Catch a Glimmer of Your Star

Take that feeling

The manga Sunny was reading had caught his eye because of the attractive cover. He'd picked up the book, drawn towards the beautifully illustrated characters all of whom had long, colorful hair and pretty, glowing eyes. Nevermind that most of them were boys! At least he found the heroine to be quite alluring, so if anyone—ahem, Basil—asked, he could just say that he liked the main character, an adorable sixteen year old bookworm girl who had a crush on the captain of the high school team.

As he read through the book, he discovered that the captain was an awesome character. He was a kind and devoted person who cared a lot about the people he was close to. Anyone could fall for that personality. With his fluffy dirty-blond hair and those beaming aqua eyes—

Fluffy blond hair? Blue-green eyes?

Basil seemed to be reading his own books with a distracted air when he suddenly stood up from his chair.

"H-Hey Sunny, do you mind if I head out for a few minutes? I just want to go buy something."

"Sure," Sunny replied.

"See you in a bit. Don't leave the library without me!"

"Don't worry, I won't."

Sunny was midway through reading the second volume when a familiar black and white presence began to appear next to him. The black-eyed boy, still dressed in a dark tank top and striped shorts, sat next to Sunny and watched over him observantly as he flipped through the manga.

Why are you back?

"You can't get rid of me. You thought you did when you accepted the truth, but I only temporarily melted away."

I don't need you.

"Are you certain of that?"

Omori leaned his elbow against the table and propped his face against his hand. As Sunny read through each panel and chapter, Omori drummed his fingers against the library table. Those dark, lightless eyes scrutinized Sunny with a keen glare, as if daring him to try to seek the truth.

Sunny almost reached the end of the second volume. He found the heroine to be an attractive-looking girl but her personality was just so bland compared to the captain of the tennis team. She had good grades and was nice and respectful to all her friends and family, reminding him a bit of his own sister. Yet the captain was just so much more interesting. Although he put on a positive exterior, his relations with his family were rough and it seemed that with each passing day, he was getting more and more stressed out over all his social obligations. To make matters worse, he had a dark secret that nobody dared to mention.

Omori tapped a finger against Sunny's arm.

What do you want?

"You have feelings you consider undesirable."

I don't have any!

"Things are different between us now, Sunny. Since our confrontation, I've realized that you're tougher than you seem. You faced the truth and pulled through your confession even though I told you that you weren't going to make it. So I'm not going to ask you to kill yourself again..."

So what are you doing here?

"You have new troubled feelings and you're not ready to accept them yet."

I don't! Stop telling me I do!

Omori's eyes pierced through Sunny's weak mental barrier.

But before that confrontation with his inner demon could escalate, Basil came back wearing a brand new red flower pin in his hair.

"Hey, Sunny!" Basil announced with his characteristic smile. "I found a store that sold flower pins!"