Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.
A/N: Okay, since I didn't have classes for a few days, I wrote this one-shot. Hope you like it. R&R, please? Thank you!
Oh, please also read my other oneshot, Two Truths and One Lie. Leave a review, okay? Thanks!
Summary: Set in Koko's Point of View. This is a story about how a simple game of hide and seek could make a great difference. KokoXSumire. One-shot.
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Hide and Seek
"You know, my grandmother used to tell me that a person smiles best when that person is smiling for someone he or she cares about."
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Two years ago, I saw a girl;
A girl with a dazzling smile.
She was warm and friendly, unlike the other snotty kids in town. She had short, dark green hair which curled at the ends and bangs that almost covered her captivating emerald eyes. She was beautiful, if only she knew that.
Back then, I was skinny and shy. I did not like mingling with people. I was too afraid to be judged by them; too afraid that they might not like who I am. But I have never seen that fear in that person's eyes. She was always upbeat, always vibrant. She was always seen chatting with old friends or hanging out with newfound friends. It was amazing how, in only a span of minutes, she could befriend someone she just met.
I admired her audacity.
And I was contented with just watching her from the sidelines, invisible in everyone's eyes. I would watch the little things she always does whenever she talks animatedly with her friends like fiddling her thumbs or putting strands of her hair behind her ear. I would watch every furrow of her eyebrows, every twitch of her lips, and every flash of her smile.
I was contented with just watching her happy; contented with hearing her laughter that sounds like the soft jingle of bells in my ears. I was contented with admiring her smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts from a distance; contented with admiring her from afar.
But one summer day, when the sun was high up in the bright blue sky, she approached me.
I was all by myself that time, like usual, reading a book as I sat against a tall tree. I would glance at the other kids playing tag or jump rope. Sometimes, I'd have this feeling inside me that yearns for friends, for playmates. And sometimes, I just don't care at all.
Then I saw her walking towards my direction and stood up. I planned on leaving but her voice planted my feet on the ground.
I still remember the words she said to me that time on the day we first met.
"We're playing hide and seek. Want to join us?"
I kept silent and stared at her. Either because I did not know how to respond because honestly speaking, I've never really talked to anyone my age or because I was too stunned that my tongue rolled up inside my mouth causing my inability to speak properly. I didn't know which. Probably both.
"Are you mute or something?" she asked again, taking a step closer. I took a step back instinctively, knowing full well that my heart was palpitating inside my chest. I shook my head feverishly as an answer.
"Then why aren't you talking to me?" she asked again, putting both hands on her hips as she looked at my face. I felt embarrassed.
"8…9…10! Ready or not, here I come!" I heard a voice shout then I felt a pull on my arm and I didn't know what happened next. All I knew was I was huddled behind a thick bush next to her.
My hair was sticking to my forehead due to the hot weather. I wiped the sweat with my handkerchief.
"That idiot, I told her not to start yet," she hissed. She then turned her gaze at me. "Hey, why weren't you saying anything earlier?"
"I…" I started, testing my voice. "I didn't know what to say," I finished, waiting for her reply.
She chuckled, "Oh, but it was just a simple yes or no question," she pointed out. I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life. This is why I don't talk to people; I'm no good with words and I always end up making a fool of myself in front of everyone. I cast my eyes down. I must have looked like a complete idiot in her eyes.
"Sorry," she muttered. It was so sudden that I looked up at her. I noticed her cheeks redden. "I should think about what I say before I start opening my mouth. My mother always told me that but I keep on forgetting," she finished.
"No, i-it's completely fine. I-I mean, you don't have to apologize. It's really just—" she giggles and I stop talking. Chimes, the sound was soft and soothing like chimes.
"Your face is red," she commented then smiled. The smile that melted my heart from the moment I first saw it. I felt the time stop completely as I stared at her face. And for the first time in my life, I heard nothing but the hasty beats of my own heart.
I want to stay in this moment forever.
"Found you!" a girl with pigtails screamed enthusiastically as she discovered our hiding place. My inner self just slammed his face on the table. Way to kill a moment, sunshine.
"Does this mean I win?" another voice that belonged to a male with crimson eyes shouted as he touched the trunk of the tree which in the game is considered the "base".
"Ne, Natsume! That's unfair, you cheated! I saw you!" the brunette with pigtails accused as she turned and stomped her way towards the waiting crimson-eyed lad.
"Oh, yeah? Prove it, polka-dots," the other replied, smirking at the petite girl who continued to bicker with him. And they continued to banter. It was an amusing sight to watch.
