The end of the week meant that Hiromasa and I were once again standing in front of that abandoned apartment at night, staring at Saki, a devilish smile spread wide across her face. Hiromasa was wearing his cheesy grin, as always. Why was he even here? I clearly had my own mental issues I was working out, but he was pretty well adjusted, so what joy could a straight going, vanilla guy be getting out of this?

"So," Saki said. "I've been doing some thinking about what we should do today." She fell silent.

"And?" I asked.

She smiled and beckoned us to follow, leading us around the back of the apartment

"I've come up with something fun, that isn't even illegal." She cocked her head to the side. "Well, at least not as illegal as spray painting public places."

"Knowing you, that won't make this any better," I said.

She looked back at me and grinned. I hate it when I'm right.

She led us up to the second floor and slipped through the window the same way she had the first night we hung out. I followed her without being prompted this time. Hiromasa was understandably hesitant.

"Come on," Saki urged. "Nothing in here is going to bite you." She paused. "Well, except maybe me."

Hiromasa entered through the window slowly. "Are you sure this is alright?"

Saki shrugged. "I've never gotten busted for being in here. Good enough?"

"Not really." His eyes darted around the room.

She groaned. "You're such a scaredy-cat. Want me to hold your hand?"

"N-no," he stuttered.

She sighed. "Come on then."

We followed her to the room with the futon and candles. She grabbed a label-less glass bottle that sat against the wall. It was a slightly different shape, and had a lot more liquid left in it than the one she had last time. She unscrewed the lid and took a drink from the bottle.

"Want some?" She held the bottle out to me.

I put my hands up and shook my head. "No thanks."

She moved the bottle towards Hiromasa. He shook his head rapidly.

She sighed and lowered the bottle to her side. "Fine, but this is going to be a lot more fun buzzed."

"Um...does someone live here?" Hiromasa pointed at the futon.

"Yeah, me, on occasion." Saki said.

Hiromasa smiled. "Cool. Like a clubhouse."

That guy was so clueless sometimes.

Saki laughed. "Sure, why not?"

We went back down the hall and out the window, Saki toting her bottle the whole way. Once we were outside, she set it down on the concrete floor of the balcony.

"Do we get to know what we're doing yet?" I asked.

"Well, I could tell you, but it would be so much more fun to show you," Saki said.

She went to the railing and used it to push herself up, then flipped one leg after the other over the side. She grasped the top metal bar and leaned back, away from the building, keeping her feet braced against the corner of the ledge.

"Quit messing around." I held out my hand to her. "You're going to get hurt."

She smiled, let go of the railing, and fell.

"Saki!" I screamed, rushing to the railing.

She lay on a cream colored mattress on the ground below, holding her stomach and laughing hysterically.

"You should have seen your faces," she managed to say, before rolling over on her side and laughing again.

I squeezed the cold bar of the railing and hung my head, letting out a long, deep breath. This woman was trying to give me a heart attack.

"That was so not funny," Hiromasa whimpered.

"No kidding," I muttered.

"You hear me, Saki?" Hiromasa yelled down to her. "That was a really bad joke."

She rolled off the side of the mattress and looked up at us. "So, who's next?"

I took another deep breath, squeezed the railing hard, and put one leg on the other side of the railing.

"You can't be serious," Hiromasa said with a worried look on his face.

"I'm pretty serious." I put my other leg on the outside of the railing and leaned backwards, just as Saki did.

"This is a bad idea," Hiromasa said.

It sure was. My heart was already thumping away like crazy.

"Don't let go yet," Saki said from below. "I need to make sure you're actually where you need to be."

"Your concern is touching," I said.

"Don't misunderstand," she said. "I just don't want to haul your crippled ass to the hospital or wait while Hiromasa digs a hole for your body."

"Why do I have to dig the hole?" Hiromasa asked.

I glared at him. "Is that really your only problem with that statement?"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

He laughed nervously and grinned. "Sorry."

"Go ahead," Saki said. "Make sure to push off a little bit."

I took a final deep breath and let go of the railing, pushing off the ledge with my feet. My heart flew into my throat as the wind whirled past my ears. For just a split second, I really felt like I might die. It was fantastic.

My back hit the semisoft mattress. I bounced once, fell back down, and exploded into laughter.

"How was it?" Saki asked, leaning over me.

"Great," I said.

She smiled. "Next time, I'll be sure to move the mattress."

"Your sense of humor is sick." I rolled to the side of the mattress and stood up next to her. "Where did you get this thing, anyway?"

"Someone left it in the apartment," she said.

"I see..." I said, making a mental note to scrub extra hard in the shower.

"Your turn," Saki called up to Hiromasa.

Hiromasa put his hands on the railing and peered over the side. "I don't want to."

"You don't have to," I said.

"Don't baby him," she muttered.

"I'm not babying him," I said. "I'm just giving him options."

Saki cupped both hands around her mouth. "Jump for God's sake. Stop being a pussy!"

Hiromasa shuddered and climbed over the railing.

"Wait there," Saki instructed, then circled the mattress while peering up at Hiromasa.

"Out of interest for my friend, how bad is it going to be if he screws this up?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Not sure. I've never missed. The second floor isn't really that high when you think about it. Although, I'm sure it all depends in how you land. You're jumping backwards off a building, and head trauma probably never ends well. You can die just by falling down a few stairs, you know?"

I sighed. "Your answers are reassuring, as always."

She walked back over to me and grinned, then looked up at Hiromasa. "You're good."

