Rebellion

No Boundaries

"Of course I'm alright." Teruo quickly turned his face away from her, wiping his light brown eyes.

Ayase tilted her head in an inquiry, not believing him a bit. She sat next to him, trying to get a hold of his face. He just kept looking the other direction. She meanwhile moved to any direction he'd move his face towards, stepping the boundary of personal space quite hard in that moment.

Teruo blushed as soon as the moment started and moved away, covering his face. 

"Stop! Learn some boundaries please!" He said, his voice a bit higher than usual and his cheeks visibly red.

Even his big hands couldn't hide his red warm cheeks. She just poked them, which for some reason made him move his head to the other direction, making him jump in surprise. 

"I just wanna know if you're okay." She poked him again.

"I-I'm fine!" He squealed as he moved away.

Ayase smiled. So he was sensitive to touch. She poked him somewhere else, making him squirm even more. He just gave up and removed his hands, exposing his bright red puffy warm cheeks, watery bright brown eyes and raised up eyebrows. Oddly enough, it took only now for Ayase to figure out that he was in fact sixteen as they told her. It was easy to forget. 

 "You're crying..." Ayase pouted, getting sad over the poor boy.

Teruo only stayed quiet, not knowing how to act.

"Did Naoki do something? Weren't the two of you supposed to pick me up?" Ayase asked, understanding her brother was a bit too harsh sometimes.

Teruo looked at the floor. He sighed. This was so childish.

"... He didn't do anything. He was just honest." Teruo breathed out, feeling so very embarrassed.

"Well, he could kind of choose his words better. He ends up hurting people like that." Ayase said, but she knew her brother didn't stand for the tactical policy.

"I shouldn't get offended so easily. I... I shouldn't be a kid anymore." Teruo realized, his now melancholic face looking dead at the ground.

He wasn't meant for a childhood. It's too late anyway. It's two years till he's an adult, and he doesn't have the time to make it up, nor can he even do it. He should stop having those dumb dreams. Dreams like his mom telling him he's a good student and buying him a chocolate for good work, but he knew that would never happen. He didn't know how to ride a bike either. He always dreamed his dad would teach him that. He didn't have any of those. He should stop making this harder on himself.

"It's not your fault if it offended you. You can't change what hurts you." Ayase tried to comfort him.

Teruo wondered why she was wasting her time comforting him. They could easily run late for the job, and Naoki will be pissed if he finds them. If they're late, there could be punishment. But she didn't even think about it for a second, at least she didn't look like it. It looked like Ayase was just focused on Teruo and no one else. Teruo decided to give her an option to go back, just in case it just slipped her mind.

"I think it would be better if you went to Naoki's car. He'll be angry we aren't there." Teruo told the girl, his voice always more gentle when speaking to her.

"What about you?" Her dark green eyes seemed to lighten up as she tried helping him.

That made his heart pound. She was the kindest woman he knew. He never saw someone so happy when trying to comfort someone. Was she really so pure and kind? How is she so childish and sweet? How did it not get tainted?

"I rather don't want to go." He said, trying to avoid the topic.

"Don't be embarrassed. Naoki will have understanding. I know he will." She smiled at Teruo. 

Another loud pound. He didn't know what this feeling exactly was. It was warm and soft, and it felt like something delicate. Like it would hurt him later. But it felt oddly nice and full filing. This girl was something special. It was so easy to talk to her. It almost felt like she understood what he felt. Like she knew he was embarrassed. He really wished to have her close to him... Close to him as long as he could. 

"I know he'll understand. I just... Don't want to be treated as a child by him." He found it easy to open up to her, it all just went out.

"I think Naoki doesn't like how you act too mature for your age." She tried to think of a reason to her brothers acting.

"... How am I supposed to act?" Teruo asked, his voice a bit shaky.

He couldn't act like a child. That would be punishment. That would be disappointment. He was alive only for his strength, why would he want people to be disappointed at him? It's like he was grown here in vain if he let them down with such idiocy.

"Why are you so serious all the time anyway?" Ayase asked him, her soft voice full of curiosity. 

"We should really start going." He stood up, offering a hand to Ayase who was sitting down next to him.

She took it and he lifted her up. He let her hand go and went to turn around, but her hand gripped his tightly. He got surprised and looked at her wide eyed, his embarrassment clear again.

"Will you tell me when you're ready?" Ayase asked him, her green eyes looking at his pale brown ones.

He didn't know what to tell her, he was too confused. But he couldn't let down her dark green sparkly eyes.

"... I will." He squeezed her hand lightly, but let it go as soon as he realized what he was doing.

She either didn't notice or decided to ignore it, for she only smiled. 

"Good. That means we're friends now." Ayase giggled as she let his hand go, skipping in front of him.

"Friends." 

He thought about the word as he walked behind her. It sounded nice. He never did have friends. Nobody called himself his friend. But why did it hurt as much as it felt nice? Like he wanted a bit more than just friendship, and he couldn't stop feeling guilty about his thought process.