Akito's pov:

"Akito, wake up. Wake up, Akito" Yumeko whispers as she shakes me, trying to get me to wake up.

I groan as I raise my head to see our teacher staring at me with an intense look, not breaking eye contact and the glass erupting into laughter.

"The teacher has called your name three times now" Yumeko states.

"I'm sorry, I guess I just dozed off again" I apologize and the class starts laughing.

I'm Akito Ashida and I'm currently in my economics class. The girl who just woke me up, is my adorable girlfriend, Yumeko Hayami.

We've been together for seven months now and I've never been happier. She just... completes me, ya know.

"Akito" Yumeko slaps the back of my head.

"Sorry".

Aannnnddd, I zoned out again. Why do I keep doing this? I have no clue myself.

"You're such a child" she says shaking her head.

"Yeah I know" I sigh.

The moment the bell rings, indicating that it is now lunch time, Minami shows up like a ghost in front of my desk.

"Sup Aki" he says saluting me.

"Yo, Minami" I say as I salute back.

We leave class and make our way down the busy hallways and up to the roof.

"You've been zoning out a lot recently, huh?" Minami asks me, digging into his takoyaki.

"I guess. I can't seem to understand why tho" I say unwrapping my lunch.

"Could it be you're daydreaming about a certain someone" he asks with a smirk.

"Who the heck could I possibly be daydreaming about" I sigh

"Yumeko, perhaps." He looks at me with takoyaki in his mouth.

"No! You moron" I state, wiping the sauce from my face.

Okay, maybe I do daydream about Yumeko sometimes. But only because I can't believe that I actually got her to be my girlfriend.

She always seemed out of my league and was someone who I never even dreamed of dating.

She had this demanding aura that kinda scared me.

But somehow, after spending time with her, I realised that she was just a huge softie hiding behind a tough exterior.

"Speaking of Yumeko, aren't you guys making 7 months together in few days" he asks.

"Oh, yeah I guess we are. Next week Thursday to be exact."

"You gonna get her anything for the special day?"

"I don't know. She's still pretty upset with with me"

"Oh, did something happen"

"I helped a girl at the convenience store reach something that she wasn't able to reach and she's made a huge fuss about it. She even told me to get that girl a gift this month."

"But you guys did make up right?"

That's something I didn't know the answer to myself. Sure we seemed okay and Yumeko say's that we are, but I can still tell that she's upset about it.

"Not exactly 100%."

"Just talk to her Aki. She might just be feeling insecure about it" he advises me.

"Why though? She knows that she's the only girl I ever wanna be with. I'd never look at other girls the way I look at her." I state, taking another bite of sushi.

"She won't know unless you tell her. In her mind, other girls still have a way of getting to you"

"Fine, I'll try talking to her about it again" I sigh.

As I continue to futher indulge myself in my sushi, Yumeko walks up to us and yells my name for no reason at all.

"Hey, Yumeko. Is something wrong" I ask her nervously.

"Can you do me a favour" she asks with a stern look on her face.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Can I borrow your English textbook? I forgot to pack mine this morning."

"Yeah, it's in my bag back in class" I tell her.

"You're not gonna go get it for me" she asks, a bit annoyed.

I swear with the look she had in her eye, she was ready to kill me then and there.

"You want me to get it for you?"

I probably shouldn't have asked that. She looks way more furious now.

"I don't know, Aki. You tell me" she loudly states.

"Wha- Why are you so upset? If you wanted me to get if for you, you could've just asked me."

As the two of us stand there 'talking' to one another, Minami just sits back and watches everything with a worried look on his face.

"Nevermind, Akito! I'll go get it myself" she says, completely upset.

"No, wait here, I'll go get it for you" I say as I run off to class.

I grab the book from my bag and try to get back to Yumeko as fast as I can, but as I near the top of the roof, I can over hear Yumeko and Minami talking.

I decide to stay still and hide by the stairs to listen in on their conversation.

Oh please. Sure it's a bit stalkish, but it's for a good cause.

"You seemed really upset Yumeko. Is something wrong" Minami asks her.

"No, nothing's wrong" she replys to him.

There she goes again. Pretending to not be upset.

"Well alright. I won't pry any further." Minami says, sitting back down.

"You're Aki's best friend, right" she questions him.

"Yeah."

"Do you know if Aki is seeing someone behind my back" she asks him, sounding a lot more timid than she was when she spoke to me.

"You mean as in cheating?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"Of course not. Akito loves you too much to even think about other girls".

