Fortunately, everyone's parents agreed to let them eat out. Free and Lui didn't have to ask their parents for permission as they were eighteen and nineteen and were technically adults. Free was even living on his own.

The group went to an Italian restaurant. It was meant to be a family restaurant, so there was a kid's play area.

"Kirika would love this place," said Shu.

"So would Naru," said Aiger. "She's ten now."

However, several people spotted the actors and gasped in surprise. It seemed that nothing gave them more pleasure than to see the actors in person.

"It's Valt Aoi! Look! There he is!"

"Is that Free De La Hoya? He's even hotter in real life than on screen."

"Look, that's Shu Kurenai! He's so cute!"

"That's Aiger Akabane! I'm going to get his autograph."

"Maybe this was a bad idea," said Rantaro.

"Come on, it's not that bad," said Aiger, though he sounded uncomfortable.

"Not that bad? Not that bad?" asked Lui. "That girl looks like she wants to kidnap us."

"Don't be ridiculous. How could girls possibly kidnap us..." started Aiger.

"I'm going home," Shu suddenly said, and went out of the door.

"Shu, wait!" said Valt.

But Shu ran out of the restaurant and sat down on a bench. He took a couple of deep breaths to prevent himself from throwing up.

"She can't hurt you. She can't hurt you. She can't..."

"Shu?"

Shu turned around to see Rose. "Rose? What are you doing here?"

"My family came here for dinner. I saw you at that talk show. You were great."

"T...t... thanks."

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"I... I... I don't know."

"Shu... It's okay." Rose accidentally brushed her fingers against Shu's, which made him scream.

"S... Sorry," said Shu. "Sometimes... I feel like Seina still has a strong grip on me. Girls were going crazy seeing us, and Aiger and Lui mentioned something about whether they could kidnap us or not. I don't know if I can ever be near a girl without her possibly kidnapping me and using me like Seina did."

"I'm a girl, but you don't seem scared of me."

"Yes, but you're different. I trust you. I know that you will never hurt me the way Seina did."

Rose looked sad. "Shu, I know that Valt is your best friend, but you have always been mine. It hurts me to see you scared. And I know that you're terrified of pursuing love again. But if you keep shielding your heart, you will never be happy."

"Yeah, but I don't think I can ever open my heart again. Not after Seina. Is it silly to have a phobia of girls I don't know?"

"Well, I think that you're just traumatized. You need time to heal. It's going to be fine. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But one way or another, you will find a way to heal."

Shu smiled at Rose. "Thanks. For putting up with me even when I go out of control."

"It's what..." Rose paused for a moment. "Friends do."

"Well, I think that I should rejoin my friends. You can go back to your family. See you soon."

Rose smiled. "Sure," she said. Her smile dropped the moment Shu went back into the restaurant.

Rose groaned. "What's the matter with me? I know he's not into me. He's my friend. Shouldn't it be enough?"

But Rose knew the truth. Her feelings for Shu had grown stronger over the years. But after seeing how badly shaken up Shu was after Seina almost drowned him, she had decided to keep her mouth shut about her feelings for him. And since Shu was very sensitive to touch right now, it would be a bad idea to tell him about her feelings.

"Shu, I love you," said Rose to herself. "Only I can never say so in front of his face. Why is romance so complicated? They make it look so easy in the movies."

~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~📆~

Shu went into the restaurant to find his friends sitting at a table with menus. He went to join them.

"Sorry about earlier," he said. "I kind of freaked out for a moment. But I'm okay now."

"Oh good," said Valt. "We're ordering our drinks now. No alcohol, of course."

"Of course not," said Shu. "My sister would be displeased if I drank alcohol. She says that there would be no alcohol allowed at her wedding."

"What's the theme?" asked Wakiya.

"She wants a fairytale themed wedding," said Shu. "I don't blame her. Fubuki, Akeno and I are going to be groomsmen. Kirika will be a flower girl."

"You must be excited," said Free.

"Not really. Weddings aren't my thing," said Shu. Sora said that Matt is getting his older brother to be his best man."

"Who is Sora's maid of honour?" asked Lui. "I don't think that it would be your Mom."

"Actually..." said Shu. "Sora told me that she had asked Rose to be her maid of honour. And I will have to walk down the aisle with her."

"No way," said Wakiya. "What did Rose say?"

"She said yes. She has always wanted to be part of a wedding party," said Shu. "Valt, don't look at me like that. Rose and I are going to the wedding as friends."

"Yeah. Friends," said Fubuki quietly. He knew the real reason Sora had asked Rose to be her maid of honour.

Sora knew that Shu was much more comfortable with Rose than with a stranger. Maybe a little too comfortable.