just about done with you acting like such a high and mighty bitch."

"Let go! Let go, you psycho! Auuugh, don't just stand there- Someone help!" Luka's cries fell on deaf ears. I had no will to turn and look at her 'friends', but they were probably hesitant to jump forward to defend the main bully. I also heard nothing from Rin. I didn't want to frighten her, but I couldn't stop now.

"No one forced you to like my sister back. But that doesn't mean you have the right to mock her, talk behind her back, and no right to just laugh at her. And it's not just my sister. It's every other kid you see as a target, because you're that fucking insecure!"

Luka was speechless as I relentlessly yelled in her face, and continued to push her around. I defended all those other kids she had bullied, and no one came to her aid. This only lasted for a few minutes at the very most, because someone eventually went to get a teacher. I was ripped forcefully from beating Luka, and sent away for a harsh punishment without anything being said to me. Another teacher took Luka to the nurse's office.

I didn't bother to explain why I had lost control of myself. I took the blame, saying something like, 'sure, I started it'. Even if I did explain that I was defending those who had been bullied, it still wouldn't have lessened my punishment. Was all that worth it? Absolutely not. I felt ashamed afterwards for stooping to her level. It didn't matter though. I was promptly expelled for two weeks, and was given a handful of 'activities' to complete to show that I had progressed and 'learned from my mistakes'.

A bullshit punishment, but a punishment nevertheless. My parents were naturally furious, as well. But I still refused to explain why I did it. Perhaps I wanted to truly protect Rin, so I took the blame at home, too. I gave them no real explanation, just a shrug of the shoulders, and for a while, I lost my parents' trust and respect.

Things blew over eventually, though. Once I was allowed to return to school, I learned that Luka had mysteriously transferred out of school. Her friends were miserable, and they began to take that pain and sadness out on me – they probably thought she transferred out because of me. I bore the brunt of that bullying; it was the least I could do. I didn't lash out anymore, either. I was back to normal relatively quickly, but one thing was still eating away at me.

I was most likely response for Luka transferring out of school. I beat her up rather harshly that day, and it was easy to assume she received a fair amount of minor injuries from that. Yet, Rin did not hate me for it. She was extremely disappointed in me for a while, but she had forgiven me after a few days. I've always been so conflicted. I wanted to protect Rin – even if it meant beating the crap out of those who bully her. But I also wanted her to just hate me. I thought that, maybe if I lost control of my anger so much and ended up using violence, that would cause her to hate me. But it didn't.

And ever since that day, my methods only got worse.

…

[Rin Kagamine's P.O.V]

I've finally stopped having that same dream. At least for the time being. It seems as though I've scared it away from my subconscious, after being so disturbed by the similarities between it and the school play. It's been precisely a week since we were first told of this play, and we've been rehearsing non-stop to get it right. I didn't even have to convince everyone to work extra hard for my own selfish sake. But after becoming so invested in it, I've actually kind of overcome my fear of crowds. So, it's a shame that we'll be performing this within the next couple of days.

A few days ago, our drama club meetings migrated to the main assembly hall, where the large stage resides. And that's where we're all meeting right now; it's Friday currently, and this is our afterschool rehearsal session. We've only just got started, and we're waiting on Miki to show up. Practically right on cue, she can be seen outside the doors with another teacher. She seems to be pushing along a whole rail full of costumes, and she's gotten some help.

The other teacher, who I don't recognise, pushes the doors open for Miki. With a quick 'thank you' and 'good luck', the teacher moves off to presumably go to their own classroom. Miki looks rather exhausted, but she pushes the rail forward in front of the stage. She mentioned yesterday that one of her friends was working hard on making these costumes by hand. Looks like they've finally been delivered. They're tightly packed into a plastic cover, but I can tell they're going to be very impressive.

"Alright, everyone…!" Miki lets out a deep sigh, sounding relieved to catch a break. "Let's all gather 'round here."

I hop off the stage with Meiko, since we had been messing around while waiting for the teacher to arrive. We stand together, and gather with everyone else as the teacher makes her announcement.

"Our costumes are finally ready! Isn't this so exciting? Real costumes, and a real play after the weekend!" Miki excitedly says, her grin as bright as always. I can just see her inner child ready to burst. "Now, the measurements should be exact, but don't worry if they're just a bit too big. But let's keep the magic of this play alive – we'll get dressed up properly on the night!"

"Let's just hope our costumes fit, then," Kaito adds, letting out a laugh. This causes our group and Miki to giggle as well; it's a fair point. But despite such a fair point being made, Miki stays strong and insists that we don't ruin the magic.

"Well, we all know this play rather well. You've all done a wonderful job at memorising the script so quickly. I'm very proud! Especially of our new starters. They really do have a talent for acting that cannot be ignored," Miki continues with her announcement, taking a moment to praise Luka, Lily, Gumi and SeeU. The four just nod modestly, giving a few words of thanks. I hate to admit it, but they did learn this pretty fast. And they aren't amateur actors at all, surprisingly. I guess even stuck up bullies have hidden talents, huh?

