Three weeks had passed. Mio was laying in her room staring at the ceiling while talking on the phone with Ren. “I told you I’m fine.”

“I can’t believe you two broke off your engagement. What are you going to do when you see him tomorrow. Isn’t it going to be awkward?”

Mio had a small smile on her face. “Yeah, but I’ll get through somehow.”

“You are taking this better than I would have. If Ome ever leaves me I would be devastated. If you need anything just let me know.”

Mio sighed. This was probably the tenth time in the last few days she had heard the same thing from her friend. “Yeah, I will. Goodnight Ren. I need to get some sleep.”

“Ok, see you tomorrow.”

Mio hung up her phone and laid it on the bed next to her. She muttered to herself. “Was this really the best option?” She started to laugh. “I can’t believe he made me lie like this. Well, I guess it is technically true. We did officially break off our engagement. Dad said it’s all over the top social circles. I can’t believe his grandpa even paid him like we were actually breaking off the engagement. It’s been three weeks since I’ve seen him. The funny thing is he won’t even be there tomorrow. The jerk is leaving me to answer all the questions. Last time we spoke he wasn’t sure when he would get back. Will I be able to hold myself back the next time we see each other.” She looked around her room. “It’s weird being back here. I feel like an abandoned princess. The mansion was so beautiful. It truly felt like a dream the few days I got to stay there.”

The next day Mio arrived on her bike to school like she used to. Ren and Ome were waiting for her in front of the school. Ren let go of his hand and ran up to give Mio a big hug as soon as she saw her. Ome was standing there with a pitiful look on his face. He let out a long sigh as he watched the two girls hug. He muttered to himself. “Eizan, what the hell are you doing?”

Eventually, the trio made it to their class and took their seats, Mio could hear whispers of her classmates as she sat down and opened a book. A few minutes later Hattori Aika burst through the door and immediately came up to Mio’s desk. Mio looked up from her book and smiled. “Good morning, Aika.”

Aika immediately hugged her. “I heard what happened are you ok?”

Mio awkwardly patted her on the head. “I’m fine.”

Aika released her hug and looked around the room. “Where is that bastard? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

Mio sighed. “I have no clue and please don’t do that. It’s already going to be awkward when he shows up.”

Aika squatted down next to her desk. “So, what happened? Did you guys get into a fight? Did he do something bad to you?”

Mio shook her head. “We just can’t live together. It’s nothing more than that. So, we broke up. It was for the best. We ended things cordially. It might be a little awkward for a while. But I’m sure things will go back to normal eventually.”

Ren looked over at them. “Aika that’s enough. It’s already awkward enough. This isn’t making things any better.”

Meanwhile Ome was staring at Eizan’s empty chair. “I wonder where the hell he is. He told me a few days ago that he wouldn’t be back for the start of class. Is he really going to come back? It’s just too strange. One minute they were all over each other and the next they just broke up. I just don’t get it.”

A few minutes later the teacher entered the classroom followed by a beautiful blonde girl. All the boys immediately started drooling over her. Mio frowned when she saw her. “Did she somehow make sure to get the same class as us? This isn’t good. She is probably going to be all over him now that everyone thinks we are broken up.”

Izumi started to address the class. “Good morning, everyone. Today we have a new student joining us. Can you please introduce yourself?”

The beautiful girl began to introduce herself in a cheery tone. “Hi, my name is Ogata Minami. I just moved here from Kyoto. I look forward to meeting you all.” She waved at Mio and Ren.

After her introduction Izumi directed her to an empty seat just in font of Ome. This made Ren tense up as she saw her take the empty seat. Minami turned around and smiled brightly at Ome. “You’re Eizan’s friend, right?”

“Yeah, I would say were close.”

“What was your name again?”

“It’s Sano. Sano Ome.”

“Nice to meet you Sano.”

“Is Eizan in this class?”

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“Yeah, normally he is. But he doesn’t seem to be here today.”

Minami tilted her head in confusion. “His girlfriend didn’t tell you where he’s at?”

Ome shook his head and sighed. “She wouldn’t know. They broke up a few weeks ago.”

Minami acted surprised. “Really, that’s so sad. They seemed happy together.” But in her head, she was secretly rejoicing. “What happened?”

Ome shook his head. “I don’t know.” Actually, Ome was hoping this conversation would end soon. He could see Ren glaring at him. “Damnit, I wish she would leave me alone.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you again. I hope we can be friends.”

He hesitated for a few seconds. “S-sure.”

