Believing 

"I'm sorry." Ootori Choutarou apologized embarrassed as he handed the letter back to the girl.  The freshman looked at him with teary eyed, "But…" she sniffled. "Am I not good enough for you?" she asked. "I love you." Ootori smiled at her. "You don't love me." He explained softly. "You don't know me yet to love me. It is only infatuation." 

Before the girl could say anything, Ootori turned around and left. He walked toward the hall and turned left at the corner. He stopped when he heard someone speak. "Another day has gone by and yet another heart has been broken by Ootori Choutarou." Oshitari Yuushi smirked as he leaned by a wall with his hands in his pockets. He had been observing the situation and was amused by it.

"Shut up!" Shishido snapped defending Ootori. "It's not like you to go without breaking a few each day either." 

"S..senpais…." Ootori stammered trying to stop them from quarrelling. He always got embarrassed when something like this happened, it was even worse when someone had been watching him the whole time.

"Seriously…" Oshitari edged pushing the frame of his glasses up his nose. "I have at least gone out with a couple of them. Choutarou seems unmoved by the girls here." He remarked with a a smirk. Seeing Ootori's red heated face was enough to satisfy his smirk for a while.

Ootori blushed slightly at the comment. "It's not…"  

"Even Shishido who proclaims no one interests him has managed to go out with a few girls." Oshitari continued to tease the second year.

Shishido glared at Oshitari. "That's enough." 

Before Ootori could say anything, he was thankful that he was saved by the bell. As Ootori picked out his books from the locker, he made his way to the library. He was trying to find a place to study when he saw Atobe Keigo in the library. "Atobe-senpai."

Atobe looked up from the table he was sitting at, "Choutarou." He nodded. "What are you doing here?" 

Ootori actually wanted to ask Atobe what he was doing there, but he didn’t want to say anything embarrassing in front of his captain. "I am here to work on my assignment and you?" 

"Che…" he mumbled. "I don't know what she wants." 

Ootori blinked. "She?" 

"That would be me." 

Ootori turned to find a rather attractive girl standing behind him. He immediately knew who she was. "-senpai." He bowed lightly as the girl nodded. "Hello, Ootori-kun." She said with a smile. "Is Keigo bothering you?" 

"Che… it should be the other way round."  

Ootori looked embarrassed. "Aah…no." he shook his head. "I was looking for a place to do my assignment." 

looked at him kindly. "You can sit with us." She offered. "I only want Keigo for a couple of minutes since he is my partner in Chemistry." 

"You can just call you know." Atobe said annoyed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the chair. "You don't have to bring me here all the way to the library." He complained as he moved a hand through his already perfect hair. For a minute, he completely forgot his surroundings as he busied himself fixing a few strands of his hair.

sat down not caring at all for Atobe's complaints. 

Ootori admired for being one of the girls that didn’t care about who Atobe is and how rich he is as well. He found himself studying her; he knew she was on the track club and enjoyed music. He liked how carefree she was and how she would never back off if she saw something wrong. As much as he liked her, it still felt awkward because she was his senior. If he dated someone older than him, they would never let him live it down. He knew it was crazy, thinking like that, but that was how some of the student's mentality at the school was. 

"Ootori-kun." 

Her sudden voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked at who was only a few inches from him and immediately blushed. "….…-senpai." 

"I was just worried about you." She admitted. "You completely zoned out for a minute." 

Before Ootori could say anything, Atobe spoke. ", can we get this over with? I have appointments I need to keep." He declared looking at his watch.  rolled her eyes then winked at Ootori. "Yes, master…" she muttered. 

Ootori found himself grinning at that. He spread his papers and books in front of him and decided to finally concentrate on his work while spoke to Atobe about their project. 

A while had passed and Ootori was so into his math assignment that he didn’t notice anything around him till he felt a strand of hair by his cheek. was leaning against his shoulder and watching his work. "You got this one wrong, Ootori-kun." She remarked pointing at the second problem. "Senpai!" He exclaimed, his cheeks heated by how close she stood.  

"Oh sorry!" blushed moving away from him. She pulled a chair and sat next to him. "Do you need my help?" She asked. 

"Don't worry." He smiled assuring. "I eventually need to figure this out." 

leaned on her elbows by placing them on the table and watched him work. "You're not like the rest of them, Ootori-kun." 

Ootori looked up at her. "Rest?" 

nodded. "Yes. You're not full of yourself." 

Ootori yet again blushed. "A…." 

laughed. "No! Don't get me wrong." She explained. "You stand out in your own way. I'm glad that there is someone on the team that is not attention seeking." 

"-senpai!" He started. "My teammates are not like that." He knew he should at least defend the regulars in one way or another. 

smiled at him. "It’s okay." She said softly standing up.  

He looked at her as she brushed something off her skirt. "Are you leaving, -senpai?" 

"No." she answered tying her hair into a ponytail. "I need to get a book from the literature section for my paper. I'll keep my things here, watch them for me, okay?" she said as she went to the reference section. 

Ootori nodded and resumed to work on his paper while was getting her books. He was working on something when something was dropped in front of him. "Huh?" he whispered as he saw Shishido stand above him. "They're tickets to the ball. Don't do something stupid and stay at home like last year." He grunted leaving Ootori alone. Ootori let out a sigh as he picked up the tickets and looked at them. He didn’t really want to ask anyone. Well, he didn’t want to ask anyone from his class. 

"You're going?" 

Ootori looked up at as she curiously looked at him. He swore mentally in his head. He was zoning out more than necessary these past couple of days. "I don't think so." He admitted. 

