Was there really no choice?

Vince laid back in his bed. The cast covering on his leg had decreased in size, he had it changed from the traditional type to the one he currently wore. Kira had recommended a doctor to his parents who said that he would be able to fix his leg in a week. He and his parents had been sceptical. An unknown doctor with almost no information online was making impossible promises. In the end, he decided to trust Kira.

From what he understood, they did surgery on his leg and medically glued everything back into place. Now he was just waiting for the glue to settle to help his bone regenerate and connect, the cast he had on made sure everything was properly set in together as the bone healed. He now just had to go to daily checkups and monitor his condition. In a day or two, they would put on a tighter cast and in a week he would be perfectly fine.

The surgery showed immediate results as he felt he could put more strength into his leg right after it. He could even walk around if he wanted to, but it was still recommended that he didn't stress his leg for a few days.

His mood had fallen under after getting the change in date notification for the National taekwondo competition. This competition meant a lot to him. He not only planned on confessing to Kira if he won but it was the deciding factor whether he would continue training in martial arts. After his awful first attempt two years ago he had given up on entering the national team. It was only after meeting Kira did he find the will to try again.

It had always been his dream so finding it again trying for it had been invigorating. So not being able to enter was no different than failing. It meant the end of his first love, he banked on the emotional strength of winning the competition for his confession to succeed. Without it, he knew he would be rejected.

He had already been able to see his future, after having his dream crushed he was going to be coldly dumped. Then be left behind by everyone in the Eternal Battlefield as he missed all of the new practical classes.

It was in this dark time that Kira swooped in like the guardian angel she is and saved him from that bleak future. His greatest boon in life was meeting her. This was why he was trying even harder than ever now.

The television in his room played training videos. Since it was still difficult for him to train physically he would train in his mind. He watched as many spars as he could and imagined himself in the situation. This was something he had gotten used to doing now. It was how he spent his time as he waited for Kira to visit him.

Clink!

The door to his room opened. Vince sat up energised and excited. He threw the banana peel of a banana he had eaten into the bin as he cleared up the area around him. Kira had been visiting him every day since he had been injured. Her visits were the life potions that were keeping him going.

'Wait, isn't it too early? Did she skip school to see me?' Vince thought remembering what time it was.

The person that entered wasn't a girl with red hair and a dazzling body, rather it was a chubby boy with black hair. He held a basket of fruits and a card. He looked in and saw Vince sitting up and looking at him excitedly.

'Is he that excited to see me?' The boy named Dillon gave Vince the basket, "Here, this is from everyone, I came to give it to you and see how you were doing. So how have you been holding up?" Even though he had been forced by his classmates to do this seeing how happy Vince was to see him he decided to put in some effort.

"A lot better now, thanks, can you put them over there," Vince answered, his smile hiding his immense disappointment. He recognised his classmate and didn't really want the perfunctory visit.

Dillon looked to the side and saw quite a few fruit baskets and gifts. It seemed like Vince was having a lot of people visit him. "Wow, who gave you all of this?" Dillon looked at them impressed by how expensive they were.

"They're from Kira," Vince said casually. Kira never liked coming empty-handed so he had been collecting gifts.

"Kira?... Kira Lancer? Why would she visit you?" Dillion asked, he then took out an apple from one of the baskets.

"She feels responsible for my injury. I've told her it was my decision but she was stubborn and still comes to visit me,"

Dillion was annoyed by Vince's words, he was speaking normally but it seemed like he was showing off. He took a bite of an apple as he turned around, "Isn't she the girl you had a crush on and rejected you?" Someone had heard Kira and Vince talking that day so rumours had spread.

"She didn't reject me...- anyways things are finally going well now, I think I have a chance!" Vince raised his hands asking him to throw one to him as well. Dillion picked up another apple and tossed it to Vince.

"Are you sure though? She's the only child of the Lancer family, why would she want anything to do with a pleb like you?" Dillion said as he sat beside Vince taking another bite of the apple.

"If I'm a pleb, you're be nothing." Vince retorted, "She isn't like that. She treats everyone the same and doesn't act all high and mighty. It's not important where our families are from, I like her for who she is not for her money. So why can't she like me back for who I am?"

"So cliche. You shouldn't be so hopeful, she's Alice's best friend, if she finds out what you did to Alice. She would never want to see you again," Dillion said as he took out his phone to a picture of them together.

Vince smiled for the picture and put his arm around Dillion, after taking the picture he asked, "No way, right? I didn't actually do anything big. I just lied a little because I was threatened. I didn't have a choice so why do I have to take responsibility?"

Dillion rolled his eyes, this was why he didn't like Vince. They used to be friends but it degraded their current relationship. Vince's constant denial and responsibility evasion made people who knew him well avoid him like a plague.

Seeing Dillion was silent as he posted the photo. Vince felt nervous, "You know I didn't have a choice. The things that happened after weren't my fault. I was th-"

"I'll be leaving now, I still have to go back to school," Dillon said as he got up. He looked at his photo getting likes, not interested in Vince anymore.

Vince saw Dillion leave, he started contemplating everything. Did Alice tell Kira everything? It made sense why was so cold to him for a while. He decided to clear things up the next time he saw her.

...

Kira walked in. She came at her usual time bringing something with her today as well. This time she came with chocolates.

