A whole week went by. Rika had begun leaving early from school, leaving Akaya to walk home on his own from tennis practice. Akaya wasn't really worried but Yukimura was. He didn't even get a chance to apologise to Rika since she had been avoiding him. He had checked all her usual spots for lunch or breaks but never found her. He had to hand it to her, she managed to leave the minute Yukimura or any other tennis regulars entered a room.
"We followed her out of school once. Guess where we found her" Niou said during lunch.
"Where?" Sanada asked before Yukimura could.
"At a maid's cafe. We didn't go in but we saw her go in and she didn't leave until the cafe was shut" Yagyuu replied.
"Maid cafe?" Yukimura's heart almost dropped. He just remember the headlines he had read yesterday about maid stalkers and prostitution in maid cafes.
"Aren't maid cafes cute and girly? Rika-chan is super adorable. The customers will like her for sure" Marui said.
"How do we know she's a maid? She could be a cook or just a ordinary dish preparator" Yanagi asked.
"Lets go after school and find out" Niou replied with a twinkle in his eye.
They headed to the same maids cafe and entered. Sanada flinched visibly as a girl dressed in a maids outfit welcomed them in her high pitched voice. They all sat down at separate table, four each and ordered something to eat or drink. Yanagi ignored his surroundings and began scribbling away in his notebook.
"There's Rika-chan" Niou said. Yukimura whirled around and winced as he snapped his neck. Rika was on the phone talking to someone while writing in a large notebook.
"You guys are friends of Rika-chan?" The maid who had welcomed them in poised the question.
"I'm her brother and these are her friends from the tennis club at school" Kirihara replied.
"Oh, you're her twin brother. Should I call her over?"
"No, it's fine" Yukimura replied hastily.
"Rika-chan!" A maid from another table called out to Rika who looked up. She spotted the tennis regulars and sighed to her herself. She left the phone and headed over to the maid who had called her. She ignored the tennis regulars entirely and then returned to her seat at the counter near the phones.
Yukimura got up and walked over to her. She looked down at the notebook and ignored Yukimura.
"Rika-chan" Yukimura spoke but Rika didn't look at him.
"I'm really sorry, Rika-chan. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know you trust me a lot and to have me say something like that would have shattered your trust in me. I was just really worried about you and got carried away. I hope you can forgive me"
Rika didn't budge and Yukimura sighed. He was about to turn around when he felt something catch his hand. He turned back around and then smiled when he saw Rika smiling up at him. Before he knew what he was doing, he had bent down had pressed a kiss against Rika's forehead. Rika didn't freeze but grinned just a little more. The phone rang and she hurried to answer it.
Yukimura went back to his table, his heart beating a mile a minute. He couldn't believe he had just done that. The glare Sanada was giving him was enough. Niou's smirk and Yagyuu's small smile made Yukimura glance over at Kirihara who had not witnessed anything because he was being sufficiently distracted by Marui and Jackal. Yanagi had not looked up from his scribbling at all.
Rika walked home with the rest of the tennis regulars this evening. Niou, Kirihara, Marui and Jackal walked ahead from the rest. Sanada strode along the road alone while Yukimura walked with Yanagi. Rika and Yagyuu brought up the rear while walking in silence.
"Rika-chan, do you mind if I ask you something?" Yagyuu spoke up.
"You already did but go ahead" Rika replied making Yagyuu smile.
"My father is insisting on taking me for dance lessons and I don't have a partner at all. Do you think you can be my partner. The dance lessons are free if you agree"
"That sounds interesting, Yagyuu senpai. I would love to. Are the lessons on weekends?"
"On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings. I'll take you home after if you want" Yagyuu replied.
"I'd love to be your dance partner, senpai" Rika said.
"Thank you"
Niou's home came first so he waved goodbye before taking a left. Sanada left as well saying he had a few errands to run before going home. Rika and Akaya got to her home third and said their goodbyes. That night, Rika stayed awake waiting for a documentary that she had to write a report on. She flicked through the channels and then stopped. There was a movie coming on and she quickly got sucked into the story.
Her eyes watched the female lead fall in love with a random girl in her class that no one really noticed. Their accidental meeting in the toilets when a gun went off at the school. Their combined fear while being confronted by the gunman made them find friends in each other. Before leaving for college both friends make promises to come back to their small hometown once more.
The female lead finds a life of acting and singing enjoyable. She returns to the hometown after five years to find her friend married with two kids. However, a sudden twist arrived when the friend was being abused by her husband. The female lead then rescues the children and takes her friend away from the town. The friend falls for the female lead and goes through a year of confusion before decided to confess. They lived happily ever after with the two children.
Rika smiled when the movie ended and then found the documentary. However, she fell asleep right on the couch.
"I love you, Rika-chan"
Rika smiled before leaning up to kiss An chastely. An's lips were soft and sticky because of the lipgloss she was wearing but then they suddenly turned a little rough but not too much. Rika pulled away and then her eyes widened.
"I love you Rika-chan" Yukimura said with a sweet smile.
Rika stepped back in horror but Yukimura wrapped his arms around her, caging her effectively.
"No!" Rika shot awake, breathing hard. She glanced wildly at the clock and noted that she had slept the night away on the couch. Her knees were shaking violently as she stood and headed to the bathroom. Her dream had shaken her more than she wanted to admit.
