Rin looks at herself proudly in the mirror, straightening out her white uniform. She always wanted to go to the prestigious Catteleya School for girls, but never had the money for it. So ever since graduating middle school, Rin worked hard to earn the best grades she can to get a scholarship to her dream high school. Now, for her junior year of high school, that dream is coming true.  Rin runs to the kitchen to hug her mom.

                “Oh, sweetie, you look so beautiful,” her mother squeals happily.  “Good luck on your first day of school! I will most likely be working late tonight so don’t wait up for me okay?”

                “Okay, do your best at work, mama!” Rin replies happily, but despite what her mother says, she would make dinner for her mom later anyways. “I’ll be leaving now! Have a nice day!” Taking her lunch, Rin walks out the door and goes to the bus stop. “I hope the bus hasn’t left yet…” She glances at her watch and the bus schedule. “Thank goodness, another minute or two and I would’ve been late.”  Once again, she looks at her uniform and smiles proudly. Suddenly an empty soda can flies and hits her head. “Ow!” Rin turns toward the direction it came from to scold them, but stiffens a bit when she sees a bunch of delinquents laughing loudly. One of them finally notices her staring. Butterflies drive her crazy as she finds herself losing the confidence from this morning. She never did well in socializing, so standing up for herself is a definite no.

                “What are you looking at?!” growls one of them, causing her to jump and look away. This evokes another round of laughter from them.

                “Yeah, didn’t think some,” another adds, still howling.

“You know, she’s pretty cute,” a third boy points out to his friends, causing them to run over her with their eyes. A sick feeling forms in her stomach as she stands there nervously. As if answering her prayers, the bus arrives and Rin hurries on. She frowns, not seeing any open seats, only a crowded bus.

               “Sorry, excuse me,” Rin says quietly, making her way through the bus. Hoping to get away from those delinquents, Rin makes her way to the middle of the bus. She holds her backpack close to her and grabs on one of the poles. “Now only a few more stops before Catteleya.” Just remembering her entry to it brings a smile to her face. 

Suddenly her smile is replaced a grimace when she feels a hand on her lower back. She opens to scream, but a lump forms in , rendering her mute. Her blood runs cold as the hand slides further down her back. Closing her eyes in fright, Rin tries again to scream, but finds herself unable to still. The hand gives a slight squeeze, causing her to let out a small whimper. She prays for someone to save her, feeling helpless.

‘Why can’t I yell?!’ she thinks angrily. ‘Yell, scream, cry, anything! Just do something!’ Suddenly a groan is heard to her right.

“Hey, punk! Let go!” the guy yells. Rin whips her head to her right and sees a boy her age with a strong grip on another boy’s wrist.  Taking a closer look, Rin realizes the guy yelling is the one that threw a soda can at her earlier at the bus stop. The boy holding his wrist still has his back facing her.

“Keep your hands off my girlfriend,” the boy states emotionlessly. Rin’s eyes widen at his order.

‘Did he just call me his girlfriend?’ she wonders, still confused. The boy finally releases the delinquent’s wrist and walks over to stand next to Rin, grabbing her hand.  The delinquent in front of them is about to retort when his eyes widen at the sight of Rin’s fake boyfriend’s uniform.

“Y-you’re f-from Bakada!”  he stutters fearfully. Rin’s eyes also widen in fear at name, but the delinquent takes no notice of her due to his current problem. “I-I’m sorry man! I d-didn’t know this one w-was yours!”

“Well now you do, so why are you still here?” retorts the boy next to Rin, still glaring at the other delinquent, who immediately runs to the other side of the bus. Rin sighs with relief that he is gone, but stiffens again when she remembers she has an even worse delinquent next to her. As if reading her mind, the boy lets go of her hand and speaks up.  “Contrary to what most people think, Bakada is not bad. We are delinquents, but we aren’t bad.” At this, Rin doesn’t know what else to do other than nod awkwardly.

“T-thank you for your help,” she whispers shyly, not able to look him in the eye.

“I’m Asada Tetsuya,” he introduces with a gentle smile, one that Rin would never imagine a delinquent can have. “Bakada’s second strongest.” Tetsuya says it with so much pride that Rin can’t help but smile back at him.

“My name is Tanaka Rin,” Rin says, shaking hands with him. “I’m a new student at Catteleya.”

“I heard it’s a very prestigious school,” states Tetsuya, trying to make small talk. His hand holds onto the pole Rin’s hand is on, but struggles to keep a steady grip due to the crowded bus and constantly swaying.

“Yeah, I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep up with the students there,” she frets. “I’m only allowed to attend because I’m on a scholarship. If my grades drop below the top ten, I’d lose it.”