The day passed normally from there. The only difference is that Mio went to the library during lunch instead of going with Ome and Ren. She just thought it would be awkward to be the third wheel. Plus, she really didn’t want to be questioned. To Mio the week seemed like it just dragged on. Everyday she would glance at Eizan’s seat hoping he would show up just so she could see his face.

Currently it’s Friday, Mio is walking towards the library to eat her lunch just like she had done the last few days. Suddenly she was grabbed and pulled into an empty classroom and a hand covered her mouth. To her surprise a voice whispered softly into her ear. “Did you miss me?”

She turned around in shock. “Eizan!” They hugged tightly. After a few moments the separated “Where have you been?” She started to tear up.

“Come on don’t cry. I know it’s been hard. I’ll call you later and explain everything.” He lifted her chin and kissed her passionately on the lips. She felt her legs give way as held her tightly. “God I’ve missed that.”

She blushed and started to pound him on the chest. “Dummy. You haven’t called me for a week.”

He sighed. “I haven’t had much time the last few weeks. I’ve barely got any sleep.”

She looked up and saw the tired look on his face. “What have you been doing?”

He shook his head. “Like I said I’ll explain later. For now, I just wanted to see you.” He hugged her tightly and they kissed for a few minutes. They both had slightly disheveled but satisfied looks on their face when he finally pulled away. “You have to go. We can’t let anyone catch us here.”

She got a pouty look on her face. “When will we be able to see each other again?”

He patted the top of her head and smiled. “Silly girl, I’ll see you in class after lunch.”

She pouted. “That’s not enough.”

He let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I know. I’ll figure something out soon. For now, just wait.” He got a huge grin on his face. “This is kind of fun. Sneaking around like this. It’s kind of like were having an affair.”

Mio blushed and giggled. “Yeah, it does feel that way.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “Now get out of here before we get caught.”

She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I love you.” She turned around and left the room.

He leaned his back against the wall and frowned. “Damnit, this is too hard.” He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. “What the hell am I supposed to do.” He thought back to what he had been through over the past few weeks. Immediately after she went back to her parents’ house, he returned to his old one-bedroom apartment. He had all of his possessions moved there before she left. Even he could spot that he was being followed. He even left the country with his grandfather for two weeks. But when he came back, they were waiting. His grandfather had tried to remedy the situation but it didn’t seem to stop. The bad part was the person who they thought was the original culprit denied everything. He even seemed offended. It turns out the people following him were hired by someone using a false identity. Whoever had been following him was covering their bases perfectly. It was driving him crazy. They hadn’t tried anything yet but so they were doing nothing illegal.

He held his head when he remembered telling her the plan. He thought back to both of them sitting at a table drinking tea. The tears streaming down her face as he told her they had to fake break off their engagement and avoid each other for a while until things quieted down. She tried bargaining with him and arguing with him but she relented after a few minutes. He thought back to the three days the spent together just enjoying each other’s company before she left. It was a bitter sweet three days. We can be together again but it would change everything. “Is she really ok with giving up the life she has now for me? Is there no way to remedy this situation?” He propped himself up off the ground and walked to the other side of the room. He looked at his reflection on the glass of the window. He could clearly see the bags under his eyes. “Damn, I look like shit.” He giggled a little. “Well, I guess it will make it look like I’m taking the breakup hard.”

After lunch, he walked down the hallway towards the classroom. He could hear the whispers of everyone as he passed. His normally put together appearance was gone. He knew they were whispering about their broken engagement. He made sure it got leaked to social media at school. He walked into the class just before lunch break and everyone turned to look at him. Mio only glanced at him for a second and looked back at the book she had borrowed from the library. The room was dead silent as he took his seat. The first one to speak was Ome. He whispered to him. “Dude, you look like shit. Are you alright man?”

Eizan sighed. “Do I look alright?”

Ome shook his head. “If you need anything man. Just call.”

Eizan got a soft smile on his face. “Sure.”

“Where have you been the last few weeks? I haven’t heard from you at all.”

“I went to America with my grandfather on a business trip.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Yeah, not so much. But I’ll tell you about it later. I’m exhausted, I’m going to take a nap.” He laid his head down and immediately fell asleep. Ome just stared at him with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Ome mumbled to himself. “This guy. He’s gone for the first week of school and the first thing he does is pass out on his desk.” He turned around to see Minami staring at him from the seat in front of his. He could tell she wasn’t staring at him but the sleeping boy behind him. They both looked at each other for a few seconds and she turned around like nothing happened. He couldn’t figure her out over the past week. She would casually talk to him but it seemed like she was probing for information more than anything. He chuckled to himself when he thought about how Eizan didn’t even acknowledge her existence.