The next day…

It was early morning. My alarm had gone off, meaning it was already 7 A.M. The only thing I could feel was dread. I felt burned out and tired, with no motivation or reason to get out of bed. 

'What was going to change if I didn't go to school?' I asked myself. The only conclusion I could come to was the fact that it wouldn't change anything, it would make others happier if anything.

So there I was, lying in my bed with dark thoughts floating around, trying my best to contain them from making me do anything stupid.

I lay there until mom came in, yelling at me. I reluctantly got out of bed, with no energy I brushed my teeth and skipped showering. It felt like a waste of water and time to shower right now so I decided to skip it, like usual. 

Coming downstairs, the first sight that greeted me was my mother washing some dishes and my younger and older sister at the table, both eating breakfast.

I silently packed everything I needed for school. I grabbed my lunch and hid it in my room, that way mom's hard work wouldn't be ruined and money wouldn't be wasted. The last time I brought my lunch to school… Let's just say it didn't go that well.

I then yawned, stretching my limbs. For the first time in a while, I had gotten some sleep early. Although the bags under my eyes were definitely still apparent, I felt like I had gotten enough sleep for once. 

"Come eat breakfast already!" Yelled my older sister from the other room. I silently walked over and took my seat at the table.

My younger sister played with her food, while I consumed mine. 

"Hey, Hayato." Said my older sister.

I nodded in response.

"Why didn't you- look at me. Hey? Hello? Oka- no! Don't look away from me! Look into my eyes when I'm talking to you!"

"..." (Hayato)

I tried looking into her eyes multiple times, but I always found myself looking away. Every time I made eye contact, the pressure upon me felt like it increased several folds.

"O-okay…" I hesitantly said, forcing myself to look directly into her eyes.

"See! That wasn't so hard, now was it? Why are you so nervous around me anyways, I'm not going to eat you or anything..." Said my older sister when I looked directly into her eyes.

"It's just… I'm still sleepy, that's all…" Making an excuse, I avoided eye contact again and finished eating. I got up before she could say anything else and put my dishes away, grabbed my backpack and opened the door to leave the house. 

"Aah!" I jumped in surprise. It was Aki, right outside, standing in front of my front door with her usual cheery smile. 

"Hehe~ did I scare you?" Innocently asked Aki. 

I nervously closed the door behind me, making sure no one saw and would make a big deal out of this.

"A little bit... Why… Why are you here though…?"

"I'm here because that's what a good girlfriend does! Come, let's go to school!" She said in a cheerful voice, wrapping her arms around mine.

I was frozen in place when the realization struck me. She would see how pathetic I truly was, and… I was worried about the fact that she might get hurt as well…

"W-wait… you… can go ahead without me, I'll come… soon…" I said in a low voice, soft enough as to where she wasn't able to hear it, or she just ignored it.

She dragged me along as I silently followed along. My legs still feeling heavy and my body exhausted, I tripped over, falling onto the ground along with Aki.

I stretched my arms in order to not squish her under me, my knee between her thighs and hands beside her head. It felt like it was straight out of a cliche romance anime.

I looked directly into her bright summer eyes, causing her to look away with a blush on her face. When I processed what I was doing, I immediately got up. 

"I-I'm, I'm sorry Aki, it was an accident and-" In a panic I sent out a flurry of words, stumbling and tripping over each of them.

She set her finger on top of my lips, forcing me to stop talking. 

"Shh" She whispered softly, gently wrapping her arms around my back, her flowery scent attacked my sense of smell as she started to gently rub my hair. 

"I love you" she gently whispered into my ear. A plethora of emotions rose inside of me. 

I felt… warm, safe, accepted…

Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face, my voice wouldn't call out. Snot clogged my nose as she hugged me even tighter. 

I hugged her back, weeping into her shoulder as she caressed my hair…

TrueBean

This is short but it's all I could squeeze in. I've been very busy these past few weeks and I had free time, but I wanted to relax. Sorry for the short Chapter. See you soon.