***

I stare out the window, looking up at the clear blue sky as my teacher drones on about classic literature. Its last period and I just want the school day to be over.

Why?

Cause it's a Monday, obviously, and my super adorable and also quite childish boyfriend will be waiting at the gate for me with his nephew. We are going out to eat today since it's too cold to go to the park, and I can't wait to see him.

I glance at the clock.

Five more minutes. Come on and hurry up all ready!

I sigh and rest my chin in my palm.

Tooru is so lucky he gets out of school early.

Finally the bell rings after a boring few minutes, and I stuff my notebooks and folders in my bag.

"Damn, Asuga-chan," I hear a friendly voice say. "Someone is looking desperate to leave."

I stand up and look over my shoulder to see Yui grinning at me.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," I wave her off with an easy smile. "You're only allowed to tease me when you and Daichi finally suck up the courage to date already. It's been like over a month, and you guys haven't progressed at all. You know you like each other. Just do it already, geez!"

Yui pouts at me as we walk down the stair together. "Its not that simple," she whines.

"Seems pretty simple to me," I mumble. I then spot a familiar duo ahead of us. "Ooh, perfect timing! Daichi-kun! Suga!"

I wave to the two boys as we walk up to them, Yui grabbing my arm in a death grip.

"Hello!" Suga greets us as Daichi just stands there, awkwardly.

"You two busy?" I ask.

"Well we have practice in a half an hour-" Daichi starts.

"Perfect!" I exclaim. "Suga, I need you're help with something, come on!"

"Huh?" Suga cocks his head to the side. I flick my eyes over to our two silent friends, and he understands. "Oh right! That thing you asked me to help you with earlier. I'll help you out. See you at practice, Daichi!"

"See you tomorrow, Yui-chan!" I give her a little wave and wink as Suga and I head towards the entrance.

"Ten bucks says they still won't confess to each other," Suga tells me as we are out of earshot.

I laugh. "God, I hope not," I mutter. "Well, I'll see you around!"

"You're in a hurry," he comments. "Seeing Oikawa today?"

"Yeah, he's waiting for me at the gate," I blush. "I'm hurrying so he doesn't freeze." Its still kinda weird talking to the boys about dating a rival player. It was very awkward between Asahi and Tooru the first time he came for dinner when my mom wanted to meet him. Luckily Asahi is getting used to it, but it's still weird.

Suga just gives me a friendly smile. "Well have fun. I'll see you tomorrow," he tells me.

"Yeah, see you," I reply as I head to the shoe lockers and change my shoes.

I pull my coat tighter around me and fix my hat as a brisk wind stings my face. Checking my reflection in my phone screen, I make sure my hair isn't a mess before I head to the gate. I spot the navy blue coat from a distance and subconsciously smile.

He hasn't noticed me yet as he is staring at his phone screen, texting away. I take my chance and surprise him off guard with a chaste kiss to his jaw since it was the easiest spot to reach with my height. He jumps in surprise and let's out a quiet "ah" as looks to see me standing beside him.

"Geez, Asu-chan. Don't go sneaking up on my like that," he pouts, cutely. "I was afraid it was some random person for a second."

"Why would a random person kiss you?" I ask with a slight laugh.

"Babe, have you not seen how beautiful I am?" he exclaims. "Who wouldn't want to kiss this face?"

I open my mouth to shoot back an "I wouldn't," but that would be a total lie. I pout instead, turning my head away from him and crossing my arms.

I then feel his arms pulling me to his chest. "Aw, come on Asu-chan. You know I'm just joking right?" His voice that sounds right by my ear suddenly lowers as he continues. "You know the only person I want to be kissed by is you. And the only person I would want to kiss is you as well. And not only kiss, but do a lot more things like what we were doing in my bedroom last week. You had your hands all in my hair as I-"

"Okay, that's enough," I cut him off as I push away to look at him. "That's too much to say when people can see and hear us. Plus, we are right in front of my school, and Takeru is-" I glance around. "Where is Takeru?"

