Chapter 45: White Day

--one week later--

~June's POV~ "So, what's this 'surprise' you're taking me to?" I giggled happily as Byakuya held my hand and led me to some mystery location.

Today is White Day, and Byakuya told me he wanted to do something nice for me, so he told me he had a surprise for me and here we are, him holding my hand and guiding me as he uses his other hand to cover my eyes to make sure I don't peek.

"Oh," I said before Byakuya got to answer me. "happy White Day, by the way."

Byakuya chuckled. "Yes, happy White Day to you too, June," he said. "And, about the surprise, if I told you where we were going, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?" I felt his finger poke me playfully in the side.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so...," I hummed, then I suddenly felt hot breaths against my ear, and a soft kiss was planted there. I shivered. "What?"

I felt Byakuya smile against my ear as he whispered happily, "We're here."

I smiled back. "Okay! I'm so excited!"

Then I felt Byakuya back away and remove his hand from my face. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." I heard him say.

I did as he said and opened my eyes. I immediately realized where we were, and my eyes widened.

"Byakuya..." I mumbled, because I didn't know what else to say.

Byakuya smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I knew you'd recognize it the second you saw it--the place where you and I met for the very first time." he said.

He was right, and I remember the day we met vividly.

"On bright, sunny day, about ten years ago, I was only in the second grade and was riding my bike along the trail when I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going, and rammed straight into another person riding a bike," Byakuya took my hand in his, and walked me over to the very spot where our bikes had collided. "The impact from the crash sent the other person flying off their bike, so I went to check on them. It was a girl, my age, with the most beautiful red hair and green eyes I had ever seen on a person; I knew her as the quiet and shy girl that always sat at the back of the classroom and never talked to anyone or had any friends. Little did I know the very day I got into a bike crash with her would be the day my life changed forever, because it was the day I met my soul mate."

I blushed bright red.

"My soul mate"... He called me his soul mate...

"The day I met you, June, my life changed and I guess I knew it. I also knew that the second you talked to me, that I was in love with you right then and there; I just didn't pay any attention to the obvious messages my heart was sending me all these years. But I now know for certain that you and I are meant to be and were always meant to be," Byakuya said. "So, June, that's why I brought you here--to show you how much I care about you."

"Byakuya..." I muttered; I was somewhat at a loss for words.

"So, please, take this as a reminder of how we were always meant to be together and how much I care about you," Byakuya then reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace that had a charm in the shape of a bike and handed it to me. "Because, I do care about you and you mean more to me than anything else in the entire fabric of the universe, and I want you to know that."

By now, I was almost in tears. I just stared at the necklace, the beauty of the little bike charm--a symbol of how we met.

I took Byakuya's hands in my own and held him close. "Byakuya Togami... this is the sweetest and undoubtedly the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said or done for me... and I want you to know that you mean as much to me as I do to you--you're my one and only, and I can't live without you. I have been in love with you for too many years to count, and to know that you really care about me that much and feel the same way, makes me the happiest and luckiest girl alive." I said, and I soon felt a single tear escape one of my eyes.

Byakuya smiled down at me, the look in his eyes filled with nothing but love and happiness. "You have no idea how happy that makes me, June--how happy you make me. I have to say that I'm the luckiest guy alive to have you not only as my best friend, but as my amazing and beautiful girlfriend," he said, his hands never leaving mine and his gaze always on me. "I also brought you here for another reason; I've been meaning to tell you something for awhile now... In fact, do you remember the day Kyouko walked in on you and I?"

I turned even redder at the mention of that day, mainly because I remember it exactly. I nodded at Byakuya.

Byakuya cleared his throat. "Well... do you also remember when I said something about the weather?" he asked, and I chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I remember," I giggled. "Well, it was nice weather, wasn't it?"

Byakuya laughed. "Yes, indeed, it was. However, when I asked about the weather, I really meant to say something entirely different."

I frowned. He was going to say something different? What was he going to say?

Byakuya swallowed. "June, you're more amazing and special to me than anything ever, and I can't possibly imagine myself with anyone but you, so I wanted to say something to make that clear to you, but I got nervous at the last second and chickened out; I've regretted it majorly since then, so I figured today was the perfect day to make up for it and finally say it." he said.

I leaned in, giving him all my attention and listening carefully.

"June," Byakuya said, looking deeply into my eyes. "I love you."

And then, everything else seemed to stop and I couldn't help it; the tears suddenly began to flow, and I was suddenly crying.

Byakuya looked concerned, and he put one of his hands on my shoulder. "June? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" he asked.

I smiled at him through my tears. "Because, Byakuya, I've been waiting so long to hear you say that to me like that... and also," I said, trying my best to keep from crying any more. "I love you too."