What If..?

Chapter Six

Chihiro's bottom lip quivered. He had even asked in his time of insecurity if there were anything that happened between Junko and Mondo, and Mondo would always respond with, "Don't worry about her." Chihiro always dismissed it as a general statement, as if no, they had never been an item. No, there was nothing ever between them. That Chihiro was just being insecure and taking Junko's advances much too seriously. He didn't realize that Mondo was really just trying to avoid telling the truth. His fingers tightened around the hem of his skirt and he almost wanted to shout for her to go away. But technically, she wasn't doing anything wrong. After all, Junko was telling more truth than Mondo ever did. "Doesn't surprise me," the girl blurted, waving her hand towards Chihiro's face as a silent signal for him to close his eyes. He did so reluctantly, feeling her firmly press her finger over the crease of his eyelid. "He wasn't particularly proud of our relationship... or our friendship." Another pang of fear. Mondo never really talked to anyone about him and Chihiro being together. It was mostly Chihiro who did all the happy babbling. "You know, because we were really good friends before we dated..."

The boy remained silent, trying his hardest not to start crying. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't be so upset. It wasn't like Junko and Mondo were dating now. Besides the few times that she actively flirted with the entire lunch table, the girl never even spoke to the biker. Junko did more harassment towards Chihiro than anything. But the thought of being lied to about something pretty important is what hurt him the most. And that he felt he couldn't really trust any of Junko's intentions. His little fingers trembled and he shifted his weight awkwardly against the bed as she just kept chattering on about how they had met when they were younger, before coming to the academy. How they had been friends off and on through childhood because they're parents knew one another. How she was the one who suggested looking into the academy. That she was the reason he was invited. Chihiro quivered. He had enough. "Okay," he breathed with a sharp tone as she took her finger from his eyelids. His eyelashes fluttered opened and a small splash of tears dripped for his eyes before he immediately turned his head.

Junko withdrew her finger and snapped the little case of shadow shut. "Oh, honey... it's nothing to cry about. We dated for like four days. No big deal."

No big deal? Chihiro had no idea that Junko and Mondo were even friends! It didn't matter how long they dated. He felt a pressure in his chest as his shoulders slumped forward a bit. He kept telling himself to look strong in front of her, brush it off like it didn't affect him at all, because she was most likely spewing this information just to eat at him. But he couldn't help it. Hiding a friendship with someone he couldn't stand was a pretty big deal. "You're going to cry all your make up off," the blonde murmured softly, reaching out brush the few spurts of tears leaking from the boys eyes. Chihiro instinctively retreated, pressing a hand over his face. "Really... Come on... no big deal. It was, like... years ago. He's so into you."

Chihiro's hazel flickered and he rubbed at them with the back of his hand. And how would she know that? Did he tell her? Do they talk about him in private? Even if the words were flattering, the idea that Mondo was holding secret conversations with this conniving blonde made his stomach tangle."Did he... tell you that?"

"You can tell, can't you? When he looks at you, when he talks to you... he smiles in a way that is so different than any smile he's ever given anyone else here." Junko spoke softly, rotating the makeup palette over and over between her fingers. Her voice was calm, almost distant, and her bright blue eyes seemed to fade as she stared at the ground. Was she sad? Was she jealous? Chihiro's eyebrow popped at the thought of her being jealous of him. He almost let a cocky chuckle slip through, but was far too nervous to force any sort of sound. "He listens when you talk. He watches you when you move. He gets anxious to see you... you don't realize that?"