Chapter Two -

That same day, during lunch, Atsushi decided to eat with her instead of eating with Tatsuya, who always came late because of his fan-girls. When he saw Mika eating alone at her desk, he rushed to her side and pulled his chair to her desk and sat down. Mika didn't look like she minded though, and she simply greeted him with a nod. "What're you eating, Mika-chin?" Atsushi asked with his childlike voice and Mika hummed.

"Ah, this is something called a Strammer Max. It's a type of sandwich that you get in the Netherlands. Wanna try?" Mika offered and Atsushi took a bite, which wasn't a normal size of a bite, but Mika didn't mind. She didn't have a large appetite and the sandwiches her father made were extra large anyway. "It's good." Mika smiled at the male and said nothing. "How's it made?" Atsushi's next question almost shocked her, but she didn't show it.

She gulped down the bits of sandwich which was inside her mouth and said, "It's a slice of bread, sometimes fried in butter, covered with ham and fried egg. It's not too difficult to make-"Atsushi took out a packet of chips and opened it, and before taking any of it for himself, he offered it to Mika. Mika blinked and hesitated, but Atsushi's firm gaze forced her to take a chip. "Uh, thanks-""Don't thank me, Mika-chin." Mika didn't know why she blushed at that.

It was then she noticed someone at the classroom door, leaning and watching the two of them eat, and she swore she had seen him around before, just didn't know where. He was smiling at her, but it took her a second to figure out that the boy was smiling at the male beside her, and she poked his shoulder and pointed to the door. "I think he's-""Muro-chin…come inside." Atsushi said, and Mika blinked. So, he was a friend.

This, 'Muro-chin' person had black hair, one side covering his eye and he had a beauty mark. Compared to most Japanese boys she had seen, Muro-chin was really good looking. His smile, however, was the winning material. "Atsushi, what're you doing here?" he asked. Mika noticed that his voice was attractive too. "This is Mika-chin. Mika-chin, that's Muro-chin." Mika giggled at how Atsushi introduced her. She reached out for the black haired male and extended her hand. "Mika Snyder. Nice to meet you."

The dark haired male took her hand and smiled widely before saying, "Tatsuya Himuro. Nice to meet you too, Synder-san-""Please, call me Mika. Last names are weird." Mika shrugged and Tatsuya let out a chuckle as he sat at the desk before them. "I know that feeling. I grew up in the States, so I'm not used to the last name thing they have here either, even if I am Japanese. You…" Mika sighed once and said, "Dad's from Netherlands, and mom's Japanese." Himuro nodded with understanding.

"Did your dad settle here?" Mika nodded and said, "Well, he always wanted to open a bakery, and since he was an athlete he…Uh, yeah so we came down here. I was six or something when we came here, and mom was more than happy to oblige. Dad's been here ever since." The two of them noticed that Mika was hiding something, but it was personal and they did not want to tread on those grounds. Himuro nodded once more and suddenly, Mika felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to her right to see Atsushi stare at her. "Uh…you-""Mika-chin works at a pastry store, but she doesn't like sweets." Himuro laughed at that.

Mika turned to the dark haired male and placed a hand beside her mouth as if to whisper, "Is that a bad thing?" Tatsuya chuckled and said, "Atsushi loves anything sweet. If he shares any with you then that's something really special. He's never shared anything with anyone before." Mika gulped. He had offered her sweets two times that day. He seemed more than willing to share with her. Then again, the way he said, 'Because it's you,' creeped her out. Mika decided to let that go.

"Muro-chin, do we have practice today?" Mika blinked. "Of course we do. Why'd you ask?" Tatsuya asked and Atsushi sighed with regret. "I wanted to go to Mika-chin's store." Mika blinked and said, "It's not going anywhere, you know. This practice thing seems important." Himuro nodded. "Atsushi barely plays. It's the same if he comes or not. But, I'd appreciate it if he did." Mika wondered which game they were talking about. "Basketball?" she asked, guessing and Himuro nodded.

