0𝙁𝙇𝙐𝙊𝙓𝙀𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙀ˢʰⁱⁿˢᵒᵘ

𝕙𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪ˢⁱˣᵗʸ-ᵒⁿᵉ

HISTORY —

chapter sixty-one

Korei's fingers brushed through Shinsou's tangled hair, gently undoing the knots as he slipped into a dream world. She was most likely not too far behind, but her brain continued to overwork itself. Even after Katsuō's apology, she felt like she had disappointed her. It hurt her physically to think about those words again. It hit too close to home and she couldn't help but think back to middle school.

Korei had just moved back in with her grandmother, seeing as though her mother had failed at being a parent once again. The kids would poke fun about her weight, the boys would make lewd comments, and the girls would whisper about her behind her back. It's not like everyone there was mean. She eventually met a group of kids that liked having her around. They were pretty problematic in school, but Korei didn't mind at all. They accepted her and included her in pretty much everything. They especially loved going to restaurants with her because she was so sweet to the people who worked there that they'd give her discounts and free food sometimes. It's not that they were using her, but that was pretty cool.

A lot changed for her when she met Hitoshi Shinsou from Nabu Middle. It wasn't a significant, life-altering change, but Korei definitely felt different. See, despite having a group of friends who enjoyed her presence, she didn't really have anyone to walk with on the way to school. No one really lived near her grandmother's house. However, there was another school in the area that was just a little ways further down the road from Korei's. Some kids in her neighborhood attended it and walked past her school every day, so...they walked together.

Korei walked with a nice pink-haired girl whose name she can't remember anymore. It was never more than a walking partnership, but they got really close. But that girl's mother didn't like Korei at all, simply because she heard Korei talking about Shinsou one day and assumed she was boy-crazy. Shinsou was the only guy she ever really crushed on so it wasn't fair for that girl's mother to say that about her.

See, Shinsou never really knew that Korei existed. He had one kid in the friend group that he stuck with and that was it, the rest of the kids were annoying or didn't say anything to him. Korei actually did try talking to him a few times, he just never really looked at her. Like he looked at her but he didn't care enough to remember her. She just always complimented his clothes or even his phone case.

Korei would go to sleep at night dreaming of having actual conversations with Shinsou, but she never once thought she'd actually get as far as she has with him. The fact that they had gotten close enough to experiment sexually was enough to make her heart explode. To think that it all started because she caught a glimpse of him on the sidewalk.

"Hey, you okay?" Korei asked as she watched her pink-haired friend trip over a tree root. "Maybe we should head back to the sidewalk? You're gonna end up breaking your neck if we don't." She giggled and her friend agreed.

"You're right. I just thought this would be adventurous," she tried to explain. Korei laughed, her head turning to glimpse back at the sidewalk behind them. "This was supposed to be a shortcut home–" her words faded away as Korei caught sight of the messy-haired boy on the sidewalk. He was so tall! And he was super cute when he smiled like that! Gosh, she wanted to just hold him in her arms and fall asleep. "–Korei? Hello~! You there? Where'd you go?"

"Uh...w-who's that guy? The purple-haired one," Korei asked, motioning in the direction of her future boyfriend. The two girls watched the guys walk by, Shinsou glancing over just in time to make eye contact with the chubby girl. For a second, he thought she looked kinda cute but he never thought anything else about her. He never even tried to find her again.

"Oh, that's Hitoshi Shinsou from Class 2. I don't know him that well but I heard he had a pretty villainous quirk. Do you like him or something?" She teased, knocking her shoulder with Korei's. "I can try to get you closer to him. You two would look hella cute together. Though I was planning on giving you my cousin's number."

"W-what? Why would you do that?!"

"Because! I wanna get you into the family as quickly as I can. My brother's a lost cause but my cousin isn't that bad. He might actually be gay but I'm not sure. He's the same age as us, but he's...weird. You'd like him."

"You can't just set me up with your cousin, that's weird!"

"Not really! And it's not like I'm selling you to him! He doesn't live anywhere close to here but he does come and visit sometimes, maybe I can introduce you?" Korei shrugged at the offer, mumbling an agreement. However, that meeting would never happen because Korei's friend would successfully introduce Korei to Shinsou's friend group. How strange...she could have been in a completely different world if things had gone the other way.

"Babe," Korei glanced down as she heard Shinsou mumble for her. "You're so beautiful." He said, his tired eyes staring up at her. Korei blushed furiously, quietly accepting his compliment. He chuckled and reached up to brush the hair from her face. "I'm glad you're mine."

fluoxetine