Aileane hurriedly went out of her father's car when they arrived at her school. There were only few minutes before classes start. Because of the conversation between Yuri and her last night, it had been difficult for her to fall asleep. That was why she woke up late. 

 

Once she passed the gate, she stopped. She looked at the side and saw Yuri staring at her. With a surprised face, she went near him. He was supposed to be inside his classroom now. What was he doing there? 

 

"Chii-chan, Ohayo," she greeted. "Why are you still here? Classes will soon start." 

 

He turned his back. "Let's go," he said, completely ignoring her question. 

 

She stared at his back while he was walking away. Then, a realization hit her. 'Is it possible that he waited for me?' Her lips formed a grin. 

 

She caught up with him. Once she was already beside him, she bumped his shoulders. "You waited for me, didn't you?" 

 

He knitted his eyebrows but didn't face her. "No."

 

A chuckle escaped from her lips. She was sure Yuri was just embarrassed to admit it. He had always been like that. "Oh, really?" 

 

"Really." 

 

She shrugged her shoulders. "Once a tsundere, always a tsundere." 

 

"I'm not a tsundere!" 

 

She saw a small smile on his lips. When he glanced at her, he slightly pouted his lips to suppress that smile. That made her chuckle. "Seriously, Yuri Chinen? You were sweet and so expressive last night and now you don't want to admit that you did something sweet today." 

 

"Yuri-chan!" 

 

Both of them stopped walking and turned around. They saw Rina walking toward them. Her eyes were confused while she was staring at them. 

 

Once she was near them, she immediately place herself in between the two and faced Yuri. "Why..." she glanced at Aileane. "...are you a bit late?" 

 

Yuri and Aileane glanced at each other. They hadn't talk about the other things that they need to fix last night. They hadn't thought of the people that would be affected by their decision--specifically Rina and Yuri's other friends. 

 

Yuri smiled awkwardly, not knowing who to look at, Aileane or Rina. "I'm sorry. I.. I just waited--" 

 

"Oh the reason doesn't matter," Rina cut him off. "Let's just go." Without waiting for Yuri to agree, she grabbed his arm and walked away. 

 

As Aileane watched the two walk away, she saw Yuri looked at her and mouthed, 'I'll talk to her'. She just nodded. After that, she headed toward her classroom. 

 

 

 

 

It was lunch time. However, Yuri didn't manage to eat with Aileane. Both his and Rina's friends would get surprised when they saw him eating with Aileane. Also, it was hard for him to tell everyone that Aileane and him were together again. Most of his friends disliked her because she left him without any good byes.

 

"Yuri-chan, I cooked for you!" Rina exclaimed. She held out a pink lunch box with different dishes on it. 

 

He smiled at her. "Thank you!" 

 

"Aww you two. Why can't you just be together?" Aki, a friend of Rina asked them, grinning widely. 

 

"We're just friends," he said. 

 

All of them on the table laughed except for him. They thought he was just joking. All of them knew that he and Rina dated for a couple of times. They couldn't just be friends. 

 

"Really?" Yabu, his soccer teammate mocked. 

 

"Really," he convinced them. 

 

"Nah. We'll just ask Rina." Yabu wasn't convinced and so did the others. 

 

Many began to ask Rina the same question. All she did was to laugh, smile, grin and chuckle. She didn't deny nor confirm anything. That made the others more convinced that something was between them. 

 

"Rina, do you like Yuri?" 

 

Suddenly, silence took over their table. Everyone, even Yuri, was anticipating for Rina's answer. She cleared and blushed. "Of course, I do." 

 

The girls on the table squealed because of her answer. However, their questions didn't stop there. All of them faced Yuri and asked him the same question. "How about you? Do you like Rina?" 

 

He gulped. He didn't know what to answer. Of course, she liked Rina. She wasn't hard to like. But if he answered 'yes', they might think it was something. They might think he liked her in a romantic way. 

 

"Come on, Chinen! Don't make us wait," another soccer teammate said. 

 

He sighed. "Only as a friend. Nothing more than that." 

 

Some frowned on his answer. They were disappointed. They wanted the two of them to be together but his answer didn't seem to agree on what they want. 

 

"Let's go. Lunch will be over soon," he said as he stood up from the table. 

 

The others followed him and all of them started heading to their classrooms. 

 

 

 

 

As soon as the school bell rang, Yuri talked to his soccer teammates and told them that he would just be talking to someone so he would be late for the practice. After his teammates agreed, he talked to Rina. 

 

"Rina-chan, I have to tell you something." 

 

Rina looked at him and smiled. "Hmm? What?" 

 

"Let's go somewhere else." 

 

He led the way and Rina followed his from behind. He headed toward the back part of the school. No one was there. There were only few benches and trees around.

 

They sat down the bench and silence took over their atmosphere. However, it wasn't awkward for them. No one spoke. They both looked up and stared at the orange-colored sky. 

 

Yuri thought of what he was going to say. He needed to tell her about Aileane. She was a friend. At the same time, he also admitted to himself that he used her to forget Aileane. He knew he would hurt her--something she doesn't deserve. Yet, he.was thinking of a way thay would hurt her less. 

 

After some minutes, he broke the silence between them. "I like--no, I love someone." 

 

Rina stayed silent and fixed her gaze at the sky so he continued. "You're my friend. I just want you to know that." 

 

She faced him and he saw her eyes starting to build up tears. "It is Aileane." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. 

 

He nodded in agreement. He was surprised when he received a punch on his chest. It wasn't painful but it was strong enough for him to move a bit backward. 

 

"You're so unfair!" She exclaimed. "You know I have feelings for you and you're telling me that." 

 

"I'm sorry," he muttered. 

 

"You dated me. You were always with me. You made me believe that you might like me too. Just then, when the girl who left you came back, you're telling me that you love her." 

 

He bit his lip and looked away. It was hard for him to see her cry in front of him. She was a friend. She was one of those who made him happy during the times Aileane was nowhere to found. 

 

"I won't give up," she said. 

 

He looked at her. "What?" 

 

"I won't give you to her. I know there's still a possibility that you might like me back. And I won't give up until that possibility is gone. So, no. If you're going to ask me to stop what I'm feeling now, sorry. I won't." 

 

He sighed. "Rina, I love her." 

 

"I know," her voice was firm. "But I love you too. I'll do anything to make you love me back." 

 

After what she said, she ran away while wiping the tears flowing from her eyes. But then, she stopped and faced him again. A mysterious grin plastered on her face.. "By the way, when I say 'anything', I really mean anything."