"It's not my fault!" I fought to keep my voice under control. "He was completely messing with-"

"Raina," Coach Sakaki stated. It was a simple command to shut up and listen to the voice of authority. Angrily, I leaned back against the armchair that he told me to sit on and stared at the wall. The clock ticked slower than ever, taunting me. "The reasons do not matter. How many times do I have to give you a warning? If you cannot control your actions, I will just have to kick you off the team. That would certainly shame your family, would it not?"

I averted his gaze and didn't reply. The answer was yes, of course. The coach sighed, and turned his swivel chair so his back was turned to me. "You know your brother must be very... irritated by your actions. I know you look up to him, Raina. Please, keep this in mind. You may go."

My heart feeling really heavy, I stood up, bowed slightly, and left the room, closing the office door lightly. Everything always led back to Ryou! It's completely his fault this happened! I walked down the empty corridor with these thoughts spinning through my head. Plus what I was going to say to the teacher when I entered the class late...

"I was in Coach Sakaki's office." I explained. It was not the complete truth, but it was acceptable. There was no need to divulge more than necessary.

"Very well, sit down Miss Ootori. And please, don't interrupt the class again." The teacher, with text book in her arms, returned to writing something on the board. It was history after all.

I navigated through the sea of bored-looking students, and made my way to Choutarou. He had a complete look of disappointment on his face, just like the coach predicted. He passed me a note as soon as I sat down. I opened my notebook, and unfolded the note. "Ryou said you didn't have to interfere. He said it was a boy's fight."

I covered up a snicker with a cough. Picking up my pencil, I wrote a response. "He was going to lose more of his precious hair if I didn't step in."

Choutarou glanced at the response, and looked at me with a look of hopelessness. Then, he scribbled down something and returned it to me. "You'll be booted off the team if this keeps up, Rainy. Why can't you and Ryou just settle this conflict and get along or something?"

Truthfully, I didn't know. Ryou and I had been rivals from the start. Tennis matches, grades, even the better lunch. Everything was grounds for an argument. Maybe it was because we grew up hating each other's guts. It just seemed so... fun to get rid of. Suddenly, it finally struck me how much it hurt Choutarou to see us always fighting. "Well, I'm not apologizing until he does." I wrote back, and then turned my attention to the board. Some things were just too confusing to think about, especially in history class.

The bell finally saved me. Students stampeded away from me, and rushed to lunch break. Choutarou and I walked silently next to each other. We both had our own thoughts to wade in. We turned the corner, and walked out onto the grounds. Here and there, chattering students talked and flirted. We made our way to the tree where we always ate lunch under without exchanging a word. "Promise me that if Ryou apologizes first, then this useless rivalry will stop?" He asked finally, sitting down.

"... I can't really promise..." I muttered, sitting down next to him. I took out my sandwich, folded in plastic wrap, and a water bottle.

"Why?" He asked. "What do you have against him?"

Because when we fight, he always wins. He's the better tennis player; he's the more popular one. Because I want to win against him for once! I am so sick of losing to him! "Nothing..." I answered out loud. "I just hate him."

Choutarou sighed deeply, and ran a hand through his hair. "Rainy, please... whatever; let's just put Ryou aside-"

"Yo." Ryou greeted, appearing out of nowhere. Choutarou sighed. "What's up, Raina? You seem pissed, like usual."

"It's because I am pissed, like usual." I growled. "Go away." I uncovered my sandwich, took half of it, and started eating. I pretended to be more interested in the butterfly than in the person standing in front of me.

Ryou laughed. "Come on. Could you just chill for once in a life-time?" He dropped his books next to ours and sat down next to me. Before I could move, he put an arm around my shoulders. I froze.

"Raina, why did you step-"

"Get your arm off." I commanded, furious. How dare he! Why did he always act like we were friends? Just because he was my brother's best friend didn't give him any rights to be my friend! And knowing me for the past few years didn't make it either.

