[Yue’s POV]

“Yue,” calls Kikyo, as I put my school shoes in my locker. “He said he’s on his way. Be a little more nice this time, okay. For me.”

“How is that my fault, again,” I retort, in a mocking tone. 

I stare off into space, contemplating what Kikyo just said to me. I must have an alarming look on my face, because Kikyo peers into my face and says, “I’ve told you he’s been with a lot of girls. Did you forget, or did you just not believe me?” Still not saying a word, I recall what I saw during the concert. Starting to feel disheartened, Kikyo flicks my forehead, bringing me back from my flashback.

“Hey!” I yell at her, holding my nose.

“You’re scrunching your nose,” Kikyo says in a practical tone. “You only do that when something’s bothering you. Is it because of what you told me happened earlier?” 

I let go of my nose and say, “I don’t know—maybe?”

Kikyo stares at me sympathetically. Pushing my shoulder gently with hers, she replies, “ Don’t worry about that, okay. That’s just Kaname being Kaname. Also—from what I know about you these past 6 months. You’re a whole new type of girl for Kaname. I know you told him you don’t like to be played like you’re a game, but it’s that kind of attitude my brother will be drawn to. And I mean that in a good way.”

‘Kikyo’s right,” I think confidently. ‘But still—‘

“It’s not him being like that that worries me,” I add, Kikyo now looking at me curiously. “It’s the person Kaname was with that worries me.”

“Oh! Kikyo,” hollers President Nana, as Kikyo and I both look at her, disgustedly. “Could you help me take these club files to the counselor's office, please?”

“Be right there,” responds Kikyo, slightly rolling her eyes. “She’s been really needy today.” Speak of the devil though, right? Do you wanna tag along? We might run into you know who, on the way.” Kikyo adds playfully.

“I think I’ll be fine here. I hope you have fun,” I say, sarcastically. 

Kikyo giggles and says, “Okay, fine. But you better wait here for him. He’s on his way.”

“Yeah. Sure,” I respond.

“I won’t be long. I promise.” Kikyo replies happily. 

—

[Kaname’s POV]

I finally make it to the school entrance and I don’t see Kikyo, or anyone, in sight. After changing out of my school shoes at my locker, I look at my phone. This time, I don’t see a message from her. “I guess they got tired of waiting,” I say, walking closer to the entrance. 

“Not exactly,” states Yue, the one person I’ve been longing to see. “Kikyo asked me to wait for you until she’s done helping Nana.”

‘How long has she been sitting there,’ I think to myself. I didn’t even see her before.’ “I see,” I say, alluringly. “Thanks for sticking around. May I sit next to you?” 

Yue raises an eyebrow at me, suspiciously, and says, “You may.”

“I’m surprised you’re talking to me after this morning. I thought you would be giving me the silent treatment.”

“The silent treatment is for children.” She responds rapidly. “Plus, Kikyo asked me to wait for you. So I’m doing her a favor.”

‘Well…isn’t she mature.’ I think, clearly getting the vibe that she’s still mad at me. 

Not saying anything else, Yue takes out her phone and starts to scroll through it. Having to break the calming silence, I say, “I’m sorry.”

“If you’re referring to this morning. I already forgot about it,” she quickly responds, not raising her eyes from her phone.

“Yeah. I…I’m sorry for saying that to you too.” No longer looking at her phone, she stares me in the eyes, telling me she’s giving me her full attention. ‘I better make this count.’ I think, firing myself up. “I understand I overstepped some boundaries, and I was an asshole for not apologizing to you right when it happened. You taking the time to even listen to me right now, is more than I deserve. So yes, I’m sorry for this morning. Both when you were sleeping and when I asked you to forget about it.”

Instead of giving an actual response, Yue smirks at me and goes back to her phone. I’m not entirely sure what that reaction means, so I decide to clarify. “Do you forgive me? Are we okay now?”

“We’re okay,” she replies, briefly lifting her head from her phone. “But I don’t quite forgive you just yet.”

“Why is that?” I ask urgently.

I have a separate thought to myself, ‘Did I do something else wrong? That seemed like a   pretty good apology to me.’

“I just don’t feel like accepting it, at the moment.”

Hearing her answer almost makes me want to get up and leave. I put a lot into making sure I sounded sincere and she “doesn’t feel like accepting my apology yet”? As I’m thinking about what to do, I look upon Sleeping Beauty’s face and see the smirk still on there. Seeing it makes me smile myself and say, “At least you’re not mad at me anymore. So that’s enough for me.”

“Who said I’m not mad at you?” She says in a rhetorical tone. 

Deciding not to acknowledge her playful question, I keep smiling and ask, “May I ask where my jacket is?”

 Locking her phone, so the screen will go dark, Yue looks at me straight on and says, “You mean my jacket.”

“You’re jacket,” I repeat, smiling at her intriguingly. “Is that so?”

Giving me a challenging look, Sleeping Beauty says, “Yes. That’s why I’m willing to forget about it and not report you for sexual harassment.”

“Why would you do that,” I say, objectively. “Didn’t you think I was Kikyo?”

Still giving me a testing look, she says, “Yes. Because someone was leaning over me, like they knew me.”

Breaking eye contact with Yue, I run my fingers through my hair. I start to slouch, putting both of my elbows on my legs. “Well played,” I say, faintly. After retorting with that response, Yue stares at me as if searching for more than what I said to her. “I truly am sorry,” I add, facing her again. “I don’t want you to think of me as a predator or anything like that.”

“I don’t,” She responds, casually. “A creep? Maybe. But a predator, no.”

Gawking at Yue, as she starts typing out a message on her phone. After a few minutes of another comfortable silence, I say, “I have something to confess. All day I’ve been wanting to formally apologize to you for this morning, but now that I finally have…I feel like that’s not the only thing I should be saying sorry for.”

“Did you do something wrong,” she asks softly. 

I look at the beautiful girl next to me, her long dark hair now seeming to not shine in the setting sun. ‘Did I do something wrong,’ I think to myself, taken aback by yet another one of her questions. Without thinking, I reach out to grab a lock of her hair and raise it to my lips. “I’m not entirely sure.” I answer, gently.

“Then…,” Sleeping Beauty starts, as she takes my hand in hers, making me release her hair. After watching it drop down her shoulder, I look back up into her eyes, as she continues, “Let me know, when you figure it out.”

Alternating my gaze between my hand in hers and her glistening hair, that I’m no longer holding, I realize what I just did. I carefully remove my hand away from hers and say, “My bad. Your hair just makes me think of-,” I stop mid sentence, thinking about the girl’s hair I saved 3 years ago. 

“Makes you think of what,” she inquires.

The earnest look in her eyes shows she really wants me to give her an answer. And I do want to tell her, but what if she’s not the girl? She already sees me as a creep, so I’m sure if she finds out I’ve been obsessing over one person for so long, it’ll just make her opinions of me worse. On the other hand, what if she is her? What do I say? “Hey. I’m the guy who was able to save you three years ago. Would you like your…violin…back”? 

Seeing my demeanor change from calm to worried, Yue watches me worriedly as I rapidly rise from the bench. Without saying a word, I start to sprint off school grounds. As I’m running further and further away from the school I think, ‘Sorry Yue, but I totally forgot I tossed the violin in the garbage this morning.’ Kikyo’s going to be mad once she sees I left Yue alone. I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I just hope I’m not too late. ‘Shit! What day is garbage day,’ I ask myself, still running.