PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

Perfectly Imperfect [Part 5]

CHAPTER NINE.

Aoi sat there in a cubicle inside the restroom. She was crying now, letting every tear drop from her eyes. She suddenly heard someone else open the restroom door and entered. "Hina?" the voice spoke. Aoi could tell who it belonged to "Kyoko?" she asked back. "It's me, you can talk to me if you want" Kyoko assured. Aoi didn't answer and Kyoko could just hear her sniffles. "Is this about Hiro?" Kyoko asked as she folded her arms in front of her and leaned on the sink that was facing the closed cubicle Aoi was in. "I'm too obvious huh? I'm not surprised you'd know, you are the Ultimate Detective after all" Aoi said her voice weak. "What happened Hina?" Kyoko asked, her voice full of concern. A few seconds later, Aoi opened the cubicle door she was in then walked towards Kyoko. "I guess there's no hiding it from you" Aoi spoke and Kyoko just looked at her. She leaned on the sink next to her "I just overheard him say that he just sees me as a friend, nothing more, and it will be impossible for him to ever find me attractive" Aoi started "Maybe I was just too stupid to think that there might be something more than that" she added, her voice sullen. Kyoko just looked at her for moment before saying "Honestly, I don't think he spoke the truth Hina" she told her. Aoi turned her head to face her, without saying anything. "The way he's been acting around you, it's hard to believe that's the case" Kyoko added. Aoi blinked twice, she wanted to believe what Kyoko said but she sighed "Well, he had no reason to lie, I mean, it's Byakuya and Makoto he was saying that to, and he never lied about anything to them, those guys always tell the truth to each other" she said bowing her head as she felt another set of tears well up her eyes. Kyoko nodded her head "You have a point, but whatever the truth may be, it's best the two of you talk this out." Aoi shook her head "I understand but I don't have anything to talk to him with, maybe, I was just too naive, and stupid to fall in love with a guy like him.""Well, it's your choice Hina" Kyoko said as she gave her a gentle pat on the back. Aoi looked at Kyoko "Thanks for listening Kyoko" she told her. Kyoko nodded her head and gave her a reassuring smile "Always."

It was the next day and Hiro checked his watch and saw the clock hit twelve o'clock, it was finally lunchtime. He turned off his monitor and quickly stood up. Any way that he can forget about work for a while, he will gladly take. He straightened out his tie before walking out his cubicle. He made his way towards the end of the office towards where Aoi's cubicle was situated. He peeked inside and saw her still working on something on her computer. He leaned his hand on the wall "Hey Hina, shall we go to lunch?" he asked. For the past few weeks they have been going to lunch together that it has become a routine for him. He always wait on her so they could go to the canteen together. Aoi turned her head upon hearing his voice, but to Hiro's surprise, she just ignored him. "I mean, if you're busy, I could save you a seat, or do you want me to bring you lunch here?" he offered. Aoi stood up turning her monitor off "I can eat lunch by myself" she said and hurriedly walked out her cubicle, brushing against him as she walked not making eye contact, leaving Hiro frozen there watching her leave. Hiro blinked twice, he was confused why she acted that way. He started to run and catch up to her. Aoi was walking when he caught up next to her "Hina, are you okay?" he asked as he walked, walking briskly following the pace she was making. "Of course, I'm just swell" she said her tone flat, still not making eye contact. "O-okay" Hiro said weakly. When they arrived at the canteen door, she finally turned to look at him "I want to eat lunch by my own, so you can go find somewhere else to eat, okay?" she told him. Hiro just stared at her "What? Why? We always eat lunch together" he asked. "Well, we don't want people to know about us, do we? After all we're just friends. Friends can eat separately" Aoi replied and didn't wait for any reaction from him as she stormed into the room and left him.

Hiro sat on his desk chair after lunch that day. He turned on his monitor to start working but his mind would always go back to what happened earlier, and how Aoi has brushed him off. Did he do something wrong? It wasn't supposed to bother him so much but it was taking so much of his thoughts right now. He suddenly perked up and thought of some way to maybe make up for his mistake that he didn't know he did. He walked towards the lounge and filled a cup with hot water. He knew that Aoi always enjoyed a cup of hot tea after lunch everyday, and he was sure he beat her there because the room was empty when he entered. He took some tea from the cabinet and let it seep in for a few minutes. After that, he took the cup with him and walked towards her cubicle. Hina was there working on something when he approached her. "Hina, here have some tea" he said as he placed the cup on her desk. Hina looked at the cup on her table and did not say anything. It was as if he wasn't even there. Hiro decided to ignore the pangs on his pride when she didn't say anything. "Alright, I'll be off" he said then walked away. Hiro walked back to his cubicle, his mind silently praying that somehow, that simple effort made everything okay between the two of them. He decided to do some sort of work as he waited for the time to pass. At last it was time to go home. This time for the past few weeks, Aoi would be coming into his cubicle so that they could accompany each other down to the lobby. He waited for a few minutes and figured that Aoi wasn't coming. His mind refused to believe this and thought that maybe she was asked to do overtime. He walked slowly to her cubicle and suddenly his shoulders slumped. Her cubicle was empty, her bag wasn't there either which meant she had already left. What hurt most was that the cup of tea he had made earlier for her remained there untouched.