Life In The Spotlight

Chapter 16 (Past)

"Seina, I can't just stop seeing Rose," said Shu over the phone. "She's my friend. I can't just cut her off."

Shu almost mentioned that his character would cut off his friends, but stopped himself in time. That had to be kept a secret until the season would air on TV.

"I don't care. Don't you love me?"

"Of course I love you," said Shu.

"Then do as I say. Or I will break up with you."

Seina hung up and Shu sat down on his bed. He didn't want to lose Seina, but he didn't want to lose Rose as a friend either.

Sighing, Shu called Rose next. A cheerful voice answered.

"Hi Shu! How do you feel now? Better?"

"Yeah, I am a lot better. Rose, I have to tell you something."

"You... You do?"

"Seina wants me to stop seeing you. She heard about our sleepover."

"What? Who told her?"

"I did."

"Shu, why did you tell her?"

"Because I wouldn't eat anything during our date yesterday because I still felt sick and she wanted to know why."

"Why did you go on a date if you weren't feeling well?"

"I didn't want to. I wanted to stay in bed the whole day, but then Seina cried over the phone and I felt bad."

"Shu..."

"What?"

"Are you sure that Seina is right for you?"

"Look, she just wants to spend time with me. We don't get a lot of time together because I'm usually at school, studying, or filming. She was just upset that you were invited and she was not."

"Shu, I'm worried for you. Seina seems..." Rose's voice trailed off.

"Seina seems what?" asked Shu.

"Never mind," said Rose. "Forget I said anything."

"Well, I don't want to lose you. You're my friend. I want to keep both you and Seina."

Rose's end was quiet, and Shu was worried that she might have hung up. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," said Rose. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," said Shu. "Seina said that she will break up with me if I don't break our friendship. I... I feel so lost."

"Shu, if Seina means that much to you, then by all means stop seeing me."

"What? No, I don't want to."

"Shu, I understand that this is hard for you to hear. But I don't want you to get heartbroken. Though if you ever need me, I will be right here."

"But... if I stop seeing you, I will be just as heartbroken. Please don't..."

But Rose hung up. Shu dissolved into tears.

Sora looked into his room. "Shu, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Shu tearfully told Sora about everything. "I feel so... Lost. I can't lose Rose. Not like that."

Sora sighed. "I'm so sorry that this would happen to you. But what I don't understand is why Seina would put you in such a situation."

"What do you mean?" asked Shu.

Seina sighed again. "When I was a little girl, Mom told me that if you love someone, you want them to be happy. Like in the Beauty and the Beast, the Beast set Belle free because he wanted her to be happy, even though it meant that he might not be able to break the curse."

"I know," said Shu. "He even said that he did it because he loved her."

"Seina knows that Rose makes you happy, and yet she tries to separate you two. Rose, on the other hand, is willing to sacrifice your friendship so that you won't lose Seina."

"I still don't understand," said Shu. "You are a bit confusing sometimes."

Sora sighed. "You will understand when you're older. I didn't quite get it when Mom first told me."

"I don't want to stop seeing Rose though," said Shu. "It just doesn't feel right. Besides, Fubuki and Akeno also like Rose."

Sora said nothing, but she knew that Shu wasn't ready to hear what she was thinking at the moment.

That Seina didn't actually love him, and the girl of his dreams was right under his nose.