B I T T E R S W E E T.

ONE

mikage reo, the heir to his parents company, has fallen in love at a very young age, he's always thought that you cursed him.

It's no wonder, honestly. From your soft skin, to those entrancing violet eyes. There's something about it just that imprisoned him with the thought of you.

the adults can tell he already has taken a liking to you, he can't say the same for you. He wasn't completely sure if he's fine in your book, with the way you're acting, no, he can't completely tell.

the way you avoided him with a smile that doesn't reach your eyes, he's been getting mixed feelings he'd like to confront you about it, but he can't, he absolutely can't.

as you both grew up, he can approach you more without going into autopilot or him stuttering, he can't tell what can possibly be the problem.

everytime he's in your presence, something about you bothers him so much, not in a bad way, in a good way.

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whenever reo's around, you can't sit still, you don't know why, it doesn't matter to you, but the thought of it unnerved you. You feel like he knows, knows what? That's the question.

no matter how much you push the thought aside, it comes back crawling to you. it's like an annoying pest, it can never leave you alone, it keeps you up at night.

everything changed when he actually held a conversation with you, it was a awkward, but it could work.

the first time he talked with you was the first day of school, both of you were registered in the same school too. It was a prestigious school, it's no wonder he got in, but how did you get in?

it was the first day of school, walking through the hallways alone is not a great feeling, the nervousness eats you alive inside.

as you walk through the hallways, you can feel their eyes looking at you, like a predator ready to pounce at their prey, ready to devour every bits of your flesh.

however, you don't want to disappoint your parents by keeping your head up high, with a deceiving smile etched on your face. to others, it was blinding, but to you, it was nothing but a façade to put up.

as you were nearing the principals office, it was blocked by a crowd of people, you can't help but be curious on what's happening.

and there he stood, the center of attention, mikage reo. a lot of girls we're latched onto him, but, he paid no mind at all, he just stood there, talking to a lot of people. but he noticed you, and he waved at you.

you had no choice but to walk to him, or you would be considered rude. you hate how people would perceive someone an individual is not. they always keep their judging on eyes on you, so you better be careful.

"hey (name)! you also go here?!" he beamed at you, eager at the thought of going at the same school.

"yep!" you replied, mustering a fake smile on your face, you know it's enough to keep people away.

"wanna walk to class together then?" he waled towards you and snaked his arm around your waist. he didn't pay attention to the crowd, and walked to class with you.

with that, the crowd went wild. their annoying screeches and cries pierced through your ears, you can almost feel your ears bleed.

'oh my god, are they together?!'

'they're so adorable together!'

'i don't know who to be jealous of!'

'the girl's cute, ya think i can get her number?'

'mikage should be mine!'

'mikage's so handsome and rich!'

'hey, you think if we befriend her we'll get closer to mikage?'

you heard that, you heard that they'll befriend you to get closer to reo, but you couldn't care less about it, after all, you were you used to people "befriend" you.

it was simply fake.

after that, the two of you got closer together, much to his fangirls dismay, some of them don't mind, you were cute after all.

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after that, he felt like he got very close to you, he related to you a bit, but he feels like something is missing unbeknownst to him he was only at the first step.q

when he snaked an arm around your waist, his heart was beating fast and his guts doing somersaults. he hoped that you didn't see his face that time or he'll have to run away to another country.

day after day, he keeps leaving expensive things on your table, it's surprising that no one has stolen it yet.

even if they did, they would be thrown into the pits of hell, there were people who witnessed Mikage place the gift on your table whenever you were still not at class.

there were times that he openly expressed affection towards you, the first time it happened you felt your cheeks heat up.

as time passed by, you got used to it, but he changed, from leaving gifts on your table, to openly asking your hand in marriage, in public.

you believed he was joking, so you played along, Reo on the other hand thought you were serious about the rejection, and he kept doing that whenever and wherever he has the chance, it makes you wanna cry, people look at you, you hate too much attention, yet you never bothered to tell him about it, it'll deeply hurt your pride.

Being affectionate with other people is a vulnerability, you constantly reminded yourself.

Never let anyone in.

You don't want to be seen as strong either, it's not the truth, and you know it. You're fragile, both physically and emotionally, just one mean word and you crumble, it may be a simple insult but the weight is unbearable.

it's just a word, and it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

then why? why does it hurt so bad?
No wonder people treat you like a doll,  not just a simple doll, a porcelain doll.
you are pretty on the outside, but are you pretty inside? it's easy to answer, of course not.

you're not perfect, inside and out, people say otherwise.

[EDITED : 09/13/24]