Hi! This is another high school fic and this is connected to 'That one, simple word'. I guess you could call it a series or something... Anyway, this, like 'That one, simple word', is based on a song. The song name is 'Picture book of my first love' and the video that I watched is related to Mangaquest and is similar to this story line. Sorry if the characters are OOC!

Disclamer: I only own my IPad.

Crystal's POV

It's 5:25 am. Too early. The university only opens at 7:00 am.

Well, might as well read that new book I bought last Saturday.

I kick away my blanket, and walk over to my bookshelf. My fingers trace each book's cover as I search for that biology book.

'Where is it?' I exclaim, exasperated. For the next few minutes, I turn my room upside down trying to find that damned book.

Finally, I think as I see a blue book inside a cardboard box near my bookshelf. It must've fallen down into the box last night.

I sit down on my bed, and turn on my lamp. I open the book.

Wait. Wait a second. This is not the book that I'm looking for. My biology book is full of words. This book is full of pictures. What is it?

A photo album, I answer myself. I suppress the urge to continue the search for my book as I flip through pages of photos curiously.

I examine each of them carefully. They are all pictures from my high school life. My first day of high school (taken by my mother), that Halloween costume party, and many, many memories flood back to me.

Seeing them makes me nostalgic.

I flip through my first year in high school, and is gushing over a really cute photo of my two best friends, Yellow and Sapphire, and me during a party when another photo catches my eye and makes my breath cut short.

The six of us. But most importantly...

Him.

This photo was taken by one of my classmates. I still remember Gold and Ruby teasing Red about his relationship with Yellow that day, and Yellow, Sapphire and me laughing at Red's red face.

I look into Gold's golden eyes. He is just like what I remembered.

When did we first meet, actually? Was it during early spring? These questions flashes across my mind, and I wonder if that photo is in this album.

I flip through pages and pages of photos until I see it. It's a bit yellowed, crumbled up and dirty, but the people in the photo are still recognisable.

An angry Gold pulling a laughing Red in a headlock while Yellow, Sapphire and me stood in the background. This photo was given to me by Ruby, who took it.

I still remember that day, as it was our first meeting...

...

'That biology class was boring as poop!' Sapphire groans.

'No,' I frown. 'It was pretty interesting.'

'For nerds like you, yeah!' Sapphire say, rolling her eyes.

'I'm going to side with Crys on this one,' Yellow says. 'It was informative.'

'You guys are boring!' Sapphire exclaims. Yellow and I can't help but laugh at her face expression.

Suddenly, I hear a mutter, then a shout.

It sounded like, 'Hey, isn't that the cute pigtailed girl from 2-4 you were talking about?!' And then, 'Shut the fuck up, Red!'.

I turn to see who just muttered and shouted, and a flash of gold twinkle in my direction.

I blink. A golden eyed boy is now pulling a crimson eyed boy in a headlock.

Before I could say anything, the principal appears out of nowhere and starts shouting at the golden eyed boy to release the crimson eyed boy. Then, he starts reprimanding the golden eyed boy for his language.

The boy gets a detention. He follows the principal down the corridor, but not before catching my eye and winking at me before disappearing.

A random stranger just winked at me, and normally, I'd just wave the whole thing off and assume the guy's a flirt, but for the first time, I find myself blushing because a boy winked at me.

Yellow and Sapphire then spend the whole day asking me why my face is so red.

...

I smile at the memory, and more questions appear in my head.

When did we speak to each other? When did we speak together openly? I continue scavenging through photos until I find another unforgettable moment. This time, it's from third year, aka my last year in high school.

A photo of me scolding Gold, and the first time that I spoke to him.

...

This year, I'm in the same class as the golden eyed boy who waves to me every time I see him last year. Actually, I don't even know what his name is. Later, I know that he's called Gold Hibiki.

Our first piece of homework is algebra, and me, being the class president, makes sure everyone hands in their homework on time.

Except for Gold.

So, I corner him during recess.

'Excuse me, Gold, but please hand in your algebra homework,' I say in the most politest way possible, my heart beating somewhat faster than usual since it's the first time that I am speaking to him. Directly.

He only smirks at me, and sniggers, 'Nope, I haven't finished it yet, so no homework to hand in, Crys.'

I half-frown, half-pout at him.

'Aaah, you look cute when you pout, did you know that?'

I flush, and say, 'Well, I'll have to tell the teacher, then!'

'Aw, come on, please don't.'

'Give me your algebra homework, then!'

'Only if you'll give me yours.'

'And why should I?'

'I haven't finished it, so I'd need to copy someone's!'

'No way!'

'Then give me more time to do my god damned homework, then!'

'You need to hand it in today! Why didn't you do it yesterday?!'

