next to me ✓

week 1, monday

FUJIOKA MAYA laid a blanket down onto the dirty surface, flopping onto it as soon as it was on the ground. a sigh escaped her rosy lips and she turned to face the love of her life. she didn't feel any emotion, emotionless eyes staring into stone.

"hey."

no response. she had expected it. maya's once bright hazel eyes had turned cold. the brown haired girl let out another sigh and her lips parted to speak a sentence.

"koutarou came up to me today."

she stopped. why am i here? i won't get a response anyway. she thought, slowly losing hope of a miracle happening. maya let the cold breeze kiss her dull looking face, ignoring the goosebumps forming on her body.

she sat up, staring up at the sky. she felt as if it was mocking her current situation. the blackness of the night quickly replacing the warmth and light from the sun. like how this sadness, darkness within her had quickly replaced the joy she once felt.

"how are you, keiji?"

maya finally spoke after a while. still, silence. a tear made its way down her face. it was so quiet she could hear the plop sound it made when it fell to the ground. tear after tear fell and maya began to fully break down. sobs escaped her lips once every five seconds. she wiped off her tears with the back of her hand.

i'm supposed to stay strong for you, keiji. i can't show how weak i am now. she said in her head. what's the point? he's not even here. a voice spoke up. maya rolled her eyes, ignoring the voice in her head. minutes passed and the silence was killing her.

it wasn't the same despite akaashi still being there beside maya. the silence wasn't comfortable. it was awkward. it was begging for her to say something. so, she did.

"back to the topic of koutarou, he asked me if i was coping well. i lied to him and said yes. i felt bad. really. i just couldn't break his heart and burden him even further with my own problems. he's already having enough of a hard time without you."

maya continued talking about her day, making sure to go into complete detail of everything. to her, akaashi wanted to hear everything since she never heard him respond. so she went on and on until she realised it was two in the morning. maya's heart was heavy.

she couldn't leave akaashi but she had to. she had to go back to school and pretend that everything was okay even though it wasn't. she had to go back to stressing about exams and helping out the volleyball team. her life had to go back to normal.

"but what is normal without you, 'kaashi? well, i have to go. i'll come back tomorrow. i promise. love you. forever."

where was my 'love you. always.'? maya shook her head in disappointment, picking up her blanket and leaving.