"Aileane."

 

Aileane froze when she heard that voice. She felt her heart race. She immediately turned her back. "Chii-chan!" she greeted him. She didn't see him this morning. That was why she was excited to see him. Aside from that, she still had some hangover on what happened yesterday. 

 

Yuri showed a half smile. "Can I talk to you for a while?" he asked. 

 

She nodded. "Of course!"

 

Yuri went toward a bench and sat down. She followed him and sat down too. He looked around first before he spoke. "I have something to ask," he suddenly looked away.

 

"What is it?" she asked. 

 

"Can I...uhm..." he bit his lip and blushed. "Can I ask for your number?"

 

"When did you got shy in asking my number? Before, when you asked for my number, you were smiling. Now, why are you blushing?"

 

He rolled his eyes and slightly pouted his lips. "Just give me your number."

 

"Okay okay! Chill!" she chuckled. She took out a piece of paper from her sling bag and wrote down her number. She evem added, 'Aieru' at the bottom of the paper. When she was already satisfied, she gave the paper to Yuri.

 

"This girl," she heard Yuri mumbled when he looked at the paper. Even though he was hiding a smile, she saw it.

 

"Quit hiding your smile, Chii," she laughed. "Come on. Show your smile."

 

He just rolled his eyes again but showed his smile. "Stop it, Ai."

 

"Chii-chan! There you are!"

 

They both looked in front of their bench and saw Rina standing there. She had her smile but her eyes were staring intently at Aileane. She looked friendly but her eyes were showing something different.

 

"Rina-chan," Yuri exclaimed.

 

"Aren't you going to our classroom yet? Classes are going to start soon," she said.

 

He stood up and glanced at Aileane before answering. "Go ahead. I'll just follow."

 

"No. I'll wait for you," she replied.

 

"Okay." He looked at her with narrowed eyes. He then shrugged his shoulders and face Aileane. "We'll be going now. Bye." 

 

Aileane nodded and stood up too. "Okay. Bye, Chii-chan."

 

Before Yuri could smile, Rina took his hand and dragged him away from her. She watched both of them walked away. And suddenly, she felt something twisting in her stomach. 

 

 

"Aileane, are you already heading home?" Yuya asked. He was outside Aileane's classroom, waiting for her. 

 

"Hai! Why?" she looked around, searching for Yuri. 

 

"I need to talk to someone. I hope I can--" 

 

Before he could even finish, she already spoke. "You can always talk to me! I'm your friend, remember?"

 

He smiled but he seemed troubled. He took her arm and they walked away from the classroom until they reached the school ground. While walking toward the school gate, he already started speaking. "I-I think I already like someone."

 

Her eyes widened. She faced Yuya and saw him blushing. "Really?! Who?!" 

 

He bit his lower lip and looked around "C-can we talk about this somewhere else? She might hear."

 

She chuckled at his reaction. 'He's so adorable!' "Sure."

 

When they reached the outside of the school, they searched for the nearest food shop. They thought it was a good idea to eat while talking. They chose to enter a small ice cream parlor. Little did they know, there was someone staring at them.

 

 

"Is he going to confess?!" Yuri whispered to himself when he saw both Aileane and Yuya entering an ice cream parlor. He was behind the two of them earlier and he heard that Yuya was going to tell something about the girl he likes. 'What if Aileane was the girl he likes? What if he will confess?' He just stared at them through the glass wall. He saw them sat on the table near the door.

 

He walked toward the ice cream parlor and entered it. He managed not to be seen by the two. He sat on the table near Aileane and Yuya. He couldn't stand not hearing what Yuya has to say. If Yuya would confess, he would definitely get her away.

 

The two ordered but he didn't. He just wanted to hear Yuya. Once the two were already waiting for their orders, Aileane started their conversation. "So, who's the lucky girl?"

 

'What?! Lucky girl?! So, does that mean she wants to be the girl Yuya likes?!' Yuri's forehead started to have lines.

