“Hey, Mirai!  How’d you like to spend your Saturday with Sasuke?”

“What’re you talking about?” I muttered, my voice muffled by my blankets.

“He just texted me asking if we could show him around today.  You up to give your crush a personalized tour of Savannah?”

“Sure.”  I kicked my blankets off and struggled to my feet.

“Eyy!  You didn’t deny it!”

“Deny what?”

“That Sasuke’s your crush!”

I rolled my eyes and wiped my cheek as if I could wipe off the blush.  “So what if he is?”

“Aww.  Mirai and Sasuke sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I–”

“Stop it,” I growled playfully.  “Did he say where he wants to meet?”

“The school steps.  I asked if we should come get him from his house and he couldn’t say ‘no’ fast enough.”

“We’ve only known him a few days.  He probably wants some privacy,” I suggested, knowing full well how lame it sounded.

Chann snorted.  “Sure.  You wanna take him to Forsyth?”

I smiled and nodded.  I hadn’t been to Forysth Park since early spring!  I had so many good memories there; it’d be amazing to share it with Sasuke.

Sasuke was waiting for us on the school steps when we arrived.  He skipped down them to meet us on the greens.

“So, where first?” he asked breathlessly.

“Forsyth,” Chann answered.

“I haven’t heard of Forsyth.”

“It’s the biggest local park, absolutely gorgeous.  It’s got a playground, wide-open fields, sidewalks, even a little stage.  Mirai and I hang there all the time.”

“It sounds wonderful.”

We fell into our usual formation – Chann and Sasuke on either side of me – and headed for the park.  Contentment filled me.  It was such a beautiful day.  I breathed in the air, feeling the sweet, fresh oxygen flood my lungs.  There was nothing quite like the outdoors.  I wasn’t the kind of down-and-dirty person who’d strike out in the woods for a week or go spelunking, but I much preferred a sunny nap in the park to one indoors.

When we arrived, Chann made a grand gesture towards the fountain marking the entrance.  “Welcome to Forsyth Park, over thirty acres of historic beauty and one of the core locations in our lovely little riverside town.”

“Wow…  This place is beautiful.”  Sasuke’s voice was full of awe.  “It’s so different from Italy…”

“Yeah?  Hey, you never told us what part of Italy you’re from.”

“I’m from Rome.”

Chann let out a slow whistle.  “Now that’s a swanky place!  Bet you saw lots of rich people over there.”

Unease briefly crossed Sasuke’s face and he quickly smothered it.  “I did.  It is…  not an inexpensive place to live.”  I noticed that he had used contractions twice before but hadn’t that time.

“So I guess you’re pretty well off yourself, huh?  Takes big bucks, moving across the Atlantic.”

I narrowed my eyes at Chann, forgetting my obsession with the park for a moment.  I recognized that tone of voice; Chann usually acted the fool, but he’s an incredibly smart guy and he’s got a real talent for getting information out of people.  He was suspicious of Sasuke – but why?  I had to admit, though, an average guy popping onto a new continent with no real explanation for it besides his family scoring a business deal was a bit farfetched.  He had to have money or a good background, to make a move like that happen.

“It was a very lucky situation,” Sasuke replied in a tone that made it clear he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.  Chann and I glanced at each other but didn’t press it.

I found myself shifting between sticking close to Chann and gravitating towards Sasuke.  It felt good to be around them both.  With my pain mostly ignorable, I was ready to fully indulge in getting closer to Sasuke.  Sort of.  I guess I was ready to make choices and get shit for them later, so long as I was the only one who got hurt.

“These trees are beautiful, but what is the stuff on the branches?” Sasuke asked, probably as a distraction from the questions on his background.

“Spanish moss.  Weird, isn’t it?  It’s everywhere along the Georgia coast, even in our Barrier Islands.  It’s actually a flowering plant, even though it’s got no blossoms.  This nerd drove that one into my head pretty quickly.”  Chann gave my head a gentle push and snickered.  “What’s another weird plant fact you’ve taught me?”

