- First Love -

I let out a small moan of comfort that woke me up. My eyes were still closed when my nose smelled something just exquisite. 'I know this smell.' I sniffed it again and the scent sent my eyes open.

"Good morning." I was welcomed by Kei's face only an inch away from mine. "Were you smelling me again?" He chuckled.

I felt my face burning, not just because of his words but also for the position I was in. I was enveloped in Kei's arms, our legs entangled in each other, and my hands on his firm chest.

"Good morning." I uttered shyly which made Kei grin.

"So, what do you want to eat for breakfast?" He asked as he pushed a lock of hair behind my ear.

"I don't know." I stared at his bewitching green eyes. I really wished he would stop using those dark contact lenses.

"Ok, I'll think of something then." Kei started to slowly pull his arm from under me. He got out of bed, and I immediately missed the heavenly warmth of his body. When he was by the door, he turned to me and smiled. "Call me if you need anything." I nodded and returned his smile.

I took a deep breath. My brain needed a moment to soak in the fact that I had spent the night in my boyfriend's arms. My smile grew and almost split my face in two. After a few minutes of daydreaming, I felt an urgent need to empty my bladder. I carefully sit and stood up. It took me about four minutes to walk to the bathroom. After I used it, I washed my hands and that was when I caught my reflection in the mirror.

"Oh my God." The words escaped my mouth. I looked horrible. I had two large band-aids on each side of my face, my right eye was black and swollen, and I had so many cuts on my face and neck. 'I must have scared Kei earlier.' "Damn."

"Sam?" Kei called me from the hallway.

"I'm here." I walked out of the bathroom and found Kei standing by my door, he was holding a tray of food. He put it in my room and rushed back to me.

"I told you to call me, Sam."

"Well, I just needed to use the bathroom." I responded without looking at him.

We walked back to my bed and Kei helped me sit up. He put the tray on my lap. It was so sweet of him. He made sausage, scrambled eggs, and he had some fruit cut. He also had some pineapple bread and a glass of orange juice. 'Did he just go to FamilyMart to buy that bread?'My heart leaped at his effort.

"Thank you, Kei." I whispered. For some reason I was feeling really shy.

"No problem. Enjoy."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not really hungry." I barely took the first piece of fruit when Kei's phone rang. "Yes?" He answered. "Anything new?" Kei asked the person on the phone as he left my room.

I ate the delicious breakfast my boyfriend had made for me. I didn't known he was a good cook. I was drinking some juice when Kei came back.

"Is everything alright?" His serious face made me a little worried.

"Yeah, it's all good. By the way you need to take your medicine." He took a small bag from my desk and pulled two pills out of it. "Here." I swallowed the medicine as Kei sat by my side.

"So, I take it you're not going to school today, Mr Ichihara." Kei smiled.

"Of course not. I am supposed to take care of you, remember?" I stared at Kei's green pools and smiled. He was so cute. I tried to focus on his eyes, but I started feeling really drowsy.

"You are doing a fantastic job..." That was the last thing I remembered before falling asleep.

I woke up to a crashing noise downstairs. I looked at my clock and was surprised that I had slept for almost seven hours. I slowly got out of bed and started walking down the stairs. I descended one step at a time.

"Kei?" I called and when I didn't get any answer, I started panicking a little. I wanted to go faster but any sudden movement would result in a killing pain in my ribs.

I finally reached the dining room where Kei was sitting. He had his back to me so I couldn't see what he was doing. I walked closer only to find bloody tissues all over the table along with band-aids, cotton, and some solution. As I took a step closer, I saw Kei's face.

"Oh my God, Kei. What happened?"

"Nothing." His face was covered with wounds, he had a bloody nose, and his knuckles were bleeding.

"What do you mean nothing? Look at you. Did you get into a fight?" I reached to touch his face but he moved back.

"I'm fine." How could he say that? He was in such a bad shape. My hand moved again to Kei's face, and this time he let me caress him.

"Let me help you." I took some cotton and soaked it in solution, then, I started cleaning his wounds. He grimaced and groaned but he never cringed from my touch.

"Care to tell me what the hell happened to you?" I asked after I put the last band-aid on his left eyebrow.

"I just had to take care of some business. You should have seen the other guy." Kei tried to be comical, but I didn't laugh. "So, I'm ordering pizza for dinner, I'm starving." He walked away from the table and started calling on his phone. I didn't push the matter and just gave up seeking an answer to my questions.

I ate so much, my stomach was ready to burst. Kei hadn't said a word during dinner. He just had a serious look in his eyes. After finishing, I got up and picked up my plate. Kei finally laid eyes on me.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm taking my plate to the kitchen."

"Leave it, I will take care of it." He pushed to his feet and took our plates and the empty pizza box to the kitchen. Then he appeared back by my side. "Let me take you upstairs." He took my hand and slowly walked me upstairs. Kei's fingers were freezing.

