Shion was dropped off at work the next morning, courtesy of Naoki, who promised to see her again soon. It was an average work day - Nobu wasn't supposed to be working so she and Yoshida-san managed by themselves. She was kept on edge by the idea of more fans coming in and asking for photos like yesterday, but there hadn't been any fans in by the time she had finished her shift.

She was just packing up her things to leave when the door opened and a high school student - a third year from the look of him - raced inside, doubling over as he heaved with exertion. When he had caught his breath he straightened up and scanned the shop in front of him, eventually landing on Shion behind the counter.

"Irrashaimase," Shion greeted him dutifully. One more customer to serve before she left didn't bother her at all. Except it then became clear that he wasn't interested in the records at all.

"Ne, are you Nishimura Shion? From the Black Stones?" he leaned against the counter with eager eyes. The attention left her body feeling stiff, but she swallowed and nodded slowly.

"That's me," she said, smiling weakly. She already knew what was coming.

The boy began to rummage around in his school bag and he pulled out a CD and pushed it toward her.

Shion stared at it, perplexed as to why he was showing it to her - it was the latest TRAPNEST CD.

"Um, that's not–" she began, but he pulled out a permanent marker and offered it to her with a grin.

"Will you sign this for me? And then maybe you can get Naoki-san and the others from TRAPNEST to do it too?"

Her mind ran blank as he continued to watch her expectantly, the pen still in his hand for her to take. "Why– why are you asking me to sign it?" she managed to ask.

He just grinned, "You're dating Naoki-san aren't you? The fansites are all talking about it - you've been seen going on dates and coming out of his hotel room. It's true, isn't it?"

She thought they'd been so careful - it was just a credit to how naive she actually was. When it became clear that she wasn't going to take the pen the boy just shrugged and tucked it away with the album. That should have been the end of it, but he reached into his pocket and brought out a flip phone, gesturing to it hopefully. "Can I get a picture then? I had to skip after-school activities so I could come here - I'm a pretty big BLAST fan too." She was about to agree just so she could leave but then she remembered Naoki's words of advice from the evening before.

"It's really nice of you to go out of your way to make those people happy but if it makes you that uncomfortable it's okay to say no, y'know?"

"I– I'm sorry, but I can't," she said, lowering her head. "Photos make me really uncomfortable."

"Huh?" he frowned, "but I've seen you in fan photos online - my classmate Tanaka got her photo with you just a few weeks ago."

He must have been talking about the group of school girls who were the first fans to come and see them. It wouldn't have surprised her to learn that they were the reason people even knew where she and Nobu worked.

"I'm really sorry," she repeated, "but I'd prefer not to." His frown deepened, causing her legs to tremble where she stood. His eyes bored into hers until her head was dizzy, but then the moment passed and he just shrugged. "Whatever, then."

He turned to leave and Shion's shoulders sagged with relief.

"I can't believe Naoki-san's dating such a stick in the mud," he muttered under his breath. Shion opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. With that, he was gone and Shion's mind was soaring up in the clouds.

"I did it," she breathed, triumphant with how the conversation had gone. Sure, maybe he wasn't going to be a big fan of her anymore - but she'd actually managed to refuse his request! That meant she was making progress. Her high dissipated a bit when she remembered the comment about her dating Naoki. That was something she'd have to bring up to him the next time they talked; if Naoki got into a dating scandal it might get him into trouble and the last thing she wanted was more publicity.

She bid goodbye to Yoshida-san out the back and set off home in relatively good spirits. Today was a band practice day and she was looking forward to heading to the studio with the others; her heart missed the atmosphere of being with the rest of her bandmates.

Nana greeted her at the door, "Yo, Shion-chan, you're just in time." She said nothing else but gestured for Shion to come inside. Yasu and Shin were sitting at the table with Misato; the former two with cigarettes hanging lazily in the corner of their mouths. When Nana caught sight of Shin taking a drag, she narrowed her eyes and swiped it from him; snubbing it in the ashtray.

"What did I tell you about smoking, kid?" she said.

"At least tell Yasu to stop smoking too~" the younger boy whined. "I can't help it when he's blowing smoke all around me."

Nana shot a glare at the other man. He smiled sheepishly but snuffed out the cause of conflict in the ashtray. Shion took a seat next to Misato, and Nana squished up after her. With the five of them sitting, Shion couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

"What am I just in time for?" she thought it was an innocent enough question, but Shin wagged his finger at her with a cheeky grin.