Hiromasa didn't jump, obviously. Saki sighed.

"You can always climb back over," I said.

Saki clicked her tongue. "He just needs a little bit of encouragement."

"Maybe it's just not for him," I said.

"He wants to do it," she said.

"Clearly not." I gestured at Hiromasa.

"Idiot, of course he does," she insisted. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be here."

I wasn't sure what to say. I'm sure that jumping off of buildings wasn't anywhere on the list of things Hiromasa wanted to do, but then, why else be here? I still hadn't figured it out.

"I'm going to count to three," Saki called up. "After three, you're going to jump."

Hiromasa shook his head frantically.

"One, two, three!" Saki yelled.

To my amazement, at three, he pushed himself off and fell to the mattress, screaming the whole way down. He lay there panting and clutching the fabric, as though it might give and he'd continue to fall. Saki clapped her hands and sat down on the side of the mattress.

"So?" she asked.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position and scooted over next to Saki. "If that's how sky diving is, I will totally pass on that all together."

She laughed. "I think sky diving lasts a lot longer. Although..." She leaned closer to him and grinned.

"What?" Hiromasa asked, leaning away from her, his arm up, bracing for an attack.

"The fall made your hair extra fluffy." She shot her hand through his hair and started swishing it around, laughing while she did it.

"Knock it off," he protested.

He grabbed her wrist and held it still, but she just started to use her other hand. He grabbed that one too and laughed triumphantly.

She grinned and wiggled her fingers. "You know, this is going to get pretty awkward if I have to start using my feet."

His face went tomato red and he released both her wrists. She chuckled and played with his hair a few more moments, before releasing him from his torture with a giggle.

"Jeeze," Hiromasa said, combing his hands through his hair.

She smiled at him and he smiled back. I was such an idiot for not seeing it before. I was too busy trying to sort through my own feelings that I hadn't noticed it sooner. He had fallen for her too. That's why he was here. It's not like I can say it was a total shock. I was sure it was going to happen sooner or later, but I still felt bad for him. It seems I wasn't the only one entering into unrequited romance.

Saki and I repeated the jump several times over, both laughing like lunatics every time. She drank a little more, but not enough to make me really worry about her. I wondered if she held back this much when no one was around. Hiromasa decided one jump was enough for him. He didn't budge on that decision, not even when Saki threated to throw him over the railing. He kept that grin on his face though, so I have to believe he was having fun.

After a while, we had to call it quits. I didn't think my heart could take much more and Saki's legs were getting sore from walking up the stairs so many times. We all lay in a line lengthwise on the mattress, Saki in the middle, our legs bent over the side. It was a cloudy night out, so there wasn't much to see.

"Hey, Saki," I said.

"Hm?" she answered.

"How did you find this place, anyway?" I asked.

"I wander around a lot at night," she said.

"Yeah, about that, I know I've said this before, but are you sure that's smart?"

"It's fine. If anyone messes with me, I'll take care of them."

"How?" I asked.

"With a sneak attack!" She backhanded me in the chest.

I coughed and clutched my chest. "That hurt."

She grinned. "See? Effective."

I scowled and pinched her side.

"Ow." She scooted away from me.

"Close." Hiromasa's eyes went wide and he put his hands to the side to block her. "Too close."

She peered back at him. "Don't worry. I don't think you're going to get cooties."

His gaze drifted to the side. "That's not really what I'm concerned about."

"Oh? Feeling shy?" She inched closer to him.

He blushed and moved away from her. She grinned and slid towards him quickly. He pushed himself backwards and fell off the side of the mattress with a yelp. Saki and I started laughing.

"Why do I feel like I'm always getting laughed at?" He sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Because you're so fun to pick on," Saki said.

Hiromasa folded his arms. "You guys are assholes."

"Aw. Poor Hiromasa." Saki planted a kiss on the back of his head.

His face got red again and he pulled his legs up to his chest to bury his face in them.

"I think you broke him," I said.

Saki giggled. "Yeah, maybe."

She moved back to her original spot.

She was a lot gentler with him at times than she ever was with me. I wasn't sure if that meant anything or not, and it wasn't any of my business to ask, not that she'd tell me.

After a few seconds, Hiromasa got up and lay back down on the mattress.

"Does this mean we're forgiven?" I asked.

"She is. You're not," He said.

"I suppose that's fair," I said. "It's not like I plan to come over there and kiss your head."

"Good," Hiromasa said. "Because I don't want your lips anywhere near my person."

That got us all laughing.

The rest of our spring passed much like that night did, together, laughing. Saki led us from one deviant act to the next, whether it was vandalism, destruction, or just forcing us to preform reckless activities. There was no one to really stand in our way either. Though Saki hadn't given a single clue about her parents, they were clearly out of the picture. I only saw mine a few times a year. Hiromasa's father worked a lot. Not like mine, but enough to support his large family. His mother was very sweet and devoted, but because Hiromasa had three sisters, all under the age of six, her focus was with them most of the time. She usually depended on Hiromasa to do what he was supposed to do, which normally wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, Hiromasa was best friends with a guy who was flirting with the idea of being an adrenaline junkie, and had a crush on the girl who was feeding his best friend's habit.

My feelings for Saki were obviously not going to be returned, but that was alright. Just being near her was enough, for now. I hoped over time my feelings might dull. Since I couldn't manage to muster any romantic feelings before, perhaps the ones I had now would be fleeting. In any case, I vowed to keep her close. After all, she was the one who had woken me up.