 

"Well, she's Kei," Yuya answered.

 

He sighed when he heard Yuya's answer. 'Good. It wasn't Aileane.'

 

"Oh! She's so lucky! I'm jealous," Aileane answered. It was supposed to be a joke but he didn't seem to take it as a joke.

 

"What did you say, Ai? You're jealous of her because she's the one Yuya likes?" Yuri didn't manage to stop himself from speaking.

 

Aileane's jaw dropped when she saw Yuri. "Chii-chan!"

 

"Do you like Yuya?" he asked.

 

He heard Yuya laughed but his eyes were only focused on Aileane. He saw how she forced herself not to smile but he was just staring at her with serious face. He wanted to hear her say that she doesn't like Yuya.

 

"What are you saying? Of course not!" Then she grinned. "You're the one I like, Yuri. The only one."

 

He felt himself blush so he looked away. "Good," he mumbled. The creases on his forehead soon disappeared. He walked toward the shop's door and went out. 

 

 

"That's all. Thank you for listening," Yuya said while waving at Aileane.

 

Aileane nodded. "That's nothing. Bye bye!" Then, she walked toward the direction of the school. Her father was going to fetch her so she needed to go back.

 

When she reached the school, she saw her father's car there. She was shocked when she saw Yuri and her father talking. "Chii-chan! Dad!"

 

The two guys looked at her. She glanced at Yuri and saw him showing a tight smile. Then, she face her father who was smirking. "Dad! What's going on here?"

 

"Calm down, princess. We were just talking," her dad chuckled.

 

"Is that true, Chii-chan?" She heard her dad laugh but she was nervous of what her dad told Chii. 'Did he threaten him? What?'

 

Yuri nodded. Then, he faced Aileane's father. "I'll be going now." He smiled. "Thank you, sir." Then, he went away.

 

Both Aileane and her dad went in the car. As soon as they were seated, Aileane asked questions. "What did you tell him, dad? Oh gosh. Did you tell him bad things about me?!"

 

Her dad laughed. "Stop being paranoid, princess. I just told him what he needed to know."

 

She felt her heartbeat stopped when her dad told her that. "Y-you told him why I left, dad?"

 

Her dad started the car engine and started driving. "Yeah."

 

Suddenly, she felt her phone beeped. She looked at it and saw a message.

 

'Hey, it's Chii. I know everything already. I'm...sorry.'

 

She didn't reply until they got home. She immediately ran toward her bedroom. Then, without wasting another minute, she called Yuri. He immediately answered it.

 

"Chii-chan!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I didn't tell you."

 

"It's alright," he answered.

 

"A-are you busy?" she asked.

 

She heard him chuckle. "Yes, I am."

 

She frowned because of it. "O-oh. Sorry to bother you."

 

"I'm busy thinking of you. I'm busy missing the feeling of your warm hug, your soft hands and your sweet lips against mine."

 

"Chii-chan! Why are you getting cheesy on the phone?" She felt her cheeks getting hot. "Oh my gosh! Does that mean we're already back together?"

 

"I don't know," he laughed. "Ai,"

 

"Hmm?"

 

"I was just waiting for you to tell me the reason why you left. Why didn't you tell me that you left because your father asked you to? Why didn't you tell me that you left to make your father accept me...us?"

 

She lied down her bed and looked at the ceiling. "I...I don't want you to know."

 

"Why?"

 

She bit her lip, thinking on what to answer. "I...I just want to keep it to myself. I don't want you to know about it."

 

"So, you're expecting me to welcome you again in my life with open arms even if I don't know the reason why you left?"

 

She shut her eyes tight. "Sorry," she said, almost a whisper.

 

He sighed. "It's alright, Ai. Now that I know the reason, can we start all over again?"

 

That made her open her eyes. "What did you say?!"

 

"Can we start again? Because, Ai, it was still you. My heart was still with you."