the girl in the corner.

episode 10: courage.

one month since i befriended riki. nothing has ever been better, i'd never been happier.

of course, there would always be some bad apples, such as momoko hatanaka. she was strongly against my friendship with riki.

why, one might ask? because it was obvious she liked him.

the perfect solution she saw was to bully me into distancing myself from riki, but although i'm quiet, i have a strong opinion and stand my ground, even if i'm not able to express it. so because of that trait that i'd inherited from my mother, i did not waver or succumb to momoko's bullying—however harsh it was—and continued hanging out with riki, which only pissed her off more.

what upset her the most, however, was that she had this belief that i also liked riki, and, well, she wasn't exactly wrong. i never told her, though, nor am i planning to tell him soon, either. but seeing as how she severely bullies me whenever he isn't looking or how she threatens me, or the possibility that, if he does like her, i might lose him, i started gathering up my courage to tell him before she does, partly to piss her off so she could finally stop bothering me, and partly because i wanted to. i'm just scared of his answer in the end.

today, as usual, riki and i are together during break time. momoko had never missed a chance to talk to him and get closer to him ever since the day she gave him that box of taiyaki, and i'd noticed she'd do so whenever he and i were together. i didn't fail to see how riki himself was rather uncomfortable around her, but he was too nice to tell her off. and i was too shy to ask him about it.

this time, both he and i had brought homemade lunches to school, so we were the only two in the classroom while everyone went to the cafeteria to get their food. i sat on his desk while he leaned his back on his chair's backrest with his box of sushi in hand.

we sat in a comfortable silence as we ate, the soft roaring of the air conditioner serving as background noise. i sat staring at my feet as they dangled off of riki's desk, and i could feel his eyes on me. i certainly felt small under his strong gaze, but i acted oblivious and ate my food just as usual.

"you still have that braid from that day?" i heard him ask, and i turned to face him. his face had a small, adoring smile as he eyed my hair. i nodded and turned back to my feet.

"it's all messy now," he acknowledged, and i felt my heart beat faster than it already was. "let me fix it for you." with that, he closed his box of unfinished sushi and shoved it under the desk, rising to his feet and moving to stand behind me. at this point, i felt my pulse running a fifty kilometer marathon in a minute.

i felt his slim fingers take off the hair band he gave me that day at the tip of the braid, then his hands moved swiftly to untie my hair. i noticed i was slouching, so i tried my best to subtly straighten my posture.

in a few seconds, i felt my hair fall over my shoulders, which felt new to me as i'd gotten used to this braid. riki used his fingers as a comb to straighten my hair, and i subconsciously felt sleepier as his fingers ran through my hair.

the loud crash of the door against the wall startled both of us—riki flinched but i was sure i jumped off the table—as we both turned around to see who had come. my eyes dropped to the floor as soon as i saw who it was.

none other but the devil herself.

i saw her shoot me an icy glare before she showed riki a smile. riki greeted her and his hands fell from my hair and into his pockets. i quietly grabbed my bento box and went back to my seat. on the way, i glanced back at riki and met his eyes as he conversed with momoko, then shyly turned around and continued to my seat. their voices were now mere background noise to me.

"okay, yeah. i'll see you there." i heard him tell momoko before she giggled and left the classroom. i looked at riki from under my lashes as i rested my chin on the desk, my arms covering the lower half of my face, and saw him sigh heavily then move to my seat. i sat up and asked him what momoko had said to him. he only shook his head and told me it wasn't important.

"now, let me do your hair?" he suggested with his signature charming smile, and i nodded and sat on my desk, my head hung low as i looked at my fingers while i fiddled with them, deep in thought.

momoko is most likely planning to confess to him somewhere private, like behind the school or the rooftop or an empty classroom. i felt anxious about it, but i knew i could do nothing. momoko is way more powerful than me and she can find the right thing to say instantly, and if i do try and stop her from confessing, she'll say some words that'll pierce my heart like a knife. i can only hope that he rejects her, and i trust him to do so. after all, he told me he doesn't like her, but i'm not sure.

i can only hope that he doesn't accept her.