"You're in trouble, Shion-chan," he said. Yasu said nothing, but he switched his attention to the window view. This had clearly been discussed before she arrived and the feeling made her stomach sink. Was it related to what that high schooler had said earlier about her and Naoki dating? Was it actually some massive story and now it had landed BLAST into trouble?

"Trouble?" she swallowed, wiping her hands nervously on her jeans. "What, um, did I do?"

"It's more like what you didn't do!" Nana glared at her. "Last time I checked you had a phone, didn't you?"

"Yes?" she was still at a loss for what was wrong. Had she missed a call while she was with Naoki? She hadn't checked her phone since she left with him yesterday. She timidly retrieved her phone to check but Nana snatched it from her and pointed at the green phone icon.

"See this?" the older woman snapped. "This is the call button. You use it to tell the people that care about you where you are so that they don't worry about you when it's late at night and you haven't come home yet."

"Oh." It was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on her head. The vague memory she had after work yesterday when she told Hachi she would pass on the message about her having dinner and staying at Nobu's. "I'm so sorry," she began. "I forgot to tell you that Hachi stayed over at Nobu's yesterday. It slipped my mind entirely when Naoki showed up to hang out."

Nana swore under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm not talking about Hachiko," she said with a resigned sigh. "I'm talking about you, Shion-chan. When you weren't at home after I got back I was worried. It wasn't until Nobu got a text from Naoki that you were with him that we knew where you were."

"He was very worried about you, Nishimura-san," said Misato.

"He brought Hachi back early last night because he was worried how he'd left things with you after work," Nana's voice was soft. "He was worried you'd feel alone. When you weren't here and no one had heard from you…"

Shion slumped back in her seat, her fingernails digging into her wrist painfully. Not so long ago she had disappeared without a trace and the only reason she hadn't died was because Nobu and Naoki had found her. If she was in Nobu's shoes and a friend who was clearly depressed vanished again a couple days later… she felt awful at the panic she had unwittingly caused. For all her talk of wanting to be selfless and a better person, she sure knew how to pick her moments.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "Next time, I promise I'll do better."

Nana gave a small huff but a smile tugged at her lips. She swung an arm around Shion's shoulders and gave her a small hug. "You damn well better," she said. Shion got the feeling she was being let off lightly just this once. Had Nobu really cut things short with Hachi to check on her? Despite feeling guilty for interrupting his date, her heart felt warm. She wished he was here so she could convey her gratitude, and apologise properly.

She voiced her thoughts aloud to the rest of the table.

"They went to the art exhibition," Misato piped up. "They should be back soon."

No sooner had she said, keys jangled in the front door and Hachi stepped inside with Nobu following, guitar case slung over one shoulder.

"You're late," Nana called out, getting to her feet. Shion took the opportunity to slip out of her seat as well and join them. There was a strange tension between Hachi and Nobu - their faces were dull, and Hachi looked nothing like the youthful girl-in-love she had been only a day ago. Had they had an argument? She studied Nobu's face carefully, but he was avoiding her gaze. He flashed a weak smile at Nana, "Our bad?"

Nana stepped forward and whacked him around the head. "Apologise sincerely, you little twerp!" but she didn't push it further. She probably sensed the tension too. "You ready, Hachiko?" she said, "Now that Shion's back our practice can finally get back to normal."

But Hachi just shook her head. "It's okay, Nana," her voice wavered. "I think I'll stay here today."

Nana frowned, but it was directed at Nobu. "What did you do?" she accused him with narrowed eyes.

"It's nothing," Hachi interjected. Her dark eyes were telling a different story and everyone knew it. "I'm just a bit tired today. Don't be mad at Nobu."

"Are… you okay?" Shion asked her. That was when Hachi's attention switched to her, and her fragile expression slipped to something darker. Then it was gone in an instant, leaving Shion to wonder if she'd been seeing things. Hachi dismissed herself to her room without another word.

The rest of the band - Misato had offered to stay at home with Hachi - made their way to the rental studio on time thanks to Yasu's car. Hachi's absence left them filing into the studio in silence until finally, Nana snapped.

"What the hell did you do to Hachi?" she grabbed Nobu by the collar and yanked him down to glare at him.