Ryou didn't oblige. "Hey, where's that smile? Smile, and I'll leave you alone."

"Why do you care if I smile or not?" I retorted. "Go hit on some other girl 'cause the only thing this one wants is to kick your ass." Saying that suddenly made my stomach hurt. Confused, I ignored the pang and kept my face straight.

Again, Ryou laughed. "Come on. I know you don't really want to. Hey, remember that time we were at Atobe's house, and we were playing ping-pong?"

"And you were pissing me off so I nailed you in the crotch with the paddle?" I answered. "Hey, good memories Shishido." I felt a smile come to my face thinking of it. Again, that weird feeling in my stomach arose. Suddenly remembering I was trying not to do just that, I relaxed my smile back into a frown.

"Hey, keep that smile on or I'll have to tickle you." Ryou warned.

"You tickle me and it'll be a replay of the ping-pong incident with a tennis racket." I retorted back. Not hungry anymore, I shook off his arm, and stood up, only to get pulled back down.

"Hey hey!" Ryou complained. "I didn't say what I wanted to say. Thank you for stepping in this morning. I wasn't going to say it in front of everyone else, but I really didn't want to fight with that dude. I know I'm completely ruining my rep here, but that thug looked like he could seriously beat the crap out of me. And you know what? I'm not afraid to admit that in front of you."

I blew a lock of my off-whitish hair from my eyes. What Ryou said completely shocked me speechless. "I'll go tell the whole school now that Ryou Shishido was scared." I claimed, regaining my voice quickly, and stood up again. I looked back at him, and grinned. "Starting with Keigo Atobe. I'm sure he can get the word around fast."

Ryou was sitting there with his mouth hanging open. "You do that and I'll yell out your secrets to the whole world."

"You don't know any." I puffed back.

"Yes I do." He said, and stood up. Compared to my brother's six foot two, his five foot eight didn't seem like much. He was only two inches taller than me. Grinning, he took off his cap, and placed it on my head. "I'll tell them that you, Raina Ootori loves Ryou Shishido."

Behind him, I was aware of Choutarou's surprised expression. Heck, I bet I seemed every bit surprised. "You'd be lying." I said bluntly. Then, I put down my half sandwich, only bitten into once. I shrugged off his arm again; this time a little more aggressively. "I feel sick; I have to go. You can take the sandwich." Avoiding Ryou's eyes, I stood up, and ran away. For some reason, my heart was acting up. Why was I acting like this? The reason was Ryou. He was the reason for everything. He always was.

Ryou watched as Raina left. "Why does she always act like this?" He wondered. "I mean, I try to be nice; but she just pushes me away like I'm some freakin' virus or something."

His best friend, Choutarou who had kept quiet for the whole time, finally spoke. "You love her, don't you?"

Ryou shrugged, and fell back on the grass, watching the puffs of clouds pass by lazily overhead. His mind, of course, was on something else. "You might strangle me for this, but I think I've loved her after she threw her first punch at me."

Choutarou sighed again, and sat down next to his friend that he helped climb back on the regular team. "Hey, what you said. It wasn't really true, was it? Being afraid to fight that guy today?"

Ryou shrugged. "I was afraid. Not of fighting the guy, but I was afraid for Raina." He stated simply. "When he came in and started messing with our practice, I saw that familiar glint in her eye. She was ready to kill; but you know what? I didn't want to see her like that. I don't want to see her hurt, that's all."

Choutarou stared at Ryou for some time, trying to figure his friend out. Some times, people just say something that you would never expect and totally throw you for a loop. This was pretty close to it. Finally, he relaxed. "Hey, Ryou. Cheer it. I'm sure she'll figure something else. I can feel something changing in her."

Ryou smirked. "The big brother knows everything, yeah?" He closed his eyes, and moved his hand up to adjust his cap to block out sunlight. After all, a fight does wear out your mind. His fingers came into contact with his forehead and hair. Startled, he sat up. "Crap; she still has my cap!"