"I know he loves me, but I just have an uneasy feeling that he might be talking to other girls behind my back" she says, gripping the side of her skirt.

"You never have to worry about that. Besides, even if he did, I'd knock his teeth out before he even gets the chance to properly introduce himself" he says with a devilish grin.

I appreciate that he's trying to reassure her, but saying some absurd stuff like that is kinda scary.

"Thanks, Minami. I really appreciate it. I'll apologize for being so hard on Aki." she says with a smile on her face.

I do a little jog in the same spot before I head back up to the two of them.

I dash through the door trying to catch my breath as I hand the book over to Yumeko.

"Here, sorry I took so long".

"It's okay, thanks Akito." shes says with a softened expression.

She places a kiss on my cheeck and smiles at me.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you for no reason and for being upset that you helped that girl at the convenience store. You were just being kind and I let my insecurities get the better of me" she apologizes, using her hair to cover up her slightly red cheecks.

"It's okay. I'm sorry that I made you feel that way" I embrace her in a hug and she hugs me back tightly.

As we hold each other, I feel a sense of peace wash over me. I know that Yumeko is the one for me, and I'm grateful for her honesty.

After a moment, we pull back, and I look into her eyes. "Hey, let's make a deal," I say, a smile spreading across my face.

"What kind of deal?" she asks, her curiosity piqued.

"Let's make a deal to always be honest with each other, no matter what. If we're feeling jealous or insecure, we'll talk about it, and we'll work through it together."

Yumeko's face lights up with a smile. "I'd like that," she says, her voice filled with conviction.

I grin, feeling a sense of excitement. "Great! And to seal the deal, let's share our first kiss under the school's famous 'Love sanctuary' tree."

Yumeko's eyes widen in surprise, but then a sly smile spreads across her face.

"You're on," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

We make our way to the tree, our hearts racing with excitement. As we stand under its branches, I take Yumeko's hand in mine, and we share a soft, sweet kiss.

As we pull back, I look into her eyes, and I know that our love is the real deal. We may have our ups and downs, but we'll face them together, always honest and always true to each other.

The rest of the day flies by in a blur, but I know that I'll never forget this moment, this kiss, and this promise we've made to each other.

The bell rings and classes start to empty as the students make their way out of their classes to head home while others go to their after school clubs.

As we make our way down the busy streets of Tokyo, I notice that Yumeko seems to be falling behind.

I turn around to see that she looks a bit distorted and walk up to her, placing my hands on her shoulders.

"Is everything okay" I ask her, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, everything's fine" she says, still looking down.

"Come on, you know you can talk to me if something's on your mind" I tell her, raising her eyes to meet mine.

"I feel bad for making you worry so much" she mutters in a soft tone.

Looking at her now, she's so cute.

Her eyes are all big and her cheeks are bright red.

I pat her on her head and she let's out a slight giggle as I continue to ruff up her hair.

"We already spoke about that. It's all in the past now."

"Thanks, Aki."

For some reason, head pats always make Yumeko feel better. She's like a puppy who just wants constant love and attention.

Which is so freakin adorable!!

"Today sure was busy, huh" Yumeko implies, tying up her hair into a pony tail.

"It sure was. I couldn't catch a break" I say, swinging my arms back and forth.

"Couldn't catch a break? Aki, you slept through almost every class we got today" she states, adjusting her bag on her back.

"Well it wasn't enough sleep. I'm exhausted" I yawn, while Yumeko giggles from beside me.

We stop to get some pork buns and right after, I drop Yumeko off and make my way home.

Considering that I'm home alone tonight, I think I'll just stay in my room and study.

Gotta keep my grades up if I wanna better my future.

Sigh...

I get home and immediately throw my bag on the couch and head upstairs.

I lay on my bed and start to think about possible gifts to get for Yumeko.

With nothing coming to mind, I decide to search up something online.

'Special gifts to get for your girlfriend'. I browse through the countless options of necklaces, bracelets and hair accessories on the site until something catches my eye.

A pair of heart shaped earings with her initial in the middle of it.

That seems kinda cute and like the type of thing Yumeko would like.

...

I suddenly hear the door knob turn from downstairs followed by the door opening.

Wait, didn't I lock the door when I got back?

I could've swron I did.

Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from downstairs, I grab a textbook from my study desk and slowly make my way downstairs.

Suddenly, I heat a familiar voice call my name and I immediately lower the textbook realising who it was.