"Nana…" Yasu sighed.

"No," she protested, "everything was great between them and now she's too tired to come to practice with us? She never misses our practice!"

"We just… had an argument. It was my fault."

It appeased Nana enough to release her hold on him. "So?" she said. "What happened?" Shion could have sworn Nobu's eyes flickered to her for a split second, but then he grimaced and shook his head. "Nothing."

Something felt off. "Did you argue because of me?" Shion asked, "I'm really sorry I worried you enough to cancel your plans with Hachi."

"It wasn't because of that," Nobu's voice was firm.

"So then what was it?" Nana demanded to know.

"Are we gonna practice or not?" it was Shin who interrupted them. "I have way more interesting places to be - and they actually pay me to be there."

Nobu shot him a grateful look and slipped away to set up his guitar. Nana just sighed. "Whatever. I'll just ask Hachiko later."

Practice that night was focused on learning a new song Nobu had put together. Being back in her element lifted Shion's spirits and she swelled with pride when the band unanimously agreed Shion should have a violin solo at the introduction to kick the song off.

"You could start everything with that plucking thing you do with your hand on the strings," said Nobu excitedly.

"Pizzicato?" Shion said, doing a quick demonstration. He nodded.

The two of them bounced ideas off each other for the next hour; finishing the night off with a play-through of what they'd come up with. It was the most challenging piece they'd come up with yet - considerable pressure was on Shion to perform well, but she thrived on the increased difficulty.

They called the song tender rain.

Yasu was still musing over it as they packed up.

"What were you thinking of when you wrote the lyrics, Nobu?"

Nobu's eyes shifted to picking dust off the guitar strap on his shoulder. "Nothing in particular. Why?"

Yasu smiled at him. "It's different."

"A good songwriter tries different things," Nobu pointed out.

"Maybe that's it," the other man seemed content to leave it there.

"It is," said Nobu.

Shion shuffled over to join her best friend, hoping to speak to him before he left; once the song-writing session finished, he'd returned to avoiding her. Was he really upset about yesterday? No, if she thought about how Hachi had looked at her, and Nobu's behaviour, something else had happened - something that involved her. She needed to know.

"Nobu?" he flinched at her voice, and her heart sunk.

Don't take it personally, she told herself. There's more going on than you know.

He cleared his throat and swung around to face her. "What's up?" he said, but his voice was too bright to be genuine.

"I wanted to apologise for yesterday," she said. "I ruined your plans with Hachi."

"That was my choice," he said, "it wasn't your fault."

"But–"

"Shion, look I get it, okay?" Nobu sighed, "Hachi and I didn't have an argument over that."

"But you had an argument over something!" she pointed out. "And the way both you and Hachi were looking at me this evening I'd be willing to bet it was because of something I did. Please, just tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it - I don't want to be the reason you fight when things are finally going well for you two."

He scanned the room. Shin was sitting against the wall on his phone, flicking the cap on his lighter as he texted, and Yasu and Nana were discussing the music label amongst themselves.

"Let's get some fresh air," he suggested, nodding to the door.

The warm summer night washed over them as they stepped out onto the street. Nobu leaned against the building, staring up at the sky - the stars obscured by the orange glow of street lights.

"Hachi knows," his voice was a murmur meant only for her, "about the night we spent together."

"Oh."

He ran a hand through his blond hair and when he met her gaze his eyes were apologetic. "She asked me… if I'd ever had feelings for you - because we're really close and everything. I told her it wasn't like that, but it was eating me up not sharing the whole story. I wanted her to know I trust her and that she's really important to me - so I told her about what we did."

"Does… does she hate me?" Shion resisted the urge to clamp her hands over her ears so she couldn't hear the answer.

"Not at all," he said softly, "but I can understand her feeling a bit insecure about it - she's even more of a hopeless romantic than I am; it's hard to explain our friendship to her without it sounding like I'm in love with you."

"Tell me about it," she muttered. Of both flatmates, Hachi had always been the one that never understood how Shion felt about romance. Even Nana understood how deeply her friendship with Nobu ran in the short time they'd known each other. She still felt partly responsible for the mess Nobu was in now though, "I'll talk to her about it when we go back. You're head over heels for her not me. Anyone with eyes can see that."

Nobu blushed. "It's really that obvious?"

