A/N:

Sorry for the late update! Well, here it is. ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own PoT. (watta shame, *cry*)

"Close our eyes, pretend to fly." –me, singing.

P.S. This is the edited chapter, forgot to edit it earlier when i published it. The story didn't change anyway, just the format and pacing. Okay, i'm gonna stop yapping now. ^^

Chapter Two

Puzzles and Secret Places.

Sometimes, I feel like our lives are completely uncontrollable and that we are simply drifting in the wind – randomly falling on the ground, or flying high up in the sky, or landing on a safe and beautiful place. But most of the time, I feel like our lives are controlled by this twisted force we all call fate. And one of my favorite authors once said that 'Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like'. I completely agree with him. Fate is schizophrenic. Fate is bi-polar. Fate is a slut who screws everybody. On the night of the dance, for example, all I wanted was to have fun with and get to know more of Ryoma and then go home and sleep with happy memories. But what happened was… well, a lot of unexpected things happened.

The moment we stepped into the gym, I braced myself. I knew that everyone was gonna be staring and I'm not being conceited here, because everyone surely did. As you know, I'm not quite fond of being stared at and so I felt shy and self-conscious and kept my eyes on my feet. Ryoma led me to the right side of the gym but I still felt the crowd's eyes boring into me. Ryoma, probably because he was used to all of it, obliviously grabbed two bottles of root beer and handed one to me. And then, he might have noticed my silence and awkwardness because he asked, "What's wrong?"

I grabbed the root beer and said, "Nothing."

"Which means something is wrong, only you're not going to tell me so I better figure it out myself."

That brought back my smile. I reminded myself that I shouldn't think about everyone else, especially when Ryoma was being so easy to get along with that night.

"You're awfully smart." I joked but I decided to tell him anyway. "It is just that… how do you handle being stared at all of the time?"

He feigned shock. "Huh? People stare at me?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed! I have only been beside you in a few occasions and I have already noticed."

He shrugged, "They lose interest eventually."

"What does that mean?"

"It only means they stop staring after a while, so you know it'll end sooner or later."

I took a sip on the root beer and muttered, "The woes of fame." And I laughed. I looked around and sure enough, most have already had their attention on something else.

"Anyway," Ryoma pointed the tip of his bottle towards me. "How do you know it's me they're staring at? There were two of us who entered the gym at the same time."

I liked that he said 'us'.

"But they always stare at you! Why would they stare at me?"

"I can sight a number of reasons."

"And I can sight a number of reasons on why they're definitely staring at you." I countered.

"Maybe they didn't expect you to dress as an angel."

"Maybe they didn't expect you to dress as a devil and come to the dance with a random girl."

"A random girl?" His eyebrows went up.

"Yeah, a random girl - me."

He slightly shook his head. "They're probably surprised that you came to the dance with a jerk pretending to be a devil and they're thinking about how you could do better."

"Or, and I believe I'm right, they're thinking about how I have the nerve to be with this well-loved devil here and they're probably thinking 'What was Ryoma-kun thinking?'" I pointed out flatly.

"Do you really feel that – "

But he didn't get to finish his sentence because something (or someone) by the gym entrance seemingly caught his attention. At his abrupt silence, I immediately followed his gaze and saw two gorgeous vampires who had just arrived. One was Sakuno, dressed in a pretty black dress and black heels with red lipstick, which for me, made her look sophisticated. And the guy, who I assumed was Sakuno's current boyfriend from New York, was dressed in a suit. Honesty, I thought they looked good together. And they looked happy.

Sakuno's eyes scanned the room, and met mine. She gave me a little shy smile. But my eyes automatically searched for Ryoma's expression – which was blank. He didn't reveal anything. He didn't seem angry or jealous or happy to see them or whatever. It just seemed like he saw something that mildly surprised him for a while but that he has now decided that it didn't interest him anymore. Still, I decided not to comment on it. But I couldn't think of what to say next so there was this moment of absolute silence between us. That was when I heard Tomo-chan shout.

"ALICE-CHAN? RYOMA-KUN? YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER?" She marched towards where Ryoma and I were, her eyes wide, dragging a reluctant Horio with her. And even with the loud party music, her voice seemed to shatter everyone's attention and shift it towards us - again. And I was so embarrassed that my face flushed and I regretted not having had informed her earlier.

Tomo-chan reached our spot and looked from Ryoma to me and then back, over and over with a bewildered look on her face.

