A/N: Sorry about the delay. I had to find my inspiration…Haven't found it yet, I just had to kick myself and start writing this…I've been procrastinating…I just didn't want to write serious…So I am sorry if this comes out incredibly sappy and cliche...Writing this way is not something I'm used to...But anyways, I did so here it is, the sixth chapter and no, I do not know how long this will be…Probably a couple more chapters, but who knows…I certainly don't. Well anyways, read and enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Count on Me

"That was an odd day yesterday…But it was fun…"

"Don't forget!"

"I won't!"

Choutarou put on his shoes and went out of his house. His mother was busy and his sister was off somewhere so he ended up going to get the groceries. He was on his way to the grocery store when he spotted Shishido in the distance. Choutarou was about to greet his senpai when he noticed he was talking to Atobe. Being the polite person he was, he stopped and waited for them to finish their conversation.

"Why do you want to do that?"

"C'mon, Atobe! Does it really matter?"

"Yes. Ore-sama will not do anything without knowing everything."

"Stop being so difficult!"

Choutarou happened to be able to hear their conversation, however, they did not seem to notice him.

"I should go somewhere else…I wonder what they're talking about?…No! It's not my business…But I want to know…"

He continued to have an inner battle with himself when he suddenly heard something. At that point, he was set on staying and listening without even realizing it himself.

"So that's why you don't want to play with Ootori?"

"Right. So what do you think?"

"You're an idiot."

"Hey! Watch it!"

Choutarou could not believe what he was hearing. He suddenly felt something churning in his stomach that made it hurt.

"I…must have missed something…Right?…Why would Shishido-san…Why would he…"

He wanted to interject and ask Shishido why, but something held him back. He tried to move but could not. He just stood there lightly biting his lower lip and listening on.

"It's not very hard. Just have him play with Hiyoshi for a while."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't you say something to Ootori?"

"Well, yeah, I mean no! That…it wouldn't work then."

Atobe watched amused as Shishido began to shift his weight and look to the side. Something off to the sidethen caught his eye and made him smirk.

"Fine. Ore-sama shall talk with Coach. Still, it might be wiser to say something to your partner, hm?"

"I'll deal with it how it comes."

Atobe turned around and was about to walk off when he still had one last thing to say.

"Out of curiosity, this wouldn't have something to do with that incredibly adorable bear, would it?"

Shishido immediately blushed and went on the defensive as the tennis captain looked overly innocent in asking the question. After seeing how uncomfortably Shishido began to act, Atobe stood smirking as his teammate squirmed to come up with an excuse.

"That has nothing to do with it! How did you even know!"

"It's sticking out of your bag."

Atobe pointed to Shishido's tennis bag slung over his shoulder. The zipper was partially undone and a gray bear was sticking out. Shishido quickly stuffed it inside and quickly pulled the zipper.

"I-it's nothing!…I-it's just a stupid meaningless bear, what of it?"

"…Shishido-san…I thought…he liked it…at least a little…Why should I care…It is just a silly thing created on a whim…Still…How come it bothers me…I…"

Atobe shrugged and shook his head at Shishido who was still furiously blushing.

"Mm, nothing really. Just thought I'd ask. Anyways, you'll start playing singles for a while and I'll move Hiyoshi with Ootori. Who says ore-sama does nothing? Just be careful about your partner. See ya later, then!"

Atobe waved behind his back at Shishido who still stood their motionless, blushing and staring at the ground. He finally let out a huge sigh and rested his arms behind his head.

"What a pain."

Choutarou watched as Shishido recollected himself and walked off. He wanted to run to him and ask him a load of questions, but once again, a feeling held him back.

"I should just ask him what he meant…Why am I hesitating?…Am I afraid of the answer?…I need to leave it alone…There must be a reasonable explanation to this…right, tomorrow I'll ask him. None of this now…I have more important things…like…groceries…"

He looked around and noticed that some people were beginning to stare. After watching the strange conversation between the last two students, they were beginning to wonder about the third student just standing there staring out to nowhere.

"Oops…Sorry, excuse me…"

Choutarou gathered his composure and quickly walked toward the grocery store. As he was walking, he began to go over the list his mother had given him.

"Eggs, milk, bread, cheese, meat…How much more stereotypical does a grocery list get?…Why do I feel angry at the grocery list?…It's just a stupid meaningless…"

Choutarou paused in mid thought. He began to rollover the last part. Then, memories from what Shishido had said earlier came back.

