VII

"Are you sure he's going to show up?"

I paused in my frantic swinging to glare at Mitty, who had come to join me at the park almost as willingly as a fat kid is to start a strict diet. She was glancing up at the cloudless sky, her pin straight raven hair rippling in all its glorious magnitude as a breeze picked up around us. She had been less than enthusiastic about me leaving with Hani out of the blue a week ago, and seemed even more irked about my initiative to text Mori and ask him to meet me here today to settle things once and for all. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly about the change of events, but I was a little peeved myself that she wasn't here out of the goodness of her heart.

"I'm sure he will." I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck before scuffing one of my feet in the dirt beneath the swing as I finally came to a rolling stop. "But more importantly, why did you follow me here? And don't say moral support, because I know you better than that."

She pursed her lips together, looking more and more like she was about to turn into a panther that was going to swallow me alive with each passing second. "I just don't want you to get hurt, ok? Even if his cousin said that he knows you like him, how can he be sure that his cousin feels the same way? And you heard Aki: they're richer than all get out. What if he uses some crap like that to widdle his way out of a relationship with you when there's nothing else holding him back? I couldn't stand you going through something as idiotic as that."

I was taken back when she huffed and tightened her grip. Mitty wasn't the kind of person to get worked up about any little thing, so when she got like this, I knew it had been eating away at her conscious for quite some time. As much as she wanted to be rooting for me, she couldn't without knowing -as well as I did- that this could easily go either way. Mori was the king of silence after all, and even after getting to know him well didn't exactly give me a gold star in understanding all of his emotions or thoughts.

"Everything's going to be fine." I managed a tiny smile, moving to pat her shoulder. "I knew that going into this, Mitty, even if I am a pineapple." She snorted, making me laugh before I could continue. "Anyway, Mori's not the type of guy to do stuff like that, but if he really didn't like me, I'm fine with him telling me so. And if that happens, you'll be there to kick his ass and comfort me until me stupid little heart finds a new guy to swoon over- which is exactly what I'll do for you, if you ever decide to get off that high horse of yours and give some guys a chance."

She huffed, moving to scan the park. "Maybe after I see some winged bacon. But more importantly, your lover boy is here."

I threw my glance outwards, and sure enough, Mori was just standing at the entrance of the playground, a duffel bag being held over one of his shoulders as he scanned the area. My heart lunged into a frantic pittering at the sight of him after a few weeks of absence, trying to not fall out of my seat on the swing-set at how badly I missed him. He looked so casual but powerful in his snug dark red v-neck and dark washed boot-cut jeans, looking so out of place in the colorful and childish area all around us. His ebony eyes swept over me before settling solely on my own heavy gaze, but thankfully Mitty decided to stand in my way before he could see how flushed my cheeks now were.

After a quick wave to me, she jutted off in his direction, and I watched with wide eyes as she paused in front of him, managing in a few words before racing off into the sunset like the sneaky little bandit she was. He only gave her a sidelong glance as she disappeared out of the park before locking eyes with me across the way. My feet suddenly felt like lead in the dirt, and as much as I wanted to swing away my worries, that was no longer going to happen. All I could do was watch, frozen in place, as he slowly made his way over to me and sat in the swing Mitty had occupied only moments before.

He didn't say a single word for a few minutes, but despite his usual silence, I had hoped he would be the one to break the awkward turtle rift bubbling between us. After running around my room half-screaming, half-muttering to myself like a lunatic after sending him the text for meeting me at the park today, I had been expecting some sort of response from him as to a yay or nay of the situation. The complete lack of communication on his behalf only made things worse. As worried as I was to his reaction since my runaway, I came to a sudden halt as I realized this must have been exactly what he felt like when I did that. There was gnawing doubt and confusion that could only be solved with a spoken explanation. And with me being the queen of rambling and unneeded wordage, that should have come easily to me, but hey, not everything is black and white right?

Finally finding the ability to move again, I scuffed my boot against the dirt and mustered all the energy I could before breaking the frail silence. "I bet you're wondering why I asked you to meet me here, huh?" I chanced a glance in his direction, only to see him staring directly at me. There was nothing pressing for information written in his expression; if anything, he seemed tired and loaded with enough going on behind those ebony eyes. Laughing gently, I moved to swing slowly in the space, averting my gaze to the molten orange sunset sipping below the skyline right in front of us. "You would think that with all the nonsense I babble with I would have more than enough to say to you right now, but honestly, I don't even know what to say. Maybe I should start with an apology, but I'm not sure that one is even worth spewing after avoiding you for so long. I did what I thought was best, but it caused you and Hani a lot of worrying and what not. But now, I think I finally know what to do to set it right."

I turned to give him a confidant glance. "You know I probably don't have the best background to put much hope in myself. But even so, why should I give up? Don't I have a right as much as anyone else to do what I think is best for me? As selfish as that sounds, I can't just give up. I have a right to fight for what I believe in, and that means doing what I want and going straight into college. I don't have a right to sit around and let other people dictate my life anymore. And I hope that you'll be the one to stand next to me and see how far I can push myself. Then again, I know I don't have a good track record with sticking around when things get sticky, but this time will be different. I just know it."

