Mamoru left all of her heavy and burdening thoughts behind for now and excitedly got out of her bed. She was looking forward their trip today.
It was the first in a month that she's finally going to spend some time alone again with her best friend. She was more than happy as she wore a white sleeveless dress that she borrowed from Kikuchi.
It was currently 8:30 am in the afternoon and they were supposed to meet up at the bus station at 9. Mamoru did her hair and even applied light make up before she headed out.
"Mama, I'm heading out!" She yelled as she wore her low cut white converse at the front door.
Her mother, Akagai Ruri, yelled back from the kitchen, "Have a safe trip with Keiji today, Mamoru!"
Mamoru excitedly went on her way to meet the boy, planning the things they were going to do for the whole day. She endured a month's worth of not spending time with him, there was no way she's wasting any minute today.
After walking a few minutes, Mamoru finally neared the bus stop. She sat down an empty seat beside an elderly waiting for a ride and patiently waited for the boy.
Her head was filled with fantasies, guessing what clothes is he going to wear for today and how handsome her own best friend would look like. Mamoru felt all the more giddy as she stayed there and waited.
And waited.
10 am
And waited.
11 am
And waited.
12 pm
Three whole hours passed and no signs of Keiji even showing up. Mamoru wasn't stupid, she sent him messages and even rang his phone but it was turned off. She guessed it was just low on battery or maybe Keiji just needed to do something first.
She decided to grab lunch from a near convenience store.
2 pm
Mamoru knew that 5 hours is a definite proof that he wasn't going to show up. Yet, she was still hopeful that Keiji would somehow appear. Today's a very special day for the both of them.
How could he miss it?
6 pm
The brunette dejectedly sighed, seeing the same people ride the bus that morning already back from work. She was making a fool out of herself indeed. Her heart clenched at the thought that for the very first time in 17 years, Keiji actually stood her up.
Did he forget? There was no way he could forget right? He even mentioned it yesterday, yet why isn't he here? Mamoru was trying her best not to tear up in such a public place and even placed a smile on her face.
Which was harder than trying not to cry.
"Mamoru-chan?"
A voice called out in front of her. Her shiny eyes on the verge of tears looked up and saw Konoha. "A—Akinori-san, hello." she greeted, gulping down the forming lump on her throat.
The said boy brushed his dirty blonde hair behind awkwardly, "What are you doing here alone, Mamoru-chan?" Konoha asked.
The brunette pursed her lips, "I just stopped by to you know, count the passing cars." Mamoru mentally slapped herself blurting out quite an unbelievable excuse.
Konoha raised a brow, "Were you waiting for someone?"
Almost immediately Mamoru shook her head. For some reason, Konoha had a feeling that this would most likely involve him.
"Were you perhaps, waiting for Akaashi?"
"I,um, I—"
"You were, weren't you?" He even cut her off before she could even come up with an excuse.
Reluctantly, Mamoru slowly nodded, "Yes."
Konoha sighed and settled down beside the girl. "I don't know if I should even tell you this but I saw him in a cafe a few minutes earlier."
Judging from how she was surprised with his words, Konoha was convinced that she didn't know anything about this. "Did you guys have any plans for today?" Konoha questioned again.
Knowing it wouldn't help her if she lied, Mamoru nodded again, "We were supposed to the Aquarium today. It's our 17th year as best friends you see" she explained, pulling off a meek smile.
"So what was he doing in that cafe, Akinori-san?
Hearing her question, Konoha was hesitant at first to tell the girl what he saw. He knew for sure that it would hurt Mamoru and out of all the things he wanted, hurting her was never an option.
But in the end, he decided to be honest. "He was with Hinami-san" Konoha sighed, closing his eyes shut in dismay.
"What?" Mamoru's voice quivered.
Konoha saw the glint in her eyes faded into nothing, the corners of her lips fell down into a thin empty line and her face turned expressionless. He was speechless.
Before long, the girl stood up and turned her back at him. Her hands formed fists, crumpling the aquarium tickets she held in one hand. "I'll go ahead now Akinori-san"
Mamoru started walking away but Konoha, however, wasn't ready to see her go after witnessing the way she looked like earlier.
The said boy held her wrist and pulled the girl to face him, "Mamoru-chan wa—it" he trailed.
The brunette had tears quietly streaming down her still empty eyes when she looked at him. Slowly, her expression softened as she gazed into his eyes.
"W-Was he enjoying there?" She asked, sobbing as her breath hitched.
The blonde boy pulled her shaking body into his embrace and placed a hand on the back of her head. Mamoru sobbed into his arms quietly until her tears finally came to a halt.
"Akinori-san I'm okay now" she even whispered.
"No" Konoha replied, he held her by the hand and grabbed the crumpled tickets from her grasp. "There's no way I'm letting you go home like that"
"What? What do you mean, Akinori-san?"
"We're going to the Aquarium."
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💮You miss him, you wanted to be near him again, you want to see him again, yet you can't say that to him. After all, you don't have the right to💮
