ah... it's my last year at Horikoshi High! and it's his too...

Since my first year here, I have been secretly drawn to him. A pop idol, charming and cute at the same time, and though he's not as talkative as his friends, he is really sweet. there's this one time he rejected a girl's confession and he stayed to comfort the girl the whole day. 

yamada ryosuke, member of hey! say! jump is the one I loved a lot but though we were classmates for years, I've never spoken to him. there wasn't an opportunity because I wasn't in their clique which included Chinen, Yuto, Umika, Suzuka, Ohgo and a few others. well, the celebrities in our class literally hang out together. he is also receiving lots of attention and love from the girls across the levels. I blame myself for lacking the courage to even talk to him, I am afraid he thinks I'm weird so I avoid him at all cost. I bet he doesn't even notice my existence.

this year is particularly difficult for my heart as after this year, I will have to watch him through tv programmes, concerts, hear him on radio and tracks just like his million of fans. 

"Mirai! can you stop dreaming?"

"ah! gomen sensei! I..." ah I feel the whole class staring at me. but before I can continue my apology, sensei continued fuming at another student.

"Mr yamada! how dare you sleep in my class!" yamada raised his head with full of guilt. he looks really tired.

"Gomen sensei. I won't do it again." he replied sincerely. my eyes is all fix on him... how can he look so good too when he's sleepy. 

"I accept both your apologies but that doesn't excuse you both from staying back after class to clean up the toilets!" sensei said firmly.i saw yamada heaved a sigh but nodded and buried his head between his palms.

"But sensei, yamada-kun was filming till 4am yesterday, he barely had 2hours of sleep... please forgive him" chinen stood up for yamachan hoping sensei will reconsider his punishment . yuto followed suit and begged sensei for forgiveness.

secretly I wished he is punished because this is one of the rare chances I can spent alone time with him. but another part of me hope he escapes verdict because I don't know how to face the one I love! 

sensei: "That doesn't excuse him from sleeping in my class! do you agree yamada-kun?"

"hai~ sensei. it's my fault. I'll clean up with Mirai-chan after class." oh my gosh, he said my name . he actually said my name. it's the first time! though he didn't turn to look at me, I was more than contented. he smiled at both his friends and sat up straight for the rest of the lesson . occasionally I saw him rubbing his eyes (aww, that's really cute)

--yamada POV--

Yamada: "chinen, yuto, I'm fine. thank you! don't worry about me."

"ahh that sensei is really so not compassionate. even after I told her that you have sleep deprivation, she still insists on meting out the punishment." chinen said

"yamachan, you too, why do you just willingly accept it when we both are fighting for you. do you freaking know how many toilets there are in this school!" yuto said with both anger and concern.

"it's not like I am doing alone. Mirai-chan is doing it with me, isn't it. oh, come to think of it, this is my first time working with her."i replied yuto and chinen by sidetracking the conversation.

Chinen: ah right. heard she doesn't like celebrities, that's why she kept avoiding all of us. none of us ever spoke to her although we have been classmates since first year. 

yamada: hmm, well, we'll see. guys, go ahead without me and help me say sorry to daiki and the rest. bye (I smiled to both my best friends and left quickly)

on the way to find Mirai, I bump into Mariya. I always thought she is a little mysterious, she always appears out of nowhere and gives me a lot of encouraging words and sometimes, offers me her handmade pastries (always ones with strawberries:)). I'm grateful for all she has done though.

Mariya: Yamada-kun, I am free now, I can help you with the cleaning . it'll be fun!

yamada: heh? it's okay Mariya. I can handle it with Mirai chan. Right, Mirai chan? ( I saw her standing quietly behind the pillar looking at us)

--Mirai POV--

I thought I hid myself well, ahhh he saw me anyways. 

Mirai: ah yes. don't worry Mariya. (I fixed my gaze at Mariya as soon as I see him smiling at me)

Mariya: if you insist (she smiled at the both of us.)

as she walked away, she whispered to me "mirai-chan, please help me take care of yamada-kun. promise okay. see you." she gave me a hug n left.

Mariya is my best friend. but I have never told her my secrets. she is mysterious sometimes cause she rejects all the nicest guys who confessed to her. wonder what she is thinking ... weird. 

"erm, Mirai chan, is it okay I call you like this?"

"y~yes" I stammered. gosh, I'm so nervous. I don't even dare look into his eyes because I think I will suffer from heart attack from his awesomeness.

"then lets go to the girl's toilet first since you will probably be more comfortable that way" he smiled and I followed behind him.

"actually it's okay if you want to go to the guy toilet first."