"My sister's husband didn't have work today so he was able to pick up Takeru from school," he tells me. "I didn't want to tell you, because I wanted it to be a surprise date."

"Really?"

"Would I seriously lie about this?" He jokes.

He holds out a gloved hand to me to take and I grin as I take it. We walk to a cafe in town as we chat about anything and everything.

***

"H-hey Asu-chan?" Tooru asks as we are eating our desserts.

"Hm?" I hum with my mouth full of cheesecake, looking up at him.

"Ah- um... never mind," he mumbles, glancing away from me. My eyes narrow. He looks nervous. Is something wrong?

"What is it?" I ask him. "What's wrong?"

His brown eyes flick to me and away again. "Ah- it was nothing really. You just had some crumbs on your cheek, but you go it off before I could tell you."

"Oh, ok," I mumble, not really believing his answer.

What was he trying to tell me? Is something really wrong that he's afraid to talk to me about? Is it his family?

Wait, is he trying to break up with me?

No no no no, hold up! It can't be that. He wouldn't. Would he? I haven't seen any signs, but maybe?

Oh god, please no. Stop stop stop it! Stop overthinking everything. This happens all the time. It was probably nothing so forget about it.

Oh, I forgot to mention I was thinking of getting my hair cut," I tell him, changing the subject to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.

"Huh? How much?" he asks, startled.

"Just maybe three inches off," I say, fiddling with the end of my braid which reaches just below my chest. "Its not too much, but it will help. It's kinda difficult to manage long hair."

"You had me scared for a bit there," he exclaims with a laugh. "For a second I though you meant you were gonna chop it all off and get it like my length."

"Oh no definitely not!" I reply. "I tried that once and it did not look good on me."

"I like your hair long," he comments. "Its pretty and nice to run my fingers through cause its soft."

I blush at his blunt statement. "Hey, don't pet me. I'm not a dog," I pout.

"You always seem to like it when I do it!" He shoots back with a grin.

The rest of our day goes smoothly and we part ways at the bus stop that he takes to go home.

"You're still coming to my school's cultural festival on Saturday right?" Tooru asks me as he waits for the bus.

"Of course!" I tell him. "I'll be there at one o'clock."

"Great. I'm happy," he replies, giving me a soft kiss. "I'll see you then!"

"Yup, bye!"

***

"I'm home!" I call as I close the door behind me and take off my shoes.

"Asuga, come quick!" I hear my mother call to me as she appears in the doorway to the kitchen. "Look what came in the mail for you today!"

"Huh?" I look to see an envelope in her hand.

"Its from the American school!" she replies.

"What would they be sending me?" I mutter.

"I don't know. Open it." She hands me the letter and I tear it open and unfold it.

I skim the words on the page, not believing my eyes. "I... I was waitlisted in the beginning, but they accepted me now! I made it in!" I gasp.

My mom gets out a delighted yell and pulls me into a hug. "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!"

"I can't believe it," I mumble to myself in disbelief. "I'm going to school in America."

I have to tell everyone. Asahi will be so happy for me along with Yui and Mei. And Tooru-

Tooru.

We said we'd be going to college together. What will his reaction be when he hears that I'm going to be living on the other side of the world?

***

It's been five days and I still haven't gathered the courage to call Tooru and tell him.

I'm such a wimp. I should have called him on Monday night, but I'm too scared.

I glare out the bus window as I travel to Tooru's school. This will be my first time going there, but my nerves about talking to Tooru are completely overshadowing the idea of finding my way around a place I've never been to.

The bus arrives at the stop and I walk the few blocks to the school. The sidewalk is a bit crowded the closer I get and I can hear music and shouting. I grip the strap of my purse tighter as I walk through the grounds and make my way inside the school. I glance around the hallway filled with people, completely at a loss.

I'm a bit early so he's not expecting me yet, so where is his classroom?

I pull out my phone and am dialing his number when I hear a voice.

"Azumane-san!"

