Valentine's Day had come and gone so quickly. For many, the day was over with, in a blink of an eye. For others such as Milly Ashford, it was a fun day to share with her friends and peers. However, whenever she was alone, she well, felt alone and sad. Her parents had arranged for her to finally meet her fiancee but she blew them off because she had too much going on at school to make time for him. They weren't too happy about that and didn't mind hanging the blonde's inheritance over her head in case she got any ideas in trying to call off the engagement with a man she'd never met and knew nothing about. Only his name. Tamaki Aidou. Milly's parents were always stressing her out over her engagement, their way of trying to control her life on top of making up for their mistakes that have sullied the family name. She wasn't sure why that was her job to do and for once, she just wanted her parents to treat her like a daughter and not an asset. That was apparently asking too much.

To get away from it all, Milly had to get out and clear her head. It was still pretty cold out so that meant she also had to dress warmly. The snow wouldn't melt for another six weeks. So she came to the park for a little r&r. She couldn't complain but she didn't want to be stuck home with a cold either. It'd only give her parents an excuse to do nothing but discuss her engagement and mating arrangement with Tamaki. Besides, she had too many things planned on her long list of tasks to do for the Kaibara Student Government. Since Valentine's Day was out of the way, that meant she had to make plans for White Day which would be next month. She wasn't sure if she should do a White Day Dance but make it a spring theme or separate them. There was also St. Patrick Day too. So many events rolling around. All of it she was using as an excuse to spend less time around her parents which she knew that they knew it's what she was doing. They weren't oblivious to everything except her occasionally contacting her sister. Milly couldn't help but feel so tired of everything around her. The stress of school, student government, being engaged, all of it.

She would talk to Shirley about it but she didn't want her friend going into a rage about how her parents were given that her own relationship with her father was similar to their treatment of Milly. She knew Shirley meant well but it wouldn't make the blonde feel any better speaking ill of her parents. They were terrible people. She knew that. She didn't want to be reminded of it. As much as the idea of avoiding everything and everyone sounded nice, Milly knew she couldn't do it. She'd go nuts if she did that. Plus, she was close friends with everyone on the student government and she knew those guys wouldn't allow her to shut herself away. They were the only reason she stayed sane every day and not bursting into tears. She'd done enough crying anyway. Whether her parents liked the idea of her continuing on with schooling by attending university and putting off marrying her fiancee until she was finished, she was going to figure out a way to get out of the engagement. Milly couldn't say whether or not Tamaki was a bad guy but she felt it unfair to be with someone she didn't love just because they were "arranged" to be married and mated to one another. Milly had a couple of career goals in mind and when she completed her major, she was going to go for it to get away from under her parents' grasp.

Sighing, she placed her hands behind her back while walking down the sidewalk path of Ueno Park. It was pretty quiet out today except for the occasional scattered people sitting on benches spread apart from one another. Milly always came here to sit and do some heavy thinking. She kept walking for a few moments longer until she decided to finally stop and sit down at an empty bench that was placed underneath one of the park trees. Leaning her head back, she looked up at the clear blue sky, sunny despite the temperature, her thoughts began wandering. 'Why? Why can't my parents just fix their own mistakes instead of using me to do it? I hate this. I don't want to marry someone I can never love. I don't ... want their relationship, their life. I just ... don't ...'

Lowering her head, she raised a hand to massage her temples, feeling a small headache coming on. She wanted to do something to uplift her mood but she wasn't sure what. As energetic as she always is regularly and not minding paling around with her friends, Milly didn't feel it would be right to burden them with her problems. It's not as if many weren't familiar with them already. People can only listen for so long until they start to grow tired of doing so. Steady massaging her temples, her gaze shifted about the park, quietly people-watching as her thoughts continued to wander. So much so that she hadn't realized that someone had casually approached her, that is until they'd spoken. Hearing this, she lowered her hand from her head to turn it in the direction in which said person was speaking to her had come from. Her eyes had come upon a young male wearing a black hoodie. Based on what he'd said, it'd seem she'd made her feelings known without saying anything, making her lips form into a weary smile as he'd asked if she'd like company. "Ohaio," she greeted the young man kindly. "I don't mind the company. You're sweet to be concerned. I apologize in advance if I'll be taking time out of your day to join me." She wasn't pushing him away. Far from it. Considering she didn't know the young man, she couldn't be certain if he was just passing through the park on his way somewhere else. Milly thought it appropriate to apologize ahead of time just in case he was but he as a kind citizen took time to stop and sit with her.