"Why not?" asked. "I went last year. As boring as it may sound, but its quite fun because you'll see everyone there." 

"Yeah…" he muttered. "I'm…" he began, but frowned. He wasn’t sure if he should confide in her. "I haven't really found anyone I'd like to take with me." 

"Don't worry, Ootori-kun. The girls will ask you themselves. Some of them can be quite pathetic." She laughed. 

He smiled a bit. "What about you, -senpai?"

shook her head. "I might go alone." 

That surprised Ootori. "Oh?" 

"Don't get me wrong." She explained again. "I am popular." She said with an arrogance flipping her hair mimicking Atobe. The gesture made Ootori laugh. turned to him and looked serious. "I was actually going to go with someone I liked from Rokkaku…." 

Ootori didn't say anything. He was way too curious, but he was not one to show it.  Please continue what you were saying, he pleaded mentally to himself.  

made a face. "We had a lot of problems because we were from different schools. I hate this stupid social rule the students made up for themselves about Hyotei members dating Hyotei's only. It's pathetic." 

"Do you actually listen to that?" He found himself asking. Whether she was surprised or not at his question, she didn't show it. "No, but Keigo banned me from seeing him. It's pathetic." 

Otori looked at her as she looked down. "Why would Atobe-senpai do that?" 

"He's an idiot. He told me that the boy was trouble and I should stay away from him because he was two timing me. He even got pictures, documents, a video tape…" she rolled her eyes. "The bastard is kind hearted, but has a cruel way of showing it." She admitted. 

"I'm sorry." 

looked at Ootori. "Don't be, Ootori-kun. Keigo was right after all." 

Ootori smiled. With a sudden rush, he felt something pump at his heart. "..-senpai, will you…" 

"-senpai, will you go to the ball with me?" A boy popped from nowhere asking as he held two tickets in front of her face. 

As angelic and innocent Ootori was, he wanted nothing but to wring the boy's neck at this time.  

looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Kazuki-kun…" she apologized. "I…." she shook her head. "I don't think it would be wise for me to go with you." 

"But…" the boy muttered. "I love you, senpai." 

looked at Kazuki. You don't love me." She acknowledged. "You don't know me yet to love me. It is only infatuation."

Ootori looked at her stunned. The exact words….he thought to himself. 

Kazuki dropped his shoulders and nodded. "Thank you for being straightforward with me." He said dejectedly walking away from them. 

looked at him sadly as he walked away. She then looked at Ootori. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ootori-kun." 

Ootori looked embarrassed. "No, it's okay."  

After that, they both went quiet as they worked on their own things. Ootori kept glancing at and realized that she looked preoccupied. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but she chose that moment to look at him. "I have to go now." She announced. "I need to warm up for tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?" 

'Yes." nodded. "It's a regional race. I'm running." 

Otoori smiled. "Good luck, -senpai." 

smiled back at him. "I'll see you later. Do come and cheer for me, okay?" she said waving. 

~~~ 

Throughout the next day, Ootori was busy with his projects and tennis practice. His long schedule that day and Atobe's merciless training, because Sakaki was not there literally drained all the energy out of him. Finally, after changing and picking up all his things, he went to his locker to pick up his books. As he reached it, he stopped when he heard… 

"-senpai lost?" A girl asked surprised. 

"Yes." The other girl replied. "She didn't lose because she didn't give her best. Someone tripped her and she pulled a muscle."

Ootori's eyes widened. 

"That's so dirty!" The girl exclaimed.  

"Yes." 

Ootori cleared his throat and walked to his locker. He was starting to feel guilty when he remembered what told him. 

<Do come and cheer for me, okay?> 

Ootori turned towards the two girls with a smile. "Hello." 

"Ootori-senpai!" They exclaimed both of them blushing furiously. They were both freshmen's at Hyoutei. 

He smiled at them. "I couldn’t help, but overhear about -senpai." He admitted. "Is she alright now? Do you know where I can find her?"

The girls blinked in surprise. "She is in the nurse's office." One of them answered.  

The other one looked at him confused. She was thinking why on earth Ootori would ask about . 

Ootori knew that look. "That is good, thank you. I can give her the project team's list now. Thank you again." He excused himself as he left them. He walked to the nurse's office, his heart was beating rapidly, and he didn’t know what excuse to use when he would actually see her. He knocked on the door and was told to come in. the nurse looked at him peculiarly, "Why, Ootori-kun." The nurse said cheerfully. "Did you hurt yourself playing tennis?" 

"Aah, no." he said bashfully. "I wanted to check on my senpai." 

The nurse blinked. "No one on the tennis team has been brought here today." She said confused. 

"Err….aa…no." he muttered. "I wanted to check on ……-senpai." He said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. 

"Ootori-kun?" 

He turned as moved the curtain that was shielding her. He noticed that one of her leg was in a cast till her knees. "I messed up." She said pulling out her tongue. "Silly me." 

The nurse left the two alone. 

"Don't say that, senpai." He said softly walking toward her. "I heard someone tripped you and I'm sorry I wasn't there to cheer for you." 

looked at him. "You're very sweet." She remarked looking down. "I'm afraid it was my fault." She admitted. "I wasn't looking and she took that opportunity. I was so confident that I was going to win and let it get to my head." She added. "I let the school down." She whispered with a sigh. 

Ootori wanted to hug her, but restrained himself. He put his hand on hers and she looked up at him taken aback. He squeezed it lightly without saying a word. smiled at him and nodded. She understood what he was telling her. tugged a lock of hair and moved it behind her ear. "Ootori-kun…" she murmured.  

"Choutarou's fine." 

"Coutarou." She repeated it softly. "You know what they might say." 

"I'm aware of that, senpai." He nodded. "OW!" he all of a sudden yelped as he felt a tug at his neck. She had held his cross necklace and tugged it down hard. "If you think I'm going to call you Choutarou without you calling me , you've got something else to think about, silly." She threatened.  

"Y…yes." He nodded. 

