Two Commoners in the Club

The Past Hurts

The sun was nearly blinding me when I stepped outside. I walked over to Haruhi's place while holding tightly to my bag and paying special attention to the fact that there were people outside at this time. I was especially afraid of being alone today. Even though Haruhi's place was right beside mine, I didn't feel comfortable waiting for her to join me for our walk to school.

Before I could rap my knuckles against her door to knock, she stepped outside with a smile and we headed towards school together, side-by-side. That was the way I always wanted things to be. I wanted Haruhi to always be by my side. It's a selfish wish, I know, but I can't help but want it anyways.

I love Haruhi to death. She is the only one I can always trust and rely on to always be there. I'd say the same about my dad, but he has to work so he's busy all the time. Therefore, I rely on Haruhi to always be there when I need her.

Once, I felt alone, even though I had my teddy bear and she wasn't the one to help me. She thought I was just staying away because I was too upset about the next day to spend time with her and her dad. In reality, I was fine until that night, when I really thought about it. Before then, something else entirely was going on.

-

I fidgeted nervously while waiting for him. Hiroshi was my real Prince Charming. I had finally found him! It made me so excited to know that I could find my real Prince Charming the way my mom wanted me to. Hiroshi finally showed up where I asked to meet him. He gave me a bored look before noticing that I looked anxious, which completely changed his demeanor.

"Hey, Aki, are you ok? Do you feel sick or something? Should I go get Fujioka?"

"N-no. That's alright. H-Hiroshi, I have something to tell you," I said softly.

"What is it?" He gently gripped my shoulders and made sure that I looked at his face. "Did something bad happen? You don't seem like yourself."

"H-Hiroshi."

"Yeah? What is it?" I took a deep breath and then looked down to avoid letting him see my blush longer than necessary.

"I LIKE YOU HIROSHI," I blurted out while clenching my hands into fists to ease my nervousness. He released my shoulders and I saw his feet move back a bit.

"Oh. Wow, this is awkward," I heard him mumble. I slowly looked up and saw him rubbing the back of his head nervously with a worried look on his face.

"Wh-what is it?"

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It makes it harder to tell you this."

"Tell me what?" I asked softly. He sighed and lowered his arm before looking me directly in the eyes.

"Aki, I don't feel the same. In fact, I like someone else."

"O-oh. Ok."

"It's Fujioka." I managed to hide my shock and hurt with a smile and a nervous laugh.

"Oh wow. So that's how you get someone to confirm your suspicions," I said awkwardly before laughing it off... or trying at least. My laugh sounded more like I was just saying 'heh' until I ran out of breath, which I actually was.

"Well, that was the most monotonous laugh I've ever heard," Hiroshi told me blandly. I looked at him and forced a grin to cross my face.

"Yeah. It was meant to sound sheepish, but I failed, huh?"

"Majorly." Another stab. I had no acting skills.

"Hiroshi, I hope you didn't actually believe me with my confession. I do like you, just not like that."