Cold & Empty [A Mayuzumi Chihiro Fanfiction]

Chapter 2

You managed to survive the first half of the day. It's finally lunch break and you hoped that maybe you'll be able to meet with Aoi and Mayumi as soon as possible. The teacher left the room and you stood up almost immediately to reunite with your best friends.

"Why in a hurry, (your surname)-san?" the girl beside you asked with a smile.

"Oh, ugh, no I'm not really in a hurry...ugh...," you trailed off as you realized that you did not know her name, heck you didn't even know a single soul in your classroom right now.

"Murakami, Murakami Akane," she filled in for you. "But please just call me Akane"

"Just call me (your name) then," you replied with a smile.

"So you were in a hurry because, hmmm, let me guess...Meeting with your boyfriend?" she smirked.

"I-I-I don't have one!" you immediately replied as you waved your hands vigorously in front of you. You just stopped when she playfully poked your cheek.

"Is that so?" her bright smile was already back on her lips. She's beautiful...you thought. Your eyes then shifted to the seat on your left, but it was already empty.

"Ah, which reminds me...Uhm, Akane, who was the guy seating here?" you asked your new friend while pointing at the seat to your left.

"Ah it's Mayuzumi,"

"Mayuzumi?" you repeated.

"Yes. Why? Interested in him?" she asked with a knowing look.

"No, of course not, I just thought that I at least ought to know my neighbors here, right?"

"Well that's a relief... because I am," you looked at her in surprise after hearing her words. How could she easily admit that to a stranger. Well, she didn't really say that she like this Mayuzumi guy so you concluded that it's alright.

"Eh? Really? Why is that?" she just smiled sweetly at you as her reply and said that it's a story for another time. You decided to just drop the topic and head off to your best friends. Akane also have other close friends and you thought that it would be perfectly fine to leave her for now. You can have some other time to improve your friendship with her anyway.

You and your best friends had decided earlier to meet at the rooftop at the other building. You didn't really want to because it's on the other building but they insisted because almost nobody really go there. You were finally on the bridge connecting the two building when-

"Ah!" you yelped as you tripped and scraped your knee slightly."Ugh...it hurts," you mumbled as you looked at your knee. How could you have tripped when there was nothing on the bridge except you? Well, you certainly don't have the talent to trip on flat surfaces...at least you didn't the last time you checked.

"It's your fault for not looking where you're going...klutz," a familiar male voice said. You turned your head to look at the speaker and there he was, seating down while reading a book not even meeting your eyes. Was he really there before?

"You?!" you exclaimed pointing your index finger at him. It was the same guy earlier, the one who called you a midget. He finally looked at you and his gaze was as empty as ever. His brows furrowed as he stared at you for a moment then looked at the book in his hand again.

"It's not nice to just point at people you know,"

"It's now nice to deliberately trip people you know," you retorted. He gave you a swift glance again.

"I didn't trip you, you just didn't notice," he replied with a slight irritation evident in his voice. "Just leave me be. I'm trying to read here if you haven't noticed, (your surname)" you were taken aback when you heard him say your surname. It simply felt different...the way your name escaped his lips simply felt different. It wasn't pleasant nor bad...just different.

"I have, and I will even if you don't tell me to! Ugh...," you were sure that the two of you were in the same class but you didn't know the name of the guy. " Wh-whoever you are," you continued and felt embarrassed with the last part.

"How ignorant, you don't even know the name of your seatmate?" he was mocking you. He was speaking as if not knowing the name of your seatmate was such an abominable sin. You knew it wasn't such a big deal but the gray-haired guy had this different impact on you.

"I-I do know!" it came out much louder than you expected.

"So loud," he whispered loud enough for you to hear.

"It's Akane-san and Mayuzumi-san," you told him the names of your seatmates to prove your point. He looked at you with his dull gray eyes.His eyes narrowed slightly and looked as if he's waiting for you to say more. Then it finally occured to you,"Y-You're Mayuzumi?"

"Go figure,"

He didn't say more. You just stared. So this guy will be your neighbor for some time...

"Seriously?"

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