Operation!

As Lina finishes her confession, Alex's face breaks out into a wide grin, "Finally!", he exclaims, "It's been forever since I've wanted to hear you say that!"

Lina looks at him in surprise, her face flushing with embarrassment, "Since when?" she asks, and Alex chuckles, "Since you first came over to Maria's house", he says, "I bet you developed them even earlier."

Lina groans, her face turning an even deeper shade of red, "Was it that obvious?" she asks, and Alex nods, "Yes it was," he says playfully, "Your face turns red when he touches you, and you can barely form a sentence when you're around him."

Lina hangs her head, feeling embarrassed, "This is embarrassing", she mumbles, and Alex reaches out to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "But seriously, Lily," he says, "Why the hell did you push him away?"

Lina shrugs, "I was helping Sara," she admits, "And since I wasn't honest with myself from the start, I pushed him thinking that I might overcome these feelings this way", She pauses, her eyes downcast, "But now, I regret it. I want our friendship to return to how it was, if not better."

Alex nods, understanding, "So you basically want something that was yours and you threw it away to come back to you, right?", he asks, and Lina nods, her face flushing with embarrassment, "I know I'm being greedy," she admits, "But I can't take it anymore", Alex pulls Lina into a hug, rubbing her head playfully, "Come here, little thing," he says, and Lina protests, "Stop teasing me!"

"So you like Romi," he says while laughing, "Good choice, Lily", Lina hits him playfully, her face turning an even deeper shade of red, "Keep your voice down," she whispers, "Can you keep it a secret?"

Alex nods, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Sure thing, don't worry," he says, "I'll only tell Maria if you don't mind." Lina groans, but agrees.

"So here you are", Says Romeo after joining those two with the rest of the group, "It took us forever to find you. It was such a drag."

"Oh Alex is cheating on you", Adds Anna, trying to tease Maria by spelling those words.

Maria's expression shifts from one of concern to one of confusion as she tries to make sense of Anna's words, "What are you talking about? Alex isn't cheating on me", she says, her voice firm but her eyes betraying a hint of uncertainty.

Anna points towards Alex and Lina, who are standing a few feet away, deep in conversation, "Look at how close they are", she says, her tone accusatory.

Maria's eyes flicker towards Alex and Lina, and for a moment, her expression clouds over with jealousy and anger. But then she shakes her head and smiles, "I trust Alex, and I don't mind if he's close to Lina. She's a good friend", she says, trying to brush off Anna's concerns and hide her wrath.

Romeo, however, notices the subtle shift in Maria's expression and demeanor. He watches her closely before cautiously saying, "Maria, your face and what you just said aren't matching if you ask me."

After that, the girl stares dead at her boy as if she's saying "You're dead meat!" or something.

As the students gather in front of the school, the excitement is palpable. The sun is just starting to rise, casting a warm golden glow over the group as they chat and laugh, eagerly awaiting the start of their school trip. Romeo and Maria are among them, Romeo looking normal as usual, while Maria stifles a yawn, her eyes still bleary from lack of sleep. "Maria, you're still sleepy", Says Romeo while observing his friend, to which Maria responds with a nod, "I know. I wasn't able to sleep well yesterday. I think it's because of the excitement!"

Lina, on the other hand, is struggling to manage her belongings, her arms full of bags and suitcases, "Could one of you lend me a hand please?", She calls out, her voice strained from the weight of her bags. Romeo and Maria exchange a glance before Romeo steps forward, "Did you put the whole house inside that bag?" He teases, to which Lina rolls her eyes and response, "We'll be away from our homes for three whole days. Of course, I would come prepared. You're the idiots that came with nothing to help you survive!"

As they board the bus, Romeo turns to Lina and asks, "Do you know where we'll be going?" Lina shakes her head, a hint of uncertainty in her voice as she answers, "N-No", Maria, overhearing their conversation, chimes in, "Kyoto. And we'll be staying in a hotel, you dumb fart!", and Lina's face lit up with a smile.

Then there's Alphonse, catching up to his pals by hustling, "Look who's here!", he exclaims, catching the attention of his friends by waving.