"4:30 P.M.
Today was crazy. Was it my fault some stupid kid from some stupid school came and messed with our team? Plus why does Ryou have to be so hot-headed? I knew they were going to throw punches. That's why I threw the first punch! I'm honestly very lucky Coach didn't boot me off the team then and there."

The pen stayed on the page, and I glanced up at a picture I kept on my desk. It just had to be that my worst enemy was my brother's best friend... Looking at the picture upset my stomach again... It must have been Ryou's face. I ignored the pangs, and focused back into my journal entry for today.

"Ryou's unfortunately in every day of my life. I can never go a day without exchanging a few words with him. Today, obviously, was no different. But why do I always act like this? Why did I go and try to help Ryou... again? Was it the old "Don't kill him so I can!" kind of thing? But OMG, my stomach keeps hurting and my heart keeps racing today. It was all just because Ryou put an arm around me. And I really have to say, what he said touched me. He was scared! What a first! And he openly admitted it! But he looked so sincere... And I still have his cap. It was so accidental; I didn't realize I was wearing it until a friend pointed it out after lunch break. Like it was comfortable or something...
Urg, here it comes again. What's wrong with me? What is this... longing?! Maybe I should-"

I heard the door opening after a quick knock. "Raina?" Choutarou asked. "You're not busy, right?"

"Nope." I answered, closing my journal, and swiveling my chair to face him. "What's up, bro?"

"You need to take a break," he said. "Come with me to spend a few hours at the amusement park. You know, just some time to just relax and enjoy?"

I shrugged. "You sound like I don't have a choice. Just wait a minute; I have to go change." I grabbed some clothes, and stepped past Choutarou into the bathroom. Anywhere was fine, just as long as Ryou wasn't there as well.

I don't know why, but it really was my bad day. Good-old-Ryou was there. We saw him after a few rides and a bag of popcorn. "Well, aren't you having fun?" Ryou asked. "So, how's your fist? You cracked him up-side the head pretty hard."

"I should be asking you that question," I replied. "You're the one that blocked his return." I licked my ice cream cone, replaying the events in my head.

Kid had started annoying the heck out of me, and started something with Ryou.
2. I had gotten pissed.
3. I whacked Kid in the face with as much strength as I could muster.
4. Kid got pissed.
5. Kid tried smacking me in the face.
6. Ryou blocked that with his arm.
7. I get busted.

"Hey, if I didn't help you, you would have had one serious black eye." Ryou retorted. "You should thank me like a lady should."

"Heh, you're kidding yourself. I was more than ready to intercept that." I snapped back. "You're just trying to act all heroic."

"Uh-huh. Sure..." Ryou grinned. "You always need me, Raina. Admit it. I make your world go around. Come on; admit you're number two to me."

"No way." I said. "I can beat you."

"Haven't yet." He answered, and looked around innocently. "Hey, go-carts over there. Are you thinking what I am?"

"Oh yeah... Bring it." I challenged.

Choutarou looked from me to him, and then sighed. He knew not to get between us.

"Three laps around this joint, ok?" I asked, checking the pedal and the track. It was rather long, but that's only the better.

"Sure," He grinned. "Play safe, alright?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course!" My eyes locked onto the lights, which were slowing flickering from red... to yellow... to... green. At once, we both sped down the track, urging our little carts to their full potential. The first corner came up all too quickly, and I barely scraped the turn. That cost me big; Ryou was ahead of me by at least 2 carts-lengths. He was doing extremely sharp turns; which amazed me because he was the one that told me to play safe. "But heck, I'm giving this all I have." I smiled, and chased after him.

Around the corners and under the bridge, and then over it, I tailed him, slowly inching closer. The trail was centered somewhat to the middle of the park, exposing it to the lake in the middle, and the tunnels of some rides. That would make things all the more fun. It was the last lap now... and I was still tailing him. "Come on! It's no fun if you don't catch up!" Ryou called; the wind carrying his words to my ears.

