Sunny Guy by Blewh
Chapter One:
It was Akari's wedding today. Supposedly the happiest day of her life.
She stood in front of the mirror in her wedding dress, looking at her reflection blankly. Lifelessly. Was she having cold feet? She wondered. Or was she about to make the biggest mistake of her life? She didn't know. All she knew was that when Gill finally proposed to her in the town square under Daren's tree, she immediately accepted, because she thought she was in love with him.
When their engagement was announced, all the town people were thrilled for them. And her girl friends – especially Luna – were envious of her. She was marrying the Mayor's son, after all. The handsome, smart and rich Gill. But even so, Akari still felt that something was missing. She couldn't put her finger on it. She thought like Renee, Anissa and Candice – who have already married their loved ones before her – she would be just as happy and excited as they were on their wedding days. But here she was… trying to convince herself to be happy that she's getting married to the guy she thought she loved. Was she rash when she'd accepted his proposal? Was this a mistake? She kept wondering as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Then suddenly, the door behind her opened. She turned around. It was Luke. She relaxed. Her best friend. He'd frozen at the doorway, gaping at her like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Akari blushed. "What?" She asked while looking down at her dress embarrassedly. "Do I look weird in a dress?"
"Y-You look really beautiful…" she heard him say breathlessly.
She smiled sheepishly while looking back up at him. "Thanks."
And then they stood there staring at the other in silence. Akari couldn't help but notice how badly worn-out and lifeless Luke looked. There were dark circles around his eyes, like he hadn't slept for days. Also, his 'sunny-ness' was gone. For as long as she'd known Luke, her first and bestest friend in the town, he always had the bright, cheerful look on his face. And for some reason she couldn't explain, it always had a positive effect on her. It fed her with energy and liveliness that she never knew she had.
When Akari first moved in the town and saw the farm she was supposed to work at, she was mortified. It was a mess. An impossible-to-fix mess, she thought. She almost gave up on it before she met Luke for the first time. She noticed him from afar, every day, from the first hint of sunrise and until sunset, he'd be working nonstop. Chopping off tree after tree with his axe. The sunny smile never leaving his face. She didn't know who he was. He was just the guy that she happened to pass by from time to time while taking the road near the forest. So she called him 'Sunny Guy'. His passion for work inspired her and drove her to try harder. It was because of him that she was still here. That she'd succeeded what no other woman could possibly do alone.
"Akariii!" Renee called from outside Akari's house suddenly. "They're waiting for you at the church, hurry up!"
"I'll be there in a minute!" Akari replied and then looked back at Luke questioningly. Her face froze at the sight of him. He looked so broken and desperate. Her heart ached.
"Luke what's the matter?" She asked worriedly, taking an automatic and concerned step toward her old friend.
"A-Akari…" Luke choked desperately. "There's something very important I have to tell you… I've been trying to tell you this since forever, but never worked up the courage to tell you I-I…" He looked at her squarely in the eyes. "I love you!"
She froze, her eyes widening in shock. Luke was in love with her? She didn't have a clue. She'd always seen him as her best friend, and nothing more. She couldn't believe it.
"I tried to tell you many times but… you only looked at Gill," he continued miserably. "I-I'm in love with you Akari! Since we first met, you were more than just a friend to me!"
"Luke…" She glared at him quietly, the confusion clear in her voice. "If it's a prank, it's not funny…"
Abruptly, Luke grabbed her shoulders with his strong hands and shook her lightly. "See! That's what I'm talking about! You never saw me! REALLY saw me!"
"Lu-Luke…" She was panicking, unable to think clearly from the shock this news hit her with.
"ALL the town people are aware of how I really feel about you! But not you!" He yells frustratedly at her, and then softly he adds, "You're torturing me Akari! I love you, I love you so much that I'll gladly drag myself to your wedding if it means it'll make you happy, even while it's killing me inside! And if those past five years we've spent together haven't proved this to you yet, then I don't know what will!"
