.:Chapter 2:.

Miwako's first day at school passed uneventfully, as did the rest of the week. She enjoyed walking to classes with Lively, giggling in the back row, and doodling designs of clothes they would make and sell in their future boutiques. Lively wanted to be a technical designer, making up measured patterns to cut and assemble into her visions. The numbers always boggled Miwako's mind, but once a final picture was drawn it was as if she could see Lively's entire thought process from the start.

Things with Arashi were going well too. He would escort her to class in the morning and pick her up at her locker at the end of the day to walk her home, often making her stop for sweets on the way. If he wandered to her locker before she had met with Lively for lunch then she would sneak out to the sunroom to eat with him, though she always worried about Lively looking for her. Miwako had found her first two weeks of school falling into a nice, comfortable routine, and between Arashi and Lively, she was never alone. Finally, she decided that two weeks was way to long for her best friend to have gone without knowing her boyfriend.

The final bell chimed throughout the momentarily pristine halls of Yaza Arts, and Miwako packed up the last of her things. She glanced at Lively to tell her to wait—Lively was always up and ready to leave class before Miwako.

"Do you have anything going on right now?" Miwako asked, somewhat shyly.

Lively shook her head, not even pausing to think, and said, "Nah, now that class is over, I usually jus' go home."

Miwako smiled, her face lighting up, That means she can meet Arashi! And said, "Good! There's someone you should meet then!"

Lively raised an eyebrow as Miwako knocked her pencil off the table in her excitement. Making Lively giggle, Miwako scrambled to grab it before she stood up. Lively smiled to herself—she was always amused by what the bouncy pink-haired girl did. The two of them grabbed their bags and headed out the door, walking around the corner to Lively's locker first. After her friend packed up the few books she bothered to study from, the two girls melded into the crowd of students and went to Miwako's locker. Arashi was already waiting.

He spotted Miwako first, by her pink curls, and called out, "Oi, where you been at??"

Miwako's face lit up as she approached him. "Arashi! I brought a friend to meet you, she's the one I keep telling you about!" she exclaimed, grabbing Lively's wrist and tugging her faster in Arashi's direction.

"Who—" Arashi started to say, before his eyes met Lively's. His brows furrowed ever so slightly before he caught himself and smiled, extending a hand. "The name's Arashi, nice t'meet you," he said, unfazed.

Lively smiled almost too sweetly as she took his hand, said, "Lively," as an introduction, and turned to Miwako. Leaning over to her best friend, she whispered, "He's cute!" and the two girls giggled as if they were grade-schoolers.

They were interrupted by Arashi clearing his throat. "Uh, Miwako, we should get goin'. It was nice t'meet you though, Lively," he said, grabbing Miwako's hand.

"But you hardly got to talk to Lively!" Miwako exclaimed, disappointed.

"Miwako," Lively interjected, "Sorry, but didn't you need your Textile Sciences book?" She pointed to Miwako's open book bag, which clearly was missing the book.

"Ah! Miwako must have left it in the classroom!" Miwako exclaimed, surprised at her forgetfulness. Lively smiled, saying, "No worries, Arashi an' I can get t'know each other while ya run back!"

Miwako's face lit up again: "Perfect!"

The petite girl slipped into the thinning mass of students before either Arashi or Lively could say a word, leaving only her strawberry perfume's scent behind. Arashi's posture instantly changed, becoming more cautious.

"What are you doing, Lively?" he asked coldly.

She smiled sweetly at him, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about, Miwako and I are good friends," she said.

Arashi frowned and sneered, "What happened to the accent?"

"You know, sometimes my Kansai slips in. I spent a summer with my aunt and sometimes it's like I can't get it out of my head," she explained, adding an overly oblivious shrug, "Looks like it's gone for the time being."

"Bullshit. What're you hangin' 'round Miwako for anyway? I told you to stay out of my life. Permanently," he said, looking at her with disgust.

"Aw Arashi, don't pretend like you don't miss me. Like you don't miss the…fun times that we had?" she said, a suggestive inflection in her voice as she took a step closer.

