Yusuke woke up early the first day of senior year. He wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Ema's apartment and needed to make sure he wasn't late. He hadn't seen her since her dad took her away, but they'd texted. She sounded like she was doing okay—but it's easy to sound upbeat through text and Ema seemed like the kind of person who usually hid being upset so she didn't inconvenience others. Though he hated that she was hurting, he was grateful she'd revealed her real feelings to him. He hoped she continued to feel she could be open about her true feelings with him.
She was waiting outside when he got to her apartment. He whipped out his phone in panic. Was he late? No, school didn't start for another half hour.
"Were you waiting long?" he asked, looking Ema over. She looked cute in her uniform, of course, but he was trying to tell if she was upset or if she was okay.
"No, not at all. I just wanted to wait outside for you." She smiled, but it wasn't her normal smile. His heart dropped. She wasn't okay.
"How was your week?" he asked as they walked to the train station.
"Okay," she said with a shrug. "Dad and I went out to eat a lot. I took him to places I've been with Tsubaki and Azusa. He's been on the phone and on his computer a lot arranging things for his show. But he told me about his adventures that I missed. I've always liked hearing his stories."
They were quiet the rest of the way to school. When they got there, there was a big crowd out front.
"What's going on?" Yusuke asked, irritated at all the girls blocking the walkway.
At the same time, Ema asked, "What's Azusa doing here?"
"What?" Yusuke said, then followed Ema's pointing finger. Azusa stood near the crowd in a suit. Ema and Yusuke made their way over.
"What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked.
Azusa's focused his attention on Ema, greeting her before he answered Yusuke. "Someone had to bring him to orientation to sign papers."
"Him?" Yusuke repeated. "Who's 'him'?" Then the crowd parted enough for him to see. He and Ema gasped at the sight of Fuuto. Yusuke was gasping in horror, but he was pretty sure Ema was just surprised. That bastard really was after Ema! Why else would he have switched to a normal high school? How long had he been planning on transferring here? Was it after Ema moved out or even before then?
Fuuto caught sight of them and smiled, waving. The crowd whirled around to see who the idol was waving at.
"Oh, crap," Ema muttered under her breath.
"What's wrong?" Azusa asked.
Ema sighed. "I was hoping no one from school would recognize me from the movie I did with Fuuto and Iori. And that if anyone would did recognize me, they would just think it was an actress who looks like me. But if they find out Fuuto knows me, people will know for sure that it was me."
Yusuke almost asked why she did the movie if she didn't want anyone to know about it, but thankfully kept the words to himself. But clearly it would have been better if she hadn't put herself in a position to be kissed by Fuuto and Iori.
"Come on," Yusuke said, grabbing Ema's arm. "We don't want to get caught up in this mob."
"Right. I'll see you later, Azusa," Ema said, waving as they left.
~.~
By lunch, Ema had been asked by three girls if she'd been the one in the movie and by five girls if she could get them Fuuto's number. It was like things with her dad all over again—people who had no interest in her were talking to her because they wanted to get close to someone else. She tried not to resent Fuuto for it. She was the one who had agreed to the movie. She'd done it for his sake, but that didn't make him responsible for what was happening now. And it had been fun to do the movie. She just hoped it wouldn't mess up her plan to have a normal life too much.
To escape anyone else talking to her, she went to the library for lunch. And found Fuuto there, standing between two shelves near the back of the room.
"Fuuto," she said quietly, not wanting to scare him. Also, this was a library, so they should be quiet anyway. "Are you hiding too?"
He turned to see her, a smile spreading across his face. She didn't think she imagined the hint of relief in his expression.
"Yes. Thankfully, I can't be mobbed during class, but lunch is a different matter. I figure I'll hide out until people get used to the fact that Fuuto Asakura is attending school here. Why are you hiding?"
"Uh . . ." she hesitated, not wanting to sound like she was blaming him. "Some girls figured out that I was the one in your movie, so they've been asking me for your number."
