Strangers Again

Long before we ever touched
Long before we knew too much
I wish we were strangers again

"Hi." A young man clad in a simple shirt and jeans greeted the girl in front of him. He took a seat and signaled the waiter for the menu. He glanced at her and noticed that a white book was placed on the table – must be hers, he thought.

After ordering, he asked her something. "You still like to read?"

The girl who was being asked, , tucked a lock of long, raven hair behind her ear and smiled at the boy. "You haven't changed too, Kajimoto-kun."

Kajimoto Takahisa lost his composure a bit and stared at her to fill the silence between them. She was the first girl that he loved. He remembered how he used to hold her in his arms while they practiced dancing under the moonlight. He can still smell the sweet scent of her long, black hair, the taste of her soft lips still linger on his.

Kajimoto's train of thought was interrupted when he heard her cellphone ring. She quickly picked it up and he vaguely heard the conversation.

"Hello? Ah, yes, Keigo-niisama will pick me up later together with Shishido-san and Kabaji-san. Huh? Yes, I have practice tomorrow. No, I won't skip it. Yes, yes. You too. Good bye."

"And that was?" he asked.

"Mom," smiled as she replaced her phone back in her purse. "She asked if I was going home alone, but Keigo-niisan will be here later since we're going somewhere else."

Kajimoto nodded, understanding what just said. "I assume that you still do it?"

"Oh, yes, I still do." She said, and her next sentence was interrupted by the arrival of their meals. A couple of minutes after the waiter left them she continued. "I decided to join Hyoutei's dance club a couple of weeks after transferring. You know how much I love dancing."

"Yes, I know it too well." Kajimoto said softly; his words barely reaching 's ear. They ate silently, unable to fill in the gap that is separating them.

He knew her too well that it was getting really hard for him to let go.

**********

Long before we ever kissed
Long before I ever missed you
I wish we were strangers again

tried to eat as fast as she could so that she could escape the place. How she wished that her cousin Atobe Keigo would be there any minute so that she could finally start again. But whenever she gazed upon the gentle features of Kajimoto, the first man that she ever loved, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.

"So, how are things going with the tennis club?" asked, trying to start a conversation. She knew she had to endure this painful scenario because, truth be told, she was the one who asked for this meeting.

Kajimoto drank from his cup before answering. "We are doing well, although we had a heartbreaking loss against Tokyo's Seishun Gakuen."

"And the dance studio?"

"It's... It's been doing great. Everyone misses you." I do, Kajimoto wanted to added, but he prevented himself from doing so.

"I see..." commented, unable to think of other things to talk about. She looked at the boy in front of her and saw that he was still wearing the earring that she gave him. She smiled to herself although she knew that consoling herself won't make her feel any better.

**********

I want yesterday to come back again
Nothing is as simple as I once knew
Why can't everything be the way it was
Before the day that I lost you?

A couple of minutes before they finished lunch, two milkshakes were served. While was enjoying her sweet treat, Kajimoto couldn't help but admire the wonderful and yet painful sight in front of him.

It feels like yesterday, he thought to himself, remembering how they used to enjoy a large serving of milkshake after attending another practice at the local dance studio. At times, he would playfully kiss her and Kajimoto would learn that her lips tasted sweet. How his lips longed to caress hers once again...

Just then he saw taking something out of her bag. It was a familiar raven-colored box. Kajimoto looked at her before staring at the box once more.

"I felt that I needed to return this," she said, sadness obvious in her eyes.

Kajimoto knew what was inside the box. It was a star-shaped pendant necklace that he gave to her when they won the dance competition when she was still studying at Jyousei Shounan. He could remember how the silver chain adorned her smooth neck. She looked more stunning wearing that.

And now she was handing it back to him.

"You don't have to do that." Kajimoto protested, preventing himself not to move so that would keep the box.

"I believe there's no reason for me—"

"Keep it. It's yours. You don't have to wear it, just... Just keep it somewhere safe. It's a gift from me and I bought it only for you." Kajimoto forced a smile, trying to hide the pain that he felt when he learned what the reason asked him to meet her was.

was still reluctant, but then she smiled and put the box back from her purse. It was then that her cellphone rang again and realizing that 's cousin, Hyoutei Gakuen's tennis captain, Atobe Keigo, would be around the restaurant any minute, said goodbye.

"When are you going back to Kanagawa?" Kajimoto asked her. turned towards the brown-haired boy with serene eyes.

"I do not know. Maybe in a couple of months. Or years. Who knows?" went towards to Kajimoto to kiss him softly on the cheek. She waved at him and in a couple of seconds, she was gone.

**********

Long before the afterglow
Long before our tears fell slow
I wish we were strangers again

"So, did you talk to him?" Atobe Keigo asked the girl beside him while Shishido Ryou and Kabaji Munehiro were busy observing the road.

turned to her cousin and smiled. "Yes."

"How did it turn out?" Atobe pried.

"It was okay."

"Your cousin's lying, Atobe." Shishido commented, without looking at the two. Atobe smirked at the blue-capped boy and turned back his attention to his younger cousin. "See, you're too transparent. You don't have to hide it." Atobe then asked the driver to turn the music off and savored the silence inside his car.

A couple of minutes later he felt that her cousin had moved closer beside him. And no matter how tried to lower her voice, her cousin was able to hear her say the truth.

"I am hurting inside."

##########

June 25, 2006
Written by: Megane-ko
Edited by: Rikapyon!

A/N: The title and the lyrics of the song in this dream novel was taken from Ari Hest's song, "Strangers Again." You can listen to the song by downloading it here.