LOVE, HIRO.

ENTRY #40.

05/26/09
DEAR JOURNAL,

i've always thought school days were destined to be boring, but here i am, recalling the crazy events that just happened earlier.

okay, to explain: it all pretty much began after school, not during school. i managed to leave the school, this time, no one was accompanying me. though i was alone, those two guys didn't pop out of the woodwork to just randomly beat me up, and so far, i was doing great.

doing great until i happened to encounter them (of course i did!) in a downtown alley, beating up another kid. so that's why they weren't popping out of nowhere to bother me...

anyway, it wasn't any kid, it was ulaz.

somehow, he had become their target too, and they were laying it onto him, as if the black eye they gave him wasn't enough. i stood there, frozen, watching the events play out.

think, hiro...think!

then i did one of the most stupid things i've ever done in my life. i picked up a rock and threw it at the back of the blue-haired guy's head. i heard a disturbing noise and he groaned loudly as blood started to seep from the forming wound on back of his head. he teetered off to the side, slumping against the wall in pain.

it was scary but admittedly also satisfying, to be able to hurt one of the guys tormenting not only me, but a bunch of other kids too. but of course, i felt guilty. hurting someone was something i wouldn't do any day. still, it wasn't enough to make me regret what i just did.

to be honest, i would've felt more guilty if he wasn't such an asshole.

"h-hey, dickheads!" my voice wavered as i called out to them, my legs shaking.

"YOU!" the dark-haired one rounded on me, letting go of ulaz. "you wanna get beat up too, punk?" at that, he cracked his knuckles, staring me down. i gulped. though to my slight relief, the other guy seemed to be out cold.

he raised his fist, prepared to slam it againt my jaw and break it, though this time, ulaz was the one to come to the rescue.

he threw the same rock at the guy, though this time, he aimed at the back. enough for the guy to back off and give us enough time to run.

we ran out of the alley, ulaz managing to get around the guy. it wasn't long before he regained his composure and started chasing us. boy, was that fucking scary! we had to cut through crowds and avoid tipping over any displays.

though somehow, in the middle of the line we ended up holding hands as to not be seperated. honestly, that was a nice part of the whole ordeal.

our chase lasted until nighttime and we ended up in the more rundown parts of the city, where they sold cheap food. as we would look over our shoulders to see if he was still following us, we wandered around the colorful and lit up stalls, wondering if we could buy our dinner. in the end, we pooled our money to buy takoyaki for the both of us, and that ended up being our dinner.

we sat on two crates by the stalls, using them as makeshift chairs, and we would pick from the takoyaki box using the tiny sticks the shopkeeper gave us as forks, just like how we shared my bento.

finally, he spoke up.

"...thanks."

i peered at him.

"don't mention it. i gotta thank you too, anyway, for saving me back there."

he chuckled, a low, raspy one. "i guess we saved each other, huh."

as if it had an automated switch, i immediately blushed at his statement. it was then i noticed how he seemed to illuminate under the lights of the shop's lanterns, almost like an angel.

"yeah." i smiled slightly and he returned it.

"you're cool, hiro."

oh my god. "uh...y...you're pretty cool yourself, ulaz." goddamn this stammer!

ulaz seemed genuinely surprised at what i said. a blush also bloomed on his cheeks, matching my own red face. we must've resembled those glowing red lanterns that shopkeepers hung by their stalls.

"i...don't think i'm cool, but..." he faced away from me, still blushing. "...thanks."

it was silent after that, the bustling of the stalls and the shouting of shopkeepers fading into the background as white noise. i threw the carton away and we left the area, sometimes scanning the crowd or looking over our shoulders to see if anyone was following us.

it was long and quiet, but eventually, we managed to find ourselves on the main area of the city. the moon was high in the sky and the city crowd consisted of people with late-night jobs and young adults looking for a good time. there was no students such as us in sight.

i told ulaz i could manage by myself at this point, though i was surprised when he walked me home anyway, despite my protests.

"goodnight, hiro." i could see a hint of a smile on his face.

"goodnight, ulaz."

i got in trouble with otousan, but i could deal with something as small as being grounded for a week. despite two near-death experiences today, i actually felt...happier this evening.

perhaps being with someone you like makes all the bad experiences worth it.

LOVE, HIRO.