"Are you ready for school Miyako?"
"Coming!" I called from the kitchen, finishing up my homemade lunch.
Once we were all tucked away in the limousine, our driver set off. The dark night often doused my spirits, but I was content since our vacation.
"I don't think we've ever been on a real vacation before," Laito crooned, a self-satisfied smirk on his face."We should do it again. What slide did you like best, Subaru?"
"Eh?" Subaru grunted, looking over to his brother as if he'd been addressed for the first time in his life. Then again, regular conversation wasn't this family's forte. "I suppose the one with the tubes; Rocket Raft I think it was called."
"Ha! Yes, that one was fun!" Ayato agreed, leaning forward over his knees. "The drop was very steep."
"I hated that one," Kanato growled, holding Teddy close. "I liked the lazy river."
"The lazy river was nice," I agreed, smiling at Kanato. "What about you, Shuu? Reiji?"
"I liked laying out on the deck," Shuu muttered, his eyes still closed.
"But surely there was a ride you liked," I persisted, leaning forward.
Shuu opened an eye and I could almost see a shadow of a smirk as he regarded me, "The Whirlpool one was nice."
"I think so too."
"I'm surprised you went on all of them, Shuu," Reiji commented dryly, though not in a rude fashion despite his tone.
"Me too," Shuu admitted, closing his eyes again and leaning back. "What was your favorite, Reiji?"
Reiji looked mildly surprised by his brother's inclination to engage in conversation, but thankfully he answered the question instead of making a jibe.
"The raft one where we could all ride at once was the best, in my opinion."
"Yes, it was nice not to have to argue who would ride with Little Beauty," Laito agreed, smiling fondly over at me.
"You all got to at least once," I said soothingly with a knowing smile. The school lights were appearing in the distance. "I made sure."
"Ayato got more than his fair share," Kanato whined, glaring at his brother over Teddy.
"It's alright," I insisted before Ayato could speak. "We can do something together this week, if you'd like Kanato."
"I would like that," Kanato agreed as the limo pulled up to the school entrance.
Subaru walked me to my Literature class, sticking very close like a shadow. I could feel his fingers brush mine every so often, but when I opened my hand to be held, he didn't seem to pick up on it. I sighed inwardly, but not without amusement.
"Miyako? Is that you?" I turned to see a black haired girl with coal dark eyes striding down the hallway. Heehae; my ex-best friend. She walked next to a girl with wavy brown hair who looked distasteful as if she had smelled something she wasn't in the mood for. That was Rae; my other ex-best friend. "No... don't tell me... you've been in remedial school this whole time!?"
"This fits better with my schedule," I said evenly, attempting to walk past her but she blocked me.
"Sure, sure," she rolled her eyes. "Rae and I actually are here because of our schedules. Our parents need us to make daytime appearances occasionally, you know, so we go to night school to make up for that. A legitimate excuse."
"Nice," I muttered. "I'm just going to go."
"Who's this?" Heehae asked, her eyes darting to Subaru.
"My friend Subaru."
"Your friend, huh? You always say that."
"Whatever; we're going."
I stalked past her.
"Why do you have to be so butt hurt all the time?"
I ignored that.
"I don't like her," Subaru growled and I nodded my head in assent.
"She and Rae aren't very nice people. I used to be a friend of theirs."
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you later, okay?" I said, turning and looping my arms around his waist. He started slightly but eventually wrapped his lanky arms around me in return.
He returned the gesture warmly, but hesitated. The moment I looked up questioningly was when he planted a kiss on my lips. It was soft, thoughtful, and when he pulled away there was a rosy blush in his cheeks. Without a word, he turned and disappeared down the hall. Left with butterflies in my stomach, I walked into class.
Literature and History went by without incident, but the moment I stepped into Calculus I knew there'd be an issue. Rae sat in the seat in front of me with Heehae directly beside her. I wished Arisu were here, but then again, I hadn't seen her in a while. Either she'd been avoiding me since spreading rumors about me or she'd managed to stay out of trouble.
