Authors Note: I am so, so, so sorry! I just couldn't find the time to write because of school and stuff and life but it's summer now so.. yay! ^^ Read on and enjoy! ^^

Note: This happened between the first chapter and the second one

Disclaimer: I own nothing

How to smile

MaineHalfBlood

Ryoma stared at the ceiling in deep thought. He was lying on his bed, thinking about what had happened earlier. Why had Sakuno ran away? He smiled at her. She should have swooned or fainted on the spot. BUT NO. She RAN AWAY.. As if he was some monster or something.

The tennis prince clicked his tongue in annoyance. There could only be one reasons as to why Sakuno had ran away. She was scared of him. Scared.

But that's impossible right? He was Ryoma Echizen for pete's sake! His name alone makes girls swoon.. but just to be safe..

Ryoma turned on his computer and went to . He kept typing and erasing what he's writing, unsure of himself. He finally deemed it good enough and clicked enter.

How to smile

Hundred of websites showed on the screen. Making up his mind Ryoma clicked what seems to be the best of all of them.

1. Practice smiling a lot. Have you ever heard of an "easy smile"? People with easy smiles break into a grin effortlessly, and it usually makes those around them feel happy. When you practice a lot, smiling will become easier, and you'll look less strained when you do it. Practice what you feel to be your most attractive smile. Soon your confidence in your smile will increase, and you'll start flashing it without thinking.

What the actual hell. Ryoma groaned out loud. He needs to practice? Who in the world practices smiling? It's a natural thing! But even so... If it makes Sakuno like him better... The things he do for love..

o-O-o

Ryoma stood in front of his mirror and forced his mouth to grin and then sigh in exasperation. That looked way forced. Anyone would run away if they see him like that.. It looks like he's planning something bad.

Just try a normal smile Ryoma. This is just smiling. You can do this.

The pep talk doesn't work and Ryoma finds himself even more down than usual.

Just turn the two corners of your lips upward and we're done.

He does and stared at the mirror. He shakes his head to clear the image. He looked horrifying. Like some sort of perverted maniac. Ughhh... Is that what Sakuno saw? Ryoma can't blame her for running away then.

The rest of the night was spent practicing and if you would pass by the Echizen household, you would see flashes from a certain someone's bedroom window.

o-O-o

Ryoma decides to try it out on someone first. The first reasonable target would be his ojou-san and so Ryoma found himself smiling at his father the next day.

He was met with laughter though. Loud, boisterous laughter that makes his ears bleed and his eyes to water. His father is mocking him. Ryoma gritted his teeth.

"Wh-What i-is t-that s-supposed t-to b-be?" His father questions in the middle of guffawing like a maniac.

"A smile" he answers, voice devoid of any emotion. His father laughed some more, too busy chortling to say anything else.

2. Smile with your eyes. A wholehearted smile will naturally draw in the eyes. This natural smile is called a Duchenne smile. It's not something you can fake; when you're forced to smile for photos, your eyes don't smile. It's only when you truly feel like smiling that you flash a Duchenne. The eyes are essential for a genuine, warm smile.

He stood in front of the mirror, again, and tried. He couldn't. How do you even smile with your eyes? It's impossible! But he should at least try...

And the night was once again filled with flashes as a certain boy practiced his smile.

3. Make your smile genuine. While it is perfectly possible to crack a smile when you feel terrible, angry, annoyed, or you're up to something nefarious, smiling under these circumstances will make people wary of you. A genuine smile is much harder to fake. A genuine smile is detectable by others because it is accompanied by a general glow, smiling eyes where the outer corners crinkle and the lower lid tightens, and a reassuring demeanor that helps the viewer to feel more at ease in your presence. Here's how to smile more genuinely:

He would do it today. He would smile at Sakuno today. Not that creepy perverted smile that makes him want to hit himself or that scary smile that makes him look like a monster. A real genuine smile coming from the heart. He's decided.

He went to look for Sakuno and figured that she'd be behind the school. He heard from someone that she had no lunch money and decided to take it upon himself to give her one.

Sakuno sat at the base of the tree. Her favorite place, the one she always sat at.. Not that he's been watching her... Anyway! He approached her and held out his money. Some part of him thinks that maybe he's being a little too blunt but some other part of him could care less.

A shy smile made it's way to Sakuno's face. It lit her whole face up for some reason and made Ryoma's cheeks grow hotter. He felt himself grinning. It was a smile he couldn't contain.

And perhaps that was the best kind of smile there is.

Sakuno sat at Ryoma's bed. The tennis prince had left her for a while, promising to come back as soon as possible. Sakuno waved her boyfriend off. It's not like she couldn't entertain herself why he was gone.

She played with a tennis ball, making it bounce against the wall and catching it. It was the one she gave him before he left for the U.S open. Distracted by her thoughts Sakuno didn't manage to catch the ball and it made it's way below the bed.

She frowned. Sakuno didn't want it to get dirty. It's too special..

She immediately crouches down and tries to get it but she can't see anything due to the darkness. Finally, she catches hold of something but it doesn't seem like a ball. Sakuno hesitantly pulls it out.

A box. An old, brown box that looks like it hasn't been touched for ages.

She opens it, only to burst out laughing at the things she saw.

It was pictures. Pictures of Ryoma smiling, all of them obviously taken by the boy himself.

"Sakuno" A voice calls out as the door opens "What's so fu-hey!"

Authors Note: Like it? Love it? It isn't really much of a sequel. But I hope you guys enjoyed Ryoma's dilemma! ^^

Thank you ~