"Let's go?" Sota raised his brow while smiling.

 

Cherry secretly looked at the guy reading a book at the back of the classroom. Even though he's not looking at them, she knew he's listening. He confirmed her thought when he nodded.

 

"Yup!" She was about to get her bag when Sota took it and walk ahead of her. She bit her lip when she heard a sigh and a loud sound of a book closing. "Sorry," she whispered before catching up with Sota.

 

Sota isn't her boyfriend. But he should be. She doesn't like him. However, she should like him.

 

She was startled when she felt a hand touching hers. It's already to late to move her hand away. She glanced at her back and saw Kei staring at them. She looked at him with pleading eyes. He nodded and walked away. 

 

"Is something bothering you?" Sota asked worriedly.

 

She shook her head. "Nope." It was a lie. But she couldn't tell the truth.

 

"Sure?" She almost cursed when he squeezed her hand. 

 

"Yup! I'm fine." She forced a grin. "I just want to go home."

 

He grinned back. "Home." He chuckled. "I'm so excited! We'll graduate after three weeks!"

 

She felt her chest tightenAfter graduation... she'll lose her chance to be real happy. After graduation, she'll marry Sota for the sake of their businesses. 

 

Sota Hanzawa's father owned one of the biggest companies in Japan. And her mother owned the rival company of the Hanzawas. If they get married, the competition will end. Problem solved. 

 

Sota's okay with this. He likes her. Unfortunately, she likes somebody else.

 

After Sota drove her home, she immediately locked herself into her bedroom. Since they already ate outside, she didn't need to eat dinner. She opened her television to keep herself from being bored. 

 

Three knocks on her window woke her up. She didn't know she fell asleep. She glanced at the digital clock on the desk beside her bed and saw that it's already midnight. Her eyes widened when she heard more knocks. 'He's here!'

 

Hastily, she combed her hair using her hands and walked toward the window. She carefully opened it, revealing the guy he loves. "Kei," she whispered. She moved away to let Kei enter her room. 

 

He completely climbed up the ladder and moved out of the window. After that, he looked at her. "Hey." His brown eyes were illuminated by the bright moonlight and made his stare intense.

 

Cherry's fast beating heart didn't stop her from staring back. Suddenly, she remembered what happened earlier. "Kei.. I-I'm sorry about earlier. You know Sota's always been like that."

 

Kei looked away. "I understand. He has always been like that. Always."

 

The jealousy in his voice didn't escape her ears. She bit her lip. She held his soft hands which made him look at her. "I'm really sorry. You also know that I can't reject him..."

 

"I know. It's okay. I mean, it's not really okay but as of now, it's okay." He sighed and pulled her into his arms. "And besides, I'm a bit happy that while he's being annoyingly sweet to you, you're eyes are still on me." 

 

She grinned and looked up. "Because I want to see how Kei Inoo becomes grumpy because of jealousy," she teased. 

 

He grinned back. "Ready for our midnight date?"

 

Kei was the first one who went out of the window. When he got down, Cherry followed him, already wearing a pair of slippers. When they were both at the ground, they ran away from the house. Kei intertwined their hands as they walk under the dark sky with scattered stars in it. The silence of their walk filled them with comfort. This is their relationship. Hidden in the shadow of the morning. This is what they are. Two people in love even if it isn't suppose to be like that. 

 

 

 

Cherry woke up when she heard the alarm, indicating that it was already seven.. With eyes still close, she tapped the digital clock beside her bed to stop it from buzzing. She slowly stood up from her bed and groggily walked toward her own bathroom.

 

A shower of lukewarm water was enough to wake her up. After getting fixed, she went down the stairs and toward the dining room. She sat down and started eating. She glanced around and was surprised to see that their maids were busy. 

 

"Why is everyone busy?" she asked as she watch her sister sit beside her.

 

A maid answered her. "Your mom's happy."

 

The maid didn't answer her question but she didn't ask again. Maybe they would have some early visitors.

 

As soon as she finished eating, she went out of their house. Their family driver was the one who took her to school. She was about to walk toward her classroom when Sota grabbed her hand and ran.

