Chapter 05 ~ I Keep on Telling Him, But...
To make things short, ever since Yamato dated Kana Watanabe, he's never been the same. I mean, everything about him has changed.
Take his clothing style, for example. One weekend, where our friend group decided to meet at the café to discuss about our science project, instead of a casual, wrinkled T-shirt and some baggy jeans that seems to never have been washed, he showed up in the Lakers uniform while holding an ACTUAL basketball, acting like he was a professional player or something - _ -. It kind of looks good, but I'm not used to him wearing such a thing :|. I'm pretty sure Kana has something to do with this 🤔.
image [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG.icqXXe8pEZTuIZ48a9rU?pid=ImgGn]
Another thing that's bothering me is whenever I invite him to hang out or to work on a school project or help me with my homework (though the only thing he's good at is P.E), KANA always tags along, just for fun. She even says she'll give me a hand, though she's stupid as crap. She always acted like she's smart, but her IQ is like 10!!! If I were super smart, I'd find a way to suck out all the brain cells left in her, so she'd be left hopeless in the world >:((. In the end, I ended up helping her with the math problems, though I tried to be as polite as possible - _ -.
image [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG.4zDQMrbht4FGUVaoy_Z0?w=1024&h=1024&rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain]She's stupid AF - _ -.
Plus, the brown-haired girl's not Yui - _ -. I didn't give AI a proper description.
Also, they couldn't get enough of each other somehow. I mean, they've been together 24/7. For me, I need a LONG moment of peace if I had such a clingy boyfriend - _ -. Whenever I see the "lovely" couple down the hall, Kana's always hanging onto his arm pouting, begging for kisses and giving him these cringey flirts 😒, like winking her eyes, batting her lashes and blowing kisses every chance she gets.
"I can't believe Yamato would fall for someone like that," Sana agreed with me in disbelief when I told her. "How can he cope with her?!"
"You'd better ask the "most patient" guy ever," I said, referring to Yamato. I mean, his previous patience-record was back in the 7th grade, which lasted for 50 minutes 0_0!!! This is actually an incredible achievement coming from a person like him (no hate!).
I still can't believe Yamato hasn't found Kana's bad side yet. Whenever he's not around (very rare!), she was off with the other Blush Rushes to mess with the "ugly" girls and boys. One time, I saw them bullying the President of our school IT club. All of them played a role in scaring the poor boy. Yui did the glaring, Ayane kept jumping up down and shouting encouragement and promises if he helped them do their homework for the rest of the schoolyear, Kana held him by the collar (as always), Hikaru flirted with him and tried to be cute, while Reina decided to threaten and blackmail him. image [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG.4Y648XYQW0fScEIlkgKD?w=1024&h=1024&rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain]
Koemi being shocked at how "brutal" the bullying was =)
I carefully got myself out of my hiding place (a bush. Can you believe it?!) I must've stepped on some twigs and leaves, though, because I could see the Blush Rushes looking suspiciously at the sound-making shrub 0_0'. Once I managed to get out of there unharmed, I rushed back into the school grounds and raced around to look for Yamato. He's probably looking for Kana, too. To be honest, I'm actually a very good runner, so running around for nearly half of break is not that tiring =3. At last, I spotted the familiar figure of Yamato and his other friends walking out of the gym. Judging by the looks of it, he had a very hard match; sweat continuously rolled down his face.
"Ya...Yamato!" I said pantingly, running up to him. Yamato signaled to his friends and let us have a moment alone. Yamato was looking very curiously at me by the time I'd finished my huffing and puffing.
"...Your...girlfriend..."
"What, Kana-san?"
"Yes, who else? I saw her with her gang bullying the President of the IT club into doing their homework for them!! They're at the back of our school, conversation's clear as day!! You should've seen them; all these torturing methods...
"Now could you see the bad side of Kana Watanabe, Yamato? She's even worse than a biting guinea pig!!(1) Just let go of her; she's just using you to enhance her popularity."
(1): I still have the wounds ToT
Yamato was in a state of shock, or so I thought. For a brief second, I thought he'd believe in me. My mind was like: "YES!!! Watanabe's going DOWN!!!!!" "It's karma, b!tch" <= A/N: SORRY!!! But remember, it's just for brief second. Next thing I knew, he was defending Kana.
"Why do you keep saying that Kana-san's bad?!" he retorted, "She's always so sweet and kind! Yes, she's clingy, but it was good company!!! Why do you keep throwing my girlfriend into the Dark Side?! She'd done nothing wrong!! What did she do to you, anyway, that makes you hate Kana?!!"