I glance around my surroundings and spot Iwaizumi walking over to me, weaving through the throngs of students. He's dressed in a torn and dirtied shirt and pants with some make up on his face that makes me assume he's supposed to be some sort of zombie.

"Oh, hi, Iwaizumi-kun," I say to him.

"Oikawa's been waiting for you," he tells me.

"Huh? I thought I was early. Did I get the time wrong?" I ask.

"No, he's just getting ahead of himself as usual," he replies. "Come on I'll take you to him. It might make him do his job better."

"So what's with the zombie get up?" I ask him as we walk up a flight of stairs.

"Oh yeah, our class is doing a haunted house type thing, and I'm one of the scarers," he explains.

"That sounds like a lot of fun," I remark. "During my cultural festival, my class just did a typical cafe. It was so boring."

"A couple of the classes here are doing those as well," Iwazumi says, nodding to a room as we pass by it.

Ah, the infamous cross-dressing maid and butler cafe. I pray for their souls.

"What's Tooru's job been since I can't see him as a scarer?" I ask him.

"Oikawa has been our front man, bringing in the crowds," he explains.

"How so?"

"Like that." Iwazumi points down the hall to a classroom with a black curtain covering the entrance. In front of the doorway stands my boyfriend dressed in a black suit and tie with a dark cape resting on his shoulders that almost reaches the ground. He wears a dazzling grin as he surveys the crowd in front of him, fake fangs poking out of his mouth.

Damn. Okay Vampire Tooru could bite me anyday.

"Step into my house of horrors if you dare!" He exclaims in a deep voice. "I will warn you, it is not for the feint of heart, for in there, you will encounter your worst nightmares. You should watch yourself because you might not walk out of there unscathed, or you might not walk out at all!" With that statement he flourishes his cape and steps aside for the people in front of him to answer.

"Ah, that's how," I mutter as I notice the mainly female crowd he is drawing in. I purse my lips in slight jealousy until Tooru's eyes find me.

"Asu-chan!" Tooru exclaims, forgetting all about the gaggle of girls in front of him and heading straight for me. Without a care in the world he flings his arms around me and spins me around. "You're here! I'm glad you could make it!"

Still shaken from his dramatic greeting I reply, "well, I did tell you I'd come."

"My break is in twenty minutes," he tells me. "You can either wait here or walk around while you're waiting. Iwa-chan is on break right now, so you could ask him to go with - actually no. I retract that statement. I don't want you walking around with any boy, even Iwa-chan." He pouts as he shakes his head.

"I'm not gonna go stealing your girlfriend, Shittykawa," Iwaizumi states with an eyeroll.

"As if you ever could. You're not as handsome as me!" Tooru sticks out his tongue at his best friend who just glares at him in return.

"Oikawa-san, is that your girlfriend?" We all turn to see a group of girls staring at us. No gonna lie, they don't look very happy to see me.

"Yes, this is my girlfriend, Asu-chan!" Tooru exclaims as he wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Isn't she the cutest?"

I blush at his statement and at everyone's judging eyes boring into me.

"Tooru, I'll go walk around for twenty minutes and be back here when your break starts," I tell him, trying to get out of this situation.

"Hm? Okay," he replies. "I'll see you in a bit."

I meander down the hallway passing by the colorful classroom displays until I'm stopped by a few girls.

"So your Oikawa-san's girlfriend, huh?" one of them asks me.

"Uh, yeah?" I state, confused.

"We saw you arrived with Iwaizumi-san," another comments. "We hope Oikawa-san doesn't find out you've been cheating on him with his best friend."

"He won't because that's a total lie," a deep voice sounds from behind me. I turn to see Iwaizumi making his way towards us. "I hope we're not spreading rumors out of jealousy."

"No, we're definitely not, Iwaizumi-san!" one of them exclaims, tightly. "Well, nice meeting you. Bye!" they say to me before speeding off down the hallway.

"Thanks, I forgot to account for Tooru's fan club," I mutter, a hint of jealousy creeping into my voice.