'Because I was playing football with Red, Prissy Boy (forced by Red, Gold, and most importantly, Sapphire, of course) and Wild Girl...?'

'But Red, Ruby and Sapph managed to hand in their homework today! What did you do when you got home yesterday?'

'You're too interested in me, Super Serious Gal.'

I blush, but I try to hide it by pretending to pull my hair due to frustration.

'Aaargh, you are so immature and irresponsible, Gold! And what is this "Super Serious Gal" nonsense?! Stop making up nicknames for people!'

'Nah, it's my hobby, you see!'

'Yo, Gold, Crys!' A voice suddenly exclaims. Red's voice, to be specific.

I turn and I'm suddenly conscious to the fact that the whole class has been listening to Gold and my argument. My ears heat up.

Red smirks at Gold and me.

'Finished flirting yet?'

Both Gold and I turn red, and Gold shouts, 'Shut the fuck up, Red you bitch!'

'Gold! Language!' The teacher suddenly appears in the doorway.

'Ah, shit.'

Needless to say, he earned himself another detention.

...

I laugh at the memory. Well, Gold and his damn mouth definitely deserved it.

I think that that little scene is what started all the teasing and rumours. Ruby the class photographer has a lot of photos of me and Gold, and he gave some of them to me on graduation day.

I see another one, and even though the light isn't exactly what I'd usually call bright, I can still see my reflection in the mirror and the Crystal image reflected on the mirror is blushing.

The Gold and me inside this photo are blushing, with our backs to the blackboard. The blackboard has a huge arrow with our names written next to it drawn on the blackboard. There are also other junk, like 'Gold and Crys are madly in love with each other', 'Gold + Crys = a couple in love' and a couple of hearts. Wait, why is 'Steven Stone is hot' written on the blackboard too?! Whatever.

I still remember it like yesterday...

...

'...so y equals 3!' I say, standing in the middle of a corridor. Gold just stopped me in my tracks because he says that he needed my help desperately. All for a stupid maths question. Meh.

'You're the best, SSG!' He exclaims, his golden eyes shining as he writes the answer down. 'C'mon, let's get back to the classroom.'

We head through the door, and I hear someone snigger. In fact, the whole class are laughing and staring at us.

I open my mouth to ask what's wrong when Gold stops so abruptly I bump into him.

The class just jeers more than ever.

'What's wrong with you, Gold?!' I exclaim, blushing while trying to ignore my fellow classmates. His face is red, and he's staring at something.

I follow his gaze. It lands on the blackboard. And...all those lovey-dovey things concerning Gold and me are written on it.

Both of us turn redder (if that was possible) and we wheel around, avoiding each other's gaze.

'Who wrote it?' Gold shouts. 'It was you, right, Red?!'

'If Red's in this, then so is Sapph!' I say. I turn around to face the blackboard and, yup, I recognise Sapph's handwriting.

The two mentioned students just laugh. I keep examining the words on the blackboard. Except for Red and Sapph, I recognise Ruby's, Blue's, Silver's (surprisingly), Pearl's, White's, Y's, and even Yellow's?!

I turn and shout out their names. My replies are all things like, 'We thought that you two needed a nudge in the right direction', 'You're blushing', 'It's the truth!', and '...' (by Silver).

'Crys, I'm so sorry!' Yellow giggles. 'But Red promised me that it's going to be fun, and I have to admit, it is!'

'Red! Have you brainwashed her or something?!' Gold cries out, wondering why his naïve, shy childhood friend would agree to and enjoy doing something like this.

His replies are shouts of laughter.

'I don't want the teacher to see all these,' I mumble, and Gold just rolls his eyes at me as he uses a duster to start wiping the words away.

I'm suddenly aware that we are extremely close, as he erases the words. I'm comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time because of this strange distance. I'm becoming insane.

I look up at him. He glances back. He does what he wants. He's so blunt, so straightforward, something that my hesitance doesn't let me to have.

I smile.

The whole class' eyes catches this unspoken interaction between us and start to tease us again.

...

I laugh at the memory, and I turn the page.

Another photo of Gold and me?! Seriously?! How many photos like this does this album hold?!

Gold is holding an orange umbrella. Both Gold and me are under the umbrella, our backs facing the camera. It's a rainy day in the photo, from what I see. Ah. I remember. Red tricked us, didn't he?

...

'Sorry, but the sewing club needs both me and Sapph. There's this huge dress they're planning to sew and give to the drama club, and they desperately need people to help them, 'cause the due date's tomorrow and we've barely started,' Ruby explains. Why Sapph joined the sewing club was a mystery, but that goes for Ruby, too, since he's in the boys' football team.