"What in the world is this?" she asked with disbelief that made me feel like I was committing a crime. Like adultery or something.

"Tomo-chan. I can explain." I said stupidly with an awkward smile.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" She asked pointedly at me.

"I didn't think it mattered. I didn't think it was much of a deal." I lied. On my peripheral vision, I saw Ryoma scratching his cheek and looking like he had seen a lot of this from Tomoka before.

"BUT IT IS! I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE RYOMA-KUN FANCLUB! SO I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT… THIS!"

"Uhhh..." I ran out of things to say.

"Does Sakuno-chan know about this?" Thankfully, she kept her voice down when she asked this question. But I still preferred it if he hadn't asked it infront of Ryoma because it made me feel awkward. Ryoma raised his eyebrows, and looked at me - waiting for my answer. And for a moment, I just had to think.

Twin One: Since Ryoma always disappears for lunch and comes back late, he is not aware that I am friendly with his ex-girlfriend and Tomo-chan.

Twin Two: Yeah, but he's seen us talk. He should have atleast guessed.

Twin One: Just casually talking is different from sitting with them at lunch and hanging out with them after school! Casually talking means acquaintances, sitting with them at lunch and hanging out after school means friends! And-

Twin Two: Friends don't go out with friend's exes. Yeah, yeah. Who made that rule anyway?

Twin One: Do you think he'd be happy to know that you and her ex-girlfriend talks about him? Particularly, about you going out with him tonight.

Twin Two: What's wrong with that? So what if Sakuno-chan and I are friends?

Twin One: Wouldn't it seem like a conspiracy? Talking about him, passing him on.

Twin Two: Oh shit. This is so confusing.

Twin One: Do you think he'd want to be near someone who's friends with someone he doesn't want to even talk to?

Twin Two: Just shut up! Shut up for a moment okay?!

I could feel everyone's eyes waiting for me to answer but before I could figure out what to say, Horio spoke up.

"So Ryoma," he started in that squeaky voice of his, "Momo-senpai's in town huh. He's here. Have you seen him?"

Ryoma kind of smiled a dry smile and said, "Of course I've seen him." And I noticed how Tomo-chan nudged her boyfriend with so much force, I was surprised when Horio didn't even seem to notice.

"He says he's only in vacation for a month, though. He's flying back to New York at the end of- Ow!" He exclaimed when Tomo-chan yanked his armed down.

"What?" Horio asked her.

"Just shut up, you-"

"It's a long time ago! It's nothing anymore!" he turned to Ryoma, "Right?"

And now everyone's eyes were on him, expecting his answer. Including me.

"Yeah," Ryoma said. "It's nothing."

Tomoka kind of gave a sigh of relief while Horio said "See? I told you so!" to her. I caught Ryoma glance at me once before he immediately looked away. I, on the other hand, didn't know what to feel.

It was obvious that they were talking about Sakuno and her boyfriend, who I guessed was Momo-senpai. It's a long time ago! It's nothing anymore!, Horio had said. But what does "it" mean? What happened exactly? Of course it had something to do with the break-up but I also knew that there was something I wasn't seeing. Like this puzzle was still missing crucial pieces.

On the other hand, I felt relieved too. Ryoma had said that it was 'nothing' anymore. So it means it shouldn't matter to him anymore if Sakuno and I were friends and did, sort of, talk about him. Or so, that's what I wanted to believe.

Horio then asked Ryoma to accompany him outside; he said he needed to talk to Ryoma alone. Ryoma agreed and left without even saying anything to me, which made me sad. And then, Tomo-chan and I were left standing there, so she decided to suddenly drag me towards the other end of the gym where Sakuno was. She didn't seem upset that I was with Ryoma though, so I figured she didn't mind about that part. She was really just surprised that I didn't tell her about it and had maybe decided to forgive me for it.

Sakuno waved when she saw us approaching.

"Sakuno-chan, I came to introduce Ali-chan to Momo-senpai." She stated happily.

"Oh, okay." Sakuno said. "This is Alice-chan, Takeshi. Alice Toru." She said to her boyfriend. The guy was tall with a goofy smile and a care-free vibe around him. He offered his hand and I shook it.

"And this is Takeshi Momoshiro-senpai." Tomoka told me gesturing towards Momo-senpai.

"Hi. So you're the new girl Sakuno and Tomo-chan were talking about." He smiled his goofy smile at me.

