Chapter Nine

If You Don't Need Me, then . . .

"Len, come join us for lunch!" Iroha beckoned cheerily, glancing at the boy over her shoulder as she brought her desk up against Rin's.

"Iroha!" Rin snapped.

"Stop being a wimp, Rin," laughed Aria. "We all know you want him to come sit with us."

"Even I knew," Len boasted, smiling at her. He glanced down at her two boxed lunches. "One's for me, right?"

"Of course," Rin couldn't help reply with an overjoyed smile just from having him near. However, her joy was ruined when he sat in her chair. "Uh, Len?"

"You can sit on my lap," he offered, smiling at her. Her friends giggled as heat swiftly built up within her.

"Yuki and I are going grocery shopping," Iroha said, drawing in Rin's attention from her memories for but a moment before the woman returned to her bottle of sake, glaring at the sofa as she did so while she waited to be left in peace once more. "Any chance you want to come?"

Rin didn't bother speaking. She just grunted and rolled over on the couch, burying her face in the sofa so that she saw nothing but black out of her open eyes. Iroha sighed. Rin knew why. She'd been in this state for the past week, which probably wouldn't have been so upsetting if Iroha hadn't believe that, in going to pick Yuki up, she'd made a turn around. But, no. A few nights ago, Rin had had a nightmare. That nightmare had been a reminder.

In the nightmare, Rin and Len were sitting on a park bench, that same park where they'd go every single day after school on their walk home and that same park where she still walked every single day. Then, Len had asked her to sit tight for a moment, and he'd dashed off. As Rin waited alone, Miku appeared on the bench beside her. She'd proceeded to ask Rin many, many questions before finally smiling, satisfied, and vanishing. Then, Len returned, holding in his arms a baby. Iroha had come up beside him and scolded him for carrying it so recklessly and taken it from his arms. The moment she did, Len disappeared. Rin screamed and tried to find him, running all around the park, but he was nowhere to be found. Then, someone appeared behind her, speaking in a voice that Rin recognized in a heartbeat. Terror ran through her, and she felt herself frozen stiff as that person came before her, gently trailing a knife along Rin's arm and stroking her face with a sinister smile that Rin recognized so well.

"He's gone now," that person whispered. "Now we can be together."

Only then did Rin notice the red coating the blade.

Rin had woken up to Iroha stroking her hair and whispering her name in the calmest voice she could, but the panic was evident. Rin had broken into sobs against her friend's chest, whispering of how Len had been killed, and it was all her fault. Iroha had known better than to deny what Rin, still in a half-awoken state, had exclaimed. When Rin had spoken that person's name, however, even she'd frozen for a distinct moment. She quickly returned to soothing Rin, but Rin had noticed it. Then, Yuki, a worried look on her face, had entered the room. Rin had yelled at the beast, screaming how it was all her fault and desperately trying to get at the girl, to take her life and return it to Len. Though Iroha had held her back, not letting her make one single step toward the child, Rin managed to grab the glass plate on the bedside table and throw it at the girl, missing only by a hair as it shattered to pieces beside her head. Yuki still had scratches covering her shoulder along with one along her cheek and one against her ear. Yuki hadn't spoken to Rin since and flinched whenever the woman would make any sharp movements. Rin acted as though she didn't notice and didn't care, but that was the furthest one could get from the truth.

"C'mon, Rin," Iroha now said, grief in her voice as she spoke, holding Yuki's little hand in her own. "You can't just sit around all day."

Rin, seeing only one way to end this, made eye contact with Yuki, who stared back with that unreadable expression she always wore, and questioned, "Really? Do you want me to come, Yuki?"

Yuki nodded violently and stared at Rin. The blonde felt sick to her stomach as Yuki delicately spoke the first words she had since that incident. "I want you to come with us."

However, when Rin made a move to stand, Yuki habitually flinched. Rin froze, startled at how much pain that caused her, and then tried to play it off as though that was the reaction she'd been hoping for. "Right," she snorted. "You really want me to come."

"I'm sorry!" Yuki said, her eyes teary as she stared at Rin. "I really didn't mean to! I want you to come, Rin! I really do! Please!"

"Go with your mother," Rin spat, unaware of the spite in her words as she dug her face back into the pillow. "Screw you both. Just leave me the hell alone."

There was silence for a moment before Iroha murmured, "Let's go, Yuki."

Once they were gone, Rin returned to her memories, thinking of Len over and over again. Well, Len, and all her friends who'd abandoned her long ago.

Rin hated to admit how nervous she was as Len, sitting in a seat that wasn't her own after she'd chewed him out over it, stomached another bite of the lunch she'd brought him. He chewed thoughtfully and pondered it for a moment before stating, "You're getting better."

"That's all you have to offer, you jerk?" Aria questioned jokingly, grinning and prodding the boy playfully. "She did it all for you, you know. You should be a little nicer to your future wife."

Rin, who had already gone pink at Len's compliment, flushed a vibrant red and exclaimed, "Aria! Don't say things like that! He's my boyfriend, not my fiancé!"

"Ouch," cringed Len, placing a hand over his heart. "The sharp sting of rejection."

The redness spread to her ears now as she whipped her head around to face him. "W-what? Len, stop that! Don't encourage her!"