"An odd couple, aren't they?" I heard a voice say from beside me. I turned and looked at her. She was staring at her quarreling friends. Do they always do that? I wanted to ask but the expression on her face stopped me. There was something about the way she looked at them that made me smile unconsciously. She turned around suddenly and caught me by surprise. I looked away reflexively.
"Hey, you smiled just now, right?" she asked, grinning.
"No," I told her and I felt the heat building up in my nape.
"Yes, you did," she pressed.
"No, I didn't," I insisted.
"Yes, you did. I saw it. It was beautiful," she replied. That made me turn around.
I was speechless. My insides were churning uncontrollably and my inner self was doing back-flips.
"You know, my grandmother used to tell me that a person smiles best when that person is smiling for someone he or she cares about," she said as she got to her feet. "Besides, a frown doesn't suit you," she finished. Then she was walking away. I wanted to chase after her. I wanted to thank her. I wanted to hug her.
I wanted to tell her that I think I love her.
But that happened two years ago.
Now, the girl that I met with a dazzling smile—the girl that I loved—never smiled again. She never laughed; she hardly talked.
Gone was the girl with a smile that could melt our hearts.
Here was the angel with the broken wings; an angel who could have flown the vast skies above and enchanted everyone with her charming smile.
But life was cruel and clipped her wings, making her unable to soar.
I did not know what caused her beautiful smile to fade away. I did not know what could have happened to leave her so broken like this. It was heart-wrenching.
From the smiling, vibrant girl, she became a scowling, cold person who always kept to herself and detached herself from society. Her former friends distanced themselves from her. The other kids who barely know her did the same. I knew she was hurting and yet no one, not one from the circle of friends that she had back then, would approach her, ask what was wrong, comfort her and tell her that everything will be alright in the end.
That's when I decided. I will bring back the girl I love. I will bring back her smile.
Besides, she was the first person to ever let me see what it meant to love someone truly. She was the first person to ever talk to me, to ever give me a reason to smile.
I smile best for the person that I care about most. I smile for her.
So on one summer day, when the sun was high up in the sky and the other kids were ignoring her as usual for the past year, I approached her.
She was sitting alone, reading a book like I had been two years ago.
"Hi," I started, taking in her appearance as she turned to look at me. She had changed so much over the past two years. Her hair was no longer green, she had it dyed black. Her emerald eyes did not shine as bright as they used to be. There were dark circles under her eyes and my inner self winced at the thought of her unable to sleep at night and just crying into her soft pillow. Her lips, which used to be so pink and always up in a smile, were pulled down into a frown.
"What do you want?" she snapped at me. I almost flinched back. She put her book down and looked at me. I did not reply and looked at my feet instead as I contemplated on what to say next. Then I heard a sigh.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"It's fine. I understand that there's a lot going on in your mind right now. I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. If you want, I can go—"
"No, it's fine," she replied hurriedly, grabbing a hold of the end of my shirt. "You don't have to go," she said, looking away. The hold on my shirt starts to loosen as she added, "if you don't want to."
My inner self was beaming a hundred-watt smile.
"I guess I'll stay then," I said, sitting beside her.
"I'm happy to see that you're talking now. The last time we met, you hardly even talked to me," she said.
"I did talk, okay? But just not this much," I replied.
"Yeah and I really thought you were mute at first," she responded. I chuckled at the memory.
"Why'd you dye your hair black?" I asked her. I was curious. I love her the way she is, even before she dyed her hair but now, she was all the more appealing.
"Personal reasons," she told me. That's it.
"Oh," was all I could say. This was the end of our conversation, I can feel it.
She sighed helplessly after a few moments of silence. I turned my eyes on her.
"My dad's a jerk, I know that now. He didn't tell us that he had another family before us. My mother didn't take it lightly. She kicked him out of the house. She left me too though and handed me over to her mother, my grandma. Neither of them wanted me," she chuckled humorlessly as she stared at a distance, "as if I wanted to be with either of them anyway," she continued dryly.
I kept silent.
So, this was the reason why her smile faded away; her parents were that reason.
They left their daughter by herself. They passed her off like she was some sort of toy. That's just wrong on so many levels. They were the ones who brought her into this spiteful world, how could they just leave her to her own devices and continue to ignore her, like she wasn't even their daughter?
How cruel can they be?
They have already extinguished the warmth that existed within her; they have already destroyed the dreams of a young girl wishing nothing but a complete and happy family; they have already damaged her beyond repair, beyond anyone's capacity to love and yet here they are, still inflicting more pain on her through their absence.
She became a cold, detached zombie; a walking monotonous doll with no emotions;
A body with no soul.
Still, her parents are doing nothing.