Arashi moved back, keeping the space between them as he snapped, "I like my life the way it is now: without you and without your bullshit and chaotic messes." He spotted Miwako walking towards them smiling at the end of the hall. He dropped his voice low and added, "You stay out of my life and away from Miwako." A fake smile was then upon his face, and he said more loudly, "Well it was nice meetin' you! Miwako, were gonna be late if we don't catch that train!"

An ill-wishing smile spread across Lively's lips as he walked past her and met Miwako. Lively turned and waved to the couple as they walked out the door, calling, "Bye Miwako! See ya tomorrow! Nice meetin' ya Arashi!"

Miwako beamed back in the direction of her best friend, shouting, "Bye!" She couldn't be happier: now she had her boyfriend, her best friend, and her life all in order.

Now we can all be friends! This is going to be the best year!

--

The A few days later, Miwako was looking for Lively, but she was nowhere to be found. She didn't show up for first period, or the next two that followed. Finally, after lunch, Lively wandered into fourth period looking noticeably upset. Her eyes looked slightly red and her shoulders were hung low. She slipped into the seat next to Miwako, but didn't lean in to make the usual girlish comments about classmates and teachers.

"Are you alright?" Miwako asked, her eyebrows tipping into concern on her doll-like face. Lively simply nodded, clearly not wanting to talk. Miwako's concern grew, and she pulled out a piece of notebook paper. In curly cursive, she wrote:

What happened?

Lively looked without enthusiasm at her note as Miwako slid it towards her. She sighed, and heavily put her head in the palm of her hand before writing back:

this guy has jus been buggin' me…

Miwako took a moment to read before scratching back:

Who? Someone here at Yaza Arts?

Yeah…we dated for a while in middle school an' I hadn' seen him for a long time, but fer the last few days…

He hasn't hurt you, has he?

Nah…

Well then what's wrong?

He keeps pressurin' me ta sleep with him, e'en though I've said no, an' I feel like he's not gonna leave me alone 'ntil he gets what he wants.

That's horrible! Miwako will say something to Arashi, who is he??

No, I'd rather ya not get involved, it's too personal.

Nonsense. Miwako wants to help.

I can't….

Miwako glared at Lively, and the girl sighed with a tinkle of her beaded hair. She rubbed her eyes like an old woman who had seen too much in life, before picking up the pen. She hesitated for another moment, before writing:

It's Arashi.

"What?!" Miwako yelped out loud, startling both Lively and the other students around her. The professor cleared her throat and Miwako apologized, shocked.

Lively hung her head and sighed again. "I'm so sorry Miwako, I didn't want to say anything…"

Miwako was silent for the rest of the next two periods, and Lively looked sick to her stomach. Finally, just before the bell rang, Miwako said, "It's not your fault. I'm glad you told Miwako." She stood then, and gathered her books quickly before dashing out the room.

She raced down the hallway, pink and white candy cane stockings a blur above her white platform mary janes. "Miwako!" she heard a familiar male voice call, but she ignored it, running out the door of the building and into the subway.

"Miwako, wait!" Arashi called again, trying to chase her. But the mass of students leaving the building slowed him down, and Miwako was into the subway and on the train out before he even made it off school property.

Large tears began to roll down Miwako's pretty cheeks as she sat between strangers on the subway. Her mind was blank, and she unknowingly exited at an all-too-familiar stop. She walked about a black and a half before a gentle male voice said, "Miwako?"

Miwako looked up, and found herself face to face with none other than Hiro. Her breath caught, but whether it was out of surprise or to keep from crying, she didn't know. Hiro saw her tear-stained face and, without asking a single question, wrapped her in a hug. He guided her in the direction she was already headed; it was only half a block more to his house.

--

Furious with himself for not being in the right place at the right time, Arashi stormed immediately up to his room, slamming the door. Her heard his mother angrily yell something reprimanding from downstairs, but he had no urge to snap back a retort of his own. What had caused Miwako to run off like that? He'd tried calling her cell phone, but it was either off or she was ignoring his calls. He sighed, opening his window to the crisp February air.