~~~ 

Weeks Later 

Ootori waited patiently by a bench at the park. It was another park, outside of familiar area that the students from his school hung out. He was excited; he never thought that today or any day of the last couple of days that would be his girl. They had become good friends and somehow he had ended up going out with her some times. He liked her company and so she did. In an indirect way they were starting to act like a couple. He knew he had a stupid smile on his face and even Atobe had remarked about him smiling sheepishly during practice. 

"Choutarou!" 

He looked up as he saw the reason behind his smile approach him. She looked cute dressed in jeans and a sweater and she was holding a light basket in her hand. "Waiting long?" She asked. 

"No." He answered truthfully hugging her. He loved holding her. He didn't care that she was his senior. "You're worth waiting for." He remarked cheekily. pulled a tongue at him. "Corny." She chuckled and then reached up and kissed his cheek lightly. He put an arm around her and held her close. "How was your day?" he asked as they walked along the path.  rested her head on his shoulder. "Eck!" she muttered. "Don't ask! I hate my classes! They're so boring." She complained half-heartedly. "Come on…" he murmured as he patted her head. "It can't be that bad.."

"Please Choutarou! I had such a long day." She said softly standing in front of him. "Let's not talk about school." She said as she moved her head to the side. "Okay?" 

He nodded. "Let's sit down." He invited as he pointed to the side. "Yes." She agreed. "I got food." She announced as they sat down by a tree. It was a nice and quiet place. Ootori watched her and smiled. Her cast had come off a few days earlier and he loved how careful she was being. There was one thing he hated though, he hated that he couldn’t publicly go out with her. It wasn't only her, but he knew he couldn’t do it either. His seniors will never let him off if they knew he was dating someone older than him.  "What's wrong?" He heard her ask.

Ootori looked at her and found her looking at him with a worried expression. "Nothing." He answered with a smile.  was sitting in front of him. She leaned forward and held his jaw lightly. "You're lying." She teased as he chuckled. "There was a saying between us last week, yes? For every lie I tell, a kiss from you?" He added that with a blush. laughed softly and turned away, but he caught her firmly and brought her close, kissing her gently. After they took a break, looked at him. 'Hmm…" she whispered sitting between his outstretched legs. "The seniors can learn a thing or two about kissing from you." She had her head on his chest as she played with his necklace. 

"Please don't compare me." He muttered wryly, tucking her more closely to him. He had his jaw on her head. "Yes…" she said softly closing her eyes. He moved his hand through her hair and smiled. "You're really tired." He remarked as he put his hands on her shoulders. He could feel how stiff she was. "Hmm…." 

"Its -chan and Choutarou!" They heard someone exclaim excitedly. Their domain had been penetrated. The quite and serene atmosphere they had managed to obtain was gone. 's eyes opened wide and she sat up quickly, but it was stupid of her because her head interacted with Ootori's jaw. "Ow…" Ootori muttered in pain holding onto his jaw. held her head and looked at Ootori. "Chouta…" she murmured holding his jaw. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?"  asked him anxiously.

He nodded and looked behind her. "J….Jirou senpai." He stuttered as he saw that Jirou was standing there with a stupid grin on his face. "Is this what I think it is?" Jirou asked as he scratched his hair. He saw Ootori look at and her and then back at him. "Yes." Ootori answered with a nod of his head.

"That is so cooooooool!" Jirou said excitedly jumping in front of them and sitting right next to . "Chouta is very cool, -chan!" He assured. "How long? How long?" He shouted with his eyes wide in excitemenet as he grabbed 's shoulders and looked at her waiting for an answer. looked embarrassed. "Aah Jirou…" she said quietly as she moved away from him. "Please… please keep this a secret."  She pleaded holding her hands and raising it to his face. 

He looked confused. "Why?" 

They both looked at each other. Ootori put an arm around and squeezed it gently. "It's something we decided." Ootori answered. "It will be less messy if less people knew we were going out." He explained honestly. Jirou scratched  his hair and shook it a bit as if trying to comprehend what's going on. He finally gave them a sheepish grin and asked the inevitable. "Is it because she's your senior?" 

Ootori blushed. 

"Don't embarrass my boy, Jirou." teased hugging Ootori's arm.  

Jirou looked at them and thought how cute they were. He was normally asleep, but they managed to keep him awake. He started asking all sort of questions and they answered them patiently.  Finally Jirou shut up as put a piece of cake in front of him that she brought with her. "Yum!" he exclaimed eating it. 

smiled and looked at Ootori. She was sitting really close to him and handed him a piece. "You want?" she asked softly. 

He declined politely.  

The three of them spent some time together and finally it was time to go home. "I'm sorry I kept you two." Jirou apologized looking at them. "It's alright." assured. "You weren't interrupting."  She said sincerely. In fact, she was happy for the interruption. She missed the company of others when she and Ootori were together. It could be fun, hanging out with others and them as a couple. Ootori took her hand and nodded at Jirou. "I'll drop  home." He told Jirou. "I will see you at Shishido-senpai's house later." 

"Yes." Jirou yawned, walking away from them. 

