July 2035 (Dream stars magazine photo shoot, T street)When the director apologized, it surprised Lila. She wonders what Haruka did. Still, she"s glad; she almost had to resort to calling Takahas.h.i.+. If Takahas.h.i.+ saw the situation, he would bring out his weapons. She was angry but didn"t want the other girls to go through wearing the outfit, so she stepped up. She only wore it for a few minutes before Haruka came, and as for those who took photos. Well, Haruka said he would deal with it. He"s been gone for some time now though. Her thoughts broke off spotting girls from the shoot. Ah, maybe she can ask them?
Before Lila could call out to her, however, she overhears their conversation.
"Did you see? Just now.."
"See aside, I overheard."
"It must be nice. Being so loved by Haruksama."
"I"m still amazed he chose a girl like that. Sure she"s talented, but there"re loads of people who are more talented and prettier too."
"People who have known him longer."
.....
Oh, there"s Haruka! Noticing him stagger and use the wall for support, Lila immediately rushed over.
"Haruka?!" Lila said.
"Hah. d.a.m.n, you found out." Haruka weakly said.
Her eyes widened alarmed seeing how pale he was.
"We have to get you to the doctor!" she exclaimed.
Haruka shook his head, "Lila, give me your blood..."
Her name, Haruka only uses it in situations like this. It"s so sly and unfair of him. "Hey, don"t cry. I"m okay.."
"Haruka...Tell me, am I causing problems for you? I want to be together with you but.." Lila recalled what she heard from the other girls earlier.
"Don"t listen to them; they know nothing about me. Unlike you, those girls don"t try."
"I.."
He brushed his forehead against hers, "I only want you. I don"t need anybody else."
Haruka"s words make her feel so happy. Lila would never have thought she could feel such happiness from another person. But, so many other people care about him too. They only don"t know how to get close, if they figure it out, will Haruka still like her? Haruka pulled her into his arms, despite how weak he was he was trying to rea.s.sure her. They"re so helpless; she can guess why Haruka ended up in this state. It"s because she didn"t tell him anything.
____________________________________________________________
An hour later.
"You really are a crybaby.." Haruka commented.
Lila shoots him a glare, and Haruka laughed, "Ahhh, it"s not funny!"
"Isn"t it?"
She told him when she asked him out that she"s a crybaby. But this is the first time he saw it. He wants to see more; he wants to learn more about her.
"Haruka, why are you staring at me?" Lila asked.
"Sorry... I.."
Lila laughed, "I get it!"
How embarra.s.sing, Haruka averted his gaze, since he dated her. He"s experienced a lot of changes he"s never gone through before. Hearing her hum a familiar melody.
Haruka questioned, "What"s with this song?"
Lila asked. "Ah, do you like it?"
"Sure I do, you wrote it for Austin Kiryu," Haruka said sarcastically. Lila hits him, "It sounds different." He added.
Lila smiled, "Yes, actually when I first wrote it. I felt there was something wrong. So I"m glad I never released it on a CD. I realize now what was wrong."
"I see."
Her cheeks suddenly puffed into a pout, "That"s it?"
"Uh, what did you want me to say?"
He"s still learning things about her, so he would like it if she slowed down.
"Haruka, it"s for you. The song."
Haruka blinked and stared at his girlfriend. Did she change the song for him?
Lila continued, "When I wrote this, it was right after I came back." He nodded in understanding; she didn"t have to clarify the last part.
"Tell me, did you like me then?" When he calmed down, Haruka rethought about the words she told him, "You refused to kiss Austin Kiryu, so..".
Seeing the girl turn red at his words, he chuckled. She"s cute. He finds it hard to believe still that Lila even has romantic feelings for him. He cupped her cheek in his hands and bent down to kiss her lightly. But noticing her nibbling on his lip, Haruka smirked, perhaps he"s influencing her too much. Whenever they kiss, he always cherishes the feeling of the girl"s lips on his. He isn"t used to the idea of her liking him, so sometimes he thinks it"s all a dream.
Lila abruptly pulled back, "Ah, that"s right! You"re feveris.h.!.+ Wait, I will go get my bag." Lila stood up.
Haruka frowned and grabbed hold of her hand, "You want to leave me now?"
Lila averted her gaze, cheeks reddened more, "I understand Haruka, we will continue. But your sick, I"ll get my bag since I have medicine there and some essentials."
He reluctantly let go and watched Lila leave. His gaze fell on the girl"s phone on the ground. It must have fallen out of her pocket.
"Who"s there?"
A girl with long blonde hair, top half tied in buns while the rest remained loose appeared.
Haruka sighed, while he doesn"t want to show open hostility to Yumeko now. He still isn"t fond of the idea of getting close to her. When he told Lila this, she said she understands.
Haruka asked, "Did you need her for something?"
"Are you serious about her?" Yumeko questioned.
He frowned, sensing the girl"s tone.
Haruka sighed, "I"m serious. It"s none of your concern, but I guess you"re worried as her friend. I don"t intend to fool around with her as my girlfriend."
"You say that, but you still follow that mans orders. You"d follow the orders of the man who got him killed."
"..."
His gaze darkened.
"Do you want to know the reason why I ended up blaming you? Well, I just said it. How could you? How could you do that? That man set up the whole situation? The main fault lies with Kannsenpai and me for misunderstanding. But it was because of that man that all this happened. Why did you.." Yumeko said.
So that"s the reason, she found out? Did Mikado tell her? Either way, she knew. This whole time, it wasn"t because he did not help them all when he had the power. It was because she knew. What an idiot, he noticed nothing. Haruka got up and walked up.
"This may seem strange coming from me, but Yumeko even now--"
"No! I can"t trust you. All my friends who left me, you ordered them, didn"t you? You told them to leave my side. Why would you do that why couldn"t you let me move on?."
"Destroy it, that girls mentality.
Break it down slowly...."
Haruka clenched his fist, "Yumeko, please believe me. Even now I"m only thinking of you and the others." He no longer loves her, but Haruka still wants to help her. He can"t be by her side like before; it hurts too much. However, if it"s in the shadows, Haruka still wants to help what he couldn"t achieve back then.
"And now you"re even planning on destroying Ari-chan"s life? How arrogant can you get? Hadn"t you had enough yet? That girl said already that she has somebody she loves. I don"t know how you convinced her to go out with you... No, I can guess, you want to destroy another relations.h.i.+p. So you seduced her." Yumeko"s words were cold.
"..."
Destroy?
That"s right, Lila was never his. From the beginning, she already belonged to someone else. It really is exactly like that time. His thoughts broke off when a pair of arms wrapped around him from the back. Ah.
"Ari..?" Haruka murmured.
Lila whispered something in his ears. His eyes widened and the girl turned to Yumeko, "Your right, there was somebody else I loved a great deal."
"Then--"
"However, I already let him go. The one I want to be with now is Haruka. Yumeko-chan too, why don"t you be honest with your feelings. Your frustrations, your anger. Isn"t it because you like Haruka still?"
His eyes widened, wait what is she doing?
"I won"t lie to myself anymore. So you should do the same too, instead of taking your anger out on Haruka." Lila"s voice was sharp, and she held a steady gaze.
Haruka stood there amazed at his girlfriend"s actions. This is the girl he fell in love with. The girl who took his hand and let go of her beloved.