She laughed, reaching out to poke him but then thought better of it and dropped her hand. "It's uh, pretty obvious. You light up whenever she enters the room."

He hummed happily, expression soft. "She's an amazing girl."

Amazing and extremely lucky to boot, she thought. Did Hachi even know how much Nobu thought about her? How much effort he put into making her happy?

She wouldn't let herself become an issue for their relationship. If the world said it was inappropriate for her to hug him or hold him or touch him or even spend time with him when he had a girlfriend then she wouldn't. She could do that for him - for his happiness.

Yasu drove them back to the apartment - Nobu insisted he wanted to try and see Hachi again before the night was over. The house smelled of fresh paint: Hachi's room had been re-painted. Hachi and Misato were sitting at the table taking a break when the band arrived. Before the former could slip away, Shion asked for a moment with her in private; opting to talk in her own bedroom to avoid the paint fumes.

Hachi fiddled with her hair.

"I'm so sorry!" Shion blurted out, unable to hold back anymore. Hachi's eyes slowly rose to meet hers.

"Shion-chan?"

"Nobu said he told you what happened," she said hurriedly, "but I want you to know that Nobu doesn't have eyes for anyone but you! Whenever we hang out he's always thinking about how to make you happy - he cares about that more than anything, trust me."

"I want to believe that," Hachi said slowly. "But Shion-chan, he's the same with me about you. After you left yesterday he spent the entire time worrying about you; he was scared you would be lonely at home by yourself. But what about me? I would have been lonely if he went to see you, but he insisted he needed to make sure you were okay. Why would he do that if he didn't love you?"

Shion took a deep breath, praying that she could choose the right words for what she wanted to say. "Nobu is my best friend - I love him with my whole heart, and then maybe some more, but I'm not in love with him."

Hachi shook her head, "But you have done all the things lovers do with him."

"It wasn't like that!" she protested. "He's only ever had his heart on you almost ever since I met him." Her flatmate continued to look unconvinced and Shion could sense her chance of finishing this conversation with Nobu's relationship intact was lowering by the second.

"I'll… I'll stop everything," she said. "I'll behave like a normal friend. Nothing that could even be considered 'slightly' romantic. That would make you feel better, right?" She eyed Hachi hopefully and her flatmate nodded reluctantly.

"Then… I promise," Shion vowed. "No weird stuff."

No more reassuring hugs or hand squeezes. No more late-night holding each other in the dark. And definitely under no circumstances anymore of that - not that she'd ever even thought about doing that when he was in a relationship.

It was fine. She'd gone far longer without any of that stuff before. If it made Hachi happier, that made Nobu happier, which would make Shion happier. Everyone would be happy.

She would miss his hugs.

Satisfied with their agreement, the two rejoined the others. Nobu got up from the table when he caught sight of Hachi and rushed to her, reaching for her hand. "Hachi?" he said, his movements hesitant to pull her closer. She threw her arms around him - resolving the issue - and snuggled up to his chest.

"I'm okay now~," she said. "I'm sorry for getting mad."

"Not at all!" Nobu pulled her closer, uncaring of their audience and pecked the top of her head while Nana sniggered and teased him relentlessly. Behind them, Shin had slipped out of the door and wanting an excuse to leave, Shion trailed after him.

The blue-haired boy was sitting on the top stair of the floor, a cigarette in his mouth; clearly, he was sneaking the opportunity while Nana was distracted. Her feet froze in place as she wondered whether to join him or not - there hadn't been much of an opportunity to talk to him recently, and she felt they had a bit more in common than either of them realised. Not to mention, it would be nice to bond with another bandmate in light of her promise to Hachi.

Her heart fluttered as she took the leap of faith and tiptoed one step at a time towards the stairs.

He flashed her his trademark grin - albeit a tired one - as she approached, and scooched over so she could sit beside him.

"You ran away," he remarked, turning his head slightly to exhale a puff of smoke.

"So did you," she said.

Shin shrugged, "I wouldn't have had to if Hachiko and Nana-san weren't so stingy about me smoking."

He paused and stared at the joint in his hand and then a mischievous smile crept onto his lips. He offered it to her, and her eyes widened.

"Wanna trial a bad habit?" he teased. "The nicotine can help anxiety, you know."