"Oh, yes, she'd had done wrong!!" I cried desperately, almost revealing to him how they cornered me after school and Kana holding me by the collar. Nothing came out of my mouth when I tried to list out their crimes, though. I mean, the Blush Rushes were just warning me...
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Yamato's POV:
I was so furious. How could Koemi say that to my precious girlfriend?! Why does she hate Kana without a proper reason?!?! When Koemi stayed quiet, I scoffed and swung my bag over my shoulder, since it's almost time to go to class. Just then, Koemi's voice came back.
"I'd thought you'd known better than to date her, Shimizu."
It was soft and quiet, just barely audible, above a whisper. But she'd made it so life-threatening and calling me by my surname made me stop in my tracks. Strange, she had never called me by my last name before.
"I had thought you were smarter, to realize just how far she can go," Koemi continued, "I thought you can see right through her, just how black her heart is. She's good at keeping secrets, you should've known. What's the reason why she didn't tell you that? She's keeping it a secret and show you her angelic side, so you could keep dating her. Why didn't you know...?
"I guess I was wrong about you, Shimizu Yamato."
By the time I turned around at the end of her speech, her eyes were pink and glossy, and she furiously spun around and fast walked up the stairs to class. The bell had rung at what time I didn't notice. I knew I was late by then and marked tardy for the third time this week. But the only problem I was worrying at a time like this was that Koemi was angry, frustrated with me, which is a first. And she was about to cry.
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Koemi's POV:
I guess that's it for us then. We've never been on bad terms with each other, but partly, it was his fault for not believing in me. But have I got to be angry with him? But's it's too late to say anything. I could already feel tears tingling my eyes. Yamato must have seen it too. Ugh, so embarrassing!!! At this, Yamato will probably tell his petty girlfriend that I'm a total cry-baby, and then she'll tell her gang, and then her gang will spread this unforgivable news...!!!
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Sana's POV:
I CAN'T BELIEVE this cray-cray thing that I'm dreading is happening right in front of my eyes:
YAMATO-KUN and KOEMI-SAN aren't TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
0_0 You heard me!!!!!
This has NEVER happened before. Worse of all, they're AVOIDING EACH OTHER'S BEAUTIFUL, SPARKLY EYES (isn't it too weird to say this :^??? Ah, I don't care!!!) Koemi is pretending that Yamato had never existed and used a different word to refer that it's him. On the other hand, Yamato spends all his time in the gym playing basketball, totally not making time for me to have a LITTLE chit-chat with him about him-and-the-Koemi-business ):^.
I knew something was going on. And I WAS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT.
Whenever the creepy hours of school were over, me and Koemi would walk together home from school. But today, I have something up my sleeve.
"Sorry Koko-chan!! Err... something just come up at home!!! Err... a guest - my aunt!!! - just came back!!! You know how angry she gets when the people at the place she's visiting aren't fully there... hehe..."
Koemi eyed me suspiciously, "I thought your aunt is in Germany for her honeymoon... For two months."
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Shoot. I forgot. Aunt Mizuki WILL NEVER ABANDON A FULL-TIME CHANCE to be with Uncle Senichi.
"Well, it's my OTHER aunt... Aunt Momoko - the chef... <=D" (*intense fingers-crossing*)
"Okay...?"
Finally, I got her to finally walk home alone, I sighed heavily - _ -. I swear, IT FELT SO BAD TO BE LYING TO YOUR BEST FRIEND!! > ~ < Now that I'd noticed, I've been wasting too much time, and Yamato could've already gone home. Luckily, there was a basketball practice, but it's MIXED, which means GIRLS AND BOYS PRACTICED TOGETHER!!!!! I swear, I could pull my eyes out because Yamato and Kana Watanabe would get to SPEND TIME PRACTICING TOGETHER!!!!
But luckily, with my powerful eavesdropping power, the coach had dismissed them early because of family problems back home, which all of them groaned, but it's a blessing for me 😄! Moments later, the team filled out, and I could make out Yamato, Kana 😠, and Kenji-kun 😍from the crowd because of their height and Kana's vibrant hair color. But I need to do something to get Yamato to be alone, or else Kenji-kun and Kana will hear. I'm sorry, Kenji-kun for not being loyal to you today!! > ~ < And, did I mention that one of my secretive talents is to pickpocket?? I know it's bad, which is why I never put it to use. But I needed to create a diversion. So, here goes...