When we reached my door, Kei tried to let go of my hand but I held on to it. He shot me a curious look.

"Do you..." My voice came out broken and soft. "Do you want to sleep with me..." 'Crap, what am I saying?' I cleared my throat feeling the stinging of my red face. "I mean... next to me tonight... too?" Kei smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I'm just going to change and get ready for bed."

"I totally forgot to give you your phone back." He handed me my pink flip phone. He has had it since our argument in school the day before. "I was so thankful that I had your phone yesterday. Yoko texted you about leaving school together, I told her I had your phone. So when she saw Minako, she called me right away." I took it from him.

"Thanks." I checked it and found a few missed calls and messages from my mom, Amanda, and Yoko. "Wow, I have thirteen messages and eight missed calls." I looked back at Kei who was scratching the back of his head. "I'll reply tomorrow." I said with a grin.

I slipped under the covers and slowly moved so that there was enough room for Kei. He sad down and groaned in pain.

"Are you ok?" I asked worried.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Are you sure you don't have to go the hospital Kei?"

"I'm fine, don't worry. Plus I really hate hospitals." For some reason I remembered Kei's discomfort when he asked my doctor if I had to spend the night in the hospital. He lied by my side and turned to face me. We locked eyes for a moment and then I caressed his wounds.

"We are the perfect couple, look at the state we are both in." We both started to laugh but I felt a pinch in my side so I had to stop. Kei also grimaced in pain, and he stopped too. After a few minutes of silence, Kei turned off the lights. His face was so close to me it was hard to miss the reflection of the street light in his eyes. "Kei, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Do you hate hospitals because of the accident?" I felt his body stiffen next to me and I mentally slapped myself for my rashness. When Kei didn't answer me, I opened my mouth to apologize but his soft voice interrupted me.

"Yes." The word was loaded with heavy emotions that I couldn't determine right away. I wasn't sure whether to ask another question or not. I really wanted to know what Kei had gone through. I wanted to share his pain and help him carry his past, but at the same time I didn't want him to hurt from the memory. "It was really bad." Kei interrupted my thoughts. I glimpsed at his face, and this time I could distinctly see the emotions in his eyes; sorrow, guilt, and agony. I felt my heart squeeze.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It was my punishment for what I had done." Kei uttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What do you mean?" He hesitated.

"I killed someone." His voice broke. His eyes were sparkling with diamond-like tears threatening to break free. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know what to say.

"I still have nightmares about the accident... It was such a gloomy day that it is hard to forget it. It was just me and my cousin Tanaka at home. Dad was at work and mom was with Jiro at one of his baseball games. I had had a rough week with some guys from school bullying me, so I was feeling really down. Tanaka was trying to cheer me up. He suggested that we went for a ride on his bike. He said: 'the wind always wipes away our worries'. So, we did. We rode for an hour or an hour and a half. By the time we made it to the ocean, I had already forgotten about the jerks from school. It was windy and the waves were really high... The ocean looked angry." Kei stopped talking and just stared into empty space.

"Tanaka and I just sat on the cold sand and soaked in all the power of nature displayed in front of us. Oddly, the chaotic waves calmed me down and I felt really at peace. After a while, Tanaka asked me if I wanted to go back and I agreed. As we put our helmets on, my cousin grinned at me and asked me if I wanted to try driving his bike." Kei swallowed hard. I took his hand and brought it to my lips.

"I was so happy, Tanaka taught me what I needed to know, and I did pretty good. Then he asked me if I wanted to drive home. I was confident enough to say yes. It was so smooth at first, Tanaka was giving me instructions and I followed them. But suddenly..." Kei's hand trembled against my cheek. "It started raining. It wasn't pouring or anything, just sprinkling. So I thought I could do it. I didn't stop... I should have stopped, but I didn't. I kept going. But then..." Kei closed his eyes violently. My heart sank at his agony. "There was a turn..." He kept his eyes shut.

"I was going too fast and I... I lost control of the motorcycle. I... remember Tanaka's voice calling my name. He tried to turn but it was too late. Everything happened so fast. We slid... the bike rolled... there was a truck." Kei opened his eyes and his tears couldn't be contained anymore.

"Oh, Kei." I took him in my arms and squeezed him ignoring the pain coming from my side. He started crying on my shoulder.

"He died instantly, the doctor said." Kei said with a broken voice.

"Shhh, it's ok now."

"I killed him." He whispered.

"Kei, it was an accident. You didn't kill him." I squeezed him even more trying to fight my own tears letting loose. We stayed like that for a while until Kei calmed down.

"You know, I have never told this story to anyone." He confessed. "For some reason, I just felt the urge to share it with you." We pulled away from each other and I looked at Kei's eyes.

"Thank you for sharing it with me. I want you to share with me your happiness but also your sorrows Kei."

He caressed my face and locked his soft lips with mine. His kiss was so gentle, I wanted it to last forever.

"I love you, Kei."

"I love you more, Sam."