"it's okay haha. I am actually secretly looking forward to this because I've never been inside a female toilet!" he responded excitedly . 

I chuckled . he's so funny . I thought it really made me calm down a lot from all the nervousness from the interaction.

as he took off his blazer, I was amazed by his body build, his abs, etc. his arms look strong! I was instantly charmed. I felt my temperature rising.

"Mirai chan~ Mirai Chan! are you okay? you look like a tomato. is it too warm here? you can remove your blazer you know"

omg he noticed my blushing. "ah erm no thanks. I'm fine haha" I laughed to avoid the awkwardness. 

I thought we probably remain silent till the end of cleaning because we were all so focused with our own task. furthermore I didn't know how to initiate a conversation with him. from the start, he was the one who initiated. well, that's the striking difference between an average girl like me and a celebrity , he is social butterfly while I am just a socially awkward girl.

"ah damnit" the water from the water hose splash onto my face and clothes.

then I heard laughters coming from yamada. oh man, I just humiliated myself in front of him.

"haha! my dear, now you're wet haha."

"hey! it's not funny" but I ended laughing with him. for a moment I feel we're in our own alone world , freely laughing and throwing away our stress in life.

"I've some spare tops in my locker. let me finish the last bit and I'll go get it for you" 

"thanks so much . I hope I am not imposing on you"

"don't worry about it. It's spare anyway. I kept it there in case I have filming before class and have to rush here." he gave me that soft smile again. i am touched by his slightest bit of kindness. I always knew he's sweet to girls but now that i myself is a beneficiary, I feel that I am melting.
I smiled back .

-yamada POV--

she isn't that difficult to interact with, rather she's actually quite sweet. I can't sense that she detest me, though chinen mentioned she hates celebrities. On a sidenote, she's so clumsy and cute when she got sprayed by the water. I know it's rude to laugh but I feel quite easy around her so I just did without thinking. haha. luckily I have spare tops for her or she is going to fall sick in her wet clothes and most importantly the wet top is too revealing. 

--Mirai POV--

Nande. my top is so transparent now. ahhh so embarrassing, I hope he didn't see anything obscene. but i am so happy that i actually get to wear his clothes. awww. i must be in luck today. first time interacting with him and i get to wear his clothes! 

while I was drying my face and straightening up before he comes back with his spare top, 4 girls walked in. they approached me closer and closer and my instincts tell me I am so dead. 

"what a ! you fell asleep in class so you land yourself in the same punishment as our Ryosuke. how dare you flirt with our Ryosuke for four straight hours" I backed up until there was nowhere to go. leaning onto the bare wall, I was shaking in fear thinking about what they'll do next. I was also brought back to reality that there are so many girls out there who likes him, who am I to be the one getting his love. I'm so dumb wishfully liking him all this while, even thinking of confessing. 

"this is for flirting with him" the first girl gave me a tight slap. I crashed into the sink due to the strong impact .

"ouch~ it hurts! I DID NOT FLIRT WITH HIM! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME!"

"still arguing huh . I shall teach you a lesson to stay away from him" one of them grabbed my hair and the other held on to my hands. they started ing my top.

"Nooooo~ please nooooo~ I'm sorry please don't do this" I cried loudly but the third girl stuffed a handkerchief into my mouth so I won't make anymore noise.

"well since you love to flirt, this is perhaps the best way to get guys attention"

they attempted to take out my top but I struggled, barely hanging on to it to at least cover myself. my tears fell uncontrollably and I am so embarrassed I felt like dying. The fourth girl wanted to slap me again and instinctively I closed my eyes. but the slap never came. huh? I opened my eyes and saw her hands freeze in midair. another hand is grabbing on hers. and i swear the guy before me looks like a white knight here to rescue a damsel in distress. 

"what do you think you are doing?! what are all of you doing!" he pushed them away and took the handkerchief out of my mouth.

"yamada-kun~" I cried out to him. he didnt say a word but he took his blazer and covered me up. he sternly stared at the state of my condition and he really look scary. he turned to the girls and shouted "look, she's my friend and how dare you girls do these horrible stuff to her. and it's a shame that you are a girl as well and you did all these to humiliate another fellow female. if you girls think that by doing this, any guys will notice you, think again. I know who you girls are... our fans from year 1 right! I'll make sure chinen, yuto and daiki know what you did ! this is outrageous and I am sure they won't allow such things to happen to our friend! oh, and I won't hesitate to report this to the discipline master " yamada said with his back facing me. his words touched me. he referred me as his friend worth protecting. I am really touched. his blazer provided me with comfort and warmth and I thought all these are blessings in disguise. it feels good being protected by him . but still everything still hurts badly, physically and emotionally. my tears still rolled down like water tap and I worried how I am going to face him. I am so messed up now.

