I am terribly sorry that it took me so long to update this story. If there is anyone who would still be interested to read this story, by all means, enjoy~

Chapter 2

"Nee... Rei-chan, why were you so angry yesterday?" asked Nagisa. He had been chasing Rei around the whole morning to ask him about his weird behaviour yesterday.

"I already answered you that I am just tired. Would you like to stop asking me already, Nagisa-kun?" asked Rei, but Nagisa was still talking and asking non-stop. Rei did not really know what he was talking about as he was paying full attention to Makoto and Haruka's conversation.

'He is having dark circles under his eyes. Has he been crying all night yesterday?' thought Rei worriedly, completely ignoring Nagisa's questions.

"Haru, are you coming to my house later?" asked Makoto, but Haruka merely gave him a puzzled look. Knowing that Haruka must have forgotten, he continued, "Somewhere around last week, you had promised Ren and Ran that you are going to spend time with them today."

Before Haruka managed to reply Makoto, someone from behind interrupted them. It was Rin who called out to Haruka.

"Rin-chan, are you here to take your boyfriend? Although you are Haru-chan's boyfriend, but he is still in our team, you know?" joked Nagisa.

"I have a date with Haru today," smiled Rin.

"Eh, how nice~" teased Nagisa.

"It is fine, Haru. Go and enjoy yourself. I will explain to Ren and Ran about it."

"Is it really alright?" asked Haruka, feeling sorry about it.

"Sure," smiled Makoto. With that, Haruka and Rin walked away.

"Haru-chan and Rin-chan are so sweet. They made me feel like falling in love too," said Nagisa cheerfully as both Rei and him walked, preparing to leave the school. One of a sudden, Rei just stopped in his tracks, causing Nagisa to look back.

"Rei-chan, are you not going back?" asked Nagisa.

"I have something else to do. Please go back first," said Rei simply.

Rei walked back to the pool and found Makoto there. He saw Makoto was swimming in the pool, so he kept his silence and quietly watched the elder man swim. Makoto on the other side thought everyone had already left, he thought he was finally alone. He was swimming in a rather fast speed, as if he was trying to battle against the water. After swimming to and fro under water for several rounds, Makoto finally went up to the surface to get some fresh air. As Makoto pushed his bangs up, Rei could see a drop of tear fell from Makoto's right eye. Some people might mistakenly thought that it was merely water on his face, but Rei was sure that he could see tears dropping out of his eye.

Rei walked forward towards where Makoto were and he held out his left hand to him. Makoto was surprised to see that there were other people who have not left. He was sure he was alone a few minutes ago. He simply put a smile on his face, but deep within his heart, he was wishing Rei did not see any tears on his face. The water should have been mixed with his tears, so there should not been anything to worry about.

"Thanks, Rei," said Makoto as he reached the approached hand and left the pool.

"Why are you still here? I thought you left," said Makoto.

Rei didn't reply him but pulled him into an embrace instead.

"R-Rei?"

Makoto sounded surprised, but Rei didn't care. He continued and tightened the embrace for several minutes until Makoto suddenly decided to push him away.

"Hey, Rei… What are you doing? You are acting weird today."

"Makoto-senpai, about yesterday…" began Rei as he made eye contact with Makoto.

Makoto blushed at the mentioning of yesterday. He knew that Rei definitely saw him crying, how foolish he was. He had simply cried at the side of the road without thinking of the consequences, and now he was feeling ashamed that Rei had seen him in that state. He should have cried in a place where no one would be able to see him, but he was well aware that he was not using his brain much to think yesterday.

"I am very serious with what I said," finished Rei.

"Eh?"

Makoto was again surprised with Rei's words, which was then it struck him that Rei had confessed his love for him yesterday.

"I know that you like Haruka-senpai, but I hope that you can give me a chance to prove my love for you," said Rei.

