three simple words

the ultimate Peach Girl fanfic.

* P r o l o g u e 'Stay With Me'

Toji watched his shadow chase after his two feet. Which, seemingly, moved out of instinct since he could have sworn if able to, he would've willed them to stop long ago. But he couldn't. His conscience wouldn't let him. A cold chill shot up his spine from the cold tiled floor, which seemed to ruthlessly reflect his expression of exasperation and fear back up at him as if taunting. Bringing out his hand in front of him, stretching it out, peering at all of the cracks and crevices lining his pale hand. It seemed so small, so weak… yet able to cause so much pain. If able to rewind the past like an old beaten up Hollywood movie, you'd see him slapping a black haired boy in a frightfully brutal manner. The boy had given him such a look of pure shock, Toji was slightly taken aback. But, he knew what he had to do. He couldn't live with all of this anymore; things had to change. And change now. If you'd then hit the play button again, a static screen would appear and then him standing in the old school hallway which had been abandoned for lunch. Clenching his fist tightly and trying to swallow down the knot in his throat, his eyes shifted for a moment, then the idle look consumed his glazed eyes as he willed himself to walk out on to the campus of the school.

A faint wind ruffled a girl's school uniform. She was standing, staring at the small flowers blossoming in the garden, water dripping from her eyes. Her blonde wavy hair danced in the wind, as if trying to free itself from her scalp, her uniform scattering in all different directions. Normally she would've cared, but somehow now was different. She stood there limply, as if a puppet tied by invisible strings, trying it's hardest to stay together. But she just couldn't. Her heart beat a staccato rhythm, sending her blood rushing all throughout her body as her mind was soaking in an assortment of feelings which had become so familiar to her recently; heart break, pain, hurt. She seemed so distant as thoughts idly pounded in her head.

It's so hard to believe... Was our relationship that meaningless? Was it really that easy to break off?

She could see it all perfectly. The black and white film vision of him and her standing there. Her heart shut down as he said it. She couldn't accept it. He looked so distant. She couldn't look in his eyes. He was crying on the inside. So was she. The black haired boy walked away from her with the words "I'm sorry." Still echoing in her mind. She felt so invisible. Screaming, screaming his name, but he didn't answer. Soon he had escaped her vision. Oh yes, she remembered it perfectly. How could she ever forget? It was like a freshly printed romance story gone wrong.

The numbness ate at her insides. She could see that day the black haired boy had bobbed cheerfully up beside her as she was sitting locked up in a dam of tears. He had made her fall in love with him. And here she was again, in the same place from her memories that she could never escape from. Hanging like a tapestry over the miniature flowers clustered in the dried out dirt caked in smoothly between a casing of bricks. Crying. The sobbing started as a gurgle in her throat that erupted momentarily, growing louder and louder by each passing second. Her body shook from the sobs; she was like one of those flowers, waiting to be crushed. Her knees were drawn tightly to her chest as she covered her face shamefully. Each breath hurt her lungs more, until she was gasping for more and more air.

To his feeble and wounded eyes, she stood out like an angel in a swarm of monsters. The colors of her uniform brightly leaped out at him in contrast to the washed out and pale glowing sidewalk. As he approached her, a single word escaped from his tongue.

"Momo."

It was all he could muster to say; it was all he knew would be right to say to fit the given situation. Her eyes shot open suddenly and her mind shut off completely for a second, caught up in a bewildered shock. She had never noticed him emerge from the fence, had never seen him coming. Rubbing fiercely at her watery eyes, she stood up haughtily to face Toji.

"Wha… What?"

She stammered, surprised by the cracking of her own voice compared to the normal soft ring they delivered to her ears. The two of them stood there, perfectly still, perfect through silence. Her misted hazel eyes absorbed the welcome sight of the blond haired boy who still had quite a few feet on her height wise. His cold eyes peered into hers as if she were glass; they softened for a moment but then quickly formed the shield again for what he was about to do. His heart staggered. His breathing slowed. He kept staring at her in a cold, dishonest manner until she could no longer bear the uncomfortable silence forged between them. Jumping at the chance to stop the ringing silence in her eyes, she tackled the words flowing in her mind.

