Colours of Love

Chapter VIII : Frozen Heart

As time flew by, winter came. The snow piled up, covering everything in a pure white blanket. Just a breeze was enough to freeze me...

I sat silently, reading another book.

Yuki, a perfect fit for winter. Snow and winter, I thought. However, Yuki the person didn't remind me of winter. She reminded me of spring, of brightness and freshness. She's more like the sun, melting the cold of winter. Compared to her, the winter scenery was a lot bleaker and monotone, lacking the warmth that her smile emitted. This quiet atmosphere, however, allowed me to concentrate on my book much better.

Ahh!.. What nonsense am I even thinking about?

Yuki was snuggling with her friends. Seems like she's afraid of the cold. Seems like snow is afraid of the cold...Hah.

Hiyama-san was playing basketball with his frie- Wait, he's playing basketball?! In this weather!?! And it's outdoors! It might seem weird coming from me but... I might have just felt why Yuki likes him.

My heart pounded, hard. Again. At the phrase, 'Yuki likes Hiyama-san'.

It's not love..not love! I had to remind myself countless times not to remember what Sakura and Hiromi said. What a mess they've made of me!

Anyways, I think my senses are overly filled with curiosity, because I felt like I just had to ask Yuki again,
"Hey idiot, do you like Hiyama-san...like romantically or something?"

Yuki blushed. Maybe it wasn't a blush, maybe it was just due to the freezing temperature. I think it's a blush though.

She stayed quiet for a moment, then said a surprising answer,
"N-no! Uh..Y-Yeah...I li-like him.."

I felt myself boiling. Like a soda bottle that's going to pop. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the heart. Am I.. in any way... Jealous? No! Definitely not! Just then, I had a flashback of what the mushy couple said,
Your relationship is already beyond friendship...

I tried to stay calm and asked her again,
"Are you going to confess?"

Her eyes widened. Then she frowned, and shook her head sadly, saying,
"Hii-kun is dating Aki-nee, my sister."
"I know..but don't keep those feelings inside..you can't do that forever. On the long term it's going to hurt all of you." I answered as if I was trying to keep her positive thoughts alive.
"Stop it! I'm going to get rejected anyways. So it's better this way." Yuki was on the verge of bursting into tears.

I didn't know that love could make such a bubbly girl become so melancholic. Well, it is unrequited love after all. I felt relieved at her response, but I suddenly wanted to help her?!

I quickly tried to cheer her up,
"Dummy. If you know you're gonna get rejected then confess and accept the truth already. I'm always here to help, ain't I?"

I patted her head. She should confess, even though somehow it's the opposite of what my heart really wanted. I guess?..

"M-maybe I should... " she said in a cracky voice, like she's about to cry.

I looked at my hands. Then clenched and opened them, feeling really angry for an unknown reason. I patted her head again and stroked her soft, brown hair gently.

I tried to say it in the most docile way,
"You can cry if you want, it's fine. It must've been hard on you."

She looked up at me and smiled, but her smile was different. It was lonely and distant. I couldn't bear watching her continue to suffer anymore. So I kept encouraging her to confess to Hiyama-san.

She finally agreed, after a while of hesitation.

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What might possibly happen...?