“Do your best,” encourages Tetsuya, smiling at her. His smile suddenly makes her feel nervous. Not in a bad way as the boys from before, but in a fluttery feeling. The bus suddenly jerks again, causing Tetsuya to lose his hand and smash Rin into the door. He quickly moves back when the bus gets back under control. “Sorry, I didn’t do that on purpose.” She nods awkwardly again, knowing it wasn’t his fault. This repeats a few times before Tetsuya finally gives into his annoyance and forgets the pole.

“Asada-kun?” asks Rin, feeling his arms wrap around her waist. ‘How stupid can I be? He was probably only pretending to be nice earlier to get me to drop my guard!’ Her heartbeat speeds up, feeling the heat from his body radiate onto her back.

“Do you mind if we stay like this?” he asks. “I’m not trying to pull anything. But I can’t keep a grip on the pole with the bus jerking. This way I’ll have something to keep my balance and you don’t have to worry about anyone touching you inappropriately.” Rin nods shyly again, feeling slightly guilty for thinking badly of him just a little while back. Never had she been so close to a boy before, so Rin’s heart is nearly pounding out of her chest. She can only wish that Tetsuya can’t hear her heartbeat like she is. Yet at the same time, Rin can’t explain why she felt so safe with him. Then again, he did say he’ll act as a wall so she won’t have to worry about being touched. But it felt like there’s more to it than that. Tetsuya peeks at her worried face. “If this makes you uncomfortable, I can always go back to the pole.”

“N-no, that’s okay,” Rin stutters quickly. “You’re helping me, so I should help you too.” In contrast to her, Tetsuya’s heartbeat on her back feels normal, just as calm as he looks. He chuckles slightly, and she can feel his chest rumble against her back.

“Is that the only reason you want to stay like this?” he asks with a smirk. Steam comes out of her ears as her face turns red, causing Tetsuya to chuckle again. “I’m just kidding. Don’t take it too seriously.” Hearing this, she calms down slightly and nods again. They continue their bus ride in that position silently, and just as Rin is getting comfortable, Tetsuya retracts his arms. “This is my stop. I’ll see you around.” Rin looks down with disappointment. She really wanted to get to know him more. It’s not every day you meet a new friend. Then she realizes something and shouts after him.

“W-wait! This is my stop too!” she yells, running out right before the door to the bus closes.

“Oh right, Catteleya is on the way to Bakada, isn’t it?” Tetsuya says softly. Rin nods in agreement.  “Then come on, I’ll walk you to your school.”

“Thank you,” replies Rin, smiling at him. He returns her smile with a soft pat on the head. She lets out a quiet squeak of surprise.

“Come on, before we’re late,” Tetsuya tells her, walking ahead. She stands there, admiring his back. He finally realizes she isn’t by his side and turns around to give her a worried look. “Aren’t you coming?” Her mind finally comes back and she nods happily. They walk toward their schools in a comfortable silence. Rin would sometimes secretly glance at him, taking in his gentle smile and aura. He never caught them, or at least she didn’t think so, so Rin continues doing so until they reach Catteleya.

“Here we are,” sighs Rin, arriving at the gates. Several girls passing by glance at him and giggle, but Tetsuya seems to either ignore them or not notice at all. “Thank you for everything Asada-kun.” His mouth twitches slightly at the sound of his last name, causing her to tilt her head in confusion. “Is something wrong?”

“C-can you call me by my first name instead?” he requests, still frowning. Despite her curiosity, Rin knows she shouldn’t ask since it’s probably a private matter.

“Just your first name?” she asks, already blushing. “But we don’t know each other that well.

“You can call me whatever makes you comfortable, but just not my last name,” repeats Tetsuya. “ I… I don’t like my last name is all.” Knowing she shouldn’t ask, Rin smiles and nods.

“Alright… Tetsuya-kun,” she says, testing the name out and blushing. “Then, you can call me by my first name too.”

“Okay, Rin,” he says, already comfortable with calling her by her first name with no honorifics. Tetsuya chuckles at her dumbfounded face. “Since we’re now friends, give me your phone.” Seeing her blushing expression, he simply takes the phone sticking out of her bag, inserting his number in it. “We’ll probably see each other a lot since we take the same route. When you go on the bus in the morning alone, just give me a call. I’ve also called myself on your phone, so I have your number now.” Tetsuya hands her back her phone. “See you later.” Not giving her a chance to talk, Tetsuya turns and walks away toward the direction of Bakada. Once he is gone, a girl tackles Rin slightly.

“Hey, hey was that your boyfriend?” she asks gleefully. “He’s so handsome! You’re so lucky to have such a cool boyfriend!” Before she can answer, another girl interrupts.

“But he’s from Bakada,” another points out, slightly disgusted.

“So? He’s cute!” the girl that tackled Rin repeats. “So, who is he?”

“H-he’s just a friend,” Rin stutters, a bit freaked out that two girls are talking to her. “A-and who are you guys?”