Once Miki hands out a few more words of praise to others playing leading roles, she then dismisses us and allows us to use this free time to talk or rehearse some more. Everyone goes off into their own little groups, so I wander over to my brother, since he's alone as well. I set myself down on one of the chairs that's been pre-placed, giving a smile to Len.

"Ah, so here's the leading lady," he says, looking at me with a teasing smirk. "Looking forward to this, princess?"

I scoff quietly at my brother's typical annoying behaviour. "Eh, yeah. I suppose so. I don't feel nervous about crowds right now, but that might change on the night of the performance," I respond truthfully, before giving a shrug.

"You'll be fine, kiddo," Len snickers as a response, patting my head once like I'm a dog again. I simply raise a brow with a 'seriously?' sort of expression on my face. He pulls his hand away, and speaks up again. "Well, anyway… You're okay with that whole kiss thing, too?"

Ah, I knew he'd act weird about that part sooner or later. I fold my arms over my chest, using this as an opportunity to mock him, like he mocked me. "Hmmm, what's this? Does poor Lenny not want his sister kissing anyone? I know you want to protect me from life itself forever, but seriously…" I end up complaining. I'm surprised this is even a conversation between us siblings in the first place.

Len lets out a laugh, though. He responds calmly. "You think too highly of me. I just wanted to make sure you're comfortable with it. I mean, it's Kaito. I just thought you'd find it weird to kiss a friend."

Even though he acts like he's looking out for my own comfort, something subtly tells me that's not quite his real reasoning. "Thanks for the concern, but not really. I might as well take this opportunity to get my first kiss, right?" I treat it as if it was a joke, playfully sticking my tongue out and all. But when I take a look at my brother to see if he's laughing too, I realise his expression is still stone cold. Geez…

"Hey, your first kiss is supposed to be something precious, you know," Len says, his tone becoming rather serious now. This leaves an expression of confusion on my face. "You shouldn't treat it as an opportunity to grab, but as something to wait patiently for and really appreciate it."

Even though I know he's being serious, my instinctive reaction is to still treat it like a joke. I let out a giggle, probably slightly filled with concern, and ask him what he's playing at. "What's this all of a sudden? Oi, you know I won't ask Miss Miki to change the script this late, right? Sorry, bro, but there's nothing that can be done about it."

Len narrows his eyes as he still connects his gaze with mine. He's become ice cold again. I can't quite understand why he's being this serious over something so small. First kisses aren't that important, right? Sure, it's something to look back on as a memory when you're older, but there are plenty more events in your life that are meant to be treasured. What if your third kiss is the best kiss in your life? Does that mean it's still worse than your first? "I just don't think you should waste it on Kaito, of all people."

"…What?" I can barely raise my voice to an audible level. That sudden jealousy. That dark tone, as if he's some sort of villain who's giving me a veiled threat. "Len, seriously… Where is all this coming from?"

Len lets out a bitter 'tsk' noise, and he's shaking his head as if the answer should be obvious. It's like he's mocking me for being oblivious or something. "Didn't you see the way he looked at you just yesterday? And the way he spoke to you."

Now that he mentions it, Kaito did act a little strange yesterday. Yeah… That's right, it was after Len and I had finished up our dance. Kaito gave me this intense stare, like he was awestruck by me and only me. But even so… "Then, what's the problem? If Kaito likes me, then-"

"He doesn't like you!" Len cuts my words off as I'm talking, in a loud voice. It catches me completely off guard, and I'm left with my jaw hanging slightly; my eyes are wide in surprise, too. "You're still being fooled after all this time. He can't possibly like you for anything other than your appearance. He barely knows the real you. You'll only end up heartbroken again, and it'll just hurt twice as much because of Luka being here."

Maybe Len's harsh words are true… But still, I'm stunned into silence. Those words really are crushing me right now. I can feel the build-up of tears in my once bright, hopeful eyes. I close my mouth, gulping down my shock to try and argue back. "B-But… Then, we can get to know each other more…" In the end, I can only give into my selfish desires, driven by my loneliness and desperation for affection. I'm hoping so hard that Kaito and I might be able to have a chance.

"Right. And he'll string you along for… how long? Weeks? Months? Tch. You should know how desperate he is for a girl right now; he'll do and say anything to hook them. Then once he's had his fill, he'll ditch you and search for a new experience." Len's tone has no emotion in it, but at the same time, it still sounds like he's mad. Not mad at Kaito either – mad at me. I don't know the reason why, though, of course.

I shake my head, deciding to be ignorant to my brother's pessimism. That's all it is. Or maybe he's just sour that a boy has finally taken interest in me, and that he'll be taking me away from quality sibling time. If that's the real reason, then I'll just say it. "You're so fucking stupid…"

Len appears to be shocked after hearing my words. Yeah, now it's your turn to be shocked. I don't know how he can act so surprised after all that bullshit he just spouted to me. After he nearly caused me to lose it and start crying in front of everyone. This probably just looks like a friendly sibling chat to the others, if they glance over, anyway.