"sempai, please forgive us. we wanted to protect you from girls like her... we meant well... please don't report us, we'll get kicked out of school for sure" the girls grabbed his hands and pleaded.

"well, you should have thought of it when you decided to do these nasty stuff. GET OUT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND" he shouted.

Now, we're all alone in the toilet. My heart beats like a moving bullet train. Damnit, how am I going to face him in this state.

He turned and bent down, attempting to speak to me at eye level. We're too close, I thought. He is barely an inch away from me. 

"Mirai-chan, where does it hurt? your face? it looks red and swollen" he said with concerned eyes. The next moment is heart pounding when his palms softly touched the spot where the girl slapped me. As he did, my tears rolled onto his fingers. He then cleaned the tears from my face with his bare hands. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something but nothing came out of my mouth but cries.

"Shhh... it's okay now. you can tell me later... now, let's get you dressed up okay. Don't worry, I didn't see much, so you don't have to be embarrassed or anything. And, it's not like I never see bare skin before... Haha. I have 2 sisters and well, and my JUMP buddies. hmmm, not so appropriate to say this huh. haha. sorry, I am always so shallow. But my point is, don't worry about this." he gave me a smile, a really sweet smile.

"yamada-kun~" I wiped the remaining tears and stopped my endless weeping in case it irritates him anytime soon.

"Are you able to get up? You can get changed in one the cubicles. Here is the clothes I brought you" he wrapped his arms around me and held me up. That instance, his heat radiates through my body. I tried my best not to lose myself cause it will ruin the moment. but he's almost irresistible and we're almost hugging. Ironically, this is my happiest moment, the pain is almost gone.

"thanks, yamada-kun. if you need to go, you can go off first. i'll be fine" I said to him, as much as I don't really want to.

He didn't reply, he just helped me shut the door to the cubicle. I guessed that's the way he says goodbye. 

I changed into his top and gosh, the nice sweet smell when he held onto me, it's on his clothes too. I am enjoying the feeling of 'him' wrapping around my skin. ah, I wished I never have to return these. I walked out of the cubicle and to my surprise, he is still here.

"hey! not bad, I thought it will be too baggy. haha, i almost wanted to borrow from chinen since his size is so small. haha" he said. I never expected he will stay for me. really, i never expected that.

"Yamada-kun~ why are you still here? I thought you left" I said to him with guilt.

"My fans just hurt you, and you expect me to leave right away? Do I seem to you that I am that unsympathetic?" he replied impatiently.

"I'm sorry...that's not what I meant...I~"

"Let's go. I'll treat you to a drink or something...don't reject me, it's my way of saying sorry. if i wasn't for me, you wouldn't have gone through the whole episode" he wrapped his arms around my shoulder and walked with me, leaving me no room for rejection. 

--he brought me to a nice cozy cafe, he bought strawberry shortcakes for both of us (we both happened to love it) and then, sent me home.--

I must say the whole time at the cafe, it was awkward for me because from time to time, I felt my heart thumping really fast and I was trying very hard to hide my love for him. When I reached home, I was in such fatigue that I can almost fall asleep immediately. There's just no way I am going to confess to him. He is really sweet to me today but anyone in that situation would have done exactly what he did. I am not going to deceive myself thinking that he feels the same way for me. That's insane cause he is Yamada Ryosuke. But at least one thing he said that is probably going to change our relationship from tomorrow is...

"Mirai-chan. I heard you detest us celebrities. I totally understand cause we are such troublemakers. needless to say, after today, you probably will maintain a distance from me. Fans stick to us no doubt, but people like you who have no interest in our work will shun away from us. It makes me sad sometimes, because I don't have much friends like you. Or rather you can say my only friends are JUMP members and those in my company. That's sad isn't it. I entered the agency when I am really young so I barely had many outside friends. I only ask of you not to distant yourself any further. It's nice hanging out with you despite whatever unhappy stuff that happened today. The toilet cleaning punishment didn't turn out that boring because of you actually. I hope we can be friends, if that's not too much to ask. You don't actually have to be scared of us, or at least me, chinen and yuto. They are really nice people, and I am absolutely sure they'll love to befriend you as well. erm, as for me, I hope I didn't fare that bad in front of you today, and hopefully you don't hate me for what happened. My point is... let's be friends."

I am really glad he said all these. I thought all these years, I will graduate without a single interaction with my classmate. Since he can never be mine, I thought being friends suffice.

we have 8 months left in Horikoshi High, 8 months to be his friend. I hope it is not too late to know him better from now.