The Other Half On The Second Floor

Chapter Fourteen

I didn't hear from Kaito after the encounter with Akiyama. I wasn't sure what was running through his head. Akiyama didn't seem bothered by the way Kaito reacted, he seemed almost used to it. He still spoke normally with me as if nothing had happened before, which was appreciated since I wasn't completely sure why Kaito, someone who doesn't even know Akiyama, would behave in such a way. I knew I would discuss it with him later, but just the memory of his immediate instincts when he sees me with someone is like, didn't sit well with me. If I acted the way he did every time he spoke with anyone, we wouldn't even be together. Girls and boys talk to Kaito as if they know him all the time, and he's close to Hisa and (maybe not at the very moment) Akemi, but I know him and recognize that he doesn't mean anything more than friendly towards these people.

"Hey... I'm not sure if your boyfriend would be alright with this since he doesn't seem to like me much, but how about we go to Disneyland? I've never been there and since i'm new to Tokyo, it'd be nice to see some new places. And even get to know you better. He could even come with us if you'd like."

Since I, myself, had moved to Tokyo about a year ago, there were still so many new places to see. Tokyo Disneyland was one of them, and getting to go with someone not only new, but from where I grew up, would be nice. "Oh, that sounds fun! When should we go?"

His face blossomed with joy at my response without hesitation, "how about sometime this weekend?"

"Okay! We can buy the tickets sometime this week, I'll ask Kaito if he wants to come with us. I hope he'll get to know you better."

"Sounds good, and I hope Kaito takes some sort of liking to me. Is he usually like that with new people you talk to?"

The very last thing he says is enough to make me pause. Those words. They had never occurred to me. Was Kaito always like that when I met new people...? I spoke to people once in a while, but he never said anything about it and the only people he spoke to that I was close to was my older sister. Was this how Kaito was? Or was it the way he saw Akiyama and I interacting? I can't even say we're friends yet. We were of course slowly getting closer, but we had just met. "I... don't know."

—- ♡ —-

After school ended that day, I still hadn't heard a single word from Kaito. Nor had I received a message from him. To avoid any conflict before presenting the news of the hangout with Akiyama, he decided to stay in the classroom until I had discussed the plan with Kaito. As unreasonable as it sounded, it was our only idea to calmly speak with Kaito after his somewhat small inner explosion. He hadn't stopped by my classroom after classes ended, either he was still upset or something was keeping him on the third floor. When he finally came down all the way to the front of the school, he looked normal again. He looked like the charming Kaito that everyone knew and loved, but the one I knew was fake.

I waved him over to my direction, "Kaito! Over here!"

He walks over to me and almost expressionless says, "Yeah?"

A dull response.. from Kaito? My concerns grew bigger at this one word. It wasn't just the word. It was his expressions, which were nonexistent, and his eyes, which gleamed of sorrow yet nothing- numb.

"Hey.. are you alright?"

"Oh.. i'm fine. Don't worry about me, did you need something?"

I look over to the window in which Akiyama was sitting next to, he must've noticed how different Kaito was acting (regardless of him knowing Kaito for less than a day) and shook his head in warning of not bringing up the idea. "N-nothing. Let's just head home, okay?"

He lets out a small sigh and smile, "Okay.. let's go."

We start walking back to our neighborhood and I quickly turn around, smile faintly to Akiyama and focus my attention back on the blonde-haired boy walking by my side. A mixture of emotions whirled inside of me, but the one that was the main ingredient, was regret.