"Oh? So you don't do anything for fun? I might have to fix that," Milly laughed jokingly as she gave the young man a light pat on the shoulder who'd joined her on the bench. "I'm teasing, don't worry. But I will say you should do something fun sometimes. It beats wandering life bored constantly." It was a bit of friendly advice from the blonde, even if she was being her usual playful self. She was mindful that not everyone was used to being around extroverted individuals and it was a bit of a vibe she'd gotten from the young man. To break the ice, she thought it better to get acquainted with him. "I appreciate the offer to vent but it works better to introduce yourself to someone when you meet them before doing so." Offering her hand out to the young man to shake it, her smile widened. "Atashi was Ashford Milly desu," she introduced herself to him.

"Focusing on school is a must and it's good you have that." Milly always thought it was important for one to focus on school. It was better to have that drive than allowing someone to take it from him. She wished she could say the same for herself. She had the drive to focus on school but it was her parents trying to take that from her to focus on using her as nothing more than a tool to fix their mistakes. That was too depressing to talk about and not something she wanted to dump onto a stranger she'd just met. It just didn't feel right. At the very least, he did admit to wanting a social life on top of being interested in building things which prompted the blonde to respond honestly to it. Even when she introduced herself to him, he seemed hesitant in taking her hand but still shook it nonetheless. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Zael-san. I think I'll wait to get to know you more before I start casually addressing you by nicknames or your first name," she told him. She was just being respectful as a native to Japan, which was common to use formalities but it took foreigners a little longer to become familiar with the concept. "So you like building things? How interesting. Such a hobby varies in terms of profession but if you put your mind to it, that could be something to consider as a university major. Haha, I don't know if you're in college or not. Apologies if I'm wrong but I'm only offering suggestions based on the bit you gave me. You are free to take them to heart if you want. I just like helping people and seeing them work toward something they like doing over something they feel they have to do."

"Ah, apologies. I tend to forget that not all foreigners catch on to using honorifics due to not being native to Japan. If you want, you can call me by my name if you'd like. I don't have a problem with it. It'll take a bit for me until I get to know you a little more but I don't think it'll be that long. Before you know it, I'll be addressing you by your first name," Milly said, laughing. She didn't mind either way. It was usually the other way around for foreigners being uncomfortable addressing Japanese by their first names due to being familiar with it be informal to do so. Milly herself was just being respectful until they both got comfortable with one another. Karter did confirm what she'd assumed that he was a university student yet she was curious as to which school he attended. Japan had so many universities, many of them difficult to get into because they required you to score at your best in the entrance exams and remain that way throughout your admission into the school. Grades and GPA had to stay high and the only exception to failing would be recommending another university that better fits that person's average GPA.

At least Karter was striving for something and putting in the effort for it. With the major he'd told Milly he was studying, the desire to want a social life was also a big part of it. Can't work a job while hardly having or being familiar with the idea of what it's like to be social with others. "I agree with what you say and given how things turn out for a lot of people, that does make it hard sometimes to view life through an optimistic lens. But sometimes, you just gotta try anyway," she smiled, laughing some more. "Anyway, what university do you attend? I'm a student at Kaibara where I'm also the student body president as well. If you're pretty new to town which is sounds like you are, then you may not be familiar with all the assortment of things I like to do to make sure everyone at Kaibara feels welcome and accepted around one another. The idea of making others feel less than that is something I will not tolerate."

Milly nodded in agreement to Karter's words. "Hai, that you do. It helps when you not only spread that warm and optimistic side of yourself to others, it does more when they give it in return. It's not fun to be down in the dumps all the time. I should know. Many consider myself privileged because of my family background but it's anything but. Not when I'm the one being used as a tool to fix the mistakes they made," she said, leaning back against the bench with a sigh. She made herself more comfortable by propping one arm on the top part of the bench while turning her body partially to fully give Karter her undivided attention. She found it inappropriate to not face someone entirely when talking to them. How else were people going to get to know one another if they didn't face each other? As for Karter, it didn't come too much as a shock to Milly that he was a student at Kaibara. It was either there or another university. The more prestigious ones were difficult to get into. Kaibara was more that university that was in-between. But the blonde found it nice to meet another fellow Kaibara peer at the park even if it was their first time meeting one another.

