Sorry I haven't updated in what feels like forever (hey, it does to me). I got sick and then I couldn't write anything decent. I ended up writing over 6,000 words worth of rejected ideas hahaha.

Sometimes, when the teacher stops mid-lecture and calls the attention of the boy sitting behind her, she instinctively whirls around and wags an accusatory finger at him, ready to say "Eijun, you forgot your homework again?" Then she realizes it's someone else. Then she remembers Eijun is far away.

Wakana likes to think she isn't the type to selfishly cling to things. Even the fanciest clothes and the prettiest flowers fade over time, so really, becoming too attached is just setting herself up for disappointment. But she also likes to think Eijun is a special exception. She spends half her life getting used to this guy—putting up with his brand of foolishness and even growing to like it—then she wakes up one day to escort him to the train station. And then the train's doors are closing and Wakana's emotions sucker punch her. Hard.

She wonders if he's even aware of it. How he's slowly but surely—and perhaps unintentionally—leaving behind his previous life. The first few weeks that they exchange messages are what she fondly remembers as the "I miss you" weeks, the times when Eijun feels the overwhelming need to remind her every ten minutes how much he wants to go home and how everything in Seidou is different and how he hates it.

EIJUN: The coach is a sunglass jerk, my roommate is a wrestling bastard, and nobody takes me seriously! WAKANA, THIS IS A DREAM, RIGHT? I didn't get on that train, right?

EIJUN: Now that I think about it, you and Kuramochi-senpai would totally get along. You both like picking on me.

EIJUN: Yeah, Wakana, you pick on me and don't try to deny it. Remember that time with the flashlights and the sheets? I had nightmares for a week! Meanie. (I miss you guys)

EIJUN: I am NOT crying SHUT UP!

This is a lie. Eijun is a bigger crybaby than her and that's saying something. Though she quickly hates herself for putting "Eijun" and "cry" in the same line of thought because she's remembering that time at the station for the umpteenth time and her eyes are getting misty again.

Eventually the "I miss you" weeks progress to the "I'm doing fine" weeks. This is when Eijun starts adjusting to his new surroundings, and while he continues to complain because he's still running with a tire strapped to his waist and he's been assigned an eccentric catcher, the tone of his messages suggests he's remembering what it is he came to Seidou for in the first place.

EIJUN: I don't know what that Chris guy's problem is but I don't like him. You should see his eyes, they're creepy as hell!

EIJUN: So Miyuki got mad at me today because I said some things about that guy. And now Takashima-san is taking me to see Chris for some reason. What is with everyone taking his side? Someone who has no heart for baseball should just quit the team, right?

EIJUN: What do you mean I'm an idiot and I should apologize?

EIJUN: You were right. I'm an idiot, Wakana. A big freaking idiot who mouths off at a third-year without even understanding the whole situation. I don't deserve someone like Chris-senpai. Sorry, I have to put down the phone for a bit or I'll start crying again.

EIJUN: Hey, I know it's probably way too early but I just read your messages from last night and… Well… Thanks. Really, thanks for cheering me up! (And if you get any weird pick-up lines after this then it's Kuramochi-senpai trying to make me look stupid)

By the time Wakana realizes Eijun has finally found his place in the school and in the team, she has developed this mindset where Sawamura Eijun is now in an entirely different plane of existence. Of course she's happy for him, happy he made the first-string and now gets to play in official games, but it wouldn't hurt if he asked about his middle school friends every now and then. She likes hearing about his teammates and she thinks they're all wonderful people, but it would be nice if he asked about her. It would be nice if he thought about her.

EIJUN: This is gonna sound weird but I like seeing Chris-senpai smile.

EIJUN: And hearing him say that I'm part of the reason that he can do it makes it even better.

EIJUN: I should stop talking about it before I get a big head or, worse, start saying stupid things. Like, I dunno, calling him cute or something. HE IS NOT CUTE, BY THE WAY.

EIJUN: Wakana?

EIJUN: You still there?

EIJUN: Oh, I guess you're busy studying or something. Sorry to bother you. Guess this is an early good night then. Don't stay up too late.

-o-o-o-

EIJUN: Hey, you haven't mailed me in, like, forever. Are you mad? Did I forget your birthday again?

EIJUN: I checked my phone and your birthday isn't till another month. I even borrowed sticky notes from Chris-senpai to remind myself and you know how I hate sticky notes.

EIJUN: Chris-senpai has the cutest sticky notes. They're shaped liked a catcher's mitt. I need to ask him where he bought it.

EIJUN: He blushed when I called them cute.

EIJUN: I'm using the word "cute" a lot lately. Excuse me while I do something manly like beating Kuramochi-senpai in Tekken.

EIJUN: Okay, I lost. Using Xiaoyu is UNFAIR.

EIJUN: It's really hot. I want ice pops. You like the strawberry ones, right? I miss eating ice pops with you.

EIJUN: WAKANA TALK TO MEEEEEEEEE

Wakana laughs when she finally gets around to reading his messages—she hadn't been in the mood to deal with him the past few days. Here she is foolishly worrying about drifting apart while Eijun is busy man-crushing on an upperclassman. Yes, he is totally crushing; she has been with that guy long enough to know subtlety is not in his vocabulary. Well, a lot of words are not in Eijun's vocabulary, but that's not the point.

She makes up an excuse about being busy with exams.

EIJUN: Wow, now I feel like an idiot for spamming your inbox.

EIJUN: Sorry 'bout that.

EIJUN: But I was serious about the ice pop thing.

It doesn't take her long to convince herself that Eijun isn't the type of guy to forget his friends. The fact that he still remembers what flavor of ice pops she likes despite having been years since they last ate one together proves that she, at the very least, is worth a place in his memory. Now if she can only find out if she's worth a place in his heart. Though, judging by the amount of messages she gets describing their captain's "perfect skin" and Miyuki's "sickeningly pretty face," it might be a little bit crowded in there.

Thank you to all the people who left a review last chapter (this is way overdue) and to those that followed/faved.