"Mom!" I shout seeing her home again after so long.

Without wasting another second I run down the stairs and wrap my arms around her.

"Oh- Hey my baby" she says in a soft tone.

Normally, I'd hate being called baby, but I haven't seen my mom in so long that I didn't even care.

"You're finally home again" I say pulling away.

"Yeah. I got a week off from work."

She sits down in the living room and lets out a sigh of relief.

My mom's a doctor and normally works at facilities in a different city that require her assistace.

So she's normally not home.

There are times she'd stay at the facility for months without coming home, so I'm really glad to see her back home again.

"At least you get a break even if it's not for that long" I say sitting on the couch opposite from her.

"I know, especially since I'm gonna be transferred to a new facility in Shibuya next week."

Shibuya!!?

Okay, that's crazy.

My mom's never been that far from home before.

I don't have a problem with her leaving and all.

I mean my mom still calls me every night and makes sure that I have everything I need and that I'm okay.

"You're going to Shibuya?! That's awesome, mom! I'm really happy for you!" I shout in excitement.

"Thanks, sweetie. By the way, what did you make for dinner? I'm starving."

Oh crap!

I didn't cook anything because I thought I was gonna alone again tonight.

"I didn't make anything, but I can run to the store quickly to get something" I offer.

Despite it almost being dark out, I wouldn't mind running to the store.

I mean, it's for my mom.

"You sure, I don't want you be out this late" my mom says a bit concerned.

"Give me 20 minutes, I'll be back before you know it".

Before my mom could say anything, I storm out of the house and make my way to the store.

"What would mom wanna eat" I ask myself standing in the middle of the Isle.

I probably should've asked her bedore I left, huh?

I know...

I'll get ramen, just like how we always used to have together when we'd have our movie nights.

We could watch a movie too, if mom's not too tired.

I get about 4 cups of ramen, pay for it (like the good person I am) and make my way home.

Woah, the stars are already out.

I really love the night sky, it calms me down instantly and makes me feel whole.

While I'm busy admiring the stars about 3 blocks away fromy house, I hear a distant voice screaming out for... what sounds to be for help?

I decide to follow the voice to a dark alley with barely anyone around.

I take a peek and find a elderly man, drunk out of his mind, pinning what seems to be a highschool girl against the wall.

I drop the plastic and immediately push the guy off of her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard?" I shout as I stand infront of the girl trying to protect her.

I turn my attention to the gir who's shaking behind me.

"Listen to me, run away from here and get yourself to safety" I instruct her.

"But what about you" she mumbles, trying to gather a breath.

"I'll be fine, No GO!"

She takes off and once she's around the corner, I turn my attention back to the guy.

"You punk! You ruined my night" he says, making his way back to his feet.

"What sort of a man picks on a teenage girl like that"

"We had something special! And you just came and ruined it all!"

He constantly sways back and forth from all the alcohol in his system.

He attemps to punch me but I avoid it and tackle him to the ground.

Without me noticing, he grabs a glass bottle from the side of the road and in an instant, I feel a sharp pain in the side of my head.

He hit me with the damn bottle!

The bastard hit me!

While I struggle to remain conscience, the man dissapears around the corner, leaving me with blood dripping from the right side of my head.

I try my best to make it back to my feet, grab the plastic and drag myself all the way home.

The moment I set foot in the house, I am immediately confronted by my half asleep, worried mother.

"Aki, what happened to you?! Are you okay? You're bleeding!"

She examines my head and without a second thought, grabs the first aid kit from the cabinet, not even waiting for my response.

She applies some disinfectant and treats the wound before wrapping a bandage around my head.

I feel like a mummy right now..

Boo!

Too weird?

Okay I'll stop.

"Wow, your hair's really gotten longer, huh" she says out of nowhere, examining my hair.

She forgot about the wound and is complimenting my hair?

"I guess it has. I never really saw the need to cut it. I just try to get it to look decent for school everyday" I respond to her.

"It's really pretty and soft too. It's reaches all the way to your shoulders" she plays with my hair before tying it up to finish wrapping the bandage around my head.

"Thanks?" Although that came out more like a question.

A little while later, I warm up the ramen and before I could get it to her, my mom passes out on the couch.

I cover her with a blanket and make my way upstairs to my room, throwing myself on the bed.

I find myself thinking about the poor girl in that alley.

What if no one had responded to her call for help?

Who knows what that guy could've done to her? She could've gotten molested or even worse.

