SOUR GRAPES' 𝙞. 𝙮𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙞

01

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7:29A.M.

The boy sighs as he nervously approached the locker. 'Will she like this?' He thought, subconsciously fixing the crease of the letter in hand, easily gliding his fingers on the folded area.

'I really hope I don't come off as creepy.' He scrunches his eyebrows at the thought. He had been writing these letters for the past week or so and still, he hasn't been getting a response, further feeding into his worry that she might think he's weird. Plus, the letters were anonymously written. He really couldn't blame her if she thought that.

Isagi Yoichi is someone who's not afraid of facing new challenges, wether they were easy or hard, and never refuses to back down from them.

But, this particular challenge seems to be something he's not ready to face.

An act he's not ready to face; the act of confessing his feelings to her.

There were two possible outcomes that'll come out from this. Either she returns the feelings and the both of them live happily ever after, or she rejects him and he'll have no choice but to dig his own grave and live there for the rest of his life. He decides not to be delusional and chose that if he were to be realistic, the latter would be the more possible one to happen.

The made up scenario of her rejecting him kept him up at night as it constantly replayed in his mind every time he thinks of doing it, causing him to back down every time.

With that, he decides to settle with writing anonymous letters.

-
8:04A.M.

I open my locker only for -another- letter to come flying out. This has been happening for a week now and I have yet to find out who it is. Whoever it is though, is adamant on keeping it anonymous.

The first few days when it started, I thought it was just some sick joke my friends were pulling on me and just laughed it off. But, after confronting them about it, they were just as confused.

Sighing, I bend down to collect the paper that had previously glided through the air, making it's way onto the ground. With the paper in one hand, I use the other to gently open it, careful not to ruin the well-made design. The envelope itself looked to be made from fine, colored paper with it's light blue base. And in a slightly darker shade, were meticulously carved floral patterns.

Clearly, this person was putting in effort, further making me believe that this isn't my friends' doings. Even if it was to prank me, they wouldn't go this far as to put in this much effort.

After daintily opening the envelope, I finally take out the letter. It was a simple, white paper, with the usual cute stickman doodles splattered on the sides -which always came with as equally cute little dialogues like; 'you can do this!' 'take care of yourself!'- it being a huge contrast to it's elegant receptacle.

Truth be told, as silly as these little doodles were, they actually helped. They ended up being the highlight of my day every time I see them. Whenever I feel stressed out or just feeling the blues, an image of these little dudes flash in my mind and before I know it, I already have a smile gracing my face.

'Sheesh... whoever this person is, they must really know how to cheer others up..' I chuckle.

Bringing the letter closer, my eyes begin to wander as they took in the words in front, written in a penmanship that was neat and easy to read.

(Y/n),

I hope you don't mind me writing all of these letters to you. As I've expressed before, I like you. Like, I really really like you. I know that these words aren't enough to express it, but it's all I can settle with for now. These feelings have gotten to the point where I can't sleep at night. My mind keeps constantly being overfilled with thoughts of you and it's killing me that you aren't aware. I'm sorry if that sounded creepy. I'm not thinking of anything bad if that's what you're worried about! God, I'd rather die than do that to you. :c

(p.s. If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to throw away my letters.)

Yours Truly,
Anonymous

Upon reading the contents of the letter in hand, I get reminded of the harsh reality that this person likes me. Like- romantically. The thought still baffles me to this day. I mean, how? What? As far as I know, I'm not close with anyone else other than my friends.

But still, romantically?

Romantically?!

Just the thought of being in a romantic relationship with someone makes me shudder. Those scenes from the movies and series my mom would watch on the tv when I was younger start flashing in my mind.

Those specific scenes of arguments in the rain, slapping of the cheek, and tears rolling on and off of them.

Those specific scenes of the 'picture perfect couple' breaking it off because of one letting their immature impulses take over.

Those specific scenes of someone falling out of love, causing them to betray the other.

My mom had always had an odd obsession with watching sad romance dramas, with her crying and complaining to me but still continue to watch more afterwards. Instances where I'd join her in watching, I never realized how the scenes started to drill themselves onto my mind.

I continued to watch with her, not knowing how badly it would taint my love life in the near future and how I'd view love itself.

With the mindset of 'no one will ever love you like how you love them' at such a young age, it started to affect my possible romance encounters.

The horrible image I had of relationships made me falter into entering one, causing me to build a wall around my heart and block out anyone who tried to enter; in fear that it would be broken beyond repair.

Plus, it's not like the events I've witnessed is only limited inside the screen. No- I've seen it in real life as well.

I can't bear the thought of having to deal with the pain and heartbreak.

I can't bear the thought of having to find how to cope other than lock myself in my room and cry waterfalls.

I just can't bear the thought of someone leaving.

Scrunching my eyebrows, I tightly squint my eyes shut. I shake my head before deciding that now is not the time to be so negative. Slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I see is a familiar stickman doodle, but this time with a cheesy grin and a thumbs up, it's dialogue being: 'don't push it!'.

I let out a slight chuckle at the sight. 'It's so silly.'

Smiling, I put the letter back to where it originally was and place the envelope inside my locker. 'I'll worry about how to deal with this later.' I thought.

After taking out what I need, I lock my locker before making my way towards my first class of the day. 'Still though, I wonder who this person is.'