eternal

3rd of december / qianru

december had come just a few days ago, dusting the streets of miyagi with a light layer of snow. the skies were perpetually grey most of the time and it had been gently snowing for the past few days, which was not particularly odd at all. the weather was progressively becoming colder, with everyone leaving the house with more layers of clothes, if not thicker ones.

it was presently the third of december, and it was now time for aoba johsai's scheduled break. qian, with her earpieces plugged in and playing taylor swift's new album on spotify, ate her bread by the field, legs swinging back and forth rhythmically, all along in time with the tempo of the song that was currently being played.

she was so immersed in the music — eyes shut and humming along with it under her breath while stopping at intervals to eat her bread — when she heard the faint voice of someone calling her name. she pulled out one of the two earpieces in her ears and turned around to see oikawa clad in an extra sweater above his blazer, walking towards her.

she smiled and gave him a wave, putting the song on pause and pulling out the other earpiece from her ear. she scooted over on the bench and patted the empty spot beside her, signalling him to sit down next to her. he sat down and turned to her, then opened his mouth to ask her a question.

"qian," he said, "do you know the song 'heather' by conan gray?"

she nodded. of course she did. 'heather' was one of the popular songs that was trending among teenagers their age. unless anyone was living under a rock or did not listen to pop music at all, everyone would know this song, or at least heard a section of it in passing.

"do you think it'd be weird if i gave the girl i like my sweater?" he asked bashfully, scratching the back of his neck while a light blush bloomed on his cheeks.

her ears picked up the words 'girl i like' before she could even answer him. her heart dropped and she swore it stopped beating right there and then. never once she had considered the possibility of him falling for someone. of course, someone as popular as oikawa could easily get any girl he liked. why was he still asking her such a question?

qian bit her lower lip and turned her head to the side to hide her trembling pupils from his sight. she chuckled, lowering her head, "why? is it because today's the third of december?"

he hummed, "do you think she'd understand my true intentions if i did so?"

"i'm sure she would," qian could feel her heart disappearing with every passing second. she wanted the grassy ground to just open up a carvenous mouth and swallow her whole. she felt her eyes water and there was only so much she could do to hold back her tears, just stop talking and go and find her already so that i can cry in peace!

"thank you, qian!" he said and smiled, and if qian had decided to turn her head to look at him right there and then, her heart might have just been torn between beating faster or dissolving into nothingness quicker.

she kept her head hung low as she heard him stand up and walk away, his footsteps fading away into the distance. curiosity got the better of her and she lifted her head to watch his figure retreat into the distance as he walked up to a female upperclassman. it was a lie to say that qian was unfamilliar with her: she was the pretty girl with golden curls that were the colour of sunshine and sapphire eyes that sparkled dazzlingly. she was beautiful, kind, and intelligent — a true, walking definition of the perfect girl who was the protagonist of every fairytale.

qian watched as oikawa pulled the cream-white sweater above his head and dusted it before holding it out to this girl, all while her friends squealed at the sight and gushed about how romantic he was. indeed, that blonde girl had gotten oikawa mesmerised, and qian could only watch as they stood next to each other, so picture perfect, while she felt as though she was dying.

all qian could do was smile bitterly and stand up on her two feet to walk away from the scene. each step she took was akin to tearing her heart into even smaller pieces, and how she wished she had never caught feelings for the wrong person at all.

qian wished with all her heart that she was that girl, that she, instead, was heather.

— alternatively ! —

"thank you, qian!" oikawa said and smiled, and if qian had decided to turn her head to look at him right there and then, her heart might have just been torn between beating faster or dissolving into nothingness quicker.

qian kept her head hung low and she waited to hear the sound of him standing up and walking away to find the girl that stole his heart. however, she heard the sound of fabric rustling, and she turned to him to see him pull his cream-white sweater off his body before dusting it. with a shy smile on his face, he held his sweater out to her, "then, please dress warmly. it's cold out these days."

her mouth gaped open slightly as her cheeks flared red and became warm, the girl whom he likes... is me?!

slowly, she reached a hand out to accept the sweater, her fingertips grazing against the soft fabric that was now in her hands. she smiled back at him and held the sweater close to her chest, "thank you."

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( 041221 )

ik it's not 3rd dec anym but hey, better late
than nvr! also i might bring back the initial
idea of rly short oneshots (which spawned
in 2016 and kick-started this series) ahaha