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A challenge/contest between me and theantiqueclock.deviantart.com… . Whoever gets the most comments wins!
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I walked through the the forest, uncaring of my destination. Night was falling, and I could just the see the final orange traces of dusk gracing the wisps of fog around me. Stupid! Stupid to just plow headlong into the forest like that. I didn't stop moving; I just aimlessly pressed forward.

Two hours ago, I had been having a pleasant time with my boyfriend and his buddies. It was my first time doing anything with his work colleagues, and I had been nervous. REALLY nervous. In the end, I realized that I shouldn't have been so worried because they were all really great people. We sat around a campfire and roasted our meal over the open flame.

"Ichi," Otoya called, "you've finally brought her!" Ichi?

"Hai. Everyone, this is (l/n, f/n)," Tokiya said with a polite smile.

"(F/n)-chan!!!! You're soo cute!" Tokiya stepped infront of me as the tall blonde rushed me.

"Natsuki! We've told you a million times not to do that to little people," the smallest of the group said.

"Oh, sorry, (F/n)-chan, Tokiya. You're just so adorable!" I was a bit baffled, but not flustered by the attention. "So, Tokiya, how'd you meet such a cute girl?"

"She's my vocal coach." You could have heard a pin drop…If it weren't for the wind. Idols weren't supposed to date, especially not someone in the profession.

"You're taking lessons, Ichonese-san?" Ah, That must be Haruka. She's beautiful.

"Hai. I thought I told you." Something felt off about that tiny exchange.

Tokiya pulled me aside after a while for a walk. His arm thrown over my shoulder and my arm around his waist, we walked around a field of flowers. "(F/n), are you alright? You got pretty quiet during supper." He looked down at me, his blue eyes searching my (e/c) ones.

I knew I was about to say something stupid, something that might be a deal breaker, but I needed to know. "I'm glad you introduced me to everyone, Tokiya. I like them."

Tokiya wasn't a fool when it came to my thought process, my feelings. He could sense the hesitation. "Buuuuut," he prompted me.

I stopped mid stride, searching for the right words. I had to have the perfect words. This can go so wrong so fast. "Haruka-san is very sweet, Tokiya. She's beautiful, talented, humble. You can't tell me you never thought of pursuing her. Not one of the other guys looked anywhere but at her. You could see it in their eyes that she is Heaven and Earth to them."

"(F/n), I once thought of Haruka as more than my friend." He dropped his arm and turned to face me. I felt my heart sink. "I mistook the feelings of gratefulness for love. I mistook the bond of music for the bond of love."

I interrupted him. "She loves you, Tokiya. You'd have to be a fool to miss that." He stared at me dumbfounded as the silence between us became heavy. I've done it this time. Goodbye to the dream. I thought I'd finally found what I'd been looking for in him.

"Sh, she loves me?" The words were a whisper on the breeze, a whisper that cut through my soul, a whisper that spurred my feet into action. I turned from the sunlit field and charged into the darkening tree line.

I cut the memory off and looked around. My meandering had brought me to the edge of night. A single star could be seen in the canopy of leaves and needles above me, and a lone nightingale began his plaintive song. I took a moment to rest in the massive roots of what must have been the most ancient tree in existence.

The way he had taken the revelation of Haruka's feelings left me more than insecure. I thought that he loved me, but those whispered words changed my mind. Do I love Ichinose Tokiya? Yes. I love his quiet strength, his passion, his drive. I love him even more now that I know he loves someone else. How is that even possible, to love someone you know wants another girl? I love him more than… My thoughts drove me straight into oblivion: and though my sleep was fitful, I was able to gain some respite from my frazzled heart.

A soft, lilting voice woke me. I rubbed my eyes and sat up as I took stock of my surroundings. It must be nearly ten at night! Wait. Was someone singing just now? I edged around the tree carefully. On the opposite side of the behemoth tree I found a path. What the heck?! I fell asleep only a few steps from a clear way out of the woods?

Feeling utterly foolish, I started down the pathway. Before I had taken more than a few steps, however, I realized that the small thread of sound that had been my companion since waking was gone. I did an about face and marched in the other direction. The thin music picked up again so quietly that I thought I must be imagining it. The voice grew louder with each step I took, and I realized I knew that voice, but the song was one I'd never heard before.

"Thinking back 
To the feeling that I had
 When I first saw your face
 I knew that it was you."

I slowed down. (F/n), do you really want to do this now? He doesn't sing unless he's feeling deeply. Should I interrupt him when he's found his happiness? Don't get me wrong, I love music and know that Tokiya joys in sharing what he creates with others. He frequently will ask me to listen to something new or has me accompany him to the studio when he's doing solo work, but I couldn't justify sharing in his joy when my heart felt so bereft. My mind was made up, and I chose to walk on by.

Tokiya's voice grew stronger with each bend in the path.

"Sometime has passed,
 And the feelings that I had
before still are the same,
 'Cause you never changed."

He's been singing for quite some time. I really wish he'd stop. He's going to hurt himself trying to throw his voice around out here. I could tell he was singing at the top of his lungs. I wasn't sure if it was from elation or simple to be heard, but it was getting on my vocal-coach-nerves. All right that's it. He's going to end his career like this.

"Even though I don't show it, girl,  I just want you to know 
That even if we fight a million times over little things
 We can still make it better. 
I meant what I said 
When I gave you that promise ring,
 That I'm'a love you forever."

I charged around the last bend and into a clearing with a rock formation in the center. Of course, he'd be standing on top of a boulder, belting his soul into the night sky. Theatrics. I didn't stop stomping through the underbrush until I was at the foot of the rocks, and he didn't stop singing. I decided to wait it out.

 "I fall for you deeper everyday. 
Feel it now girl more than ever, 
But with our type of love, 
Forever ain't enough."

Until that last sentence, I had been sitting on the lowest rock, arms folded across my chest, hunched over in annoyance at his persistent belting. I looked at the man above me, and my searching, (e/c) eyes met with caring, dark blue ones. What is he doing? I started to climb to meet him.

"I've been searching my whole life.
 I'm lucky I found you."

Tokiya grabbed my hand and hauled me up to his level and hugged me close. His dynamic went down to a pianissimo as he sang into my ear.

 "Now that I got you,
You ain't leaving,
 'Cause forever ain't enough."

I pulled back slightly to measure just how real that song was. His expression told me everything I needed to know. He loves me.

Tokiya pulled me back in for a sweet, lingering kiss and then whispered in my ear, "(F/n), I've been looking for you."