Disclaimer: I don't own FnF

It's hard being friends with someone who hides behind a smile.

Fine wasn't sure what to think when the transfer student stepped inside the room.

As soon as he came into view shrill shrieks from the girls could be heard, and Fine instinctively covered her ears with her hands at the unpleasant sound.

"Class, this is Bright, and he'll be joining you for the rest of the school year," Tamba Rin-sensei said after her female classmates calmed down somewhat.

Lazily, she lifted her head and her eyes landed on the boy with features that reminded her of a prince from a fairy tale.

Inwardly berating herself for thinking like Rein, her boy crazy twin sister, she used a more realistic word that depicted him perfectly.

He must be a model.

He had a face that attracted attention, and with his vibrant golden hair and gentle ruby eyes, it's hard not to notice him.

Fine frowned as he walked towards their teacher who placed an arm around his shoulders.

His gait also reminded her of that of a model's; measured and practiced for several times.

The thought disturbed her. It was like someone told him to act like that and he had no choice but to follow. Because for her, his way of walking was stiff.

Then he smiled and all thoughts suddenly disappeared in her mind.

He looked even more attractive if that was possible and the dreamy sighs of the girls showed that she was not alone.

"Nice to meet you all," Bright began, his hands on his sides. Fine could hear Rein squeal at his baritone voice beside her. "I hope we get along throughout this school year."

"Bright, you will be sitting next to Rein."

"I'm here!" Rein exclaimed, her cheeks tinted pink.

"It's nice meeting you, Rein," Bright replied as he sat on his chair.

Rein's expression made Fine think that she just learned that she was one of the honor students, a feat neither the two of them could achieve despite the efforts of their governess, Camelot on making them study.

"L-Likewise!"

She shook her head at her sister's antics.

"So, Bright these are my friends..."

Fine tuned out Rein's voice as soon as she took a bite from her sandwich, too mesmerized by its taste to pay attention to her surroundings.

She was brought out of her trance when someone nudged her elbow.

"Introduce yourself," her twin sister whispered, a hint of irritation in her voice.

Fine sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "Oh yeah! My name is Fine!"

Bright smiled in amusement. "Fine as in 'you're alright,'?"

"Y-Yeah!" She didn't know why she stuttered.

"What an interesting name."

Throughout lunch, Fine learned that Bright was too good to be true. He was friendly and easygoing; the kind of person she'd love to be in company of. Most of all, his smiles are contagious. She wished there were more guys like him.

"He's a dreamboat," Rein whispered to her in awe.

Fine couldn't help but agree.

"Bright is so perfect, isn't he?" Rein said as they sat at their usual table in the cafeteria.

Fine sighed. "That's the thousandth time you said that, Rein."

The bluenette propped her elbows on the table and placed her hands on her cheeks. "It's like he jumped out of a storybook."

Fine gave her an odd look before opening her lunch box. "You're exaggerating."

"I mean, he seems to have everything: the looks, personality and he's also smart!" Rein insisted.

"But nobody's perfect."

"Well, for me, he is!" Rein concluded, undeterred.

"Rein! Fine!"

"Speaking of..., " Fine muttered.

Rein glared at her.

"May I eat with you?" Bright asked with an eager smile on his face.

"Sure!" The blue-haired twin replied ecstatically, her cheeks flushed.

Spooning a rather large amount of food into her mouth, Fine glanced at her sister. Her face radiated happiness at being in the same table with Bright. Then, she glanced at the blond who was still wearing his signature smile.

She abruptly felt the urge to switch tables.

"Did you two get today's lesson?" Bright inquired.

"It's still easy for me. It's going to be much harder later on, though," Fine answered immediately.

On the other hand, her twin sister took a moment to think. "Um, Math is never my favorite subject so...," she looked hesitant before continuing, "I think I might have dozed off for a bit."

Bright chuckled. Fine stifled a yelp of surprise and pain when her twin sister suddenly pinched her elbow.

"Don't worry, I'll help you after class," he offered gallantly.

"Oh thank you, but I think I can manage..."

"It's alright. I really want to help."

"If you say so...," Rein replied, clasping her hands together. "Thanks a lot!"

He really is a gentleman, Fine thought.

Fine sighed in relief as she closed the door of her classroom. She never liked the silence that suffocated the room as their teacher droned on and on about something that will never be as interesting as food. It made her feel tempted to take a nap, but she always felt the constant fear that their teacher might throw a fit once she dozed off. A little break from that uncomfortable silence was something she greatly appreciated.

"How many times must I say sorry to you?"

She froze at the familiar voice, her eyes automatically darting to the lone figure in the corridor, a phone pressed to their ear. The shock of blond hair gave away their identity.