"Al? You'll be joining us? For real?", Asks Alex, Surprised and overjoyed.

"Dad gave the school the needed money so I could join the trip!", Answers Alphonse, "I'll keep on the duty of annoying you!", As he playfully hugs Alex.

"Glad to hear it, Al!", Says Alex while laughing and hugging his friend back

Romeo, standing a little apart from them, keeps looking at their display and urges them to get on the bus, "You guys are so dramatic", He adds, "Get on the bus already."

Sara, who just arrived as well, shyly approaches Romeo, "R-Romeo! You'll sit next to me, r-right?", She asks politely, her voice barely audible.

"I thought about...", Says Romeo hesitantly, before being interrupted by Lina," Go on, sit next to her", She says while interjecting with a gentle smile. Is it a gentle smile though?

-Romeo: "But Alex needs...."

"Alex has Maria you know", She interrupts a second time. Sara, feeling relieved, holds Romeo's arm and then says, "That settles it then!"

Alex, noticing Lina's actions, asks before flicking Lina's head, "Did you just do it again?"

"Huh?", Says Lina before feeling flustered, "Oh my God I don't believe it! I didn't do it on purpose this time!"

"It appears that it became some kind of a habit then.", Replies Alex teasingly

"Why did you make Romeo sit away from Alex", Adds Alphonse, catching on to the conversation, "I hope I'm up to the challenge though!", And he finishes his line with a sigh

Lina, with a mixture of amusement and frustration, says, "I don't know if you're incredibly weird, or incredibly idiots!"

"Lily, come over here! I saved you a seat!", Beams Maria at Lina as she waves to her, gesturing excitedly to the empty seat next to her.

"Thank you, Maria", Smiles Lina at her friend, grateful for the gesture.

"I wanted to talk to you about, you know", Maria leans in conspiratorially, winking at Lina as she speaks. Lina's smile fades slightly, a hint of nervousness creeping into her expression.

"Actually, I was thinking of changing my seat. Hahaha", Laughs Lina nervously, her eyes darting around the bus as she considers her options. Maria looks at her friend enjoyingly, then takes Lina's hand and forces the poor girl to sit next to her, "I'm doomed", Whispers Lina just after taking a seat.

As they sit down, Lina glances around at the other students, who are all chattering excitedly. The bus ride is expected to take about three hours, but with all the noise, it feels like it's taking forever. Despite the chaos, Lina can't help but feel a little amused. She had always thought that the top students in their school would be the calmest and most well-behaved, but it appears she was wrong. As they continue on their journey, Lina can't help but shake her head in mild amusement at the antics of her classmates.

As the bus jostles along the winding road, Alex suddenly groans, gripping the seat in front of him tightly, "Oh... I think I'm throwing up now", He says, his face pale with nausea.

"Again?", Exclaims Alphonse, "This is the third time now!", He quickly pulls out a plastic bag and holds it out to Alex, who gratefully leans over to retch into it.

"No way! Alex has motion sickness!", Adds Lina while looking at Alex with a mixture of shock and concern I didn't know about that!!!"

"Well, there's no need to worry about getting the bus dirty", Adds Maria with a reassuring smile, while glancing at the plastic bag in Alphonse's hand, "Al won't let that happen!"

"Romeo, please! Help me!", Cries Alphonse out, as Alex continues to retch.

"What can Romeo do about that?", Adds Lina while looking over at Romeo, who is sitting across the aisle from Alex.

"He's not feeling well?", Says Romeo after standing up and getting closer to Alex.

"He threw up 3 times in an hour and 20 minutes," Alphonse says, his voice filled with worry. After finishing his line, Alex groans again, his face contorted with pain, "It's 4 now!", Says Alphonse as Alex continues to retch.

As Alex feels the sensation of nausea, Alphonse tries to help him. But since he's unsuccessful, Romeo steps in, noticing the situation, and takes a good look at Alex. Then, he raises his hand and hits his friend in the neck.

"What was that for?", Asks Lina, looking in confusion and wondering the reason behind that hit. After a short moment, Alex falls asleep, which made Lina get confused even more.

