A/N: I can't seem to force myself to update this fic in a regular schedule... but oh well, I don't want to post chapters just for the heck of it, anyway. Thanks once again for reading and reviewing! You guys keep my interest in Tokimeki Memorial alive. 3

Pages of a Storybook

Chapter 17: April 29 – Insecurities

Kei never really cared much about holidays, especially ones that held little interest to him or weren't as hugely celebrated as Christmas, Valentine's Day, and the like. Such holidays were only important to take note of because it would be a pain if he made a mistake of waking up early and preparing himself for school when there was actually no school for that day at all.

Other than that, he treated holidays as normal as any other day where he could lounge freely in his room without anybody disturbing him.

The park was packed with people by the time he arrived. The sight of the crowd caught him completely unawares that he blinked a couple of times before his mind slowly digested what he was seeing.

He'd never seen so much people gathered together in the park... What was going on?

All thoughts were cut off, however, as soon as he laid eyes on the green and white banner hanging on top of the great arch of the park's entranceway.

"Greenery day...?" He mumbled under his breath, his glare centered on the banner's huge letters as if they were mocking him. At that moment, he never thought that his indifference to holidays would put him in such a troublesome situation.

"Kei-kun...?"

His annoyance was momentarily forgotten as soon as he saw Akari's surprised but clearly pleased face beaming up at him. Now where in the world did she come from? He didn't mind her company, but she really needed to stop her bizarre habit of popping out of nowhere.

"What are you doing staring so seriously at the banner?" She asked before narrowing her eyes at the banner herself and looking at it intently to see if there was anything wrong.

"You're here for the activities?" Kei asked, hoping to pry her attention away from the innocent sign because he thought that it could use a break since he had glared at it long enough for the day. As he studied her, he noted that she was wearing a relatively plain white shirt and loose pants. A small backpack was strapped on her shoulders.

"Yeah! Morimura-kun asked me to come and join him. I don't have anything else to do today, so I thought it might be fun!" She wasn't looking at him while answering because her attention was on the crowd. "Wow. I didn't think there's gonna be lots of people participating..."

Neither did he, but compared to her he didn't want to know how much more of them would come. "I see. I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun." Without another word, he turned his back on her and started to return to the station.

"Wah! Wait, Kei-kun!" She chased after his retreating back and stopped him by pulling at the sleeves of his shirt. "What's wrong? Aren't you here for the park, too?"

"But..." He didn't mind going to the park, but if he knew that today was actually Greenery Day where the park would be bustling with activity and lots of people would come, then he wouldn't have come here at all. "...there are so many people."

"Of course there are. We're in a park and it's Greenery Day." She pointed out the obvious and he raised an annoyed eyebrow at her. "Don't you think it's more fun when the park is busy?"

"I prefer quieter places..." He took another step, but Akari refused to let go of his arm and tugged it insistently instead. Knowing her stubborn personality, it occurred to him that struggling would be fruitless.

"Oh, come on, Kei-kun! You're already here and the weather's really nice! And the park is huge, so there's definitely a place where you can lie down and sleep! I'll even help you look."

He gave her a questioning gaze. "Aren't you meeting up with Morimura?"

She waved a hand in a reassuring gesture. "It's fine. Arisawa-san's with him and I don't think they're here yet because I came pretty early. Also," She snickered and that instantly made him apprehensive. "It isn't too late yet to convince you to join us. The more the merrier, I say."

Her grin froze when Kei only looked at her with an unyielding frown.

"Okay... so maybe not." Her shoulders slumped in disappointment, but suddenly perked back up again in seconds. "Maybe you can watch?"

"Why do you want me to go?" He glanced warily at the crowd again and he could feel an eye involuntarily twitching.

"Because it'll be fun?"

"Fun for who?"

She pondered for a while. "You?"

"It won't." He answered readily then pursed his lips in a thin line. "And you don't even sound so sure."

Smiling slyly, she told him, "That's why we're going to find out."

Kei sighed in exasperation. God, she could be so persistent sometimes! He knew that she only meant well, but he just couldn't stand the idea of relaxing there with all the buzz hammering in his ears. He was being childish, but it didn't change the fact that he hated crowds and noisy places.

"And besides," She sniffed dramatically, halting his thoughts. "you're not really going to leave me here by myself, are you?"

