An uncomfortable bright light was shining directly on my face, making it difficult to open my eyes once I woke up. I raised my arm, shielding my eyes from the sun's white light with my hand, and got out of bed, mentally cursing myself for not shutting my window the night before.

Closing and locking the window beside my bed, I drew the curtain over the glass, cutting off the bright light. Still exhausted from last night's escapade, I lazily shuffled back over to my bed, fully intending to sleep for at least an hour or two longer. However, something made me wonder why the sun had been shining so strongly through my window to begin with.

Irritated by the fact that I couldn't seem to let the question drop, I stole a glance at the clock on my dresser, and immediately discovered why the sun was so bright—it was 11:45 AM. I didn't usually sleep this late, but I figured that I was entitled to a little extra rest after my late-night adventure. Pulling the covers over my head to block out the last of the sunlight, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Something, to my annoyance, wouldn't let me—there was a nagging feeling in my stomach that refused to let me slip back into unconsciousness.

Sitting up, irritated and sleepy, I happened to glance at my clock again. 11:48AM. Then I realized why I wouldn't let myself fall asleep—I had to meet Nagihiko at the school in twelve minutes.

Startled into complete wakefulness, I stumbled out of bed and over to my closet, looking for something decent to put on; even though my mind was wide awake, my body was still partially asleep, and I could only hope that I had enough sense to grab an outfit that actually matched.

After giving a new meaning to the phrase, "two-minute shower," I toweled off my hair and tugged on the light pink shirt and white skirt that I had retrieved from my closet, relieved that they went together nicely. Snatching the hairbrush from on top of my dresser, I tugged it quickly through my messy blonde curls, trying not to hurt myself too much in my haste. I didn't have time to check, but I couldn't help but wonder how much of my hair had been snagged in the bristles.

I seized my cell phone from its spot on the table next to my bed, stole one last glance at my clock, which read 11:56, and ran out of my room and down the stairs as fast as my short legs could possibly carry me without causing me to trip and fall. Calling a breathless, "I'm going out!" to my parents, I darted out the front door, letting it slam behind me. Running down the sidewalk in the direction of the school, it occurred to me that my house had been utterly silent—I assumed that they had finally gotten tired of screaming at each other and had decided to call it a night.

Pushing the thought out of my mind, I focused on trying to get to the school without passing out—I was already exhausted from lack of sleep, and running wasn't helping the situation in the least. Thankfully, I didn't live too far away from my destination, and after a few moments, the school building was in sight. The downside to this was that it was impossible for me to run anymore, so I had to settle for a brisk walk.

I scanned the schoolyard for Nagihiko, and found him leaning against the trunk of a large tree, glancing impatiently at his wrist every few seconds. I cut across the schoolyard and trotted up to him. Finally, I could take a break—I stood in front of Nagihiko, doubled over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"You're late," he pointed out, and I somehow found the strength to glare at him.

"Punctuality isn't something a person worries about when they've only had a little bit of sleep," I spat, and he raised an eyebrow.

"If you didn't wake up on time," he said slowly, "you could've just called or texted me and let me know that you were going to be late." Upon hearing this, I could only stare at him. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right; it was such a simple solution, yet I had been in too much of a hurry to think of it. This frustrated me to the point that all I could do was get angry.

"Shut up!" I shouted breathlessly, still dead-tired from running. "I'm already exhausted! I don't need you to make me feel stupid as well!"

Nagihiko laughed, earning another glare from me. "Relax," he said nonchalantly, making me want to slap him—I had just sprinted all the way to the school, being the athletically-impaired person that I was, and he was telling me to relax.

"Why did you call me out here so early anyway?" I panted, still trying to get my breath. "I didn't get much sleep, and I don't appreciate being dragged to the school in the middle of the morning."

Nagihiko rolled his eyes. "It's not early," he stated bluntly. "And it's not morning—it's afternoon." I was about to say something before he added, in an innocent and sweet tone that made me want to slap him even more, "It's not my fault you stayed up so late, Rima-chan."

