A/N: Caution! Guard your hearts for this chapter! The next chapter will be released tomorrow so that the timeline follows the sequence of events in this fic! Enjoy!!

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Daiki leaned his arm against the vending machine, hoping to catch a breath after his interaction with Amu. 'Get a hold of yourself, Daiki. You promised her that you'll wait for her answer.' He lectured himself, feeling guilty for letting his feelings get the best of him.

He stared blankly at the drinks but couldn't even focus his thoughts on them. All he could think about was Amu and he let the edges of his lips curve into a smile as he remembered her confession from last night. However, just before he could voluntarily shift his thoughts back to reality, a voice belonging to someone familiar called out from the edge of his peripherals.

In that instant, Daiki's smile immediately vanished from his face. He furrowed his eyebrows, somehow refusing to believe that the person he assumed to be was standing right behind him.

"Dai-chan? Is that you?" 

Slowly, the boy turned his head in the direction of the voice's owner. Even with masks on both of them, the two could easily recognize each other from afar. 

"Mayu..." He found himself unconsciously uttering her name. Seeing her today immediately brought up bittersweet memories that he spent the past few months trying his best to bury. 

Daiki thought that after all this time, seeing her wouldn't cause him to feel anything... So why did he suddenly feel this overwhelming amount of guilt?

Mayu quickly glanced into all the directions to first make sure that nobody else was around. After confirming that the two of them were the only ones in the area, she finally mustered the courage to approach him. "I wasn't expecting to bump into you today..." She began, stopping in her tracks until she was just an arm's length away from him. "How have you been?" 

"I uh- I've been well." Daiki replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And you?" 

"I've been better." Mayu answered, her fingers gripping onto her handbag. "I heard about what happened at JUMP's anniversary concert. I'm glad to see that you're okay." 

"Yeah, me too." The boy responded. "I mean- I'm glad that you're okay too... not that I'm glad that I'm okay."

Mayu chuckled at Daiki's stammer. She let her shoulders drop with a soft sigh as she realized how much she had missed him. The girl debated about asking to have lunch together but before she could speak up, she noticed someone familiar approaching their direction and squinted her eyes to further recognize the person.

"Eh? Amu-chan?" Mayu uttered, pulling down her own mask to greet her.

"Mayu?"

Daiki froze after recognizing Amu's voice behind him. He knew that the two girls had previously worked together but he never thought that they were this closely acquainted.

Rushing past the boy, Mayu quickly approached Amu to properly greet her. "How have you been?!" She asked, her face still illuminated with surprise.

"I'm definitely a lot better compared to last time." Amu beamed, "Thank you for comforting me that day."

"No biggies. It's the least I can do especially after everything you've done for the company." The older one assured, waving her hand back and forth. "Does that mean you've found a new place to work?" 

Amu nodded. "I um... actually work at Johnny's now..." She answered, exchanging glances with Daiki who was now proceeding towards them. 

"Eh?" Mayu began, glancing back and forth at the two people in front of her. "Does that mean..."

"We work together." Daiki explained. "She's JUMP's stylist."

"Huh, what a small world." Mayu commented. She nodded her head and placed a finger under her chin in thought. "I had no idea that you two were acquainted." 

"Oh, we met just a little less than a month ago." Amu clarified, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. "How do you both know each other?" 

Mayu released a soft smile. "Dai-chan and I... we actually dated for 2 years."

"But there's nothing between us now." Daiki quickly added. "We're just friends now."

"Oh, I see." The younger girl replied, shifting her gaze between the two of them. Hundreds of thoughts began to run through her mind at once and Amu couldn't find a way to turn her feelings into a response. "It really is a small world isn't it?" She repeated Mayu's comment, not knowing what else to say. All she wanted to do was bury herself in a hole and she didn't even know the reason why.

Amu's uneasiness didn't go unnoticed by Daiki but even he didn't know what to say in this awkward encounter. He wanted to curse at whatever fate brought this situation to him. For once, he thought that he could finally get a break in life but boy, was he wrong. 

"It was really nice bumping into you again Mayu but I have to run home. I uhm- I have to take my clothes in just in case it rains." Amu found herself saying. Daiki and Mayu both glanced at the bright blue sky above them and Amu wanted to whack herself for not being able to come up with a better excuse at that moment.