"Damn," I hissed, but stalked to my seat anyway.
As if I hadn't noticed anything, I retrieved my homework from my backpack and placed it on my desk at the ready. Reiji entered soon after.
"He's the cute one I've seen around," Rae muttered to Heehae in a hushed voice, pointing subtly to Reiji. "Can you help me talk to him?"
"'Course."
I gritted my teeth together and immediately turned to Reiji, greeting him with a forced smile and a nod.
"Hey there, what's your name?" Rae asked, turning around in her seat.
Heehae's coal eyes glittered as they finally flitted toward me for a second, but the next she was narrowing them in a smile for Reiji. "I like your outfit."
"Reiji; it's the school uniform," he said curtly and fixed his eyes upon me. "Do you know them?"
I nodded, my teeth still clenched together.
"I see you've met Miyako – you should know that she's got a history if you know what I mean," Heehae said with a light edge to her voice as if she were discussing a spot of troublesome weather.
Reiji didn't answer, but retrieved his homework.
"Do you want me to check over it?" I asked, holding out my hand for his work.
"That would be nice of you," he answered, handing the papers to me.
"So, Reiji, would you be interested in a double date with myself and Heehae? You can bring a friend. We'll head to the theaters."
"Maybe," he said and I shot him a glance up from the homework.
He had eyes only for me and when mine met his, he smirked. Is he doing what I think he's doing? I took a steadying breath and continued down the list of problems, comparing them against my own work.
"How does Saturday sound?" Rae asked batting her eyelashes awkwardly. She was never too good at the flirting thing; always came on too heavy. Her smile was always a tad too cheesy and pinched in the cheeks.
"I'll check my calendar."
"Sounds good to me."
I handed his homework back to him without meeting his eyes, "It looks good."
"Is something wrong, Miyako?" Heehae asked.
Reiji's eyes were on me; I could feel them burning my skin.
"Not that I'd tell you," I muttered mutinously.
"What? Reiji's just a friend too, isn't he?"
"Come on now, you can't have dibs on both Subaru and Reiji," Rae said so loudly that a few people in class looked over.
"I don't call 'dibs' on anyone - they're sentient beings that deserve to make choices for themselves," I said shortly, lacing my fingers together and staring pointedly at the board.
Reiji cleared his throat loudly, "It seems that my calendar is not clear for Saturday."
"You didn't even check!" Heehae pouted, throwing out her lower lip.
"I value Miyako's opinion over yours."
"Tch," Rae spun around and took out her phone, poking angrily at it.
Calculus wrapped up with partner work during which Reiji and I worked in tandem to complete the assignment early.
"Tell me," he said as we walked from the classroom. "Were you jealous?"
The smirk was back upon his lips.
"Yes," I said slowly and softly under my breath, ducking my head. "But if going out with Rae would make you happy then I don't want to stand in the way of that."
Reiji halted us in the hallway, holding my shoulders. His red eyes gazed deeply into my own and I felt breathless as he drew closer and closer. When his lips touched mine, I accepted them wholeheartedly. He deepened the kiss slightly, one hand wrapping around my lower back and the other tangling into my hair, then pulled away.
"I thought polygamy to be a frivolous thing, until you came along Miyako," he whispered, his red eyes boring into my own as if searching and finding something very satisfying within them. "I have no doubt that your heart can love all of us at once."
Holy hell, Reiji...?
"That isn't fair-"
"You've brought us together more than you know," Reiji insisted softly. "If it is your wish to have all of us, I'm sure you can achieve it. You are pure... pure trouble I may add."
"Th-thank you," I whispered, drawing him into an uncertain but grateful hug, my fingers gripping the back of his school uniform as I buried my face into his chest.
"I'll walk you to gym," he said as I pulled away, taking my hand in his.
He gave me another chaste kiss at the entrance to the locker rooms then walked off. I put my fingers wonderingly to my lips. I know I could, but is that fair to them? My mind mulled over the thought nonstop as I dressed in my gym uniform and went out to the court with the rest of the class.