A/N: Written for the
Diversity Writing Challenge, j9 – a multichap with a prologue and an epilogue
Novella Masterclass, #7 – Random Raffles, prompt: blurred eyes
Chapter Set Boot Camp, #50 – 19 chapters
blurred eyes
Prologue
Sometimes, the world goes out of focus.
I'm not doing anything in particular when it happens, so it's not like I can blame having my nose glued to a game console for hours on end like Watson, or to a book like Haru, or to work like 'kaa-san. Not to say I don't have something I'm passionate about like them, but I'm constantly on the move and so are my eyes.
Sometimes, it's like I'm looking for that place to settle down.
We'll be in the ninth grade next year. That means entrance exams, and thinking about our future.
Kind of hard to think about the future when you can't make out today's homework, sometimes. Thank goodness for Haru, though. He's diligent, and he doesn't think it odd at all I ask him what we've got. He's the academic; I'm the athlete, and that's our tight-knit duo in a nutshell.
Sometimes, Haru's the only clear thing in the world.
Sounds silly in my head sometimes, but that's how it is. The rest of the world can blur out but Haru's, if he's there – and he's always there, is in focus. My eyes are a lens that'll treasure him, apparently. Too poetic for my tastes, but I'm also glad. I won't lose Haru anytime soon. And it doesn't bother me that much, losing the world.
I feel as though it should. Haru's the sort that sees everything, read's everything – and yes, that bothers me: that I can't see as much as he does. I never could, but it's even less now, sometimes.
The rest of the time, I see just as much as I usually do and, in the moments, I can forget all about the times I don't. And then it'll come, without warning, like I've dunked my head in water and no amount of blinking will clear it away.
The world's moved on by the time I can focus again. Not hugely, usually, but it's different enough to say time's rushed by. Maybe it's tiredness, I thought at first. It's not. The summer holidays come and the world goes out of focus still, sometimes. It doesn't matter too much, because it's easy enough to catch up with the world again. I'm always moving. I'm quick on my feet. And Haru – Haru is always there to fill in the blanks, even when he doesn't know they're there.
But still, it bothers me, sometimes. I blink, and the world's changed, just a little. Not Haru though. Haru's change is so gradual, I only see it when I look back. And that's how the world is supposed to be. After all, we live in it, and see it all the time. It's like watching a child grow into an adult, 'kaa-san says. Except now we're at the rebellious adolescent years where the world starts living out of sight.
I wonder… what I wind up missing, while the world is blurred.