“Oh! I forgot to introduce myself,” the tackle girl says, slapping herself on the forehead. “My name’s Ueda Haru, I’m a second year at Catteleya.”

“I’m Tokimune Sayuri,” introduces the other girl. “And you are?”

“I-I’m Tanaka Rin,” Rin says quietly. She takes in the appearances of the two girls in front of her. Sayuri looks like one of those cool girls, with her tomboy haircut, stance, and rolled up sleeves. She is definitely someone Rin will look up to in the future. As for Haru, she seems so cheerful that Rin feels immediately comfortable with her. The three girls enter the school to begin their first day.

       After school, Rin walks out, completely satisfied. Her first day was a great success! Rin had made a great impression on all her teachers and fellow classmates and even made two new friends, Sayuri and Haru. Well, mostly Haru. Sayuri is the third most popular girl in school and had her own group of friends, so Rin spent most of her time with Haru.

                “Hey, Rin-chan, isn’t that your boyfriend?” Haru asks, pointing at the gates. Just as she said, there at the gates is Tetsuya, standing there with a gentle smile on his face just for her.

                “He’s not my boyfriend,” mumbles Rin, blushing and waving at him.

                “Maybe, but you wish he is,” giggles Haru. “Besides he’s hot, you better go to him before the other girls notice him.”  Haru pushes Rin slightly toward Tetsuya and runs off on her own.

                “Tetsuya-kun!” greets Rin, blushing.

                “I see you made a new friend,” observes Tetsuya, looking at Haru with a strange look. “How was school?”

                “It’s better than I even imagined it,” answers Rin, smiling dreamily. “All the teachers are so inspiring and the people here are really friendly too.”

               “Is that so?” Tetsuya asks and looks at her with that same gentle look from this morning. Unable to contain herself, she smiles back. They walk toward the bus together with their hands hitting occasionally, causing Rin to blush harder.

~Three weeks later~

                With her scholarship at stake, Rin forces herself to study harder than ever, making herself rise to the fourth slot in Catteleya’s top ten list. As for her relationship with Tetsuya, there’s no denying it now. Rin can definitely feel herself gaining some romantic feelings toward Testuya. Over the past three weeks, Rin would always meet Tetsuya on the bus, where they would share some things and stand as they did the day they first met. On some days there would be a seat open and Rin would save that seat for them, meaning she would sit there until Tetsuya arrives and he would sit there while she sits between his legs. He first suggested that she can sit on his lap, but Rin didn’t want to crush his legs during the ride, so they compromised this instead. Then he would walk her to her school before going to his. Finally they meet again after school, when he waits for her at Catteleya’s gates. Together, they would take the bus until Tetsuya’s stop, where Rin splits ways with him and continues to her house. He is the first friend she sees during the day and the last person she texts before going to sleep.

                Rin can’t figure out if Tetsuya developed feelings for her also, since he is always so calm around her, but she didn’t want to risk their friendship to find out either. However ever since realizing her feelings for him a few days ago, she finds herself wishing for Bakada to open their school up to girls so she can spend even more time with him. Sure, she heard bad things about that school, but Tetsuya proved that not all delinquents are awful, and his friends may be just as misunderstood as him.  At the same time, she still wants to attend and graduate Catteleya, so it would a real dream come true if the two schools merged and became a new Catteleya school.

                “But you know that’s pretty unlikely, right?” asks Haru, sipping her juice and crushing Rin’s wish.

                “Yeah, Catteleya is very strict while Bakada is somewhat falling apart,” sighs Rin. “But it’s still nice to dream, right?”

                “Good morning class!” the teacher greets happily, entering the classroom. The students quickly stand up and curtsy.

                “How do you do?” Rin greets back with the other students.

                “Thank girls, you may be seated,” the teacher says, and everyone sits. “Now, please welcome the top student, Fumie Shingyoji!” Everyone claps enthusiastically. As Fumie walks to the front, Rin sits up erect, prepared to hear her speech.  The one thing Rin learned most about these past three weeks about Catteleya is that Fumie is definitely Catteleya’s pride. Not only is she beautiful, but Fumie is also the top student and best at everything she takes part of. Her hard work is something Rin admired and strived to match. She has only spoke to Fumie once, and due to her popularity, Rin expected Fumie to come off as snobby. Yet Fumie completely surprised her by treating her with utmost respect and kindness. Rin listens to Fumie’s reading with admiration for the Catteleya princess.

                “Thank you, Fumie-san, perfect as always,” praises the teacher. The doors suddenly open, causing all the girls to turn toward the back, where their headmaster is entering.

“I have an announcement,” he speaks loudly, and everyone looks at him attentively. “Our academy will be merging with the all-boys school Bakada.” Both Rin and Haru look at each other with excitement.

                “EHHH??!?!” the two exclaim loudly, eyes nearly popping out.