"It's your own fault, Rin," Iroha giggled. "You're the one who's being mean to him. Poor little guy."

Len nodded with a puppy-dog pout and thanked Iroha, scooching his seat closer to hers and further from Rin's. In response, Iroha hugged the boy and stroked his hair. "There there, Len. Rin's just a meanie."

"I'll marry Len if you won't," Aria agreed, getting up from her seat to join the group forming around him. Rin scowled at her friends.

"You've got to appreciate what you've got, Rin, or you're going to lose him," agreed Rin's best friend, the only one who hadn't run over to Len, much to Rin's appreciation. "Hell, even I'd marry him."

"Ooh, be careful, Rin," Aria teased. "You've got competition."

"I think Len and I look better together than you two do," Iroha agreed. "You two look almost like siblings. It's kind of creepy, to be honest."

"That's because Rin and I are two halves of a whole," stated Len.

Everyone went silent for a moment as Rin's steadily grew redder and redder. She swore, the heat rushing to her face was going to make her faint. However, her three other friends began laughing at his bravery after a moment, causing her tension to fade a little as she stared at them.

"I guess we've got no chance, then," sighed Aria, pouting, as she took her seat beside him once more. "His heart is taken. We've lost him."

"You give up too easily," laughed the one beside Rin, slipping her arm around the blonde girl's shoulder. "I, for one, will not give up."

"He's my boyfriend, stupid," Rin said dryly, glaring at her good-naturedly. "Why are you always trying to steal my things?"

"Because you get all the best things," whined Iroha, sitting between Rin and Len pouting in the girl's face. "It's not our fault. It's hard not to be jealous."

"Please, ladies, there's enough of me to go around," Len said in a manly voice, resting his arms around Aria and Iroha. "I have no problems satisfying all of your needs at once."

Rin scowled at him and snapped, "Well, if that's how you feel, I'll stop making you lunch."

Len heaved a sigh of relief as Iroha and Aria giggled. "Thank goodness. I was wondering how much longer you'd be trying to poison me."

Rin flinched, actually hurt by his words despite his teasing tone. With a cold glare, she pushed her chair back and walked away. Her group of friends all watched her go, but only one followed, the one who cared the most for Rin out of all of them.

"I wish you'd just leave me alone," Rin mumbled into the sofa cushion, smelling Iroha's shampoo, which Rin herself refused to use. "I don't want you here. I don't want her here, either. I only want Len."

There was Yuki's smell, too, the sharp scent of apples, destroying the lingering scent of bananas that used to be there. Rin knew his scent, Len's scent, was still there. He knew that he was still there, with her, watching over her. He didn't want to be forgotten. No one ever wanted to be forgot. But she'd started forgetting him. She'd passed days without thinking of him, concerning herself only with Iroha and Yuki. He deserved better, so much better.

As they walked home together that night, they stayed absolutely silent. Rin was still upset with him, and she was rather sure he knew it. She'd made it clear enough with that scowl glued to her face. She was even more upset that he'd ambushed her when she was leaving school to walk her home. Sure, they went in the same direction, but Rin had hung back for half an hour to go home alone, but he'd been leaning against her shoe locker, waiting. She had no way to get away without bumping into him.

Rin gasped a little as she felt his hand take hers and tug her off the asphalt path, onto the lush green grass.

"Len," she snapped, glaring at him. She wasn't in the mood for this. However, she had no choice. Len swiftly pulled her toward him. She lifted her hands, landing them on his chest, so that she could push away. But, when she did, her back hit a tree. Len placed a hand beside her head, against the tree's rough bark, and stared down at her. She couldn't help but lose her breath as those blue eyes stared down on her. She pretended that the pinkness on her cheeks didn't exist as she gazed up at him. Stubbornly, she muttered, "I'm not in the mood, Len."

"Look, I'm sorry."

Rin paused at his words, captivated by that firm yet gentle gaze of his. She felt her scowl waver a little as she sighed, exasperated, and remarked, "I'm listening."

"I took it too far," he repented. "I'm sorry."

And because those eyes were looking at her, Rin couldn't help but accept it. She murmured, averting her gaze to his feet, "So you'll eat the lunches I make without complaint?"

"Every day."

"And you'll stop being a jerk?"

"Well, there's only so much I can do about that, but I'll try."

Rin felt the redness spreading across her face as she delicately questioned, "You'll kiss me?"

It might not have been such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that Len had refrained from kissing her thus far, with a few tiny exceptions, but he'd never kissed her properly. Until now.

She closed her eyes daintily as she saw that smile on his lips. He leaned down toward her. Her heart raced faster than she ever thought it could. She felt his warm breath brush her lips, and she parted them slightly.

Then, the shadows of her eyes vanished and she felt him disappear. She opened her eyes swiftly to watch him spin around and take a few steps away, smirking. "Nope."

"You jerk!" Rin exclaimed indignantly, chasing after the boy and he laughed and took off.

Rin smiled at that memory, but the pain in her heart seemed only to worsen. She used her sleeve to brush tears from her gaze and murmured, "I'm so lonely, Len."

Author's Note: You didn't really think Rin was going to be nice just like that, did you? No, she's far more stubborn than that. Aria is my name for IA. Yeah, I don't have much to say about this chapter because I might give away the story if I do. Hope you enjoyed it.