Cleo's school clothes were getting wet from the rain. He didn't want to ask Yumi to go through the trouble of drying it for him so he opted to find cover for the time being. He found an overhanging awning in an alleyway between two buildings and decided to wait out the rain there. Shivering slightly, he could only rub his arms for a bit of warmth.
The streets were usually empty and quiet at this time of night. Yet even with the constant downpour of rain creating a loud patter on the pavement, Cleo could distinctly hear someone running toward his area. Curious of who or what it could be, he poked his head out from the side.
His eyes widened with surprise when he saw Ashley running, fully soaked from the rain. Cleo's instinct was to run up to her and help her from whatever she was running from. But he stopped and hid closer behind the building when he noticed Harvey running after her a few meters away.
"Ashley, Please wait a moment.! Please, just stop!" He yelled out loudly, hoping she'd hear him in the loud downpour.
Cleo inched himself backward when Ashley came closer. He heard her stop in front of the building in which he was situated behind. Cleo couldn't help but go back to peek from behind the wall and eavesdrop at what was happening.
She was standing a few feet away facing Harvey, with her head down and strands from her long wet hair covering her face from Harvey's view. Harvey, equally soaked from head to toe, stopped his running and slowed his pace when coming toward her. When he reached her at a considerably close range, he quickly placed his half wet/dry coat over her shoulders.
Harvey saw that Ashley was still slightly shivering and her teeth were chattering together. Without thinking twice, he enveloped her in his embrace in hopes to stop the cold, holding the coat tighter to her body to avoid the rain. She stood perfectly still, unresponsive to his close contact.
"I went to America…" He started, the pouring rain continuously dripping from the top of his head toward his chin and onto to her hair. "…because I wanted to live by myself independently and study something that I could easily succeed in and be praised for."
Ashley raised her head so she could clearly see his face. Harvey couldn't tell if it was the rain or that she was still crying. He continued, choosing to look ahead instead of in her large grey eyes. "But I came back to Philippines to see if I could realize what my dream truly is. And I did. I want to become a doctor and live up to my father's name. I don't want to have to depend on his wealth that I'll inherit in the future. So please…" He placed a chaste kiss atop her forehead. This caused her to close her eyes and try to grind away thoughts of him going further.
"…understand me when I say I want to live a normal life as an ordinary person. Please."
Cleo didn't dare stay to listen to her response. He ran in the opposite direction down the alleyway and left them alone.
The next day at school, Cleo safely placed Ashley's handkerchief in the inside pocket of his school jacket. He planned to return it to her as soon as possible. The previous night he had washed the cloth along with his rain soaked school uniform. What he saw happening between Ashley and Harvey had Cleo thinking throughout the whole night after. He kept wondering what Ashley had said after Harvey had asked her to understand his situation. Of course, Cleo also didn't know the whole story so Harvey request to Ashley came equally mind boggling to him.
During class, Cleo waited impatiently for the indication that it was lunch break. Once the teacher announced it, for the first time ever Cleo was the first one out the door. He walked quickly up the stairs leading to the rooftop and opened the door, expecting to see Ashley there. He was met with silence and no Ashley in sight.
He heard his stomach growl in protest and decided to satiate it's desire and go down to the dining hall to have lunch. He would have to wait to give Ashley the handkerchief later.
Once Ashley had situated himself at the same table he sat with Inu previously, he could only go so far as to say "take something" before Harold, Sean, and Bobby approached him along with a horde of other students behind them. Cleo reckoned they had to increase their group size to keep their intimidation level ever since their plans and egos were ruined at Ishida's party.
"It's unfortunate, isn't it Cleo?" Harold started. "Inu hasn't come to school in a while." Cleo decided to pay attention at the mention of Hanatarou. Like they agreed to, he had avoided contact with Inu at school. He even went as far as to request seat changes in the classroom. Cleo now sat closer to the front while Inu was closer to the back. He could understand how he didn't notice Inu's absence.
"Rumor has it that he left school altogether." Sean added, saying it to Bobby but intentionally directing it to Cleo.
"Yeah, and you still come to school as if nothing happened to him. We know you two are friends. But what kind of friend are you, Cleo?" Bobby questioned. The tone he spoke in gave Cleo an uneasy feeling and something in the back of his mind told him this wasn't right.
Cleo abruptly packed his lunch back up (to the satisfaction of Harold and others) even though his stomach grumbled in disappointment. Without saying a word to the gang in front of him, Cleo left the dining hall to use his lunch break off campus. He had to visit Hanatarou and make sure he was okay.
Inu had previously given Cleo his home address and Cleo was pleased to find it about four blocks away from International School's. Although his home was not as large as Azumi's own abode, the Standford residence was still a grand and luxurious brick mansion.
As difficult as it was to go past the gate, the butler reluctantly let him enter when Inu said Cleo was a friend of his through the intercom speaker.