one [sachio ueda]

e i g h t e e n : t h i r d p e r s o n

The third day and hopefully the last. Sachio was organising the living room. As he picked up the cushion, he felt dampness under his palm. Water. Tears. Mai had slept on this cushion. Sachio stared at it for a while. The covers had dried but beneath it was still wet.

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. He knew he made her feel terrible. He knew how she felt about herself and he knew how it would affect her. Yet, he did it anyways. He should've just been honest instead of saying it was a game.

He placed the cushion on the couch and sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. Then he looked at the girl who was staring at her phone, giggling and covering her mouth. She seemed better today but the dark circles under her eyes said a different story.

Fujio said she talked to Rao a lot. She might even have a crush on him. Sachio felt stupid. There is no way he can compete with someone who's taller and stronger. Even nicer. Rao would make her happy while he just made her sad. As he kept thinking, he could feel a burn inside him. He couldn't just let his nemesis take the girl he started liking. He had to start being nicer to Mai.

He went and sat opposite Mai at the table. He knew he fucked up horribly because Mai didn't even bother to look at him.

"Do you like dogs?" Sachio blabbered, asking the first question that popped up in his mind.

Mai slowly looked up from her phone just to give him a look for a second. "Yes. I thought it was obvious."

Sachio opened his mouth to speak but closed it right after since he couldn't come up with anything to say. "You ever had any?" He finally asked.

"Yeah. When I was a kid." Mai frowned slightly, keeping her phone down. She felt like she had to begin telling a story now. "She was a street dog. Daisy. I used to give her food everyday. Suddenly, she disappeared. All my neighbours said she went to another neighbourhood, saying that someone there was giving her more food and love. They didn't want to tell me she passed away. I was just a child. So, I kept waiting. I grew up and became sure that she no longer existed. At least not any more. It's been ten years since I've seen her and I don't even have a picture of her. I'm still unsure of when she passed..." Mai stopped as her eyes landed on Sachio. "Sachio, are you crying?"

"No." He rubbed his eyes. "It's just dust."

Mai's lips curled upwards. Sachio couldn't see her smile. His eyes were too wet and his vision was blurry. She got up from the chair and hugged him.

"Why are you crying?" She patted his head.

"I'm not crying." He sniffed, hugging her back. It wasn't just Daisy's story that made him cry. All his sad memories seemed to flood together.

"Sure." She pursed her lips.

This would've been very awkward if Mai knew that Sachio actually liked her. If she knew, she wouldn't hug him so comfortably. Sachio felt guilty but was relieved at the same time.

"Okay, enough." She pushed him away as a feeling of cringe washed over her.

"No." He muttered, his embrace becoming tighter. "It's been a long time since I hugged someone."

"Too bad. I don't like physical touch."

"You're the one who hugged me." Sachio looked up, placing his chin on her stomach.

"Because I felt bad. Now get off." She pushed him away.

Sachio didn't retort back. He was trying to be nice to her for once.

"And you? Any special memories?" She sat back on the chair. She knew the answer to that. Sachio was smart enough to find out that she's a stalker. But she's smarter.

"I did get chased by a dog once." He looked away, trying his best to hide the embarassment.

Mai suppressed a fake cackle. "Me too." She frowned sarcastically. "When I was in fifth grade."

"You probably pissed it off."

"No, I didn't." She gave him a glare. "I think he was afraid. Usually happens when they've been mistreated their whole life."

"Oh." He commented, going into deep thought. "So, he's like you?"

Mai narrowed her eyes. "I'm still nice." Saying this, she went back to her phone. She clearly didn't want to talk to him anymore. He fucked up again.

There goes Sachio's chance to talk to her. The discomfort between them had somewhat vanished. That's better than nothing.

"Whom are you texting?" Sachio leaned forward to look at her screen but she was quick to pull it in.

"Nobody you don't know."

"Rao?"

"Yes."

"He's creepy."

"No, he's not."

"There's a reason he has no friends." Sachio triggered her, making her look up again. "Fujio is an exception. He's friends with everyone."

"He has me."

Well, fuck. There's already something going on between them. Sachio's chances just kept plummeting.