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Shiranai Atsune- I was just too lazy to upload them all at once lol And I think I'm gonna do more with Sumi definitely, but Ijuuin is kind of a mystery to me. I don't know his character well so I feel like if I try to incorporate him (which I should for the sake of accuracy) I might fall flat with his personality. It's been so long since I've read the manga or watched the anime.

Disclaimer: I don't own Junjou Romantica.

-One Year Later-

Misaki's POV

My brother's obnoxiously loud laughing woke me up. I could feel the bright sunlight that filtered through my blinds hitting my eyelids, painting the back of them red. Groaning in annoyance, I rolled over onto my stomach and pulled the covers up over my head.

Despite my attempts to go back to sleep, Takahiro's loud talking and laughing drifted through my blankets and prevented me from drifting off into dreamland again. I groaned once again, but gave up on my losing battle and rolled out of bed, untangling from my dark blue sheets.

I walked into my bathroom and looked at my face. Over the last year, I'd gotten some of my natural tan back (Not that much, though. I hate going outside.), and my eyes gained a dull light reminiscent of the one that they lost so long ago.

I didn't fool myself into getting any hope, though. I knew that I would never get that light back, not fully anyway. I'd been through too much for that to be possible anymore, and without someone like Akihiko there for me, I didn't think I would regain any more than I already had.

I turned away from the mirror and towards my shower, turning the water on to the hottest it could get. While I waited for it to heat up, I went back into the bedroom and grabbed some underwear, a dark green long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and a pair of socks.

I returned to the bathroom and dropped my clothes on the porcelain countertop next to the sink. After closing the bathroom door, then locking it, I stripped out of my nightclothes and dumped them in the laundry basket, then stepped into the scalding hot water.

After washing my body and hair quickly, I stepped out of the shower and shut the water off. I grabbed a towel and dried my body off, then began to work on my hair. As I dried my hair using a towel with one hand, I brushed my teeth with the other.

And finally, ten minutes later, I walked out of my bathroom dressed and not at all ready for the day to come. I grabbed my phone off of my nightstand and slipped it in my pocket, then pulled on my black hoodie.

I left my room, first unlocking the door, and closed the door with a soft click behind me. I followed the smell of waffles and bacon to the kitchen, pausing momentarily in the doorway when I saw Akihiko and Ritsu sitting at the table, eating like they lived there.

Minami smiled kindly at me and handed me a plate of food. I reached from behind my brother for the syrup, then pulled it back to me, pouring it on the waffles. I placed it back on the table and went into the living room, unwilling to eat in the same room as those stupid love birds.

Usually Takahiro wouldn't have argued about it, but today he decided to say something. "Misaki, why don't you eat at the table with us? It's a big day, after all."

I looked inquisitively at him. "Sure, I guess." I sat down at the table without even glancing at the lovey-dovey couple. "Why is it a big day, exactly?" I asked.

Takahiro gave a huge grin, looking more happy than usual. "Well, there are two reasons, actually. The first one, of course, is because you've been out of jail for a year now." I stared blankly at him. Why was that such a big thing? 'Oh, congratulations, Misaki! You've been an ex-convict for a whole year! I'm so proud!'

"What's the second reason, then?" I asked him.

Instead of Takahiro, Ritsu answered, and I noticed Akihiko wince a bit. "Usagi and I are getting married!"

I froze with a piece of waffle halfway to my mouth, eyes wide in shock. The fork clattered back to my plate. "W-what?" I stuttered. I glanced at Akihiko, who looked torn between being guilty and happy. I glared harshly at him.

Takahiro was oblivious of all of this. "Isn't that great?! And Ritsu even asked for you to be the best man, since you and Usagi-san were so close!"

I let my bangs cast a shadow over my eyes, hiding it from everyone's view. I gritted my teeth, trying to push away the stabbing pain in my heart. I could feel cracks forming in it, spreading and branching out until my entire heart was shards of glass on the ground.

"Yeah, it's great," I said, somehow managing to keep my voice steady. I put the indifferent mask I'd taken so long to make back up, somehow piecing it back together. I barely kept up my charade of being indifferent up the rest of the day.

Takahiro decided that we should celebrate the huge occasions and we went out that day. That night, when Ritsu suggested that we should go to a karaoke bar, I told them I had a headache and requested that Akihiko just drop me off at home.

He frowned at me in the rearview mirror while Takahiro protested, but Akihiko took me back anyway, and I silently thanked him for doing something right.

The front door practically slammed behind me. I made sure to lock it, not only because Takahiro reminded me to, but also because it became habit to me over the past year.

I threw my shoes haphazardly into their place in front of the door and rushed up the stairs to my room. I actually slammed the door this time and locked it violently.

All of it was coming crashing down on me.

