Heart-Less

Chapter 2

Ada took one look at the tacky, badly made bracelet and squealed. A few of the passerby's raised an eyebrow, their lips pressed together in disapproval, but the nervous boy holding out the bracelet heaved a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure you like it?" he asked as he moved forward. Ada held out her arm, and he carefully put the bracelet on, careful not to let the evening crowd push him too forward. The evening crowd rushed around them in two orderly lines, with elbows and bags constantly bumping into the two of them. As she shifted her weight, Ada gave Aki a huge smile.

"Of course, I really like it," she said softly. She was pretty sure she meant it too. This might be the noisiest and smelliest place where she received a present - and such a badly made present at that - but all those disparate elements combined to form something unexpectedly romantic. She made sure to summon the blood to her cheeks and blushed demurely.

The bracelet was definitely not her colour, she thought as she smiled at it. The beads were a cold chic grey that clashed with her skin. In other words, this bracelet was a winter while she was more of a spring. But it was a sweet gesture, since Aki made it. The dear boy could barely coordinate his clothes — he might look stylish, but that was all due to his mother and sister.

The train whistled in the background. Ada leaned in, gave Aki a hug and dashed on to the train. She waved cheerily and pretended not to hear him shout goodbye. For a moment, it looked like he was about to get on the train as well, but the sea of people caught him in their tide and pushed him in the opposite direction. As he tried to stumble forward, the doors closed and the train left right on time, as always. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the other passengers, Ada's fingers twitched as though they wanted to tap out a message or dial a number. But there was no way for her to even lift a phone, not to mention the consequences if she was caught breaking the unspoken no-speaking rule. So even though her fingers tapped and twitched in her pocket, Ada's carefully composed face didn't show any signs of rebellion.

Finally, the train pulled into her station and Ada was spit out of the train. She tapped her pass against the turnstiles, counted fifty steps and then took out her phone and dialled a number she had already memorised by heart.

"'Ello?" Nic yawned as she picked up the phone.

"It's me. I think I'll break up with him tomorrow. Or tonight, I haven't decided. Do you think a break up by text would be too cruel?"

"What?" Nic's voice could be heard an arm's length away. "Wait, I haven't even caught up to this whole breaking up thing. How are you already considering the method of dumping him? I thought he was the one?"

Ada looked around as Nic talked. Thankfully there was no one in the vicinity, waiting to report her to the landlord. She had already been cautioned once for excessive noise, one more caution and she was out.

"You told me things were going well," Nic continued, her voice carrying through the crisp night air. "Just last week, you told me that—"

"— That things were going well, I know." Ada said. She tried to explain her reasoning, "But then he gave me this ugly bracelet that clashes with me just now, and it was all so romantic and perfect, and I just know the relationship can't get any better. I only want the good memories, so I figured that I should quit while I'm ahead."

"It might not be the peak, though," Nic said. Ada could hear a thud after the sentence.

"Did you?"

"No, everything's fine. Wait, my equipment's fine. Your head, on the other hand, is clearly broken."

"I'm not, this is the best thing to do."