"Romi knows the pressure point on the neck that can make someone fall asleep", Explains Maria, feeling proud of her friend Romeo.

"That's why he was supposed to sit next to Alex before you mess it up!", Says Alphonse, scolding Lina for making him live such a drag.

"Aha... Sorry about that!", Apologizes the girl, feeling guilty for not noticing Alex's condition. After that, Lina starts hearing some whispers and it appears that her mood is getting quite down, "Look at them acting all lovey-dovey!", Says a girl while admiring such a romantic sight.

"The prettiest girl along with the coolest boy", Adds a dude, "Both of them are the most known students in the school as well. They are a match not gonna lie!"

"I know", Adds his seatmate, feeling a bit down, "I still have a crush on her though!"

"Awww look at that", Gasps another girl, feeling quite warm after what she just saw, "I wish I had someone to lean on like that. Look at how comfortable she looks while leaning her head on him!"

As the onlookers gawk and whisper amongst themselves, Maria notices Lina's distress and gently puts a comforting arm around her shoulder, "Don't listen to them, Lily. They don't know what they're talking about," She says softly, trying to console her friend.

As for Lina, her thoughts start bursting right away, "Lovey-dovey? Couple? Adorable? Selfie? Her head on his chest?", Lina's eyes fill with tears as she looks up at Maria and says, "I can't take it anymore."

-Maria: "Great, she's really crying!"

Meanwhile, Romeo looks down at Sara, who has her head resting on his chest as she takes the selfie. "Was it really necessary to lean on me like that before taking the photo?" he asks.

Sara quickly sits up, a flush creeping up her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Should I delete the photo?", she asks, looking up at him with a mix of embarrassment and hope.

"It's fine, you can keep it as a souvenir if you want," he says while shrugging, which made a small smile play at the corners of Sara's lips, "Thank you, Romeo!", She says, looking up at him with adoration.

As the bus pulls up to the hotel, Harrison, the home teacher of the elite class, announces their arrival, "Everybody, we've reached the hotel. Get ready to fill out your reservation papers, okay?" Robinson adds, "Each two of you will be sharing a room, so make sure to choose your roommate carefully."

Alex, who had been asleep during the entire bus ride, is jolted awake by Romeo, "Alex, wake up. We're here", Says Romeo, Rubbing the sleep from his eyes by tweaking his ear.

"Ow ow ow! OUCH", Screams Alex before glancing around groggily, "Oh, we're here. That was fast."

"You were sleeping the whole time", Adds Alphonse, turning to Alex, " Anyways, who are you choosing to share a room with?"

Confused, Alex asks, "Choose who? What for?"

"Each two of you will be sharing a room.", Explains Alphonse.

Excitedly, Alex turns to Maria without even thinking about it, "Maria! I want to share a room with you!", he says while walking toward his girlfriend.

Romeo grabs Alex's arm and starts pulling him over, "We're still too young for that stuff.", he adds.

"But... But I want to share a room with Maria...", Replies Alex, becoming quite a handful.

While Lina was enjoying the sight of this abnormal group, Sara turns to her and says, "Did you choose who you'll be sharing with?"

"Yeah", Nods Lina, "I'll be sharing a room with Maria."

Robinson checks in with the group, "Have you finished filling out your papers?", She asks, "Anyways, today we'll be going to the Kyoto Gardens tonight, so you have the whole day free. Have fun!"

Everyone finishes filling out their papers and takes their keys, going to their rooms to get some rest. As Romeo and Alex enter their hotel room, they hear loud voices coming from the room next door. Romeo glances over at Alex, "What the... Maria and Lina are inside that room, right? Why the hell are they screaming like crazy?", Asks Romeo.

Alex, who is still groggy from his nap on the bus, shrugs, "Romi, you can use the bath now," he mumbles.

Inside the room next door, Maria and Lina are in the middle of a heated argument. "Stop screaming already! I only said one word and you start behaving like that?", Says Maria, scolding Lina.

Lina is flustered and defensive, "Because you're wrong, I don't have feelings for him! Don't you get it!", she insists.

