Part II

When you grow up with someone and you see them everyday, you kind of gloss over the little changes they go through. You don't remember the little nuances in their mannerisms that gradually disappear, or the new ones which replace it. Maybe it's the way they slowly grow out of a verbal tic, or maybe it's in the way they roll their eyes. But you sort of lose track of all these little changes until they build up and you're suddenly smacked in the face with how much things have changed all at once.

In Nene's case it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore how more and more girls were starting to find her best friend Amane attractive now that they were in their Senior year of High School. Amane has always been good at sports, and he was never unpopular per say―despite not having the cleanest reputation. But his enduring athleticism coupled with the fact that his height appeared to have shot up several inches over the last two years and it would seem the common consensus surrounding his datability seems to have turned.

Is popularity in high school really this fickle? It would appear it is.

Really this all became screamingly apparent when Nene is having lunch with her good friend Aoi. She'd been mourning her still single status and the departure of one Minamoto Teru, the old student council president who won the hearts of pretty much every girl (and some guys) in school. He graduated a year prior, leaving a gap for most desired school idol to be replaced (though some argued his younger brother Kou is shaping up nicely to fill that mantle).

"Aoi, you have it easy, every boy in school would die to date you," Nene says, laying her head down dramatically.

"Come on, that's not true."

"Yes it is," she whines, rubbing her head against the desk."

"Nene-chan you're very lucky you have Yugi-kun too."

She raises her head slightly. "Amane-kun?"

"That's right. You probably don't see it because you're such good friends but he is really cute in that rough around the edges, mysterious bad boy type of way." Aoi leans forward giving Nene a surprisingly stern look. "If you're not careful someone is gonna steal him away."

"Steal Amane-kun?" Nene considers this for a moment then frowns.

"That's right. How about locking him down with a kiss while you still can? Well, knowing you and Yugi-kun, you've probably kissed already."

Nene's face flushes red immediately, recalling the feeling of Amane's lips that one time she thought she had witnessed a shooting star, and she suddenly loses the ability to meet Aoi's eyes at all.

"You have?" Aoi exclaims. "I was just joking. I mean there are always rumors going around because the two of you are so close, but I never thought..."

Nene inhales the rest of her strawberry milk without another word.

Walking home from school that day, Nene finds herself unintentionally trailing behind her best friend.

With his back to her, Nene pensively eyes her friend who she's known for so long. She looks from the stride of his long steps to the tousled hair that sat on the top of his head. He's definitely not princely… but really the more she thought about it, the more it is possible that the unpredictable chaotic energy Amane always resonated with―the one she once found so annoying―might be beginning to read across as more of a sort of boyish charm. How many more girls felt this way Nene wonders.

A couple of steps later, Amane stops in his tracks and turns around to survey her.

"Why are you walking so far behind me today?" he asks, amber eyes shining in scrutiny.

Snapping out of her daze, Nene waves her hands in front of herself defensively. "Eh? Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking about something Aoi and I were talking about at lunch." She laughs a little, cringing internally at how forced she sounds.

"Hmmm..." Amane looks like he doesn't quite believe her, but after a brief period of contemplation he takes a step closer and looks down at her expectantly. "And? What were you guys talking about?"

The soft smile that settles across his face catches her off guard, and Nene finds herself blushing despite her best efforts. "J-just how we're already in the last half of our senior year and no princely guys have asked me out yet."

Amane affectionately ruffles the top of her head. "Idiot, you have me."

"That's different," she mumbles, batting his hands away.

He gives her a look she can't quite place before catching one of her flailing hands in his. "Do you remember what this Sunday is?"

"Eh, the 12th?"

"No, I mean about the perseids." She stares at him blankly. "The meteor shower, I was telling you about it last week. It's supposed to be really good this year."

"Oh yeah, you said it peaks around this time, right?"

He nods a little, letting go of her hand before turning away. "During the peak we may be able to see up to 60 shooting stars an hour." He glances back at her over his shoulder, smiling. "Actual shooting stars, not an airplane this time."

"But you said the best viewing time is after midnight."

"Yeah, if we left at around midnight, we could go to the little clearing behind the Tomoyo Park. It'll be dark enough there. I thought it might be nice to try and see it since it's our last year of High School and..." He doesn't finish the thought, instead choosing to shove his hands in the pockets of his uniform. "Do you want to?"