I try to drown out those thoughts by staring at the stars through my bedroom window and shortly after, I pass out too.

Akito's pov:

"Akito, wake up sweetie, you're gonna be late for school!" I hear my mom shout from somewhere downstairs.

Ughh, my head. I feel horrible.

I get out of bed and slowly make my way downstairs, leaning against the wall so I don't fall.

"Morning sleepy hea- Aki! Your head." my mom shouts in the middle of her greeting.

I guess she forgot about last night, I mean she was pretty tired.

She asked me about my head and suddenly just changed the topic to how my hair looked before I could even answer her.

"Yeahhh, that's kind of a long story." I nervously say to her.

"Did you hit your head somewhere?" she asks as she once again, examines my head.

"Mom, you did this last night, calm down."

"Did... what last night?" she asks, confused.

"Treated my wound and wrapped this bandage around it," I say pointing at the bandage.

"Oh, I guess I must have forgot."

She takes a seat at the kitchen table and places her head in her palms.

I know my mom's worried about me and already has a lot on her mind as is.

She's so drained that she can't even remember what happened last night. She didn't even eat, she just passed out on the couch.

"It's okay mom."

"What happened though?"

"On my way back from the store last night, I helped a girl in the alley who was in trouble. The guy who cornered her, took a glass bottle and knocked me right on my head."

Damn, telling the story of what happened sounded a lot better in my head.

"Akito! Are you sure you're alright?" mom asks, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, mom. I'm sure. Just a bit dizzy, but I'll be fine." I reassure her.

"That was really brave of you Aki. I'm proud of the fact that you were able to stand up for that defenceless girl. I really raised a strong boy. But you need to be more careful. That man could've done so much worse to you."

Okay, woah!

Instead of shouting about how reckless I was, my mom actually thinks I was brave, and strong!

"Thanks mom, I'll be more careful next time. And yes, you did a very good job raising me." I laugh as I give her a big hug.

"I'm sure you will. Now go and get done, you're gonna be late. And be sure to take it easy today, Aki."

"I will mom!" I nod reluctantly.

"Akiii!!!!"

Probably should've thought about the fact that I have a crazy overprotective girlfriend waiting for me at school.

Though I don't want to worry her too.

"M-morning, Yumeko" I greet awkwardly.

"What the hell happened to your head."

She aggressively grabs my shoulders and starts to shake me.

"I. Hit. My. Head. When. I. Got. Out of the shower" I say as she shakes me.

"Really?"

She suddenly stops and just stares at me with a 'did you really just say that' kinda stare.

Crap, She thinks I'm an idiot...

"Yeahh?" But it came out more as a question.

She takes her seat in the front of the class and places her head on the table.

"Is everything alright" I ask her nervously.

"You really hit your head when you got out of the shower? How clumsy can one person be" she groans.

If I actually told her the truth, she'd lose her marbles and, one, kill me for being reckless and two, think that I have some relation with that girl from the alley.

Besides, me hitting my head as I got out of the shower makes sense. I can be a bit spacey most of the time.

Not that that's a good thing.

I bend down infront of her table and pat her head, to which she responds to with a slight smile and red cheeks.

She really loves head pats and is super adorable when she smiles like that.

"Hey dork" I hear coming from behind me.

Minami...

Can only be him...

"Hey Mina..mi-"

Okay this is definitely not Minami.

It's someone from another class, and they aren't speaking to me, they're talking to... Yumeko?

"Hi, I didn't expect you'd come to my class." Yumeko say's getting out of her seat.

"I guess I'm just full of surprises." the guy says with a smirk.

Okay, who is this guy and why are they so comfy with one another?

"Uhh, who is this" I ask Yumeko.

"Oh, Aki, meet Kenji. He's from the class right down the hall."

"Kenji?"

"Hey, Aki. How's it going?"

He seems friendly enough, but I can't shake the feeling that this guy's sizing me up.

"It's going." I reply curtly, not wanting to engage in small talk.

Yumeko notices the tension between us and steps in, her voice smooth as silk. "Hey, guys, let's not fight. We're all friends here." She smiles at me, her eyes sparkling with warmth. "Aki, you're being a bit grumpy today, aren't you?"

I force a smile, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm just a bit tired, I guess."

Kenji nods sympathetically. "Yeah, I know how that is. Sometimes I feel like I'm running on empty too."

Ya don't say...

"I'm gonna go and find Minami." I grunt as I make my way out.

As I continue to get lost in my head, I feel a light tap on my shoulder from behind me.