He answered her with a deadpan expression and a lengthy pause.

"Even with a pretty please?" She made a face at him, her eyes wide and her bottom lip protruding. He narrowed his eyebrows and studied her goo goo-eyed pout. Was this the face she used whenever she wanted to get things done her way?

He snorted when something else caught his attention instead. "Oh." He placed a finger on her cheek and pressed down, causing one eye to open even wider. "Eye crust."

As Akari made him her human shield while they pushed through the crowds of people hanging out by the entrance, Kei could still feel the sharp pain on his arm where she had punched him.

They didn't have any particular place in the park where they wanted to go, so for the next few minutes, the two continued to follow where the stoned pathway would eventually lead them while keeping an eye out for potential spots for Kei to settle down.

Well... at least it seemed that way to Kei because he really was trying to look for a place where he could relax. His companion, on the other hand, was no help at all since she kept on getting distracted with her surroundings.

Whenever they passed by a group of nature lovers huddled together to plant tree saplings, she didn't forget to drop by and mingle with each one of them. Twice she forced them to stop so she could watch in awe as teens or kids do crazy stunts with their bicycles and skateboards. She also kept on pointing and commenting about anything, like how blue and clear the lake was with all the fat fishes swimming around, how that particular tree was dangling with fruits that she would have taken a bite of one of them if she only knew how to climb a tree, how the patch of flowers were blooming so beautifully that she wanted to take pictures... It went on and on and Kei wondered - yet again - how strange she was because she found everything so curiously interesting.

Secretly, he preferred it that way. If she didn't talk, then it would fall onto him to think of something to say to avoid an awkward silence. That thought alone was enough to make him frown.

But then again... maybe it was time for him to start reading up on interesting topics to talk about?

By the time he found a decent place to rest, Kei was exhausted and he sprawled on the grass without a care in the world. And it wasn't long before Akari also found the people she was originally supposed to be with.

"Kei-kun, look! Morimura-kun and Arisawa-san were already here, after all!"

Kei opened an eye to peer at the crowd of people huddled together at a rich patch of land on top of a slightly sloping hill. The bandanas they wore around their heads were bright green and shone even brighter under the glare of the afternoon sun. Each of them held small shovels through mud-stained gloves as they crouched low to dig and plant seedlings, flowers, or shrubs. A middle-aged man stood amongst them, patiently giving out instructions on what to do next. He wasn't doing a very good job at it though because most of the participants were teenagers who looked happier chatting and joking with their friends than take their tasks seriously.

Amidst the hunched shoulders, Morimura's petite figure was almost impossible to spot, but his companion managed to find him just as easily as plucking a kitten in a litter of puppies.

"Go join them. I'll be fine here." He said and inwardly wished that she wouldn't pester him to also participate because he rather liked stretching on the grass with his arms behind his head. The branches of the huge tree next to them were thick and abundant with leaves so they were comfortably shaded from the sun.

"All right." Her face brightened and she immediately stood up, grabbing her gloves and shovel from her backpack. She ran towards the group in a hurry. For a second there, he thought that they were separating ways without even a word of goodbye. His arm itched to reach out when she suddenly stopped halfway and looked back, shouting, "Don't go anywhere, okay?" She threw her backpack at him and he barely caught it with his hands. "You can use that as a pillow if you want!"

Sleep, unfortunately, didn't easily descend on him despite how relaxed he was, so he contented himself by focusing on Akari and her friends, hoping that he'd become so bored at watching that it would lull him to sleep.

She was talking gleefully with Morimura and the four-eyed girl as they dug holes on the earth with their shovels. They were too far away for Kei to hear anything, but he assumed that she just said something strange from the way Morimura chuckled in a demure manner while the other girl just shook her head in amusement. When it was Morimura's turn to talk, both listened attentively and their admiration for the little guy was written plainly on their faces - with more careful inspection, Kei could even see tinges of pink on the other girl's cheeks. Akari, as usual, didn't let go of the spotlight for long and the attention was drawn to her again when she wiggled her shoulders and said a joke or something that caused Morimura to laugh more freely while the other girl forced down her smiles with her hand.

Kei studied Akari's wide grins and it felt strange to see another side of her that she never showed him whenever they were together. That wasn't to say that she wasn't loud and animated when he was with him, but compared to the Akari that he was seeing now, the Akari he knew was more... tamed, perhaps? It was like she was holding back a part of herself that she was still uncomfortable to show him. It only served as a reminder that he was nowhere near as close to her as these people.