Curiosity immediately consumed her. Who could Bright be talking to?

She inched closer to hear him more clearly but made sure to keep her distance.

"What can I do for you? I -why don't you listen to me for once? I don't know what to say to you anymore, Mom!" Bright went on, his voice shaking with desperation.

Her eyes widened. She couldn't imagine Bright having problems with his family at home. She always pictured him with parents who were proud and supportive to him and maybe a sibling who was loyal to him.

"I just wanted-" Bright suddenly paused, a long and tense silence ensuing as he listened to what his mother on the other side was saying.

His grip on the phone tightened."Fine. If that's all you're going to say to me, then don't call me anymore. I don't want you to spend any minutes of your damn time-"

Fine flinched. Did he just swear?

"...on a worthless person like me."

She took a step backward, feeling intrusive all of a sudden. Should she go back? Her head hurt as she tried thinking what Bright's mother could be saying to him.

"Fine, what are you doing here?"

She stiffened, her heart pounding.

"U-Um, I am going to the comfort room?" Fine stammered. Inwardly, she chided herself for being too obvious.

"Right. Silly me," was Bright's casual reply, his trademark smile present as if he wasn't arguing with his mother seconds ago.

For a moment, Fine thought that Bright wasn't aware of her eavesdropping, but a nagging voice in her head kept telling her that he knows.

Is he going to pretend that it never happened?

"I guess you should go now. Sensei might scold you for taking too long."

Yes, he really is.

Fine decided to ask anyway. "You alright?"

"Of course I am! What made you ask?"

She was confused. Wasn't he upset at his conversation with his mother awhile ago? There was nothing but curiosity in his voice when before it was trembling with a mixture of emotions she had never seen or heard from Bright before: anger, hurt and desperation.

Unsure what to do, she chose the safest option: play along.

"Nothing," She said uncertainly.

Was it just her, or did Bright look relieved?

Two weeks had passed since Bright had transferred. Due to his warm personality, he had managed to befriend almost everyone in the class. But ever since she had eavesdropped his conversation with his mother, Fine felt awkward around him. On the other hand, Bright acted like nothing happened.

Fine folded her arms on the desk and cupped her chin. Honestly, it made her feel confused and frustrated.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She looked up to find her classmate who sat in front of her looking at her curiously.

"Shade?" She murmured, letting her arms rest on the desk.

"It's rare seeing you thinking so deeply about something," the indigo-haired boy said, his lips slightly curved into a small smile. "Mind telling me about it?"

Fine debated about it for a moment and decided that there is no harm to let him know. Besides, she really needed to tell someone.

"It's about Bright."

Shade blinked, and Fine knew that she has his full attention. "What about the new student?"

She glanced at Bright who was currently chatting animatedly with Rein. "He isn't what he seems to be."

"What do you mean by that?"

She fumbled for something to say. "In the outside, he seems to have it all. But Bright is seemingly hiding something-"

"And he's fooling everyone with his smiles. Am I right?" Shade finished for her.

She nodded.

He made a sound at the back of his throat. "I hate those kind of people."

Fine leaned forward in her chair. "Why?"

"Why do they keep pretending that everything's okay when it's the complete opposite? Don't they know that they're just making their situation worse?"

She pointed her index finger to her chin as she considered his words. Despite no longer being a child, Fine still retained her optimistic look on life and believed in her parents' advice to keep on smiling no matter what. As a result, she felt like she already knew the answer. However, she had a feeling that he won't understand it. Although Shade was a perceptive person, he was also straightforward and was never hesitant in telling people what he truly felt.

But she still wanted to know his opinion on this kind of topic so she answered anyway. "Maybe they don't want other people to worry about them."

"Won't they make them even more worried for them?" Shade countered, his voice rising up. Then he let out a tired sigh. "Well, it's just stupid. They can only maintain that facade for some time until they find themselves exploding in the wrong time."

"Maybe you're right," Fine said. "What matters in the end is their choice."

She just hoped Bright chose the right one.

Fine was half way through the park and only a few more steps on her way home when she heard raised voices.

Instinct told her to keep walking and never turn her head in the direction where the voices came from but curiosity won out and she glimpsed three boys surrounding a single person sitting on one of the park benches.

She gritted her teeth. Those three are cowards.

Her mouth gaped as she spotted the familiar blond hair of the one being surrounded.

Even a nice guy like Bright attracted trouble?

She pushed the voice that kept persuading her to go home to the back of her head and walked closer.

"Look how he sits, as if he's still a rich kid comfortably living through his parent's names!" One of the guys jeered, an arrogant grin on his face.

"Then why aren't you doing anything about it?" Bright asked them defiantly.

The gruffness in his voice surprised her. It didn't fit him at all. She felt like she was seeing an entirely different person.

