~????~

"Excuse me," I frantically asked the freshman standing before me. "Has anyone seen a girl with short blonde hair?" They turned to me with an annoyed expression, but then their eyes beamed with happiness once their gaze landed on me.

"Sorry, we haven't seen anyone like that around." One of them said as they all shook their heads.

"Have you seen a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes?"

"Nope."

"Hey, have you seen a girl, maybe about 4'11" with short blonde hair?"

"Who now?"

"Do you know a girl with short blonde hair?"

"No one around here has that kind of appearance."

"Have you seen a girl with short blonde hair that can sing?"

"I may have only seen that girl once, and I have no idea who she is. She's very isolated. Total nerd if you ask me. And she can sing? Yeah right."

This is worthless. This school is fricken huge! I don't know how to find a short girl in this kind of area. I promised I'd make it up to her...now I feel guilty. I couldn't even pick up her stuff for her. What an idiot I am!

I've asked most of the freshman I could ask...ugh, what if she isn't even a student here? But she has our uniform, so it doesn't make sense. She has to be a freshman, I just know it!

My back was slumped up against our schools cold walls. It's lonely in here, but I prefer this rather than all the students ganging up on me. I guess I'm fortunate enough to have a key to my own room here. My bento has been left untouched, seeing as I spent most of lunch trying to find this girl. There is no point in eating if I only have 8 to 10 minutes to try it.

I stood up from my position and opened up the door to put my bento away. My head hung low in defeat as my body was slumped over. I truly felt useless during this moment. I don't wanna give up though! This is just really hard.

"Hatsune-San, are you alright?" I turned around to find the source of the concerned voice. Before me stood a girl around my height. She had long red hair, with a pair of matching eyes. She looked very genuine.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to find someone." I gazed at her once more. I think I've seen her before in Len's class. That means she's a freshman!

"Hey, wait a minute, do you think you could help me?" I shot up, a smile growing more and more by the second.

"I don't know...I'm not the best to ask..." Her gaze fell towards the floor as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Nonsense!" I bounced up, filled with enthusiasm. "Do you happen to know a girl with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and can sing?"

She fell silent before replying with, "Kyone Rin?" The girl was confused, so much so that question marks could fly across her head.

"You know her?!"

"Yeah, she is so nice! Rin was just heading to class early. She tends to be late all the time since this is her first time being in a public school." Ohhh, that must be why I couldn't find her.

My face lit up with excitement. I'd finally meet this mystery girl, or as I've just found out, Rin.

Here I come, Kyone-Chan.

~•~•~

~Rin~

As I was sitting in my seat getting ready for class, I heard a voice cheer, "Rin~!"

I turned my head in an instant, like a dog seeing a squirrel. I felt the wind drift through my short blonde locks as it cooled my scalp.

"Someone wants to see you!" Miki cooed, as she motioned towards the girl I bumped into a few days ago. Hatsune Miku? She wants to see me?

Of course, I was sitting in my desk, and all the girls that were shrouded in front of me grew silent. The atmosphere between them was now a little mixed, some were desperate to impress, while others were glaring daggers.

"Kyone-Chan...I've been looking for you," the tealette beamed with delight.

She was tall. Not too much, but she was a lot taller than me. I was still under 5 feet, so anyone at least 4 inches taller than me can seem like a giant in my eyes.

Her hair was long and silky. It really made me wonder how she'd brush her hair. It'd be very tedious. And it seemed that she wears makeup. Not too much, but the typical light lipstick and mascara. She was very pretty.

Then it hit me. She was looking for me? Why would she need to see me? I'm a boring girl who's only been in public school for a couple of days. Why me?

"Do you think you could meet me after school? That song you were singing earlier...it was incredible! You are so cute! And your voice is perfect! So much devotion into a simple tune! You're a great fit for Vocaloid!"

Huh? Wait, what? Have the gods put me into some sort of trance? Is this real? Me, Kyone Rin, in Vocaloid...what?

My face felt stiff. I couldn't move. Heck, I didn't even know what to say. I'm just now getting adjusted to talking to people. Now I'm expected to sing for them? I love music with all of my heart, but I don't know...is this for me?

"Hey, are you alright?" Miku asked with a face full of concern. I nodded, visibly scared.

"I-I'm not used to this, that's all. I'm new to this whole school thing. I don't know if this is a good idea. Music is my life and..." I trailed off with a loss for words.

"I think you should give it a shot." A voice called out to me that wasn't Miki or Miku. I turned north, east, south and west to see that Kagamine Len himself was looking at me. I felt the glares of his fan girls on my skin, which gave me goosebumps larger than a whale.

He smiled a genuine smile, one I hadn't seen from him. This boy always seemed to put on a fake act for his fans, but that's what I assumed. What I thought was a dirty player was probably a genuine guy. I don't know, I can be wrong sometimes. He may be a pervert for all I know.

"If you're really passionate about singing, and if Miku sees something in you, Vocaloid might be for you." His body that once faced the wall shifted to face me.

"That's right! I see true potential in you! I know that somewhere deep down inside that little body of yours is a burning passion shining bright. I want to see you be a star. So, what do you say?" Miku smiled with anticipation.

I sat silently before replying with, "Where do you want me to meet you at?"

Miku squealed while jumping around the room. Her energy levels were off the charts. How does she keep that up? Following a schedule is hard work.

"3rd floor, take a right once you leave the stairs, and it's the fourth room to the right." She said with a regained posture.

"Oh, I need to get to my class. Bye, Rin-Chan~! If you get lost, have Len help you!" She bolted as she waved.

