Chapter 3

            As she made her way back to her classroom, Rika saw the looks on their faces. They were staring at her with eyes that glinted from anticipation and a tint of mischief. She also noticed that they were hanging out quite closely to her but she just shrugged off the suspicions that were forming in her head. Better to ignore them than getting too caught up with them.

            When Ryo came to sit next to her, he greeted her with a cheerful smile. And sat down, still looking at her. She turned away her gaze to the window on her left not to look at his face.

What is he doing, she thought to herself. Why are he and his friends staring at me like that? Maybe they're bitter that I punched Ryo when he was trying to help me.

She reflected on what happened at lunchtime. It wasn't true that she would have been able to handle the guys alone. She would have been hurt and was grateful to Ryo because he saved her but she would never admit her gratefulness. A voice snapped her back to the present moment.

"Miss Nonaka, please read the next passage," instructed Ms. Naomi.

She looked at the teacher and a flash of confusion ran through her eyes then faded. She had no idea what she had to read.

"Miss Nonaka," repeated the teacher.

A subtle snicker rose from the students.

"Ms. Naomi, the weather is really sunny today," Ryo's voice came.

Rika rolled her eyes. How stupid of him. What was he doing? She glanced at him and noticed he was holding up his book towards her and pointed a finger to a paragraph. For a moment, he thought he saw recognition on her face. He grinned at her.

"Thank you, Mr. Akiyama, for pointing out the obvious," the teacher replied.

The class laughed. "Now back to what we were doing. Miss Nonaka?"

She read the paragraph and went back to her thoughts. He helped her again. Why? Most people she knew used her to get to her mom but Ryo didn't seem as if he was expecting anything of her or maybe just simply a little gratitude.

Ryo scolded himself. He made himself look like an idiot just for a bet. Then, he remembered what he thought was gratefulness on the girl's faced and smiled at himself. He found her beautiful but pushed away that thought. He'd have to hurt her and that thought was weakening his already faltering resolution.

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The next few days, Ryo seemed to hang around Rika a lot. She thought it was to annoy her and acted more coldly towards him to drive him away. It didn't work. She didn't want to admit he annoyed her so she let him stick around her as if she was a planet and he the moon. Seeing that she didn't drive him away had the effect of making him think he was earning points with her. He commented about it to his friends.

"Maybe she's easier to get than we thought. Maybe she's playing hard to get and that though exterior is just to hide that she needs someone," they had said. "That'll make the breakup even more painful to her."

They were half right about her wanting someone though she would not admit it even to herself and convinced herself that she really needed no one. She was lonely and accustomed to it.

After a week of being followed closely by Ryo, she began to get used to her half present second shadow and ignored him. That same week, they were on class duty together. The gang that both had beaten on the first day of school had come up with something to get their revenge on Rika. When came lunchtime, the first thing the students saw when entering the cafeteria was a big poster of a man. He had dark brown hair and purple eyes so dark one would mistake them for black. The moment she saw the poster, Rika froze. Ryo, coming up behind her noticed and asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer, didn't even look at him. When a familiar voice rose through a microphone, her eyes widened in horror.

"This man, Mr. Nonaka, is Rumiko the super model's ex-husband also making him Rika's father. Married for 7 years, his sudden departure is shrouded in mystery. Some say that he was only using Rumiko and never loved her while other says he has had a mistress for years after he married the supermodel. I've heard it has something to do with his daughter, Rika Nonaka who, by the way, is standing just at the entrance of the cafeteria. The one with the blue jeans and broken-heart T-Shirt."

All eyes set on Rika and Ryo saw her tense up. She wanted to look down or run away but she wouldn't give that satisfaction to the gang. She boldly lifted her head to look straight ahead and made her way to the cafeteria counter, pushing her way through pairs of eyes fixed on her. She ate quietly and ignored the gossipers who came to talk to her and the loud voice who continued to talk about the Nonaka family I the worst possible way, frustrated that the girl they wanted to hurt seemed to not care at all. After a few minutes, the principal finally came and punished them.

Ryo felt angry. He wanted to go help Rika but was held away by the crowd. For the first time, he noticed the sadness in her eyes and her loneliness. He felt sorry for the girl as he started to understand her.

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After school, Rika had been desperate to get away but she could not because she was on class duty. Instead of running home and vent out her frustration, she got a mop and started to clean the floor. Ryo, who had not been able to talk to Rika, now had his chance but it just passed him by. He was lost for words to say to the amethyst-eyed girl.

When they had finished, Ryo started left. On his way out, he noticed he had forgotten something and came back. He heard a small sound, a wisp of a sob. He wondered where it came from and began to look for its source. The sound led him to the storage room. He opened the door quietly and his eyes widened. It was Rika. Crouched in a corner, she was crying. Was this really the tough girl he knew? The one that would never admit her weaknesses and relied on none but herself? She was crying. Somehow, the scene hurt him. He wanted to console her. That would probably earn him points with the girl. He made a quiet step towards her then lingered in the doorway. No, he thought to himself. She wouldn't want anyone to console her or even less to see her weaknesses. That's why she hid herself to cry.

 He closed the door quietly and stood guard in front of it so that no one would catch Rika crying. After a few minutes, he heard the doorknob turning and dashed towards the end of the hall and out of sight before she even saw his shadow. He didn't see her smile nor did he know that she knew he was there. He understood her and left her alone and she was grateful for that. Somehow, his presence had been comforting when he stood in front of the door. She got her things and left the school, unaware of the shadow that only left her when she got safely home.

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Author's note: I think I did the ending a little mushy…. I am amazed at myself. It's the first time I have writeen a 1000+ word chapter!!!