"What's happening at Ryou's house later?" asked as they walked hand in hand. "I don't know." He admitted. "Atobe-senpai called a meeting." He explained looking at her as she looked up at him curiously. hugged his waist. "Don't go…" she murmured. 

He laughed lightly. "You know I have to." 

"Nuuuuuu."

"…" he said seriously. "I have to." 

She looked at him….. 

Ootori closed his eyes. "That won't work." He said avoiding her puppy eyes. "It won't work." He repeated shaking his head. "You're no fun." She declared with a smile. Ootori watched her as she pouted and couldn't help, but smile as well. He loved everything about her. Although they were still fresh in their relationship, but he understood her well and vice versa. "So, will we be going to the ball?" 

She looked at him surprised. "Together?" 

He nodded. "Why not?" 

moved a strand of hair off her face. "It might be suicidal." She conceded looking at him. "But I don't care!" She exclaimed. "I want to go with you." She said tenderly holding his hand.  Ootori nodded. "Me too." He agreed. He moved his free hand to her hair and let it brush there. "Let's figure out how to do it." 

~~~ 

"Say it isn't true!" 

blinked as she saw her friend stand in front of her locker. It was two days later and she was back at school. looked at her friend who was being overdramatic about something. "What's wrong?" 

"That you're dating a second year!" She heard Michiko hiss. 's eyes widened. "Err…" she whispered opening her locker and taking out her books. "Why are you asking me that?" she whispered trying to stall time. How the hell would she know? she thought trying to come up with an excuse. Just as she was about to say another thing, her friend slammed her locker shut, almost jamming 's fingers between them. "Is it true?" she demanded. 

narrowed her eyes and moved her friend's hand away. "First, tell me what made you ask me such a question, Michiko?"  

Michiko crossed her arms. "Some fresh girls saw you with Ootori Choutarou during the weekend." 

"So, maybe I was helping him with…" She tried to reason, but ..

"I'm not stupid." Michiko interrupted. "They saw you two kiss and act like a couple." She said with an almost shriek that blew 's ears off. 

"Then there is no denying it." declared and as she said she saw Michiko's eyes widened. "You…with…." She stammered, and then she put her hands on her hips. "There are so many hot guys in our year and you chose to be with someone younger?" she demanded placing her hands on her hips. Her eyes were telling her that she was not to be messed with at the moment. 

"Please…" muttered. "They're all arrogant asses that think high and mighty of themselves." 

"Yuushi is not." 

snorted. "Puleeeeze~"  

Michiko raised an eyebrow and let out a sigh. "Okay, he is conceited, but not like Keigo." 

"I doubt anyone can match Keigo's arrogance, but they're all careless of the feelings of others." 

Michiko let out another sigh. "Well, you know me. I'm always here for you, but I can't stop the others." She told her. "Things might go downhill from now on." She remarked. "The freshmen's are cool with us dating boys from our class, but they might proclaim war if you started messing with the boys in their year or a year above them." 

shrugged. "We're being a bit overdramatic, don't you think?" joked as she picked up her books and walked to her classroom. Michiko watched her best friend go and looked worried. always tends to take things easily, she thought to herself. 

~~~ 

"You've got some nerve, Choutarou!" Gakuto said annoyed at lunch. "You have enough cute girls in your class, why are you taking our girls away?" He whined as he stood on the chair. He put one hand on his forehead and pretended that he was hurt as he made that statement. "Our beautiful girls..."

Ootori choked on the juice he was drinking. "Excuse me, senpai?" 

"You and -chan." Oshitari pointed at him, ignoring Gakuto's overdramatic antics. 

Ootori's sweat dropped.  

"So it's true, isn't it?" Gakuto asked sitting opposite him. "You are seeing ." 

Ootori continued sipping his juice quietly. He knew he looked calm from the outside, but there was a rapid typhoon inside of him as Gakuto asked that question. "Don't ignore your seniors!" Shishido snapped slapping him on his back making Ootori choke again on his juice. "I think it's cute." He admitted. " is a good match for you." 

"No!" Gakuto yelled. "I asked her out before and she said no! Why is she dating someone younger? Are we not good enough for her?" He questioned curiously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No Gakuto. It's because you're short." Oshitari remarked uncaringly as he sat there reading a book and ignoring all the chaos around him. However, he was still amused. 

Gakuto glared at him. 

They were going to make more comments, but stopped when they heard… 

"Keigo, please. Don't butt in." said annoyed as she walked towards the regulars table. "Once one of my regulars is involved with someone in my class, I have every right to butt in." Atobe told her.  rolled her eyes. "You're not their father and certainly not mine." She muttered standing next to Shishido. "Are you guys picking on Choutarou as well?" she demanded with her hands on hips. 

Ootori stood up while rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry about me." He answered.  stood next to him and nodded a hi shyly at him. 

Oshitari, Gakuto, and Shishido looked at them and smiled. Although it was rather weird for a second year boy to date a senior girl, but even they admitted that they both looked cute. Ootori's height alone made people mistake him for a senior. Also, stood next to him with a sense of pride. It was obvious that the two were somewhat in love. "Can we leave?" asked softly. 

Ootori nodded. 

Atobe stood in front of them with his arms crossed. "I did not give permission." 

rolled her eyes again. "Move." She hissed ready to claw his eyes out with her hand.

"You may not take that order, but Choutarou certainly will." Atobe acknowledge with a smirk.  glared at Atobe. "Don't be like this, Keigo." She whispered viciously while clenching her fist. Ootori put his hand on 's shoulder. ", let's sit with them for now." He suggested.  

"It's serious." Gakuto whispered. "He calls her ." 

