Megumi's Flower ❀ | ɢᴏꜰᴜꜱʜɪ

[ XXVII ]

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It was about 10 minutes until classes were going to start. I was walking through the hallway feeling happy about finally making things official with Satoru, when Yuuji spotted me and walked up to me cheerfully.

"Oh no," I mumbled to himself, not even thinking about what would happen between me and Yuuji.

"Good morning Megumi!" Yuuji beamed. Then he looked a little bashful. "So we're still down for tonight right? After school we can go to my place and, well, you know." He started giggling.

"Actually I don't think I can go anymore." I told him.

This came as surprise to Yuuji, who asked me, "What? Why not? I thought you were free for tonight. Did something happen?"

 I looked down solemnly, feeling bad about what I was going to say next. "No, it's not that. It's just that..." I took a deep breath. "I cleared things up with Satoru, and it turns out he liked me back. And now we're official."

Yuuji was frozen for a second. "Oh, okay," he said in a small voice. "So, um, what does this mean for us?"

"It means that we can't be together anymore. It wouldn't be fair for me to be with you while I'm in love with someone else. I'm sorry Yuuji, but we'll have to end things." I said to him, feeling an immense amount of guilt.

I saw sadness in Yuuji's eyes. But then he masked it with some forced enthusiasm. "No problem. It's okay. I know you liked him from the start, so it's all good. Has your Hanahaki disease been cured now that Gojo-san and you are a couple?" He asked me.

"Yeah it has. I feel better now. Thanks for helping me get through it," I said appreciatively.

"Well then I'm glad you're okay. We can just go back to being friends. I'm happy for you Megumi," he smiled at me, but it looked strained.

"Thanks again Yuuji. You'll always be an important friend of mine." I said. Then I looked at my phone. "Oh, class is about to start. I better go in now. We can still hang out though right?" I asked him, wanting to still be close with him as he still meant a lot to me.

Yuuji hesitated before answering. "Yeah sure," he agreed. "We can find another day to hang out then. But for now I should get to class." 

Yuuji turned away from me and walked the other way, towards his class. I couldn't help but feel bad about what just happened. Students started walking into the classroom, and I entered as well. 

During my class, I found myself thinking about Yuuji. If he was okay, and how much it would affect him. He'll be okay right? I thought to myself. But then I remembered Yuuji telling me how much he liked me, and how much he wanted us to be together, and I started feeling bad again.

Choose me. His words echoed in my mind. He wanted me to choose him over Satoru. But I ended up feeling Satoru. I felt a heartache in my chest. I didn't want him to get hurt. But what else could I have done?

At lunch I spotted Yuuji and walked up to him. "Hey, do you want to eat lunch together?" I asked him.

But surprisingly Yuuji declined. "Actually I'm busy," he looked at the ground. "Sorry Megumi, but maybe another time." He walked pass me again in the other direction. 

I was a bit sad he didn't want to hang out with me during lunch, but to be fair I had just rejected him. It made sense that he didn't want to be around me for now. So I looked down at my shoes, and walked to the rooftop by myself to eat lunch.

When school ended, I didn't spot Yuuji at his locker. I wanted to say goodbye to him, but I guess I couldn't. As I was exiting the building and headed to the front gate, I saw Satoru leaning against his car. He was here to pick me up.

"Satoru!" I ran up to him. Then I realized that a lot of people were staring at him, admiring his appearance, and I got slightly annoyed and a little bit jealous. "Why'd you have to wait outside the car?" I pouted. "Couldn't you wait for me inside?"

"It was getting hot inside," he complained. "Besides I also wanted to see you as soon as possible. I missed you Megumi-chan!" He leaned down to squeeze me into a big hug, and I blushed. 

"N-not in public!" I yelled at him. "It's okay if it's at home, but don't do this here! I don't like PDA!" I told him.

Then he whispered in my ear. "Mmm, I can't wait until we get home. Then I can do all kinds of things with you," he winked at me, which made me turn an even brighter shade of pink.

"You're such a pervert," I mumbled to him, which just made him laugh. We both got into the car, and he started driving away.

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Yuuji's POV

It was after school, but I was still in the classroom. I wasn't in the mood to go home now. I cleaned my room and prepared everything for when Megumi was going to come over, but since that wasn't going to happen anymore I didn't really want to go back yet. So I stayed back to study a bit.

Trying to pretend that nothing was wrong was so hard. It hurt like hell when he rejected me. I loved him a lot. I really thought that he would be able to move on from Gojo-san and be with me instead, but I guess that couldn't happen. 

I looked out the window, trying to get my mind off things, when I spotted them. Gojo-san was leaning against a car near the front gate, when Megumi walked up to him. I saw Gojo-san give Megumi a big hug. Seeing that made me feel a pain in my chest. He really chose him over me. Megumi didn't love back. 

Suddenly the pain got worse. I felt a throbbing ache in my lungs. Like my lungs were on fire. I started coughing terribly. I coughed into my hand. 

And when I looked down at my hand, I saw some blood. And a few flower petals.

"No way," I said to myself in disbelief. "I-I have it?" I looked at my hand again. It really was flower petals. Orange flower petals, covered in drops of blood.

I leaned forward and rested my head against the desk. "What am I going to do?" I asked myself. "Megumi doesn't like me back. So how do I cure this?"

I remembered my time together with Megumi. Megumi was beautiful, and I was initially interested in him because of his beauty and because I learned about his Hanahaki disease and I wanted to help him, but then I really fell for him. His quiet thoughtfulness, how he would go along with my stupid antics, and how we eventually grew to be more affectionate with each other. 

I closed my eyes, feeling another throbbing in my chest. I was heartbroken. He really couldn't be mine anymore.

"I really did love him," I said quietly. "But now I have to let him go."

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