Chapter 3

Overture

"Ricchaaaaan!"

Yui yelled as she ran across the quiet hallways of the J. Women's University main building, seeing Ritsu and Mugi talking, but Mio was nowhere to be found. The two of them watched her as she came to a full stop right in front of them, gasping for air from all that running.

"What is it, Yui?" Ritsu asked, a slightly tired look surfacing on her face. Mugi only smiled at Yui as she struggled to catch her breath. Whatever it was, it must have been pretty pretty important... or something related to food.

Finally she snapped up and looked at Ritsu, her eyes burning with a fire that terrified the two of them. "It's so horrible!" The young guitarist exclaimed, sobbing and tugging on Ritsu's shirt.

Mugi looked worried. "What is it?"

"I'll show you!"

With that, Yui started running all while still holding on to Ritsu's sleeve, dragging her along as she ran. And Mugi really didn't have a choice now, so she decided to run after them. Yui wasted no time. And if Ritsu sees that what she's about to show them isn't worth their time, she's going to be so pissed.

Yui managed to lead them to the first floor, near the admissions office, where they hid on a corner with their backs pressed against the walls.

"What the heck are we hiding from?" Ritsu demanded, but still whispering.

"Look." Yui pointed towards the hallway, and Ritsu and Mugi took a quick look from the corner and found Takeharu, Yui's neighbour, the same one they met last week, talking to one of their professors, Ms. Megumi Takada. They were laughing and smiling and being all flirty, but mostly it was just Ms. Takada.

Ritsu gasped. "That's Haru-senpai!" She said. "But what's he doing here? And why is he talking to Ms. Takada?"

Under normal circumstances, seeing Haru in their school talking to one of the professors wouldn't be a big deal, but this was Ms. Takada. She was their World History professor. She's beautiful, smart, mature, and very nice—the perfect role model for her students. Everything she did, she did with utmost coolness and elegance. If there ever was a perfect couple, it'd be her and Haru.

But not when he's with their precious Sawa-chan. No freaking way.

"He's cheating on Sawa-chan. He was such a nice guy! I trusted him!" Yui sniffed.

"Now don't jump to conclusions." Ritsu said, still closely observing the two as they continued talking, squinting her eyes as she did so. Somehow they had completely forgotten the fact that Sawako and Takeharu weren't even dating, well, at least not yet, anyway. Ritsu and Mugi continued to watch as Yui continued tugging on Ritsu's shirt.

Ritsu slapped her hand lightly so she'd let go. "Stop that."

"You're so mean!" Yui whined, pouting as she rubbed the back of her hand.

Mugi put a finger over her lips, signalling them to keep quiet. "Keep your voice down." She said. "They might hear us."

"What the heck are you guys doing?"

The three of them nearly jumped in surprise. They all looked up and saw that it was Mio who asked the question. She was looking down on them with an eyebrow raised. They couldn't tell if she was curious about they were doing or was already aware of what it was and was hoping that they would stop messing around like this.

Ritsu immediately grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her down, causing her to tumble over and sit sloppily next to them, disappearing from Haru and Megumi's line of sight. She pointed at the scene they were observing. "Looky, looky." She said.

Mio sighed. This is absolutely pathetic, but she looked anyways. Her eyes widened. "Isn't that Sato-senpai?" She said. "What's he doing here?"

"Talking to Ms. Takada, obviously." Ritsu gave her a blank stare. "I absolutely cannot believe that he's cheating on Sawa-chan like this. I actually thought he was a nice guy." She sighed. "Ugh. Men are all the same."

Mio looked at them and realized that they all seemed to be on the same page. Oh my God. You have got to be kidding me. She smacked her forehead.

"I think you're exaggerating." She said. "And besides, Sawa-chan and Sato-senpai aren't even dating. Well... are they?"

"Well, it looks like they're dating." Yui insisted.

Ritsu just shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Wait!" Mugi exclaimed, pointing towards Haru and Megumi, who were already walking, heading to who knows where. "They're getting away!"

Mugi followed them ever so covertly, while the other three stared after her. In the end, they really had no choice but to follow as well.

"Man, Mugi sure gets too into these things." Ritsu said with a sigh as she walked.