 

"H-hey! Where are we going?" she asked.

 

Sota didn't answer. She has a bad feeling about this. While running, she looked around to search for Kei. However, all she could see were students looking at them.

 

They stopped at the middle of the school ground. There is a boquet of red roses in front of them. Sota knelt down, took the boquet and gave it to her. She was startled but she took it. Sota didn't stand up which made a thought pop out of her mind. "Oh my gosh!" 'Is this why people at home are busy? They knew about this!' 

 

Sota grinned and winked. She looked around and kept searching for Kei. He shouldn't see this. He would get hurt. 

 

Because if she reject Sota... her family might reject her too. But will she be happy if she accept this?

 

Tears fell from her eyes when she saw Sota took a silver box from his pocket. She immediately wiped those. She heard the crowd cheering.  

 

"Hey, don't cry now," Sota whispered which made her cry even more. 

 

He opened the box, revealing a silver ring. "Will you marry me? I mean, we'll be married soon but I want you to experience this."

 

She didn't respond and continued crying. Would she reject it? Could she reject it?

 

Sota  slid the ring in her ring finger. "Silence means yes."

 

She heard claps around them. Suddenly, Sota pulled her and kissed her. She stopped crying because of shock. 

 

In just a second, someone punched Sota which made him fall on the ground. Her eyes widened when she saw Kei. He's clenching his jaw and his fists are tightly closed. He's also throwing burning stares to Sota.

 

"What the hell?" Sota stared back with the same intensity.

 

"I let you hold her hand. I let you act as her boyfriend. I even let you propose to her! But kiss her? Hell, no! Never!" Kei shouted.

 

"Who are you and what the heck is your problem?! She's my fiancee!"

 

"Kei..." Cherry whispered. 

 

Kei looked at her and widened his eyes. "You'll marry him?! Did you say yes?!"

 

"W-what?! I--" 

 

"She did." Sota stood up and showed her finger with the ring.

 

"Congratulations!" Kei said sarcastically. "Sorry for disturbing your moment." Then he turned and ran away.

 

Cherry faced Sota. "I'm sorry!" She removed the ring and ran after Kei. 

 

 

 

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay," Kei said. 

 

Cherry followed Kei toward their classroom. Only the two of them are inside. She took another step to get near him. "I didn't say yes."

 

He faced her. She saw sadness in his eyes. "But you'll marry him."

 

"I-I'll do something."

 

He raked his fingers through his hair with a sigh of frustration. "We've been like this for years. Cherry, you know I'm okay being a secret." He look at her straight in the eyes. The confusion in his eyes bore a hollow space in her heart. "But, it hurts. The thought of me not ending up with you hurts like hell. If... you'll really end up with Sota, please help me heal all the wounds."

 

She looked up  and stare back in his eyes. Yes, they've been like this for years. She didn't do anything. She didn't try to reject the fate her parents made for her.

 

"If you really want us to happen, then fight for what you want! But if that's hard for you, it's okay not to fight for me."

 

She walked away from Kei and took something from her bag. Those were some notebooks. She placed those on the floor in front of Kei. Then, she walked around and took some books that were placed on the deks of their classmates. After piling them up in between Kei and her, she smiled at Kei. The guy looked at her with more confusion.

 

She stood on top of those books. She and Kei are with the same height now. She smiled to her self with satisfaction.

 

"What are you doing?" Kei asked softly.

 

She placed both her hands on  Kei's shoulders. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. That is their first kiss. And for her, that felt wonderful. If ever their kiss really has magic, she knew everything would be okay. Things would be fixed on their own.

 

She moved away. "I'll fix everything. I promise."

 

Kei's soft hand found its way toward her face. His fingers touched her cheek and made its way toward her lips. Then, he bit his lower lip. "Your family..?"

 

Even if she herself is afraid, she bravely told him something she wanted to believe in. "They're my family. They must support me in my decision. And my decision is to be happy. And to be happy means having midnight dates with you." She smiled.

 

Kei grinned. "I'm willing to risk my life just to protect that smile. Your family might kill me for this but I'll take you anywhere you want every midnight."