He turned his back on them and squeezed his eyes shut.

Minutes or maybe hours had passed when Kei groggily awoke from thumping footsteps slowly approaching him. His vision was still blurry when a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. He looked up just in time to see Akari lowering herself on the grass beside him. He breathed in deeply and stretched out before shifting his body aside to give the girl more space.

"Sorry, Kei-kun." She bit her lip sheepishly as she brought her knees to her chest. "I woke you, didn't I?"

His throat had become dry, so it took a while before he voiced his own question. "You done?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Not really. There are still more tree saplings to plant on another area later, but I don't think I'll be taking part in it."

From the way she was acting, it almost seemed like she was begging him to ask her what was bothering her. "Something wrong?" He sat up and grabbed two water bottles inside her bag. He tossed one to her while he uncapped the other for himself.

She snorted and gave him a look of disbelief. "Nothing's wrong! And what makes you say that?" The fact that she immediately avoided his gaze afterward and kept glancing at her other friends told him otherwise. It also conveniently narrowed his choice of culprits.

"You look weird." He replied and pretended to be in deep thought. "Like a cat pooping in a litter box."

She almost spitted the water she was drinking. "Kei-kun!" She exclaimed, aghast at his crudeness. That didn't stop her from laughing out loud, though. "You're rude."

"Just an observation." The edge of his lips twisted upward when she stuck her tongue at him. "So what is it?"

"It's just that..." She squirmed uneasily as she threw several more glances at Morimura and the four-eyed girl. "I get this strange feeling that Arisawa-san doesn't want me there. I mean, I know that she's always been stern, but it's kind of different this time, you know?"

Noticing her clear discomfort, Kei leaned back and supported his upper body with his elbows before directing his attention towards Akari's distress. He'd never talked with the girl before, but he'd seen her a few times at school. Of course, he'd never really paid any close attention to her, but fortunately she had already left him an impression during their Christmas party that she'd be the no-nonsense, straight-As type of girl. That was why it came as a surprise to see her starry-eyed and giggling in front of Morimura.

"She likes him." He said in a matter-of-fact tone even though he wasn't truly sure of his observations. For all he knew she was just happy with planting flowers and the heat was just causing the color to rise to her cheeks. He didn't want Akari to think that he was taking the issue lightly, though, so his answer had to be thought-provoking at the very least.

"Really? I think so, too." She scrunched her face up in frustration and Kei was amused at himself for guessing that one right. "Then why is she getting angry at me for?"

Again, he replied with something typical. "She probably thinks you're competition."

Her eyes widened at that. "Me? Why me? I didn't do anything!"

He answered with a bored shrug of his shoulders and lied down on the grass again. Maybe he shouldn't have opened up this idea, after all. How was he supposed to answer anything regarding someone else's love life?

"She didn't have to worry about me..." She grumbled to herself and played with the grass with her fingertips. "I don't think of Morimura-kun that way..."

"But you do spend a lot of time with him, don't you?" He didn't know what possessed him to say that since he was the one who wanted stop this silly conversation in the first place. It was disconcerting how his mouth just blurted out what was on his mind.

Akari looked down at him and her knitted eyebrows showed how she found the idea ridiculous. "Sure I do, but that's only because he's so nice and he's a great study buddy. Isn't he your friend? I mean, don't you guys occasionally meet here?"

That was a different case altogether. It was more like Morimura tended to stumble upon him while he was sleeping somewhere in the park. It just so happened that Morimura was too good-natured to pass up a chance to talk to a familiar face. "I don't see him that much anymore."

"Really? How come?"

"...I don't know." Why ask him? It wasn't as if he was visiting the park only because he wanted to meet up with the guy. He couldn't even remember the last time they met.

"Anyway," She resumed her uncharacteristic gloomy disposition. "We were having so much fun before... I wonder if there was something I said that annoyed her?"

Kei studied her face and noticed how truly disappointed she was, making him even more uncomfortable than before. He decided that he didn't like seeing his friend like this and the sudden urge to do something rose within him yet again. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Huh?" She acted as if he startled her out of her thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"I'll just tell her not to misunderstand and you're not hitting on Morimura."

