A/N: And so… after a few months of not updating, I present to you another chapter. I'll just do my rant afterwards, so please enjoy reading. XD

Pages of a Storybook

Chapter 15: February 12-14 - Chocolates

Kei was never one to watch another person's sleeping face. It was usually the other way around since most of the time he was the one who kept on dozing off. Akari, who was snuggling her face against her math exercises, was particularly interesting to watch. This wasn't the first time he'd seen her take a nap inside the library, but he was never given the chance to study her for this long. Briefly, he remembered the last time he had caught her sleeping. He had unintentionally woken her up and it had been a rather comical sight since she had broken the silence with a shriek about being whipped by Mr. Himuro.

It had been nearly a year since he'd met the bubbly and overly cheerful Akari, so it was rather strange for him to see a girl like her to look so vulnerable when asleep. Her mouth was half-open as she breathed evenly, her shoulders rising and falling in perfect rhythm. If he leaned a bit closer, he could hear her light snores. He found himself following the slow movements of her pupils underneath her eyelids, a sign that she was indeed sleeping quite soundly and was probably enjoying herself in some far off dreamland.

Steeling himself, Kei positioned himself in front of his seat and, without further ado, slammed the pile of books on top of his desk with a resounding bam!

As expected, the effect was instantaneous and her outburst was like setting off fireworks. To his slight disappointment, she only stood up screaming this time as everyone's eyes were instantly on her and he didn't miss the muffled laughter and giggles thrown their way. Just like a few days before, the poor girl blushed furiously upon realizing what just happened before straightening herself and sitting down again.

Kei was in no way a sadist. He blamed it on how he'd been alone for so long that he'd forgotten the perks of having someone to pick fun of. It didn't help that Akari was especially fun to tease.

Or at least, that was what he liked to tell himself.

"Kei-kun!" She hissed his name like a wildly agitated cat, causing Kei to imagine how silly she would look like if she had whiskers and a tail. However, his amusement was short-lived when the glare he noticed she was directing at him gave the impression that she wanted nothing more than to throw one of the hard-bound books on his face.

Akari didn't seem like the violent type, but it wouldn't hurt to feign ignorance just to be safe. "Hm?"

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" She was trying her hardest to keep her voice down, but her frenzied gestures only made the stares all around her linger more. "Can't you just wake me up with a gentle pat on my head the next time I fall asleep?"

He only blinked at her in response. "There's drool on your chin."

"What? Oh..." She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her uniform. "Hey! Stop distracting me!"

Kei bit his lower lip in a poor attempt to keep himself from smiling. "Then don't fall asleep." He returned his attention to the books on his desk. The librarian was giving them sharp looks under her overly large spectacles, which seemed to amplify the power of her glares. No need to risk the old woman's anger anymore than necessary.

She pouted as Kei pushed a Calculus book into the messy pile of papers which she had been using to cushion her head. "I'm surprised that you're not sleepy. I bet you're just jealous because compared to my soft papers..." She emphasized the word 'soft' with an unnecessary drawl. "...your books can't be used as a proper pillow."

His eyes flickered to her face before he opened one of the books. "You have a large red mark on your forehead."

"I do?" Her hand immediately went up to cover her forehead in another bout of embarrassment.

"I'm joking."

Apparently not convinced of his so-called joke, she rummaged her bag to grab a mirror. She glared at him again before muttering incoherently about nice dreams, drools, and red marks. "Well, I still think you just want these papers for yourself."

"I do want them." She brightened at this and he was sure she was about to gloat when he quickly cut her off. "I have to check your answers for the exercises. You're not done yet, right?" His eyes narrowed, hoping she'd get the idea that he was blatantly accusing her of sleeping when they were supposed to be studying.

To his surprise, she replied with a grin. "Ha! Of course I'm done." She lifted her chin up and confidently handed the papers to him. "Take your time, Kei-kun. I'm sure you'll be very proud of me. I bet I can even beat you in the exams!"

Amused at her unusual cockiness, he skimmed the contents of the papers one by one. It didn't take long before he was able to determine her score. "That's eleven out of twenty."

