Hopeless Valentine

At Your Side

"Aren't you friends with Yamada Ichiro?"

You were standing amongst your friends in a noisy hallway during free period when this question was asked.

Ichiro did have a reputation at the school and it wasn't a good one. He never really attended classes and was always found with the resident delinquents. He was even respected among them.

"Where are you going with this?" You questioned slowly.

Rie, the long brown-haired girl that had asked that very question leaned in, whispering with a concerned expression, "Isn't that guy kind of... dangerous ?"

He was , probably. Definitely , for other people but not you. If you were to answer the question on the behalf of yourself, you would say not at all. Based on others... Your friends were always worried he was up to no good especially since you lived together. The both of you had no choice, it wasn't like you chose to be an orphan.

"Ichiro is a complicated person." Was all you could say.

You were sure Ichiro wouldn't like you frolocking the school grounds telling everyone what you really thought of him. Yamada Ichiro didn't scare you at all, not one bit.

People were scared of the unknown. They liked to gossip and judge solely on appearances. Even you were talked about: an orphan girl, plain and lacking any sort of special talents. Parentless.

All they did was talk.

"Is it... safe being around him? I heard he gets into fights all the time. What if––"

"Ichiro wait up!"

Rie's mouth snapped shut. The girls that were listening in, also curious about the black-haired troublemaker immediately brought their attention to something else and found other subjects to ramble about.

Always crowded with boys that looked like him: strong, unruly, and rough around the edges, Ichiro breezed right past you with his hands in his pockets, not even acknowledging your presence. The girls had either gone stiff, flustered by his impeccable timing or oogled him at the corner of their eyes.

"Ichiro, he..." You said softly, your eyes trailing after his tall, lean body and broad shoulders.

He always looked so strong.

You wondered if he knew you could pick him out in a sea of people.

By just brushing past you, he took your breath away.

"Ichiro," You repeated, watching him disappear around the corner. "Would most likely prefer I don't say anything that might cause misunderstandings or more gossip."

The girls were quiet and you faced them, offering a sweet smile.

"If you want to know more about him, why don't you speak to him yourselves?"

There were unused classrooms on the other side of the school, simply abandoned because the school had no use for them. It became a place for delinquents to hang out and pass time, therefore it wasn't a place for the weak-hearted. Ichiro was there without a doubt, either hiding from teachers or surrounded by teens you shouldn't associate with.

You had a hunch he was currently alone, hiding from all things alike. Although Ichiro had people constantly mooning over him, he came off as more of a loner and someone who probably had one or two people he truly trusted.