"Rei, I…"

Makoto didn't know what he should say. He was speechless at this point, just like yesterday when Rei suddenly confessed to him. Truthfully, he was a little grateful to Nagisa who appeared just in time to destroy the awkward situation. If Nagisa hadn't appeared, he really didn't know how to handle the situation. However, now that Nagisa was gone, he once again did not know how to handle Rei.

"I know you are feeling confused right now, but I just want you to know that I really do love you, I was not joking yesterday," said Rei before he pulled Makoto into a hug again and continued, "And I will be here for you as long as you need me."

Touched by his words, Makoto unintentionally returned the hug as the two of them stayed in the position for a while.

"Rei, there is really no need for you to walk me back. I have already troubled you too much today," said Makoto.

"I am doing this willingly, Makoto-senpai" said Rei, smiling and adjusting his spectacles at the same time.

"Really, thanks a lot, Rei. How should I say...? I really appreciate you, being here for me," said Makoto sincerely, smiling. Rei returned the smile with his.

Not long after, they finally reached Makoto's house. Rei stopped in his steps when Makoto took out his keys and opened the door.

"Well then, I will take my leave first. I will see you to–"

Their conversation was interrupted by Ren and Ran running out to hug Makoto.

"Oni-chan, today oni-chan is late, and where is Haru-chan? Besides, who is this guy? Your new friend?" asked the twins while clinging onto their elder brother's arm. Makoto was a little shocked to hear the first question. He had been so busy of feeling sad that Haru and Rin were already together, and he had totally forgotten that he had promised his siblings he would walk back with Haru together after school.

"Haru... Haru had something to do, something very important to him that he is unable to play with the two of you," said Makoto, smiling sadly. He could see his siblings looking disappointed and sad after he told them that Haru had broken his promise with them.

"But… I want Haru-chan!" exclaimed Ren sadly.

"I want to play with Haru-chan too. Haru-chan promised that he would play with me today," said Ran.

"Maybe… next time?" Makoto sounded unsure. He was not sure that if there would still be a chance where Haruka would enter his house. He wasn't even sure how much time left that he could spend his time with Haruka. Just like Ren and Ran, he wanted to see Haruka as well. The Tachibana family really seemed to love Haruka very much.

"Makoto-senpai."

Makoto's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Rei calling his name. Oh no, he was so focused on thinking about Haruka that he had forgotten that Rei was still there.

"Makoto-senpai, if you don't mind, I can spend time here to help you take care of your siblings since I don't have plans for later anyway."

"That would be too troublesome. These two kids aren't easy to take care of."

"I can do it. I can take good care of them just like how Haruka-senpai can do it."

Rei sounded so determined. Makoto didn't know Rei loved kids so much.

"Are you sure?" asked Makoto.

"Yes," answered Rei and he knelt down and smiled to the kids before telling them, "Alright, let me play with you all today."

"I want to play that!" pointed Ren as Ran pulled Rei towards the direction that Ren was pointing. Makoto smiled slightly, feeling relieved that he had such a supporting friend like Rei.

"Thanks a lot, Rei. You are really good with kids," said Makoto as he offered Rei a cup of water.

"It's nothing. They are very adorable," said Rei, taking the offered drinks.

"It's getting late. Shouldn't you go back already?"

"Yes, I guess I should be going now," said Rei, taking his bag before standing up. Makoto stood up as well, as he went to take his key to open the door for Rei.

"Bye, see you in school tomorrow," said Makoto to Rei who was already standing outside of the house. Rei turned, but Makoto did not close the door yet. He was waiting for Rei to disappear from his sight. A few minutes after he closed the door, his cell phone rang. He ran over to answer his phone. It was Rei calling him.

"Rei, what's wrong? Did you forget something?" asked Makoto with his eyes looking all over the house, searching for anything that his friend might have left.

"No… I didn't forget anything."

"Eh? Then, what's wrong?" asked Makoto again, curiously.