"Hai, I'm the student body president. Pretty well known for it but only because again, I'm striving for equality whereas many are against it due to their upbringing. That can't be helped but there isn't anything wrong with presenting another ideal to them. Whether or not they accept it is their choice. As long as that choice doesn't involve violence, I will be happy." It was one of many reasons why a lot of students were punished now in schools whenever they attempted to invoke harm on someone based on their secondary gender that they can't help but presenting as. She wanted to ensure everyone's safety at the school and if it meant she had to use her family's resources to do that, then why not? At least it's going towards a good cause. Though she knew her parents didn't approve much of it but left her to her own devices as long as she didn't attempt to break off her engagement. Milly couldn't help but be curious about Karter's situation in what brought him to Japan but she didn't want to be rude and pry too fast. She was aware that some are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing too much about themselves when they meet someone. "Well, you got in and that's what matters most. Now it's a matter of working hard to keep those grades and GPA up. Yeah, Japan's not shy in shaming you for your bad test scores by putting them on display. Be mindful of that," she said with a small laugh.

Milly only shrugged at Karter's words, feeling between wanting to talk about it and keeping it to herself. She'd talked about it so much that she didn't know what more she could say. But she wasn't sitting around just waiting to be married off to someone she'd never met and didn't love. No, to get herself from under her parent's thumbs, she was working hard at Kaibara to hopefully land herself a job where she'd be able to take care of herself without their help. The moment that happens, well, she couldn't care less about being disowned. At least she'd be free to live her life the way she wanted and maybe someday see her sister again. "It's difficult to talk about when so many people are already aware of my situation. Many make it seem like it's so easy. In some ways, it may be to just tell my parents no that I don't want to do what they tell me or using me for but that's the only easy part. People tend to forget that once you're disowned with no way of taking care of yourself, you're pretty much struggling to make ends meet. I don't want to give my parents that satisfaction. So, it may take me longer to get out of the situation I'm in but at least I'm thinking strategically on how to go about doing so instead of irrationally acting like a child about it."

Anyone could blow up and tell their family "No". Just because it's easy to say no, just because it feels good to say no, doesn't mean it feels good to be left into a hole either. Milly wanted to have a backup plan for when her parents think they can make her regret her decision, she could prove them wrong. There will always be that fear of losing them but sometimes toxic family members had to be let go in order for one to live their lives. It's why Milly was trying to remain optimistic about everything. True there will be days where she feels less than stellar but that's normal. It's sort of similar to how freak out about their test results coming back terrible and they'll be ashamed of how others will judge them for it. In their society, grades did matter a lot in both not only if the hard work students put into their studies will land them the jobs they desire but also popularity as well. Most cared about one over the other while many cared about both. It depends on who you talk to these days. The blonde was glad that Karter didn't seem so worried about Japan's customs being different from his own so that's a step in the right direction. It'd made her smile. "That's good then. It's best to keep your spirits up and just focus on what you're striving towards. People will judge no matter what we say or do in this day and age. Let them and do you," she said, giving the young man a thumbs up.

(OOC: You're fine. I've been quite busy myself with working so haven't had much time to be online. No worries. ^^ I hope you're feeling better.)

Milly couldn't help but smile at Karter's offer to help her out in case she ended up basically left to fend for herself if she ever stood up to her parents and told them that she wasn't interested in marrying someone she'd never met before she to repair their mistakes. It was an appreciated offer despite the fact that the two of them had just met. She didn't have a problem with that that and it also felt nice to not be judged based on what little she'd given away about her situation. There were a lot who knew her that were heavily opinionated on her situation. Many believing the easy way out was to tell her parents off and just move out and again, it sounds simple but in reality it wasn't. Other than friends, she had no one she could turn to and she hadn't wanted to burden her grandfather as she was sure her parents would find some way to convince him to not take her in if they were to kick her out for calling off the engagement she was technically trapped in.

She wanted that feel of freedom and until she got herself where she wanted to be where she wasn't stranded with no where to live and no line of work to support herself, she was stuck. For now. Having friends who were willing to at least listen for a bit or even let her crash awhile at their home was more than enough. But Milly didn't want to overstep her bounds and do that often. "You're sweet and I do appreciate the offer, Zael-san," she replied, her smile remaining. "I'm not hard to find on campus. The student government room is where I'll be always until I eventually graduate from Kaibara. And I want to make a difference while I'm there too. So far, it's been working but still a long way to go in pulling everyone together to treat each other as equals," she laughed a bit. Leaning back against the bench, she propped her elbows on the head of it, her attention still focused on Karter. "Who knows? I may take you up on your offer someday if it'll always be on the table. Sometimes, a breather is needed."