Haru and Megumi eventually made their way out of the University grounds and strolled lightly along the sidewalks, with the girls of Houkago Tea Time hot on their tail. They hid bush after bush, post after post, as they followed. Finally, the two stopped in front of a pedestrian lane, waiting for the light to go green so they could cross.

Mio looked at the three and saw that they were still pretty serious about what they were doing. "I don't know, guys." She sighed. "This looks pretty normal to me. Maybe they're just good buddies."

Suddenly, Yui pulled out her phone from her pocket in one swift move and flipped it open, looking for Sawako on her contacts list.

"What the heck are you doing, Yui?" Mio asked. Whatever it was, she was already pretty sure it was going to be something stupid.

Sawako was at the faculty lounge, looking through her advisory class' quizzes when her phone vibrated on her desk. She blinked in surprise as she picked it up, seeing Yui's name on the screen. She flipped it open and pressed it against her ear.

"Hello?"

"SAWA-CHAAAAN!"

Sawako winced, pulling the phone away from her face. The damn thing wasn't even on speaker. Some other teachers who sat nearby heard her former student's voice and looked at her.

"Please excuse me." She told them as she headed out, laughing nervously. As soon as she made sure that the door was closed behind her, she placed the phone over her mouth. "Don't just call me and yell at me like that!" She screamed back. Yui and the others winced on the other line. But afterwards she just sighed and put it back against her ear. "What do you want, Yui? And this better be good."

"Sawa-chan! Haru-chan's cheating on you!" Yui said, as if it was the greatest piece of information she has ever had the pleasure of sharing with anyone else.

Sawako sighed again, rubbing her temples. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Ritsu snatched the phone from Yui and pressed it against her ear. "He's right here! Talking to one of our professors, being all flirty and giggly and window-shoppy!" She glanced at them as she talked, seeing them talking in front of a boutique.

"What? You mean you're following them?" Sawako demanded.

"Of course we are! Why shouldn't we?" Ritsu answered. "And besides, aren't you worried? I mean, you're dating, right?"

That statement still made Sawako blush, but she knew that was miles away from the truth. "For the last time, girls, we are not dating." She said. "We're just friends. Besides, we just met. So I'd really appreciate it if you left him alone."

The four of them all looked at each other, with Ritsu, Yui and Mugi looking pretty disappointed. They didn't want to stop, at least not yet. They were already having so much fun. But Sawako herself already told them to stop, so they really had no choice. The girls were just about to give up when Mugi suddenly gasped.

"What is it, Mugi?" Mio asked her.

Mugi pointed towards Haru. "Look." She said.

And they all did so. Megumi seemed to have seen something in the boutique that made her laugh, and Haru laughed with her too, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they continued on their little stroll.

Sawako tapped her feet as she waited for someone to talk on the other line.

All three of them gasped. "I can't believe it! That two-timer!" Yui yelled.

"Status report!" Ritsu exclaimed. "Haru-chan just hugged Ms. Takada!" She didn't know why, but somehow what Ritsu said shook something inside of Sawako. Something like jealousy, maybe?

Mio smacked her friend on the head. "Stop exaggerating." She took the phone from Ritsu, rolling her eyes. "Hello, Ms. Sawako?"

"Yes, Mio, is that you?"

"Yes." Mio said. "We are terribly sorry for bothering you at a time like this. Please go back to what you were doing." And with that, she clicked and ended the call, returning the phone to its dumbfounded owner, and leaving Sawako to stare at her phone. But she just shrugged it off and went back inside the faculty room.

Those crazy girls.

"Now can we please leave them alone now?" Mio suggested.

Ritsu gave her a playful look, batting her pretty little eyes, and poking her arm. "Oh, come on, Mio. Aren't you at least a little curious?"

Mio was just about to say something when the thought hit her. Ritsu got her this time. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious at all about Takeharu's little friendship with their professor. She couldn't admit it, so she just stared at the floor.

"Ha, that's your answer right there." Ritsu laughed, going back to their little covert operation.

They all gasped as they looked at where Haru and Megumi were, finding only an empty sidewalk with absolutely no sign of them. People came and went, but they couldn't see their professor and her friend.

Yui and Mugi ran until they were in front of the boutique, where they last saw them, and looked around, but there was still no sign of the two. "Where could they be?" Yui said.

Ritsu and Mio followed them, and Ritsu sighed in disappointment. "Great. We lost them."

