I opened my eyes, yawned, and focused my gaze at the well-painted ceiling. Who was to say that it might be Lal who personally painted this? And, can anyone here imagine such beautiful hands not make even more beautiful masterpieces?

Heh.

Look at me, having a high regard for a ceiling. Seriously, how nuts have I turned out to be for the past few years? I guess witnessing three hearts break all at the same time has its toll on your normal way of thinking. Then again, since when did my way of thinking turned normal? If it ever it was normal, then I wouldn't be like this.

I would be happy in the arms of someone.

And, that someone could be Lal.

I immediately stood up from my bed.

Lying here would only leave me with what-if's and if-only's. Reborn was right. I should do something about this.

That's it.

I'm telling her I like her.

Who knows? Maybe, if I'm lucky, Lal might take it as a joke, and receiving a friendly refusal from her may be able to wake me up from this foolishness.

-m16-

I fidgeted with a stray lock of my hair as I made my way towards Lal's room. To think that Lal's idea of a "long way" has something to do with squeaky and abandoned hallways, a sign that says "Under Construction, Please Take the Front Entrance Like What a Normal Person Would Do", and a detour towards the front door?

Soon, I found myself at the front of her door, and was about to knock, when I heard footsteps clambering up the stairways.

I didn't know what pushed me to do this, but I scooted towards the nearest winding hallway, and hid there.

Soft, gentle knocks filled the almost empty place, and I took a risk of having a small peek to see who it was. I didn't see much though, since it was kind of dark, and it didn't help that both visitors wore black.

"Just a minute!" came Lal's voice. The door opened, and I had to hide again.

"Good Morning, Miss Mirch," someone greeted in a low, almost authoritative accent.

"Mr. Satorini!" Lal greeted in such a jolly voice, and then her tone softened, almost with tenderness. "And, hello there, you stranger. You look almost human in tux."

"Haha, funny," another voice answered, and Lal seemed to have giggled softly, and so did he.

"Come in, you two. Excuse the mess though; I was trying to look for something." More footsteps were heard, followed by a slam from the door. I emerged from my hiding place, and watched the empty corridor with mixed emotions.

If my hunch was correct, that man there—the Mr. Satorini one—is probably her dad's lawyer, and the owner of the younger voice must be his son. They seem to know each other well—Lal and that guy, I mean. I wonder . . .

Well, I don't think I could bother Lal now, that's what I'm sure about. Perhaps I'll try talking to her tomorrow, when we're out watering our plants. It seems like the only time of the day that I could talk to her without bad repercussions. You know, just our friendly chats.

I treaded the long way back to my room, and found my cellphone beeping like crazy. I almost ran towards it, but when I had it in my hand, it stopped.

Damn.

I pushed the button, and found that I have six missed calls, all coming from one source: Reborn. My eyebrow arched almost involuntarily. What did he want?

I tried calling him for about as much he tried to call me, but it all ended with the same result. No answer.

That bastard.

I wonder if he's trying to get back at me?

With an exasperated sigh, I pressed my phone against my ear, and tried to call him once more, and guess what? The first ring wasn't even done, and he had already put the phone down on me. It was followed by my loud message alert tone.

"Ow!" I cried, pulling the dreaded phone away from my ear. With one hand trying to tend my poor, damaged ear, I checked for the incoming message, only to find that I had more that I could ever bargain for. And again, they all came from one source.

So, you've told her yet?
Received: 12:18 a.m.
From: Reborn

Hey, how come you're not replying?
Received: 12:45 a.m.
From: Reborn

By the way, where did you say you live again?
Received: 1:10 p.m.
From: Reborn

I checked your past messages. You say you moved to Namimori, right? What coincidence! My dad and I are heading there right now for some business meeting. How about giving me the address and I'll raid your house as soon as we're done?
Received: 2:30 p.m.
From: Reborn

Still waiting for your reply, DipShit . . . By the way, how come you're not answering your phone?
Received: 2:45 p.m.
From: Reborn

A bit busy at the moment. Please call again later . . .
Received: 3:56 p.m.
From: Reborn

"Why, that . . ." I gritted my teeth in annoyance, but all the more just sighed the feeling off. It's not like I could pound on him now. Just wait when he comes to visit later on.

Then, I remembered that I had to text him my address. I punched in a few letters while casting my eyes to my window. The curtains have loosened. No wonder it turned dark in here.

After pressing "send", I walked towards my window and adjusted the drapes, only to see Lal across the building. I watched as she started pacing back and forth, as if in a frenzy. She seemed to be shouting at someone, and occasionally rubbing her hands on her face in exasperation. Her head looked up, as if to listen to the other person in her room, and gradually, her gorgeous face contorted and she started bawling.

"Lal," I breathed with worry, and almost attempted to open my window to go to her. But, something stopped me.

Or, rather someone.

A man in a black suit suddenly appeared, and reached out for her trembling shoulder. She stared up at him, and then looked away, shaking her head like crazy. The man seemed to have said something to comfort her, for she slowly turned around to listen to him more. He continued talking, his hands gradually lifting themselves up to hold her cheeks, and, as a pretty concise response, she nodded, and wrapped her arms around him. He, in turn, returned her embrace with a subtle kiss on her blue hair.

My hand trembled as I watch them exchange inaudible words of comfort to one another, most coming from the well-suited man.

Was this man . . .?

Is Lal . . .?

Countless emotions passed through my then wheezing heart as my brain began drawing its own conclusions. However, these generalizations wouldn't connect to one another. They were so different, and they were contradicting each other, causing me immeasurable confusion I have never thought I'd feel in whole life.

Why can't I believe the fact? The evidences are happening there right in front of me, so what hinders me to believe?

They slowly let each other go, but both pairs of hands remained intertwined as they stared at each other. I got a good look at the face of the man before I he leant forward and pushed his lips on hers. She took a step backward from the sudden force, but, even from afar, I could tell that she returned that gesture willingly.

I pulled the curtains together, and looked away in embarrassment and shock.

What . . . was this resurging feeling within me? Why can't I seem to endure it?

Obviously, I wasn't supposed to see that scene under any circumstance, yet, why did I feel like Fate has deliberately presented this to me in a silver-platter? It was as if to convey to me a message I've unconsciously accepted way back when I first saw tears come out of Sheila's innocent eyes.

The love that my heart desires is forbidden.

It is the kind that I do not deserve.

No.

Not a monster like me.

My back slid against the wall as I buried my head underneath my arms in extreme agitation. I didn't know what was more shocking and hurtful; the fact that I have found out that Lal's heart belongs to someone else right after I have fallen deeply for her, or the fact that I have seen who this owner was?

Although, now I wish I didn't. Possibly, if I didn't, then this wouldn't hurt so hard, and I could still have the motivation to stand up and just shrug it off.

I almost fainted from so much pain, but the sound of my phone's alert tone woke me up from my attempt.

Shakily, I lifted it to stare at the blue screen.

1 New Message

With a passive feeling, I pressed "open", and almost threw the phone in nuisance.

Hey, I just read your message now. Sorry. I was a bit busy, and something came up. I'm here with my girlfriend and she's going through something. I need to console her, so I don't think I could come to your place. Maybe, next time, alright? Besides, you two live on the same street. Perhaps, I could bring her with me so you could meet with each other? 'Til then, buddy.
Received: 4:30 p.m.
From: Reborn.

-FIN-

Well, yeah. That's pretty much it.

Would appreciate it if you review some more, and to those who already did, thank you! Huggies to you all!

LoveLots~