I walked into the school building felling all happy and alive. I was going to be going to my first fancy party right after school and I just couldn't get that off my mind. I started to walk down to my locker when I heard my name get called out. I turned around and saw Akinori walking my way, and he didn't look to happy. I stood there feeling a little confused.

'What did I do? Why does he look so mad?' I didn't get to find out, because a friend of Akinori's ran up behind him and dragged him away somewhere. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew if it was something important that he would try and talk to me again.

I walked down to my locker and as always, Newnan was standing beside it, waiting for me. "Isn't it great? Our first fancy party." I raised my eyebrows at her. "Okay not my first fancy party, but the first I've been invited to and not forced to go to."

Newnan's mum always had fancy parties and Newnan was always forced to go to them.

"I think Akinori is mad at me… but I don't know why!" I said as I opened my locker.

Newnan snorted, "You don't? You're pretty dumb then, because it is obvious why."

"Why then?" I asked as I pulled out my science book. Newnan rolled her eyes,

"Because of your relationship with Mikio, that's why." I turned and looked at her quickly, my eyes wide.

"What do you mean my relationship with Mikio? I don't have a relationship with Mikio! We're just friends!"

"Yeah, whatever you say Yuki." She said as she walked way with an I-don't-believe-you smile. I slammed my locker door shut and headed off to class, praying that Akinori didn't really think what Newnan had said he thought.

Lunch

I slid into a seat next to Newnan at our usual table and started telling all of our friends about how we were going to a party and how we had to dress up in beautiful dresses. All of our friends were green with envy. I was laughing at them and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see Akinori, looking just as mad and stern as he did earlier that day.

"Yuki, we need to talk." As if on cue everyone at my table got up and scurried away, leaving me alone with a very mad Akinori. I gulped and looked at him, wishing it had been one of my friends who's boyfriend had come up and said that to them and I would be free to run away with everyone else. But no, I had been the one with the misfortune to hear those four dreaded words. He sat down across from me so we could see each other face to face.

"What's with that guy, Mikio? I can see he likes you. Do you like him? I'm not sure this will work if he keeps hanging around with you all the time. If you want this to continue we better get together after school and work this out." I hung my head. I hadn't known that that was how Akinori felt.

"Um… I really want this to work Akinori, I really do, but…" He looked at me as if I were about to slap him in the face. I took a deep breath and went on, "But I'm busy all after school today. I'm going somewhere after school and then my dad wants me to meet someone as soon as I get back so I'm busy all day today… how about we get together tomorrow?"

He looked really disappointed but said, "I guess… meet me at the park at 2:30 tomorrow, don't be late." He got up from the table and walked over to his friends, and they all had strange smiles on their faces. Before I could figure out what kind of smiles they were, my friends came back to the table to find out what had happened. Just like them, run away when it is happening, once it's over come back and find out all the juice details. I quickly told them and I saw a triumphant smile come across Newnan's face.

"I told you he thought you liked Mikio… do you like Mikio?" everyone leaned in a little; they obviously wanted to hear my answer to this. I felt my cheeks start to glow.

"Um… I… I have to go to the library…" I quickly got up from the table and practically ran out of the lunch room. So much for having a nice day… even the weather was starting to get crappy. I looked out a window in the hallway and saw a bunch of black clouds gathering in the sky.