"Erm… Makoto-senpai, I just wanted to tell you to rest earlier. If you happened to be awake, thinking of something you didn't want to think about, you can always call me. I will answer your call no matter where I am or what time it is," finished Rei.

Makoto widened his eyes, hearing those words coming out from none other than Rei's lips.

"Thank you very much. You should also sleep earlier. You must be very tired today."

"Yes, I will. Goodnight," said Rei.

"Goodnight," replied Makoto as he ended the call.

That night, both Makoto and Rei had a good sleep. The night before, Makoto was unable to sleep well because he was thinking about Haruka the whole night, but right now, even if there was something in his brain, it would be something related to Rei.

Next week was an exam week. It was another chance for Makoto to forget about Haruka as he needed to prepare for exams.

"Exams are finally over!" exclaimed Nagisa joyfully.

"What about we go to the theme park today? I want to relax a bit," asked Nagisa as he impatiently looked around to seek for an answer.

"I am tired. I will go home now," answered Rei, breaking Nagisa's heart.

As Rei stood up to leave, both Makoto and Haruka also stood up, following Rei's steps.

"Maybe next time, Nagisa," said Makoto.

"Mako-chan! Please? I will die if I don't find a way to relax myself. Just this once, please?" begged Nagisa, showing Makoto his usual puppy eyes which had always only worked on the older guy.

Nagisa could see Makoto hesitating, so this would be his chance.

"It's alright then. I will quietly go home myself," said Nagisa in a very sad tone. He knew Makoto would not let him return home sadly.

"Nagisa? Alright then, I can go with you."

"Wait, Makoto-senpai?" called Rei, unbelievable. Why did Nagisa always knew how to make Makoto agree to his unreasonable requests.

And so, Nagisa ended up pulling Makoto, Haruka and Rei to the theme park with him.

"Finally here! Let's start with the Techno Jump first!" exclaimed Nagisa excitedly as he pulled Haruka with him, knowing that if he did not catch him in time, he would definitely disappear to somewhere else with water.

Makoto smiled, seeing how happy Nagisa was, and how he managed to pull Haruka along, whose eyes were still on the nearby water pool. Rei, who stood behind everyone, smiled as he saw Makoto smiled. He really felt like thanking Nagisa for always making Makoto smiled. Sometimes, he would think of how he should learned from Nagisa so he would be able to always make Makoto smile, but he soon gave up as he really couldn't be like Nagisa. To Rei, Nagisa was most probably the hardest character for him to copy.

Nagisa then immediately stood in line and bought four tickets.

"Next, let's have the roller coaster!"

With that, Nagisa promptly went and buy tickets again.

"Now is time for pirate ship!"

And then Nagisa went to buy tickets again.

"Next will be Bayern Curve!"

"Next will be Devil's Wheel!"

Nagisa would just keep announcing what will be next, and everyone gave the duty of buying tickets to Nagisa, and soon no more caring of what will be next. Wherever Nagisa went, they followed behind.

And soon, when the sky was about to turn dark, the guys still kept following behind Nagisa, not knowing which rides they will be going next. No one even bothered to see what place they were entering. It was then after Nagisa showed the tickets to those amusement park workers, the four of them entered a dark area. Then, Makoto heard someone shouted, and immediately realized that it was a haunted house. Makoto tried to exit, but was pulled back by Nagisa again.

"Come on, Mako-chan. It is more interesting to enter with everyone," said Nagisa, smiling.

As Makoto tried to leave again, Nagisa pushed everyone deep into the haunted house. Out of habit, Makoto hid behind Haruka's back, as though Haruka would be his shield. Rei felt disappointed. If only his Makoto-senpai could trust him as much as he trusted Haruka. If only his Makoto-senpai would hide behind him instead. If only he could tell his Makoto-senpai that there was no need to be afraid as he would be there to protect him despite the fact that he was afraid of it as well.