"Yeah, yeah..." I yelled. "I'm right," We rounded a bend, and I saw Ryou next to me. "I'm right next to you."

"Hey, now you're talking!" Ryou called over. "Keep that smile on, Raina. Life's not all about winning or even competition for that matter. It's just about having fun with the people you enjoy being with."

My gaze caught his, and he smiled. Not a grin when he always beats me, and not a smirk when he outwits me; it was a genuine smile. Another bend; we stayed neck to neck. Quickly, the finish was in view. Just one last bend... Just one more bend and maybe I could finally get that feeling of success.

Ryou, surprisingly, did another extremely sharp turn and ended up half a cart's length in front of me. I stepped on the pedal, but its speed wouldn't increase. It stayed that way past the finish. I had lost to the infamous Ryou Shishido... again.

Ryou stepped out of his cart first. "Great match, Raina." He said, extending a hand. "Come on, let's get something to drink."

I looked at him; into his eyes. Something felt... off. What was different now? Why didn't I feel that devastated burning every other time I lost? I didn't feel that now. What I felt was... a joy. The race... it actually was fun. My mind wasn't itching with the thoughts of punching the lights out of someone. It was... calm and relaxed, if not exhilarated. I smiled. Something was finally becoming clear to me now. "You did nice too, Ryou." I said, taking his hand. He pulled me out of the cart, and we walked back to Choutarou hand in hand. I didn't pull away, and now, I think I know why...

Choutarou met us at the exit of this particular ride. "Well," He said, glancing at our interlocked hands, and then back at my smiling face. "A loss, and you're not mad for once. What's wrong?"

I grinned. "I finally got it through my thick skull." That was my answer. "Thoughts of being number one don't have to run through my brain all day. I guess I just have to accept the fact that Ryou's better than me." I turned to Ryou. "Not my place to do the mushy crap, but thanks. Thanks for teaching me that." And something else I never, ever did. I embraced him. I felt him quickly tense, but that was quickly replaced with an even tighter return.

I finally figured it all out during the race. Ryou wasn't an enemy. Today was an example. He was afraid, but not for himself... for me. It was because he knew me enough to predict what I was going to do. And now I know why I've been so competitive all this time. It was because I wanted to prove, not only to myself, but to Ryou that I was worthy of something. I subconsciously wanted his approval and respect.

"Anytime, Raina. I didn't know you could hug like this, girl." Ryou answered softly. "But I've wanted to tell you this for a long time..."

"Tell me what?" I asked, still hugging onto his warmth. I could listen to his heart, beating in unison with mine. Truthfully, I've never felt more safe and secure.

He gently tilted my head with his hand, so I looked him into the eye. Never have I seen them more passionate. "That no matter how much you want to prove yourself to me, you, or anyone else, you've already found a place in my heart, Raina." His lips met mine softly; a peck, as some may call it. "I used to love hating you, Raina. Now, it's just loving you..."

This time, I pecked him on the lips. "You know what, Shishido?" I asked. "That's the same with me. I used to be so confused, but now I know. I love you too, Ryou..."

Choutarou coughed loudly as we met lips for the third time. "Hey, if you two are getting comfortable, I could just go home and pick you guys up tomorrow." He whirred around, and walked away. "Have fun, guys!"

"Hey!" Ryou exclaimed. "You can't do that! I need a ride home!" Grabbing my hand, he ran over to his friend.

"You can ride with us and come for dinner," I offered.

"Hey, you sure mom will allow all the mushy kissing and flirting?" Choutarou teased.

"Maybe I should just smuggle you two home and give you a room." He fell into step on my other side. "I'm sure dad has some condoms you can use."

"DUDE!" We both screamed. I jumped on him, and Ryou friendly punched him on the shoulder. "Whoever said we would need those?!"

"Going unprotected isn't the best idea," He added on, laughing as I started tickling him.

"Shut up!!" We both yelled again, laughing along with him. "Choutarou!!"