"Depends on what they're telling you. I won't own up to it if it's bad." I replied but my mind was somewhere else - thinking about Ryoma and where he was and when will he get back and if he minded me shaking hands with this guy.

Momo-senpai chuckled. "No, no. Only good things. You're an angel after all."

I smiled at him, thinking of ways to excuse myself so I could search for Ryoma. At that moment, Horio returned but I noticed that Ryoma wasn't with him. He scanned the gym, spotted Tomo-chan, and went over to where we were.

"Where's Ryoma?" I couldn't help but ask him as soon as he was hearing distance.

"Still outside." He shrugged.

"Why?" And I was surprised by the distress and panic in my voice. But thinking about Ryoma probably being upset had caused me panic and distress - even if I weren't exactly sure if he was really upset.

"I dunno." Horio answered passively which irritated me. I wanted details! I wanted to know if he looked angry or upset or whatever. Or if he was going back to the party. But Horio was a boy, and boys don't get things like that.

Tomoka and Sakuno, being girls and also being my friends, seemed to notice my distress though. Because Tomo-chan immediately said, "I think you should go find him." Which I've been wanting to do ever since he left. Sakuno didn't say anything but she nodded her head in agreement.

I was about to say "Okay, I'll go. Excuse me." But was interrupted by Momo-senpai.

"I'll go." He said and my mind screamed No!

I can see in Sakuno and Tomoka's expression that their minds were thinking the same thought. But, like Horio-kun, Momo-senpai was a guy. And they don't get these things.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Sakuno said with a look at his boyfriend which seemed to say 'And you know perfectly well I'm right'. But being a guy (sigh), Momo-senpai ignored her and said,

"It's time we talk anyway."

"No." Sakuno said flatly.

"Why not? He should stop acting like a kid. And he shouldn't leave a girl alone and expect her to be the one who goes around looking for him."

I was about to say it was okay but I noticed the look on Sakuno's face which startled me. It was panic. Panic and fear. And I clearly understood what she was panicked about.

"Takeshi," Sakuno stared, "I think you shouldn't-"

But Momo-senpai was already on his way, grinning at me and saying, "Don't worry. I'll find that little devil and get him to come to you."

And in that moment, I kind of realized something. The way he talks about Ryoma made me figure out what the missing pieces of the puzzle were.

"I think I should follow him." Sakuno said, like it was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I think I should look for Ryoma-kun." I replied.

"I think we should just chill guys. Why is everyone so intense?" Horio laughed awkwardly and Tomo-chan rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah. Yeah, maybe he's right." I slowly agreed. "Maybe we should just wait for them to come back."

And everyone nodded. Because that was what everyone wanted to happen – for everything to be okay. We wanted to believe that there really was no reason for our nervousness. We wanted Momo-senpai to come back with Ryoma-kun, with smiles and laughter, and we wanted them to join us and maybe Ryoma would finally talk to Sakuno. And then, we'll all enjoy the dance as a group of friends and all go home happily. Yes, that was what we wanted to believe. But sadly, we all knew, deep within us, that it was not the case. So we stood there in silence, waiting for the event that would wake us out of our delusion and into the reality. It came after 10 minutes.

"Sakuno-chan! Toru-san!" A girl from our class, who was dressed as a Greek goddess, stopped in front of us, panting. She had obviously been running. We all stood frozen, watching her.

"Ryoma-kun and Momo-senpai… Outside… a Fight!" she stammered.

Sakuno and I looked at each other and saw our mirrored expression in each other faces. And after a moment of pure shock, we went into action and hurried outside.

It wasn't right outside the entrance, it was a little to the side of the gym. So we turned a corner and when we got there, there were already a number of people watching. We had to squeeze in to get to the middle of the crowd where we found Ryoma and Momoshiro, in this circle, smiling wickedly at each other. My eyes, ofcourse, first scanned Ryoma. He had a cut on the side of his lower lip, a bruise on his cheek, and another cut under his left eye, which was dripping blood. He had this murderous look on his eyes. I looked at Momo-senpai and he too had cuts and bruises. On both sides of his cheek, on his lower lip too. And he too, had this murderous look. They both looked like they were actually trying to kill each other.

