Hearts Crushed. A Sudden Burst Of Tears!

They pull back as he stares at her surprised. She has a saddened look but one fulfilled.

Hikigaya "Milo…"

Milo "Just don't say I didn't try when you look back and realize how amazing I was!"

She stands up with her hands on her hips.

Milo "Goodbye Hiki. It's time I let you go."

She says with a smile before walking away. Hikigaya watches her with a look as if wanting to say something else but he can't find the words. He lets out a sigh as he looks down.

Hikigaya "I didn't realize I'd feel so bad when she would finally move on."

He clenches his fist a bit before letting it go.

Hikigaya "I guess that's for the best. I'll have to thank her properly next time I see her."

He then notices a slow song starts to play.

DJ "Now it's time we slow things down a bit. Grab onto your dance partners and hold them tight as we swing to this soft beat."

Hikigaya perks up a bit.

Hikigaya "Shiori… Maybe I could-"

He looks into the crowd and sees Shiori dancing slowly with Tsuki, his arms around her. He stares with wide eyes for a moment before looking down softly. He chuckles a bit before shaking his head slightly.

Hikigaya "This really was a bad idea."

He says before getting up and walking out of the dance. In the dance, as everyone else is slow dancing including a nervous Touma and Chizuru, a happy blushing Ryuji and Lucy, Kitaro and Hisana, Haru and Sugawara and even Alice and Suiyoubi, Shiori holds onto Tsuki's shirt tightly as she sobs silently into his neck. Tsuki sweats and looks a bit concerned.

Tsuki 'What happened? She turned around for a moment, the slow song started playing then she started crying. I didn't know what else to do so I just grabbed her and starting swaying…'

He thinks to himself. He pulls back a bit and looks at her. She stares down as he speaks.

Tsuki "Hey, are you okay? What happened?"

Shiori just shakes her head softly.

Shiori "Nothing…"

He gets a concerned look before speaking again.

Tsuki "I won't pretend to know what's going on in your head but just know we'll always be friends. You may not like me the way I like you and I may no longer be pursuing you after tonight but I'll always get your back."

He says softly. She smiles a bit before it fades again and she nods. She pulls back even more while wiping her eyes.

Shiori "Thanks for asking me out, Tsuki, but I think I'm gonna head home now."

He nods reluctantly as she walks away. He stands there by himself as he watches her go. In the night sky, Shiori flies with her wings out as she continues to cry in the air. She tries wiping the tears away but they continue to flow.

Shiori 'Why do I feel this way? I feel betrayed and jealous and hurt… But I have no right to feel this way. He can do whatever he wants, it's not like he belongs to me. I don't even like him… yet I feel like my heart's been crushed.'

She thinks as she sobs, flying gently through the night sky.

The night of the End of the Year Dance comes to an end and so does the end of the second school year. Summer comes as Shiori sits in her room on her bed with her knees brought up to her chest. Hamasaki comes up to her closed door with a concerned look. She pauses before knocking.

Hamasaki "Shiori? Chizuru and Lucy are here to see you again. Maybe you should come see them?"

She says behind the door as Shiori's sad look only gets worse. Hamasaki waits for a response but doesn't get any and gets a sad look. Hikigaya then comes out of his room. They make eye contact as he speaks.

Hikigaya "She's still not coming out?"

Hamasaki shakes her head. Hikigaya gets a concerned look as she speaks.

Hamasaki "She hasn't really come out in weeks. I wish she would talk to me, I can't help her if I don't know what's going on."

She says sadly. Hikigaya looks at her door with a sad look too.

Hikigaya 'I wish I knew too.'

He goes downstairs and opens the front door to find Lucy and Chizuru waiting with worried faces.

Chizuru "Is she coming?"

Hikigaya shakes his head. Chizuru gets a sad look as Lucy gets frustrated.

Lucy "Errrgh… It's been like weeks! The whole summer is almost over and she's done nothing but sit in her room! She doesn't even answer our texts! What has her so upset? Is it you? I swear, if you hurt her..!"

She growls at Hikigaya and lunges at him but Chizuru holds her back.

Chizuru "Calm down Lucy! I'm sure Hiki didn't do anything. Besides, it's not her fault she feels this way. Whatever happened, it obviously hurt her. We just have to be there for her when she's ready."

Lucy calms down and nods.

Hikigaya "I'm sorry you came this way for nothing, guys."

Chizuru shakes her head.

Chizuru "We'll probably see you again soon. Let us know if anything changes."

He nods with a soft smile as they leave. He steps back inside as Riku comes up to Hikigaya.

Riku "Hikigaya?"

Hikigaya "What is it, Riku?"

He asks softly. Riku pauses for a moment before punching Hikigaya in the groin. He falls over and holds himself in pain as Riku gets an angry look.