"Touka, hey..." I nervously greet.

"How you doing Aki? It's been a while."

She puts her arm around my shoulder and gives me a soft smile.

For Touka to smile like that, I bet there's a massive tsunami or natural disaster going to occur.

Because something like this, doesn't happen too often.

I mean she does smile, just not at me.

"I guess it has."

"You still looking after Yumeko?" she gives me a stern look.

"Yeah, Of course" I mutter.

"What's with that tone? Did something happen with you two" she asks letting go to stand infront of me.

"No, nothing happened. She's in class with some guy" I say as I try to make my way past her.

"And you just left her there alone with him" she questions.

What was I supposed to do? Stay there and have them continue acting like I don't exist.

I think not.

"Yeah, they seem to be getting along well." I say as I force a smile.

"Wow, the trust you have in that girl is amazing. Any other guy would've stood there and kept watching them like a hawk" she says kind of excited.

"Yeahhh, I guess so."

Maybe Touka's right. I should probably just calm down and trust Yumeko. Besides, if she freaked out the way she did because she thought I was cheating on her, then there's no way she'll do what I'm thinking of.

At least I hope so.

Girls tend to be kind of a mystery if you don't know how to read them correctly.

"Where are you off to by the way" Touka asks.

"Oh, I'm actually looking for Minami" I say scanning the hallway.

"He's in the library. I passed him a while ago" she says pointing in the direction of the library.

"Thanks. I'll go get him then."

"Sure. See you around Aki," she says as she waves goodbye. "Be sure to greet everyone for me."

Maybe I over exaggerated when I said she was creepy looking. She's actually not that bad.

Touka used to be a huge part of our friend group and Yumeko's best friend until a few months ago.

She's still Yumeko's best friend, just not necessarily part of the group anymore.

Not that any of us don't want her to be...

She joined a music club and it's taken all her attention since.

She really has a passion for music and dreams of making her own some day.

Anyway, back to my quest to find that nerd of a friend of mine.

"You're probably overthinking it. Yumeko is head over heels for you, there's no way she'd let that guy do what you're thinking" Minami insits.

"I guess you're right. Oh, I ran into Touka this morning when I went looking for you."

"Man! It's been a while since I last saw her" he chuckles.

"Yeah. She seems to be doing okay."

"Things don't feel the same without her, huh? Her awful sense of humour really was a big part of us" he laughs.

"You should go visit her sometimes. You know she's always in the music club, so just stop by and say hi" I implied, getting up from the bench.

"Will do. By the way, where's Yumeko? She was supposed to be here about five minutes ago" Minami questions.

I guess I didn't really notice.

But he's right, she was supposed to be here already.

"I'll go look for her, you gonna wait here?"

"Sure. Be quick!"

Where is she?

I've searched the cafeteria, the classroom, and the library but still no sign of her.

"Oh shut up, you're lying!"

I hear a familiar voice say from the top of the stairs.

I follow after it and find Yumeko... with that guy again.

They're laughing but at what?

I decide to stay hidden a bit and follow them into an empty classroom down the hall.

"Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you totally suck at gaming, Yume" the guy says.

"I know right! Luckily you got to see me in action!"

Yumeko's a gamer?

But I thought she found it distracting...

"We should hit up the arcade again when you're free" the guys implies.

"Sure. Just don't cry to me when you lose" Yumeko smirks.

At that very moment, seeing Yumeko smile at him the way she did... My heart felt like it was gonna come up out of my throat.

I loosen my tie around my neck and turn around to walk away but a student bumps into me and drops his books to the ground.

The sound of the books hitting the ground echos through the halls.

"I'm sorry" I apologise to the boy as I hand him his books.

"No worries." He walks off without saying another word.

"Aki?"

"Oh, hey. There you are"

"Yeah? What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be with Minami on the roof?" she questions.

"I am, but I came looking for you. You were supposed to meet with us ten minutes ago." I state.

"I was just on my way to you guys, there were just a few things I had to do real quick."

"Imma head out, Yume. We'll catch up later" that guy says as he dissapears down the hall.

"Sure." she says waving at him.

"Were you with him?" I ask her.

"Kinda, he wanted to ask me a few questions is all." she calmly states.

"Oh, that's all?" I question.

"Yeah," her eyes move up and down like she's scanning me as she draws closer "why are you so untidy? Your shirt's untucked and your tie is a mess" she sternly states.

"Yeah sorry, I did just bump into someone" I nervously respond.