His words disrupt something deep inside her―a feeling she has been trying to suppress for quite some time now. End of High School. End of their daily walks to and from school. End of weekends where they lounge lazily on park benches eating popsicles. It's an awful feeling.

Amane almost never talks about his home life or future plans, but Nene does remember him once mentioning he'd probably have to go back to his estranged family when High School is over. Apparently that was the deal he made when he first left after an altercation with him and his younger brother. Life without Amane… just the thought of it constricts her throat and causes her heart to ache in a way she can't even begin to describe.

Still―forcing down the unpleasantness, she smiles at him. "Yeah, I want to."

As if sensing her unease, he ruffles her head again―gentler this time. "Great. I'll pick you up Sunday at midnight then."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep." It is completely dark outside, save for a couple of streetlights as Nene and Amane make their way to Tomoyo Park.

"I already told you it's fine." He reaches out to hold her hand, intertwining their fingers together and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"But by now we probably already missed half of it."

"As long as we see part of it it's fine, right?"

Nene pouts a little, disappointed to be responsible for ruining Amane's chance to see the Perseid shower. Their last chance to see it together too.

She looks down at their intertwined hands and unease pricks at her again. The nasty thought that he's fading farther and farther away from her. Maybe this would be the last shenanigan they partake in together, and she slept through half of it. This time next year, who knows where he'll be.

Looking at the profile of Amane's face, Nene is completely lost in thought and misses the instant her foot collides with the curb of the sidewalk.

"Arg!" Trying to catch herself from falling, she tries angling foot to better catch herself, instead a sharp pain rips through her leg. Before she goes down however, she feels Amane's hold on her, helping her so she can sit down slowly.

"It was the curb," she says. He immediately goes to inspect her leg.

"Does this hurt?" he asks, turning her ankle over slightly.

"Ack! Yes!"

Amane sighs. "Really Yashiro, I just have no idea what I'm gonna do with you sometimes. If you're not falling into a ditch, you're tripping over nothing." But there's no bite behind his words, just defeated exasperation as he bends into a piggyback stance before her.

"Get on, I'll take you home."

"But, but―you wanted to see the stars."

"We can go next time."

"But we're graduating this year." Tears prick at her eyes.

He sighs, turning around so he's at eye level with her. "Yashiro, your ankle is twisted."

"I'm fine." She tries to stand up to prove her point, but placing even the slightest amount of weight on her ankle causes her to topple forward. Amane catches her again easily.

"You wanna see shooting stars that badly?"

She nods, tugging helplessly at his sleeve. She sees his hardened exterior dissipate, and a new kind of resolve replaces it. He turns around so his back is to her again.

"Alright, get on my back. We'll go to the stars." He tries to sound grumpy but they both know he's faking it.

Nene happily obliges, giving him an affectionate squeeze once she's settled in on his back. "Thank you, Amane-kun," she says, and even from behind, she doesn't miss the way the tips of his ears turn red.

"Alright, here we go." With a small grunt he stands up and begins walking a steady pace.

She observes him quietly for a little while, from his breathing to the way his heartbeat feels against her ear. Just when did his back seem so big? And since when did his shoulders get so broad? She quietly takes this opportunity to inhale his scent.

"I used to be taller than you, you know," she reminisces.

She can practically see him narrow his eyes in thinly veiled annoyance. "We were the same height."

Nene pouts a little. "I was definitely taller."

Amane ignores her, and instead changes the subject entirely.

"Did you know that this meteor shower we're going to is produced by the Swift-Tuttle comet? These meteors radiate from the Perseus constellation, which is why they're called Perseids. We should be able to see them all over the sky though."

Nene listens intently, appreciating the warmth radiating from his back. She always loved how he started rattling off about astronomy facts by first asking if she knew the information already which she never did. Her grip around his neck tightens unintentionally.

"The meteors or shooting stars themselves are actually just streaks created when dust and debris burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. If it weren't for the light pollution we'd be able to see it from where we are right now too."

He continues talking late into the night before finally arriving at the clearing. Nene doesn't bother reaching for her cellphone to check the time, but she's well aware they're probably way past the time they scheduled earlier.

Amane sets her down gently on the grass, before removing his jacket and draping it over her shoulders. "We're probably only gonna catch the tail end."

Still, they both lie down and stare expectantly up at the sky.

The sky is still for a few moments. "I wonder if we missed it."

"Maybe we're not far away enough. If the meteors are too faint, the second quarter moon tends to block them from view too."