Ootori blushed slightly as he led to a seat next to him. He hated being the centre of attention and it embarrassed him. They both sat down and before he could say anything, spoke for the both of them. "If I hear any comments, remarks, snickers, or anything close to it, I will scream." She threatened. 

Atobe flicked his hair and sat down while crossing his legs. "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"It's none of your…." snapped, but Ootori intervened. "Almost three weeks." He answered swiftly. 

looked at Ootori sharply.  

Ootori gave her one of his angelic smiles that melted anyone's heart and she let out a sigh. knew she could be as rude as she wanted to be to Atobe, but Ootori couldn't. "Keigo…" warned. "Don't you dare think you can intimidate either of us…" she whispered vehemently. "Chouta… I want to leave." 

Ootori looked at Atobe then at . He was in a dilemma. However, he knew he was not going to hurt 's feelings. He stood up, shocking almost all the regulars and took 's hand. "Let's go." He told . "Sorry, Atobe-senpai," he bowed apologetically. "I can talk to you more about this later." And with that, he whisked away. 

Atobe narrowed his eyes and his lips were set in a tight rim.  

"Why is Atobe annoyed?" Gakuto whispered to his partner. Oshitari smirked, his nose still in the book he was reading. "He is annoyed because this is the one time, he might not be able to interfere." He remarked knowingly. 

~~~ 

"I'm sorry." apologized softly looking down. "It's just…." She muttered as she walked hastily. "He makes me mad, Chouta." She mumbled through gritted teeth. Ootori smiled tenderly and brought her close to him. "It's alright." He assured hugging her. In a way he was glad that the confrontation had happened and was over. He knew his teammates were going to start teasing him endlessly when they found out about his relationship with a senior girl.

'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK" 

jumped in Ootori's arms, startled by the scream and even Ootori seemed anxious.  

"It's true! Oh my god! My eyes!" a girl screamed in panic trying to cover her eyes. 

looked wryly at Ootori and he smiled apologetically. "I'll see you after school, ok?" whispered in his ear. He nodded and watched her go totally ignoring the overdramatic freshman who was still screaming. Ootori let out a sigh. He wasn't sure what he got himself into, but he didn't want to think that it was not worth it. Although he knew for a while now, but to suddenly date her like that was a quick surprise, even for him.  

~~~ 

"You already have Atobe-sama, Oshitari-san, and Shishido-san in your class!" a girl shouted at . "Why Ootori-kun?" 

looked at her wryly. "Don't you realize I'm your senpai? How dare you shout at me like that?!" she demanded, getting angry at these silly presumptions. What is wrong with people these days, don't they have anything better to think about? She thought aggravated. The younger girl glared at her. "I don't admire you anymore!" she declared. "It's unheard of for a senior girl to date someone younger than her." 

gritted her teeth and ignored her.  

"It's unheard of." The girl repeated.

walked away from her, for she knew if she stayed there for another minute, it would result in that girl getting a black eye. She picked her books and rushed to class. She was in a foul mood as she took a seat next to Shishido and opened her notebook just as the bell rang. "Are you alright?" Shishido whispered as he saw how she looked like. 

shrugged. "I'm just trying to get over these dim-witted over theatrical girls." She muttered aggravated a she roughly pulled her chair up front so she can sit closer to the desk. 

"That's a lot of smart words…' 

gave him a sharp look. "You don't want to provoke me, not when I'm in this mood." She threatened narrowing her eyes even more. 

He just shrugged. 

As class went by and paid attention to the teacher, she was so into him blabbing that the sudden hit of a balled paper note into her back surprised her. Shishido saw it too and blinked. frowned and picked it up. She turned around to see who might have thrown it, but no one indicated anything to her. Ignoring everyone's looks, she picked it up and un-wrapped it under her desk. 

You must be really low and unsophisticated to go for someone younger than you. 

narrowed her eyes as she fisted her hand and threw the note on the floor. "Idiot..." she whispered annoyed. She was livid at herself that the note hurt her more than irritated her. She in fact had tears in her eyes, but she wasn't going to let it get to her. It was fortunate for her that the bell rang. She immediately picked everything up and left. 

Shishido wanted to stop her, but knew better. Since she was Ootori's girl, he felt obligated in someway to take care of her because that's what they all did for one another. He hesitated as everyone left, but then he bent down and picked up the note. 

~~~ 

"I'm fine." lied quietly. 

Ootori held her between his arms as they sat in his living room. had her head on his shoulder; it seemed that she loved being held like that by him. Ootori was tall and lean. "How was school?" 

stiffened a bit, but relaxed in a moment. "It was good." She said briskly. 

Ootori let out a sigh. He was starting to be concerned about her because Shishido had shown him the note earlier. Ootori loosened his hold on her and sat up straight making her move with him. "Are you alright?" asked gently. Ootori held her face between his hands and smiled. "If you're getting bullied at school please don't hide it from me." 

moved her face away and stood up. "No one dares bully me." She announced haughtily. 

"Pride can kill you." 

remained silent. She frowned at that statement, but she just couldn’t admit to Ootori that she was being intimidated. "Like I said…" she repeated. "No one dares to bully me." 

Ootori stood up. His tall frame towered over hers he stood behind her. He hugged her securely and kissed her cheek. "I care for you, ." 

smiled to herself. It was these moments that made her forget all the atrocious things that she was experiencing at school. A lot of people thought of Ootori as a stuttering and shy boy who would never speak his mind, but she knew otherwise.  