She wasn't surprised really, considering how tall Atsushi was, basketball seemed like the best sport for him. But, wasn't he interested? "Atsushi-kun, don't you like playing basketball?" Atsushi took in another mouthful of chips and said, "I don't like anything. I play basketball because I'm good at it." Mika didn't know why, but that offended her. She didn't let it show, however. "I want to see you play, though." She muttered and took in the last bit of her sandwich and Himuro glanced at Atsushi with a smirk.

"Then will you take me to your store after practice today?" Mika almost choked on her sandwich. She quickly turned to the purple haired male beside her and her eyes were wide. Was he so easy to convince? "Uh, yeah sure?" she wasn't even sure herself. Himuro grinned and stood up, before saying, "Mika-chan, you look like you're really tall. Can we check our heights?" Mika narrowed her eyes, cocked her eyebrow and Himuro held out his hands in his defense. "I'm just curious! I was in America, so I've seen tall girls. No big deal." Mika grumbled and stood up.

Just as she did stand however, Himuro palced his hands on her shoulders and made her stand right in front of him and he couldn't stop grinning. He looked at Atsushi from the corner of his eye, to see the taller male watch them earnestly. "I'm exactly six feet tall. You, Mika-chan, are an inch shorter." Mika didn't care. "Are you happy now, Muro-chin?" Mika teased and Tatsuya chuckled. Atsushi stood next, and grabbed Mika's hand and walked out of the classroom, dragging her along. Himuro stared at the ground, and smirked.

"Atsushi-kun, what happened-""Mika-chin, let's go get snacks. The cafeteria's downstairs." Mika blinked. What was with this guy? Does he always eat? As they walked, Mika couldn't get her hand out of his, and when she looked around, she saw the other students look at them both with curious glances. Mika blushed and stopped, making Atsushi stop as well. She took her hand out of his and said, "Let's go." Atsushi turned away and walked to the cafeteria with her. Once inside, Mika waited for him to finish and the girl sighed.

She brushed her hair and hummed a tune, before she felt a hand go to her skirt. Her eyes widened and she turned to see a group of girls, giggling and making fun of her. They were the same set of girls who painted graffiti on her bag, and the same set of girls who broke her glasses. Mika groaned and tried to walk away, but the grip on her skirt was tight. She wouldn't fight girls, she had told that to herself a long time ago. With one pull, her skirt came loose and it was her sweater that came till her thighs that prevented anything from being seen.

Tears filled Mika's eyes as the entire cafeteria began to laugh at her. With one quick turn of the heel, Mika raced to the bathroom, and locked herself in one of the stalls. She sobbed like no tomorrow inside, and fixed her skirt, ashamed of not doing anything. It was her height that made them think she was different, and it was because of that they picked on her. If she were just some normal five feet one inch girl then that would have been okay. But she was five feet eleven inches. That was not normal.

She was sure that class would have began, but she didn't care. She stayed inside, and didn't want to go until she was sure that the corridors were empty. She would wait till school was over and everyone was out of the school. Mika hated school, and she hated being bullied. The incident that occurred wouldn't be forgotten for another week or so, and she had to live with the embarrassment. Around an hour later, Mika walked out, unable to stay inside any longer and her eyes widened.

She saw Atsushi, stand near the corridor to the opposite side, clutching onto her bag, and eating away a bag full of chips. She froze as she saw him take notice of her and he approached her, handing her bag to her. "Mika-chin…" he said and the tears came back. She pushed herself on to him, and cried as much as she could, hoping he wouldn't push her away. He didn't, and she didn't know why, but she only felt thankful.

"You stayed out here…for me?" She asked, her face embedded in his chest and she could feel him breathe. "I think…"he said, childishly and Mika smiled slightly. "I didn't like what happened back at the cafeteria. So I told them not to do it again."His tone of voice was a little scary, and she was about to push herself off of him when she felt his hand pull her more to him. "Atsushi-""They won't do it again." He said, and she believed him.

She smiled when she realized she had found a friend. Someone, who knew what she was going through. Someone, who would help her when everyone else thought she was different. Someone, who would walk in, when the world walked out.

Author's Note: Isn't Atsushi the sweetest thing that walked on this earth? (Forget the fact that he doesn't exist, I still love him). This chapter was sweet, even for me. Haha. So, read and review my loves! Tell me what you think.