Akari shook off his arms and stared at him gravely. "Luke," she told him slowly, trying to make him understand. "I'm getting married in a few minutes. To Gill."
"Do you love him?" Luke asked quietly.
"Yes," Akari deadpanned, shrugging. "That's why I'm getting married to him."
"More than me?"
Akari let out an exasperated sigh. "I love you and all Luke, but it's different! You're just my best friend, and he's, well, more."
Hurt and despair flashed across Luke's face for a moment and it made Akari instantly guilty that she'd said that.
"You love me…" Luke said desperately, putting his hands on her shoulder again and gripping it tightly. "You love me! I know you love me!"
"As a best friend!" She emphasized, glaring at him. "Honestly Luke, you wouldn't let something like this ruin our friendship would you?"
"No! More than a best friend!" He shouted again urgently. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't see me as something possibly more!"
She sighed and looked him in the eyes just like he'd asked her. She looked into them and realized that in all those five years they'd hung together, this was probably one of the rare times that she'd actually looked him squarely in the eyes and noticed exactly how golden they were.
And then suddenly – it happened. He pushed his face to hers and kissed her with all the passion that he'd kept bottled inside of him all these years. To prove to her that no other person in this town knew her as much as he did, to wordlessly explain to her what exactly she meant to him, to make her realize…
Akari couldn't think of anything at first. She could only feel. Feel his warm and loving lips on hers. Feel the silent message that he was trying desperately to make her understand. She was just about to allow her body to respond to him, to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him back…when she remembered that Gill was waiting for her at the altar.
She pushed Luke away with all her power. He stumbled backwards and looked back at her with hurt.
"Go! Go, I don't want to see you!" She found herself yelling at him. She was feeling confused, scared and ashamed.
Luke stared at her miserably, brokenly. Hoping desperately for a change of heart. But when she turned her back on him abruptly, he hung down his head and trudged out the door, closing the door behind him slowly and silently.
At that time, Akari didn't know that she'd just made the biggest mistake of her life. But she was about to realize it soon…
5 years ago…
It was another tiring day for Akari, waking up groggily over the sunlight that'd slipped past the cracked rooftop of her pathetic excuse of a house and heated her skin.
"I got suckered I tell you! Suckered!" She growled irritatedly at the ceiling for some reason. She slid her legs off the bed and on the floor while grumbling quietly under her breath, "Fucking Mayor and his lies…"
As she stood on her feet, a wooden board fell down in front of her from the ceiling. She froze, gaping at it in horror.
She sweat-dropped. I should so fix this wreck of a house first…
And so later around midday, she went to pay the carpenter's place a visit…
She was walking by their fence casually when the sound of wood chopping coming from their front yard alerted her to a young blue-haired man's presence.
"Yo!" She called out, grinning and waving at the man cheerfully.
The man stopped chopping wood with his axe abruptly and turned his head to look at the guest, waving his hand and grinning back with even more cheeriness. "Yo! You're the new farmer chick! Finally decided to stop by huh?" His grin stretched even more, if possible. "AWESOME!"
She gawked and quickly pointed a finger at him, instantly recognizing him. "Ah! You're the Sunny Guy!"
He blinked his eyes confusedly. "Wha?" Then he grinned again suddenly. "Already have a nickname for me? Awesome! I love it! I'm a huge fan of the sun!"
"Me too!" Akari exclaimed back excitedly. "I love the sun! Summer's my favorite season too!"
"NO WAY! MINE TOO!" Luke gaped at her enthusiastically.
"My Birthday's on summer!"
He dropped his axe on the ground in shock. "NO WAAYYY! MINE TOO!"
"Cool!" Akari smiled friendly. "My birthday's the ninth!"
"MINE'S THE EIGHTH!"
"Wow! You're just one day older than me!" She giggled.
They grinned at each other.
And just like that, they'd become friends.
TBC…