'Usagi and I are getting married!' Those words echoed through my head, becoming like some sick, painful mantra that wouldn't go away.

"Shut up . . ." I whispered. Tears leaked down my face and the pain in my crushed heart that had become a dull throb came back full force, making me drop to my knees.

'Isn't it great?!'

My body began to tremble, and the tears came faster and faster.

'. . . you and Usagi-san were so close!'

'We were more than close! We were lovers for fuck's sake!' I thought brokenly. 'And then he left me . . .'

'Ritsu even asked for you to be the best man . . .'

'Why should I be?! He took Akihiko away from me!' My eyes snapped open at that thought, and I clutched my hair tighter.

"He was never mine," I whispered. "It was all fake. He was never mine." I'd been telling myself that for the past seven years, trying to get that stupid fucking rabbit out of my head, and it had always worked until then, but now it didn't.

It only made me hurt more. It only made me want him back even worse. I didn't let myself sob, or rather, my body didn't. I'd sobbed all of my sobs when Akihiko left me. I let all of them out when I found out that he didn't want me anymore.

And still I cried silently. I shed tears for kami knows how long before I stopped. And then, I only stopped because I heard the car pulling up in front of the house.

The door slammed open, and heavy footsteps moved through the first floor towards the stairs.

"Do you two want to stay here for the night?" my brother's voice drifted up. "It's getting pretty late."

I couldn't make out the response, but I assumed that it was an affirmative because multiple people climbed the staircase. I just sat with my back to my door silently, staring ahead with dead eyes.

Two pairs of feet passed my door, and the door of the room next to mine opened then closed. Of course they were staying in that room.

It wasn't long before I heard words and moans coming through the wall, as I had expected. I sighed. Standing up on unsteady legs, I had to lean against the door before going over to my nightstand and opening the top drawer.

I pulled my earbuds and iPod out, put the earbuds in, and blasted the music as loud as it would go to drown out the sounds coming from the other room that made me want to shatter again. And yet they still pierced me right where my heart would've been if it wasn't crushed to dust already.

I let my tears guide me into sleep as I curled into a fetal position on my bed.

-JR—JR—JR-

The next time I woke up it was one in the afternoon. I pulled my earbuds out, which were still blasting music, and sat up, rubbing at my tired eyes. The house was strangely quiet, for some reason, and I couldn't quite place the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I climbed out of bed and went into my bathroom, running a hand through my sleep-tangled hair. I grimaced at my disheveled reflection. My hair was a rat's nest from my tossing and turning, my eyes were red-rimmed from crying and had bags under them, and my cheeks had tearstains on them.

I sighed and grabbed a black rag from under the sink, then wetted it with warm water and rubbed my face with it until I deemed myself presentable. Well, for the most part. I grabbed my brush and made my hair obey me so that it wasn't sticking up everywhere.

I left my bathroom and grabbed a change of clothes, having not changed out of the ones from the day before yet. I pulled on a pair of black jeans identical to the ones I was already wearing, a light blue long-sleeved shirt, and my hoodie.

Hesitantly, I left the bedroom and walked into the kitchen, noticing that no one was home. As I waited for my toast to be done, I glanced around the room, looking for any sign that something was out of place.

I found nothing strange, and yet I couldn't shake my uneasiness. I jumped when the toast popped out of the toaster with a loud sound. I gave a long sigh, but pulled the toast of the machine and took a bite out of it, not bothering with butter or jam.

I jumped once again when I heard the front door lock turning and people walked in, only relaxing when I heard Takahiro's exuberant voice, saying something about wedding planning to Akihiko. I groaned silently, the previous day finally coming back to me fully.

Akihiko was first to walk into the kitchen, though I noticed him give a small pause in his graceful steps when he saw me leaning casually against the counter and eating toast. I greeted him with a small nod.

"Good afternoon, Misaki," Ritsu greeted, smiling tensely at me.

"'Morning," I responded with a clipped tone. "What were you three up to?"

"Wedding planning!" my brother exclaimed, overly excited about the whole thing. "We were hoping you would be there, but decided to let you sleep."

"I see," was all I said, nibbling on the bread.

The room went silent, and when I'd finally decided that I should leave to relieve everyone of the tangible tension in the room, the phone rang, and Takahiro jumped up to get it.

"Hello?" he said, and paused when, at least I guess, the person on the other line spoke.

"Haitani? I don't know anyone by that name," he answered them. My breath hitched, and it suddenly became hard to breathe. I didn't process how the toast fell out of my hand or how I clutched onto the counter for support.

I only processed the fact that he found me. My personal tormentor found me, and he was coming to take me back. I didn't have to speak to him to know that.

-JR—JR—JR-

And there's the second chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed! Favorite, follow, review, and PM me. Until next time . . .

~O'Malley out!