Somehow the girls had ended up having tea in one of the cafes near the University, pondering on what they saw today after school. Ritsu let her chin slide down on the table, still disappointed about the fact that they lost sight of Haru and Megumi.

Mio took a sip off her cup. "Well, that sure was weird."

Yui leaned in and pressed her elbows against the table, using her hands to support her chin. "Do you really think Haru-chan's going out with Miss Takada?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

The four of them nearly jumped as soon as they heard the deep voice coming out of nowhere, and when they turned to see who it was, they saw none other than Haru, who already took a seat at the head of the table, smirking down at the girls.

"Haru-chan!" Yui said, "What are you doing here?"

"Did you hear all that?" Ritsu inquired.

Haru nodded impishly and grinned. "Not only did I hear all that, but I also saw you girls following me this afternoon." He said. "Now why would you girls do something like that?"

They all stared at the floor, too embarrassed to answer.

Haru looked at Mio, who looked most embarrassed, and decided to stare. They had just met a week ago, but he definitely knew her kind and was positive that she wouldn't be able to resist telling him the truth. "Mio?" He said. "Could you please answer my question?"

Mio looked at him, terrified of his stare. Yui took notice of this and decided to raise her hand. "We thought you were dating Sawa-chan and you were cheating on her with Ms. Takada!"

"Wait... what?" Haru blinked. He then started laughing, and the girls just stared at him. "You girls have got it all wrong." He said, still chuckling. "Megumi is my cousin. We were just hanging out so we could catch up on stuff."

"Wait, where is she anyway?" Yui asked, looking around.

"I already drove her home. Said she had a long day." He said, as if it was no big deal.

Yui sighed in relief. "That's good."

"But you were being all flirty and stuff!" Ritsu insisted.

"Oh, you mean that arm-around-the-shoulder thing? I did that on purpose. I already knew you were following me then." Haru said.

"You sneaky son of a..."Ritsu mumbled.

"And besides, Sawako and I aren't even dating. Well... at least not yet."

The girls all gasped, pleasantly surprised. Only an idiot wouldn't know what that statement meant. "Does that mean you're interested in Sawa-chan?" Mugi asked, obviously getting excited.

Haru laughed a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Let's keep that our little secret for now." He told them. "I'm still not sure if she's interested in..."

"Of course she's interested in you!" Ritsu said excitedly, cutting him off.

"Really?" Haru asked almost just as immediately. "How can you tell she is?"

Ritsu took a sip off of her cup before answering him. "I don't know. It's like... you know, a girl thing. But I'm positive." She said. "I mean, I have no idea how Sawa-chan acts whenever she's with a guy that she likes, but she's definitely a completely different person when she's around you."

Yui snapped her fingers. "Yeah! Like last week, when you came to Sakuragaoka High after school. She was, like, really not herself."

"What do you mean?" Haru inquired, tilting his head like some confused little boy. "Does she have some sort of alter ego or something like that?"

"Do you wanna see a picture of her when she was still in high school?" Ritsu grinned, as if Haru really had a choice. She pulled one of Sawako's many high school pictures from her wallet and showed him one from her Death Devil days, taken from one of their concerts.

Haru took it and stared at it. "Wow. She was so... wild." It was really all he could say. He then started staring idolatrously over the photograph, his eyes glowing, as if he was looking at a picture of a cute innocent little puppy. "Look at her, being all rock n' roll and stuff. It's so cute." He said.

The girls all stared at him. How could he see anything cute in a picture like that? "Geez, and I thought he was normal." Said Ritsu. She then laughed. "You can keep that if you want. I have a backup of that on my computer anyway."

"Thanks." He replied, grinning. He placed the picture inside his own wallet and put it back in the pocket inside his blazer. "I knew it. I knew she was also a musician. She seemed to know a lot about playing the guitar, and besides that, she's also the moderator of your Light Music Club."

"Yeah, she's a great guitarist." Yui said, getting excited again. "She even taught me how to play and sing at the same time!"

Haru couldn't help but scoff. "What? But it's not that hard."

Yui pouted. "But it was really hard for me!"

"By the way, you never really told me how you got yourself to play the guitar Yui." He said, leaning on the table. "Let me guess... was it some sort of requirement at school?"

"Wow." Mio said. "You must know her so well."