"What?" Her eyes bulged as she grabbed the papers from his hands. "You're joking!"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Umm... Yes?" She squeaked.

He shook his head and felt sorry for her when he saw her confidence puff out from her shoulders like an air balloon. Still, he didn't expect her to have a perfect score. The exercises he had given her were from an advanced level of Calculus, after all. He was already impressed that she even managed to answer some of them.

He wanted to tell her that, but for some reason, he wasn't sure how he should say it. If he told her that he didn't expect her to answer any of them at all, would it sound conceited on his part? He knew how much she'd been trying so hard during their previous study sessions - even if she did fall asleep several times. The last thing he wanted to do was to offend the girl. Would it be fine if he just said not to worry about it? What kind of encouragement was that?

Annoyed at his lack of knowledge in basic social etiquette, Kei pushed the thoughts aside and decided to distract her instead. If he couldn't force himself to comfort her, it only made sense to get her occupied on something else, right? "Why do you look so tired and sleepy lately?" That question had been bugging him for quite some time now. This was the perfect chance for him to ask.

"Huh?" She sighed at her papers one last time before turning to him with pitiful eyes, which briefly reminded Kei of one of the cats at the back of school that had begged desperately for a bite of his tuna sandwich. "Oh, you noticed it, too? I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I swear if the girls aren't encouraging me, I won't put up with it."

"Put up with what?"

"My little brother's chocolate-making sessions for Valentine's Day." She stopped upon seeing the surprise on his face. "Don't look at me like that, Kei-kun. You know how annoying Tsukushi can get. He keeps pestering me to give chocolates to guys because he's scared that I might end up as an old maid in the future." She scrunched her face together in exasperation. "He even gives me tips on how to attract boys! Honestly, just because he's popular with the girls in his grade doesn't mean that I have to..."

Kei let her mumble and complain about her little brother as he stared at her with a blank expression. Seriously, why bother? For him, Valentine's Day was way overrated. She really shouldn't let her brother trick her into doing stuff she didn't want to do. It didn't even seem like she had a guy she had special feelings for, so why should she have to go through all that trouble to bake some? Her time should have been used on more important things... like sleep, for example.

"...the chocolates taste sort of good, though. It makes me wonder where Tsukushi learns all that stuff." When she finally stopped talking, Kei found himself under her scrutinizing stare. "Say, Kei-kun... You're extremely popular, so that means you get lots of chocolates for Valentine's Day, right? I bet you get asked out and hear love confessions more than every guy in school combined!" She giggled at the obvious exaggeration, but when he didn't find her joke funny, her laugh eventually turned awkward. "No obligatory chocolates?"

He shook his head. Not as far as he could remember.

"Oh. Well, at least you get delicious chocolates!" She was forcing herself to look on the bright side, but they both knew that he hated it whenever they fawn all over him. Dealing with lovesick fangirls and jealous guys just for accepting chocolates was something he never looked forward to. "A-Anyway, since you've eaten so many chocolates, care to give me any tips on how to make my own really yummy?"

She was staring at him with a wide smile on her lips as if he was a chocolate gourmet and would actually give the best advice when it came to homemade chocolates. He really had to wonder what the heck was going on inside that head of hers. "I'm... not that fond of sweets."

"Really? Don't you like at least one of them?"

"They have pretty wrappings." That was probably the only thing he liked about the gifts. Their elaborate presentations sometimes made him think of putting them on display instead of eating them.

Her eyes narrowed curiously. "You don't eat them?"

"Sometimes. Just small bites. I can't eat too much because of my part-time job." He frowned. Why were they suddenly talking about his Valentine chocolates anyway?

"Oh, right. Being a model is tough sometimes, huh? You can't just eat anything you want." She placed her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on the back of her hands. "I bet you get really amazing-looking homemade chocolates... or the most expensive ones at the store. What a waste if they're not going to- Wait a minute!"