"Yes it is!" I wailed, earning a chuckle from him at my reaction. "You're the one who dragged me out of my house at midnight!"

He lifted an eyebrow for the second time, this time in disbelief. "I dragged you?" he asked doubtfully, pointing out my choice of words. I was fed up with him already; if he was just going to antagonize me, there was no reason for me to be here.

I turned away from him and began to walk away, back in the direction of my house. Nagihiko caught my wrist and I spun to face him. "Let go," I growled, knowing that despite all the menace I tried to pile into my voice, I probably sounded like an agitated kitten.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, and I attempted to jerk my wrist out of his hand. Unfortunately, he seemed to have no intention of letting go anytime soon.

"I'm going home!" I informed him angrily, trying again to free my wrist, but to no avail. "If you only called me here to get on my nerves, then there was no point in me getting out of bed and coming in the first place!"

Nagihiko stared at me blankly as I made a third futile attempt to pull my hand away. "I had a reason for bringing you here," he stated, and let go of my wrist so suddenly that I nearly fell backward. "But you can go home if you want." I studied his expression—it was blank. But as I stared at him, I thought I saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.

"If it was really alright for me to leave," I said slowly, "You wouldn't have told me to come here to begin with." Nagihiko was good at manipulating people—even better than Tadase. At least Nagihiko didn't use a puppy-dog face to get what he wanted.

"So?" He was using monosyllables now.

"So," I sighed, "the fact that I'm here is proof enough that you don't want me to leave." I wasn't sure if I was trying to outsmart Nagihiko, or just trying to get him to tell me why he'd asked me to come. Either one would be enough for me, though I was sure that there was no possible way to outsmart him.

Nagihiko looked the slightest bit irritated. "I did have a reason for bringing you here," he said for the second time. "So obviously, I don't want you to leave. But I'm not going to force you to stay if you don't want to. So if that's the case, you can go home." Stupid reverse psychology. What annoyed me was that I was actually falling for it.

"Just tell me why I'm here, and maybe I won't want to leave," I muttered, and Nagihiko smirked.

"It's a secret," he said teasingly, and I fumed. "Now, are you going to go home, or can we get going already?"

"That depends on where we're going," I told him, though I had a feeling that he wasn't planning on telling me.

"You'll see when we get there," he replied, and began to walk away. "It's your decision whether you want to follow me," he called over his shoulder, not breaking his stride.

If it had been anyone else, or any other situation, I would've undoubtedly gone in the opposite direction; I didn't play mind games. But unfortunately, my curiosity got the best of me—that seemed to be happening a lot lately. I didn't have anything better to do, and I certainly didn't want to go back home; I told myself that this was simply because I had bothered to come out here, and I didn't want my trouble to be for nothing.

"Slow down!" I called, taking off in the direction that he'd gone. I had already run all the way to the school, and my legs were tired enough without having to sprint after Nagihiko, who could probably walk faster than I could run. The only reason that I managed to catch up to him was because he'd stopped to wait for me.

"I thought you were going home," he said innocently, causing me to glare up at him.

"I still might," I warned. "So behave yourself."

Nagihiko let out a small laugh. "Yes ma'am," he replied respectfully before he started walking again at a fast pace that was nearly impossible for me to keep up with.

"Don't walk so fast!" I panted, struggling to stay next to him. He slowed down, laughing.

"Sorry, I forgot that you were so short," he teased, and I slapped his arm. He didn't react, and I wondered if he'd even felt it.

I hadn't noticed how warm it was outside; I was glad that I'd worn something that wouldn't cause me to overheat. Looking up at the sky, I noticed that there were hardly any clouds at all—it was a nice day to be out and about, even if you didn't know where you were headed.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear," I said, looking up at Nagihiko. He looked down at me, giving me his full attention, and I spoke so that even he couldn't doubt the seriousness in my voice. "This is not, under any circumstances whatsoever, a date."