"Alex told me about the conversation you shared yesterday so no need to hide it you know!" Adds Maria, rolling her eyes.

"I said that stuff to Alex so he would leave me alone and stop annoying me!" she admits while her expression falls.

"Is that soooo?", Replies Maria as her expression softens a little, "Okay then let me test you. Why do you love him?", she asks.

"I don't love Romeo!!!!", she stammers Lina, her face turning bright red.

"I didn't say Romi.", Grins Maria.

"Crap!" she mutters as her face falls, "You're just like mom! Maria, why are you bringing this up anyway? Can't we just enjoy the trip and not talk about this?"

"Oh come on, Lily", That's when Maria starts getting serious, "You can't deny that you have feelings for Romi. I can see it written all over your face."

That's not true", Replies Lina, her voice barely audible, "I don't have any feelings for him."

"Really? Then why do you always get so flustered and nervous around him?", Questions Maria, starting to use some evidence.

-Lina: "I don't know, it's just... I don't know."

"I think it's pretty obvious that you like him", Adds Maria before switching to a smirk-gasm, "And I and Alex are not the only ones who are noticing it."

"What do you mean?", Stammers Lina as her eyes widen in surprise.

"I've heard Nana and Prez talking about it", Answers Maria before starting to tease Lina by squishing her heated cheeks, "and even Ed mentioned something about it when we were hanging out yesterday."

"Oh, my god. This is a nightmare", Adds Lina before rolling herself with the blanket, "Not the Nerdy Edward too..."

-Maria: "And only Al doesn't know about it! He's just too dumb to get it!"

"It's better off telling him", Says Lina, holding back tears of embarrassment.

"Okay, will do!", Adds Maria with a playful tone, filming Lina while she's looking like a sushi roll!

"No no no no, don't you dare and tell him", Stammers Lina right away. After that, someone knocks on their door and that's when Maria starts looking rather excited, "Alright, Lily, it's time to get to work. We've got a special guest joining us.

"Who?", Asks Lina curiously.

"Ta-da!", Says Maria with a sly grin, opening the door to reveal Alex.

"Hey there, cuties!", And Alex joins them energetically, "Let's get this operation started, shall we?"

"Operation?", Questions Lina, getting confused by this sudden situation And what's with that huge piece of paper?"

Alex takes the paper that he was holding and sticks it to the wall, "Check it out", He says, looking proud of his work, "I made this at home. The operation is called <Operation: Make Lily Know Everything About Romi and Then Try to Set Them Up!>"

-Maria, realizing that what her boy just said is quite ridiculous, adds, "That's basically the goal of the operation, not the title.", Then she crosses her arms.

"You guys can't be serious, can you?", Says Lina, looking incredulous.

"Dead serious!", Say those two in unison. Maria takes a notebook and a pen and lends them to their confused Lily. Then Alex gets down to business and starts, "Okay, so Romi's birthday is on 13/05."

"I know that already", Nods Lina.

"He loves chocolate", Continues Alex, "And his favorite meal is macaroni with seafood, extra spicy. You should try making it for him sometime."

"Got it", Says Lina while starting to get notes

"And one thing to keep in mind", Adds Maria with a warning tone, "The type of girl he's into... Such a thing doesn't even exist, so don't waste your time asking him about it. You'll just end up embarrassing yourself."

"Got it, will keep that in mind", Adds Lina after gasping, then she writes it down as well.

"Romi's not a fan of crowded places", Says Alex with enthusiasm, "He's more into nature and that sort of thing. His favorite color is black and he's really into the night sky and astronomy."

"He's got good taste", Says Lina, starting to look more lovely since she's getting to know the boy even more, "I like stars too."

As they sit huddled together, Maria and Alex are both animated and excited as they take turns sharing information about Romeo with Lina. They are so focused on their task that they hardly noticed the time passing by. Lina, on the other hand, is more reserved and hesitant, but still seems to be taking in all the information they are giving her. They are so engrossed in their conversation that they almost didn't notice when Romeo finishes his bath, and they narrowly avoid getting caught studying him like a subject in a classroom.