She fixes my tie and kisses my cheek.

Her smile after she does my tie, makes me feel flustered.

But for some reason, I just can't shake this uneasy feeling.

Days go by with Yumeko and Kenji running off together and laughing.

He even went to her house whereas I, her boyfriend, has never even set foot there or met her parents.

I began to suspect something was going on and eventually, I worked up the courage to ask her about it.

After school, Yumeko and I take our regular route home through the park and stop for icecream on the way.

"One chocolate and one strawberry please" I order from the guy behind the cart.

He hands me the ice cream and after paying, I meet up with Yumeko sitting on a bench under the tree.

"Here, I got you your favourite." I say as I hand her the strawberry ice cream.

"Thanks, Aki."

"Hey, Yumeko... There's something that's been bugging me lately and I wanted to talk to you about it" I say, my voice shaking.

"Sure, what's on your mind?" she asks politely.

I take a deep breath before continuing...

"That guy you're always with, who is he to you"

"Ah, you mean Kenji? He's just my cousin, Aki," Yumeko replies with a smile, taking a lick of her ice cream. "We haven't seen each other in a while, so we were just catching up."

I feel a wave of relief wash over me.

Cousin, that's all. I was worried for nothing.

"Okay, that makes sense," I say, trying to sound casual. "I just didn't know you had a cousin at this school."

"Yeah, we're not super close or anything, but we're related," Yumeko explains. "He's a nice guy, don't worry about it."

I nod, feeling a bit silly for overreacting earlier. "Yeah, no worries. I just wanted to make sure."

Yumeko looks at me with a curious expression. "You were really worried about it, weren't you?"

I shrug, trying to downplay it. "Maybe a little."

"You're the one I love, Akito. No other man is ever going to get in the way of that, okay." her voice soft as she places her hand on mine.

"Yeah. Sorry for making it weird, I guess." I nervously chuckle.

Yumeko laughs and pokes me with her elbow. "You're so cute when you're jealous, Aki."

I roll my eyes, feeling my face heat up. "I'm not jealous, I was just concerned."

Yumeko smiles and leans in close. "Whatever you say. But don't worry, I'm all yours. Afterall, we finally shared our first kiss didn't we..."

I feel my heart skip a beat as she whispers that in my ear.

Yeah, I'm definitely overreacting. Yumeko is mine, and I'm hers.

No need to worry about some random guy.

Akito's pov:

"Woah, that's one ugly fish!" Yumeko shouts as a blobfish swims by the aquarium glass.

"Yeah you're right, it is pretty ugly." I agree with her.

Blobfish are kinda ugly.

After our conversation clearing things up with the whole Kenji situation a few days ago, Me and Yumeko decided to hang out today and came to an aquarium.

"You know, when you scrunch your face everytime you're upset, you kinda look like that fish, Aki" Yumeko teases.

"Uh! You did not just say that!" I retort feeling my face heat up a bit.

"You gonna do something about it, Mr Blobfish?" She smirks.

"How about I have you join them in the large fish bowl they're swimming in?"

"Uh- okay I'll stop."

She surrenders and victory is mine.

Though, I don't think I actually have it in me to throw her into the water.

She's scary and would most likely kill me once she gets out.

"Oh Aki, look. There's a dolphin show later this afternoon. Can we go? Please?!"

A dolphin show does sound fun.

They splash people with water which isn't fun.

"But they're capable of crushing me with their tail" I groan.

"And I'm capable of throwing you in with them, so decide which is worse."

You know...

I can't help but feel frightened by her sometimes.

Girls, am I right guys...

"A dolphin show sounds fun." I gulp.

Don't wanna get on her bad side, Akito.

"Afternoon everyone and welcome to today's dolphin show. Please put your hands together as we welcome our first performer, Yoshi!" the lady anounces as she holds out a hoop which Yoshi effortlessly jumps through.

"Woah, he's so adorable!" Yumeko squeals from next to me.

I must admit, her personality is so infectious, even I'm starting to like them.

"Hey, you know what, I'm actually starting to like this." I whisper into her ear.

"I knew you'd like it." She whispers back.

Suddenly, a huge wave of of water splashes over the crowd.

"Goodness! Looks like Yoshi's excited!" The lady laughingly says.

The people in the first two rows are soaked!

I'm glad I didn't choose to sit up front.

The water did manage to get all the way up here, but it doesn't seem like anyone's drenched.

Aside from a few drops reaching us, it's not that bad.

