people pleaser | nishimura riki

18. gone

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Normally, her weekends are slow paced and long enough for her to recharge for the following week. However, this weekend was not enough. In fact, it was too quick for Aira's liking.

It wasn't that she had been out which killed most of the time, rather she had stayed home for the entirety of the two days. She laid in bed for most of the time and only answered Remi's texts.

She knew what mistreatments were like based on her past experience, yet she could handle it before. But now, it was as if her world was falling apart.

Perhaps this was all too much for a teenage girl to take in.

As she made her way to her seat, she couldn't help but think about the conversation she had eavesdropped last Friday afternoon.

How was she supposed to act?

Pretend she never heard anything and play it dumb?

That's right. That is what she's best at! Playing clueless and...people pleasing.

"Hey." The owner of the voice that had been taunting her all weekend sounded from behind. She watched as the male drag his seat out before comfortably sitting beside her. "You alright? You weren't online all weekend."

Oh so he did notice.

"I'm..." Aira's words trailed as too many excuses popped up at the same time. "I was busy." Was what she ended up going with.

"With?"

Since when was he curious about her?

Since when did he care that much about her?

Maybe he wanted to know about Dana 2.0.

"Nothing." Aira mumbled as she vigorously typed on her phone. Thanks to her privacy screen protecter, her screen was tinted from his vision.

It was Remi she was busy spamming.

And with a matter of time, her best friend was by the door (partially losing her breath) whilst signalling Aira to come out.

Quickly packing everything away, she was interrupted with his sudden grip on her wrist.

"Hey hey, what's going on?" Riki spoke in a worried tone.

Just like how she ghosted him over the weekend, she decided to ignore him in this moment too.

"Aira." His voice, now stern had stopped all her actions.

Maybe that was why most students feared him. His tone asserted so much dominance that one would think it has the ability to possess your body to obey him.

Shaking his grip away from her hand, she took the time to zip her bag up before tucking her chair in.

"I heard." Aira took a deep breath before speaking. "And I'm going to distant myself so you can finally move on."

"Aira..." His tone dropped into the usual gentle one. The one she loved the most for he only spoke to her that way.

Or so she thought.

"Bye Nishimura." Aira muttered under her breath yet to Riki, it sounded like an echo in an empty cave.

Too shocked by her behaviour, by the time Riki had really processed what she had said, she was gone.

Though she may not be physically gone,
he knew she was gone.