The librarian shushed her with a snap of her stick that caught the attention of every person inside the library. The old woman was angry enough that he might as well see smoke coming from her ears. Akari visibly reddened for being the object of the librarian's fury again and she didn't open her mouth to speak for the next ten minutes. When she deemed it safe to continue, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"What about White Day?" She whispered, careful not to agitate the librarian again even though her face couldn't contain her curiosity. "How do you deal with so many girls giving you chocolates on Valentine's Day?"

No wonder she got excited. If he wasn't Hazuki Kei, he would have wondered how someone like him could possibly give chocolates to numerous girls he hardly knew. He wanted to give her a satisfying and interesting answer, but he didn't want to lie. "I don't."

She stilled, her head tilting to the side in confusion. "You don't give out return gifts?"

"I used to." During middle school, there were only a handful of girls who confessed their love for him and gave him chocolates. Giving gifts on White Day was the polite thing to do back then. When he became a model, White Day had grown too tiresome that he didn't bother with it anymore. "I don't like it when they confess to me and act as if they've known me for years. There's no point in getting their hopes up."

Akari became silent with a thoughtful expression on her face. Kei wondered if he had upset her with his answer. This was the girl who had lectured him for giving away his fangirls' gifts during his birthday. He wouldn't be surprised if she thought that not giving the slightest bit of care towards his admirers was rude.

"Hey, Kei-kun..." She began and Kei braced himself for an upcoming reprimand, but was surprised when she fluttered her eyelashes and scooted her chair closer to him. His eyes widened a fraction when she leaned close and whispered, "You know that I'm always here for you, right?"

When she suddenly grabbed his hand and clasped it in hers, he could feel panic gathering at the pit of his stomach. Alarm bells were ringing in his ears and he suddenly had the urge to jump out of his seat.

What in the world was she up to now? Why was she so close and why the heck was she holding his hand?

"That's why if you ever want to get rid of your chocolates," She grinned from ear-to-ear then playfully stuck her tongue out. "just give them to me instead, okay?"

Unfortunately, Kei was never one to react positively at any forms of intimate gestures and the teasing tone in her voice had been too late to sink in. Before he knew it, he had jerked his hand from Akari's grasp and had moved his chair away so roughly that the chair's legs made a screeching noise as they were dragged roughly against the floor.

It wasn't unexpected when both of them got kicked out of the library a few seconds later.

Kei sighed and lazily leaned his back against the door of his shoe cupboard and watched with slightly droopy eyes the happenings all around him. The bell had rung a few minutes ago and most of the students were flocking together in groups to leave the school. Although there were still several students who had been left behind to hang out somewhere around the school premises, it wouldn't be long before the halls and corridors were finally empty of students.

Kei in particular was also itching to leave, but Akari had ambushed him right after class was over and had invited him to go to the cafe and grab some bite to eat before they head off to work on their part-time jobs. The two of them were supposed to leave right away, but it seemed that after the little fiasco at the library yesterday, she had completely forgotten to return an overdue book she'd been meaning to return several days ago. He had no choice but to wait for her at the shoe cupboards.

As expected, since it was the day before Valentine's Day, almost everyone had been abuzz with life and he had heard no end to discussions about love, chocolates, and confessions throughout the whole school.

Was he the only one dreading it? Chocolates would come with love letters and even though he had told Akari before that he wouldn't entertain girls who would like to confess, it didn't mean that he wouldn't feel bad about it. He just didn't know what else to do to keep them off his back.

"N-Natsumi-chan, do I really have to buy the expensive box instead?"

"Of course! Why would you even settle for something cheap? Don't you want to impress him?"

Kei's first thought was to ignore the mild chatter coming from the other side of the shoe cupboards behind him, but their voices were too familiar for him to overlook. He didn't need to go around or peer down from above the lockers to recognize who they were. The two girls belonged to Akari's circle of friends.

"But... I don't think he'll like the t-taste..." The stutter and impish tone in her voice told him straight away that it was the green-haired girl who he'd seen playing badminton with Akari quite a few number of times in the past.