He winced almost imperceptivity. "Sorry. You only did the movie for my sake, huh?"
"It was fun," she admitted. "I enjoyed doing it—but yes. If you could have done the movie without me, I wouldn't have agreed to it."
He stared at her a moment before quietly saying, "Thank you. I got offered a role in an upcoming drama. It's just for a guest role in a couple episodes, but it wouldn't have happened without that movie."
"That's wonderful, Fuuto!" she gasped, before remembering she should keep her volume down. He clamped his hand over her mouth, pushing her against one of the book cases.
"Remember, we're here so people won't find us," he told her, his face inches from hers.
"Sorry," she whispered, moving his hand down. "I just got excited. You hadn't told me yet."
"Well, you're not around the mansion for me to give news to anymore."
Her eyes flashed with hurt and he immediately wished he could take back his words. But her reaction made him wonder if she would choose to live with the Asahina brothers over her dad if she had a choice. "I'll text you next time," he promised. "You'll be the first to know."
She smiled. Then she tilted her head as she studied him. "In the past five minutes, you gave me an apology and a thank you." She flashed a grin. "You either must be changing or be really fond of me now."
He was speechless for a minute. She had a point—kind of. He wasn't big on thanks or apologies in general. Those words were for polite people and he didn't believe in wasting his time on things like that. But Ema was different. "Fond" was the wrong word for his feelings for her. But, so far as Ema was concerned, perhaps he had changed. He never imagined finding a girl like her, or feeling about anyone the way he felt about her.
Since they were alone and she'd just given him an opening, he wanted to hit on her. He really wanted to hit on her. But past experience told him she wouldn't react well. But maybe he could get in just a little flirting.
"That's not the only thing that's changed," he purred, placing one arm on the bookshelf above her as he leaned closer. "Have you noticed I'm taller than you now?" He felt a little bit vindicated as he said those words. Months ago, she'd told him she wasn't interested in guys who were shorter than her. He'd been rude to her at the time and totally deserved her comment, but he was still pleased to point out that he was taller than her now.
"You are," she said, surprised as she stared up into his eyes. "I think we were about the same height when we shot the movie. You must have grown a couple inches over the summer."
He placed his other hand on a book shelf near her hip, caging her in. "I guess that makes me more appealing now, huh?"
She flushed at the reminder that she'd told him she didn't like short guys. "Sorry about that," she muttered.
"I wasn't looking for an apology," he said as he removed his arms. He stared into her eyes as he added, "I was just pointing out that things had changed."
~.~
Ema dragged her feet at the end of school. Being at school—other than the slight fiasco of being recognized for being in that movie and having ties to Fuuto—had been nice. Yusuke was here. Her friends Imai and Sasakura were here. Now Fuuto was here too. She'd meant to ask him why he was attending a normal high school instead of one for showbiz kids, but had forgotten.
Things had mostly been normal. It was comforting. But now that school was over, she didn't want to go home even if she did get to walk home with Yusuke.
They were nearly to the train station when Yusuke said, "Hey . . . I know it's only the first day of school, but . . . want to come over and study? Since it's our final year, I could use all the help I can get if I want to make it into college." He blushed, staring at the ground. "I mean, if you don't find it annoying studying with me since your so much smarter than me."
A slow grin spread across Ema's face and Yusuke's heart skipped a beat.
"I would love to. I enjoyed doing our homework together last year. It made the time pass quicker."
"Good," he said, relieved she'd enjoyed their time together too. "Let's go home then." He only realized his blunder after he'd said it, but Ema didn't comment on it other than a slight faltering in her step, so he left it at that.
~.~
It was painful to walk into the Asahina household with it no longer being her home, but it was also a relief to walk into a noisy home rather than her empty apartment. Her dad was scouting sites for his show and wouldn't be home until late.
"Ema!" Wataru cried upon seeing her, throwing his arms around her. "You're visiting us?"