Up until then, I have always thought that boy fights were actually kind of cool - That boys are not boys if they don't get into one of these fights. And if the fight was over a girl, I'd actually think it was romantic. But seeing Ryoma bruised, I've realized that, no, I never want him to get into a fight. Not for a girl, not for anything, not even for me. It wasn't noble or romantic, it was just plain scary. Scary to imagine someone you care about receive a punch. Scary to watch that blood from the cut under his eye glisten. Scary to see that murderous gleam in his eyes. It wasn't anything but horrifying.

"Stop!" I heard Sakuno scream, even if the two boys weren't doing anything yet but stare at each other menacingly. I looked at her and saw what I was feeling etched in her face.

"Stop it!" she repeated, tears forming at the back of her eyes and her voice breaking. "Just… stop."

The two boys looked at her, and then looked back at each other.

Ryoma scoffed arrogantly. "Oh, look. She's crying." He said dryly, throwing his hands in the air.

"Wow, guess you still never really fail to do that." Momo-senpai retorted.

"Ha! You actually blame me for this?!"

Now, Momo-senpai dropped the sneer and just completely yelled at Ryoma. "NOT TALKING TO HER! NOT EVEN LOOKING AT HER! THE WAY YOU AVOID HER, ANYONE WOULD THINK SHE HAS SOME KIND OF DISEASE! CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S TORTURE FOR HER TO SEE YOU ACT LIKE THAT? ISN'T IT ENOUGH?"

And then, Momo-senpai shook his head, a look of pain on his face, and said slowly.

"No, no… Ofcourse, for you, it isn't enough. You always were a sore loser. THAT'S WHY IT'S OKAY FOR YOU TO SEE HER SUFFER!"

And he lunged to throw a punch at Ryoma but Sakuno stopped him. She wrapped her arms around him to restrain him and she stopped his advance. Not because Sakuno actually overpowered him but because he was afraid to trample on Sakuno if he pushed his way through.

"Stop Takeshi! Just please stop this!" But Sakuno's pleas weren't reaching him.

Maybe it was seeing Sakuno wrapped around Momo-senpai, which made Ryoma explode in anger too. It was his turn now.

"SUFFER?!" He yelled. "SUFFER? I make her SUFFER?! You have the nerve to actually say that! Oh yeah, I forgot how you just loved being her knight in shining armor. Is this how it was back then? She goes running to you like that and you throw knives behind my back to impress her?!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO RUINED THIS FRIENDSHIP! AND YOU DID IT FOR A GIRL? THAT'S JUST-" But he couldn't finish it – like it was just too hard to find a word to properly describe what it was. And then, he lunged too. But Horio restrained him before he even got close to Sakuno and Momo-senpai.

It seemed like Momo-senpai and Ryoma weren't even aware of everyone, they only had eyes –deadly eyes- for each other. And I feared for what would happen once Horio and Sakuno weren't able to restrain them anymore.

For a moment, I felt my spirit drifting away. I literally felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I saw Momo-senpai push Sakuno slightly out of the way. Ryoma shoving Horio off of him. They lunge at each other and Ryoma's fist connects first with Momo-senpai's nose but Momo-senpai was able to knee Ryoma in the gut in the process. It was all so spellbinding, that after a while, I can't seem to comprehend the details anymore. It was like watching time go by without you being in it. All I knew was that people were screaming and some were trying to restrain them. Sakuno was screaming frantically and Tomo-chan too. Horio was also lost in this mess, trying to mediate. And I was just waiting for it to be over. I felt like I've had enough of this night, of this drama, of SeiGaku.

I wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but eventually it was over. I drifted back to my body. Sakuno was dragging Momo-senpai away and Tomo-chan was fumbling over Horio, who also received a few small bruises of his own by trying to stop the fight. Ryoma and Momo-senpai were still having this glaring contest, that is, until Sakuno and Momo-senpai turned a corner and disappeared from view. The people thinned. Tomo-chan dragged Horio away from the gym, saying he needed to see a doctor. The few people kept their distance, gossiping for sure about what happened. And I stood there, frozen. I don't know if it was the shock that kept me from moving, or the concern about Ryoma's well-being. All I know was that I just stood there like an idiot.

Ryoma wiped his mouth with his sleeve and spat blood on the ground. That's when he turned and noticed me. It was hard to miss me of course, since I was the only person left near the 'scene of the crime'. He looked surprised - like he forgot he came to this party with me and was now slowly remembering who I was.

"Hey." He said slowly, wide-eyed.