"So? But he'll definitely know that the chocolate's special." Natsumi's confident tone was the opposite of her companion's and he slightly blamed the hyperactive girl for rubbing off on Akari since she was her closest friend. "He's an idiot if he mistakes it for a friendship chocolate." There was a pause and some giggling. Kei would have left them alone when a mention of Akari's name was brought up in their conversation.

"How come Akari-chan won't come with us?"

"Akari? She said something about having a part-time work. Besides, she's going to make a special homemade chocolate! She said so herself!"

"R-Really? Is she going to confess? I... I didn't know she likes someone."

"I know, right? She never mentioned it to me, either. But you know..." Kei had to strain his ears to listen. "She's been hanging around all the time with Hazuki Kei."

"H-Hazuki-kun?"

"Yeah. She often talks about him, you know. Maybe she likes him? Akari's not exactly easy to read when it comes to love and relationships because that girl's as dense as a rock, but she does think highly of him."

"Oh, okay... Maybe we should cheer her on?"

Kei stood stock still, suddenly feeling numb. Their words kept repeating inside his head like a broken record playing an out-of-tune music. He was having a strangely difficult time processing what he had just found out. Akari... liked him? She was going to give him a special chocolate and was going to confess tomorrow?

He frowned, still refusing to believe such a stupid thing. How was that possible? Akari never hinted she liked him in that way. Sure she had been a bit touchy-feely ever since he'd become her friend, but he'd always thought that it was because she was just childish and naive.

His thoughts instantly turned towards the incident at the library. She had been particularly interested in his opinion about chocolates and how he dealt with his fangirls. He had also caught a glimpse of an unreadable expression on her face when he had told her about his lack of participation during White day. Had he thought wrong? Maybe she had been secretly asking him what chocolate he would like and how she was going to prepare her confession tomorrow?

Kei didn't want to think badly of Akari, but it would be a lie if he said that he didn't feel a little betrayed at this turn of events. It wasn't that he'd never considered their relationship to go beyond friendship, but the possibility that Akari had been harboring feelings for him since god knows how long or even before they actually had the chance to get to know each other made him think that the main reason she wanted to be friends with him was because she wanted to become his girlfriend... just like the rest of his fangirls.

He didn't want to feel disappointed. He really didn't, but no matter how much he tried to convince himself that Akari really did care for him as a friend and not just some potential boyfriend material, his mind had already started placing malicious intentions in everything she had done whenever they were spending time together.

Feeling suddenly unwell, he grabbed his cellphone and forced his fingers to mail Akari that he was sorry and that he wouldn't be able to come to the cafe with her, after all. He didn't know how he could face her without asking her directly as to what she really thought of him. Not bothering to wait for her reply, he hurriedly left the school without looking back.

He had a lot to think about.

It was finally Valentine's Day. Even as Kei sat in his seat like the rest of the other students while they all listened to the teacher's droning lecture, he could tell that everyone was barely paying attention since they were too busy holding off their anxiety. A mixture of excitement, tension, and gloom all rolled into some sort of delicate but intense atmosphere pretty much seeped in all corners of Habataki High. It was as if today was one of the most critical parts of every student's high school life.

If it had been any other Valentine's day, Kei wouldn't have bothered to care and would just go about his normal routine, but since meeting Akari, he knew that it would be impossible to go back to his usual daily life. Not that he wanted to go back. He found this strange territory much more pleasant and interesting than being alone. Unconsciously, his eyes drifted to Akari, who was sitting at the far end of the classroom and was busy copying notes from the chalkboard. He had only spent time with her for a few weeks and he already found himself enjoying her company.

Unfortunately, all of that was bound to change once the day was done. She was going to give him chocolates and confess to him during class break or after school was over.

To be honest, he didn't know what he was going to do about it. Should he accept the chocolate? Was he expected to give her an answer right away? He didn't even know what exactly he felt for the girl other than the fact that he truly valued their friendship. He had tried several times to see both of them as a couple, but each time resulted in a minor headache that he was forced to push the thoughts at the very back of his mind.

