The class was just recessed for lunch and Eizan was still asleep on his desk. A beautiful blonde girl slowly approached his desk. Mio had a huge frown on her face as she was about to stand up to go to the library. Ome and Ren were about to leave and stopped as soon as they saw Minami approach Eizan. Minami knelt down next to him and in a sweet voice said. “Wake up sleepy head.” Eizan slowly opened his eyes and stared at his childhood friend in bewilderment.

“M-Minami, what’s up?” He said as he slowly sat up and stretched.

She raised her lunch up. “Let’s eat lunch together.”

Eizan blinked at her a few times. “I didn’t bring any lunch and I don’t feel like going to the cafeteria.” He was actually looked past her the whole time. Trying to gauge Mio’s reaction to this whole situation. Mio’s face darkened.

Suddenly, Minami grabbed his hand. “Silly, I made you lunch. I knew you wouldn’t pack anything.” She started to pull on his arm. “Let’s go. I know a great place to eat.”

Eizan sighed. “Sure.” He slowly stood up and was dragged out of the classroom while being stared at by Mio, Ome, and Ren.

Mio had a big frown on her face as she watched her pull Eizan down the hall. As she stood next to Ome, and Ren she sighed. Ren grabbed her hand. “Come, eat lunch with us.”

Mio looked at her friend who was obviously trying to cheer her up. “Sure.”

The trio slowly made there way outside to sit at their usual table. But to there surprise Eizan and Minami were sitting not to far away from where they normally sat. Ren looked over at Mio. “We can eat somewhere else if you want?”

Mio shook her head. “It’s fine.” Mio walked to the table right passed Minami and Eizan. Eizan stared at her as she passed and sighed. Ren and Ome both glanced at him as they walked by.

Eizan was thinking to himself. “This is so awkward. This is going to make things complicated.”

Minami was all smiles as she brought out a nicely put together bento and handed it to him. He reluctantly accepted it. He stared at his now slightly looking bashful childhood friend. “I was surprised to see you here.”

Minami looked down at her bento as she opened it. “Yeah, me too. I didn’t know we would be going to the same school until I ended up in your class. I was surprised when I saw your friends on the first day.”

Eizan furrowed his brows. “Oh, really.” He put on a fake smile. “Yeah, I was surprised when I saw you. So, why did you move here?” He slowly started to open the bento she had prepared for him. His eyes widened as he looked at its contents. “You put a lot of work into this.”

Minami blushed. “I hope you like it. I made it myself this morning.”

Eizan smiled a fake smile. “I’m sure it’s good.” He picked up his chopsticks and used them to pick up a sausage in the shape of an octopus. He plopped it into his mouth and acted surprised at how good it tasted. Minami was staring at him in anticipation. “Yeah, it’s good.”

She let out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad.”

He decided to ask again in a different way since she didn’t answer it the first time. “Is everything ok at home. I was surprised to see you move in with your aunt.”

Minami had distressed look on her face. “Not really, after you left, I started to have a hard time at school. It got bad enough that I felt it was time for me to leave.”

Eizan put on a fake frown. He really didn’t care how she felt at the moment. He was more concerned about the angry looks he kept getting from his obviously unhappy fiancé. “That sucks. I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

Minami looked down at the food she hadn’t touched yet with a crestfallen look in her eyes. “I want to apologize to you.”

Eizan eyebrows raised. “For what?”

She hesitated for a few seconds before replying. “I realized I was in the wrong back then. I know you were only trying to protect me. I should have believed you back then. I was so stupid. Can you forgive me?” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

Eizan sighed. “I was never mad at you in the first place. But yeah, I forgive you. That whole situation was just messed up. But I’m passed that now. Someone helped me get through it.”

Minami glanced in the direction of his three friends. “Is it because of her?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Eizan wanted to smile but ended up faking a sad face. “Yeah.”

“What happened? You two seemed really happy when I met you at the aquarium. Did you get into a big fight?”

Eizan sighed and looked up at the blue sky above him. “Nah, we just can’t be together. Our paths in life are too different. I think my life is too crazy for her.” Sadly, this was actually his true thoughts at the moment. He really was worried about it. He was truly worried that she would get fed up with everything and actually leave him someday. He glanced at Mio, who was trying not to look in their direction at the moment and thought. “Hell, she might leave me just because of this damned girl. I really wish she would just leave me alone.”

Minami was closely observing him. “Are you still in love with her?”

Eizan got a small smile on his face. “Love is not something that disappears that easily. I think I’m still processing the whole situation.”