He stared at me for a second or two before bursting into a fit of laughter. "I hadn't considered it that way in the first place," he assured me. "But now that you mention it—"

"No!" I interrupted him mid-sentence, and he just laughed. I wondered if it was too late to turn around and head home. I folded my arms over my chest while he laughed beside me. Hoping to change the subject, I muttered, "Are we there yet?"

Nagihiko lifted an eyebrow—that was starting to get to me. "Are you that excited?" he questioned, and I shook my head stubbornly.

"I'm tired of walking," I huffed. "And I don't know where you're taking me, so that make it kind of difficult to look forward to it."

"So you're just impatient, then," he stated, and I bit back a sharp retort.

"Pretty much."

Nagihiko laughed—I found it odd how he laughed at the slightest things, even if they weren't funny in the least. He always seemed to laugh like that when he was around me, though, so apparently he found me downright hilarious. That itself was a scary thought. "Don't worry," he said. "It won't be much longer."

That did little to reassure me, but I didn't say anything else. I was trying to think of something to say to change the subject, because I didn't like the silence that had settled between us. Suddenly, my stomach growled—I couldn't tell whether it was as loud as it sounded, or if the noise had been amplified by the silence; either way, we both heard it, and I blushed furiously while Nagihiko grinned.

"Let me guess," he started. "You ran out of the house so quickly that you didn't eat anything." It wasn't a question.

"Basically," I admitted, and my stomach growled again, as if to back up the statement.

"We'll get something to eat once we get there, Rima-chan," he assured me. I still wasn't sure why he continued to use an honorific with my name—that might make for an interesting conversation.

"Nagihiko?" He looked down at me upon hearing his name, waiting for me to continue. "Why do you add an honorific onto my name?"

The trivial question seemed to catch him off guard, and he stared at me for a moment before clearing his throat. "Why do you ask?" I wondered if he was avoiding the question, though I didn't see why he would have any reason to.

"I was just wondering," I replied innocently. I wasn't usually the type to ask pointless questions, so I could understand why Nagihiko might be a little confused.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know," he mused. "I guess it just became a habit. And," he added playfully, "I thought that if I didn't, you might yell at me." I rolled my eyes at the comment, but before I could make up some kind of comeback, he asked, "Why don't you use an honorific with my name?"

For an instant, I thought that I might have upset him in some way. "Does it offend you?" I asked quickly, and he shook his head.

"No, I was just wondering," he quoted the words I'd spoken not two minutes ago.

I decided to tell him the truth—lying to him would be senseless after telling him as much as I had already. "Well, I figured that after everything I've told you, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Besides," I reasoned, "you're name is too long to begin with. Why make more work for myself by adding a fifth syllable?"

Nagihiko started to laugh. "Is that Rima-logic?" he asked, and I nodded. "You know," he said nonchalantly, "you could always start calling me 'Nagi'" I choked on air—the day I started calling him by the affectionate nickname that Yaya used would be the day that hell froze over.

"Aw, c'mon," he sighed, noticing my reaction. "It wouldn't kill you." He was right about that, but if it didn't kill me, I would at least gag every time I said it. I made a face at the thought, which sadly, Nagihiko noticed. He said nothing else, and that alone declared the matter closed.

We walked in silence for a few moments before Nagihiko stopped abruptly. Wondering why he'd come to such a sudden halt, I stopped next to him and stared at him questioningly. "We're here," he pointed out, and I realized that I hadn't been paying any attention whatsoever to where I'd been walking. As lost in our multiple conversations as I had been, I was surprised that I hadn't run into a telephone pole or something of the sort.

For the first time since we started walking, I glanced around. My eyes widened slightly, and my gaze finally rested on Nagihiko, who was watching my expression carefully. "So this is why you dragged me out of bed," I concluded, but he didn't laugh. In fact, his expression told me that he was downright edgy.

"If you don't like this, we can go somewhere else," he said quickly, and I wondered why that thought would even cross his mind.

"No!" I shouted, and he blinked in surprise. Hastily dropping my voice, I said quickly, "Here is good." I wondered if I sounded as excited as I felt.

I hadn't been to an amusement park in a very long time.