cats don't always land on their feet (soraru and mafumafu story)

17

bzzz... bzzz... bzzzz...
"ughh..." i opened my eyes groggily. my phone was ringing from in my pocket. i grab it and look at it.
it was my alarm for school.
"eh..?" i said confused, "w-wAIT-!" i shouted and sat up out of bed. i looked out the window to which the sun was just rising.
"oh man, i totally slept through all of yesterday. how is that possible?! it's already time for school?!!" i said to myself in pure confusion.
i sighed and got ready for the day.

***

i walked towards mafu's house and i saw him waiting for me by his driveway, and we walked towards the bus stop together as usual.

it was a pretty normal day. the bus wasn't too crowded so we got to sit in our usual seats. we talked and laughed at random things as usual.

in first period, sou and i had some good laughs about the amusement park, i think. i honestly cant really remember properly.

nothing really eventful happened that day though. it was quite a normal and quiet day, which felt odd because usually there was a lot of energy within our friend group. mafu seemed a bit awkward around the friends, however. probably because of the way he acted the last time he saw them.

classes felt like they dragged on forever. my head felt foggy. i wasn't able to process anything that the teachers said. i honestly don't really remember any conversations that day. i didn't think much of it though, i just assumed it was because i was awake for so long then slept for a long time afterwards.

at the end of the day, as we all waved goodbye to each other, mafumafu seemed to give everyone a personal apology. i couldn't really hear what was said, and i didn't want to be nosy so i didn't try to get closer to listen, but judging by people's reactions, it seemed like he was apologizing for the way he acted that night? although, it did kinda seem like it was a lot deeper than that. he gave everyone a big hug before walking away to the bus stop to go home. i waved to everyone too and followed mafu.

***

we sat on the bus and i had flashbacks of the fight that broke out last time. i clenched my teeth, wishing it had never happened. mafu seemed very tired on the ride back home, so i didn't try to force many conversations. we talked a bit but there wasn't much enthusiasm or energy.

we got off the bus and started walking back to our houses. we walked side by side as usual, only this time is was quiet. which was something that almost never happened when we were together.
"i probably won't be at school the next couple of days," mafu said breaking the silence.
"oh? how come?? you never miss class," i asked looking at him.
"i'm behind on things i need to do around the house, and it's not like we have any big assignments coming up. it'll be fine."
"do you need help? i don't mind staying back to help y-"
"no thanks. it's stuff i need to figure out for myself," he said walking a little faster.
"o-oh, okay then..." i said with a little bit of suspicion.
he kept insisting that he wanted to do stuff on his own so i don't force myself into his plans, despite the bad feeling i had.

we ending up managing to talk and laugh about some random stuff, as we always did, for the rest of the walk back. we arrived at mafu's house after a little while. we stood at his driveway in silence for about a minute.
i broke the silence by saying, "well, i guess i'll see you later then- oh?" i said but got interrupted by mafu suddenly hugging me.
"thank you... for everything," he said softly, "and i'm so sorry for everything."
"there's nothing to be sorry for, and there's definitely no need to thank me," i said and he broke the hug and looked me right in the eyes.
"you've always been right by my side through all these years. you've done so much for me yet i've hardly ever done anything for you. still though, thank you for being my bestest friend in the entire world, you'll always have a special place in my heart, i love you so much," he said. it sounded like he was holding back tears, and he trembled slightly.
"i feel the same way, mafu. you've always been my closest friend as well!" i smiled, "i love you a lot man, thank you for everything too!"
he nodded and took a step back, "i hope you'll forgive me someday.."
he keeps apologizing despite how many times i've told him he's done nothing wrong, i thought.
"of course," i nodded. i figured id say that and hopefully, itd put his worries to ease. it seemed that telling him he did nothing wrong didn't help him, so i just hoped me acknowledging and accepting his apologies may be better, even if i didn't know the reason behind it.
his bottom lip started to quiver and his eyes teared up a bit. he nodded and took a deep breath. he turned to walk to the front door of his house. after a couple of steps, he stopped.
"goodbye soraru," he said turning around to look at me one last time.
i waved at him, "bye mafu, see you soon!"
he nodded and tears started overflowing his eyes, making him turn away from me quickly and continue walking. he quickly unlocked and entered his house. i frowned, feeling a little worried, but continued on to walk to my house.

***

when i got home i immediately went to my room to lay down. i was way too frazzled to really do anything other than sleep. i felt a panic attack coming on, but i wasn't able to pinpoint the cause. i rolled over to my side and stared at the cat plush. i sighed and closed my eyes.

***