He laughed quietly at my honesty, moving to sway slightly in his own swing. I smiled at the positive gesture, but my face soon fell as the expression quickly evened out to a deeply pensive frown. Light forbid that angels frown, and even more so when a delicious Greek god in the flesh should do just that. Was he upset that I was pulling him back into the mix of things without a real apology or any explanation as to why I did what I did? Or was he trying to think of a nice way to let me know he didn't care that much about me to do what I had asked?

"I had to reject a girl at school today." He admitted abruptly, and I swore my heart slammed into the front of my rib cage like a fat person trying to come to a gentle stop on a high speed roller-coaster.

"Oh." My voice didn't conceal how miserable I felt at the direction he was taking our conversation. "You seem pretty torn up about it."

He shrugged, the swing swaying again from the sudden movement. "She looked defeated. And scared. Just like you the last time I saw you."

I rubbed the back of my neck in discomfort, hating how he could always pin exactly what I was feeling at that moment in time to a tee. Had I really been that obvious? Then again, Hani had figured everything out not that long ago either, so maybe his tall, dark, and handsome counterpart was just as perceptive. "Sometimes we just get faced with things we don't know how to process." I could feel his heavy gaze without even looking at him. So this was it, huh? Might as well do my best and see how my heart would fare. "You know that you, Hani, and Mitty are the best three people I have ever met, right? I mean, without you guys I wouldn't have gotten Mohi, found what I wanted to do with my life, or thought that my stupid mouth could do anything but turn people away. That's why I always told myself everything should stay just the way it is for as long as possible, so I ran to keep everyone safely in their place. But I realized that's not what I really wanted. What I want.. what I want is you, Mori. I know I don't have much to offer you, and that you have so many people and things that are important to you already. I'm not asking you to change anything, other than to let me be the one person who can make you happy despite it all."

His gaze seemed to lift from me, but before I manage to look his way, I felt his hand rest against the top of my auburn locks and ruffle them gently. I finally turned to gawk at him, only to see him giving me a smile warm enough to melt every woman's heart – and mine as well- from here to the remotest village in the rainforest with complete ease. "You already are."

My heart skipped a beat at his simple statement, and I looked down, afraid of what he really meant. Was he saying that he cared as much for me as I did for him? Or was it more in a friendly, brotherly way like the way he treated Hani and everyone else he was friends with? The answer seemed to spring forth as his hand slowly slid from the top of my face down along my right cheek, where it rested as he spoke up again. "Hoshi."

Just like the only other time I'd ever heard him call me by my first name, I couldn't resist gazing into his eyes with a pit growing in my stomach. The look in his eyes floored me from the instant I caught sight of it, releasing all the fear growing just below my surface as my breath caught in my throat. There was nothing there but that rare sight I'd seen bubble to the surface every time he genuinely smiled. It was as if all the stupid, irrational things I had piled onto his conscious never even existed, and he only saw the potential hidden between all of my bewildering acts. Was this even reality? Mori- gorgeous, independent Mori- was giving someone as crazy and reckless as me a look that loving and understanding? Shut the front door!

When I finally found the ability to breathe again, a tiny smile pulled at my lips. Mori soon saw it and mirrored it, until I broke out into a laugh so carefree and blonde I swore a gaggle of cheerleaders was going to gather around me at any second and ask me to join their squad. His hand slowly lifted from my cheek to rest back in his lap, and I couldn't help but think of how badly I wanted him to leave it there for the rest of eternity. The smile soon smoothed from his face, though the happiness still shone brighter than the noonday sun in his eyes.

"You'll have to wait, though."

I shot him a quizzical look at the odd statement. Wait a second- hadn't he just made it clearer than black words on white paper that he felt something more than friendly for me? I didn't like the thought of going a hundred steps backward after taking a leap of faith, so like any sane person would do, I asked him blankly. "Hold on. You do have feelings for me that make you get a loosey goosey in the noggin, right?"

He chuckled, bobbing a quick nod before I actually let my thoughts catch up with me. As I failed to realize in the last few minutes of pure joy, there were other things swimming around the sea of importance in both of our lives that would obviously interfere with trying to figure out a way to form a working relationship. As much as I wanted to push it aside, graduation was less than four months away, and the decision of some last minutes college opportunities would be rolling in. Which also meant that Mori was finishing up his club activities, trying to get things for done for college, and make sure he and Hani would be ready for the transition.

"I understand." I replied gently, giving a quick thumbs up. "There's a lot waiting just around the bend, so we just have to be patient right?"

He nodded again, moving to place his hand on my knee. "Exactly."

AN: I am so extremely sorry for the very, VERY late review. Between work, family, and trips out of the country, this story fell on the back burner. Thank you to all who reviewed on the last chapter, and I hope some of the fluffiness in this chapter will hold you over until the next update! ~ E.F.