He lit a cigarette, taking a deep, hard drag before sighing in a puff of light gray smoke. He rolled the cigarette between his fingers, watching the cherry at the end chew down the paper shaft. He watched it until there was almost an inch of ash. He tapped it off and took another long hit. His phone rang. Nearly burning himself, he scrambled for hit, answering with a sputtered, "Miwako? Hello?? Where are you? Are you okay?"

Silence for a moment, before a very un-Miwako-like giggle sounded from the other end. Arashi frowned, looking at the name on his caller ID. Irritatingly enough, it flashed "PRIVATE". He gritted his teeth and asked coolly, "Who is this?"

"Why Arashi," she said, "Don't pretend like you don't know me."

Arashi spit out the window in disgust and flicked his near-finished cigarette after it. "Lively, you bitch, what do you want. How did you get this number?"

He could almost hear Lively grinning on the other end as she pondered, "Miwako sure seemed upset after school today, hmm?"

"What did you say?" He snapped, locating his wallet, cigarettes, and lighter.

"Tch," she scoffed, "I didn't say anything."

"Don't fuck with me Lively, what did you do then," he spit, about to run out the door to Miwako's.

"I wouldn't go to her house right now if I was you."

He paused. He was risking a lot, playing along with Lively's games, but he know that she set up bombs that could be even more detrimental if he didn't go along with things.

"What do you want," he said flatly. It wasn't really a question.

"Hm, " she said as if thinking about it. She was clearly satisfied, and she continued, "Meet me at my house in 30 minutes. I know you still remember where it is."

He opened his mouth, though he didn't know if it was to protest or agree, but the line had been cut off. "Fuck." He kicked the door open with his knee-high combat boots as he lit another cigarette.

"You know damn better than to-" his mother began, but he was out the front door with a slam and the rest of her sentence turned into a furious murmur. Arashi was on the subway in minutes, headed in an uncomfortably familiar direction.

--

Hiro calmed Miwako down with hot cocoa and by picking out one of each colored star from her medicine bottle. He lined them up in rainbow order, and she picked them up and ate them one after another like a bird or small mouse. She had cried hard into his shirt for a good ten minutes earlier, and she was looking pretty worn out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly. She didn't gesture one way or the other, but she definitely looked like she was debating with herself. Hiro gently rolled her long pink curls in between his fingers for a few minutes before she spoke.

"What do you do when the person you thought loved you isn't the person you thought they were….and maybe the don't love you at all…" she murmured to herself. Hiro looked surprised, and he said, "Miwako, Arashi loves you very much. If he didn't love you more than life itself, he wouldn't have ended up with you."

Miwako looked at him, a strange mix of hope, hurt, and fury in her eyes as she uncharacteristically yelled, "Arashi never loved Miwako! He told her he did just so that he could throw Miwako's heart away!"

"Don't ever say that!" Hiro shouted back, scaring Miwako. Her expression immediately changed, tears filling her eyes. Hiro sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. But Miwako, if Arashi didn't truly love you, there isn't any chance in hell that I would've let you end up with him."

Miwako looked at him, now feeling both guilty and sad, "Miwako's sorry, Hiro. Everything's just very confusing right now and--"

"Don't worry about it," Hiro said, putting his hand over hers and smiling softly. Miwako smiled back. "C'mon," Hiro said as he stood, "I'll walk you home."

Miwako nodded, pulling herself to her feet slowly and grabbing her oversized white bag. The two headed out the front door, and walked in comforting silence to Miwako's house.

--

Arashi stepped up to the faded door with heavy feet. Lively's apartment complex was the same in every way, from the light musty animal smell in the hallways to the paint chips on Lively's bright red door. He was debating whether to knock or ring the doorbell when the wind blew the door open. It creaked slightly, and he heard Lively call in from the other room, "Make yourself at home!"