I didn't know what I looked like but I probably was wide-eyed too. He sort of dusted some parts of him, and then he stepped forward, in front of me. And just like that he was back to the Ryoma I knew, smiling like nothing ever happened. He was actually smiling a goofy smile but I couldn't get my eyes away from the wounds on his face.

"That's gonna scar. You'll be ugly for a couple of weeks." I blurted.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"Does it hurt?" I asked - the question I've been wanting to ask for so long. And I don't know why but I felt like crying. I didn't though. Not yet.

He shook his head, and then exhaled loudly.

"Not yet," he said. "'It's probably still numb. But God help me tomorrow morning."

I finally smiled at this but I was a nervous wreck inside. My heart was having a mini-heart attack.

"Sorry for ruining your first party at SeiGaku." He dropped his gaze, scratched his cheek.

I know it's a silly thought but I felt like he just came back from war, you know? Like that fight with Momo-senpai was a battlefield and he managed to come home - bruised, sure, but alive. I wanted to hug him and just weep.

"Party's over, I guess." I said weakly.

"Let's get you home." He replied, taking a step forward.

"Hold on!" I took a few paces backward, crouched, and picked up a tiny broken headband. I've noticed it while I was in the trance mode, and only just remembered it. I stood up and walked towards him.

"It's broken." I said as I dangled the devil's horns in front of him – it was broken in half.

He shrugged. "There's nothing we can do. Just leave it."

I shook my head. "Nah. I'll keep it."

"It's broken." He pointed out like I haven't realized that.

"I can fix it." And I felt so sure about it.

"You don't have to. Let's just find another one."

"No. What would I do with a new one? I want this one."

And I suddenly felt like I was using this headband as a metaphor for Ryoma - broken. But I want it and it's fixable – I could fix it! Right? The thought made me want to cry, again. But I still didn't.

"Whatever you want." He conceded.

I wish I did get whatever I wanted.

"I don't wanna go home yet." I told him.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You want to stay here?"

"No, of course not. But I'm hungry." And just as I said it, I realized how true it was. We hadn't eaten any of the party food. Just the rootbeer.

He touched his tummy, and said. "Yeah, I think I am too."

"Then, let's grab a bite! My treat!" I beamed, shoving the broken headband into my pouch.

"What. Is. That?!" I exclaimed, horrified at the shiny ride Ryoma was sitting on.

"It's called a motorbike. Welcome to the 21st century!" He said with a smile as he inserted the keys and started the engine.

He stretched out his arm and was handing me a helmet but once again, I was shocked frozen, gaping at him like an idiot. I have never ridden a motorbike before then, and quite frankly, I wasn't looking forward to riding one (I'll stick to my limo fantasy, thank you very much). I was definitely not expecting this from an average senior highschool student. But then again, maybe Ryoma wasn't your average highschool student.

"And you're driving?" I asked, still not sure what I should do.

"Yep." He replied, dangling the helmet in front of me.

"But you're not wearing a helmet." I pointed out.

"We're not driving that far."

"Then, why do I get to wear one?"

"So I can fool you into thinking this is safe." He grinned.

"Let's just go walk." I suggested nervously.

"That's even more dangerous. You're dressed like-" And he waved his hand up and down at me, "that. It'll attract too much attention. Someone crazy out there can just beat me up to a pulp and snatch you away."

I looked at my dress, and heels. It was a little too less. He continued,

"And speaking of that…" he took off his hoodie and dusted it in the air. He tossed it to me. He was wearing a checkered shirt underneath. "Wear that over your dress. You'll get cold."

I did as I was told. This little gesture actually made me happy – made me feel so feminine. His hoodie was too big for me of course and so I had to roll up the sleeves. But it did feel warm. I didn't realize how cold the night was until I put it on.

"So, let's go?" he dangled the helmet in front of me again.

"Please promise you won't get me killed! Oh! And go real slow." I took off my angel headband thinking 'goodbye angel wings, time to learn how to fly - Ryoma style' and also shoved it in my pouch. I took the helmet and was putting it on but I couldn't seem to lock it properly and so, Ryoma yanked me closer to him as he adjusted the helmet into place.

"Are you scared?" He asked with a smile, still adjusting my helmet.

"Yes, I'm dead scared." I admitted. But at the time, I was actually conscious of how close he was to me and that fact was starting to make me forget the fear I was feeling before.

"Trust me." He said softly, his concentration on the helmet. And I knew I did.

