Author's Note: Wow, it seems people really like this fic, even though this is only the second chapter! Thanks for the feedback, everybody!

chapter 2: feelings

"Now, where have you been?!" Uotani Arisa demanded as Tohru shuffled through her locker for her History book.

"What do you mean?" Tohru asked casually.

"You were late for class, that's what I mean!" her friend said. Tohru shrugged off the comment. "Only by five minutes." She shut the locker door. "It's really nothing, Uo-chan. I just got side-tracked, that's all." Well, that was one way of putting it.

Uotani frowned. "Whatever," she said, and, after glancing around, added, "Where's Orangey, anyhow? We still have a match to settle."

Tohru shook her head. "He's not here," she said, "and I don't think he will be for a while. He has some..." She paused before finishing. She didn't want to say where he actually was. She figured Kyou wouldn't want the whole school to find out. "He has other priorities he has to tend to." Okay, so it exactly wasn't a lie. Training could be viewed as a priority, after all, or at least in Kyou's mind.

"Oh, I see," Uotani replied with a nod. It was then Hanajima Saki approached her and Tohru.

"Ah, Hana-chan! Ohayou!" Tohru greeted her. In response, Hanajima asked, "Did you bring your cards, Tohru?"

Tohru snapped her fingers. "Oh, yeah! They're right here." She reached inter her locker and pulled out a deck of cards. "Kyou-kun's not here, so we're going to have to play by ourselves."

"Huh? What a sec—what about Prince Charming? Why don't you ask him if he wants to play?" Uotani asked.

Tohru's eyebrows knotted up. "Oh...Sohma-kun?" she replied. "I don't know..." Then, as if on cue, she saw Yuki coming down the hall. "Sohma-kun!" she blurted out.

Uotani turned around. "Speak of the devil!" she said. "Hey, Yuki—you wanna play Dai Hin Min with us?"

Tohru bit her lower lip, wishing she had never said anything.

Yuki thought about it for a moment, then, seeing that Tohru looked uncomfortable, declined her offer. "No thanks, I've got to meet with a teacher," he lied. He gave a quick wave to the three girls, then went on passed them. When he was by Tohru, she gave him a look that clearly said "Thank you". Yuki smiled in return.

When Yuki was out of sight, Hanajima said, "He seemed strange. He usually doesn't act like this."

"Oh, really?" Tohru babbled quickly. "I didn't notice anything unusual, Hana-chan." She turned to go to her next class, missing the look Uotani and Hanajima exchanged. Tohru wasn't the kind to lie to her best friends, but she didn't want to tell them about what happened earlier that morning.

For the rest of the day, Tohru did her best to prevent running into Yuki, even when they were in the same classroom. She felt weird for dong so, but something in her told her that it would be best to avoid him. Whenever she see him, however, he would smile at her. Tohru wouldn't try to react on the outside, but on the inside, her stomach jumped every time he did it.

When the last bell ran for the end of the school day, Tohru gathered her belongings and left the building, without waiting for Yuki as she always did.

"Honda-san, Honda-san!" she heard Yuki call out. She ignored it, and started to walk faster. She soon heard someone running up to her.

"H-hey, Honda-san, wait up!" Yuki gasped, grabbing her shoulder. Tohru stopped suddenly. "Did you...did you not hear me?" he inquired.

Tohru shook her heard. "Yes, I heard you, Sohma-kun," she said. She looked over to see Yuki's hurt expression, and felt her heart crumble. Her eyes began to blur up, so she wiped them before any tears were able to form. "I'm...sorry or ignoring you, Sohma-kun," she said. Yuki relaxed a bit, and then admitted, "Well, it's not like I didn't deserve it, I suppose." He stepped up closer to her. "It's just that..." he murmured, giving her arm a light squeeze.

Tohru pushed him back. "Please don't do this again, Sohma-kun," she begged. Yuki once again looked hurt. "Don't make me have to deny my feelings, Honda- san!" he said. "I don't want to lie to myself again."

Tohru stepped back, covering her face with her hands. "I just can't do this, Sohma-kun," she said, then turned around and ran back home.