"Stupid and meaningless…Really…People need to eat…Therefore they buy groceries…If there were no groceries…then there is no food…So it's not meaningless…It's not meaningless at all…"

Along the way, Choutarou could not decide if he was then talking about the groceries or the bear. His head began to ache from thinking too hard and failed to notice a sign.

"H-hey! Watch out, Kid!"

"Wha-"

Choutarou took in his surroundings and was immediately greeted by a pane of glass. He was too busy thinking to notice that the automatic door was not working and so he had slammed face first into the closed doors. He fell to the ground and rubbed his head.

"Bad day…"

"Are you alright?"

He looked up at the speaker. It was a man dressed in a workers uniform looking down at him. He bent down and helped Choutarou stand back up.

"Yes…Thank you…And I'm terribly sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Just pay more attention next time."

"I will. Thank you, sir."

Choutarou bowed at the worker and looked to the side. A regular door was off to the side and there was a sign stating that the door was the entrance. Choutarou sheepishly walked over and opened the door. After walking in and bowing his head at one of the clerks, he bolted for a deserted aisle.

"I can't believe I just did that…This isn't a good day…Here I thought it was going to be a good day…Why didn't I notice the sign?…Oh right, I was thinking…Like I am now…I should stop now…"

Choutarou stood straight and took in a deep breath. After exhaling, he felt much better. He walked over to the set of carts and pulled one away from the others. Then, he fished out his mother's list and began shopping.

As he was pushing the cart, it kept swerving to the right side. Choutarou looked down at the cart and noticed one of the wheels was not hooked on properly.

"Great…A malfunctioning cart…Stupid…Why am I so tense?…It's not the cart's fault…It's whoever broke it that's to blame…Once again…I'm thinking too much…Did I just make another freaky correlation to grocery items and a teddy bear?"

He stopped pushing the cart and began staring at the different cartons of milk. After a few moments, he completely forgot what he was looking for.

"May I help you with something?"

Choutarou was knocked out of his reverie when a young woman dressed in a green apron approached him.

"Oh, no…I was just looking…for…anou…"

She giggled as he fumbled with the grocery list and blushed. She came closer and leaned over his shoulder and looked at the list.

"One percent milk? I'm sorry, we're out of that."

"Oh really? So what would the next best thing be?"

The lady looked to the side and thought about it. Choutarou watched fascinated as he did not realize that it was such a complex question. He continued to stare at her when she finally looked at him.

"It would depend really. If you would prefer something a little bit thicker with more fat or skim milk which has no fat but is a little thinner…"

Choutarou stared at her in shock. After all that thinking she could only come up with that. He quickly shook his head and smiled his normal sweet smile.

"Oh, thank you very much. I have a much better idea now."

"I'm glad I could help!"

She cheerfully smiled and skipped off down another aisle. Choutarou watched her go and sighed. He actually had no idea what she was talking about and was just as confused if not more confused now.

"How does milk become so complicated?…That was one of the most useless pieces of information…"

Choutarou paused and once again recollected his thoughts and knew that it was pointless to get angry with a person who had no control over anything in the store. He had to take another deep breath to think calmly.

"So it's between two percent and skim…Well…my sister is always complaining about fat…Mother does too sometimes…So I guess I should go with skim milk…"

Choutarou reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of skim milk. He gently placed it in his grocery cart and then began walking up and down the other aisles gathering the necessary items.

At long last, he was finally finished. He carefully maneuvered his wobbling shopping cart to the check out line. Choutarou was feeling better now that he would be able to go home, until he saw the check out line. Every lane was full with some lines going into the aisles.

"Way un-cool…"

Choutarou paused after he realized what he had mumbled. He then thought about the conversation he heard earlier and became irritated again.

"Why today? It couldn't have gone smoothly, could it?…Why is the line so long?…I hate this…How come I have to do the groceries?…Why am I getting so worked up…Just calm down…It's not their fault…It's not anybody's fault…this can't be helped. I'm not the only one who needs groceries after all…It's not stupid and meaningless…"

Once again, Choutarou was drawn back to those two adjectives. He looked up and sighed. He knew deep down that his frustration was coming from something else, but he could not help but be frustrated. He was frustrated with everything: with groceries, with milk, with broken automatic doors, with Shishido, and with himself. He noticed the ache in his head again and looked over his shoulder. On the shelf next to him was a small bottle of ibuprofen. Without thinking he grabbed a bottle and threw it in his cart. His mind began to wander once again, on things relating to Shishido, teddy bears and bad days.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Choutarou noticed that he had made it through the line, checked his groceries and had to pay now.