He had never fallen seriously in love before, but he knew that this emotion grew overtime as two people became closer together. He couldn't really consider them having a really tight bond since it had only been a month since he opened himself to her. It didn't help matters that he didn't know that much about her, too. He wasn't sure how much she knew about him, but it was rather upsetting that she had already began to like him under those shallow circumstances.

The rest of the day went by like a blink of an eye. At least, that was how it seemed since while worrying about Akari's confession, he had fallen asleep and by the time he had woken up everyone was already up and about. Kei looked down and felt his stomach grumbling angrily, telling him that it was time for lunch. He sighed and was about to stand up when he was met face-to-face with a smiling Akari.

"Kei-kun!"

Startled, he blinked several times before shifting his head away. "Akari." He didn't mean to sound curt, but it was unnatural to see her grinning at him like there was absolutely nothing to be nervous about with what she was about to do. "…What is it?" His tone felt defensive in his ears, but seeing that there was no change of expression on the girl's face, it was probably just his imagination.

Even though he was still not sure on what he was going to do on the aftermath of her confession, Kei hardened his resolve to stand up and head for the door. He was getting sick of worrying about what was going to happen when all he wanted was to get this over and done with. "Come on."

"Huh?" Her confusion made him turn his head. "Where are we going?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. She wasn't going to ask him to go somewhere private? She intended to confess to him inside the classroom and right in front of their classmates? She was a lot bolder than he originally thought.

"Nevermind." He shrugged and sat on top of his desk. It was then that he noticed that there were boxes of chocolates coupled with several letters leaning against his chair. Almost immediately, his eyes scanned the classroom and found a group of girls throwing an oblivious Akari dagger-like stares that screamed bloody murder. He didn't hide his urge to protect and his grim expression was enough to make the girls direct their nasty looks elsewhere.

Maybe he should drag her somewhere safe, after all?

"Here you go, Valentine chocolate!" Akari shoved a small bag in his line of sight.

There were no elaborate wrappings and ribbons, no flower scented boxes, and no small chocolate cakes. "…I see." No matter how hard Kei looked at the gift, it was just a simple plastic pouch decorated with animal paws and a big red ribbon to tightly secure it. The contents of the bag could be seen clearly from outside and the shapes of the chocolates were unmistakable.

"They're shaped like cats! I'm not sure if you'll like eating chocolate cats, but I can't really think of anything else. Maybe I should have made them fish-shaped instead?" She laughed sheepishly. "This is your first obligatory chocolate, Kei-kun. It won't be nearly as delicious as your other chocolates, but it's the thought that counts, right? Take your time and savor it, okay?"

"…All right." It was all he could say since he was at a loss for words.

As she rummaged her bag for more of the plastic pouches, all his worries disappeared as if an incredibly heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders. He watched with a small smile as she lifted the pouches for him to get a closer look. "These are for Suzuka-kun and they're shaped like basketballs! Here's for Morimura-kun and they're shaped like flowers..."

She had surprised him once again with her unpredictability and thoughtfulness. His suspicious nature had made him think badly of her yet again and he felt the need to return the chocolates to appease his guilt. He couldn't promise her that he wouldn't let his paranoia run amok again, but he would definitely try... for her sake.

She went on and on about her chocolates as Kei opened his and took the time to savor the sweet treat inside his mouth. Like he had said before, he wasn't too fond of sweets, but there was something in Akari's chocolate that made him want to eat them all up and ask for seconds.

He had to admit that this was the first time he saw Valentine's Day as a happy and memorable experience. It would be an event he would definitely come to anticipate in the next few years.

A/N: Hehe. Not very romantic, no? Well, they're JUST friends at this point so that's pretty much a given. I hope nobody's disappointed, though. XD

Again, sorry for the late update, guys. I kinda lost interest in TMGS for a while and I didn't want to force myself to write chapters just for the sake of updating. Thanks to the wonderful people at Gokusaishiki, I was able to play TMGS2 and was somehow invigorated to write again!

Hopefully you guys are still there reading this fic of mine. Thank you so much for all your support!