Teenage Romance - Or More Than That? (PAUSED)

14: Safeplace

Like every Tuesday for months, Lloyd goes to Harumi's after school to study. When he arrives at her house, he hears her parents arguing.

"Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Yuki?" Harumi's mother immediately comes running towards him. "Lloyd! Have you seen Harumi?"
"No, why?" Lloyd's voice turns to concern. "She came home quietly today. That didn't suit her. We asked what was going on, but she just said that everything was okay. We preferred to leave her alone. Now she's gone!"

"Calm down. She probably just needs a break." Lloyd tried to calm her parents down. He succeeded, but only a little. "Please find her. You're the only one who knows where else she might be if she's not with her friends or with you."
"Of course. I'm looking for her."
With that, Lloyd leaves again.

He knew perfectly well that there was only one place she could be. In the forest. There was still their old tree house from their childhood. They built it when they were just 7. Of course their fathers helped them. But the idea came from Lloyd and Harumi. "Does it still exist? It's old and maybe weathered..." Lloyd thought before turning into the forest.

He ran past bushes, rocks and various trees until he reached the tree house. It was old, but still looking pretty good considering the circumstances. It was pretty big. It had 3 rooms: A small hallway with an entrance that had a hanging ladder that didn't quite touch the ground. A large room, which they always called the "living room". And a smaller room with mats and pillows where they often sat and just talked or played.

Lloyd went to the hanging ladder. He wasn't entirely comfortable with it. The ladder was over 10 years old and looked unstable. But since there was no other entrance to the tree house and Lloyd was sure Harumi would be there, he carefully climbed up.

As he stood in the hallway of the tree house, he heard soft crying coming from the room with the pillows. "Rumi?" He slowly walked into the room. She was sitting on an old pillow in the corner, looking out the window and crying.

"Rumi!" Lloyd quickly went to her and hugged her from behind. "Hey... babe, what's up?" He gently kissed the back of her head. She sobbed. "Why?" she whispered. "What 'why'?" Lloyd was confused. He lightly took her shoulders and turned her to face him. She immediately hugged him and cried against his chest.

"Rumi? What did you mean?" She sobbed again. "Why does time go by so fast? I mean we're both almost grown up. We'll finish school in 2 months. After that we'll have to be on our own. We won't see a lot of our friends anymore. And I'm afraid our paths will separate too..." She started crying again, burying her face deeper in his shirt.

"Pshh..." Lloyd ran his hand through her hair. "I will always be by your side. Our paths will never split up. Also, do you remember our plans for the future? They are getting closer and closer. In a few years we will both be in the professional world. We will have money for a house and can start a family. That's what you always wanted. That's what WE always wanted."

"I know... But it's all happening so fast. I don't want to blink once and be walking around with a walker the next moment..." Lloyd chuckled lightly. "Rumi. This is really going to take a VERY long time." His laugh made her smile too. "How does he always manage to make me laugh?"

She let go of him and looked deep into his eyes. He took that as an invitation and leaned forward. Just before their lips met she said, "Do you promise me that you will always be with me? Because I need you..." He smiled. "Promised." In doing so, he closed the gap between them.

After a long and loving kiss, they parted. Only now did Lloyd realize how cold it had gotten. While the days are hot, the nights can get freezing cold. He took his jacket and puts it around her shoulders.

"Your parents... they are very worried about you. I should take you home."
"Please not yet. I want to stay here... Just a little while longer."
"All right." They both sat down on a pillow and cuddled. The two got so caught up in cuddling that they completely forgot the time.

Lloyd opened his eyes as it was getting dark outside. "Oh sh-!" He stood up quickly, causing Harumi to fall over. She woke up right away. "Ouch! Hey, what's up?" She realized what was going on and stood up. Lloyd took her hand and pulled it towards the ladder. He climbed down first to catch Harumi in case the ladder broke.

When they both reached the ground safely, Lloyd took Harumi's hand again and they started running. They wanted to leave the forest before it was pitch black. Although it is summer and days are longer, the forest was not particularly bright even during the day. They left the forest in time.

After a short breather, Lloyd puts his arm around his girlfriend and they slowly walked on. After he went looking for her 4 hours ago, the two returned to Harumi's home. Her parents were eagerly waiting.

"DARLING!" Harumi's mother ran to her, took her from Lloyd's arms and placed her in her own. "I was so worried! What's wrong?"
"It's alright mom. I was just..." she looked at Lloyd. "Confused."

After Lloyd and Harumi warmed up again, Rumi gave him back his jacket so he could make his own way home. After he had reception again, he informed his parents before they got worried too. He said goodbye to Harumi's parents before kissing her goodbye.

When he got home, Lloyd went to his room. He took a shower to warm himself up properly and then decided to go to bed. This day was already exhausting at school. Add to that the whole running thing in the woods.
All in all: He was dead tired.
After about 5 minutes he fell asleep.