Mio's POV

"…I love you…"

Her muttered in a low, but audible voice.

At first, I thought that I had heard wrong and looked up with wide eyes.

"huh?"

He takes a step forward as I take one back.

"…Mio…omae…Daisuki dayo…"

My heart beat began to race faster and faster, as my face turned as red as a stop light, and my eyes began to hurt because they've been exposed to the open air too long.

I close my eyes for a split second…and when I opened them, I saw Ryu looking at me with his golden irises and my heart was pounding so hard, that I thought it was going to burst out of my chest!

…A part of me still doubted what my ears had just heard…So, just to make sure…

"Um…I like you too, Ryu." Putting on a small smile.

Ryu gently puts his hand on my shoulder and pulls me into a hug.

"No…Not like THAT, Mio…Aishiteru…I want us to be together forever."

I couldn't move, I couldn't say anything. I didn't what to do…What was I supposed to do? My head was spinning in shock and confusion. My arms went limb at me sides.

"Mio, you may not understand…But I know more about you than you know…And you know more about me than you might think."

Ryu tightens is embrace, making me gasp at the sudden movement.

"Your laugh, your smile, the way you play the bass, how you act when you get scared…I love you because you are you. You make me feel so much…lighter, and warmer. It feels great just being around you…I love you."

I try to process what had just come out from Ryu's mouth, and try to gather the strength to reply. But nothing came out. It felt like everything around me stopped in time…until Ryu gently released me from his embrace and looked at me, his hands on my shoulder.

"Well, Mio? What do you think?"

"Th-think? What do you mean?" My voice came out almost a whisper.

"I mean…what do YOU think about ME? Do you…feel the same way?"

"Um…I uh…" I begin to step back, off the bridge, as Ryu's eyes grow worried.

"M-Mio?"

"I'm uh…I dunno Ryu…" I focus my eyes on the snow covered ground.

"I mean, we've only known each other for…what…a few days…and I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a commitment…"

" Mio…So, you don't feel the same way?" Ryu walks close enough to me that I could see his feet in front of me.

"Um…I…" For some reason, I panicked. I spin myself around and began running as fast as I could.

"W-wait! Mio!" I could hear Ryu running after me. But that only made me run faster.

"Mio-chan!"

Yui? I spun my head around to see Yui, Mugi, and Azusa also chasing after me.

"Mio-sempai! Please wait!"

I turn my face in front of me while looking down at the ground as I kept running.

"~~~!"

Did they say something?

"~~~io!~~~op!"

"what?" I turn my head around to see what they were saying, until…I felt the ground underneath me give way and everything felt cold.

"Mio!"

Everything went dark...

...

"Huh? What's going on? That's weird…It was freezing just a second ago…why's it so warm all of a sudden?"

I open my eyes to see a white sky above me.

"Wha-?" My body springs up into sitting position as I look at my surroundings…there was nothing there. It was like a room that was painted all white…only, It seemed that there weren't any walls or ceilings.

I was still wearing my winter clothes...except for my boots (for some reason), leaving me barefoot on the colorless ground.

"…Where am I?..."

It was at that moment that I heard a voice come from behind me…

"Mio…"

My body freezes in place and my heart begins to pound so strongly that I could feel the blood 'pulsing' throughout my entire body…This voice…It couldn't be…

It took every ounce of my will power just to turn my head around…And I swear that my heart was pounding mach 5!

She smiled…exposing her white teeth.

"Hey~"

Hm….yet another cliff hanger…But I'm pretty sure many of you already know who it is. And for some reason, this was kinda hard to write…weird…Sorry that it was so short. =w=;;; Lol. Thanks for reading and all the reviews! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please look forward to the next one! *Bows*