Chapter 8: Calming the storm

Shouta suddenly woke up, he was sweaty, his breathing was heavy, and he was tearing up a bit "What was that?" He said.

"I don't remember what I was dreaming about, but it wasn't pleasant." He said.

He got out of bed and cooked some instant ramen because that was all he could afford, he took a bath, got dressed, the same routine as usual.

"Why am I paranoid right now?" He thought looking at the mirror.

"My hair is a mess, it'll be fine, it's not like people pay attention to me anyway." He said.

He prepared his lunch, got ready, and walked all the way to school. "Why am I breathing heavily?" He asked himself.

He got to his classroom and sat down to his designated seat. "Are you okay Shouta?" Masahiko asked.

Shouta looked at her slowly and shaking a bit "I'm fine, I'm just a bit over the edge." He replied nervously.

"Yo Shouta!" Kiyomi said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"So did you call her?" She whispered.

"Umm y- yeah.." Shouta responded rather strange.

"You okay Shouta? You look and act strange, did something happen between you two?" Kiyomi asked.

Shouta suddenly got a flash of memories and jumped out of his seat. Everybody stared at him. "Crap, I made a scene, everybody's looking at me. I need to flee quick." He thought.

"I- I'm really sorry Kiyomi, I- I gotta go." He said running.

He fled towards the bathroom, he managed ran past Sumi, he was so caught up in the flash of memories that he didn't even realize.

He got to the bathroom and started washing his face, he took deep breathes and calmed down a bit. Just then a memory triggers

*Hidden memory*

"Sumi! Natsumi senpai!" Shouta screamed.

Shouta envisions a scene wherein Sumi was hit by a truck.

*Memory out*

Shouta yelled as he witnessed the same memory he witnessed before. He punched the mirror out of frustration, it shattered within impact, his hands were bleeding.

"Ahhh!! My hand!!" He screamed.

He grabbed his hand, the one that punched the mirror and covered it with his other hand like nothing happened. Shouta screamed again as he squeezed it too hard and bits of glass shards were getting pushed in deeper in his hand.

"I can't let anybody find out about this, I'll just cover it up with a tissue." He thought.

He acted quick and grabbed a nearby tissue and wrapped it around his arms, it wasn't the best but it works. He looked around and saw no one around so he walked back to his classroom, he gently opened the door and his class ignored him, he walked back quietly to his seat and sure enough no one payed attention to him.

"S- Shouta, are you okay? You've been acting strange." Masahiko said in a soft voice.

"Y- yeah I- I'm fine" Shouta replied, shaking.

"What happened to you hand?" Masahiko asked, worried.

"Oh uh i- it's nothing" Shouta reassured.

"Okay if you say so." She replied.

Shouta is sweating again and his breathing is abnormally heavy. "What's with that memory, is it real?" He thought.

Time passes by and it's lunch break time, he approached the cafeteria looking quite odd, no one payed much attention as they thought he was quite normal.

He sat down and prepared his lunch, "Oh man, I'm still paranoid from that dream or memory, whatever it is." He thought.

The background goes silent as he dives deep within his thoughts.

He stared at his lunch and can't help but think about Sumi's beautiful smile "She probably doesn't like me at all, it's one sided, and she probably likes Kaiser, they're close, and he's handsome too. He is a way better pick than me, that's what girls these days are after." His chest tightened with each negative thought.

Just then he smelled a familiar scent, it was similar to Sumi's perfume, it triggers another memory.

*memory*

Shouta was standing alone in the rain, he had no one to pick him up, and he saw other kids getting picked up by his parents, but Shouta was a lonely boy who was waiting for someone, but they never came. Isolation was a familiar thing for Shouta, even now as a teen he still feels isolated.

"At least they arrived for their birthday, no one remembers mine, the amount of times I have to experience a birthday celebrated by myself is insane, countless of times I eagerly await for people to greet me, but it never came."

*memory ends*

Shouta begins to tear up "Why do I always end up alone? It's like nobody on this world likes me, I'm not destined for anyone at all."

He wrapped his hand around his head as the background fades to an empty, lonely void.

Just then he feels a familiar hand touch his shoulders, "Shouta? Are you okay?" Sumi asked, worried.

"S- sumi?" His voice trembled.

"You've been sitting on this chair staring at your food all alone, I can't help but notice you across the room." Sumi said.

"Wow, she's very pretty, such a shame I won't end up with her, why do I keep doing this to myself, I love her with all my heart, but I look hideous, she doesn't like me back." He thought.

Sumi sat down with him and she helped him calm down, she even ate her lunch with him, they talked, and laughed throughout the entire lunch break.

"It seems like you have calmed down a bit, you're no longer shaking and sulking, you're all better now! Sometimes just talking to somebody is all you need, and I'll be there for you whenever you need me." She said, smiling.

"Oh my, my heart is pounding so much, I just want to hug her right now." He thought.

Shouta stood up and hugged her, she hugged him back and began patting his back. "Thanks Sumi, you helped me out with my anxiety." He murmured.

"It's okay, like I said, I'll be there for you." She said.

Lunch break ends and Shouta and Sumi go to their respective classrooms. Shouta was no longer shaking, instead he was joyful.

"Hey Shouta, you seem rather happy." Kiyomi said.

"Yeah, I am." Shouta replied staring at his hand.

"Listen up everyone, this is an important announcement!" The teacher yelled.

"So in a couple days from now we'll have a festival known as Hanami Festival, there'll be many activities you can participate on such as Cosplay pageant, Traditional dance, Random J pop dance, calligraphy, quiz bee, and Mr and Mrs Nihongo. Which Hana and Xiaxia decided to be Kureiya and Erikku. But the one we are mainly participating in is the traditional dance, so Hana will be the one who will practice you." The teacher added.

"So all of the boys will participate in the traditional dance, and since there is only nine of you then we'll have to partner nine girls for you and it is height based, the one closest to you height will be your partner." The teacher added.

"Hana will be taking care of further announcements." The teacher said.