There were times that Mirai really just didn't understand Yamada at all. She used to feel like she knew him really well, but recently he had just started acting weirder and weirder. Since they were younger, Yamada and Mirai were pretty close. In high school they had been co-representatives of their class. They'd worked closely together for several years and became as good of friends as seemed possible. They even planned to go to the same university.

That was when things started to change. After starting their classes, freshman year, Yamada slowly started acting differently. At first he seemed slightly withdrawn, and then all the sudden he was always too busy. The time she asked him to the movies, he had to study. The time she'd wanted him to go and check out clubs with her, he was trying to bond with his new roommate. Over the course of several months things kept going like that until Mirai started to think that Yamada just wasn't interested in being her friend anymore, so she stopped trying.

No denying that it hurt. She tried to ignore it though, by throwing herself into her studies. Her grades went up, but her social life started to slip. She barely even noticed because she was so intent on the books, even going as far as to spend the majority of her evenings in the library, alone. It was kind of depressing and she started sleeping less. It was frustrating to her, and she knew it was because she was still upset over Yamada. He hadn't even called to ask if she was okay, and it had been two weeks since she last called him.



One night in the library, Mirai found herself nodding off over her books. The library didn't close until one in the morning, and it was only eleven so she wasn't that worried about it. It was only later when she woke up and it was completely dark around her that she started to freak out. Jumping out of her seat, Mirai looked around before scrambling for her phone. It was a little past three. She moaned in a mix between annoyance and fear. She didn't know if she could get in trouble for this, or if she'd have to wait several hours to even get out. How could they have overlooked her when they were locking up? Granted, she was off in a private booth and the library was pretty big.

Suddenly her phone buzzed and she looked down at it, surprised. Who would be sending her a text at this hour?

From: Ryosuke-kun
Where are you? Are you okay?

Mirai felt a little surprised that he would suddenly text her. Frowning, she wanted to throw her phone. Why now? He wasn't supposed to care about her anymore, right? He certainly didn't act like it. He probably just wanted her help on something, which was a favor she didn't want to extend to someone who had abandoned her.

Minutes seemed to go by in hours. Mirai didn't know what to do. She didn't want to tell anyone she was there because it was too embarrassing, and she didn't want to try and leave because she was afraid she'd be caught on the cameras, and then they might get her in trouble. Maybe it would be best to stay right where she was. They obviously hadn't noticed her before, right?

Sliding down to the floor with her back against the wall, Mirai hugged her knees and stared at the text on her phone, the one that made her feel sad and lonely, the one that was from the one person she wished could be there with her.



The next thing she knew, Mirai's shoulder was being grabbed. She opened her eyes to a ray of sun streaking through the window, almost blinding her. Reaching up quickly to shield her eyes, Mirai felt a fear that she had been caught, that someone was about to get her in trouble.

"What were you doing here?"

The voice was unmistakable, and Mirai opened her eyes and turned her face to look at the person squatting down beside her. Her eyes widened when they met Yamada's piercing gaze. There was a mixture of horror and complete joy at seeing him. Her arms moved before she knew it, and she was pulling him closer, pressing against him in a clinging hug. Her body shook with nerves from being afraid. She felt his hands press against her shoulder blades, and he didn't say anything for a moment.

The silence hung between them until he pulled back slightly and picked up her phone. Seeing the text still up, he frowned. "Why didn't you respond? I was really worried about you."

Mirai almost barked a laugh, which made him frown in unwarranted confusion. "Worried? Somehow that sounds a little strange coming from you. How did you even know I was here?"

He didn't answer immediately, his expression turned down in thoughtfulness. Mirai couldn't tell what he was thinking though. She seemed really bad at that lately.

"I didn't know you were here. Your roommate called me last night saying you never made it back. I texted you, and then talked to her some more when you didn't answer. I looked all over for you. Your roommate said you're always at the library, so as soon as it opened I came here to check."

Biting her lip slightly, Mirai tried to hold back her frustration. "I got locked in. I didn't know you were worried."

Hearing that Yamada had been looking for her all night definitely made her feel a little guilty, but it also made her feel happy in a way that she wasn't sure if she should. She didn't want her heart to get broken all over again.

Her comment made Yamada sigh, and he sat down beside her, his own back to the wall. "Just because I was ignoring you a little lately, doesn't mean I don't care about you."

"A little," she retorted, feeling kind of offended that he would call that a little. She was also kind of hurt to hear that he really had been ignoring her. "You didn't even give me a reason. How could I think you care about me when you obviously don't care about hurting me?"

Yamada's hands twisted around each other and he looked at her with such a pained expression that she almost wanted to forgive him right then and there. "I didn't know I'd hurt you that much," he said softly.

"Why? Why didn't you want to spend any time with me anymore?"

There was a long silence in which Yamada would open his mouth and then close it again several times, as if he didn't know how to say something. Eventually he seemed to find some words, "I was running away."

Looking at him closer, Mirai wondered what he was talking about. Her mind tried to jump to conclusions that she did her best to shut down while waiting for him to continue.

All of the sudden, it came out in a rush, "I knew things would change and it scared me. I was afraid of losing what we had before, but I was also afraid that things wouldn't change in the way that I wanted. I thought you might find a guy more interesting than me, and I guess distancing myself from it was the easiest thing to do, even if it was wrong."

The following sigh and the way Yamada's face fell into his hands made Mirai's heart wrench. She leaned closer and pressed her head against his shoulder. "You could have just said something." Taking a deep breath, Mirai decided to take a leap of faith and added, "I'm not going to find anyone I'd rather be with than you."

Yamada's head snapped up and he looked at her a little surprised for a moment. His mouth echoed the words, "Be with." In what seemed like a split second, Yamada was leaning closer, and then he was kissing her. It was a soft, uncertain kiss before he quickly leaned back and searched her face for a reaction.

Smiling, Mirai pulled him back and gave him a kiss of her own. "See, you've always overreacted to things," she said softly before moving her arms away from him to press against the floor, pushing herself up to her feet.

Yamada stared at her for a moment before following. "Me? You're the one who got herself locked in a library."

They stared at each other for a moment before laughing. Yamada bit his lip nervously. There were so many things they'd still have to talk about, to think about. How their relationship was changing, the fact that they'd just kissed. Mirai wasn't sure how easy it would be to go from best friends to girlfriend and boyfriend, but she knew that was what she wanted. She'd always wanted Yamada, and it was like a burden had been lifted from her, knowing that he felt the same.

"So," she said slowly, knowing she'd have to be the one to break the awkward silence because Yamada was really hopeless sometimes. "You owe me a movie, and a lot of afternoons watching boring variety programs in uncomfortable dorm rooms." His resulting smile made her happy, and she impulsively reached for his hand. He looked at it for a moment, a little surprised, before wrapping his fingers snugly between hers. It felt right somehow, and Mirai knew being with Yamada had been what she was missing all along, and she didn't intend on letting him get away from her again.