SK8TEMBER'21 SERIES

I hate cliches.

Kaoru hated cliches, and especially, romantic cliches. Maybe, it was because he'd been obsessed over rom-coms for years and nothing in real life was like in the movies. Or maybe, it was because he hated to see Kojiro's girlfriends getting all the attention and romanticism he wanted.

And the funniest thing was that all his girlfriends, for some reason, always broke up with him saying that they couldn't get in the middle of their relationship, because they were like soulmates destined to be together.

Kaoru wondered why the hell they thought that, because he and Kojiro were nothing like soulmates destined to be together. Trust him, he's been wishing about that for years; since they were teenagers, and Kojiro never seemed interested in him at all. Not in that way, though.

His girlfriends were the ones getting flowers on special occasions; chocolates on Valentine's day; or Kojiro's jacket when they were cold. He hated it.

Okay, maybe, hating was the wrong way to describe what he felt. Kaoru knew the feeling that made his heart ache like that was other: jealousy.

And yeah, maybe he'd always get special treatment from Kojiro, but it had nothing to do with romantic cliches.

The most romantic thing Kojiro would do for him every now and then, was taking care of him when he'd be sick. Cooking chicken soup for him, caressing his cheeks with tenderness to be sure he wasn't feverish anymore and cuddling him all night just to be sure he wouldn't be alone if he had any nightmare. But that was what best friends do for each other, right?

Of course that's what friends do for each other. If Kojiro would have any romantic intentions behind all of that, Kaoru would have noticed by now.

Lately, Kaoru has been more upset with the situation than he's ever been. Usually, Kojiro always puts Kaoru first no matter what, but it didn't feel like that anymore. Kojiro's latest girlfriend seemed to have decided to monopolize all his free time.

And it didn't help in the least that Kojiro ditched him at the last minute the only day they managed to planned on do something together that week with a couple of texts.

Kojiro: I'm sorry I can't make it tonight, Himiko asked if I could go with her to the movies.

And if that wasn't enough to upset Kaoru, the next text absolutely did it.

Kojiro: Do you think she'd like these flowers?

Attached to their chat, Kojiro sent a selfie with a beautiful bouquet, making Kaoru's heart ache and shatter into a million pieces.

Those flowers should be for me. Kaoru selfishly wished.

What upset Kaoru the most, was that this wasn't the first time Kojiro had ditched him in the last two months. And he couldn't stand that anymore.

As an answer, Kaoru only sent a thumbs up emoji. Kaoru never sent emojis. And Kojiro didn't notice it.

Kaoru's heart ached even more.

After that, Kaoru was done with those damn feelings for his best friend. He was so tired of loving him and not being loved back.

Kaoru's anxiety hitted him hard at the realization. This was the first time he'd ever thought about it like that, but there wasn't any way to deny it anymore.

He was in love with his best friend; he was in love with someone that would never love him in the same way. And it fucking hurted.

After a couple of weeks, Kojiro miraculously cleared his busy boyfriend schedule to meet up with him. Kaoru tried very hard to bite down a snarky comment about it, but nonetheless, he was ansty and upset with him. And the fact that Kojiro didn't seem to notice it, worsened his anxiety.