I shrugged.  As cliché as it sounds, I was too distracted by Sasuke’s sweet face and shimmering blue eyes to recall any of the useless trivia I’d soaked up over the years.  I still felt insanely awkward around him and there was a quiet but persistent negative flick in the back of my mind, but goddammit, I was gonna enjoy being around him.

“I did not take you for a geography student,” Sasuke teased.

“I’m not, really.  Mirai loves history and geography and it’s rubbed off on me.  He’s got a good memory for it, too.”

Sasuke let out a chuckle and continued to gaze around at the trees.  I was amused by how taken he was by it all; his life in Rome must’ve been incredibly different for him to be so fascinated with something as simple as a park.  I slowed my stride to take a place at his side and smiled at him.  Relief and warmth flooded his eyes.

“Forsyth suits you, Mirai.”

I gave him a quizzical glance.  How?

“This park is gentle, beautiful, and natural – like you.  I am sure there is a lot you can tell me about this place.  I want to know everything about this park, just like I want to know everything about you.”

“Should I leave you lads alone?” Chann teased.  “There’s plenty of ways for me to amuse myself while you have a spot of fun.”  His green eyes had an encouraging light amongst their usual humor.  He was still a bit suspicious of Sasuke, but he clearly thought that despite whatever he wasn’t telling us, his affection and concern for me were real.  He liked me, I liked him.  I wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone to hear him say it to my face.

“Could we actually?” I signed, not even trying to hide my blush.

Chann’s eyebrows arched a bit and a saucy grin spread over his lips.  “Whatever you say, mate.  I’ll catch up with you at the playground.  Don’t have too much fun, now!” he called over his shoulder.

And with that, we were alone.  His blue eyes shone with so much affection that I halfway expected him to sweep me off my feet, confess his love for me, push me up against a tree, and kiss me until there was no air left in my chest.  Instead, he linked our pinkies; half an instant later, he had entwined his fingers with mine.

“Is this okay?” he whispered.

I nodded and dared to rest my cheek on his shoulder.  He was a good deal taller than me so the gesture was easy to do and even easier on my neck.  I could feel the tension in his muscles.  His heart was thumping a mile a minute and his face was hot with blush.  His hand was slightly sweaty, or maybe mine was, or maybe both.  It was reassuring that he was as nervous as I was.

“This is wonderful, Mirai.  I’m glad I’m able to spend this time with you.  Yesterday was…”

“I was scared for you.”

I balked at him, unable to mask my surprise.  Yesterday had seen me almost collapsing from pain, exhaustion, and hunger.  It would’ve sent anyone else running – why not him?

“Mirai, I…  I care a great deal for you.  I’m glad to be here with you.”  He raised my hand and kissed the back of it, his blue eyes tender.

I wanted to speak so badly it hurt, but anything I could’ve said would get stuck in my throat.  The anxiety that shocked into the core of my chest was almost blinding.  Yeah, I wasn’t going to confess; I wanted to say the words but it wasn’t going to happen.  All I could do was tell myself that I could be me stupid this weekend, and being me stupid was going to include kissing this boy before I had to go for the appointment or so-fucking-help-me.  I turned Sasuke’s face towards me, shivering a bit at the contact, stood on tiptoe (I blushed as he knelt down so I could reach), and kissed his cheek.  My lips tingled.  His skin was sweet and soft, clean-shaved and well-kept, and he smelled faintly of rich vanilla bean.  I should’ve taken note of how expensive-smelling his cologne was – nobody average or normal could afford to spend so much on something so banal – but I was enraptured by his seraphic presence.  There was an ethereal air about him.  His golden hair seemed a little shinier, his cobalt eyes a little brighter, his full-lipped smile a little sweeter.  I momentarily saw him as an angel again, with wings and a halo and a golden spear.  He was beautiful.

I didn’t know how he saw me, but I knew how I saw him:  a guardian angel come down to Earth.

“You are gorgeous, Mirai.”

