Our Red and Blue Dynamic

Reki

I wasn't sure what to say. Everything I had been thinking, all the planning and memorizing how I was going to apologize just disappeared once it came down to actually saying it, and now all of my thoughts were in a tangle. I tried to form a coherent sentence, but I ended up just rambling on with a mixture of apologies and explaining how bad I felt about what I said and how I acted. I hoped that what I meant got through to him, but he gave no sign that it did. He just sat there, stone-faced and silent. Then to my surprise, he pulled me into a tight hug, and all of the pent up anxiety dissipated as he accepted my apology. I hugged him back, squeezing my eyes shut and resisting the urge to scream. Instead, I started laughing. I laughed and laughed until I felt a stitch in my side, all while he questioned what was funny.

"I'm sorry, it's not funny at all," I said, still trying to catch my breath enough to speak, "I was just so worried about you hating me and never wanting to be friends again and then just now when you hugged me, all the worry turned into happy feelings and then this happened." Then he smiled at me and started giggling, both of us letting all the tension and uncertainty wash away. I sighed out the last bit of my nervous energy, and then, like moths to a flame, asked him if he wanted to go skate. He agreed and we made our way back into the park to our friends.

Everything finally feels right again.

"So did you two kiss and makeup?" Miya asked.

Scratch that.

My ears burned as I fumbled with words, trying to figure out a response. Joe ended up clarifying with Langa that we were alright while I stood there shellshocked, then the rest of the group took off into the rink, leaving Langa and me to our own devices.

Kiss and makeup? Miya, what is wrong with you? How can you ask someone that? Not that it would be all that bad but- No! That's not what matters, we're friends right now and I don't want to rush into something I don't know anything about. I just need to keep myself together and-

Langa bumped his shoulder against mine. I elbowed him back. He asked me to help him with the rail slide and I smiled, agreeing. Just as he was starting to get comfortable with the stance, Cherry showed up and grinned at us, then immediately moved on to picking a fight with Joe. A competition of skill then followed, and I couldn't help but watch as they spent the entire time completely wrapped up in each other's presence. Watching them started to make all of the things Joe and I talked about hit home.

I have to wait it out. I can't rush into it.

We spent the rest of the day at the park, and when everyone started heading off their own ways, agreed to meet up that night at S. We still had a few hours to kill before then, and I still had energy to burn, so I decided to show Langa around Okinawa while searching for a bite to eat. Normally, he'd be just as interested in whatever I was talking about as I was, or he would at least pretend to be, but since we had left the park, his mind seemed to be somewhere else. He was standing right beside me, yet he was a million miles away.

I asked him what was up and he told me he was thinking about Cherry and Joe. I asked him why.

At the end of the day, they'll still be there for each other. I knew something was off, but I'm not going anywhere. Never again.

I reassured him, and he asked me if I meant that even without skateboarding. I told him exactly what I thought about that; skating didn't matter, he did. 

We finally found something to eat and a spot to sit right as I realized we had to go and we took off yet again. We flew down the street, haphazardly swerving through and around traffic. I glanced over at a local daycare centre as we passed by, spotting a familiar car parked out front, and a godsend in the front seat. I stopped and ran up to Manager Oka before he could drive off.