"Right, like I'd ever," he mumbled to himself as he stepped inside. Sweet-smelling incense wafted towards him from the dark living room ahead. The familiar scent made his groin ache, and his mood immediately shifted form being on edge to complete irritation. He sat down on the large red sofa, sinking into it slightly along with the pillows and blankets strewn about to his left and right. Lively still had the same dark purple and red draperies around the windows and furniture, the low table with pillows for seats, and various projects that were started once but had now turned into artful messes scattered about the average sized room. Everything took up space, but the room never seemed claustrophobic. There was certain coziness for most Arashi supposed, especially with the hundreds of lit candles she used instead of her electricity, but sitting there, he felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. His stomach dropped as she walked in, wearing a low-cut lacy tank and tight jeans. Her bare feet were silent on the floor as she came and set a tray with tea in front of him. She sat opposite him, and poured the tea perfectly while keeping eye contact. He looked away in disgust.

"C'mon now Arashi, after all we've been through, you're going to snub an old friend?" she said sweetly, finishing and pushing his tea towards him. It glided across the table silently, smoothly.

"I showed up," he said flatly, not moving to pick up the tea. She shrugged, and then began to dig for something in her pocket. He frowned, waiting for her to pull the key to setting her plan in motion out and attack him. It was in fact her room key that emerged, and old key that locked her apartment building from the inside and outside. His brow creased further as she stood, walked to the door, and turned the key.

When she turned back, she simply shrugged, "I don't want to be interrupted. You know my neighbors." He did, actually. The two brothers that lived next door were irrelevant for the most part, but whenever they started drinking they came pounding on Lively's door, demanding she 'come out and play'. They disgusted Arashi, but when he and Lively were dating last year, he was too weak to try and stand up to them. Even now, messing with two huge 24-year-olds wasn't in his best interest. Not that he'd defend Lively anyway….

His train of thought was broken by Lively taking something else out of her pocket. Two small white pills glistened in the candlelight; they had cartooned smiley faces on them that winked at Arashi. His stomach filled with butterflies as he recognized them. "Why do you have that shit," he said his voiced laced with worry. She glanced up at him casually and then bent over them again, grinding one pill up and putting it in her tea. She drank half of the cup before she answered him, "Just because you're on a break doesn't mean I have to be."

"I'm not on a break, I quit," he snapped. She shrugged and said, "Whatever you wanna tall yourself. I'm gonna run to the kitchen quick, my dinner's cooking."

She stood and left, leaving the other white pill sitting next to Arashi's teacup. It smiled innocently at him, and he felt himself sweating with concentration. He'd taken ecstasy occasionally in the first half of his eighth year, but once he met Lively, it became a regular habit. The two of them would get high and fool around, go to parks, do anything normal under the influence of the drug. Everything was fantastic. Eventually the fight for Miwako with Hiro made him dump Lively and quit using, but he never really got it all out of his system. He picked up the little pill, turning it over and over in his fingers. After a few rotations, the smiley face smudged and it looked like it was crying. His eyebrows knitted together, part of him feeling strangely sorry for the little thing. He put it back next to his teacup, poking at it with a wooden stirring stick. As Lively clanked around in the kitchen, he ground at it harder and harder, until it was a soft powder just like Lively's was. He sighed, blowing a little of the dust away. He caught his breath, oddly not wanting it to be wasted. He pushed it into a little mountain, and flashes of memories while using the drug flitted through the background in his head. He licked the tip of his finger, touching just the very top of the mini Mt. Everest. Lively was watching from the kitchen door silently, unnoticed. Arashi inspected his fingertip, wondering what it would feel like to take a hit after a year of being clean. He couldn't quite recall the feeling he used to get from it. He remembered the words he used to describe it, euphoric, happy, blissful…perfect. It was like when you had the flu: with all the shivers and fever, you can't possibly recall what it's like to feel healthy, and once you're better, you can never quick bring to mind how it really felt to be sick. There are always the words that describe it, but the actual feeling is always impossible to conjure.