"I'll drive you back." Daiki offered, nodding his head towards the direction of the Jimusho.

"No, no, It's totally fine. You two should use this time to catch up!" Amu insisted.

"I want to drive you back." The boy repeated, this time changing one specific word so that he could express his feelings better. "Please, Amu-chan." 

The younger girl couldn't say no to Daiki's plea. However, not wanting to end things on a bad note with Mayu, she quickly glanced at the older girl.

"Don't worry. I have to head back for a photoshoot anyways." Mayu assured her. "It was great bumping into you two again." She said, waving her goodbyes.

Daiki kept his hands in his pockets as Amu waved back in politeness. As soon as Mayu turned the corner, the two exchanged quick glances before proceeding back towards the Jimusho parking lot. 

Neither of them knew what to say nor did they want to say the wrong things. They kept silent on their walk back, and even halfway through the car ride until Amu offered to speak up first.

"Dai-chan, can I ask you one quick question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." 

"What is it?" 

"It's about Mayu..." Amu began, feeling a huge lump in . "She's the one that Nishida-san forced you to break up with... right?"

Daiki hesitated for a brief second but eventually found himself nodding. "Yeah, but how did you know about that?" He asked, unable to recall ever mentioning the details of his breakup.

"Mayu and I actually talked briefly after I was fired from my previous company. She told me just a little about her recent breakup but she never mentioned your name." 

After coming to a stop at a red light, the boy softened his expression, his gaze still fixated on the road ahead of them. "It was kind of sudden- the breakup." He paused. "Mayu and I were hanging out at Ryo's and his girlfriend's apartment. We ran out of drinks at one point and we played janken to see who had to go back out to buy more. Mayu and I both lost so we went out. Long story short- we let our guards down and happened to bump into Nishida that night. He made us end everything right there." 

"Oh." Amu replied, lowering her head. "I'm sorry to hear about that..."

"It's okay. It's been a while already anyway."

The two didn't say anything else for the rest of the car ride. After arriving at the parking lot of Amu's apartment, Amu turned to face the boy and firmed her lips. "I'm sorry Dai-chan. I know I usually invite you over in the evenings to hang but can I have some time to myself today?"

"Yeah, of course." Daiki nodded. He wanted nothing more on this earth than to be with Amu right now but also wanted to respect her decision. 

"Thank you for taking me home." Amu said as she stepped out of the car. "I'll see you soon." 

"See you."

The girl offered a reassuring smile before closing the passenger seat door. Despite her calm expression, there was something in Amu's tone that didn't settle right with him. Not wanting to leave the conversation like this for who knows how long, Daiki quickly decided to unbuckle his seat belt and throw open his door. "Wait, Amu-chan!" He began, running towards her. 

"Since the both of us are off tomorrow, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow night." Daiki began. "If there is somewhere you want to go, I'd love to take you there. It doesn't have to be a date or anything, I just..." The boy paused. "... I just want to spend more time with you." 

Amu wanted to agree right at that moment, but she also knew that she needed to sort her feelings out beforehand. "Can I let you know tonight? My head is feeling a bit heavy so I think I might take a nap first to see if it goes away." She asked, hoping that this could buy her some time.

Daiki nodded. "Also... just letting you know, what happened by the pier today doesn't change how I feel about you. I'm not taking back what I said earlier at the library. I still mean every single word of it." 

The boy's words were enough to place a gentle smile on Amu's face. "Thanks, Dai-chan." she said, waving to him before turning back around to proceed up the staircase. 

--

Even with the sun already shining bright outside, Rio didn't want to leave her bed. Yesterday's memories with both Ryosuke and Yuto were still newly embedded into her mind. She could still remember the feeling of Ryosuke's chest against her back as he taught her how to cook, as well as the feeling of Yuto's fingers, intertwined with her's as he took her to the mountainside. 

Feeling her face heat up at recalling those intimate moments, she buried her head under the covers and cursed the sun for showing up on one of her gloomiest days.

A knock on Rio's door took the girl by surprise and in a fluster, she quickly uttered a response without thinking it through. "Who is it?" Rio asked,