Trying to blend in with the departing group, I walked past Yamato, and swiftly reached my hand into his pants' left pocket and pulled out two bracelets. I fell behind the crowd as I stopped to admire the bracelets. One gleamed under the silver moonlight, but I could tell it was high-quality with a highly realistic golden color. There were beautiful small gems that looked like diamonds. At the end, it formed into a small heart. This must certainly be a couple's bracelet (must be from Kana, obviously), but why isn't he wearing it? This must have been pretty expensive.
image [https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.vb5Kh_-75CBFtuVwltYYNgHaHa?rs=1&pid=ImgDetMain]
The other bracelet was clearly overshadowed by Kana's gift, but still pretty and cute, and strangely familiar. It consisted of adorable pastel colors on top of each other, all of which are heading in one way. There were a series of strings at the end for tying on your wrist, followed by a small turquoise bead. Must have been a friendship bracelet made a girl; boys in my grade don't have the talent for knitting, crocheting and other stuff related to crafts. Nonetheless, I should be wasting time, and quickly threw the bracelets on the ground. Crying Yamato's name with all my might, who by now was far away, "HEY YAMATO!!"
image [https://images.coplusk.net/project_images/169874/image/2014-03-12-210959-Bracelet_20for_20craftgawker.jpg]
He instantly turned around, whose eyes fell on me, evidently confused why I was calling him. "You dropped this!" I added sweetly, pointing to the bracelets on the ground at my feet. Kana, who also spun around to face me at the first syllable I'd utter, noticed the gold bracelet. "Hey, Yamato-kun~" she whined and pouted, pointing at the bracelet and started acting like a five-year-old persuading their mother for sweets. "Isn't that the bracelet I gave you on your spectacular hotness during basketball practice~?"
I cringed. Koemi was right: Kana DOESN'T know how to flirt. That was outright terrible! 😵💫 Yamato muttered something to Kana, and she and Kenji moved on. Yamato ran towards me, evidently confused. Apparently, his pockets had no holes in them; they're new.
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes, and hand him the bracelets. A thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Wait a minute, I remembered this!" I cried, indicating the colorful bracelet. "KOEMI made it for the three of us back in middle school! I can't believe you still keep it! My dog chewed it to bits! I never mentioned it to Koko, though."
I smiled at the bracelet. Koko-chan had worked so hard on it! I hold a silent grudge towards Miso after that :]. Another thought crossed my mind at that moment. "You still keep it, Yamato? I thought boys like you aren't into stuff like this?"
"Because..." he answered sheepishly, his face faintly red, "sh-she's my friend, isn't she?"
I sighed and took his arm. I pulled him roughly into an alleyway. This alleyway was full of smoke and cigarettes, with green sewage water dripping from rusty pipes and walls dipped in black and grey. I could see Yamato looking around anxiously, eyes full of focus and caution. Maybe he was familiar with this place? How could he? Unless he was involved in some shady organization...
"Have you been in this alley before?" I asked, totes NOT KEEPING MY CURIOSITIES TO MYSELF T0T.
"Yeah. Koemi got lost in this place once and ran into some bad guys. I fought them off," he explained simply. I couldn't help but go, "Woah~" but eventually came back to my senses. I then pinned Yamato to the wall hard, my face contorted in frustration yet pride inside. Those taekwondo lessons paid off!
"W-What are you doing?" Yamato demanded.
"😤 Yamato Shimizu...😤" I said dramatically (for effects, see :P), "You keep going on and on about Koko-chan ("Umm, when?"). But you know that you guys aren't even on speaking terms with each other. She won't even refer you by your name anymore! It's either "male friend" or "Shimizu" ("Huh...?" he looked hurt). I felt like the sauce between two pieces of bread in a sandwich!
"One day, you're all comfortable and laughing your heads off. Then, poof!, you and Koemi were not making eye contact. What is going on? I'm feeling like I'm missing something here.
"Explain." I pointed my finger to his chin. My nail slightly dug into it. I left a faint mark, but no REAL harm was caused, okay? :>
"She claimed Kana-san is a bully." Yamato shrugged. "When I asked what she had done, Koemi won't answer. This just proves Koemi hates Kana with any reason at all."
"That's because she's keeping a secret, dummy!" I cried. I have to expose what she'd told me. It's for the sake of their relationship, "The Blush Rushes forced her! She told me through texting! When she got taken away that day at the Main Yard, they led her into a classroom and asked her a bunch of questions about Reina Okada. Then, just the afternoon after you and Kana announced you're official, I saw Koemi getting picked up by the collar by your girlfriend after school!
"You can't protest, Yamato! I saw the whole thing unfold with my own eyes! Don't you see? Koemi's been hinting you that Kana's bad, but you never listen! Kana's good at keeping secrets - she's keeping her bad side a secret from you!! Maybe Kana really does like you, but do you think she'll want you to see her as THE DEVIL?? No!"
I paused to see his reaction. His eyes were wide, but otherwise unfazed. I could see his hand pushing his bracelets deeper into his pocket, and then took out the gold bracelet. He stared at it for a moment, then nodded at me. I understood right away - he believes me. I have a reputation of being honest.
