32 - OD

Several days later, Saki's reputation improved from constantly being seen with Yuuto, Nazuna, and Akito.

Oh, right, her father had been found dead. She and her mother were sad, but they eventually got over it.

Saki was a little shaken, seeing as her father died of a drug overdose. She assumed he might have felt some remorse and guilt for what he did to her.

At this point, Saki didn't know about Hayato's other 'friends,' so it was logical for her to think her father turned to drugs to feel better.

She was curious about how it must have felt, but lately, after spending time with her new group, she began to wonder how being with Hayato while spending time with her new group would make her feel. She found herself relentlessly trying to call Hayato.

He never told her where he lived; they only met at hotels and the like. So she could only call and pray that he would answer.

She couldn't pass a single day without calling him at least two dozen times and sending him over thirty messages a day, which he did not reply to. No matter how much she dialed, it seemed his phone was in an area out of service.

Yet every day, the number of times she called and wondered where her precious boyfriend was seemed to dwindle, although very, very little.

Despite that,

She missed how he made her feel, and a gaping hole of emptiness opened inside her. She now had a lot more free time, a lot more unused energy, and nothing and no one to spend it on.

"Why doesn't he answer me!?" she cried out loud, clicking his name in her phone book and dialing his number by instinct and muscle memory from the sheer number of times she did it.

She began masturbating more frequently, seeking to recapture even a fraction of the high she once felt so constantly.

Was she missing those days? She wondered. The days she was slandered behind her back, blackmailed by her classmates, and hated by her female peers.

Maybe it was worth it if it meant she could experience the pleasure she felt with Hayato again.

When she wasn't calling him and after a school day, she sat on her bed, staring emptily at the floor, her palms enveloped in each other.

As more time passed, she began to see Yuuto's palm, almost hallucinating it resting on hers.

It was when the emptiness and desperation had reached their peak.

She then picked up her phone and scrolled through her phone book until she reached: "Yuuto."

'I wonder if he wants to hold hands again,' she mused to herself as she clicked his name.

"AHH! I did it by mistake..!!" she yelled, immediately turning off the call, her heart pounding with anxiety.

'It's already after school... We already hung out... Wouldn't it be burdensome if I contacted him again?' she wondered, feeling a sudden weakness in her upper back as she lay on her bed, holding her phone just above her head, looking at Yuuto's name.

'...It's not as if he's special, really...' she thought, 'Yes, he saved the school and saved me... But what else? He doesn't really like me...' she added, recalling them holding hands again and his love confession.

'So why did he do that...!?' Annoyed, she slammed her face against the pillow, recalling his cold behavior throughout their time at school and the time he turned down her hand.

He barely addressed her at school, even when they ate together. He was always accompanied by Nazuna and Akito.

...And Nazuna seemed to be infatuated with him.

'...Maybe he's having second thoughts...? No, he probably lied when he said he loved me, and now he likes Nazuna-senpai... I bet saying he loves me was just a lie to...'

To what? So far, he hadn't really done anything to her.

So, what was the meaning of everything he had done?

Surely, if she called him now and asked to hold hands, he would refuse. After all, he never once suggested it again after that day he first came by to pick her up for lunch.

But then again...

...He was the only person she could ask that.

She began rocking her legs against the soft bed in frustration as she looked at the phone again.

Once more, riddled with the thought he simply lied, maybe for fun.

She gave an exasperated sigh as she laid the phone down again...

CLACK CLACK

The sound of rocks being thrown at her window.

She sprang up like a lightning-fast rocket and rushed to open the window almost violently, looking outside.

"Yuu—!!" she called out, only to realize no one was there.

More frustrated than ever, she picked up her phone and dialed Yuuto without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Yuuto was leaning against the wall just behind Saki's house...

...looking at his phone as Saki dialed it.

'Got 'em...'

He waited it out.

It stopped ringing.

Then it immediately rang again.

After 11 seconds, he picked up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Let's... hold hands again... or hang out... I don't know..." she murmured, her voice shaky.

"Oh? We hung out today, though," Yuuto answered casually.

"Now... again... please," she whispered.

'It's fairly simple, really, why I do this. When someone does something out of habit or addiction, like drugs, and then suddenly stops, they meet this void in their hearts. In this case, it's really simple. Her void is pleasure. She was used to constantly feeling it all the time. And now that it's not there, she's desperate to feel it again, however little. That's where I come in. I purposely delay the pleasure that comes from holding my hand or my godlike tender nature for as long as I can, so that when I finally do it, she will be overwhelmed and completely forget about her addiction.'

"Kind of busy. I'll try and make time to meet you after school tomorrow," Yuuto said flatly.

'This works in my favor: Saki Yoshida is an extrovert. She finds her energy by being around other people and trying new things. Luckily, this girl is alien to mind games and courting. She never met someone who tried to seduce her, which makes her the perfect target for me. By giving her something else to focus on, which is yours truly, I can ensure she will completely recover from her addiction. Well, that and maybe a side dish of that therapist she's seeing nowadays. That tasteless punk Hayato only drugged her and made her think she was hooked on him and not the pill.'

"That's... that's... really...?" she answered, her voice shaking as a great weight was lifted from her heart.

'Usually... Hayato would always find time for me... But... why... why am I so happy...? It's not as if we're actually dating...' she thought, relief washing over her.

"Yeah. Is it so hard to believe I agreed?" Yuuto asked.

'I can still feel you, Hiroki, scratching at the back of my head. What's the matter? Against my methods? Does this seem manipulative and not genuine to you? Well, here's the deal: You can't get anything done without strategy and planning. And I'll say it again; it is thanks to your so-called honesty that I almost died more than once and fainted over four times. Thanks to your selfish and weak nature, you lost everyone in your life. I don't blame you, though. You're just a kid. I just don't like you,' Yuuto thought, feeling a surge of anger climbing up his chest.

'But I made a promise. I won't let you sway me ever again,' Yuuto thought as he took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling the anger dissipate as he put his mouth away from the phone.

"N-no..!! It's just... just that... you... you don't like me, I think..." Saki mumbled as she walked back and forth in her room nervously.

Yuuto then smiled mischievously and triumphantly.

"I told you something else, I believe," Yuuto replied.

"N-no, I know... it's just... the... the way you act around me and all that..." Saki hastily countered, her voice trailing off near the end.

"...What way?"

"Just... do you really want to see me tomorrow?" she asked, her voice becoming softer as she gripped the phone with both her palms.

Yuuto took a few seconds, almost hearing Saki's breath through the phone.

"I do," he replied firmly. "I do want to see you tomorrow," he emphasized.

Saki lightly gasped.

"See you then," he added, hanging up.

Saki lay back on her bed, holding her phone close to her heart.

'We're... really meeting,' she thought, her heart fluttering with excitement and relief, already considering what she should wear.

'But... wait... we never decided where we'd meet!' she realized, feeling a sudden anxiety in her heart.

'Ahh... I'll just ask him tomorrow,' she thought with a sigh, though she couldn't completely rid herself of the pesky anxiety in her heart.