Amu is not having the best day. Ever since Daiki confessed his relationship with his friends in the middle of the university cafeteria, the news of them dating spread like wildfire. Just this morning, Amu received piercing looks and unfriendly greetings from her classmates.

“Where’s Rio-chan when I need her?”, she sighed missing her best friend who is still off ill. She thanked heavens that it was nearly the end of the day and looked forward seeing her boyfriend. 

“I’ll see you at the usual place, princess. I miss you”, she read on her mobile, plastering a subtle smile across her face. All the girls around campus might be against her, but the thought of being with Daiki gives her all she ever wanted - like a kid on Christmas Day. 

Amu unconsciously opened the door to the university rooftop, expecting it to be empty. Besides, all the students are busy preparing for the festival tomorrow and the old building’s rooftop is the last place students hang out in. Amu entered hers and Daiki’s meeting place and was welcomed with unforgiving looks from two unfamiliar girls and one girl she knew almost too well - Matsumoto Atsuko, the president of Daiki Arioka’s fan club.

“Ohh, look who finally showed up”, the girl smirked, looking at the clueless Amu in front. The four girls took a few steps forward, almost trapping her on the towering rooftop rails, “... the famous Amu Kitagawa who bewitched Dai-chan”. 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Amu gulped. The girls gave off such unforgiving looks that made her quite alert. She heard horror stories of what fan clubs of this school does to those who disobey, but she never took notice of such stories. Praying for her safety, she mentally noted a plan of escape but two of the girls are currently blocking the exit. 

“Look at you acting all innocent. You think we didn’t notice how you flirt with our Dai-chan? Even you friend Rio is acting all cozy with Ryosuke and Yuto. What a !”, Atsuko said in disgust, earning chuckles from two of her companions. 

“Rio-chan is not like that. You better take that back!”, Amu retorted. She is the type of person who can deal with any insults thrown at her. But when I when it comes to her friends, she will not hesitate to fight back. 

“Or what?”, Atsuko smirked and suddenly grabbed Amu’s collar. The poor girl flinched and started to feel a suffocating pressure on her neck. Amu tried to release herself from her capture but two of her companions held both of her arms. Atsuko looked down at her and scoffed. She felt a sense of power having her rival cornered. “You better stay away from Dai-chan if you don’t want you and your friends to suffer”. 

“Giving Daiki up is the last thing I’ll do”, with limited air, Amu managed to counter the latter’s violence. 

Hearing this, Atsuko pinned her on the metal rail and placed a bit more force on her neck, “You disgust me”, she raised her free hand, ready to hit the petite girl. She was about to take a strike when a crisp voice took over, making her stop. 

——

“What disgust me is your attitude”, Amu sighed in relief after feeling the tight hold on her neck loosen when the three girls’ turned around to see who spoke. 

“Ch-Chinen?”, the three girls froze, having caught by one of Daiki’s best friends. The boy threw daggers, making them back away from Amu’s body. 

“Just so you know, I’m not afraid to hurt a girl if it means protecting someone dear to me...”, Chinen’s words were enough to make the three girls panic. He had his fist clenched as if ready to beat someone up, “or would you rather me telling Dai-chan about all of this and crush your idiotic fan club?”. 

Furious, Atsuko clenched her jaw in annoyance and felt her fingers itching to hurt Amu on the spot. She’s dating Daiki and now, she’s being rescued by Chinen Yuri? Who does she think she is? 

With nowhere to hide, she turned to Amu and whispered: “This is NOT over”, she signalled for her two companions to go and it wasn’t long when their figures disappeared out of the rooftop grounds. 

——

“Thank goodness you came!”, Amu signed in relief before fixing her crumpled collar. She saw Chinen taking a few steps towards her and patted her shoulder for comfort. 

“Are you okay?”, he stood directly in front of her, “I was only looking for a place to eat my lunch quietly. I didn’t know that I’ll be rescuing a little kitten from bullies”, Chinen teased, showing Amu a piece of bread he bought, proving his appearance is merely a coincidence. 

Amu smiled weakly and felt the urge to rest her head on Chinen’s shoulder. All she did today was listen to notorious lectures but for some good reason, she felt exhausted and somehow defeated, “Dai-chan’s fan club really is scary. Now I understand why he wanted to keep our relationship a secret”, she mumbled, feeling Chinen’s hand travel from her shoulder to the top of her head. Chinen is one of the few people Amu can seek comfort from. 

“If after all that and you still want to be with Dai-chan, then that proves how much you love him”, the boy chuckled before hearing another set of footsteps coming up the stairs of the rooftop. 

—

“Amu-chan, sorry I’m la-“, Daiki felt the whole of his blood drain out of his system after seeing his girlfriend’s head on his best friend’s chest as if seeking comfort. He felt anger for a minute and stomped towards the couple. 

“Dai-chan”, Amu greeted, but felt anxious seeing her boyfriend charging at Chinen. 

Daiki was about to say something when Chinen shoved his bread in his friend’s mouth, allowing himself to explain. 

“Before you misunderstand anything, I just saved your girlfriend from Atsuko and her friends”

“Fhufh?”, Daiki replied, obvious that he’s still trying to get rid of the dry piece of pastry from his throat. After a few bites, he finally was able to talk clearly, “Did they hurt you?”, he examined Amu from head to toe. He sighed when the girl smiled at him while shaking her head. 

“Chinen came just in time to rescue me”, the girl explained. Daiki felt a sudden gush of guilt after hearing this sentence. Why wasn’t he the one there to rescue her? 

“I guess this isn’t a quiet place to eat lunch after all. Jya”, Knowing his friend well, Chinen decided to give the couple some space for Daiki not to over think. They’ve known each other for more than 10 years now, and Daiki is the kind to over think sometimes. Although this time, Daiki might be right in thinking that Chinen has feelings for Amu. 

Chinen looked at Amu one last time before closing the rooftop door behind him, “Will it be different if I saw you first?”, he sighed, giving up his happiness. 

——

*Next Day*

It’s the day of the festival and all students are busy preparing for different booths, alongside the most anticipated event of the day: the football game. 

Despite the buzzing activities going on around them, Daiki and Ryosuke appeared to have darkened auras. 

“Did someone die?”, Kim and Kei placed two sets of onigiri in front of the two sulking boys. Kim knows how miserable Ryosuke is acting these past few days and it’s actually making her worry. He hasn’t eaten anything decent since he found Yuto coming out of Rio’s apartment. 

“I know you’re sulking because of Rio but at least eat something so you’ll have the energy to be miserable”, Kim remarked while noticing similar facial expression from the boy sitting next to Ryosuke. 

“And what’s going on with you?”, Kim turned to Daiki and was surprised at how his fa