"Well, we kind of grew up together." Haru told Mio. "And one thing I know about Yui is that once she sets her mind on something, she's gonna keep on going until she gets what she wants." She then turned to Yui. "Something must have interested you enough to actually give music a try."

"Yeah." Ritsu laughed. "After school tea and sweets."

Haru laughed as well. "Ah, I see. Everything's still about food, isn't it, Yui?"

Instead of being offended, Yui just blushed and sighed distantly, seeing cakes and tea in her head. "Yeah, Mugi's tea and sweets are just awesome."

Mio and Mugi could only giggle. Some things just never change.

"Let me give you girls a ride home." Haru offered as they walked towards his red Innova at the parking lot of the cafe. It was already 9 in the evening. They were having so much fun talking about music and Haru's life that they didn't notice the time.

He unlocked the doors and opened the one to the driver's seat so he could turn on the lights inside, and the girls were all amazed. The Innova was pretty big. It could probably carry all five of them, plus Sawako and Azusa.

"Wouldn't that be troublesome?" Mugi asked. "You'll have to drive all four of us home."

"Oh, no. Not at all." Haru shook his head. "It's pretty late, after all. I wouldn't want you girls to run into any ruffians on the way home."

Ritsu wasted no time and opened the door on the other side to the passenger seat right next to the driver's seat, grinning. Mio could only sigh as she and Yui and Mugi went to sit at the back.

Mio went in first, followed by Mugi and then finally, Yui. They looked around and found that everything was surprisingly in order; Haru was pretty neat for a man his age. There were, however, empty cans of beer sitting at the back, but the girls could barely smell them. In fact, the car reeked of the air freshener that Haru kept, not that it was a bad thing. There were also a couple of jackets sitting next to the empty cans, along with a pack of cigarettes with only two sticks left.

"Don't mind the things at the back." Haru said, becoming aware the girls had taken notice of the junk. "Sometimes I have pretty wild nights myself."

He finally climbed up and sat down, fixing his rear-view mirror and fastening his seat belt. He then turned to Ritsu, who was so giddy about riding shotgun that she looked like she didn't want to do anything else. She was checking everything out, from the glove compartment to the side mirror, to the little Gundam figurine that was sitting in display.

"You should fasten your seatbelt, Ritsu-kun." He told her, chuckling.

"Oh, right." Ritsu said, doing as he said. "All done!"

He then glanced at the girls at the back through the rear-view mirror. "Everyone okay in there?" He inquired. They all nodded. "Now, which one of you am I going to deliver first?"

Yui raised her hand. "Me! Me!"

"That means you're going to be the first to leave." Mio pointed out.

"What?" Yui exclaimed. "I don't want that!"

"Then how about rock-paper-scissors?" Ritsu suggested, kneeling on her seat as she faced the others. "Loser gets to go home first, how about that?"

"You're on, Ricchan!"

"Bye, Yui!"

Everyone waved Yui goodbye as Haru dropped her off in front of her house. She didn't seem too happy at all about it. But as expected, she was the first one to lose.

Yui watched them as they drove off, sobbing. "No fair!"

"All right. One down, three to go." Haru said after he began driving again.

"You look like you're in no hurry to get home." Ritsu observed.

Haru smirked and started laughing maniacally, giving Ritsu a demonic glare. It was so dark and scary that it almost felt Sawako's signature 'death glare', only a hell of a lot scarier. "The truth is, I just wanted to get Yui out of the way so I could have my way with you girls." He said as he chuckled deviously. "I can't wait to get the three of you back to my place."

Ritsu and Mugi gasped in horror while Mio just fell silent, as if she was turned into stone.

Haru looked at the back and saw what happened to Mio, changing his expression back to normal. "I was kidding." He said.

Ritsu sighed in relief as she glanced at Mio before looking at Haru again. "Geez, don't scare us like that. For a moment there, I actually thought you were serious."

"Yeah, me too." Mugi said, also sighing in relief.

"Don't worry about Mio, though. She's just really a huge scaredy-cat." Ritsu explained, still seeing that Mio was still frozen.

Haru laughed. "Now I feel bad for doing that." He looked at her through the mirror. "Sorry about that, Mio."

But the bassist didn't respond. She was still petrified.

"Earth to Mio!" Ritsu called, waving a hand over her face, but no dice. Now Haru was starting to get really worried.