"Oh right…Here you go."

He handed the clerk the money who quickly punched in the numbers and pulled out his change. He quickly stuffed it in his pocket, grabbed the two bags of groceries, and practically ran out of the store.

Choutarou took a deep breath, glad to be out of the shopping chaos. As he was walking, something wet dropped on his hand. He looked up and noticed the gray sky. A tiny droplet of water plopped onto his nose and ran down his face. He wanted to cry.

"Of course it would…How could it get wor-"

Choutarou stopped himself. He normally did not believe in superstition, but at this point, he was just being cautious. However, that was useless as it soon began to rain.

"Well, that was stupid of me to try…I got to get home before the rain ruins the groceries…"

He ran all the way home and practically threw the groceries in the house in an attempt to save them. He then followed suit, quickly shutting the door behind him. As he was shaking off the excess water and taking off his shoes, his sister came down the hallway.

"So it started to rain…At least you were able to get the groceries back."

She leaned over and grabbed the bags. After shaking off the water, she brought the groceries into the kitchen and began putting them away.

"You should get dried off or you'll catch a cold."

Choutarou sighed and smiled at her.

"Alright. I'm going to take a shower now."

His sister watched him slowly go up the stairs. She shook her head. The minute she saw him she could tell he was in a bad mood even though he still smiled.

After taking a long, hot shower, Choutarou felt a little better. He was still a little cold, so he threw on a baggy sweatshirt one size too big. He then sat on his bed and popped a couple capsules of ibuprofen. Grabbing his pillow from the head of his bed, he clutched it too his chest and then unceremoniously plopped down on his side.

"This feels nice…"

He closed his eyes and snuggled into his oversized sweatshirt. He was enjoying himself so much that he did not hear his sister come in. She silently sat on the other side of his bed.

"So how was your day?"

"Oh…It was fine. How about you?"

She could hear how weary her little brother sounded and how he was trying so hard to sound interested and cheerful. She wanted to make him feel better but she did not know how to.

"Pretty good…So-o-o…Hey, are you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine. Why?"

"The bottle of painkiller on your nightstand made me wonder just a little."

Choutarou kept his back to her. Even though he put on a cheerful tone, he could not force his face to match. He could only frown and stare absent-mindedly at the wall.

"I just had a little headache. That's all…I think I'm going to take a nap before dinner."

With each passing minute it grew more difficult for him to keep up the front. His sister merely rubbed his back and patted his head.

"Sure. Sleep good."

Choutarou listened to her walk out of his bedroom and close the door quietly behind her. He sighed. He appreciated that his sister tried to make him feel better, but at this point, he wanted only to be alone. His mind kept wandering to the conversation between Atobe and Shishido.

It played over and over in his mind. With each passing time, he felt worse and worse. Choutarou hugged his pillow closer. He sincerely hoped the painkillers would kick in and stop his headache. After futile attempts to stop his mind from wandering, Choutarou, without noticing, began to grow tired by the second.

"I really want to sleep…Why?…Why?…Why wouldn't Shishido-san want to be my doubles partner anymore?…If he didn't like the bear…he should have said so…But he's too nice and wouldn't tell me…It would have been easier if he just told me out front…Why do II sound like something from Oshitari-san's movies…I don't want to play with Hiyoshi-san…I want to be with Shishido-san…How come…I want to sleep…Why won't he…I want to sl-…"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: There you have it, another chapter. This was my sorry attempt at serious…I don't like writing serious…I feel like I'm writing for a cheesy teen love novel…Anyways, I meant for this chapter to be short and what not…but it turned out a bit longer than expected…Funny how that works…Right, forgive me for the random things about groceries…I kind of ranted on some of the things that go wrong when grocery shopping…especially the squeaky, broken wheel…Well, next chapter should be coming up and we'll maybe learn more about why Shishido wants to stop playing with Ootori...Honestly…I don't know yet…I kind of know…but I still haven't worked out the kinks…But I do know that Ootori is reaching his limits with keeping everything inside and just smiling...Anyhoo, thanks for bothering to read this story and for reviewing!