Chapter 2

Consciously, she thinks some more

Voices. More voices. She took a moment to regain full consciousness and interpret what was happening. Where was she? She must be on a bed at the school infirmary. Why? The events of the afternoon replayed itself in her head, and the pieces clicked into place. She cracked open an eye.

"Riku?"

"Risa! What happened?"

"I didn't eat, and fainted."

"Why didn't you eat?"

"I didn't feel like it." she lied.

A flock of girls suddenly appeared around the bed. Risa sat up, wondering why they were all here. She wasn't that popular, was she?

"Risa! How did it feel?" What feels like what? The process of having a crappy day?

She must have looked confused because another girl sighed, "If you had even been semi-conscious, it would have been something out of a fairy tale!"

More collective sighs. "I'm so jealous!" somebody said.

Risa cringed. They sounded so much like her gushing over Dark. Wait. Gushing??

"Over who?" she said out loud.

"Over who?" Makoto-chan said. "You're unbelievable, Risa. Don't you even know? Hiwatari-kun carried you bridle style all the way in here."

Hiwatari did? Oh God. No way. The rumours, the girls, the school. The blood drained from her face, and she was on the brink of another migraine. She blinked long and hard to clear her head.

"Risa, you sure you don't want to get some rest? You don't look too well."

"I'm fine" she said half-heartedly.

"Hope you feel better. Bye Risa!" the girls said and left.

How will she deal with Hiwatari-kun after this? What should she say to him after putting him through all that? And what do the girls think of me now?

Ugh. Grow up, Risa. Who cares about what anyone else thinks? They can think whatever they want. Just act normal. Say thank you, apologize for the inconvenience and then talk about something. Yes. That's exactly what she'll do the next time she sees him. A plate of ramen and a strawberry milkshake was placed at her bedside. Oh, the ever so thoughtful Riku. She dug into the food greedily until a male voice called out,

"Enjoying yourself?"

Hi-Hi-Hiwatari-kun?!

"Ehh?!" she swallowed. "Hiwatari-kun? Umâ€I want to thank you and apologize for the trouble I've put you through."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Get better, Harada-san. Get some sleep." he winked. She felt blood rise to her cheeks.

"I know. I sleep so late I have a hard time waking up."

"Me too. Mornings are always the worse for me." He sat on a stool next to the bed.

"Did you eat yet? I never see you eat lunch." Risa said. Hiwatari being there didn't feel awkward at all, like she thought it would be. His presence was rather comforting.

"No. I never eat lunch."

"Why not?"

"Too much of a hassle to make."

An idea formed in her head. With her newfound cooking skills, she could find a way to repay him. Satoshi eventually returned to class, whereas Risa remained in bed, not looking forward to a math lecture on tangent ratios and their significance to her daily life. Besides, she needed some time to think.

What else can she offer him? There lies a strange desire in her heart to make him happy. He was rich, independent and intelligent. He certainly didn't need help in schoolwork, or finances. Come on, think, Risa. He's human, and every person needed something.

Friendship. Of course! Why didn't she think of that earlier? Sure, people admired him, but from a distance. Did they try to talk to him, understand him, or care about him? That was her mistake with Dark. She admired him, but everything she did led to her own selfish desires. In a way, she was using Dark. Satoshi too, was human, and like her, needed companionship.

Excellent. Mission be-friends-with-Hiwatari-kun under way!

That night, Risa slept soundly and early, with her daily thinking routine done in the infirmary, and a goal to wake up to prepare lunch in mind.

Morning 7:00:

Risa's eyes snapped open at the same time her alarm clock was silenced. Two happy birds chirped away to one another in a deep, heartfelt conversation. Such lovely creatures. This is going to be a good day.

Humming to herself, she flipped open her closet, revealing rows of pretty dresses with their elaborate frills and laces. Her hand skipped over them and she picked out the school uniform a red and white thing. Rather plain compared to everything else in her wardrobe. What shall I make for lunch today? Chicken omlette? A bento? Ramen? When her mental list of foods got down to riceballs, her second alarm clock went off. Risa couldn't believe that she slept through the precious 10 minutes in between alarm clock buzzes each day, where she was able to get changed and decide on food.

"Four fresh eggrolls" coming up! she said happily to herself. Riku sat at the breakfast table groggily and shot her a weird look.

"What? Never seen a girl make eggrolls before?"

"I hope you're feeling okay." Riku replied. "How much did you study for the math test?"

Risa froze, and her head slowly swiveled around as the implications of Riku's question dawned on her.

"Eh?" she squeaked.

"Don't tell me you didn't know? Um, your egg's done."

"No" came Risa's weak reply. "I never heard Shikijou sensei." Half-heartedly, she rolled the egg into a lunchbox. Test? Why wasn't she informed? There was no way she'd pass without studying. She's been fainting all over the place, getting hungry spells and daydreaming through sin and tangents that week. Math was 2nd period so there wasn't even enough time to cram-study. This was not good. Not good at all.

A.N First of all, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. I was surprised that I even got reviews for this. Secondly, I need to apologize for the length of the second chapter. It must be a bit disappointing. I had more, but my computer crashed and I lost a lot of data. I didn't want to keep anyone waiting, so I thought I'd post this for now. But the fact that I've finished a full version of chapter two means that the ideas are still fresh in my head, which means quicker posting of "third" chapter!