"Is she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine." Ritsu insisted. "Happens all the time." She then sat back down and turned to him again, completely ignoring Mio now. She was bound to wake up soon anyway. "By the way, you didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Haru asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"What I said before, about you not being in a hurry to go home at all."

Haru couldn't help but chuckle. "That wasn't a question. More like an observation." He corrected her. "I actually have to go to work later on at 11, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to be late at least once."

"11? Why do you have to work that late?" Ritsu looked at him, raising her eyebrow. She was really trying her best to get rid of the dirty theories in her head that stated that he may be some sort of call boy or something. "Are you, like, some sort of...?"

And Haru knew exactly what she was thinking. "Whatever you're thinking, that's not it." He said. "I work at a call center, in a technical team. That's why my schedule's a bit crazy. Not really the best one to follow, but hey, they pay good bread so I can't complain."

"Must be tough." Ritsu commented.

"Yeah, you can say that again." He replied, giving out a tired sigh.

Mugi looked at him, worried. "Are you sure we're not bothering you? We wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

"Come on, it's fine, girls. Don't worry about me." He laughed, waving the idea off with one hand. "And besides, what would Ms. Sawako say if she found out I just let you girls go home on your own at an hour so late?" He actually thought about it. "She'd probably smack me."

Ritsu just laughed and shrugged. "Knowing her, we'll be the ones in trouble instead of you. She just likes you too much."

Haru scoffed and shook his head. "Stop it, you're embarrassing me."

Haru took Ritsu and Mugi home, venturing quite the distance since Mugi lived near the edge of the city. It was now only him and Mio, who had already woken up from her petrified state. She also transferred to the seat beside him, now that Ritsu was no longer around. It was Haru who requested so, because he really didn't like it when he's in the car with just one person sitting in the back. It made him look like a chauffeur. He preferred them sitting beside him so they could also talk.

The first half of the ride was silent and awkward, although Haru couldn't quite feel it since he was too busy driving. The streets were getting even darker now, and he attempted to race against time as soon as he saw the time: 9:57. He still had to go home, take another bath, get his things fixed, and work on some paperwork before he actually goes to the call center for his shift.

But in the end, he convinced himself that he should think of safety first. He was driving with a teenage college freshman, after all. A girl, no less.

He glanced over at Mio, who was looking out the window. "What are you thinking about?" He inquired rather abruptly, causing her to flinch before she turned to look at him.

"Nothing in particular. I just feel a little sleepy already." Mio smiled, rubbing her eyes.

"There's a pillow at the back for you to use." Haru suggested. He pointed at the back without looking. He didn't want to take his eyes off of the road. "You'd better use that or you'll strain your neck."

Mio shook her head. "No, it's fine. I don't want to go to sleep yet."

He took a quick glance at her before getting back to driving again. He turned at a corner and slowed down. "We'd better get you home so you can get some rest. You still have school tomorrow, right?" He said, sounding like an older brother again. "Guide me to your place, okay?"

"Okay." Mio nodded.

And with that, Haru slowly accelerated, but not fast enough to frighten his little passenger. He smirked as he gave her another glance, seeing that she was staring far off into the road.

"By the way, Mio, Sawako told me you're a left-handed bassist." He started. He could feel her looking at him as soon as he spoke. "Now that's something we have in common."

Mio was obviously fascinated by what he said. "Really?" She asked with her eyes sparkling with complete fascination. "Does that mean you also play in a band?"

Haru shook his head. "Nope, not anymore. I only played when I was in high school. But unlike Sawako's Death Devil, my band played jazz and blues. Like, uh... John Mayer and... I don't know, Sukima Switch? Something like that." He smiled as he talked. "It often put me in the spotlight, but I didn't mind. I loved playing, especially in front of a crowd."

"I wish I had your confidence." Mio sighed. She really was pretty envious. Handling the pressure of performing in front of a crowd wasn't easy. "I've been part of Houkago Tea Time for more than three years now and I still can't perform without feeling so... I don't know, pressured?"

"Don't worry. It took me a lot of getting used to myself." Haru confessed. "You'll get the hang of it too, just as long as you remember to have fun every time you play. In the end, that's all that really matters."

Mio nodded. He was right.

An awkward silence followed. Mio glanced up at him and noticed that he was pretty serious with his driving, so she decided to just shut up and leave him alone so he wouldn't get distracted.