I pressed my face against his bicep, smiling and blushing like the romantic dork I was.  He tentatively tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, his gaze warm.  Working up my nerve again, I laid my hand on Sasuke’s cheek and turned him to face me.  Stars above, he was handsome.  I leaned forward, getting so close that his sweet breath flooded the air around me.  His sky-blue eyes closed as he lowered his head, his lips almost touching mine.  His hand held mine a little tighter, and the other came to rest on my shoulder.  I wanted to kiss him with a desperation I didn’t know I possessed.  I was going to kiss him, I was going to kiss him, I was going to–

And then I spotted Lance looming between the trees.

I snapped my head down at the last second.  My entire body seized up.  I felt nauseous.  My vision blurred.  The world began to spin.  Sharqiq would know in five seconds – if he didn’t already know – that I was holding hands with and nearly kissing a boy he didn’t know.  He would take photos of him, memorize his face, scour the Internet, search the world to find out as much about him as he possibly could.  He would know exactly where to strike.

The pact.

The moment I fucked up, he and everyone else I cared about would be in danger.

“Mirai?  Are you okay?”

“Mirai!”  I recognized Chann’s voice immediately.  “Sorry to interrupt, but we gotta go.  Blondie, come on, no time to waste!”

Panic flared from Sasuke but I was too whipped in the mind to soothe him.  I fucked up so bad.  I lurched towards Chann, almost falling as I grabbed his arm.

“I saw him.  We’ll get you home.  I won’t let him hurt you.”  Chann spoke with a fear-driven urgency.  “Blondie, c’mon, stay close!”

“What is happening?!”

“I’ll explain later – hurry!  Fuck.”  Chann swore under his breath.  “You two go to my place.  Mirai, give him my address.  I’ll head him off.  Don’t stop for anything.  If you're followed, get into the nearest building and hide in the loo.”

Fear blazed through me as Chann turned on his heel and stormed towards Lance.  He was mostly hidden in the drooping, Spanish moss-covered branches of the nearby trees, but his dark eyes sparked warningly through the leaves.  I tripped over a tree root and nearly fell, Sasuke’s quick grip the only thing that prevented me from smashing my face open.  Chann lost all common sense when it came to defending me; I had to hope that Lance would stick to Sharqiq’s orders and not hurt Chann, no matter what he did to him.  So long as I kept my part of the pact, he and everyone else I cared about would remain unharmed.  If he hurt a single cell on Chann’s body, the pact would be broken, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get out my swords and take on all of my brother’s lemmings no matter what it did to me.  It came down to what Sharqiq wanted more:  what he’s been getting for years, or taking away the people I loved.

But heavy is the head that wears the crown of moral responsibility.

I couldn’t do this.  I couldn’t risk Chann and Sasuke and everyone else I needed in my life.  My head felt strangely clear and I was suspiciously steady on my feet as I stepped away from Sasuke.  Things seemed to move in slow-motion, but I somehow reached Lance first.

He silently gripped my shoulder and steered me in the direction of my house.  I didn’t look back at Chann and Sasuke.  It would hurt too much and I’d be too tempted to fight Lance and race to bury myself in their safe arms.  As I trailed after him, I was sharply aware of their anguished gazes on my back.  It was so painful, trading my best friend and budding new love for my brother.

I’m so sorry, Aba-san.  I made my choice, and if things go the way I fear, I won’t be able to live with it.  It’s over.

My thoughts spun as we walked back to my house.  I was a coward.  I was the one who tried to kiss Sasuke and I bailed, I fucking bailed.  I tried to tell myself that I wasn’t a slut but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became.  Trying to kiss a guy having known him for just a few days?  How thirsty was I?  I felt like a whore.  How much convincing would it take to get me to whip my dick out?  To fuck him?  Where would I draw the line?  I didn’t want his hand on my hand or his kiss on my lips.  I had more self-control than that; I might not be able to stop these slutty thoughts, but I didn’t have to act on them.  I couldn’t do this.  I liked him, I wanted him, but once again, I had to remind myself that a relationship with him was one of the worst decisions I could make, and for so many reasons…