After school Eizan, Mio, Ren, and Ome all met behind the school building where they could be alone. They were sitting at a picnic table. Ren was glaring at Eizan as they all sat down. Eizan had a wry smile on his face as he noticed Ren’s glare. He let out a long sigh. “Ren, I think there is something I should let you know. Mio and I are still together.”

Ren’s eyes widened as she looked at the three sitting at the table. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed Ome didn’t have much of a reaction. “Did you know?”

Ome sighed. “Yeah, I’ve known for a little while.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Eizan shook his head. “I told him not to tell you. This is something I shouldn’t even have let him know. But I have changed my mind. Sorry, Ren.”

Ren had an unhappy look on her face. She turned and looked at Mio. “What is really going on?”

Eizan spent the next few minutes explaining everything to her. “Could you please keep this a secret?”

Ren sighed. “I can. I’m just a little upset I was the last to know.” She turned towards Ome and got a pouty look on her face. “I thought you couldn’t keep a secret?”

Ome chuckled. “I can. I’m just a horrible liar.”

“If I had asked, would you still have been able to keep the secret?”

“Yes, but I would have just told you that I can’t talk about it. That is the truth.”

“Are you keeping other things from me?”

Ome sighed and put a hand on his forehead. “Probably, but not intentionally at the moment.”

“Is that the truth?”

Ome looked at Eizan with a pleading look. “Help me out here man.”

Eizan got a mischievous smile on his face. “Ren, everyone has things they don’t tell others. I’m sure you have a few.”

Ren looked away from them. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Mio chuckled and leaned over towards Ren to whisper. “I can tell Ome about the hoodie you stole from him so you could still smell him after he left.”

Ren’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t?”

Mio giggled. “I might.”

Ome and Eizan were both glaring at the two girls as they whispered to each other. Ome’s eyes narrowed. “What are you keeping from me?”

Ren straightened her posture. “N-nothing.” Eizan got a big smile on his face. Ren glanced back and forth between Mio and Eizan. “Are you going to try to act like friends at school then?”

Mio nodded. “That’s the plan. But this weirdo had to make things awkward.”

Eizan scratched his cheek in embarrassment. “I couldn’t think of a better way to get it over with quickly. I felt that ripping the bandage off quickly would be easier.”

Mio shook her head and sighed. “I guess it’s fine. But it is still going to be difficult. We can’t act like we normally do when no one is around.”

Eizan got a dejected look on his face. “Yeah, I figured that.”

Ren giggled. “Look the wolf looks like it just got scolded by its owner.”

Ome laughed. “Poor pup.”

Eizan frowned. “I’m not a dog.”

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Mio patted him on the head. “Good boy. Just be on your best behavior.”

Eizan glared at her. “That kind of contact is also prohibited if I’m correct.”

Mio hurriedly pulled her hand back. “Sorry, you are right.” Now Mio got a dejected look on her face.

Ren got a wry smiled on her face and whispered to Ome. “They are never going to be able to pull this off.”

Ome whispered back. “You’re right. They are doomed.”

Mio and Eizan were both glaring at them. Mio interjected their whispering. “What are you to talking about in secret.”

Ome smiled brightly. “Just that you two will never be able to do this.”

Eizan frowned. “Yeah, it is going to be difficult.”

Ren sighed. “I think it would be easier for you two to just go into hiding.”

Mio sighed. “That’s what I said.”

Eizan shook his head. “That would mean you guys wouldn’t see us for months possibly. Plus, it would interfere with school.”

Ren and Ome both looked at each other. “Yeah, that would suck.”

They chatted for a few minutes until Ren brought up a topic that Eizan didn’t want brought up. A topic that had been making Mio unhappy for the last few days. “If you two are still together, why have you been to timing with that bitch Minami.”

Eizan flinched. “I’m not two timing. She just keeps dragging me to eat with her at lunch. I was just being nice. She hasn’t made any friends that I am aware of yet.”

Ren and Mio both glared at him. Mio muttered. “That’s because she is to focused on you.”

Eizan sighed. “I’m aware. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Ren glared at him. “Just shoot her down. It’s obvious what she wants.”

Eizan stared at her lost in thought for a few seconds. “No, I still think of her as a friend. She was hurt enough at our previous school. I can’t do that to her. It is obvious that she has feelings for me. But I hope that she finds someone else that will make her happy.”

Mio frowned. “Do you have feelings for her?”

Eizan sighed. “Not the feelings of love. But I do not hate her. I have always liked her as a friend. Yes, we did have a falling out, but I still view her as a friend. I would like it if you would give her a chance.”

Mio sighed. “I’ll try”

Ren frowned. “Don’t you think that is unreasonable? You want your fiancé to be friends with a girl who has feeling for you.”

Eizan put a hand on his forehead. “Yeah, you might be right about that. I just don’t know what else to do. I was hoping maybe if she became friends with Mio and you that she would give up on those feelings. She is not the type to betray a friend.”

Ren’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t she betray you in the past?”

Eizan shook his head. “I wouldn’t say she betrayed me. She thought I did something horrible to her. To her it seemed like I betrayed her. Plus, she knows I have the ability to hack phones and computers. To her it probably seemed plausible that I distributed the pictures.”

Mio stared at Ren for a few seconds before speaking. “Ren, I think we should try. If Eizan vouches for her maybe we can get along.”

Ren got a surprised look on her face. “Are you sure?”

Mio nodded. “Yeah.” She turned to look at Eizan and then glanced at Ome. “But you two need to find a guy that can catch her interest.”

Eizan nodded. “I have a few people in mind.”

Mio smiled. “Good.” She looked over at Ome and Ren. “You got them together after all.”

Ren and Ome both blinked. Eizan laughed. “Yeah. But Minami is going to be a little bit tougher. That girl is very sly and isn’t easily manipulated. It’s probably because she grew up close to me.”

Mio frowned. “Yeah, I could see that.”

Ren and Ome both nodded. Eizan interjected. “Why are you both nodding?”

Mio giggled. “That’s because you always keep us on our toes. I’m sure after a few years I’ll be good at your little mind games too.”

Eizan chuckled. “I hate to tell you this but you are one of the few people I find hard to read.”

Mio tilted her head to the side. “Really?”

“Yeah, you almost never do what I think you are going to. You remember the pool incident.”

Mio started to laugh. “Yeah, that was fun.” Both Ome and Ren were giving her strange looks. They both were there when she threw her little tantrum at the pool and got a few people hurt for touching her.

Eizan shook his head. “When I first met you, I thought you were this cute little quiet angel. Now I think you are a cute little devil who controls my heart.”

Mio stuck out her tongue. “Didn’t you know girls can be both?”

Eizan giggled. “Yeah, you’ve told me before.”

Ome and Ren both looked at each other and sighed. Ome spoke up. “Don’t you think it’s about time we end this little conversation. I’m tired of watching you two flirt.” Ren nodded in agreement.

Eizan chuckled and looked at Mio. “I agree. It’s time to end our little talk.” He stood up. “Mio, I’ll call you later.”

Eizan walked off leaving the three of them sitting there. Ren looked at Mio. “Are you really ok with all of this?”

Mio frowned. “No, but neither is he. Knowing him he has been driving himself crazy trying to figure out a way out of this situation. I know he’s barely getting any sleep because of it.”