"Say, Mio." He suddenly said. So much for leaving him alone to drive. "What do think about me dating Sawako?"

That question made her look up at him again. This time his warm smile was nowhere to be found and he looked pretty serious as he kept driving.

It took a while, but she finally came up with a decent answer. "Well, I think it'd be great, as long as you don't intend on hurting her or anything like that." She said, suddenly sounding protective of her old teacher. "She's been hurt quite a number of times in the past already. She really doesn't need one more."

Haru couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of guy."

"Well, you seem like a really nice guy, so I'll trust you." Mio said.

He chuckled, embarrassed. "Really? Thanks. That means a lot coming from someone like you, Mio."

Mio smiled at him. She was really starting to get convinced that they had a lot more in common than being left-handed bassists. He was starting to feel like the older brother she never had.

"No problem."

"Thanks again, Haru-senpai." Mio said as she waved him goodbye just outside the gate to her house. He smiled as he waved back and drove off into the night, leaving the young bassist to stare after his car until it disappeared, turning right on an intersection.

She sighed in exhaustion and went back inside her house. She had a pretty long day. It ended pretty well, though. She got to spend some time with someone as cool as Takeharu.

Haru turned on the radio as he drove, feeling a little lonely now that he was alone in his car again. He turned to one of his favourite international radio stations and heard the song The Gift by Angels and Airwaves, smiling. It was one of his favourites.

And suddenly, you've done it all.

He glanced at his phone and thought about calling Sawako. Perhaps it was about time he actually manned up and asked her out properly. But at this hour? She's probably already asleep.

You won me over in no time at all.

"Ah, screw it." He said as he finally decided to pick up his phone so he could call her. He decelerated, but maintained a steady velocity that was still faster than walking so he could drive safely while he searched for her number on his phone. Once he stopped at a stoplight, he took the opportunity and clicked on her name on his contacts list, but suddenly hesitated.

Two options appeared on his phone: Send Message and Call Contact. Which one should he choose?

It took so long for him to decide that the lights have already turned green and he was forced to keep driving so he wouldn't have to irritate the drivers in their cars that were right behind him.

Haru sighed as he cancelled the command. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked himself. "I guess I'll just do it tomorrow."

He was just about to put his phone back down when it suddenly vibrated and rang. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he looked at the screen. It was none other than Sawako.

He blinked as he stared at his phone, contemplating on why she would give him a call at a time like this.

Finally, he shook his head so he'd snap out of it and clicked, pressing his phone against his ear as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road. "Hello?"

"Haru?" He heard her say rather reluctantly from the other line.

"Yeah, what's up?" He greeted. "What can I do for you, miss?"

Sawako giggled. "Now you really sound like you work in a call center."

Haru laughed with her as he drove along. "I'll take that as a compliment." He said. "So, what's eating you?"

"I just wanted to check up on you. Mugi just called and told me what happened today." She explained. "I wanted to apologize for the trouble, too. The girls must have been a handful."

He shook his head, as if she could see him. "No, not at all. I actually had a good time."

"Oh, that's good, then."

Haru was waiting for her to say something other than what she just said, but everything was just silent. She was doing the same thing, too, just waiting for him to say something that may keep their conversation alive.

It was a long, frustratingly awkward pause.

"Hey, I..."

"I, um..."

They spoke almost at the same time, causing Haru to laugh. "You go first."

"I was just wondering if you wanted to get together sometime. You know, maybe for some coffee, or lunch, or dinner... whatever you prefer. Whenever you're not too busy." Sawako rambled, still a little embarrassed. She tried to laugh a little so she wouldn't sound like a fool. It took a lot of courage to ask him that, and inside her head she was praying he'd accept.

Haru raised his eyebrow and grinned. "Are you trying to ask me out, Miss Sawako?" He asked, asking her the question she first asked him when he tried asking her out last week.

She smirked. "It's just a friendly offer, Mr. Sato. You're free to decline."

"Well," he said. "I'd love to."

A/N: Sorry if this took me a while. :)) I still had school, and finals are coming up and blah blah blah. I'll be having a little more time, though, now that the long weekend (Holy Week) has begun. BTW, I'd like to thank the reviewers for the second chapter of this story. Thanks a lot for continuing to read my story and for guiding me. :bd