"Just make sure I don't fall off, okay?" I answered back.

He patted my head, finally done with the helmet, convinced it was properly protecting my skull.

"There. Now, even if you fall off, you won't die."

I punched his arm and he laughed. I reluctantly hopped on the bike and felt like it was too frail – too small to be ridden. A bus can floor this thing like a piece of cake! I forced myself to stay calm.

"Hold on to me." He instructed. And for this - and just for this- I can actually force myself to like motorbikes. I wrapped my arms around him, holding on tight. Even with the giddiness I was feeling about touching him, I still had to make sure I wouldn't fall off. It wasn't all fun.

"Ready?" He looked at me over his shoulder.

"If you must." I told him, rolling my eyes. He smiled at me before looking ahead, the engine roared – too loud against the quiet night.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful so you won't fall." He assured me.

The bike lurched, and then moved forward with surprising speed. As I held on tightly, I thought about the party, and the fight, and if I should talk to him about it. I made a mental note to buy some Band-Aids and some medicine to clean his wounds and fix him up. I thought about tomorrow and the next day, wondering what revelation about Ryoma would jump up and surprise me next. I closed my eyes and sighed, felt the wind on my face, surprisingly starting to enjoy the ride while being terrified at the same time.

I felt like I've already fallen.

I was in-charge of buying things to clean up his wounds and he was in-charge with food. We were at a 24/7 convenience store and I grabbed cotton buds, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, some bandages – because he said his hand hurt - and just for the heck of it, a box of cute pink Band-Aids. It was so cute; I figured it'll look funny on his face. He appeared behind me carrying a big bottle of soda, some paper cups, hotdog sandwiches, and some chips. I hid the box of Band-Aids quickly, away from his view.

"Got everything?" He inquired.

I beamed. "Yep!"

We made our way to the counter and on a rack beside it, some green bottles suddenly caught my attention – champagne. I had this crazy thought.

"Ne, Ryoma-kun. What do you say to a bottle of champagne?"

He was dumping his goodies on the counter, looked over his shoulder at me, and said,

"Why would you want to drink that right now?"

I shrugged. "No reason. I've just never tasted it before." And it was true. My parents never let me take a sip.

He smiled slyly at me, "What would your parents say if I take you home, drunk?"

I shrugged. "We won't get drunk. We'll drink just a little."

"That's what every alcoholic tell themselves at first."

But I pressed on. "Come on, let's have some fun! I was out to have fun tonight. I'll pay for it!"

He sighed, completely giving up, and picked up a bottle of champagne. I intentionally played out the guilt card – reminding him why I wasn't having fun right now at the Senior Dance.

"Fine. But if you get drunk, I swear – "He let the threat hang as I bounced up and down giddily beside him.

I dumped my goodies on the counter. The girl behind the counter looked as young as we were, and she was staring at Ryoma. I guess his bruised face did sort of catch attention.

"I got this." Ryoma said, already taking money out from his wallet.

"No! I said it's my treat."

The girl behind the counter rolled her eyes at us like these kids should just move on.

"Too late." Ryoma said and handed the girl his credit card.

This time, I didn't argue. I knew he wouldn't let me pay anyway once his mind was made up, just like he wouldn't let me give him the can of Ponta for free. He's just like that. But then again, most guys are. Must be some kind of machismo thing, I figured.

"You have a credit card?" I asked with awe. I didn't believe teenagers should have credit cards until they make their own money and are capable of paying for the credit. And then, I remembered that Ryoma probably did have his own money.

He gave me a look that says 'please don't gush, it's not that amazing'.

The lady put all that we have bought in two paper bags. I grabbed both as Ryoma signed. He took both bags from me afterwards and then, we were out into the streets again.

"Now where?" I asked him.

We decided to leave the motorbike in the parking lot of the convenience store and walked towards the nearby park. It was deserted of course, but also very pretty. It was quiet and beautiful – in a weird, lonely way. I thought we would sit on a bench or something but Ryoma just kept on walking.

"Uh. Ryoma-kun? Isn't this an okay spot already?" I asked, motioning at another bench we have just passed.

He looked over his shoulder, to me again. "It is an okay spot. But I know a better spot."

"So you come here often?" I joked.

"Not very much lately."

