Chapter 2

Weeks had passed, and Tsuna's attempts on asking Kyoko out were all rejected. Haru could see the sadness in Kyoko's face every time they ate lunch together. She felt guilty. She loved Kyoko, but she also loved Tsuna. She was aware of how selfish she was becoming, but what could she possibly do?

In the classroom, Haru's mind wandered. She stared at the sky and noticed how vast it was. She admired how beautiful it looked. It reminded her of Tsuna, accepting everything and looking out for everyone. She really loved how Tsuna was. She wanted to be with Tsuna.

She knew he was the one. She used to think of just that, but now she felt insecure. Kyoko was avoiding Tsuna, and Tsuna thinks he might've done something wrong. She was hurting the both of them. Her face got filled with sorrow.

"You look even stupider." She turned and saw Gokudera.

Gokudera acted as if he found something interesting in the teacher's discussion. Haru started to wonder if she really heard him say something or if it was just her imagination. He was still seated in his sleeping position. Only his eyes could be seen as the rest of his face was covered by his arms that were folded on the table. Suddenly, the teacher called his attention.

"Gokudera, stop sleeping! Answer question number five." The teacher ordered.

"Square root of two" Gokudera answered lazily and sat back to his sleeping position.

Haru was shocked to see Gokudera effortlessly answer the question.

"G-G-Gokudera-san's a genius?" She shrieked.

"Obviously." He said wryly.

"You're too conceited for your own good!" She snapped.

"No, it just proves you're an idiot, stupid woman." He snapped back.

"Both of you, stop fighting." The teacher scolded, and they both looked away with pouts on their faces.

'Gokudera-san hasn't changed one bit.' Haru thought and got annoyed with herself for even remembering his name.

When the class ended, Haru approached Tsuna.

"Tsuna-san!" She called.

Tsuna shrugged off Haru's call. "Um, excuse me Haru. I have to go somewhere for a while." He then rushed after Kyoko.

Haru saw how Tsuna ignored her and went after Kyoko. She was right in front of him, but he still decided to go after Kyoko. Why can't he see her? She's always been there for him, but he always went for Kyoko. It hurt her. Her lips curled downwards and tears started to well up in her eyes.

Gokudera was going out of the classroom when he noticed Haru. Seeing Tsuna running off, he got a grasp of what happened. He approached her, still trying to act indifferent.

"Sucks to be you huh?" He grinned slyly.

Haru looked at him with fury and slapped him. Gokudera was taken aback. He saw her face. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. She bumped him hard, grabbed her bag and ran away. Gokudera touched the cheek that Haru slapped. He winced as it hurt quite a bit.

"Stupid Woman." He muttered with a clenched fist.

The next day, Haru arrived in class to see Kyoko and Tsuna on speaking terms again. It made her feel worse. They blushed as they spoke to each other. She had an impression on what might have happened. They probably confessed their true feelings towards one another. The feelings they had kept inside were finally revealed, and that made Haru feel dejected.

There was no way Tsuna would let go of Kyoko now. Kyoko could've even told Tsuna the reason why she was avoiding him. Tsuna most likely knew it all along and just decided to ignore her feelings for him. Tsuna might've hated her right now for trying to separate him from Kyoko.

Haru was hopeless. Her love was becoming more and more distant.

She languidly walked towards her desk. She settled her things and sat down. Her head rested on her palms as she stared at the window. She didn't feel energetic today. Kyoko probably greeted her, but she didn't have the strength to say "Hello." She didn't have the strength to face her at all.

When it was time for lunch, she hurriedly left the classroom to get away from Kyoko and the others. She went to the school garden and ate lunch by herself. She only ate a bit since she was too frustrated to even finish her lunch.

She thought of how stupid she was for being envious of Kyoko because Tsuna was in love with her. She was stupid for wanting Kyoko to avoid Tsuna. She felt remorseful for even thinking of something like that. Tears started sliding down her cheeks.

She saw how stupid she was for falling for Tsuna when she knew that he was in love with someone else. She was stupid for wanting him when she knew she never really had a chance. She was so stupid for having such a one sided love.

Realizing how she was not getting any less stupid as she cried, she wiped the tears off of her cheeks.

"Haru-chan?" A warm voice called out.

Haru looked up to see where the voice came from and saw that it was Chrome. Chrome had not been in school during the first few days of school because she had some 'so-called-important' things to do. Haru did hear rumors about Chrome coming to school today, but she didn't believe them that easily.

Chrome being beautiful and innocent looking is one of the famous students in school, and a lot of news spread about her each day. Now that she was in front of her, Haru was sure that she was present. Even if they weren't in the same class, Haru was very happy to see Chrome. She had a sudden feeling of comfort and solace.

"Is there something wrong, Haru-chan?" Chrome asked.

"Chrooome-chaaaan~!" She cried as she hugged Chrome who was taken aback by her sudden action.

Haru's lunch spilled on the ground. Chrome wasn't sure of what to do, so she just patted Haru on the head to comfort her. Haru told her of what happened, about how selfish she was and how she felt about everything she has done. Chrome listened to her and understood her situation. When Haru finished explaining, Chrome smiled at her and said,

"It's alright Haru-chan. I'm sure both of you will work things out. If you tell boss how you truly feel, I'm sure he will also come to understand. As humans, each of us makes mistakes. We can't be perfect." Chrome paused and seated Haru properly. "You see Haru-chan, there are times when things don't happen the way we want them to. As humans, we often become selfish and try to force things to work out. This is when we make mistakes. We do everything to make things happen, but soon we realize that they just can't. We end up regretting them. The only way to correct these mistakes is to admit and be truly sorry for them."

Haru was on the verge of crying.

"Tha… Thank you Chrooome-chaaaa~n !" She hugged her once more.

When lunch was over, Haru just sat on her seat and stared at the vast sky through the window. Looking at the sky, she felt like she could think clearly. Even if she was really comforted by Chrome, she knew something was off. There was something that she was missing out, and it was something only she could find.

Gokudera, who was already in his seat, noticed the sudden change in Haru's mood.

'What's with her? Stupid Woman.' He thought.

For some odd reason, the way she looked at the sky somehow captivated him. It was like she was in her own world, a world where no one was there but her. He realized how weird it was for him to think that way, so he immediately looked away.

Hours passed by, and classes were finally over. Haru went out of the classroom, leaving her bag in her seat. She went to the rooftop. It was the only place where she could look at the sky without any obstructions.

"Wow, it's really beautiful desu~!" She said in admiration.

It was weird how the sky was always there, but she never saw its beautiful vastness. Maybe because she was too troubled right now that she had no one else to count on. Maybe it was just as Gokudera says, she was too desperate. She lay on the floor and started to think on what to do. She closed her eyes and was deep in thought. Maybe if she were to be there all alone even just for a short while, she might find the answer.