Recap:

When I woke up in the morning, I realized that I was back in my bed. For a second, I was confused. Was everything that happened just a dream?

Then, I saw that although I was tucked into the blankets, I was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. And next to me on the nightstand was a note.

Kazuha:

You fell asleep yesterday after finishing your homework. You looked so peaceful and it seemed like you were really tired, so I decided not to wake you up. I also didn't want you to spend the night sleeping on the couch, so I brought you back into your room. Then, I finished the cookies.

I stopped for a moment. HE FINISHED MY COOKIES?

Anyways, I left after that. I hope you're feeling better. I'll be waiting outside my house to walk to school with you tomorrow morning (as usual.)

Heiji

PS: You got number fourteen wrong in your Biology homework.

Now on with the story!

I read the note over again. I brought you back into your room. Does that mean he carried me into my room? I could feel my cheeks automatically flush at the thought. Of me sleeping peacefully on the couch, with my homework scattered around me. Of Heiji gently gathering me into his arms- OH MY GOSH. WHAT AM I THINKING? Heiji is my best friend! And that's all that it was.

Yet, I couldn't help smiling when I finished reading the letter (even if I was slightly irked at the fact that he ate my cookies.)

Heiji could be annoying, rude, inconsiderate, mean, stupid, aggravating, frustrating, weird, confusing, immature, embarrassing, difficult, unexpected, crazy, forgetful, irritating, sarcastic, mystery-obsessed, impossible-

Ahem. You get the idea.

But then, there would be moments when he could be really sweet. Like yesterday.

He seemed to sense exactly what to do whenever I was in my deepest, darkest, hour of need. It didn't matter that what he did were simple things. Things like bringing over a textbook or this note. But they never failed to make my day infinitely better.

At those times, everything negative about him flew out the window. And I wouldn't care about the other 99 percent of the time when he would be…

"AHOU, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF THE HOUSE! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR CLASS!"

Like that.

You know what? Forget everything I had just thought prior to that. HEIJI IS SUCH A-

"KAZUHA!"

"I'M COMING!" I yelled back. I looked out the window to see Heiji glaring impatiently up at me. I stuck my tongue out before closing the curtains.

What was the big deal? I still had plenty of time- wait, what? It was already SEVEN-FIFTEEN? I did a double take at the alarm clock on my desk. No doubt about it. Kazuha Toyama was officially running late.

Within five minutes, I had brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, thrown on my uniform, grabbed my schoolbag, eaten a bite of toast, packed my lunch, and was walking out the door. I'm pretty sure that I broke some unknown record for getting ready for school. (Did I mention that I had done all that within five minutes? And I had one arm broken!)

Yep, mad skills.

"Finally," Heiji said, rolling his eyes when he saw me. "We have ten minutes before the first bell. And, we'd better run if you want to get there on time."

"You could learn to be more patient, you know?" I told him as we sprinted down the sidewalk. Well, I was mostly the one sprinting. I could tell Heiji was going slower just so I could keep up (now isn't that thoughtful?).

Either that, or he was just being lazy. The second reason seems much more likely.

"And be late for class?" He retorted, dodging a man in business suit. People turned to stare at us. What? They've never seen two high schools dashing madly through the streets of Osaka on the way to school before?

I nimbly jumped over a fallen tree branch. "Fine, but you could have reminded me in a nicer way!"

"What's the fun in that?"

Seriously, Heiji, seriously?

I would have come up with some sort of witty retort, but I was too breathless from running so hard. Running early in the morning wasn't exactly my forte. And having a broken arm didn't exactly help. Not to mention that I was wearing a SKIRT and carrying a heavy book bag.

We passed the park that stood halfway between our houses and the school. I was huffing and puffing (like the wolf from three little pigs), and my face was probably red. Usually things that involved physical fitness were easy for me (you know, aikido training and all that), but it took a lot to keep up with Heiji.

Even when he's jogging.

I narrowed my eyes, and he turned to grin at me effortlessly.

"Nothing like some easy exercise in the morning, right, 'zuha?"

I could have punched him.

By this time, we could see the school, but it was still a good distance away from where we were. Just how far was it anyway? I felt like we had been running miles.

"Hey, is your arm bothering you?" Heiji asked suddenly.

"Not really. It hurts sometimes but mostl-" As I was talking, I saw Heiji's eyes widen in panic. I paused to ask him what was wrong when:

"WATCH OUT!"

I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound died in my mouth, as my breath was tackled out of me.

And the chapter ends! Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and have been keeping up with this story. It means a lot to me.

So, what do you think? REVIEW! :]