Vince watched her walking into the room, and fell for her further. He took a deep breath.

"Kira, did Alice tell you about what happened between me and her?" Vince asked directly.

"She did," Kira answered. Noah and Alice avoided telling the full story but they had told her the gist of it and that he wasn't a good person.

"Is that why you were cold to me?"

"Part of the reason."

"Alice told you her part, isn't it fair to hear my part?" Vince asked.

Seeing that Kira nodded. She didn't understand why she needed to be fair but if she could find out the whole story she didn't mind listening. Vince continued.

"Two years ago two of my friends had forgotten to bring money for the school trip, I only had enough to pay for one so I borrowed the rest from Alice. A few days later when I was repaying it outside the school, Polara took a photo of us and edited it. She posted it on the school forum revealing Alice was an orphan and insinuating a lot of bullish*t with it."

"I found out about it the next day when I was going to clear up the mess. Polara threatened that she would remove me as the school's current representative for the taekwondo competition and even go further to expel me. I wanted to ignore her, but her dad has a big say in decisions like these..."

Vince started to hesitate seeing how Kira's reaction hadn't changed throughout his story, "I was confused when I came back to class, Alice showed me the photo and told me to tell everyone I was just returning the money I borrowed."

Vince remembered the moment. Everyone in class stared at him, his mind spun thinking of what to say, it was his first time getting nervous in front of a crowd.

"It's not me..." He spoke lightly, but in the quiet classroom everyone heard him.

A few boys at the side had their eyes widen. They weren't expecting Vince to deny it. They knew Vince had gone to give money to Alice later. He had left the class to tell the teacher to delete the message, yet he had come back full 180.

His friends looked at him with disapproval. Polara was public enemy number one of the boys in class after she had two guys expelled on fake harassment charges. So Vince lying was basically taking her side.

Now that he said it once, he went with it. He then denied it completely no matter who asked he said it wasn't him. He remembered with all that distraction and guilt he couldn't train properly.

He lost the competition. With his friends distancing themselves from him. He didn't even have them.

...

"I see, did you tell me this so I could sympathise with you?" Kira said casually looking straight into Vince's eyes but her words felt like daggers stabbing at his heart.

Vince was speechless he wanted to clear everything, "N-No, I just wanted to clear-"

"I didn't think you would be such a coward. It's pathetic how you didn't even try."

"I always felt guilty-"

"Did you ever apologise to her?" Kira asked coldly.

Vince stayed silent. He hadn't apologised, after that, he never talked to Alice again.

"I'll stop coming from now on," Kira said calmly, she then walked out of the door without looking back.

Vince watched her leave, he picked up the crutches on the side of his bed, hoping behind on one leg, "Wait, Kira, I just wanted to clear everything. I know I did Alice wrong. But I really didn't have a choice, you can't understand since you're rich. Although I lied no one really believed me, they know how Polara was-"

Thump! Crash! Vince fell to the ground. Nurses nearby ran to help him.

Kira looked back. She made eye contact with Vince.

"Wait!"

She turned back and walked away her demeanour of that like ice. At the moment she was too angry to care about Vince.

...

Outside she took a deep breath.

'What I said to him, was I saying that to him? Or was I saying everything to myself?' She thought. It wasn't that she didn't sympathise with Vince, actually, it was the exact opposite. In a way, she was no different. She had done much worse to Alice. She had chosen to protect herself and decided to never see Alice again.

Kira remembered how things were for her. Her family went on a trip that turned out to be them moving into a new home. Her parents told her she couldn't see Alice anymore. To Kira who knew what Alice was going through rebelled for the first time in her life. She stopped eating food and talking to her parents.

Her parents tried explaining but she wasn't ready to listen continuing her hunger strike for days. Waking up on the fourth day she found herself in an orphanage.

Her parents had moved her while she was sleeping and left her there. For seven days she had lived in an old run-down orphanage. No longer in her princess bedroom, with all her things from clothes to toys.

By the end of the seventh day there her parents came and picked her up.

The drive back was silent until her father spoke, she couldn't see his expression since she sat in the back. She just heard him speak while looking at the fields outside.

"Kira, do you think what we did was cruel?" It was harsh but with how stubborn their daughter was they needed to do something like this to get to her.

"Kira, you should understand now. You have two paths. If you go to Alice now, you will have to live the rest of your life the way you did the last seven days. Mom and Dad will have to hide you away so the bad people don't find you, after that, you won't be able to see mom and dad any longer. It isn't just Mom and Dad, thousands of people like Uncle Ronald will lose their jobs and have a tough time. Do you understand why you can't meet Alice?"

Kira didn't answer only lightly nodding. Holding back her tears.

"We want to help her as well. But we aren't strong enough. But don't worry, Alice has Noah's parents taking care of her. You know how well they treat her, she'll be fine."

Little Kira swore to herself that she would be so strong that no one would ever be able to tell her what to do. She had abandoned Alice now but she was never wanted to make such a decision again.

...

In the back of her car, 'If it was Noah he wouldn't have hesitated to choose her,' Kira thought. This was the big difference between her and Noah.

If Noah hadn't come to her she would have never gone out and tried to find Alice.

The car stopped in front of an apartment building. She called Alice as she walked to a park opposite the building.