"So, what's your solution to Kana? How would you deal with your broken bond with Koko?" I need to know. I want to help fix their friendship.
"Just wait and see." He smiled mischievously. He's already scheming, that dude - _ -.
"Thanks for returning the bracelets!" he grinned, waved and ran back to Kenji and Kana. I could see him put an arm around her. I sighed, but smiled all the same. I'm sure he could manage on his own🤭 .
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Yamato's POV:
I just need to keep up my act. Just for a few more minutes and then it will be all over. I believe everything Sana said. She's a truthful girl. After told me the whole story, my feelings toward Watanabe Kana had changed. Because of her, because of my foolishness in believing her, my friendship with Koemi broke.
I have got the perfect plan. All I need is to keep up my act.
Once I was out of that alleyway, I spotted Kana and Kenji standing at the corner of the road. Had they been waiting for me? Such patience! I can never compete with that! My past record had driven me nuts! I smiled at all of them, half of me glad that they waited.
I gave Kana a peck on the cheek, in which she blushed. However, after hearing about Kana's true side, my kisses seemed so meaningless now. I guess my feelings really have disappeared. We walked towards a bus stop at the bottom of a small slope. The street was dark and empty; nobody in my town would go out at this time of day. Kenji sat down on the bench, waiting for the six-o'clock bus.
We said goodbye to him and walked higher up. Up this slope, you can have a clear view of the whole street. Kana opened her mouth and started babbling on about how great the town looked even though it was just black, grey and yellow, and rubbed her head against my arm. I never realized until now how Kana was such like an animal that was practically stuck to me and disgusting words of affection. I mean, have you heard her flirts? The thing she's good at is bullying and sports. I forced a grin, to give a message that I like what she's doing. Truth is, I can't even handle it anymore.
I'm pretty sure Koemi thought that I was super dumb to fall for someone like Kana. Well, I never dated anyone before, and wanted to be the first in my friend group. Besides, the thought of refusing someone hurts my heart. I've done it a lot of times before back in middle school, and I felt worse then. I thought that having an official girlfriend would mean a lot to me. But Kana, well, except for sports, we never really have anything in common. All she ever does is touch and kiss me. And it wasn't even that good! I should've listen.
We walked down the slope, and I volunteered to walk her home. It was also the perfect place to hatch my plan. The plan was very simple, though I'd hate to see the effect. Part of me regretted doing this to her. But it's now or never. I'm tired of her anyway now that I could see her true face. Kana was still oblivious to anything, despite not noticing my less chatty nature. She was too busy clutching my arm and praising my looks.
"That's my house over there!" Kana pointed. Her house was two stories tall, with a pretty large front yard. The walls looked as if they were made of marble. No wonder she had the money to buy me such an expensive bracelet that, until know, I never needed. They were party lights, and I could hear laughing, talking, the clinking sound of glasses and a strong smell of beer. It sounds like a party was raging inside. I could hear the beats of disco music.
"Sorry," Kana grinned awkwardly, "my cousin's having a gender reveal party, and since my house is bigger, she decided to hold it here. If the smell of alchohol bothers you, let me know. My family tends to be loud sometimes."
Kana sounds... almost ashamed of her family. Too right, I couldn't help but think. I am evil 😭😭😭.
We stood in front of the door. The gender reveal was about to begin any moment, and Kana was expected. "Thank you for coming all this way." she smiled gratefully. Hey, at least she knows how to say "thanks". She gave me a tight hug, and leant in closer, waiting for the kiss I always give her before parting ways.
It never came.
Because it was time to begin the plan.
I pushed her away lightly. "Kana-san..." I said slowly, "I want to tell you something." Kana looked anxious and a bit scared as I pulled out the golden bracelet.
I placed in her palm. "Lately, I feel like there's something wrong with us. I mean, we have nothing in common except sports. During recess, we rarely do anything except flirt and kiss and touch. I don't want a relationship like that.
"Moreover, I feel like there's another side of you. Like you're doing something secretive. You're hiding this from me. I found out that you were bullying people, physically and mentally. You think everything is violence-related. ("No, I do not... do I?" Kana shook me.) I don't want to be left in the dark. Partly, it was your fault that got me to have a broken friendship.
"Last of all, I'm... tired of you. I mean, you never really anything fun, and I hate to say it, but you're cringe. So, I have no other choice. I'm sorry, Kana, but we just don't work out.
She started whimpering, and tears built up in her eyes. It's strange to see Kana crying. That's why I hate the after-effect of this scheme. I felt so bad. Guilty. But I can't be with her. She hurt me. And Koemi.
"We're done here.
"Let's break up."
END OF CHAPTER 05