A.N. - This is a short piece that I wrote for Digi OTP Week last month for the prompt Purple Lilac: "The First Emotion of Love". I thought I'd stick it up on here as it's the first time I've actually come out of my Mimato comfort zone!
Resolve
Hikari had got out of bed full of determination. She could not face another night of lying on her back, staring into the darkness and not feeling an ounce of tiredness as she yet again allowed herself to be trapped in the out of control whirlpool of her mind. She had showered, dressed and eaten her breakfast, all the while telling herself that today was the day. Taichi had been baffled by her behaviour, the way she had snapped at him that she had to get to school;needing to get there before her resolve to face this situation was overcome by the desire to flee.
She had grown tired of waiting for 'the right moment'; she just needed 'a moment'.
The initial realisation had come as a complete shock to her. It had been like any other day with Takeru; they'd met up to walk to school together, chatting and poking fun at each other as they went. However as they'd sat in their first class she had turned to answer a question he'd just asked her and suddenly it felt like she was seeing him for the first time. She couldn't explain it but it was as if his face had changed completely, like it wasn't the same Takeru as the one who'd met with her that morning. And with this unexpected change in perception came a rush of feelings – amazement, joy, excitement…and fear.
It was this fear that had given Hikari so many sleepless nights over the past few months. This was Takeru, the boy she had shared so many experiences with over the years, the boy she'd grown up with and been fond of but never in this way, not until now. At first she had tried to shake the whole thing off and to try and see him as she had before, but it was no use. Every time he looked at her the same sensations ran through her and she wanted to beg him to look away from her so it would stop. She was so scared that he would never see her as she now saw him. He seemed taller, his eyes bluer, his expressions softer and everything around him was just a blur – he was the centre of her world and she wanted so much to be the same in his.
She found him as soon as she arrived at school typically surrounded by his 'fangirls', as she (mainly jokingly but also partly out of spite) referred to them. On any other day she would have just stood on the sidelines, teasing Takeru by shaking her head and rolling her eyes at him as he looked over and shrugged innocently at her, as if he really didn't know why all these girls kept vying for his time.
However today was different.
She walked straight towards him and, as soon as they saw the look on her face, the girls fell silent and quickly stepped aside, staring at her as she kept her head high and her eyes on Takeru. They all knew what was happening; they'd known Hikari's feelings long before she'd realised them and, more than that, deep in their hearts they all knew how Takeru felt as well.
Despite all their efforts, they had never really stood a chance.