My Mind Always Finds It's Way Back to You

chapter three

The only noise besides the eerie silence in the car was the tapping of Yuji's fingers on the steering wheel. His eyes were glued straight ahead of him, but you could see his slide over to you every once and awhile.

He had picked you up with no questions asked, and hadn't pried or prodded at you while you sobbed slightly in his car. You wiped away the tears from your face and finally calmed down—you honestly didn't even know why you had been crying this much. You were never much of a crier, but something about this situation had warranted this response. Maybe it was embarrassment, or the fact that you had just semi-confessed to Megumi...

Yuji let out a sigh from beside you, his eyes glued to the road ahead—you had no idea where he was driving to, but anywhere was better than the apartment. "You know, if I have to beat someone up, I'll do it."

You shook your head, but a chuckle escaped your lips. "Thank you, Yuji... but I think it's okay."

"Hey, hey, I was just kidding... unless." He threw one hand in the air, a wide grin on his face. You didn't miss the soft look on his features as he turned to face you.

A wave of warmth was sent through your body. This boy, whom you'd only known for a short while, had come and picked you up with no complaints, no questions. You were so glad to have met him, in the short period of time you had become friends, he had already made your world brighter.

"Thanks so much for picking me up. I just couldn't be at home." You ran a hand through your hair, a sigh escaping your lips.

Yuji pulled into an empty parking lot and put the car into park, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaning his chair back slightly with a sigh. "I don't want to pry or anything, but I'm here to listen if you want to talk about it."

You undid your seatbelt as well, setting your hands awkwardly on your lap after. There truly was no harm in telling Yuji everything, he was a good friend after all, and a nice boy too.

"I... I was in love with Megumi." You said quietly.

Yuji leaned forward in his chair and you caught his gaze—there was a certain disappointed look across his features. The particular look on his face sent a weird feeling throughout your body.

You quickly brought your hands in the air and waved them frantically. "I was ... emphasize on the was. Now, I'm not so sure anymore."

His face changed—it physically brightened up as you said that. "I'm sorry that he treated you badly."

You nodded. You were sorry about that too. But he had his reasons for lashing out, and you knew that too. "The anniversary for his sister is coming up soon, so he's having a hard time I think... a harder time than he wants to let on."

"His sister passed away?"

You shook your head and turned your gaze down to your lap. "She's in a coma, and every year around the time she fell into it, he gets incredibly moody and irritable."

"I'm sorry to hear about that... it must be tough."

"He tries his best to stay positive about it, but it eats away at him I think. Also the fact that his father was absent as well... he's been through a lot." You clenched your hands and gripped your pants hard. "That's no excuse to treat people like shit, but I can understand why he acts like this sometimes."

"My parents died when I was little, so I can understand him a little bit." There was a sad look in his eyes, and it felt unusual and out of place on him.