One of a sudden, Nagisa felt something touched his legs and jumped to Haruka and hugged him. Feeling afraid that something weird might be on the floor, Makoto unconsciously stepped backwards, accidentally pushing Rei who was standing behind him and they both ended up falling onto the floor.

"Sorry, Rei," apologized Makoto.

"Makoto, are you alright?" asked Haruka.

"Yes, I am fine," answered Makoto as both Rei and him stood up. When they were about to walk forward, a large stone was dropped, separating the group.

"Makoto!" called Haruka.

"Haru, Nagisa!" shouted Makoto.

"The road is blocked," Rei's voice could be heard from the other side.

"There should be another road to turn. Mako-chan and Rei-chan can use the road. We will meet at the entrance later," said Nagisa.

"Haru-chan, let's go," said Nagisa as he pulled Haruka to walk forward. Haruka was reluctant to leave. Makoto must be extremely afraid right now. He needed to be there for him. However, given this situation, there was absolutely nothing he could do. He had no choice but to faster get out of this place and meet up with Makoto as soon as possible.

"Makoto-senpai, here. Drink some water first," offered Rei as he gave him the mineral water that he had just bought nearby.

Makoto thanked Rei and immediately drank the water. The water helped to calm him down. Thanks to Nagisa, this was his first time entering a haunted house, and definitely the last time as well. Never again would he even get near a haunted house. That was a terrible experience he had just had.

"Are you alright, Makoto-senpai?"

"Yes, I am better. Thanks, Rei."

"That Nagisa-kun has really gone overboard this time. I will give him a nice scolding when I see him later."

"That's fine."

"No, he deserves at least a little of scolding. You are way too kind, Makoto-senpai. You should not always give whatever Nagisa-kun wants. You will spoil him that way."

"Well, I am sorry for that," apologized Makoto.

"Erm, no… That is not what I mean. It is just that I feel like Makoto-senpai is always caring about other people's needs and neglects your own needs. You seem like you always give advantages to other people and keep all the disadvantages to yourself."

"Is that so? I just think that I should help whoever who needs help."

"Makoto-senpai, sometimes you need to think for yourself first. You should not keep on trying to please everyone. You will only end up hurting yourself. That's why I am here. You can use me as much as you like."

Makoto blushed at the statement. Rei's honesty had really surprised him to no end.

"Thanks, Rei."

With that, both of them silently sat there, waiting for Haruka and Nagisa to come out and meet them.

However, after remaining in their position for quite some time, Haruka and Nagisa still can't be seen. That was when Rei decided that it would be a waste to just sit there and do nothing. He finally found a chance to be alone with Makoto, he should do something with him.

"Erm, Makoto-senpai… since there is still time, what about we take a ride at the Ferris wheel?"

"Sure."

As they entered the ferris wheel, both were relaxing themselves before Rei suddenly pointed out that there was a drawing on the seat.

"Woah, must be left by some kids," commented Makoto.

"It's cute," said Rei as he turned to face Makoto.

As both their faces met, they realized the distance between them was too close. Rei unconsciously moved towards Makoto as their lips were getting closer each second. Just when they were about to touch each other's lips, Makoto moved backwards and stood up.

"Sorry," murmured Rei.

"It's nothing," answered Makoto simply.

"Makoto-senpai, do you have a pen with you?" asked Rei.

"I do have one. What do you want with it?"

Before Rei could answer, the ferris wheel had stopped and the door was opening, allowing everyone to get down.

"I will be out later," said Rei as he took the pen from Makoto. Makoto then got down first. After a few seconds, Rei went down too and returned the pen to him.

"Did you write something on it?" asked Makoto as he kept the pen back into his pocket.

"It's a secret," answered Rei, smiling.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

Author's note : First of all, I apologize again that I took so long to update this story. Secondly, I am sorry if my English is terrible and if there are many grammar mistakes. Thirdly, I think I am quite bad at describing a situation, but I hope dear readers manage to understand my story so far. Thank you very much for reading. I will try my best to update the next chapter as soon as possible.