As Miki clasped her hands, she gave me a smile that said everything. From her being proud to words of encouragement. She turned with the same grin on her face.

I glanced to the front of the room only to find Len still looking at me with a blank expression. His gaze stayed on my ocean eyes for a couple of seconds before he gave a smirk and said "See you after school."

With that, the bell rang, and the angry girls as mad as cats in water retreated to their own desks.

~•~•~

It's a good thing Rinto let me stay after school. I guess I was lucky that he wanted to stay after school as well...I wonder why. Did he want to do an activity? After school tutoring? Did he lie so I can stay? It could be anything.

I climbed the main flight of stairs in the building. With each step, I became more and more exhausted. Climbing these things is like a workout. I feel fortunate that the freshman classrooms are on the first floor.

Mentally, I followed Miku's directions. "3rd floor, take a right, 4th room on the right. 3rd floor, take a right, 4th room on the right. 3rd floor...take a...right...4th room on the...right?" I thought to myself to try to keep up and remember her directions, but it is just slowly fading more and more. I can't even remember what floor I'm on.

I continued to wonder through the empty halls. The echoes of my feet were the only thing that could be heard besides my incoherent mumbling. I figured chanting to myself would be better than thinking, but the words got lost once more. I sighed to myself while shaking my head.

Is this really worth it? Is the universe giving me a sign? If I can't even find this room how am I going to do anything else right. The decision was in the heat of the moment too...ugh, should I go back?

"Are you looking for our room? You're on the second floor y'know." A voice chuckled, seemingly taunting me and my incapability of finding things, especially locations. I turned to see the one, the only, Len.

Is he spying on me? Why is he here? Was he trying to find me? How did he know I'd be here? I bet he was creeping on me! I bet it!

I froze in my place without any words. While part of my brain was thinking about why this is happening, the other part was going crazy.

What do I say? What do I do? Do I look like an idiot? This is probably the most popular freshman...what am I doing?!

"H-Hey! Were you following me?!" I hollered as I was fuming with anger. As soon as those words escaped my lips, I instantly regretted it. Yelling was my first instinct. The only guy I talk to nowadays is my own brother. How am I supposed to react to some...pretty boy?

"Oh, no no! That wasn't my intent..." he paused as his eyes shifted to the floor, then back to me. "I'm sorry. This school is a pretty big place. I knew you'd probably be lost and I couldn't help but hear you mumbling. Miku did tell you that if you need guidance, I'm here, so I kinda assumed you would need it. Of course, I can see it was wrong of me to do that. You seem kinda mad at me." Len claimed with a frown plastered on his face.

Ugh, now I just feel bad. Seriously, I had no idea a person could be this patient. The first thing I do is yell and he just...why does he do that?!

"No, it's my fault!" I yelled out of the blue, surprising Len and myself. His eyes opened wider than the mouth of a kid eating a popsicle. "I'm sorry. I guess I acted instead of thinking. I didn't mean to behave like that. In all reality, I'm not the best at talking. So, I'm sorry I came across that way. It's just that I..." As I looked up at Len's gaze, the words stopped flowing.

I couldn't help but notice his facial features. His face looked round and soft like a cuddly teddy bear. And his cheeks resembled a chipmunk in the winter. His honey like hair was an absolute mess, though in a good way. It didn't look like he just stumbled out of bed with it. His hair looked like it was carefully styled in a way that looked casual, but not too try-hard. And his eyes...they look like-

"Hey, are you alright? You do need help, right?" He spoke abruptly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Y-Yeah...I do. Am I causing you any trouble?"

"No, not at all! Vocaloid meets up every Tuesday and Thursday, so I was heading there. I just happened to stumble upon you." He claimed, showing me a happy smile.

I smiled back, but it felt very new to me. It wasn't the typical smile. It was something more...real than before. More soft and less forced. The smile had spread across my face and it was a perfect fit, almost like jam being smothered on toast. The smile was also warm, like rolls fresh from the oven, like the breeze on a hot summer day, like a fireplace on Christmas Day...it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold.

He motioned for me to follow him before saying, "So, aren't you excited? This has got to be nerve wracking since you're a freshman. Normally we don't make it, but here we are defying odds!" Len cheered with lots of enthusiasm pumping all the way to his face.

"Actually, I'm very nervous...I normally don't sing in front of people, so all of this—it's very new to say the least." I replied with honesty, taking my eyes towards the floor.

As we were approaching the stairs, he put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up. He had a very blank expression before turning it into a reassuring smile. It said a lot of things, like "You got this!" and "You can do it!" But the words that came out of his mouth weren't what I expected.

"Hey, I know this can be stressful. I understand. I'm sure that you have your doubts but I know that you can overcome that. I'm not saying that you need to force any negativity away, cause that could take quite the toll on you. You just need to find that happy medium. Between being nervous and excited, maybe it's better to be neither. What I'm trying to say is...I believe in you." Len said with sternness in his eyes and gentleness in his smile.

What he had said was much more heartfelt than I would've expected from someone like him. A popular boy that all the girls like...I never I expected this. Now I just feel bad. He's so much more real and I've just put him in this terrible character that he isn't. Of course, this could be a persona because it seems too nice, but I feel awful for—as cliche as it sounds—judging a book by its cover.

"Let's go. I bet you're gonna love it!" He cheered as he pumped his fist in the air. I nodded in agreement, my lips tugging into a grin. We both walked down the silent, empty hall, filling it with laughter, opportunities, and a hopeful future.