Igarashi met us at the gate, making no comment about Nana staying the night at my house. It had become a normal thing. Igarashi was probably glad it was Nana, and not some strange boy he didn't know. The problem this morning was that Nana had been quiet, barely speaking to anyone. Since the moment I woke up, he gave short answers, not really present. For once, I had to carry the conversation in order to keep the topic off Nana's quietness. Igarashi had always told me that he could pick up on Nana's mood easily, and he finally asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Nana shrugged, giving a flippant reply. "Thinking."

"You? Really?" Igarashi wasn't buying it.

"Yeah."

Turning his head, Igarashi gave me an inquisitive look. I shrugged, too. There's no way I can tell him about those boys. Nana was already freaking me out with his silence. Out of the two of them, he always took the action first, thinking about it later. Now all of sudden, he's taking it slow? This cannot be good.

Sliding the classroom door open, Nana's gaze zeroed in on Takeshi, who sat in his desk. Before I could stop him, he'd shoved the desks aside, getting the whole room's attention. Grabbing Takeshi by the collar, it seemed like Nana might kill him!

"What the hell, man?" Takeshi asked, struggling against him, attempting to be brave. However, his hands shook in fear. He knew what this was about. The bastard played dumb, trying to get out of this situation somehow.

Igarashi grabbed Nana's arm. "Nana!"

The whole room went silent, waiting for what would happen next. Their eyes moved between them and me, who stood at the front of the class, paralyzed.

"If you EVER touch Kari again, I will END you! You got that?" Nana yelled, jerking Takeshi back and forth.

Igarashi let go of his friend, turning his eyes on me. The realization of what has happened just hit him. "What?" His voice turned as deadly as Nana's. Cracking his knuckles, he backed Futo into the corner.

Futo held up his hands. "W-we won't do it again! Swear!"

All I could think about was Takeshi's words. Nana and Igarashi had always protected me. What would I do if they weren't around? I stepped out of the way when Takeshi and Futo went running out of the room, cursing under their breaths.

Igarashi wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back. "Why didn't you tell me? Is that how you cut your leg?" The class began to settle down, returning to their own conversations.

"Yeah, I went to the roof for some air… and… they followed." The tears that sprang to my eyes were hard to hold back. When I looked around, I realized that they were both shielding me from view. No one in the classroom could see me. They're always keeping me safe… That made me cry even more. Holding onto him tightly, I took a few minutes to calm myself down, listening to his heartbeat.

After I'd calmed down, Igarashi asked, "Better?"

I took one last deep breath. "Thank you."

Since we were kids, Igarashi had always been there for me to calm my panic attacks. I'd gained more control over them, not breaking down into tears over everything, like I used to. Still, it comforted me to know that he's always here for me. No matter what happened, I had him… and Nana.

For the next week, neither Takeshi nor Futo were at school. Rumor was they got suspended for sexual harassment. Nana and Igarashi also got extra clean-up duty for three days for starting a fight, but the punishment was lenient in light of what happened. Apparently, Akine had given a statement to the principal, giving a second witness to what happened.

Finally, it had all died down, and no one talked about it anymore. Standing in the hallway, Akine approached me, escaping his horde of fangirls that were fawning over him. He flashed me a charming grin. "How's the leg?"

"It's all healed now. There's just a small scar. Oh, I never thanked you for stopping them. I try not imagine how differently that situation could have gone, if you hadn't stepped in." Those thoughts plagued my nightmares. Takeshi's rough hands on my body… his sloppy kiss. It disgusted me.

Akine leaned back against the window sill, nodding his head in thought. "Guys like them piss me off." He turned his gaze out the window, down toward the courtyard below us. "Heard your boyfriend had a fight with them."

I blinked. "Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the blond one. He left the school with you that day."

My cheeks grew hot. "Nana isn't my boyfriend." I only wished that to be true. "I live alone, and after I told him everything, I asked him to stay with me, just in case. It's nothing more than him being a good friend." Nana as my boyfriend? I could squeal at that title.

Akine shrugged with a smile. "You like him, don't you?"

