Disclaimer: GALS! © Mihona Fujii
"We need some time to be alone."
Aya Hoshino blurted out to the certain number one champion of Meishou High School. There were no tears, no plethora of dramatic fights, no anguish conversations. It was a tranquil moment they usually had, only containing a serious topic this time, much to Rei's astonishment. He was indeed to blame for being a bad boyfriend. He rarely texted her or even gave her at least loving smiles every time they met like any other 'normal' boyfriends did. He never acknowledged his true feelings.
He would only text or phone her when he wanted to ask her for a date. Any others out of that reason were the calls or messages that Aya initiated. It was a customary reason to make her insecure sometimes. But still, was that enough to get her cool off their relationship? Apparently, it was. It really was.
"Well, it's not like you've been trammeling me all this time but…" Aya stated with an awkward chuckle, "…I think it's better for us to be loosened for a while to avoid any sort of constrictions. We have to take a rest."
Despite being in a relationship for more than a year until now, Rei Otohata still did not know that much about appropriate relationships. He was never good at romance and he even warned her about that in the beginning. Yet, he was not oblivious enough to infer the peculiarity of Aya's words—about the so-called 'taking a rest'. Why did a relationship even need to be paused? People would normally take a rest only if they got exhausted, wouldn't they?
"Are you tired?" Rei was determined to be explicit. He received a doubtless nod from her.
Aya incised a wistful smile on her face. "You too, right?" Rei could tell that it was not really a question. She added, "I don't want to burden you any longer, Otohata-kun."
Rei knew that Aya did not mean to break up with him. The only wrong thing he grasped was that he somehow felt an inexplicable tug in his heart when she mentioned the term 'burden'. Yes, God knew he would never admit it. Thanks to his innate coldness, he was capable to salvage his dignity. "Fine. Take all the time you need."
Rei could tell it had been almost three weeks since then. Their relationship had a smooth recess so far. They never contacted each other but everything seemed to stay in a good fettle. He only saw Aya twice in those three weeks when he was involuntarily dragged by Yuuya to have lunch together with Ran and the gang. It was magnificently quaint that both Ran and Miyu did not seem to find out about the intermission of Aya and Rei's relationship. All of them acted normally as if nothing wrong happened.
As if.
It was not like Rei expected something dramatic to happen but it had been way too calm that even a nonchalant person like him sensed that things were not going right. He finally wondered how long it took for Aya to make up her mind. Since the very beginning, the Ice Prince was exposed as an expertly loner who would never get lonely without a girlfriend. In the end, he was still a normal guy who could not really stand on such a discordant circumstance nonetheless.
Rei was currently having his usual solitude at HMV CD store that day. He simply thought if it was the proper time to settle everything. He took out his mobile phone and dialed Aya's number spontaneously. It took him approximately twenty seconds to acquire her answer. "Hello, Aya? Where are you now?"
"I'm studying for finals at home. What is it, Otohata-kun?"
Rei let out a sigh. So it was not a good timing, after all. "Oh, I'm sorry for disturbing you. When do your finals end?" He inquired while taking a casual walk around the store.
"Mm, it's…around two weeks ahead."
Still walking and stepping to a side of the CD shelves, Rei uttered, "You see, I was just thinking if we can meet."
"N-No, I'm not ready yet. I still need more time of contemplations. I will inform you later when the time comes, I promise."
Rei furrowed his brows. Why did her voice start to sound very close? "I understand. Well, would you mind telling me when it is—" He was suddenly assured that he did not have to resume his words at all. The view he was currently witnessing was the best answer to all of his three-weeks-incertitude.
The dark-haired girl was literally there—in front of him—standing in such a stiffened manner with her right hand holding her mobile phone while the other one was being held by a good-looking man—a complete stranger he never knew. She gawked in shock as she noticed her boyfriend's emergence right in front of her eyes.
Did she cheat on him all this time? That girl-that innocent Aya Hoshino he used to know-betrayed him? There had to be a warranted explanation. Even the Ice Prince who would not usually take less care of another person's business—even if it had something to do with his girlfriend—was now expecting an explanation. Subconsciously.
"Otohata-kun…" Aya did not seem to have the courage to look at him. She completely averted her eyes. "…I'm sorry. To be frank, I didn't expect to tell you this soon."
Rei stayed composed physically. Telling him about what?
