I deleted the last chapter because it was so poorly written. Hope the inspiration keeps up!

Change is Everything.

Sometimes, the more things change,

the more things stay the same.

August 30, 2002.

Crap, crap was all Ryuuzaki Sakuno could think of as she tried to get through the thick crowd at the train station. She was going to be late for the interview and she certainly did not want her interviewee to be left with a bad impression. It was not good to burn bridges in her industry.

In her haste, she failed to notice a small metal barrier and before anyone could say 'OOPS!', she had tripped over it.

"Ow!" She cried as she kissed the smooth, polished floor of the station. Crap, crap… she stumbled as she tried to get herself up and that was when she felt herself being pulled up.

"Oh, thank you!" She said earnestly, grateful that someone had actually bothered to stop to help her. The kind stranger was busy helping her gather the sheets of paper which had been strewn on the floor and picked up her pass.

"Ah, a journalist?" The stranger asked, his voice strangely melodious. He was wearing a pair of dark shades but Sakuno could hazard that he was a pretty good-looking guy from the way his bone structure of his face looked.

"A celebrity one." She said ruefully. "Thank you for helping me!"

He smiled. "You better get going if not you'll be late for the interview." With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Ah! I forgot to ask him for his name!" Sakuno realised when she lost sight of him. She shrugged then she frowned.

How ever did he know that she was rushing for an interview?

Sakuno pushed open the door to the small café. The interviewee had requested for the interview to be held there, which was not uncommon since people of that sort always tried to maintain some form of privacy.

"I'm looking for…"

"Ah, Ryuuzaki-san? This way please." The waiter offered immediately and ushered her to a table. "I was asked to seat you here. The guest will be arriving soon." She nodded and he left her to her devices.

Sakuno flipped through some papers, doing a bit of last-minute reading on the interviewee today. "Syusuke Fuji... age 24… prodigy pianist and renowned singer… very handsome… WAIT, who put that very handsome bit in there?" She shook her head. Her editor had a habit of not keeping her own comments to herself.

"Ah, I see there are people who value me for more than my skills…" She turned hurriedly to look at the voice and gasped.

"Ah! Aren't you the stranger who helped me?" Sakuno was mortified. Oh the humanity! The stranger, correction, Syusuke Fuji chuckled, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Your editor did warn me you might be a bit of klutz…" His voice trailed off as she blushed deeply, and found him looking straight at her. "But she didn't tell me how pretty you were."

Was he teasing her? Sakuno wondered as she blushed yet again. Get a grip, Sakuno.

"So… let's begin, Sakuno-chan?"

In the taxi, the same images kept replaying in her mind. August 30, Fuji and her in the café, Fuji and her on a date, Fuji and her kissing, Fuji and her yelling at each other, Fuji and her breaking up, Fuji and her back together again, August 30, Fuji, Fuji, Fuji, Fuji…

She clutched her forehead. It was too much to bear and she wanted to tell her mind to stop it. Fast forward or something, not rewind. No, her future belonged to Ryoma, with Ryoma. She was getting married in a month's time for goodness sake.

Then why was it so that she felt an ache so deep when she thought of Fuji?

And why was it so that she had let him take her so easily last night?

The imprint of his head was still fresh on the pillow, unremovable. Just like the imprint he had made on her heart, her body and her soul, her entire being.

She thought that being with Ryoma meant it would make things easier to forget, that it would make things change.

But they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Her eyes welled up and just then, her handphone rang. She glanced at the callerid flashing on the screen and hesitated. Seeing the name made her cringe inwardly. She took in a deep breath and pressed the 'Accept' button.

"Sakuno?"

"What is it?"

"Don't bother coming. It'll just make things difficult for everyone." Sakuno frowned and felt herself getting angrier by the minute. "If I'm not wrong, you're in a taxi right now. I suggest you turn back."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"I'm your friend."

"You were never my friend. And you can't tell me what to do."

"You're getting married to Ryoma Echizen. You're no longer Fuji's girlfriend. I am." Sakuno felt her fingers curl up into a ball, tightening up.

"If you care to know, he looked for me yesterday and wanted me back, Ann." Instantly, she regretted saying that but she was but a woman. And women have the inherent vindictive nature that rears its ugly head once in a while. The other person remained silent.

"Go to hell." And the phone clicked.

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