1 Chapter 1

Ayaka

I always believed love to be a wonderful thing. A gateway to emotions and experiences one would never have been able to experience alone. Something that I had only recently discovered, yet I found myself loving every moment of it.

"See you tomorrow, Teruo-Kun!" Giving a wave to the taller boy who stood with his friends, I then turned around and made my way home, humming happily as I walked. Teruo Kaori was my senpai by one year, whom I had met shortly after my first-year entrance ceremony. After talking for some time, I found myself slowly enjoying his company more and more, and he, fortunately, felt the same way. After confessing to me one day after school, I had accepted his feelings, and the two of us are now happily going out with each other!

"Yamamoto-Chan!" Turning to see my best friend of several years, Mayako Fujiwara, I gave her a happy wave as she came to a stop right beside me.

"Are you heading home as well?" I asked her while she gave me a nod in response.

"I saw you were walking alone, so I decided to come over. Is Kaori-Kun not walking home with you?" Mayako asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she spoke. While we did usually walk home together, there were some occasions where his friends would pull him away to go hang out. While I found myself getting a little lonely on those days, I understood that he needed time to spend with his friends, so I never saw it as an issue.

"He said his friends wanted to go to the batting cages after school. That sort of stuff isn't my thing, and besides, he should spend time with his friends as well." Mayako seemed to stare me down as if trying to see whether I truly believed that or if I was saying words. After a few moments passed, Mayako eventually sighed before turning back to face in front of her.

"I will always trust your judgment over mine, so if you ever feel as though something's gone wrong, just let me know. Alright?" Mayako glanced over, the silent message she was conveying through her eyes becoming abundantly clear. We had known each other for years, so our friendship was as deep as one could be.

"Yeah!" I replied, a smile on my face as I nodded in response. Visibly relaxing, Mayako then brought up the slowly transitioning weather from fall to winter as we continued walking towards the direction of our homes. While on a different route, we had done this many times over, yet I still found myself having fun every time we did walk home together. Upon reaching the familiar intersection where we parted ways, I said my goodbyes to Mayako before heading home, knowing I had various chores to do before I could relax.

"I'm home!" Stating my arrival as I entered the house, I could hear footsteps as my mother appeared in the doorway.

"Welcome home, Ayaka! Sorry to ask you for this right away, but could you run an errand for me? I need a few groceries for dinner, but I have to finish up some work." Since it was just my mom and me at home, she had to take on working while still making sure she could greet me when I got home from school. That being said, I put in my best effort to help whenever possible.

"Sure! I'll get changed, then head out right away!" Doing just that, I quickly got changed out of my school uniform and into more casual clothes before leaving the house and heading towards the supermarket located closer to the city. While there were closer options, I wouldn't have to make several trips if I went to the larger market that was only slightly farther away. I wouldn't have minded going right after school, but then again, it felt nice to change out of my uniform.

"Soft tofu, milk, sugar, and almonds." Reading out the contents of the list that my mom had texted to me, it was clear that she planned on making almond tofu, which was one of our favorite dishes and had been introduced to us by my dad. While I don't have many memories of him as he passed away while I was at a young age, my mom insists that he lives on through the dishes he loved the most. It was something I still had yet to grasp, but I hope to one day understood what she meant by that.

Eventually reaching the store, I entered before making my way around the interior, picking up the ingredients I was looking for when I was them. After getting most of the ingredients, I made my way towards the dairy section to grab a milk carton before seeing a familiar face standing in the same aisle.

"Teruo-Kun, what brings you here? Did you finish the batting cages already?" I asked as I made my way over. There was a genuine look of surprise as he turned to look at me, though that was probably because he wasn't expecting to run into me. I was finding it a bit odd to see him here as well.

"Oh, yeah. We were stopping by to get some stuff. The other guys are picking out snacks," Teruo stated. While he spoke in his usual tone, his eyes were looking at anywhere but mine. While it felt rather odd, I didn't overthink it.

"Anyways, my friends should be finishing up their shopping right about now, so I should probably make my way over towards them." Before I even had a chance to answer, Teruo turned around and began to walk away. I couldn't help but feel like something was off. Was he avoiding me?

"Teruo-Kun, is something wrong?" I asked, walking briskly to catch up to him. Reaching out and gently grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt, I watched as he slowly turned around before feeling a knot beginning to form in my stomach. There was a look in his eyes that I had never seen before, one filled with anger and annoyance. Watching as his mouth began to open, I was positive I was about to hear a side of him that I had never heard before as well.

"There you are, Teruo!" A girl's voice which I didn't recognize. Looking over to see a girl slightly taller than me while wearing a uniform from a different school, she seemed to take note of me holding onto Teruo as the smile slowly disappeared from her face. "Who is this, Teruo?"

"I'm his-"

"Beats me." Huh? I slowly felt my grip on his sleeve going limp as Teruo completely turned his back on me to look at the other girl. What did he mean by that? Who was this girl, and why was he ignoring me?

"Wait, Teru-"

"Could you not call me by my first name? I thought I told you we were done months ago. Let's go, Chiyo-Chan. She's just some crazy stalker ex who can't let go of the past." Being flashed one more look of disgust by the girl, I watched as the two walked towards the store's exit. I couldn't do anything but stand still, trying my best to process what had just happened without losing my composure. Eventually, coming to my senses, I realized that the other people around me were murmuring to each other, their gazes cast in my direction. Without even thinking, I dropped the basket of groceries that I was holding and bolted for the exit.

I barely made it out of the supermarket before the tears began to fall freely, leaving a slight sting after falling from my eyes. What was happening? Was Teruo leading me on this entire time, seeing another girl behind my back? Did all those romantic memories we shared in the brief period all for show? Was this just another part of the process for him?

Furiously rubbing away at my tears as I ran down the sidewalk as fast as I could, I wanted nothing more than to go back home and crawl up in my bed for the rest of my life. Heartbroken couldn't even describe the emotion I felt since there were far too many. Anger. Confusion. Sadness. Embarrassment. Regret. They kept piling on top of each other one by one.

As I continued running, I suddenly lost my footing, and I found the ground quickly approaching as neither of my feet was in contact with the environment. Shutting my eyes, I prepared to land on the hard pavement before feeling myself land in a pair of soft yet sturdy arms. A sweet scent of lavender filled my nose, immediately helping my mind relax to some degree. Slowly cracking my eyes open before looking up, I found myself staring at yet another face that I didn't recognize. Pale blond hair and icy blue eyes. Unique features that wouldn't be leaving my mind anytime soon.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked, mild concern in her voice. Feeling the heat rising to my face out of embarrassment for running into her, I mumbled an apology which I'm sure she couldn't hear, before getting up and continuing to run off. I didn't stop running until I reached my house, immediately making a beeline towards my bedroom, where I sailed into my bed. Hiding under the safety of my covers, I let the tears flow freely as I listened to my mom's soft and gentle footsteps slowly walk up the stairs.

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