Last Second

Chapter 1

Darkness took over as this Friday progressed. The moon that rose to the sky was luminous and dazzling as never seen before.

The doors swinging shut behind the last visitors cued clock time. 

Ryan grasped the door sign happily and reversed it to closed. He was more than excited to jump into the weekend and start an anime marathon in the comfort of his bed sheets.

The day's pent up stress was finally set free as he relaxed his tense muscles onto a comfy couch. I really do deserve this rest, he thought to himself. After all, it had been a long day serving customers with just the two of them alone. Of course he grew tired after each of their excruciating days together, but he always dismissed it because all that mattered was that the customers would always leave extra tips for their hard work.

However, nothing could make him ignore his heart that had been nagging at him all day. Something told him this was his big decision date, the day he's been dreading since his first time meeting her.

Awkwardly breaking the silence that fell, Ryan cleared his throat. "Hey Misaki... Are you leaving yet?" He glanced at her hesitantly. He wasn't sure what he would do if she rejected him. Even worse, he wouldn't know what to do in life anymore if she decided to erase him from her life after today.

As if reading his sea of depressed thoughts, she responded to his dismay, "I am leaving soon. Do you want me to clock you out along the way?"

He sighed in realization. It was one of those moments when he got ahead of himself again. What would a person like her want anything to do with someone like him anyway? He was thinking too highly of himself.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's fine. I'm just going to stay here for a little longe-"

A jingle at the door told him someone had come in.

The boy's head perked up from behind his seat. He relaxed upon absorbing the visage of a familiar face. Good thing it was only his best friend so no awkward rejection of service was required.

"Hector? What are you doing here?"

His best friend nodded his chin at Ryan before advancing towards the girl behind the counter. "I'm here to pick up Misaki." Hector sent a wide smile her way as his arms spread wide for a warm embrace. Misaki shyly melded into his arms, returning the same affection. To Ryan's horror, they grinned so happily in each other's presence it could have deemed tonight's full moon dull. It was as though he were never there to begin with.

Misaki brought him back to consciousness. "See you on Monday, Ryan!"

Any other Friday, the simple goodbye would have made the butterflies in his stomach run crazy. But Ryan's heart nearly dropped to his stomach when details clicked in his mind faster than he would have liked. It was difficult to convince himself that yes, the so-called secret girl that his best friend was infatuated about was the same one just standing in front of him moments ago. He almost went along with his contemplation of throwing himself against the window. Any escape sounded appealing to him. Anything was better than this sickening scene before him.

Ryan never expected it. Maybe it was because best friend was such a procrastinator that Ryan never thought he'd make a move before him. And he didn't know, since Misaki's always been known to him as a shy girl, that she would ever accept his friend's proposal.

He could only sadly stare at the couple as they slowly disappeared into the darkness, hand in hand, with the door slamming shut behind them.