He led me through this thick set of bushes and after a while of finding my way with difficulty, we emerged into a clearing. At first glance, it wasn't phenomenal – just a normal clearing probably too deep in the thicket so no one really notices, except for Ryoma, that is. At second take, I noticed its beauty. The grassy circle had no trees to obscure the clear night sky, and in a distance was the horizon, where you feel like the vast sky and this grassland connected. There were also flowers, lots and lots of them. And stars. And it was so quiet and detached from the world. The park actually seemed so far away. I wondered how Ryoma stumbled upon this place.

"Wow." I said, looking around.

He had already placed the bags on the ground, almost in the center of the clearing. And then, he sat cross-legged on the ground, taking the contents out one by one.

"How'd you find this place?" I asked, taking a seat beside him.

He shrugged. "When I was a child, I briefly lived in the States…"

"That must have been nice." I butt in.

"It was okay. Anyway, one summer, my parents decided to come here for a short vacation. Or maybe someone died and they had to go to a funeral? I don't really remember. I was too young back then." He said as he opened the bottle of soda. "Anyway, I hated it. Of course, I was just a kid. This place was foreign and scary to me. I threw a fit and my mom took me to this place."

He poured soda on one paper cup and handed it to me. He continued,

"She said that she and my old man would be busy for the next few days and if I ever get bored, or scared, or if I needed some time off alone, I could come here. She said this was her secret place when she was younger, and no one knows about it - absolutely no one. Just the two of us, not even dad. She said if I didn't like to stay in the house, and they weren't there to look after me, I could just leave without permission, but this is the only place I should go to. That way she'll know where to find me if I suddenly disappear."

I imagined what Ryoma's mom looked like and what Ryoma looked like as a kid.

"So you live nearby?" I guessed.

He nodded.

"Your mom's pretty clever." I pointed out, taking a sip of soda. He handed me a hotdog sandwich. I took it and took a bite.

"I thought so too at that time. But my old man, when he found out, said it was pretty careless of her." He took a bite off his sandwich and then grimaced. He touched the cut on his lower lip.

"We should get to that. It hurts?" I asked.

"Yeah, but whatever." He chewed. "I'm too hungry to care."

We both laughed at that until he realized that laughing hurt him too.

"We must've looked pretty stupid." He sighed. I took this as my cue to talk about it.

"Say, Ryoma-kun, what really happened back there?"

"It's hard to say." He crinkled his brow.

I grabbed the champagne and removed the cork with a few twists. It popped and some foamy champagne spilled out.

"It'll be easier with champagne! Let's drink to your worries!" I shouted like an idiot. Whatever, I thought, we were in a secret place anyway. We could act however we wanted to act. And I wanted to cheer him up. I wanted him to be happy after that helluva party.

He laughed and said, "Don't get drunk."

"Hey, I have a great idea! Let's drink straight from the bottle! Like hard drinkers do."

He laughed even harder even though it hurt him everytime, so his face was torn in between laughing and grimacing in pain. It was music to my ears – that carefree laugh of his. I promised to commit it to memory.

I took a swig from the bottle - my first taste of champagne.

"Oh. My. God!" I gasped. He was staring at me intently, as if knowing this would happen.

"That tastes like… like happiness!" I exclaimed and I meant it. I took another drink and then stretched my arm, giving the bottle to him.

He took it but didn't drink right away.

"One thing you should know," he said first, "is that you should never drink with an empty stomach. No matter if it's only champagne. So, finish that hotdog first." I did as I was told, eating fast.

"Why?" I asked in between bites.

"It'll get you drunk faster."

"Is that the number one rule about drinking?"

"No. The number one rule is never to drink alone with a guy you barely know, in a place you're not familiar with, especially, at the late hours of the night." He stared at me meaningfully and I ignored him. I knew he was harmless. Or at least I thought I did.

I swallowed champagne and then I dead-panned, "I like to live life on the edge."

He burst out in laughter and I joined in. We looked like complete idiots, laughing our heads off.

"All in one night, I've witnessed a fist fight, ridden a motorbike, and drank with a guy alone in a place I barely know at this late hour of the night. You're turning me into a rebel." I joked.

He finally drank champagne from the bottle and then said,

"This does sort of taste like happiness."

We took a break from our drinking so I can clean up his bruises. We sat facing each other and he handed me his right hand first. I took it, wondering what holding his hand would feel like. Strangely though, it didn't make me feel like anything. No giddiness, no blushing. It actually felt normal – no, natural. Like I've been holding this hand forever and am used to it. Or maybe the champagne just took away my nerves.