Then, Ruby grabs Sapphire's hand and leaves. Red turns to me and Gold, and says, 'I have to help Yells with her chemistry project, so it's just you two.'

Yellow blinks, but then nods and says, 'Yeah! Sorry!'

I groan. Just Gold and me? Awkward.

Gold whistles, and say, 'Good luck with your project, then. Let's go, SSG.'

I follow him out of the classroom and say, 'Stop calling me SSG!'

'Old habits die hard,' Gold smirks as we head out through the school gate.

'Wow, you actually know some idioms?!'

'Of course, what'd you think I am, an idiot?'

'It's the painful truth to you, but yes.'

'Aww, come on! I'm a mature high schooler now, I'm bound to know something.'

'Yeah. Porn.'

'Not only porn!'

'Aha! So did you just admit that you read porn?!'

'Yes! I mean no! I－aargh!'

'You're a terrible liar.'

'Thank you,' Gold says sarcastically, even mocking a shallow bow.

'Shall I give you a medal with "Best Liar of the Year" written on it for you, Gold?'

'Yes, please,' he continues talking in that sarcastic tone. 'My pleasure and－wait, it is raining?'

Thank god he's finally dropped that sarcastic tone, I really couldn't stand it. Hey... Did he just say that it's raining?

I extend a wide open palm out and drops of water start to make it wet.

'It's raining, all right,' I say. 'Have you got an umbrella?'

'Yup,' he grins, pulling out a small orange umbrella and opening it.

He stands underneath it and extends a hand towards me.

'What?' I ask warily, already aware of the rain making my clothes and hair wet.

'Together,' he breathes softly. Under usual circumstances, I would've swatted his hand away, but this time, I found myself taking it.

He pulls me underneath the umbrella and we walk, occasionally bumping into each other, tints of pink on our cheeks.

Neither Gold nor I saw that flash, nor heard the 'click' of a camera as we strolled through a park.

When the rain got heavier and heavier, Gold opens his mouth and says, 'How about we find a place to prevent ourselves from getting wet? The rain's getting heavier each second.'

I agree, and we find a not yet wet chair just enough for two people to sit on, with some cover.

I take out my red towel, and is starting to dry myself off when Gold pipes up.

'Red doesn't suit you.'

I raise my eyebrows at him.

'No, seriously, Crys, I think light blue suits you better.'

His golden eyes searches my face until they settle down on my eyes. His gaze is firm, but warm and gentle at the same time.

'Light blue matches your eyes.'

He slowly takes the towel from me, almost touching my fingers.

So close, I sigh, as he starts drying himself with my towel.

I sit next to him. Gold is still holding on to my red towel, and I let him. We both watch the raindrops fall. We don't say anything.

I keep stealing glances at him. I am aware how close we are, but somehow, I want us to be closer. Should I do something?

I see the 10 cm gap between us. Should I close it, and practically confess to him? Wait... What am I saying?!

But...I know I'm a simple, hesitant fool. A fool like myself can't be so straightforward.

I hate my hesitance.

Before I could do anything, or keep arguing with myself, Gold stands up.

'The rain's stopped,' he smiles brightly. 'Let's go back home then! I'll walk you.'

...

If...if I just had the courage to close the 10 cm gap between us, what happened in the future would've been different. My original excitement for searching for more happy photos has disappeared. Regret comes. Why, why hadn't I grasped it right there!

Tears suddenly fill my eyes as I remember what photos he's posted on Instagram. The photos of his present girlfriend, Kotone, and him. Not me and him.

We're not in the same school now, after all. He's free to date whom ever he likes.

And on that exact same night, as I remember, after that rainy afternoon, I discovered my feelings for him.

...

'Aww,' Sapphire sighs. 'Why didn't ya make a move?'

'Why should I?' I'm talking to Sapphire on the phone, and telling her what happened this rainy afternoon.

'Because ya luv him!'

I choke on my drink and almost drop my hair bands as my hair, which is not held up into pigtails, cover my eyes.

'No! Who said that I love him?!'

'Ya brain.' What, does she read minds or something?!

'And ya actions,' Sapphire continues. 'Ya've fallen in love with Gold, but ya don really notice it.'

Oh my god.

'W-when did you become an expert on romance? I have not fallen in love with him!'

''es, ya have. Trust me. It's the same for Ruby and me, seriously.'

I say nothing.

Sapphire sniggers, and says, 'I'll leave ya alone for sometime while ya sort out ya feelings. G' bye, Crys!'

'S-sapph!'

Too late. She had already hung up.

I bury my face in my hands, my indigo locks tickling my ears and, probably, my star shaped earrings.

Is it love? Could it be love?

It couldn't be, could it?

...my optimistic nature makes me a hopeless coward.