"I was just lucky I have grandma by my side. She acted like a real mother to me more than my own birth mother who passed me without any hesitation like I'm some kind of rag doll," she bit her bottom lip and I knew she was choking down her tears, "I didn't want to remind myself that I had parents like them. I wanted to forget time in every way possible. My father had green hair so I dyed mine black. Luckily, I didn't inherit my mother's hazel eyes but had my grandma's green ones."
And I stared at her, admiring her strength. She was already suffering a lot yet she did not tell anyone about it. She kept the pain all to herself. I don't want her to hurt any longer.
"What? You're not going to say anything again?"
I was taken aback by her question. I struggled to find the words.
"I like your hair," I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind.
She laughed. How I missed to hear that wonderful sound.
"We haven't met for almost two years and all you tell me is that you like my hair? You're a funny guy," she commented in between fits of giggles.
"Glad I amuse you," I felt a light feeling inside my chest.
"But," she said, holding my hand suddenly. I stare at our hands then back at her. My inner self is convulsing. "Thank you. I haven't told anyone about this before because I knew that no one truly cared. I was alone and everything just keeps coming in. I felt like I'd go insane if I don't let it out," she breathed out, relieved. "It just feels good to let it out," she said, the rim of her eyes slowly filling with tears.
"Thank you for being here when no one else was," she told me as she smiled sadly and the tears started to fall. And I couldn't help myself—I pulled her into a hug.
She cried on my chest and I buried my head on the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent.
I rubbed her back as she cried, telling her soothing words. Everything's going to be okay. Just let it out. Let it all out. We'll be alright, as long as we have each other.
We stayed like that for a few minutes. She cried everything out; all the sad things out. And I comforted her.
In that moment, I wish I could freeze the time so I could hold her close just a little bit longer.
She stopped crying and pulled away.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping her tear-stained face.
"You don't have to apologize. I'm happy you let it out. Do you feel better?" I asked her.
"Yeah, a lot better. Thanks to you," she said, smiling a little.
"Pleasure's all mine," I returned her smile.
"Hey," she called softly.
"Hmm?" I replied, busily playing with our still intertwined hands.
"Remember how we first met?" she asked. I looked at her.
"Of course," I gave her a toothy grin. How could I forget?
"Wanna play hide and seek again?" she said, her emerald eyes gaining the luminosity they had the first time we met.
"Hmm, I think I'd have to pass on this one," I answered, looking into her eyes. Amusement was dancing in my own.
"Why? Do you think it's childish?" she pouted, looking offended.
"No, it's not that, silly," I leaned closer, "I don't want you to hide from me anymore because I'm afraid that I'll lose you once you do," I leaned closer still until our foreheads touched, "And I stopped seeking a long time ago because I have already found the girl of my dreams and I'm happy just to be with her right now."
She says nothing so I continue, "Someone I know once told me that a person smiles best when that person is smiling for someone he or she cares about."
She smiles because she knows that she's the one who told me that. I smile back.
"Every time I smile, I always remember you. Because you're the one I care about; you're that someone I'm smiling for; you're my reason to smile," I said, meaning every word as my thumb stroked her cheek, "And I want you to smile, for me. Because your smile gives me hope; hope in life, something that tells me to believe that there's always a new beginning." I closed my eyes as I told her, "and if the day comes when your smile isn't for me anymore, I would still standby you from behind. I would never leave you and I'll keep waiting until you tell me that you want me to stay away. Then, I'll go."
"What are you even saying? I will never ask you to leave me," she replied, her eyes mirroring the sadness in mine.
"I'm really glad to hear that," I told her, pulling her into an embrace. I hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go.
But she pulled away and I had to let go reluctantly.
"I'm really happy I asked you to play hide and seek with us that day," she said to me, touching the side of my face.
I wrap my arms around her.
"I am too. More than you'll ever know."
I lean in closer and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Sumire Shouda."
I closed the gap between us.
It was funny how a simple game of hide and seek could bring us closer like this. I never dreamed that I would even get the chance to say two words to her. But here she was, in my arms, smiling like she used to smile two years ago and it was all because of that game.
I vaguely wondered what could have happened if we played tag instead.
A/N: And this is where the story ends! Did you like it? Leave a review! Thank you!
Also, please read Two Truths and One Lie, it's a one-shot.
About A Change of Heart, I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update. It's just well, ugh, writer's block? But I'm finished with half of chapter fourteen by now.
Anyway, I might be updating it and The Ruby Pendant within the month or maybe within the first week of September. A Master and His Maid might get revised again, I don't know.
Anyway, if you have any ideas or any story suggestions, just leave a review. You can also PM me if you want hehe. Thank you, guys!