A/N: So, this was originally just going to be another couple chapters of fluff, but then I had this really good idea in the middle of biology yesterday...

Yeah.

To the guest reviewer: thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it!

Also, I don't know if I've said this before, but my friend edits these for me. Thanks, friend, for making sure all this doesn't suck.

Enjoy!

"Yuu! You need to focus on school and stop thinking about Mika! Romance can wait!"

Yuu snapped out of his daydream of Mika when he heard Yoichi's voice in his head. He hadn't realized that he had drifted off into a daydream, and cursed himself for it when he heard Shinoa chime in with an "Ooooohhhhh, the cherry boy's dreaming about his precious love!"

"Shinoa, stop calling me that!" thought Yuu back to her. "Thanks for snapping me out of it, Yoichi. I need to pay more attention to this."

Calmly blocking Shinoa's mocking laughter and Yoichi's projected happiness out of his mind, Yuu turned his attention back to the lesson. Though some might not have believed it, he was a very diligent student, pulling relatively good grades in every class that he took. He hadn't always been, but he had come to the realization that he actually needed good grades to achieve his dreams, so he started working harder.

As Yuu listened to the teacher talk about the experiment they were going to do in class that day, he accidentally tuned out again and started thinking about the time when he first met Shinoa and Yoichi. At the time, they were all 12 year olds. Shinoa was much like she was now, confident and sassy, whereas Yoichi was had not come out of his shell yet and was still incredibly shy. That had certainly changed.

When Yuu had met them, he was mostly just astounded to find that he was not the only mind reader. His early years had made him feel so alone that when he found them, it was the happiest he had been. Even after he met Mika and became his friend, he hadn't been so happy. With Shinoa and Yoichi, he knew that there wasn't anything wrong with him, that he wasn't a freak like his parents had told him.

Yuu snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his classmates get up from their seats. He quickly rushed over to Shinoa and Yoichi, asking, "Wait, what are we doing?"

"Yuu, weren't you paying attention?" asked Yoichi, looking shocked.

"No," Yuu said sheepishly. "I may or may not have zoned out again. Anyway, what's the lab?"

Mika, who had overheard Yuu's last sentence, walked over and said in the most exasperated tone possible, "We're burning sticks with different chemicals on them and trying to figure out what those chemicals are. Honestly, Yuu, you need to pay more attention in class."

Yuu merely nodded in agreement and said, "Hey Mika, want to be in our group?"

"No, I'm in a group with some other people," said Mika flatly.

"Wait, Mika-" started Yuu, reaching a hand out to grab Mika's shoulder, but he was too late. Mika had turned quickly and walked away, ignoring Yuu. He stopped, slowly put his hand down, and sighed. Turning to face his friends who looked at him sympathetically, he asked them, "Shinoa, Yoichi, what do I do? I can't take this anymore." He had so many emotions he wanted to put into words, but he couldn't say anything anymore; the words just wouldn't come out. The pain was overwhelming him, but it didn't matter what he said, because they could read his mind and had heard these thoughts a thousand times anyway.

He sat down again and put his head into his hands. "I just want my Mika back. Is that too much to ask?"

Shinoa looked down at him sadly and said, "Yuu, you can't tell him. If you do, you put everyone else in danger."

Yuu sighed and said, "I know, I know. I really wish I could, though."

Mika cringed as he walked towards Rene and Lacus, putting on his best poker face before he got there. There was no need for them to see his inner turmoil. He hoped Yuu hadn't seen the expression on his face either; he didn't need to show Yuu how angry he was and make him ask what was wrong. That wasn't what they were anymore; they might have been that close at one time, but they certainly weren't now.

"Are you okay, Mika?" Rene asked, facing Mika with a forced smile on his face. Mika merely smiled and nodded, but inside, he was kicking himself. It seemed he wasn't as composed as he thought he was. This was the second time today he'd dropped his guard in front of the people he needed to hide from the most, and he couldn't seem to stop.

He really didn't want to be rude at all, but he couldn't help but spit out the first thing that came to mind whenever he was around Yuu anymore, no matter if it was nice or not. And he hated himself for it, because all it did was hurt them both. He could tell that Yuu was feeling down, especially from the strained way he had asked him to wait, but he couldn't do anything about it. All he wanted to do was march back to Yuu's group, grab his face in his hands, and kiss him hard, but of course, he couldn't. He'd be rejected immediately, and even if he wasn't, he couldn't put Yuu in danger like that.

Mika sighed. He had to pull away; it was for the best. He couldn't be with Yuu for more than one reason, so it was better if he left now and saved everyone some heartbreak. Besides, Mika convinced himself, Yuu could survive without him. He was sure of it.

Yeah, not as much fluff in this one. I needed to build up the plot a little. Hope you liked it! Come say hi on Tumblr at purple-dragon or my writing blog, violaceous-draconic-writings. Have any headcanons for OnS?