He has so many beautiful girls throwing themselves at him. Is he really okay with pushing that away to date boring old me?

"You know, Oikawa's demeanor really changed at school in the past few months," Iwaizumi tells me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"How so?" I ask as we continue down the hallway.

"He used to just soak up the attention he always got from girls. He thrived off of it. He'd always go out of his way to talk to them so they could complement him just to fuel his ego especially after he broke up with his last girlfriend," he says. "Then he started to just sit on his phone, texting away during lunch and before school. Anytime a girl would complement him he would just thank them and walk away. I started to get really concerned until I found out he was text you all the time."

"Yeah we were texting a lot," I comment, my face growing red at what Iwaizumi is saying.

"The point I'm trying to make here is that you have no reason to be jealous," he tells me. "I've never seen him this way before, but you are the only girl he thinks about now. The only one whose complements matter to him. I've noticed he's been much happier with you."

"Geez, Iwaizumi-kun," I mutter. "You really know how to make a girl blush. How do you not have a girlfriend already?"

He just raises an eyebrow at me, and I laugh.

"Anyway, thanks. I feel much better now," I add.

***

"Come on, Asu-chan! I heard there's some really good food at the stand around the corner!" Tooru tugs at my hand as he guides me through the crowds outside.

"Slow down Tooru-kun. Your legs are a lot longer than mine," I complain.

"Then get longer legs," he teases me.

"Would if I could," I mutter.

He tugs me closer to him and slows his pace. "I like you the way you are though," he tells me.

Happiness bubbles up in me, and I show him a smile.

God, he's so perfect, but he's also such a dork. I love it.

As he looks ahead of him again, leading me around his campus, my smile drops off my face.

How is he gonna react when I tell him I'm going to be leaving to study on the other side of the world next year? Will he not want to be with me? Will I lose him?

My stomach twists in knots as I overthink everything as usual.

"How late can you stay?" Tooru asks, drawing me out of my anxious thoughts.

"Uh, my mom said it's fine to stay late as long as I don't walk home alone if it's dark, so I'll leave it up to you if you are up to walking me home or you're too tired," I'll tell him. "I understand if you can't."

"No, I'll walk you home," he says. "I want to see the fireworks with you."

"Thanks, I want to see them with you too," I mumble, still feeling guilty.

"Awe, is my Asu-chan getting all shy on me?" He says with a laugh, I guess mistaking my guilt for embarrassment.

"Shut up," I pout.

"You're too cute," he grins. "Come on let's eat!" He speeds up his pace again and tugs me along.

During the time we get food and walk around enjoying the festival, I am able to push my worries to the back of my mind. No matter what, I'm planning on telling him everything by the end of tonight. I have to. He deserves to know, and waiting will just make things worse.

When it finally got dark, Tooru pulls me away from Iwaizumi and the rest of the rest of the volleyball team we were walking around with.

"Aren't we going to watch the fireworks?" I ask him as he leads me towards the school.

"Yeah, but I have a better view in mind," he tells me with a wink.

"Is this where you murder me and hide the body?" I joke as I follow him through the school.

He places his hand on my heart. "I'm offended you would even think that," he exclaims, wiping away fake tears.

I laugh and move closer to him, giving him a chaste kiss on his cheek. He stops and turns to me. Before I can ask him what's wrong, he cups my cheek and kisses me. I'm startled but then smile as his lips move over mine in the empty hallway.

He pulls away and smiles at me. "You're too cute, Asu-chan," he says. "Come on. They're about to start." He turns away from me, and I frown with confusion and concern.

Why does he sound almost sad?

Did I make him sad? Did he figure it out? Or is it something else? He seemed a bit off during our date last time we saw each other as well. That was before I knew about my acceptance letter. What's wrong?

My worries are interrupted as he pulls me up another set of stairs even though I know we are on the top floor.

"Tooru-kun are you trying to get to the roof?" I ask him. "This isn't a shoujo manga. You know it has to be locked."

"Yeah, but don't you think I'm charming enough to acquire a key?" he says with a wicked grin.