My whole face felt hot. "N-no! We're just friend. Just… friends." Those words made my heart ache. Starring at the floor, I had to swallow down the lump in my throat. Who am I trying to convince? Me or him?

"Right. What was I thinking?" His tone was laced with sarcasm, but he laughed, and patted my head. The bell rang. "See you around, Kari." Akine strolled off, back into the clutches of some of his classmates, eager to walk with him to their classroom.

Returning to my own class, it seemed I had missed an important event. Kae Serinuma had returned, and she'd lost a lot of weight. Everyone was in an uproar. We'd been in the same class for a while, having attended the same junior high. I'd always thought her to be a nice girl, a little anti-social, but she had a kind heart. Now, Kae looked radiant. Tilting my head to the side, I laughed to myself. "And uncomfortable."

The whole day it seemed liked everyone couldn't believe their eyes Boys who had never payed attention to her before, were fighting to speak to her. By the end of the day, I couldn't wait to get out of here and not listen to the rumors being spread about Kae. Retrieving my shoes from my locker, Nana abandoned me for that girl. He, Igarashi, and two others were all trying to talk to her.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about walking home Kari?" Nana asked, hints of anger in his voice. It was rare for them to fight over a girl, but when they did, things could go south pretty quickly.

Igarashi laughed. "I'm not the one who spends night after night at her house."

This. This is why I hate when they fight over a girl.

Smacking them both on the back of the head, I folded my arms. "I can walk myself home. If you're going to fight, don't bring me into it. Why don't you all go out together? Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?" What am I even saying? Do I really want Nana to go out with some other girl?

Turning on my heel, I tried to walk about of the building with my head up. As soon as I got out of sight, I smacked my hands against my face. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I suggest that?! Ugh! I'm such an idiot!" Kicking my foot against the nearby wall, I bit my tongue to keep from screaming. Bad idea! Wiping away a stray tear off my cheek, I pulled myself together. "Right. I should go out tonight, too."

If I had any other friends other than Igarashi and Nana.

A familiar laugh caught my attention. Across the street, Akine walked beside another boy, intently listening to the boy speak. They were walking away from the campus. My legs moved before my mind, darting across the street. By the time I reached them, my breaths were heavy. Damn, I am so not in shape. "A-Akine!" Bending over with my hands on my knees, I took deep breaths.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked, casually, like we had done this a million times before.

I looked up at him, a little put off by his tone. "Um…" What the hell am I supposed to say? Girls don't ask guys out, and I don't want him to think this is romantic in any way.

His friend smacked his arm. "You didn't tell me you knew any cute girls! Invite her to the party."

Akine raised an eyebrow at him, and shook his head once. "I don't think she'd want-"

"I want to!" I cut him off. Both of the boys looked at me. His friend had chestnut brown hair, and was tall and lanky, but he seemed older than Akine. He isn't wearing our uniform either. Maybe he's a college student. "I mean," I bit my lip. "I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out tonight."

"Well, pretty lady, you're welcome to come as Akine's date. It'll be a blast, promise. My name is Mori Ueno," Mori said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and grinning. "I'll see you tonight then." He nodded his head at Akine and strolled off, whistling to himself.

Akine put his hand on my forehead, a smirk popping up on his face. "You feeling okay, Kari? Your boyfriend… excuse me, not boyfriend, probably wouldn't approve of you going to a college party." He laughed.

I blushed, standing up straight. "Don't worry about him. He's going on a date tonight." With three other boys, but let's not put that detail in there. I already feel pathetic enough.

"So are you," Akine said, holding out his hand to me.

My eyes went wide with excitement and happiness. "R-really?" I closed my mouth tightly for a moment. Idiot. "I can't wait." That's better. I took his hand, getting more nervous by the second.

This would be my first time doing anything remotely wild. I'd never been invited to a party ever, let alone a college party. Taking one last look back at the school, where I knew Nana and Igarashi were arguing over their newfound puppy love of Kae, I resolved myself. Tonight, is going to be fun. I'm going to allow myself to have fun with new people. Who knows, maybe this could be the start of something better for me!