A stabbing conclusion stroked him inwardly when her tears began cascading down. "I had…kissed this person. It was not long after I decided to get a break from our relationship." She clarified fearfully, almost a whisper. She strengthened her clench on the man's palm. "I'm going out with him."
Aya bent down, much to Rei's annoyance. "I'm so sorry."
As he wished, there, he got it.
Rei felt a poke on his head and heard someone call his name over and over again. He ultimately realized that he had been unconsciously relaxed of shutting his eyes for thirty minutes at an improper spot—next to a public restroom, to be exact. He blinked in puzzlement, still in a sleepy state. He began glancing around and found people passing by. In fact, it was a restroom in a department store. He shifted his gaze to the front only to find the innocent dark-haired girl staring at him with a guilty look.
"I-I'm so sorry for making you wait too long until you fell asleep." Aya spoke to him apologetically. "T-This is embarrassing but…I had a stomachache. Perhaps it's because of the special wasabi I tasted last night."
Aya tried to gather up her courage to face the Ice Prince after acknowledging such an ignominy. She could not help but get flustered at his dazed look. "Otohata-kun, are you okay?"
"Oh," At last, Rei elicited one hundred percent of his awareness. "Yes, don't worry. So, how is it now? Your stomachache, I mean."
"It's fine. I feel better now." Aya beamed. "Shall we go home now?"
Rei assented and the two of them started pacing. So it was just a dream? Rei thought fretfully. He practically scratched his head until it felt kind of hurt just to make sure that he was awake for real. It was not like him to get carried by such a comical nightmare even just for a moment, indeed.
The dream seemed to even succeed at making the Ice Prince space out that he just realized where they had arrived after a long walk—near Aya's house. He scratched the back of his neck and reprimanded himself mentally. What the hell is going on with me?
"Thank you for walking me home, Otohata-kun." Aya smiled sheepishly when she resumed, "I-I can give you a call tonight, right?"
Rei nodded and Aya remained smiling in return. "See you." She waved a hand and turned around, heading to her house. But then she was unable to pace farther as her boyfriend suddenly trapped her into his embrace from behind. Automatically, she felt her face heating up. She tried to look over her shoulders to face him but he merely tightened his hug.
"That should be me." Rei muttered under his breath.
Aya flickered, still blushing bright cherry red. She stayed silent that she knew he had not done with his words yet. As she expected, he repeated, "That should be me calling you up."
Rei could feel her velvet touch on his wrapped arms while getting a soft, innocent reply from her, "Um…sure. F-From now on?"
"Yes." Rei closed his eyes, not letting go of his rattled girlfriend. She was finally able to glance at him, only to find him shutting his eyes. Is he still feeling sleepy? She pondered concernedly. She presumed that he did not look really well ever since he woke up from his thirty-minutes-sleep at the department store.
"Otohata-kun?" Aya called in an apprehensive voice. "Are you sure you're all right?"
The embrace became retightened. "Only if we stay like this for a while. Just for this time."
Hearing that, Aya closed her eyelids as well and cozily inhaled the ocean scent from his shirt. No matter how unwell he was now, she was sure that it was the real him. He was fundamentally honest, she was affirmative of that. She could not agree more to stay that way with him that even her slightest conceited side had a presentiment that his cuddle was implicitly meant to encage her so no one could ever take her away from him.
"I-I want to give you a hug, too." Aya whispered bluntly. Rei smirked and pulled back to turn around her position so they were now facing each other. She smiled radiantly with reddish hues on her cheeks. As she was about to purposely burry herself in his warm embrace, he grabbed her shoulders instead and leaned over to seal the gap between them with a long, gentle kiss right after murmuring, "You shouldn't do this with anyone else."
Anyone else but me.
END
A/N: Sorry for making Rei seem so possessive and OOC T_T But, but, but, you ought to know! This fascinating (?) plot induced me as I became insanely addicted to Justin Bieber and Rascal Flatts' song, "That Should be Me". Alright, that sounds way too trite to just notice how magical the song is. It's just very deep that I can even write a story based on it:)
I'm going to have my first midterm tests and hopefully, I'll be able to update "Sugary Days" after those deadly weeks. Viva me!^^ Wish me luck, okay? For those who currently experienced the same thing as me, good luck with your midterm tests! By the way, you're not getting away without your lovely feedbacks, so REVIEW! Tons of thanks:)))
Chiby Angel-chan