Nene turns so she's looking at Amane who's got his lips pursed to the side as if deep in thought. She's about to grab his hand in consolation, when suddenly, she sees it―the instant his pupils dilate.

"There!" he exclaims, and her breath catches in her throat. A reflective streak glazes across the amber irises of his eyes. His smile widens―his entire being lights up, and it is this moment, this look on his face, which renders Nene absolutely speechless.

She can't help but stare at the dreamy look of wonder plastered across his countenance―can't help but be in awe of how completely wonderstruck he is.

Then suddenly it's not just this, suddenly she notices everything, all the details that may have slipped her radar all these years. And it just hits her all at once. His teasing smile, the way he slung his school-bag over his shoulder. The way he says her name. The fact that over time the devilish grin she had known so well had developed into more of a wolfish smirk without her even realizing. All of this and more. They are all embodied in the Amane right now, lying beside her with literal stars in his eyes.

"Yashiro, look! Did you see that one?"

She doesn't of course. She misses all of it. She misses all but the small streaks skidding across the reflection in his eyes.

It's terrible. She's so selfish for missing this meteor shower he worked so hard to show her. And she's so sorry, so incredibly sorry it aches, but at the same time her eyes remain glued to him. Because she realizes in this moment that though he may spend years charting and chasing the moon and faraway stars, she could easily spend a lifetime mapping the galaxies in his eyes.

"It looks like this is the finale!"

"Oh," she manages weakly, but it's no good. Her heartbeat is in her ears. She's willing herself to look away for just one second, one fraction of a second, but she still can't muster the strength in herself to tear her gaze away.

Because looking at him right now, she just knows. She just knows he's the best thing that's ever happened to her. In fact, it's like a little click that goes off at the back of her mind.

"That was amazing! Right, Yashiro?" He turns to the side to look at her, awestruck look still plastered on his face, when he catches her already looking at him. "Yashiro…?"

And before Nene's comprehended what she's even doing she's grasping at him, wrapping her arms all around him. She's trying to pull him closerclosercloser despite being pressed up so tightly against him that she can feel his breath hitch and his heartbeat speed up.

Pulling him up by his shirt, she scrunches her eyes shut tight before she kisses him so hard she sees stars.

She expects him to freeze or tense up, but instead his affirmation is so immediate it startles her. Because suddenly his hands are finding their way to her waist, then they're in her hair like he can't make up his mind. She's still kissing him so hard she almost can't catch her breath. He's kissing her back just as hard though, and while she didn't really think he'd reject her, she certainly didn't expect him to respond so enthusiastically either.

And it's nothing like the innocent kiss they shared more than two years previous with their clammy hands and chaste agendas, but that's ok because he's so warm, and his touch is still so gentle even after these years.

Nevermind the fact that they will probably have to be apart when high school ends. Nevermind the pang in her chest every time she thinks about his departure. For now she lets herself dream of a future where they live in a cozy apartment―an apartment they fill to the brim with glow in the dark stars, one with a balcony where they plant flowers and vegetables. She dreams of pastel wallpaper, of them fighting over names for their pet hamster, and of a worn-out telescope leaning against the windowsill. She let herself imagine all of these beautiful things for just one second.

Amane pulls back from her briefly before starting to pepper kisses over her cheek, then jaw, then all over her face really. And he's whispering all kinds of things, wonderful things which would never have been uttered under the guise of daylight. The whispers climb from the hidden crevices of her hair and spread to every nook and cranny of her skin. He's telling her they're gonna be ok after all. They'll be just fine. She's pretty sure she even hears him whisper that he loves her. And the crazy thing is, she believes it. She believes all of it.

Leaning her forehead against his, Nene shyly peers up at him through her bangs. He flashes her a tender smile in response, and she can feel his finger begin tracing little hearts on her shoulder. The action sends shivers down her spine, and it's marvelous. In fact it's everything she could ever ask for.

So it's not the same as going to the moon, it really isn't. She knows this. But it is enough for her, and she hopes that somehow it's enough for him too.

~fin.~

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading, especially those who left such lovely reviews on the first chapter! I can't even begin to express how happy they made me.

That said, I'm very sorry for the wait. Whatever I was writing just kept on getting scrapped. Even now I'm not completely satisfied with the end result. Alas, thank you guys for waiting almost two months. And no promises, but I might have a possible epilogue for this story up my sleeve (sorry but I really love these characters!).

That's it for now, stay safe everyone!

~sincerelyand