She laughed, wrapping her arms around him. "Of course I am. Yusuke and I are doing our homework together. Just like we did last year."
"So you'll come here every day?" he asked excitedly.
"Maybe not every day. But a lot."
"Good," he said, resting his head against her. Ema was surprised that his head reached her chest now. Fuuto wasn't the only Asahina who'd been growing lately. "I missed you." He pulled back to pout at Yusuke. "Yusuke's so lucky that he gets to go to school with you. I wish I was in high school."
"Yeah, yeah, we gotta study now, so scram," Yusuke said.
"I have homework too!" Wataru argued. "I'm in junior high, so it's real homework now. I'm going to do my homework with you."
"You'll just get in the way," Yusuke complained, so Wataru turned pleading eyes on Ema.
"I don't mind if you join us. You'll have to be quiet though, okay? We can only talk about homework during study time."
"Right," Wataru said, his face serious as he gave a firm nod.
Yusuke gave an annoyed growl as he tossed his backpack on the table. Of course the little twerp would come and ruin his time with Ema. He'd probably make studying with them a regular thing if he could.
~.~
"Ema," Ukyo said, his voice surprised when he walked into the living room. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."
"Yusuke and I are doing homework together," she explained. Then added, "Like normal."
Ukyo smiled. It had been a shock to walk into the living room and see her there. Which was a little amusing given that she'd been there every day when he came home for almost a year. But the house had felt so empty the past week with her gone. Lifeless. Her very presence brightened up the whole house. Thank goodness she was still going to school with Yusuke. But then he didn't want to think about next year. What would she do when she graduated high school and her father left the country again?
She'd said she wanted to attend a local college and he'd hoped that meant she'd continue to live with them. But now that she'd moved out, but maybe she would decide to live on campus or get her own apartment. As selfish as it might be, he didn't want that.
"Will you be staying for dinner?" he asked as Masaomi walked in, then paused. He seemed as surprised as Ukyo had been to see Ema.
Her eyes brightened for a moment before dimming. She gave a sad smile as she said, "My dad will be home late tonight, but he said he wanted to have dinner together."
"Another time then," Ukyo said, disappointed. Then he realized that if he wanted Ema to stick around as much as possible, he needed to make that offer clearer. "You have a standing invitation to join us for dinner any night your father won't be home."
The smile that spread across her face made his heart skip a beat. He hoped she'd take him up on his offer. And continue to help him make dinner when she stayed. It was the only time he got to spend with her. Though wanting her to help him was another selfish thought since she would be here to do homework. He shouldn't want to take her away from her studies. But he couldn't help that desire.
"And please," Masaomi said, "continue to treat our home like yours. We want you to be just as comfortable here as you were before. If you need anything, a drink, a snack, or a blanket, please don't feel you need to ask."
Ukyo felt a spike of jealousy when Ema's face showed how much those words meant to her, her eyes softening and her lip trembling for a moment. He wished he'd said those words. Of course Ema was welcome to everything in their home. Didn't she know that?
"Ema!" Tsubaki called. "Good to see you!"
Ukyo turned to see the twins coming down the stairs, Tsubaki's eyes bright as his gaze zeroed in on Ema. It was like no one else was in the room. Ukyo fought the childish urge to block Tsubaki's view of her.
"You should hang out with me and Azusa this weekend," Tsubaki continued. Ukyo clenched his teeth. Ema hadn't seen her father in a year. Couldn't Tsubaki at least give her a little space to spend time with him?
"Sorry," Ema said, the apology sounding sincere, "my dad should be home for part of the weekend, so we plan to spend it together."
"Bummer. Let us know when you're available, okay?"
Ema nodded before going back to her homework.
Ukyo had wondered before if Tsubaki was interested in Ema. But since he wanted Azusa to come along, he probably just wanted to spend time with a friend and not a romantic interest. Right?