Minami looked down at her lunch that she still hadn’t touched. “I see.”

Eizan faked a bright smile. “Let’s not talk about any more depressing stuff. Let’s eat. Why don’t you tell me about your family. How have they been?”

Minami and Eizan sat there eating their lunches and chatting. Mio, Ome and Ren were whispering to each other the whole time.

Ren looked at Mio. “I can’t believe the nerve of that guy. Ome, you should really stop hanging out with him.”

Mio stared at Ome as he stiffened up. “Ren, that’s not appropriate. He isn’t doing anything wrong. They are friends. It’s not that strange that they are eating lunch together. Besides…” She looked down at her lunch that she had barely touched. “We are separated now. He can do whatever he wants.”

Ome was shocked at her reaction. “I-I’m sure they are just having lunch together. Let’s not draw any unnecessary conclusions.”

Ren glared at him hatefully. “You really need to have a talk with him.”

Ome looked down at the table with an unhappy look on his face. “I will.” He thought to himself. “We really need to tell Ren about this whole situation or she is going to go ballistic.”

Mio was staring at Ome suspiciously while glancing at Eizan in her peripheral vision. She looked over at Ren. “Don’t be too hard on him Ren. He’s not like, his friend. He is always honest and a true gentleman.”

Eizan stiffened up at her words. She said this just loud enough for him to hear. Ren grabbed Ome’s arm tightly. “I know Ome is the best.”

Mio nodded and got a mischievous smile on her face. “Yeah, Ome is the best.” Eizan’s face twitched as he was still chatting with Minami. “He’s sweet an innocent. Plus, he treats you like an angel. Unlike some people I know. Plus, I’m sure he wouldn’t run away just as things are getting tough.”

Eizan couldn’t help but sigh. He was completely ignoring Minami lost in thought. “Geeze, she sure is giving me a hard time over there. Could she give it a rest already. I feel like a noose is slowly tightening around my neck.”

Minami was too busy trying to flirt with him didn’t notice their conversation. She finally noticed the strange look on his face. “What’s wrong?” She unexpectedly put a hand on his forehead. “You look pale are you alright?”

Eizan reached up and removed her hand. “I’m fine.” He could see Mio frowning.

She stood up and told Ren and Ome she was done and left. A few seconds later Eizan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He sighed and handed Minami his half-eaten bento. “I’m not feeling well. I’m going to the restroom.” He stood up suddenly and walked off. He looked at his phone as he was walking. He smiled softly. He walked through the halls towards an empty classroom. He slowly opened the door and walked in. Sitting by the window with a pouty look on her face was Mio. She glared at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to eat lunch with her. But I felt it would be rude to turn her down.”

Mio shook her head. “Jerk.”

Eizan giggled and slowly approached her. She turned her head away and looked out the window. He slowly wrapped his arms around her. “Are you that angry at me for eating lunch?”

“I’m mad at you for flirting with another woman.”

Eizan sighed and all of a sudden lifted her up off her feet. She was couldn’t help but face him now that she was firmly being held in his arms. “Why would I flirt with her? When I have you.”

She blushed and looked down. “Because she’s prettier than me.”

Eizan started to giggle. “I think you really need to be a little more confident in yourself. I’ve seen you with nothing on. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

She frowned. “You’re only flattering me.”

Eizan shook his head. “Nope. You’re even better looking than Ren. You may not have noticed that you were getting more looks than her at the pool. But I sure did and I was incredibly unhappy about it, by the way. It made me want to lock you away and keep you only for myself.”

She blushed a little. “Don’t you think that’s a little far?”

Eizan smiled. “That depends. Are you going to run away from me?”

“Are you saying you would kidnap me if I tried to run away?”

Eizan got a mischievous smile on his face. “No. I would just make it so your life is so wonderful that you wouldn’t want to leave.”

Mio sighed. “I’d be a caged bird.”

Eizan frowned. “I know. That’s why were going with this stupid plan of mine.”

“You admit it was stupid.”

“I admit that it sucks.”

“Yeah.”

They hid in the empty classroom for a while. They talked and flirted with each other for a few minutes before her anger subsided. “You know we can’t stay here for much longer?”

“I know. Can you sneak away again tonight?”

“I could but it would be very late.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Eizan’s eyes widened. “Will you stay awake?”

“I’ll try.”

“You really are a handful you know that?”

Mio smiled brightly and nodded. “You said I’m pretty. Pretty girls get to be demanding.”

Eizan chuckled.