"And check out how he talks! So the rumors are true huh?"

"I suggest you shut the hell up before I do something I'd regret," the blond replied, aggravation lacing his tone.

"Oh, I'm scared!" The one in the middle mocked. "Only a coward would say that!"

The third chimed in, "My father told me that you can only get someone to follow your orders if you punch the shit out of them."

"Then your father is a brainless son of a bitch."

Fine failed to suppress the gasp that escaped from her mouth. At the drop of a hat, four heads are looking in her direction.

"Fine?" Bright blurted out.

The apparent leader of the trio chortled. "Is that your girlfriend? She probably doesn't know anything about who you really are, doesn't she?"

Bright stood up. "Keep her out of this!"

"Why shouldn't I? She deserves to know the truth." The guy turned to her. "What could he do to make his parents so disgusted of him they kicked him out of their house and made him live here all alone?"

"That's...," Fine began, dumbfounded.

"Enough!" Bright snarled, clenching his fists.

"What are you going to do? There's only one of you and three of us."

Her heartbeat raced. Bright's going to fight them all alone. What should I do?

"Now, now, if this turns into a fight, I'm going to call the police!"

"Camelot!" Fine cried out in relief. She wouldn't know what to do if the situation became physical.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" The leader exclaimed, and without any complains from his companions, the trio departed.

"Cowards...," Bright muttered darkly.

"Fine, didn't I teach you to not poke your nose in somebody else's business? You're lucky I decided to look after you." Her governess reprimanded her.

"I'm sorry," the redhead uttered, her head bowed.

"Ma'am, this is all my fault. I'm really sorry," Bright said, reverting to his polite self that Fine knew.

"You should. You don't want your parents to know of this, am I right?"

The blond winced. He quickly recovered from it though and turned his ruby eyes to her. "Fine, I'm so sorry. Can we pretend that this never happened?"

Her eyes widened. He's doing it again...

"Take care," he said before turning his back on her and leaving.

"Bright, wait!" She tried to catch up to him but stopped when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Let's go home now. Your parents must be worried for you," Camelot said in a no-nonsense tone.

As they head home, Fine stared at his retreating figure until it became nothing more than a mere dot, dreading their next interaction tomorrow.

The next day, Bright is the only word in Fine's mind as she attended school.

Once she spotted him, she erased all hesitations in her mind and approached him.

"Bright!"

"F-Fine!" He called out, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

"Can we talk?" She asked him tentatively.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"But...," Before Fine could even finish, he was gone.

Why does he always run away?

"What's got you riled up?" A familiar deep voice suddenly piped up from behind her.

The redhead almost jumped in surprise.

"S-Shade!"

"It's Bright, huh?" The indigo-haired boy said, looking at the direction where the blond had gone.

"Yeah," Fine replied, "I'm really worried about him."

"I think you should leave him alone for awhile," he suggested.

"What? But I'm his friend!"

"You have to wait until he's ready to talk. Forcing him might just make it worse."

"Alright," she said in defeat. "But his eyes look so sad. He really needed someone to listen to."

Patiently, she waited. But as days passed, Bright kept avoiding her. It infuriated her but every time he did that, she just reminded herself that she was Bright's friend and she will simply wait until he wants to talk.

The last straw came when she found him sitting alone in one of the benches, his face blank.

Her body went auto-pilot and before she knew it, she was sitting beside him.

"I really thought nobody will know," Bright told her, a bitter smile on his face.

The look on her face urged him to continue.

He sighed. "I really want to change, you know? And transferring to a new school is like starting from scratch."

"What happened before you came here?" She inquired.

"I did horrible things. That's all you need to know." Was his vague answer. After a moment, he elaborated, "I just wanted to get my parent's attention. But I guess I went too far."

"Are you really living alone?"

Bright longingly looked at an elementary student being accompanied by his parents. "They must be so angry to me they don't want to see me anymore."

Fine was horrified. "No. That's... Maybe they're just-"

"Don't worry about me. I'm just glad somebody knows."

"But you know that Rein and I are always here for you, right?"

He frowned. "I think she might hate me if she knew."

"No, she won't!" She assured him. "You're a good person so there's no acceptable reason to hate you."

Bright still looked doubtful. "But still..."

Fine placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can start anew here. And you've already got friends!"

"You're right," he replied, smiling brightly at her.

She felt happy for him. Knowing that she helped someone never failed to leave a fluttering feeling in her chest.

"Thank you, Fine."

Ah, the power of friendship.

Please tell me if the ending is rushed. I really wanted to post this today so I just typed whatever came to mind.

Thank you for reading my story!

Once again, I'll really appreciate it if you take the time to review.