"Oh, Heh, heh. My tear ducts have been leaky lately."

She turned away from him, rubbing her eyes, trying to smile away the embarrassment. Inside she felt like such an idiot for telling him about being dumped by the black haired boy. She haughtily jumped again in an attempt to make up for his reigning silence.

"S-so… what's up?"

Covering her mouth slightly, she shot him a pathetic smile, trying so hard not to let Toji aware of her sadness. Only she didn't know he'd been watching her for a few moments before he'd decided to reveal himself. She stared up into his eyes, seeing the past between them playing in fast motion. She didn't turn away, just waited. Suggesting a few words and a friendly but uncertain smile;

"Uh… Umm…?"

He reached out to her, reeling her into his arms with a little too much brutality. Her mind was shocked, and to be frank, he could hardly believe he was actually doing this himself. But he wasted no time. His hands clenched her shoulders as he had her feeble body grasped tightly to his. Momo stared blankly at his creased white shirt as he fastened her to him. The trees shifted uncomfortably in the backdrop, sensing the sudden burst of tension in the plot.

"I can't do it anymore."

The wind brushed their two bodies, but he shielded Momo and wouldn't let go. Leaning his head to her wavy golden honey hair, his voice tickled her ear and pricked the hairs up on the back of her neck.

"I've tried to be patient, but I've reached my limit. I can't let you be with Kiley anymore."

She didn't put up a fight, merely stood there, his sweaty arms drawn against her squished body. She could feel his warmth; momentarily being absorbed into past longing for hugs like this from him. But something held her back, her memory, her heart, her love. His eyes looked beyond Momo, to the cold cement as he braced himself for what was coming next.

"Momo! Let's get back together."

Her eyes widened until they felt as if about to pop right out, her eyebrows shot up, her mind didn't react. She didn't quite see how this could be happening. Still, she let him hold her. She let him go on.

"Let's start over."

Letting her free from his grasp, he barreled on.

"Let's try again."

Her cheeks were lit with feelings she couldn't quite put a finger on; this was nothing like what she'd felt before. Could… this really be happening? As he advanced on her once more, wrapping her up in his strong arms, all she could get out was a weak "Wha?" Toji pulled her to his body once more in a swift motion of strength and determination, holding on tightly to her shaking form.

Get back with… Toji? Is that possible…?

Her mind spit back to her memories that had been permanently braided into her brain which she wish she could forget. Their first fight, the tragedies that followed her anything but "Sweet Sixteen" birthday. Her brows furrowed as she felt everything spin into a blur of confusion and tears. He released her, leaning his head against her soft feeling hair, slowly pulling away to stare blankly at her as tears flowered her blue vest. A frown crept over his face at what he saw. Momo was slowly faulting, it seemed as if she was giving in. He wished he could get into her mind and know what she was thinking, set her mind straight. For a moment as he stared at her tanned skin wearing a slightly downward curved frown with tears clustering her long eyelashes and reflecting the pale sunlight like crystalline stars, he wished he could be selfish and steal her. He knew he easily could. But his brain forcefully took over the operation since his heart was starting to falter. He drew her face in close to his, feeling her uneasy pause in breath as she let herself be taken by him. His hands were stone cold against her face as barely a fifth of an inch separated their faces.

She shoved him away with a sudden brute force that had been compressed in her heart all this while, waiting to be unleashed. She had seen the black haired boy, his normal smile pulled into a painstakingly beautiful frown; she couldn't let go of him.

"I'm sorry… I can't. I can't do it."

He counted the large blocks on the cold white cement paving beneath his sneakers.

"Why? Do you still love Kiley? He's in love with Misao, right? Then… it's impossible."