Anyway, his hand was a bit sore and there were bruises in his knuckles. I felt like the time when I first took home a stray puppy. He was quietly watching me. I dabbed some hydrogen peroxide to clean it first.

"It just goes to show that when you throw a punch, you get hurt in the process too." I thought out loud.

He didn't say anything.

"Hey, Ryoma-kun. Who threw the first punch?" I asked without hesitation, figured that he was probably expecting me to ask questions sooner or later.

"I did." He admitted.

"So, you just punched him the moment he got close to you?"

"Pretty much." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Tell me about you and Sakuno-chan." I figured it was okay too.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why'd you guys break up?"

I was wrapping his hand with bandages. It was a while before he answered, I almost thought he wouldn't.

"What do you think?" he asked back.

"How should I know?" I pouted at him.

He smiled weakly, "You should at least have a guess, right?"

"Sure." I scratched my cheek to arrange my thoughts.

"So this is what I think…" I started, "You and Sakuno-chan broke up-"

"And?" he prodded.

"And then… Well, Tomo-chan told me that Momo-senpai was the ex-captain of the tennis club. And the way he talks about you, well, I figured you guys know each other. Former teammates?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"And after a while, they got together. But maybe you were still trying to get her back, you know, so now, you don't like him." I finished. I also finished the bandages on his right hand, he handed me the left which didn't look as sore as the right.

"Interesting theory." He commented while nodding.

"So I got it right?"

"You missed some points."

"Which ones?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. He couldn't seem to get himself to start telling his story so I repeated my theory,

"So you guys broke up-" I recalled.

"Obviously."

"And Momo-senpai, your former teammate-"

"He was also my best friend."

Wow. That added more drama to it. I gaped at him, absorbing the information.

"Since middleschool." He added like it was nothing.

"Okay," I continued. "And after a while, they got together."

"No."

"Then, what?"

"They were together even before we broke up." He shrugged.

That momentarily rendered me speechless. I think my jaw dropped, pure shock etched on my face. And when I couldn't help it, I exclaimed,

"SHE CHEATED ON YOU?!" I imagined Sakuno's face, I couldn't believe it. Not the Sakuno I knew, surely. She couldn't hurt a fly even if she tried.

"But why?" I heard myself asking. He laughed at that.

"Maybe you should ask her." He suggested. But I couldn't imagine myself asking Sakuno and making her feel awkward.

"So that's why you don't like Momo-senpai now."

"No, I hate him. I really, really hate him." He corrected, smiling at me. I finished with his hand.

"How'd you find out?" I asked sadly. This story actually got me down.

"Maybe they got tired of the lying and hiding, so eventually, they decided to tell me."

I imagined that moment, when they told him. I wondered what had turned out. I motioned for him to lean in so I could start cleaning the cuts on his face. He did. I touched the cut on his cheek with my fingers.

"It hurts?" I asked, dabbing at the bruise.

"No."

"How about finding out they were cheating on you? Did that hurt?" I thought out loud.

Immediately after I heard myself say it, I wish I hadn't. He didn't answer for a long time until I figured he would never answer. Of course, no one would like to admit people hurt them. Especially people they love and trust. And of course, it hurt. No need to answer that question. Of course it did.

To make up for it, I showed him the box of Band-Aids singing, "Te-den!"

"What the heck is that?" He asked, wide-eyed. Ha-ha! I managed to surprise him.

"It's called Band-Aids. Welcome to the 21st century!" I beamed.

"Pink?"

"Cute isn't it?"

He laughed as if he really couldn't believe it was happening.

"I could deal with the pinkness but… with baby blue dots?"

I took one off the box and gently patted it on his cheek. It was so cute I wanted to take a picture. So I decided that I would. He was holding the box of Band-Aids with a weird expression on his face. It was like he was telling the box 'why do you exist?' I looked for my phone in my purse and told him not to move.

"You're actually going to take a picture? Rub salt to the wound?" He laughed, exasperated, leaning away from the camera.

"Yes, so please hold still." I begged.

"I would never trust you again." He said, but held still. He rolled his eyes, smiling and I took the picture. I laughed a triumphant laugh. Eventually, he laughed with me.

After I finished fixing his face up, we lie on the grass and drank champagne again. I looked at the stars and focused on a little one. I wished, for the first time in my life, for time to stand still.