My best friends' words ring in my ears. 'Just admit that you love him, Crys!' 'Ya brain and actions proof that ya love him!' 'Stop being so damn dense, and just become a thing with Gold, Crys!'

D-do I?

Do I really love him?

...

A single tear trickles down my cheek, and lands on the final photo of the album.

Me and Gold, sitting together, on a bench in our high school on graduation day, a 10 cm gap between us, taken by Ruby (when?!).

...

This is the only day of the entire year that my hair is purposely let down in front of Gold.

It's graduation day after all, I think.

'Did anyone tell you that you look stunning today?' Gold smiles after the graduation ceremony. Everywhere, people are crying, hugging their friends, or taking photos of their final day of high school.

'Yup,' I replies, 'a lot. Especially boys.'

Gold frowns, and I'm happy to see that's he's actually jealous.

We talk about other things, and like usual, we bicker as we stroll together for the last time in the this high school.

But I don't think that either Gold or me paid any attention to the surroundings around us. We only had eyes for each other, and we were spending the last few hours in high school enjoying each other's company. Waves of nostalgia hit me when I realised that it would be my last encounter in my high school, and with Gold, probably.

We sit down on a bench near the playground, and just stare at the playground for a long time quietly, hoping to imprint a picture of it in our brains before we go, occasionally saying things like, 'I never appreciated how beautiful our high school is' etc

Other than those compliments, we were out of words to say, even though I'm sure that we still had a lot of insults to throw at each other.

C'mon, Crys, gather your damned courage and confess to him! My brain shouted.

I can't, I told myself. What if I fail and make the whole thing awkward? What if he doesn't like me?

It's your last chance.

It's not. We'd still meet up with each other when we go to university. Friends stay in touch with each other, after all.

You're being an idiot. First, this is an awesome chance. Second, you sure you've got the time to meet up with him then? Three, what if he already has a girlfriend by then? Four－

What if he already has a girlfriend?

He's still single, you know it. Any ways, let's continue. Four, friends? You only want to be friends with him? Only friends?

Shut up! I mentally shout. The voice disappears.

I glance at him. Should I? My hand starts to inch closer to Gold's hand.

Just a bit closer... Just a bit... 1 cm now...

'Ah!' Gold suddenly exclaims, standing up. 'It's sunset! We'd better get home!'

Is it sunset already? I look down, disappointed. There goes my last chance...

We walk out of the school. We glance back.

'I'm going to miss this school,' Gold mutters, 'but... I'm gonna miss you more, Crystal.'

I blink. What did he mean?

Before I could ask him, he smiles one last time at me, says, 'I'll see you, Super Serious Gal!' and bounces away to join Red and Ruby.

I watch him go. Yellow and Sapphire later join me.

'So...told him yet?'

I shake my head.

Both of them sigh.

'Why?'

I shrug my shoulders.

'Ya wasted plenty of opportunities, and I can't believe ya wasted the last one!' Sapphire exclaims loudly. 'Why don't ya just confess ta 'im right now! Ya love 'im!'

'Sapph! Don't shout the whole thing, it's a secret!' I say, covering her mouth frantically.

'She's right, Crys.' Yellow says softly.

'You belong with him.'

...

My tears are now falling, fast and wet. All those feelings that I'd bottled up and hidden deep in my heart in the past three years are flowing out.

I cry silently, but the tears aren't quiet. They fall on the album with a soft 'splat'.

Even now, I still remember this page here, and also this page from that time.

Because it despites my first love.

I take deep breaths, and manage to control myself, though my tears are still falling.

I've lost my first love, after all.

Red got together with Yellow, and Ruby with Sapphire around the end of the school year. All my other friends became a couple with the people they loved.

All but Gold, and me.

Gold probably just sees me as another girl, another little character of his story, just for a little while, but he wasn't a small character in mine.

If only I could've stayed longer in his story, and if I did, our stories would've intertwined.

I'm no longer a child, but the thought is still wonderful to me.

I then close the album, which is now my book of love and memories, put it in a safe, and lock it tightly. I don't know if doing this means that I'm going to lock my memories mentally, too. I don't even know if I want to see that album, either.

I glance at the clock. 6:53 am. Time to get dressed.

But as I head for the bathroom, I can't help but glance at the safe, and remember those moments of my first love.

If I just had the courage to close that 10 cm gap between us...

And...done! I'm thinking of writing a happy ending for Mangaquest, since I despise HeartSoul, but I also want to keep this sad and beautiful. Please tell me what you think in the reviews! I'm working on a Oldrival high school one right now, and I'll update 'A Gathering' whenever I feel up to it, but it won't take long.

Reviewers get cookies, and flamers get empty cookie boxes. Thank you very much.