~~~ 

As days went by, things were getting tougher for . At first, she didn’t care less about the bad mouthing and letters, but now it seemed that the younger girls were actually plotting something. She knew she was being paranoid and it was stupid that things got to this extreme, but then she remembered that she was at Hyoutei and these girls had nothing better to do. She was getting tired of all this crap and the worse part was that she didn’t share her misfortune with anyone. She didn’t want to involve Ootori and Michiko was busy with her studies. 

After class, she went directly to the club room for track practice. They didn’t have any practice today, but she wanted to do some warming up. She walked into the deserted club room and opened her locker. She took off her shoes and went to reach for her running shoes, but blinked in surprise. "Huh?" she whispered peering into her locker. "My shoes?" She asked looking for them, but they weren't there. looked around and frowned. I'm sure I brought them with me, she thought rubbing her cheek in weary. She pulled out her phone to call her mom so she could make sure it was at her home when she heard a loud bang. 's head snapped up in surprise and she looked around. 

It was when she heard the loud clear <CLICK> that she knew she was screwed. 

ran to the door. "HEY!" She yelled banging on the locked door. "HEY! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" She said angrily. "LET ME OUT." She repeated over and over while she slammed on the door with her fists. It was a good half an hour till she finally gave up. She turned around and leaned against the doorway falling onto the ground. Hugging her knees, she looked at her cell phone. Who do I call? She thought wryly. I can't call my mother because she's at work.  

Choutarou? She thought to herself, but then she shook her head. She didn't want to involve him because she knew he would start asking questions. Michiko's name popped into her head, but she let out a sigh. She just didn’t want anyone to worry and she knew Michiko would kill the girls responsible before she came to her rescue. 

Keigo? Her mind asked, but she closed her eyes. Keigo will tell me 'I told you so' if I involve him, she thought annoyed. let out a sigh of defeat. I will wait, she finally decided, I'm sure someone will come, she assured herself as she sat there hugging herself. 

~~~

It was an hour later and had forgotten her promise to Ootori. 

"Is something wrong?" Shishido asked Ootori as he saw him waiting by the main gate. Ootori looked at Shishido. "I'm just waiting for ." 

"Any plans?" Shishido wondered curiously as he leaned by the wall.

Ootori blushed. "I'm just going to walk her home from practice." 

Shishido frowned. "Practice?" he asked. "I didn’t see run today." He answered. He would've noticed because the tennis club normally saw the track team practice from the courts. Ootori looked a bit surprised. "She said she was going to run earlier." 

"Are you sure?" Shishido asked. "Maybe she wanted to run home as practice." 

Ootori shook his head. "Yes, I'm sure she said here." He acknowledged. "Are you sure you didn't see her, senpai?" 

"Yes." Shishido answered with a frown. "I'm sure because Yuushi always talks about the track teams legs when they're around." He explained in a montone voice. Ootori let out a sigh as Shishido frowned. It wasn't looking good and he knew Ootori was getting worried now. "How about we split up and see if she's still on school grounds?" he suggested, just making sure. 

Ootori nodded. 

~~~ 

Two hours later 

was still on the floor. Her cell was long time dead and it was dark. She didn’t even have the energy to get up to switch on the lights. Her cheeks were tear-stained as she hugged herself. There was another part of her that no one knew; she was claustrophobic and terrified of the dark. It wasn't that she didn’t have the energy to move, but she was frozen scared. She heard something that jolted her. It was a clink and a rattle, but then the sound ceased. quickly got up as a new jolt of adrenaline ran through her. "HELLO?!" She yelled banging on the door. "HELLO!" 

"Is someone in there?" She heard someone ask. 

"YES!" She shouted. "Please open the door." She pleaded as tears rolled down her cheeks. She heard the click of the door, the rattle again, and then the door opened. hastily ran out of there without even looking. She bent a bit with her hands on her knees and tried breathing. 

"?" 

She stopped and straightened up. She turned and…" Ryu?" she whispered softly.  

"Are you…" he began, but he went dead silent when she hugged him tightly and to his surprise, she sobbed on his shoulder. He couldn’t even move because she had her arms wrapped around, which locked his own arms in. "Hey…" he said softly. It was sometime till stopped crying. She sniffled quietly and finally let go of him. "I'm sorry." She trembled. 

"What happened?" He demanded. 

'N…Nothing." She answered not looking at him. "Nothing important, just…." She pleaded looking at him. "Just don't tell Chouta…." 

He looked amazed. "It's not healthy to hide things from him." 

"I don't care!" She said heatedly. "Just don't tell Choutarou." She repeated. "I…I just don't want him to know because he will worry and…" she cried softly. "I don't want him to be concerned because you guys have a lot of things going on right now and it will affect his play." 

"That is bull!" Shishido snapped. "If they're hurting you, you need to tell him." 

"No." She said stubbornly. "They….They didn't hurt me." She replied shaking. "It's just that, they…they don't know I'm claustrophobic, Ryu. It was just really dark in there…." 

"." 

looked at him. 

"Do you realize that you're shaking?"  

hugged herself ignoring him.  

"You can't hide it." He told her. "Choutarou's looking for you." 

bit her lip. She quickly wiped her tears and blew her nose. "I'll make up something." 

He put his hands in his pockets not happy about the situation. "Like wh…" he was about to demand. 

"Senpai! You found her." 

stiffened and turned around. A smile immediately formed on her lips and she waved. "Hi." She said softly as Ootori stood in front of her with a worried look. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You look like you've been crying." He said sincerely.  kept that smile on her face. "I'm fine." She replied. "I just remembered something that upset me and started bawling like a baby." She lied. "I'm embarrassed that Ryu had to see it." 

