Forever 4

"Mom?" Erina stood there in shock as she dropped her can of tea. There, standing in before her, was a woman whom many would say looked a lot like her. Not a surprise that they'd appear so similar, seeing as that was her mother.

"Don't know who else I'd be." Her mother, on the other hand, was not at all concerned about running into the daughter she left behind. "Fancy I'd be seeing you here again after… Oh, how long has it been?" She looked upwards while trying to recover the memory. All the while, she held a cigarette that drifted smoke towards the girl.

"It's been about a year now." Erina answered for her. The memory of that event still burned into her brain like the smell of that smoke in her nose.

"Right, now I remember." Her mom snapped her fingers as if she were the one who answered the question. "You were crying all sad about being rejected by that boy. What was his name? Yogi."

"It was." She couldn't stand being around this woman any longer. The sight of her made the girl want to vomit on the spot. "Now, I'm going to wait for my ride." Erina knelt down to pick up her can and began to try and walk away. While her mother didn't stop her physically, her words did.

"I assume that things are different now." She said, which put a pause to her walking. "I saw that boy, and he was with some other boy."

"Arata." Erina took the bait left by her mom and answered the unspoken question. "He's someone else who goes to our school."

"Can't say I recall him being a boy you knew." From their last conversation, the young girl did mention by name her friend group. Which meant the only boys name's brought up then were Yogi's and Akaki's.

"He's new, but not that new anymore." After all, it had nearly been a year since she got to know Arata. "Why am I still talking to you?"

"Who knows?" The woman responded, dropping her cigarette and stomping out the fire. "Maybe it's because I can tell you broke your promise."

"What?"

"Believe me, parents just know these things." Or in this case, she heard the boys talking as she got off the train and they got on. Yogi had been teasing Arata the entire time about how Erina's dad really liked him and that would be a good sign to confess to Erina. Of course, Arata would deny it, as he was used to having people tell him that the girl must've been his girlfriend despite multiple efforts of telling them otherwise.

So when she figured that her ex-husband had thought that boy to be good for her, despite being aware of Yogi. That could only mean one thing. "Tell me, who is it that you love?"

"It's… It's none of your business." Erina didn't like the position she found herself in. The girl started to walk once more to try and avoid the subject.

"I knew it." The woman smirked. "You fell for another boy. It seems you're no different from me at all." Erina didn't say anything in response. Her train had arrived, so she made a beeline onto their just to get away from her mom. All the while, that woman laughed at her.

Finally, as the doors closed, silence was all the young girl had around her. However, the reprieve from sound did little to calm her as she sat with her thoughts to herself for the entire train ride.

Elsewhere and on the next day, Arata had been enjoying the comforts of his home after getting back from their trip. It was a mostly empty house as his dad was out for work, while his mom had finished up all the chores for the day. So in his mind, the rest of the day was going to be dedicated to sitting back on the couch and enjoying some television. At least that's what he was hoping for, but it seemed his mom had a different idea as she sat down besides him.

"It looks like that trip went by better than you were expecting." She said to him, almost as if bragging that she was right.

"Yeah, I'm just glad she's on better terms with her dad." He replied. "I'm kind of tired though, so I'm not really in the mood for talking." After everything that had happened today and yesterday, the boy would've loved to kick back and watch some anime.

"Or is it because you know what I'm about to bring up?" She giggled immaturely about the subject of her topic.

"Mom, I already told you. Erina's just my friend and only that."

"Really? From what I heard from your friend Yogi. It's a little more than just that."

"He's just teasing." Arata was going to have to remember to give that boy some pain when they saw each other at school again. "And it's only because it looks like her dad really likes me." So it was clear that an adult who thought he was a good boy would lead the man to wanting his daughter to be with him.

"Smart man." His mom praised the indication that parents were aware of when it came to their children. "Look, I know you want to keep on denying it, but there's no reason to be so shy."

"Why are you so adamant about wanting me to say I like her?" Arata was uncomfortable with where this was leading. The boy wondered why she wanted to do this. "I've told you before, but she likes Yogi."

"So that's the only reason you're holding back?" She replied. "Because you think she likes someone else, and don't want to get in the way." His mom could tell how he was feeling about the girl. How couldn't she after all the times she had seen him with Erina. "Because don't think you can tell me you don't like her. I can tell from all the times you've been together."

Indeed, the woman had seen all the major moments Erina had been a part of in his life. These two were dance partners, actors who shared the spotlight with each other. Even during the festival, she saw the girl kissing him while he was the none-the-wiser. "Trust me, as someone who's hidden their feelings from a special certain someone in the past. I can tell from the way you look at her, that's what you're doing."

"The way I look at her…" Arata remembered the Christmas they shared together. When the pair thought they were going to be stuck from the snow, he was happy to still be with her. The way they shared his bed that night, and most recently, when he saw her sleeping besides his hospital bed. Though he didn't mention it to anyone, including admitting the truth to himself. The boy fell for her in that moment.

Not because she had saved his life, though he was grateful for it. But due to realizing just how integral she had become to that life she saved. However, the boy was unwilling to say anything to her in that moment. A confession was not made, but instead a decision to hold in his feelings for her. After all, she was a girl whom he knew had feelings for another boy. And there was no way someone like him, who had plenty of other girls in love with him, could be so selfish as to take someone away from someone else.

It was just like when she would get worried over being taken away in temptation from Yogi. He would always replied that he would never dream of betraying someone just as she was concerned of doing the same thing. "I… Am in love with her." He said, burying his face with his hands.

"You look a lot like I did when I confessed." She said, patting her son on the head. "I guess that's one thing I passed onto you."

"But what am I supposed to do?" He asked once he regained composure. "She's already in love with someone else." Someone he knew who didn't love her back, not that Yogi was mean about it.

"Then you should show her another light." His mom was confident in her son. If he had confessed, then who knew what was going to be the result. Even though she was certain that the outcome was going to be positive. "In fact, how about you drop by her place today?

"What? But I can't just-"

"I'm not saying confess to her right away." She cut him off. "But if you see her while you're thinking this way. Maybe you'll know for sure if your heart lies where it does." Of course, she was sure he was in love with the girl. So this was just her excuse to send him over so that he'd finally get over himself and confess.

"You know what? You're right." He agreed and got himself ready to see her. All the boy had to do was get dressed and grab just one important item and he was off to Erina's house. The walk there was short, but tense for him as the thoughts of actually confessing to her came to light. Arata was certain that she'd turn him down and cite Yogi as the reason. He was even worried about her getting offended after all those times he assured her that he would never pursue her romantically.

Finally, he arrived and knocked on her door. There was no answer, which was odd. She should be home right now after everything that had happened yesterday. The boy peered into her window and the room seemed dark. There wasn't a sound produced by anything. Perhaps she had left to go pick up some groceries?

If that was the case, then there was only one thing for him to do. To most people, it would be to leave and come back later. However, he had learned some bad habits from the girl. "I can see how I fell in love with her." Arata muttered to himself as he climbed up a tree.

Due to her influence, he had learned how to sneak into people's homes. Usually it was Yogi's but anywhere that had windows was possible for him. Now that Arata thought about it, this made him seem like he was the yandere after Erina. A bit funny considering how her antics had annoyed him when they first met.

He climbed in through her bedroom window and prepared to wait for her return. While doing so, he decided to check out her house. There were plenty of photos of Yogi, as expected. However, something strange caught his eye. There was a piece of paper left on the kitchen counter.

Despite thinking that he should read it, the boy couldn't help himself in getting a closer look as he turned on the lights. The words on the front page sent chills down his spine. It read, "To whoever finds this, I'm sorry".