Or... so I thought.

"Ah!" Yumeko screams, her hands in the air.

"Is everything... okay-"

How the heck is she so soaked?!

Everyone else in this row's completely fine, but she's drenched!

"How are you wet?! The water didn't even reach so far. Guess I didn't have to toss you in after all." I snorted while playing with her wet hair.

She glares at me, sending shivers down my spine causing me to lean back a bit.

"Uhh... I'm sorry." I utter, throwing my hands up in defeat.

"If I knew I was going to get soaked, I would've brought a change of clothes." She whines, twisting the water out of her skirt.

"You feeling any better yet?" I ask her as we walk out.

"Yeah, however I'm cold now." She says holding her shivering shoulders.

"Keep warm."

I throw my jacket over her to which she wastes no time putting it on.

"Thanks, Aki." Her smile as warm and lovely as ever.

"I think next time, we should go somewhere with less water." She consults as she ties her hair into a pony tail.

"Agreed. Though, it was your idea to come here."

"Next time, please talk me out of it." She suggests.

"Not like you'll exactly listen right away, but alright."

Time sure does fly, I say to myself as I'm browsing thorugh the what seems to be endless TV channels, but nothing good's on.

For some reason, I can't help but think about my date with Yumeko today.

She was so cheerful and full of energy. It was adorable.

I feel bad about how soaked she was.

She had and still has my jacket so I'm sure she's okay by now.

Knowing her, she got into the bath as soon as she got home. One thing about her is she loves being clean.

About thirty minutes later, I head to my room and throw myself on my bed, just scrolling through my phone.

Man, celebrities really are living their best life, huh...

I wonder what life would be like if I were to actually be friends with one.

Nah, that's crazy! I don't know any celebrities much less do I have any chance of becoming friends with one.

Okay, that's enough social media for one night.

I turn off my phone and tie my hair properly before going straight to sleep.

As I make my way down the hall to my locker, I run into Touka standing infront of hers.

She nods her head as I approach her.

"Heya, Aki." She cheerfully greets.

"Hey."

"I heard about you and Yumeko's little date at the aquarium over the weekend. Glad to see you two are so close."

"Wait, how'd you know about that?" I ask, a bit sceptical.

"Take a wild guess, why don't you."

Ohhhh...

Forgot their besties.

"Okay. I get it now."

"Just do me a favour and keep her smiling for me, Aki. I'm really glad to see her cheerful and finally enjoying life." She says in a soft tone.

Touka really cares about Yumeko.

It's nice to know she has such a thoughtful best friend.

"I promise. You can leave that to me." I pledged. To always keep her safe no matter what.

"Great! I'll see you around then, Akito." She waves goodbye as she dissapears around the corner.

"So, did you get Yumeko something for today?" Minami asks as he takes a bite from his takoyaki.

"What do you mean? What's so important about today?" I ask him, a bit confused.

"You seriously forgot?!" He gasped.

"Uhhh... What's going on? It's not her birthday."

"You guys are together for seven months today."

"No wait. You're talking about Thursday. Today's Tuesday, Minami."

"Oh, my bad. I got the dates mixed up." He nervously laughs.

"Yeah."

"But, what are you gonna get her? Seeing as you still got time."

"I don't know. What would be a suitable gift to give her? I haven't given her anything before."

Minami get's up and stands infront of me. "We can go look for a gift after school today and if we don't find any, we can check again tomorrow." He implies.

"Alright, I'm down for that. By the way, where is Yumeko anyway?"

"She left class with that guy a while ago."

"Her cousin?"

"Is that guy really her cousin?" He questions.

"Yeah, she told me so herself."

"Oh. He certainly doesn't seem like it. But if Yumeko said it was, then I guess that's that."

"Yeah. I'm glad I asked her about it. Now I can stop worrying so much when she's with him." I smile.

"I guess. Just remember, we have a mission after school."

"Yes, I remember. Where would we even begin to look though?"

"What better place to start than a jewelry store." Minami says as we stand infront of the jewlery store.

"Wow. How original." I sarcastically respond.

We make our way inside and immediately I start browsing thorugh the bracelets they have on display.

What do I even get for her?

There are so many options.

Minami notices my anxiousness and nudges my shoulder. "Calm down, Aki. We'll find something. Just think about what Yumeko likes."

"She likes flowers."

"Any specific type?"

"Tulips"

"Cool, now let's keep looking. They seem to have bracelets and necklaces with different flowers decorations." He heads off fo the necklaces and starts browsing.

