the art of faking a smile. (under-construction)

Part 1- Two childhood friends. Madly in love. Ridiculously oblivious.

14. The Loner

HIDEKI POV

"Gaaaaaahhh" I groan, school has already come to an end and now I'm in the library studying, (trying) to focus.

I can't though, after the shit that happened between Cassie and Akio. Sometimes Akio can get so desperate he spouts nonsense that ends up hurting his friends as well as himself, it can get really ridiculous sometimes.

"Are you still thinking about the events that occurred at lunch?" Dylan asks, typing away on his laptop.

"Why wouldn't I be? My little brother literally had a fight with his best friend just because of some guy!" I say, keeping my tone down since we're in the library. Dylan stops typing on his laptop and sighs.

"I know Hideki, I'm worried too. But what can we do? Once Akio gets a crush, he becomes crazy stubborn and won't give up until his crush rejects him."

"I know but what if Cassie was right? That Jacob is some douche who just wants to play with Akio? That's gonna be even worse."

Dylan moves his chair closer to me and gently caresses my hand, his eyes full of worry and empathy. My heart skips a beat once again and heat begins to creep up on my cheeks.

"I just don't want him to get hurt anymore." After hearing those words, Dylan wraps his arms around me, placing a hand on the back of my head. On instinct, I fall to his embrace, clutching onto his back and my head on his chest. It feels so perfect to be in Dylan's embrace and like Akio, I'm just going to let myself get swept off my feet.

We stay like this for a while before he breaks the hug, seeing how other people in the library are giving us weird looks. I feel cold once again and already miss his warm embrace.

"What's with that disappointed look? You want another hug along with a kiss?" Dylan inches closer as if to kiss me, my face turns red and I look away.

The library is quiet, small mumbles here and there yet peaceful. It's a great place to study for an exam...

BUT I STILL CAN'T STUDY AND I HAVE A SAC IN TWO DAYS ALONGSIDE EXAMS COMING IN A FEW MONTHS.

I should be stressing about methods and chemistry but now my fucking brother added more stress to my hippo campus. After a moment of staring at my textbook, I give up and slam all my books shut, packing all my pencils and laptop back in my bag. Dylan looks at me confusedly.

"I don't think I'll be able to concentrate right now so I'm gonna take a break at Pink Gorilla. Wanna come?" I answer Dylan, a part of me wants Dylan to come but the other part doesn't because then I'll have to stress about looking good and playing hard to get around him.

"Okay have a nice break, I'm gonna study a bit more." I feel a little disappointed that he isn't coming but I do understand that we all got to work hard for those good ATARs. I nod before exiting the library and walking to a small cafe that Akio works part time in. I'm not in the mood to eat at the old diner I'd always go to when I wasn't feeling too good.

At this time of day, some students are on their way to their warm homes, workers taking breaks and reuniting with a loved one and shops closing for the day. I soon enter the small hippie cafe in the corner and find that it is beginning to crowd. I realise how much I've missed their coffee here and the aura of this place.

I order a regular coffee with milk and a bit of sugar along with a mini quiche and sit at a table snug right in the corner beside a window, it's fit for two people on a subtle date. Obviously I'm thinking about a date with a cool and dark eyed childhood friend who's actually really hot without even trying and all the girls low key like him (including me). I'm probably blushing seeing how hot it suddenly became.