Hikigaya "W-why did you do that?.."

Riku "It's your fault Shiori is so sad."

Hikigaya gets a surprised look.

Hikigaya "My fault..?"

Riku nods angrily.

Riku "Mhm! She told me so. She also said you were a big dummy head."

Steam shoots from his nose as he looks accomplished before walking away. Hikigaya sits there for a moment with a confused look.

Hikigaya "It's my fault?"

Later that night, after everyone has gone to bed, Shiori comes out of her room. She comes downstairs and goes into the pantry. She makes a sandwich and begins eating it as she turns around to go back upstairs. She goes back into her room and closes the door behind her with sandwich still in hand. As she turns around to face her room, she stops with a surprised look. Hikigaya is sitting on her bed with a slight, awkward smile. She gets an irritated look and looks away from him. He sweats a bit.

Hikigaya "I'm sorry to intrude like this but you seemed pretty set on not coming out to talk to anyone."

He says softly. She still looks irritated but sits down on her bed next to him.

Shiori "What does that matter to you?"

She says while taking the last bite of her sandwich.

Hikigaya "Well, you're my friend and I care about you."

She gets an even more irritated look as she looks away.

Shiori "Right, just your friend."

Hikigaya looks a little confused but more concerned. He pauses for a moment and looks down.

Hikigaya "Riku told me that it's my fault you're so upset…"

Shiori looks at him surprised before rolling her eyes in frustration.

Shiori "Of course he did.. I knew I shouldn't have said anything to him…"

Hikigaya smiles a bit.

Hikigaya "He also said you called me a big dummy head?"

Shiori blushes in embarrassment a bit.

Shiori "Of course he told you that too."

Hikigaya "Well he's right."

She looks at him confused and surprised.

Hikigaya "I'm not always the smartest guy. I tend to hurt people's feelings sometimes without meaning to and I forget to say what's going on in my head too."

He says softly while looking down.

Hikigaya "I'm not really sure what I did but if I hurt you, please tell me. Hurting you is the last thing I want to do."

He says while looking at her. She blushes a bit before looking down.

Shiori "You didn't hurt me… I'm just being a crybaby. It's okay for you to want to be with other people. I'm not sure why I even care so much."

Hikigaya "What do you mean, be with other people?"

He says confused by her words.

Shiori "You know, you and Milo… I saw you guys kissing at the dance. I just assumed that meant you were getting together and I'd be left behind…"

She says with a sad look. Hikigaya looks at her confused.

Hikigaya "Kissing? But Milo and I didn't kiss at the dance. She told me that she wasn't going to pursue me anymore before leaving."

Shiori looks at him shocked and confused.

Shiori "Wait, what?.. You mean you aren't…"

Hikigaya "Definitely not! Milo has been annoying me about it for a long time. I'm just happy she's finally moving on. That's what this was all about? Here I thought it was something much worse! You're such a silly goose sometimes haha!"

He laughs but immediately stops when he sees tears rolling down Shiori's face. He gets concerned as she cries with a neutral expression.

Shiori "You mean… all this time I was worried… for nothing?.."

She smiles a bit as she continues to cry until she begins to sob. She wipes her eyes as she cries out. Hikigaya freaks out as he thinks of how to comfort her.

Hikigaya "Please don't cry! Everything's okay! What were you worried about?"

He asks, panicking over her as she continues to cry.

Shiori "I just… I thought that if we couldn't hangout as much… the others wouldn't want to be with me either… I thought that… I'd be all alone again… that I wasn't good enough to be friends with them without you… I thought I'd lose you… I don't want to lose you!.."

She cries out as Hikigaya stares at her. She cries for a moment more before Hikigaya grabs her wrist and kisses her. She is surprised for a moment but closes her eyes as she continues to cry while they kiss. After a few moments, Hikigaya pulls away. He blushes as she does too, tears still rolling down her face.

Shiori "I'm sorry…"

Hikigaya shakes his head.

Hikigaya "No, I'm sorry. For not being a good enough friend to you. To make you so unsure of our friendship, of all of our friendships to you."

She looks down as the tears begin to stop.

Shiori "I was just so afraid that without you, I'm nothing more than a nuisance to the others. I couldn't stand the thought of being alone again… Of being without you…"

She says while blushing and looking down. Hikigaya looks at her softly. She slowly looks at him before blushing some more. She sighs in frustration as she slides off the bed and sits with her back against it on the ground. She lays her head in her arms.

Shiori "And now look at me. I'm a mess. We finally kiss and I look like a disaster. I probably stink and my hair is all undone. That was probably the worst kiss ever…"

She says sadly as Hikigaya joins her on the ground. He smiles softly as he takes her hand.