Uh, there's one.

I found a bracelet with little tulips hanging on it.

It's black though. But I remember Yumeko actually loving black, so I'm sure she'll love it.

Her favourite colour and flower.

"Mianmi, I found one!"

He immediately comes over and seems impressed by my find.

"Great job. I'm sure she'll love it."

"Yeah!"

"Well, let's pay for it and head out."

We walk up to the counter and the cashier takes the bracelet and places it in a beautiful jewlery box.

"Thanks so much." I take the box and we head out.

"That went faster than I expected." Minami says.

"It sure did. I'm glad I actually found something." I say holding the box in the air.

"Only one day left before you get to give it to your girlfriend."

Ah, okay!

It's Thursday so the day's finally here.

I got my gift and I'm ready to give it to her.

Yumeko comes walking into class, looking as radiant as ever. "Morning Akito." She greets with a lovely smile.

"Morning, Yumeko."

She places her bag next to her desk and turns to face me.

"Man, I'm tired!" She groans as she takes her seat.

"Busy night?" I ask her.

"Yeah, too busy. I sat up with my books most of the time, and then Kenji called."

"Kenji called? What for?"

"It's nothing important. He was just being annoying as usual."

"Haha, I see. You two get along well."

"I guess so. Though we don't know each other long."

"Don't know each other long? But I thought you said you guys are cousins."

"We are, we just never really interacted much until just recently." She adjusts herself in her seat, laughing nervously.

"Oh, Well alright then. Know what today is?"

"Not really, why? Is something happening? Oh my god, are we writing a test?" She complains.

"No, not exactly. It's-"

But I'm cut off as Kenji walks into the class and over to Yumeko.

"Morning Akito, Yumeko." he cheerfully greets.

"Morning."

"Kenji, Good morning!" Yumeko excitedly greets.

Suddenly she has a burst of energy just by him walking in.

"Here, I got u that chocolate you were eyeing the other day." He hands a her a box and she gracefully accepts it.

"Thanks so much! I've been craving these for such a long time." Her eyes lighting up.

Okay, what's going on?

"My pleasure. Hey Aki, you want some too? I bought extra."

"Uhh, sure. Why not."

He hands me box and I thank him.

"We still on for later, Yume?" Kenji asks.

"Uhh, I'll see where the day takes me. I'm still exhausted from last night. I barely got any sleep."

"What do you guys have planned for later?" I interject.

"Oh, we were just gonna hit up the arcade for a little while." Kenji responds. "Care to join us Aki?"

"I guess. I haven't seen Yumeko game before so I don't mind."

"Great. We'll meet up after school and head on over."

After school, we meet up in Kenji's class.

The halls have just about emptied as everyone made their way home or to their respective clubs.

"Great, you all made it!" Kenji cheerfully says.

"Yeah, prepare to be taken down by my awesome gaming skills." Yumeko cheekily says with a smirk on her face.

"You game, Aki?" Kenji asks me.

Guess I stood out due to my awkwardness.

"Yeah, kinda." I say, my voice just above a whisper.

If we're gonna be with Kenji all afternoon, I might not get a chance to be alone with Yumeko and give her the gift.

"Cool, can't wait to see you in action."

Yumeko starts to look around in a panick and realises that she had forgotten her bag in class.

"Oh shoot, I forgot my bag!"

"How'd you manage to forget your bag? It's supposed to stay with you." Kenji laughs.

"Oh shut up! I hope they didn't lock up yet." Yumeko says in a panick.

"I'll go have a look, just calm down." I offer.

"Thanks, Aki. I appreciate it."

I make my way back to class and find Yumeko's bag on her table.

Honestly, I don't know how she missed it.

I guess she really was tired if she was so absent minded.

I grab her bag and make my way back down the empty hallway.

Man, the school's a whole lot quieter when it's this empty.

My phone buzzes and I immediately take it out to find a message from Minami.

'Goodluck on your special day, dude.'

Yeah, thanks man. Though I might not actually be able to do it today.

I respond, 'Thanks Minami. I'll give it my all'.

I put my phone away and continue walking back to class, getting lost in thought.

As I'm about to turn into the class, I stop myself at the door as I come across a scene that causes my heart to sink to my stomach.

"No... No, no, no!" I say under my breath as I take a step back, dropping the bag to the floor, the sound echoing through the empty halls.

Yumeko's eyes fix on mine, but I turn around and just walk away.

"Aki, wait!"