He was surprised with how cold and careless his voice came out. If only Momo could hear the tiny voice of his heart shouting away in his mind, saying 'Don't do it, Toji! You should get Momo; she loved you first! Why are you helping Kiley? Why are you hurting yourself like this?!' He fought away these streaks of selfishness, drowning it with his desire to see Momo's beautiful smile once more. Toji was sick of seeing her crying because of him; he couldn't afford to let up now. No matter how much this temporarily hurt her, it is going to help her in the long run; his inner voice soothed his elevating heartbeat. Momo was infuriated by this statement, just as he trusted she would be. However her words struck his heart with a pain he'd thought he'd made impossible to feel by detaching his own feelings for Momo temporarily to perform this task.

"How can you say that…?"

She paused, inhaling violently. Clenching her fists tightly with a fiery rage, she was trying to contain her anger, but just couldn't prevent her brain from connecting the words to her tongue. She continued on.

"What about you? You dumped me for Sae. SAE! How can you say this now? Do you have any idea how I felt? How hurt I was?"

Memories filled her mind like the black and white old-fashioned films. Her scrunched up in her winter jacket, Kiley, the black haired boy, floated merrily next to her smiling and laughing. Helping her heal. Making her smile. Hugging, laughing, kissing.

"Kiley was the one who supported me when you hurt me. I was able to make it because of him."

She was screaming by now, tears forming at her eyes and her cheeks growing hotter and hotter.

"It has to be Kiley…! I love Kiley! More than anyone!"

As she said this, she realized how childish she sounded, saying this as if not to tell Toji but more or less tell it to herself. He stood there, watching her coldly. His eyes were shadowed and hallowed out. Over him hung a hazy cloud of pain and heartbreak, but he had to do what was right for Momo.

"If that's the way you feel, then why don't you tell him?"

Momo stared at Toji, slightly taken aback. She stammered a single

"Wah…?"

He forced a small smile, staring wholly at the ground now, as if it were a grand sight to see for his aching eyes. He forced his feet forward, turning, smiling to himself and feeling suddenly buoyant. Twisting his head back to the awestruck girl, he said in such a sincere yet playful voice;

"I was worried about you there for a minute."

Turning back, he walked away. Momo stared at him as he walked away with his head pointing to the ground; feet slowly forming a pitter-patter beat.

Was that an act? Was he trying to get me back on my feet?

"Toji…! Thank you…!!"

She cried out loudly, still staring at his back. He signaled a 'its no problem' gesture to her, and no more words needed to be spoken after that. He walked away, slightly surprised she had thanked him; knowing he had done what was right despite what he really wanted to do. And she stood there in her black glossy high healed shoes, watching him walk away, a smile curling over her lips, her eyebrows furrowed with a feeling of debt and heat clinging to her cheeks. She turned and ran in the opposite direction of Toji. As if trying to prevent the feelings of longing and endearment to him; stopping herself from chasing after him, she knew it wasn't right.

She truly loved Kiley. That's what Toji had helped her realize, and she knew what she had to do. She had to tell him what she'd screamed, flustered, at Toji. Had to tell him what she felt, be straightforward for once and try to take control. She wouldn't let her love escape from her again.

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What happened; Just like in the ending of Peach Girl #4, Momo finally confronted Kiley and told him her feelings. Although he tried to worm his way out of committing to a relationship, she simply didn't let him. With a clenched fist, determination and a slightly stubborn attitude Momo was able to win over Kiley with an understanding that Momo was Kiley's #2.

But, this story takes a turn away from the manga from that point. Kiley falls in love with Momo, after confessing his feelings to Misao to clear his guilty conscience and being told it'd never work. Momo then plays as a savior figure just as Kiley did to her after being dejected by Toji for Sae. They're now involved in a "hot and heavy" relationship, but a devastatingly huge change is about to happen that will shake the foundations of our favorite characters in the Peach Girl world! Find out what happens in the next chapter, coming soon!

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Disclaimer; I do not own Peach Girl. It's property of Miwa Ueda, and I'm not meaning to infringe copyright laws while writing this, merely voicing a detailed account of an interesting soap opera ending that would fit Peach Girl!

Authors Note; C&C Appreciated. Tell your friends about this story if you liked it, the more support the bigger it'll be – I promise you that. Thanks so much for reading!