➹𝑳𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔 || ʙᴏɴᴛᴇɴ ғᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

𝑰𝑰𝑰.

[𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆]

"The semestral break is Near! Are you excited, Shikari? I can't wait to rest!" Nikooru spread out her arms with her eyes closed pretending she already grasped her most-awaited vacation.

However, her friend Shikari couldn't get herself to feel the same. While other people her age are looking forward to their respective vacations, Shikari's was hell waiting.

Our elders think leisure activities are just a waste of time. Going on a semestral break is just basically home school to us.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that insensitive of me? I shouldn't have mentioned it!" Nikooru smacked herself in the head as punishment for unintentionally upsetting her friend.

"It's alright, Nikooru! I'm glad to hear you're happy! And we're friends so you can always count on me to listen to whatever you have to say." Shikari dismissed her concern with a smile. Just like how Seki nee-chan listens to me. Shikari thought without realizing she unconsciously adapted Seki's facade.

Pretending you're okay when you're not. Like putting up a beautiful portrait to hide a crack in the wall.

But they should've known... you don't hide cracks, you fix them before they spread. Before everything collapses.

"Thank you for being such a good friend to me, Shikari. I don't know how I could ever repay you."

"Repay? Why would you repay me? It's natural for friends isn't it? Hell, it's the bare minimum. You don't need to act like I did you a huge favor."

"But still, I feel like I wasn't being as good of a friend to you." Shikari is always the one who listens while Nikooru rants. Shikari is always the one to do favors, Nikooru is the one who asks. She felt like she's just using her friend like a doll.

Instead, Shikari laughed, effectively confusing her friend who's now staring at her in wonder.

"I'm sorry for laughing..." Shikari apologized in between her laughter. "It's just that, you really are so slow and dense sometimes." She received a frown from Nikooru because of her words.

"I mean... you can't even remember how we became friends?" Memories of their beginnings flashed on Shikari's mind as she smiled at the open space.

"As for me, I remember it vividly." The fond smile on her face as she recalled the memory showed how she truly felt that time. It's as if she went back to that moment.