He looked at her unsure. "?" 

hugged his arm lightly. "Drop me home." She said softly.  

Ootori looked down at her pleading face and nodded. The frown was still on his lips thought. Something was not right, he felt it. When he looked at Shishido, he sensed that he knew, but he knew that he couldn’t push it in front of . He took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders that would not stop shaking. "Let's go." He smiled at her. 

nodded and bid Shishdio farewell. Shishido crossed his arms. He wasn't happy about this. He was happy with their relationship, it was the first time he had seen Ootori so comfortable with someone and relaxed.  

"You look annoyed. Did you want for yourself?" 

Shishido rolled his eyes. "I'm not that shallow, Atobe." He muttered lowering his cap. Atobe crossed his arms. "Well, I did witness what went on." He admitted. "I know Chouta's happy, but looks like she is going to break down any minute." 

"Che…" Shishido mumbled as he kicked a stone in frustration. "She is not listening to anything I tell her." 

Atone shrugged. "Its something they have to go through I guess." 

"No, Atobe.' Shishido replied. "She is the only one they're hurting. No one is doing anything to Chouta. It's like when a girl is going out with you. They'll torture her mentally and physically till she breaks up with you." 

Atobe crossed his arms as well. "Hmph." 

~~~ 

"Are you sure that you're fine?" Ootori asked . 

nodded as she stood outside her house. "I'm great.' She answered softly. She looked at him reassuringly. He always had that long lost look when he worried about her. hugged his waist lightly. "I'm perfect." 

He patted her back gently and kissed her forehead. "As long as you talk to me if anything's bothering you." He remarked. "Please do so…" 

"I'm fine, Chouta." She whispered burying herself within his arms. As long as you're always with me like this, I'll always fine… 

~~~ 

Behold – after all the drama, the day of the ball has arrived (which is three days later) 

put her earring on with an effort. Her arms were heavy and her hands were not cooperating. This ball… this festival…. She was not in the mood for it. For the past days, she had been physically beat up and her personal things were ruined from her locker. It had taken a lot of makeup to conceal the bruise on her left cheek. Shishido kept telling her to stop, but she didn’t want to. A part of her was afraid that if she did then Ootori would think it was best that they don't date anymore. She knew it was pathetic of her to think this way, for she was a senior and when she graduates, he would need a year to catch up, but she didn't care. As corny as it sounds, he made her feel whole. She let out a sigh and put her hands on her knees as she looked down. Why am I even going? She thought frustrated.  Just as she felt letting go of another sigh, her phone rang. 'What are you wearing?" 

"What am I…." exclaimed sort of surprised. "You perverted bastard! Keigo! What the hell do you think you're asking?" She shouted standing up. 

"That is the I know. I am getting sick and tired of you not raising your voice or doing something about all that harassment you're getting." He added. "You're a senior for god's sake. Show it because you're giving us all a bad name." 

<CLICK> 

looked at the phone in disbelief. 

~~~ 

"Nicely done, Keigo." complimented softly. It was an hour later and she was seated in the dinner table of the regulars. Most of them were with their dates and was seated next to Ootori. "I am complementing your party, not the phone call." She hissed only for his ears.  

Atobe just gave her a smirk. Although he was busy attending to his date, knew that smirk was for her and he had heard her loud and clear. She turned her head and couldn’t help but feel paranoid. She felt somewhere that a hating gaze was piercing directly at her. She shivered at the feeling and ignored it.  

"You're quiet." 

smiled at Ootori. "Yes." She admitted. "I'm just observing everyone." She answered looking toward the crowded ballroom. "Everyone's having fun, which is good." 

"Are you having fun?" 

looked up a bit surprised when she saw that it was Shsihdio that had asked that. "Excuse me?" She said confused as she saw Shishido watching her carefully. "You look a bit depressed." he said knowingly. "Is something on your mind?" 

What the hell are you doing? thought annoyed because she saw that Ootori was looking at her weirdly as well. "Of course I'm having fun." She lied through her teeth. "There's nothing on my mind." 

"You cried the other day." He answered. "You said something was bothering…" 

"Ryou!" snapped interrupting him. "What are you doing?" she demanded taken aback. "What are you…" 

"Shut up!" Shishido snapped back at her surprising everyone at the table. 'I think it's time you tell Choutarou how your life has been a living hell. It's killing you." He stated. "You're acting like a cowardly brat! Stand up to those idiots." 

Ootori fell dead silent. He looked from Shishido to in confusion. What is going on? He thought. "Senpai…." He began standing up next to as he directed his word to Shishido. "Could you both calm.." he began as he placed his hand on 's shoulder.  pushed him away. "I'm sorry." She said softly covering her face. "I just can't do this now." She added walking away. "Forgive me…" she whispered as her walk transformed into a run and she was gone.  

Atobe smacked his forehead and stood up. "Ryoh, you're not only an idiot, but an annoying one too." He muttered. "You've got bad sense of timing as well." he added and looked to see where had run off to.  

"I'm not sorry because she was pissing me off."  

Ootori frowned.  

"And why the hell are you standing here staring at us?!" Shishido shouted frustrated at Ootori. "Go find your girl and console her." 

Ootori looked to where had run off to and then back at them. He could sense everyone at the table looking at him, but he shrugged the feeling off. "Please tell me what upset her, Shishido senpai." 

Shishido was going to say something, but Atobe intervened. "It's not in our place." 

"Huh?" Shishido whispered surprised. "What the hell?" he managed to say as he glared at Atobe. 

"It's not in our place." Atobe repeated. "Do you want her to hunt you down? She cannot touch me, but you, I'm not too sure." He declared. "This is something has to tell him herself." He reasoned. Before Shishido could say anything, Ootori left the scene. He didn’t want to upset anyone, but he was wasting time just standing there. He walked off to the direction where went to and decided to look for her. 