Instead of being pleased, she gawked at him as if he just said something incredibly stupid. "What? No!" She grabbed his arm in a tight grip.

Kei frowned. She didn't have to dig her nails on his arm that hard. "Why not?"

"Y-You can't do that. That's embarrassing!" Her cheeks were getting red and she seemed desperate enough to tackle him to the ground if he stood up and approached the other two. "I-I'll find time to talk with Arisawa-san myself. Thank you, Kei-kun."

He couldn't see why she should be embarrassed about it, but he decided to just let it go. He wouldn't know how to react if the four-eyed girl lashed at him for butting in their personal business anyway. But did this mean that Akari was going to mope around all the day? Maybe if he distracted her, it would take her mind off her other friends. But what would be the best way to catch her interest?

The solution was obvious, but in a moment of selfishness, he almost hesitated to say it. He did so anyway when she let out a heavy sigh. "I've never participated in tree planting before." He watched her expression slowly change. "Is it fun?"

His not-so subtle invitation was not lost to the surprised Akari. Not thinking twice, she immediately grabbed at the chance and grinned broadly at him. "I'll show you how it's done! It's really easy!"

He didn't like this idea, but maybe this was for the best. Besides, it gave him the chance to prove to her other friends that they were not the only ones whose company Akari enjoyed.

Unfortunately for him, that was when it happened.

He'd been to the park numerous times than he could count, but not all of those visits had been nice thanks to his steadily growing popularity as a model. He was no stranger to lingering looks, pointing fingers, squeals, and - most annoying of all - girls who chase and surround him like a pack of wolves. Being a constant prey, he knew how to distinguish tell-tale signs of these crazed females. If his senses were right, a group of them was approaching their direction in an alarming pace.

Agitated nerves shouted at him to run and stealthily slip away, but he wasn't alone at the moment and there was no way he'd leave Akari behind.

Seeing no other alternatives, he pounced on her.

"Hah!" She let out a small squeak of surprise as he grabbed her waist and shifted their bodies so they both rolled over to the thick bushes and tall grass. The damp smell of earth and mud filled his nostrils as the sharp ends of small branches poked him through his shirt. "Kei-kun? Wh-What?"

"Shhh..." He placed a finger over his lips in an attempt to keep her quiet before angling his head to peer over the bushes. He could feel her squirming underneath him, but he was too busy straining his ears for any sound of footsteps and voices.

When she didn't stop her squirming, he finally decided to warn her with a glare, but found himself amused at her bulging eyes and gaping mouth. She looked like a mess. There were twigs and leaves that were stuck and tangled in her hair. Even the side of her cheeks were slightly covered in mud.

For a moment, guilt nagged at him for causing her to look so disheveled. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him.

He was so busy staring at her that, to his surprise, her whole face grew so red that he wondered if she was in the middle of hyperventilating. He narrowed his eyebrows in a mixture of confusion and worry, but he didn't have time to wonder about her strange expression when he finally heard faint voices coming their way.

"Ah, geez! I lost sight of him! Where did he go?"

So intent was he not to be found out that he quickly lowered his arms, which were supporting his weight, and dipped his head closer to Akari that it was almost like their cheeks were touching.

Akari stopped squirming then, but it didn't make him feel any better because her body became still as stone. Only the feel of her unsteady breathing and the sound of her heartbeat drumming wildly against his chest indicated that she was still very much conscious.

"It's Hazuki Kei! I read from the magazine that he comes here often!"

Stupid girls and their crazy, senseless obsessions! He was never happy to have them before, but he'd never imagined being so annoyed at them as much as he did now. Still, it wouldn't help their situation at all if he got careless due to his darkening mood.

He listened intently for the unwanted visitors and it felt like an eternity before their chatter and footsteps receded. He waited for a few more seconds just to be sure. "...Are they gone?" He asked hopefully. If he had been paying attention, he would have felt her slightly jump at his voice.

She tilted her head to the side and made tendrils of auburn hair tickle his nose. "Yeah, probably..." She whispered, clearly uneasy.

Silently cursing his rotten luck, Kei forced himself to calm down by closing his eyes for a few seconds then taking a deep breath. He was ashamed of himself for involving her in his troubles. His stomach sank at the thought that she would never have to deal with any of this if she was with her other friends...