"We're not kids anymore. We don't have all the time in the world together anymore. I'm sorry if you feel threatened by someone finally liking me, but you can't have me to yourself, okay?" I just say it bluntly, not sugar-coating it for him, so that he understands exactly what point I'm making. "…You just can't accept that someone truly likes me, can you?" Those words on my mind overflow from my mouth like venom before I can stop myself.

"Why would you-…"

I let out a sigh. I can't go back. Not after all the times Len has said countless rude things to me without a trace of guilt. "You always thought I'd be unlikeable. That anyone dating me is only doing it out of pity. Well… I'm going to prove you wrong…!"

"No, Rin. I never once said that, I'm just-!"

"Enough," I interrupt him this time, not wanting to hear any of his excuses. Now that I'm pissed off at him, he wants to flip his attitude and crawl up to me. I'm going to put my foot down for once. I'm done listening to his excuses – I'm done dealing with his constant attitude flips without explanation. Unless he gives me a full reason for why he acts this way, I'm not going to talk to him anymore. Pulling my eyes from Len's, I pick myself up from the seat beside him, and walk away without another word.

As I cruelly walk away from my brother, not even letting him know I'm done with him… I can't help but feel guilt tug at my heart. I try to shake it off, convincing myself that if the roles are reversed, Len wouldn't feel that guilt. It's going to be tough to cut myself off from my own brother, but I need to be strong.

Taking in a breath to regain my composure and gain some confidence, I walk as casually as I can over to where Kaito and Piko are standing. When I approach, it seems as though they're rehearsing a scene from the play. I give a nervous smile, and awkwardly interrupt. "Heeey, guys. Hope I'm not interrupting?"

The boys pull their eyes from their scripts, and break character to greet me. Kaito smiles softly at me, before answering. "No, of course not. Piko and I were just seriously dramatizing the scene where the prince gets stabbed."

"Kaito finally let me play the princess, Rin! Sorry, but it looks like you're out of the competition now. He's mine~" Piko announces, claiming Kaito as his own. He grabs hold of Kaito's arm, hugging him close.

Ah, Piko… He's definitely not gay, but he's definitely not straight either. I feel like this is a huge moment of discovery. But, anyway, I have more important things to deal with. "Well, I hate to steal away your prince again, but… Could I talk to him in private?" I ask Piko for permission rather than Kaito, due to the current situation they're both in.

"Don't worry, you don't need to ask him. I'm all ears, my princess," Kaito smoothly interrupts, sending me a wink that shoots an arrow through my heart. Fuck… My heart. I'm beginning to realise I may have a tiny bit of a crush on my friend.

Piko sticks his tongue out at me in a huff, and reluctantly releases Kaito's arm. "Fine. I'll go see Gumi. Oh, Gumi, my looove!"

"Aw, jesus- Piko, get lost, damn it!"

Watching that love-struck idiot hurry over to one of Luka's cronies is kind of funny, but kind of sickening. Oh well, it's his funeral. Giggling lightly, I turn my head back to face Kaito. He's grinning in curiosity at me, so I guess this is it. I have to be the one to ask. I can't be afraid of facing rejection anymore. Ah, but what if I…?

"What's up, Rin?"

I try to gulp to push down my nerves, but my mouth has gone dry. Ah, typical. I gaze up at him, speechless for a short while. I take in every detail of his appearance; I hadn't truly done so until now. He's pretty damn tall, for a start. I can't believe I didn't notice how short I am in comparison to him. His short blue hair is kind of messy today, but in a cute way. And his lighter blue eyes are almost mesmerising…

"Well, uh, it's nothing too important. I just wanted to know if… if you'd like to go out on Saturday? Wah, n-not as a date or anything…! Just, just something as friends!" As soon as I phrase my first question wrong, I immediately flip out and lose my cool, desperately trying to reaffirm that I only see it as a friendly outing.

But Kaito gives a soft chuckle. The very sound of it makes my heart melt… And my nerves fade, as well. "A date? I never thought you'd ask."

Wait. WAIT. Did I hear that right? Kaito actually wanted me to ask him out on a DATE? Take that, Len! You pessimistic son of a bitch!

I try to contain my excitement. My grin grows rather wide, and I'm about to burst. I can barely believe it. For the first time in my life, the one I'm asking out isn't laughing at me or mocking me. They're accepting…! I resist the urge to throw my arms around him and squeeze him tight in appreciation. I hold back, and instead speak as calmly as I can manage. "Th-Then, let's get lunch together or something…!"

Now that I'm planning a real date, I realise I have no idea what it is that couples do when they go on dates. So, perhaps out of my undeniable gluttony, I suggest we grab lunch together this weekend. And that idea doesn't get laughed at either. Kaito nods along with me, and then also suggests that we go to the park after lunch. It sounds so perfect. I really don't care where we go, as long as it's a real date.

And so, it's settled. My very first real date.

…