Arashi licked the tip of his finger, the chemical dissolving quickly in his mouth. "Fuck," he muttered, taking a swig of his tea. He didn't feel anything for a minute, and he sighed, wondering of all his regular use built up a resistance to such a small amount. But within what then seemed like seconds of taking it, the warmth, happiness, and satisfaction rolled over him like a crushing wave. A soft, relaxed, "Haaaaaa…" escaped his lips as Lively approached him from the kitchen. Her hair was so fun to play with, the fuzzy ends of her dreads, the smooth glass beads hanging from the longer ropey locks…

Lively licked her finger sensually, and Arashi's lips parted in semi-lust. His groin ached even more now… Lively rolled her finger in the rest of the powder Arashi had crushed up, and then straddled him. "O~pen wiii~iide," she sing-songed, running her soft, dry knuckle along his lower lip.

"Hnn, don't tease, Live," Arashi murmured, scooping her finger into his mouth with his tongue. She smiled, and it looked so sweet…a wave of pleasure rolled over him, and he arched his back with a small gasp. Lively, on a high of her own, ran her hands up and down his chest, giving him ripples of enjoyment. She slid her hands underneath his shirt and up to his nipples, slurring, "Didn't you miss me, 'Ashi?"

"Nnnn, ah, don't stop…" he moaned, unable to move under her touch. His piercings tinkled softly as he let his head fall back onto the couch. Lively slipped his shirt over his head, her hands staying as connected with his body as possible.

He moaned as her head dropped to his chest, her tongue softly probing around his nipples, sucking here and flicking there. After a few moments she said, "Ashi, help…"

"Hnn?" he lifted his head, half lost in the blissful high. She rubbed between her legs and said, "It's so hot, 'Ashi…nnn…help, get it off…" He obliged, pushing her forward onto her back, both of them lying lengthwise on the red couch. His mind was turning, he couldn't think of what to do, but he needed to save her. He had to make her happy. His hands roamed around her inner thighs until he found her zipper and button. Undoing them quickly but gently, he realized he'd found his way in. He pulled her upright, her sitting in his lap, and he tugged her jeans down far enough for her to sluggishly kick them off. He looked half passed out, a stupid smile on her face.

"'Ashi, please, it's so hot…" she moaned, her legs falling slightly spread. He held her to him, one arm around her waist as they sat there on the couch, and the primitive subconscious finally stepped in. He still didn't know what he was doing, but he knew that to help her he had to dig under the black lace covering that sweet place between her thighs. She was slipping, limp in his arms, and he hoisted her back into position. Looking over her shoulder, he watched as his hand explored into her panties, sliding over the smooth surface below. She gasped and arched her back, her neck brushing against his lips. He began to kiss her, rubbing and exploring harder and further and moans and girlish "ah's" fought their way out, still quiet in the silent room. She rocked into him, and grabbed his hand and slid it up her thin tank top. The fabric was so soft against his skin, and as he played with her nipple it caressed the back of his hand. As she rocked and ground into him, he was suddenly aware of his own raging heat between his legs. It was never anything like this when he was sober…

A shuddering gasp, and Lively's whole body shook softly before collapsing. Arashi's hands subconsciously moved to her hips, which he kept moving. Her weight pressed them into his groin, and his breathing became increasingly heavier. He couldn't do it without her help though, and he had to wait a few minutes before she was recovered enough to turn around and slide to her knees. He pushed his pants off lazily, and she yanked them the rest of the way down. Though she had orgasmed, her regular use of the drug made her much more aware of herself as well as gave her a shorter high…a look of normality was returning to her eyes. She pulled down his boxers, smirking at his collapsed form on the couch, before she started to lick him.

"Ah!," he gasped, and grabbed her head, forcing her further down on him. Lively lacked a gag reflex, and she loved it when he wanted her this bad. Too bad he wasn't anywhere near sober. She teased him just to the breaking point again and again, before she finally let him come. His hands were nested in her little dreads, and he was writhing with pleasure. He kept trying to start sentences but was unable to grasp more than one syllable, and small pants turned into long gasping breaths right before he orgasmed. Everything was going perfectly until, just before he came, he stammered out, "Oh god, Miwako, please, please….please…" His whole body quivered softly for almost a full minute before he went completely limp, nearly unconscious after the pleasure waves wracked his body. Everything was black.

Arashi woke up on the same red couch, his memory of last night a blur. It was Friday, right? Thank god, at least he didn't have to worry about another truancy.