"...H-Hey." It wasn't her words that shook him out of his self pity, rather the warmth of her breath that grazed the tip of his ear when she turned her head again and spoke. "Should we get out of here now?"

His eyes snapped open and it was only then that he was made aware of the compromising position he had unknowingly put themselves into. He was practically leaning half of his weight on her and his eyes widened at the flustered look she wore on her face.

A passing thought invaded his head and it clicked then that Akari was very much a girl. Slightly skinny, but strangely soft.

He felt heat at the back of his neck as he hurriedly pulled away before clumsily helping her back to her feet. They brushed twigs and dirt from their hair and clothes, but the awkward tension hung in the air as if it was ready to be tipped over and spill over their heads.

Thankfully, Akari was back to her usual bubbly self again in minutes. "That was a surprise... You are so popular as always, Kei-kun!" Her voice was lacking that teasing tone whenever she picked fun at him. She was just genuinely bewildered, maybe even impressed...?

He wasn't sure how he should react to that since - if anyone asked him for an honest opinion - being hounded by fangirls would never become a compliment. "...Nah."

"But..." His dilemma must have been written plainly on his face because Akari's smile had turned into a sympathetic one. "It must be hard. Does such a thing happen a lot?"

He wanted to say no, but it wouldn't do him any good to lie. "...Pretty much." In a way, he wanted her to see what it would take to become his friend, but a large part of him also didn't want to scare her off. Once more, he remembered Morimura and the four-eyed girl. "You probably start to think that you shouldn't have stayed with me..."

In the end, compared to those two, he was only more trouble than what he was worth.

Her reaction was slow and she scrunched her face as if she had something in her mind. When she approached him with a determined gleam in her brown eyes, he reluctantly took a step back.

He wasn't prepared when she patted him on the shoulder and gave a thumb's up. "I'm totally okay! I felt like I was in a spy movie." She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed childishly. "It was fun!"

Kei watched her poke him with the gun-gesture she made using her hands. She smirked, her suggestive look inviting him to join her and do a rather embarrassing pose. "Akari, you..." He trailed off, his conflicting emotions leaving him unable to make out what he truly wanted to communicate.

"Hmm?" She seemed oblivious at the stares that some people in the park were throwing their way.

His insecurities vanished and an unfamiliar heat surged on both his cheeks. He showed his gratefulness as well as his immense relief by saying, "You're a really weird girl..."

As odd as it may be, he figured that it was her uniqueness that drew them closer together all this time, anyway.

A/N: Gah... the chapters are getting longer and longer. To be honest, the drabble I wrote for this a long time ago went differently, but then according to my outline, I seem to have triggered this event on Greenery day, so I had to make some adjustments. Sorry for those of you who expected this event as a romantic sort. That's what I thought at first, too, considering the amount of hearts you can get on skinship, but I think it really is more about Kei dealing with his issues.

Thanks once again for supporting me! It always brightens my day to hear from all of you! Stay tuned for the next chapter because I'll be bringing in the stalker principal for Kei to deal with. Hehehe! XD

aimiera: Yep, it's Himuro's pink magical stress reliever! I also wish that you can activate it more than once. XD

Alice: Hello, there! Thank you very much, dear! You flatter me so and it's making me giddy. Hahaha! XD I honestly think that the whole CG bento scene in the game should be activated only if Kei's in :) state and above. And I'll be manipulating a lot more CGs in this story, but as of now I'm struggling where I should add them in my messy outline. ^^; Thank you again for your support!

darkness01: Hey, hey! It's really nice to see you again! Sadly, my journey was short-lived and I'm once again back to square one. It was quite a learning experience and it makes you realize what you're capable of. Anyway, it makes me happy you're still supporting me. Thank you very much!

nattie: Nattie! I'm very glad to see you again! I'm kind of guilty of neglecting this fic, too, but I'm happy that people are still reading and reviewing. XD Well, I have to say that being independent will change your views a lot and what's important to you. Sadly, it didn't go as well as I planned, but I won't be giving up just yet...! Thanks a lot for your support!

Reader-chan: Thank you! XD Kei-kun is cute and hot! Hahaha!

terisu: Thank you very much! Kei is my all-time favorite in all the TM games. Sadly there aren't a lot of Kei fanfics here... It would be nice to have a fellow Hazuki Kei writer. Will you volunteer? XD