I avoided Jake for most of Tennis practice because I wasn't really ready to deal with him falling for me. I was more interested in how I was going to see Sora again without him figuring out how I felt about him.

As soon as practice had ended I made my way straight to Sora, as I found it impossible not to see him that day. His face and his words rang through my mind for almost every hour from the time we had departed and I was just dying to see him.

When I finally made it to his house I was exhausted but I knew it was because I was running almost all the way there. As I leaned in and huffed trying to catch my breath, I realized that everything was very quiet.

"Sora?" I said as I looked around but he was no where in sight. As I walked up to his house and looked around again, I realized that he was gone.

Hmm, he must be out working again.

In that moment I decided to sit on his porch and wait for him to return as it was all I could do. As I sat there watching the time tick by, I began thinking more about Sora.

I wonder what he's doing right now?

As I thought that I came to the realization as to why I was there. I had planned this morning that I would try to get Sora to open up to me even if it was a little.

Besides how hard would that have been?

As I continued waiting on his porch for him to return I eventually began sloughing as more than half an hour had passed and Sora was still no where in sight.

Sora where are you?

I thought with my head down on my knees but suddenly I was startled by the sound of foot steps heading towards me.

Sora!

He was walking my way but he didn't seem to notice me as he was staring off into the distance. As I stood up and smiled at him, waiting for him to notice me, I realized that he had his hoe in hand and a light smile on his face.

I knew it! He was out farming!

As I continued to stare at him as he approached me I began to take note of something about him.

I've always seen Sora work out in his field during the day but the odd thing is he's always so pale.

It was true, Sora had fair almost luminescent skin that seemed to be never changed by the sun.

That's so amazing!

"Fumiko?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as I realized that Sora was just a few feet away from me, and he was looking at me with his head tilted to the side. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long" I lied as I straightened up and sighed.

"I was working in my fields all day. It's almost harvesting time." He said smiling again gently. That was the moment that I noticed he was sweating heavily. His thin shirt was soaked wet and his dark hair was dripping with sweat.

"Sora! you look exhausted!" I cried as I held him by the arm and dragged him unto the porch. "Seriously, you need to stop over working yourself or else one day you'll drop dead suddenly." I said in an argumentative voice but he only gave me another light smile showing off his radiance.

"I guess it's just a habit I have." He answered sounding truthful but I shook my head at him and sighed.

"Well, at least you're done working for now."

"Oh no, not yet! I just dropped by to get my water bottle and then I'll be off again."

"What!" I gasped looking at him incredulously.

It was unbelievable, he had been working all day and yet he still had energy left.

"You're impossible!" I remarked as I threw my hands up in defeat. "So where's your water bottle?"

"It's inside on the table." He replied, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Don't worry, I'll go and get it." I sighed again as I walked up to the door and pulled it open.

When I walked into the house a light smile found it's way to my lips as the last time I was in there was the day Sora and I had met. I still remembered the stool that I sat on that was near the wall now but I ignored it for the moment and got back to what I was doing. As I looked on the wooden table that rested in the middle of the room I saw his water bottle and immediately grabbed it but as I spun back around and was ready to walk away something caught my eye. There was a door ajar directly in front of the room and I couldn't help but gently walk up to it and take a peek. It had cream coloured walls and a bed with sheets of the same colour alongside two chest of drawers that had lamps on them and a hard wooden floor, the window was also slightly ajar as silky white curtains cascaded down them in streams of sunlight. Judging by the bright, gentle look of the room I knew it was Sora's. I then quickly snuck back out and made my way outside again.

"You've found it" he said in a sweet voice.

"Yeah" I answered as I threw the bottle to him.

As the stretched his arm out and caught it I noticed something yet again about him.

"Sora your hands... How is it that they're not calloused?"

As he popped the cap off the water bottle he laughed gently then said,

"I don't know." He confessed rubbing the back of his head. "You know that's the same thing Mr. and Mrs. Saito asked me but I guess I just have good skin."

"Oh" I said as I leaned against the wall and with that Sora tilted his head back and squeezed the water from the bottle into his mouth. In that moment as I stared at Sora; the sweat dripping off his body, the shirt soaked wet sucked tight onto his skin, the wind playing with his hair as his head was tilted back I realized that Sora wasn't just cute, he was hot!

"Fumiko"

"Huh"

"You're face....it's all red"

"What!" I placed my hands on my cheeks and they were the hottest I had ever felt them.

"Maybe the heat is getting to you. You should probably sit down." He said as he motioned to the spot next to him.

I stiffly walked up to him, but as I sat down the heat in my cheeks doubled at him being so close to me.

"Fumiko?" He asked turning to me but I couldn't say anything to him as I felt that my head was going to explode so I turned my head to the side and stared at the bushes.

While I sat staring at the bushes by the side of his house I began to realize how dark and creepy they looked.

Had they always been this way?

I thought as I stared closer at them. Just the rustle of the winds through their crooked leaves sent shivers down my spine. It was really hard to believe that I had actually walked passed them on my way to see Sora. Maybe because I was so excited to see him, I didn't notice how scary they were.

"Have they always been like that?" I asked pointing to the bushes.

"Pretty much" Sora replied downing the rest of the water.

"Oh, I see now why you asked me not to walk that way again." I said rubbing my hands together with discomfort as I thought of the times that I had trudged through that way. As I looked back at Sora my eyes widened as I recalled his exact words,

criminals are known to hide in the bushes around here

"Sora" I whispered as I held onto his arm. "Didn't you say that there could be criminals in the bushes around here?"

He laughed and brushed back his hair and then said, "Well that's what's suspected."

At his words I held on tighter to his arm and he laughed again causing me to be shocked by his lightheartedness.

"Don't worry about it Fumiko. The reason I said that was because for sometime my crops and tools have been going missing without a clue and it's suspected that thieves hide in the bushes and wait until it's dark to steal them."

"What!?" I asked shocked

"Well that is what Mr. Saito says he suspects." He concluded with a warm smile.

"But Sora" I continued, "What if that is true? what if there are criminals hiding in the bushes and you run into one? Wouldn't you be scared?"

Sora shrugged at my question and wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me closer to him.

"Don't worry I won't ever let anything happen to you, I promise."