~~~ 

stood by the edge of the pool. Somehow in the mist of the madness, she found herself not out of the building, but by the pool side. She controlled her breathing and tried to calm herself down. Choutarou is going to hate me now, she thought sadly. 

"Well, well…" 

's ears perked up and she turned to the voice. She saw not only one girl, but three girls. All of them were freshmen's and she knew their names, it was Rin, Sai, and Yui. All three of them stood there dressed beautifully; obviously they were there as dates. What annoyed her was how smugly they stood with their hands on their hips. "Do you mind?" said without thinking. "I'm here for some privacy." 

"Awww… he dumped you already?" Sai said. "Maybe now you'll realize that younger boys don't suit you." She said arrogantly. "You're all so conceited and think you can…" 

"Choutarou is only getting us some drinks." interrupted not looking at them as she turned to look at the pool. "He should be here any minute, so I suggest you get out before he finds out the types of snakes he has in his fanclub."   

"What?!" All three exclaimed. "You really are a bitch." Yui added. "We saw you run away from him. Even the boys in your own class do not approve of the relationship. Why are you being so stubborn and keep pushing it?! You should've broken up with him by now."  

"Simple." answered quietly hugging herself. "It's because I love him." 

"Love?" Rin snorted. "You're a fool for believing in love." 

shrugged. "You're the fools for not believing in it." She remarked. "I didn't really believe in that kind of crap before, but with Choutarou it's different. It doesn’t matter how old anyone is." She reasoned. "Once you both have an understanding then its fine." 

"Enough! Enough!" Yui exclaimed. "I don't want to hear this anymore." She said shaking her head in anger. "You sicken me. You really do sicken me. We looked up to you and you helped us in a lot of things, but once you started seeing Ootori senpai, you changed and became self centered and…" 

"What?" asked surprised. "What are you…" she began confused turning around, but before she could finish her sentence; she was pushed into the pool. not only fell with a loud splash, but with a scream as well. struggled for a minute and then finally pulled herself out of the water. The three girls were standing there with a wicked smile on their faces. was dripping wet. Her hair was plastered to her face and her dress was ruined. "You…" she began. 

"Did you get all that Gakuto?" 

froze in her place. She looked up and saw Oshitari standing by a tree with a smirk on his face. Even the three freshmen's looked surprised. "Got… Got what?" Sai asked hesitantly. 

"Gakuto." 

The red head walked out from behind another tree and in his hand was a… 

"Video camera?!" They all exclaimed as their faces turned pale.  

"It is quite a useful and an amusing gadget when you need it, don't you think girls?" Oshitari asked as he crossed his arms. He watched as the smile on each girl's face clearly vaporized. The smile turned to fear and something else. Even looked surprised, still on the floor. she was wondering what those two were up to. Why are they here in the first place?  

Rin straightened up. "Name your price." 

"What? You think we're going to sell this valuable memory to you?" Gakuto asked flipping the camera in his hand. "I'm sure everyone would like to know how freshmen's treated their seniors." He added. "I wonder what Atobe would think?" he muttered on purpose, but loud enough for them to hear. 

The girls winced at the statement.  

stood up. She walked over to Oshitari and Gakuto in her state dripping wet. "Yuushi…" she said softly shivering from the cold. "Give me the film." She requested politely. "Gakuto…" 

They both looked at each other and nodded. Gakuto took the film out of the video camera and handed it to Oshitari who in turn handed it to . looked at the film in her hand. She looked at the two boys in front of her and then at the girls with a smile. 

"Don't think because you have that you can act so smug…" Sai began, but she went quiet when she saw what did. dropped the film on the floor and crushed it with her heel. 

Gakuto winced, but Oshitari didn't show any surprise. "What the hell…" Gakuto swore. "We…" 

"I'm sorry, Gakuto." She said softly. "Do not put me in the same category as those girls." She explained and with that she walked away from them and decided it was time for her to head home. 

~~~ 

In her room, sat on her bed. The day's event had washed over her. She felt better now because she did not stoop low to blackmail, but her heart still ached. She still had Ootori to worry about. She was dry in her pajamas now. The Hyotei ball that she was so looking forward to at the beginning was a dead and cold memory to her now. She turned off her lights and decided to sleep over it. Maybe by sleeping, she wouldn't feel so heavy and needy. 

<Tap> <Tap> 

yawned not really caring for the sound. She did not know that the sound was caused by something other than nature outside her window.

<Tap> <Tap> 

<Beep> 

sat up surprised. I thought my phone was on silent, she thought as she moved her hand across her bedside table to reach her cell phone. She looked to see who the message was from and saw that it was Ootori. Oh, Choutaru's number has been customized to never be on silent on my cell. She realized as she read the msg. 

<Open your window, I'm freezing.> 

stared dumbfounded at the message for a minute and then realized… "Oh my god!" she whispered getting off the bed and going to the window. She opened her window and before she could see or say anything, she felt herself being wrapped tightly into someone's embrace. "Don't do that again." He ordered softly. 

's eyes flickered. "Chouta…" she said softly her vice muffled by him. "Don't do what?" she asked shivering. She felt heated as he held her like that, but the shivers that came from her body were due to the fact that he was cold. put her arms around him and hel