She tilted her head, "Really?" As much as she knew smoking was horrible for your health, she would be lying if she wasn't curious about trying it at least once. There was no judgement coming from him - whether she accepted or declined, he would not give her a hard time.

Her fingers pinched it between her fingers and she looked at him helplessly.

"Put it to your lips, breathe in a little, and then let it out," he said. "Don't go crazy with inhaling or you won't be able to handle it."

She did as she was instructed; inhaling just enough to feel a harsh, bitter smoke hit the back of her throat. The foul taste caused her to mess up and she ended up coughing on the smoke until tears formed in her eyes. She quickly handed it back to her bandmate who patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"Not too bad for a beginner," he said kindly, taking another drag. The silence sat between them.

"Hachi found out about you and Nobu sleeping together didn't she?" he said eventually.

Shion stared at him, "How did you…?"

"How do I find out anything from Nobu these days? He got drunk and blabbed about everything." Shin smiled at her, "You and Nobu sure are pretty close to do that together."

"Too close, according to everyone else in the world," she muttered. "Why can't I just feel the way I do for Nobu without people expecting me to be in love with him? Why do only those feelings make our actions justified?"

"I've never heard of a friends-with-benefits story where they didn't eventually fall in love," Shin said thoughtfully, "but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Maybe you and Nobu can be that together, but…"

"That would make Hachi really insecure," Shion said, head dipping down. "I get it. I've already told her I'll back off and let them actually enjoy their time together. I don't want to be the reason they argue again."

"Didn't it make you kinda happy when you heard Nobu chose you over Hachi?" he said.

The phrasing made her uncomfortable, "I don't think–"

"He postponed his date to check up on you," Shin reminded her. "To Hachi that probably felt like it was him choosing you over her. She must have felt horrible."

She bit her lip, "Yeah…"

"I'm not blaming you or anything," he said. "It was Nobu's choice - and given that you tried to throw yourself off a bridge a few days ago I would have judged him more if he was off in fantasy land with his girlfriend."

Hearing him talk so nonchalantly about her attempt felt strange, but not unwelcome. She'd not brought it up since the day she'd woken up; it was a taboo subject. It was nice to have someone else break the ice for once.

"I was happy when I found out Nobu came back for me," she admitted. "But all that does is make it hurt more when I realise our feelings don't lead anywhere that does any good. He's the best thing that ever happened to me but you don't prioritise 'just friends' over 'significant others' or 'other halves'. It just doesn't happen. And even if things don't work out with Hachi, there'll always be someone else; someone there to remind me I'm obligated to accept I'm 'just a friend' and nothing more."

"I think it's stupid to decide your feelings are worthless because of what other people think," Shin said. "Shion-chan if you want to live happily ever after with your best friend, then do it. If you keep standing aside and letting people take your happiness then you'll never get anything for yourself."

She hugged her knees, "But I want Nobu to be happy."

He patted her head.

"You're a good person," he said sadly. "But you can't please everyone without going insane. Isn't that what your whole Nobu/Naoki dilemma was about in the first place?"

She sunk further into her knees, "Yeah…"

"I'm not saying you should go out of your way to break Nobu and Hachi up or anything," he said, "but if you don't tell Nobu how you feel then he'll never know - and I don't think he'd want that even if it did make his relationship with Hachi easier."

He's much stronger than I'm giving him credit for, she realised. Maybe it was time to get her priorities sorted out once and for all - but she wasn't sure if she had the strength to do what needed to be done. She couldn't leave Naoki to suffer in unrequited feelings - she was better than that. It was time to deal with the concept of being alone before she dragged everyone around her down further. Then maybe, a conversation with Nobu could be had, just to let him know that she would always be around to support him, no matter if that was while he was with Hachi or not.

August was approaching and with it the last of summer.

It was going to be a very busy month.

•─────⋅雨⋅─────•

AN: Currently my sleep schedule is abysmal. I end up going to bed at 11am and waking up at 5pm, but this is my second all-nighter and writing this chapter literally took me almost 19 hours of constant effort. I'M SO TIRED! After reading the last update, I thought it might be a bit disappointing if we only really got interactions between Shion, Nobu, and Naoki - I wanted to bring back the rest of the gang too, hence this chapter.

I wanted to write a longer chapter to make up for the lack of updates in 8 months so I hope you guys enjoy~! I think I'll go to bed now haha I'm literally falling asleep at the keyboard lol