Today is Valentine's Day. Everyone in all of Japan was celebrating their love with chocolate hearts and bright red roses. They were all walking around, hand-in-hand, looking lovingly into their partner's eyes. Yes, the feeling of love was all over Tokyo today…
Except for one young boy named Takeru Takaishi, or as he was often called by a lot of people "TK". He sat alone in his bed room, legs held up to his chest by his arms and his face covered by his bucket hat. He was trying to block out all senses of love for the remainder of the day. TK couldn't stand Valentine's Day. He claimed that it was a pointless holiday, what with the high spending on flowers and presents and the sugar high from eating all that chocolate…
..But in reality, he was upset that he'd been never been given a real valentine on this holiday before. He'd gotten valentines before, from friends, like Kari and Yolei, just because they were giving them to all of their friends, but he'd never received a real valentine, one that actually represented love.
All he ever wanted from Valentine's Day was to get just one valentine, namely from a certain burgundy haired soccer star named Davis Motomiya. Davis was the object of every girl's affections in his school, as well as TK's. His charming smile and soccer skills (not to mention his incredible muscular build) made him irresistible, and TK couldn't even be in the same room with Davis without blushing widely and letting out a subtle squeak before running away.
In all honesty, TK loves Davis. He though he wouldn't get close to him, he'd silently observe from a distance and watch his every move. There were several instances when he had almost been caught, such as when he tried to follow Davis on any of his dates. In one attempt, Davis took a girl to the movies, but when he tried to follow them inside, he ended up tripping over his own feet and falling head first into the bucket of popcorn in his hands, and he ran out of the theatre with the bucket still on his hand. Luckily Davis didn't notice, but TK did have some explaining to do about the acne that came up from all of the butter…
TK collapsed over his bed. "Davis…" he sighed in depression.
He heard a knock at the door. "TK, can I come in?" TK's older brother, Matt spoke.
TK sat up and groaned. "The door's open…"
The door opened and Matt walked in, dressed in a white dinner shirt and black slacks, tying a tie around his neck. "Hey, TK, you sure you don't mind me going out on my date with Tai? We're going to dinner, then a movie and finally I'll be staying at his house for the night. I won't be back until tomorrow and Mom and Dad are out to a hotel, so you're gonna be here alone all night…" he asked.
TK nodded and faked a smile. "Yeah, it's not like it's gonna be different than any other Valentine's Day…"
Matt finished tying his tie and took a seat next to his little brother. "Come on, TK, are you really going to let this get to you again? It's just a piece of paper with writing on it. Who cares if you never got one?"
TK sighed. "It's more than that, Matt, and it's not like you have any right to say that, you get a million valentines every year!"
"For the record, most of those are from Jun!"
"Yeah, whatever… Anyway, it's more than just a piece of paper, it's symbolizes that you care enough to take the time to think about your feelings and give them to someone. Other than Kari and Yolei's valentines that say "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Your Awesome, TK" or something along those lines, I've never gotten one… and I really wanna get a valentine from Davis…" TK could feel his eyes starting to tear up and spill over his eye lids.
Matt pulled his brother in for a warm hug. "Alright, if you want, I can call Tai and tell him-"
"No… don't bother, I'll be fine, Matt… Have fun with Tai…" TK wiped the tears away from his eyes and lay back on his bed.
Matt shrugged and stood up. "Alright, have it your way…" He made his way to the doorway, but stopped and turned around. "By the way, a letter came from you in the mail, I left it on the kitchen table for you…"
"Great… probably just a Valentine's Day letter from grandma and grandpa…" he said unenthusiastically.
Matt smiled. "You won't know until you open it"
Soon, Matt pulled on a jacket and was out the door, leaving TK alone in the apartment, with only his sadness to keep him company. He sighed once again and sat back up. "Might as well see what that letter is about. Hopefully it'll be cash or something…"
TK stood up from his bed and walked out into the kitchen, where he found a red envelope with a pink heart stamp in the corner. He ripped open the side of the envelope and allowed its contents to fall into his hand. It was a piece of folded, bright pink paper, held together by a pink heart sticker.
He held up the folded paper with a confused look on his face. "Grandma and Grandpa never use pink paper…"
He unfolded the paper and held it in his hands. The second he read the words off the letter, his eyes grew to the size of plates.
My dearest Takeru…
Roses are red, Violets are blue,
You're lips are like candy and I want to kiss you…
Sorry for the corny poem, but I thought you might get a laugh out of it.
Anyway, Takeru, I just wanted to say that… well, I love you…
I've been in love with you since the moment I met you. Your blue eyes full of innocence and your beautiful, golden locks, I get goose bumps just thinking about them!
Takeru, I love every single thing about you. How you help those in need, friend or foe, how your cheerful smile brightens up the day, and how you drive me insane with love…
I just wanted you to know that, even though you can't possibly love me because I'm another boy…
But, if you want do to meet me, I'll be standing outside the Television Studio at 9 o'clock tonight. I hope that you want to meet me, so that I can give you a Valentine's Day kiss under the moonlight.
See you then, Takeru… maybe…
Love: Your secret admirer
TK held the letter in his hand with both hands. He felt his eyes watering up once again. "A… A Valentine…?" He whispered to himself. He held firmly in his hands the very thing he'd been dreaming off getting for 13 years, so firmly that it was actually starting to crease the paper.
He spun his head around at the clock. It was 8 o'clock. He had 1 hour to get ready to meet this secret admirer and he wasn't about to waist a second of it.
He laid the Valentine on the kitchen table and ran into the bathroom. He stripped down and hopped in the shower, scrubbed every single spot of his body clean, shampooed and conditioned his hair and when he finished he put on some of his brother's aftershave… and then screamed... He ran to his room and threw on the best outfit he had. It consisted of a tight, white t-shirt, a black jacket, navy blue jeans, held up by a black belt and black dress shoes.
He went back to the bathroom and he combed away any loose strands of hair sticking up. He looked at himself in the mirror.
"I can't believe it… My first Valentine…" he said. "Maybe, by some twist of fate… It'll be Davis! Oh, I can't wait to go now!"
TK walked out of the bathroom and checked the clock. 8:30. He picked up the valentine off the kitchen table. "Better take this, I want to tell this guy just how much I love it!" He tucked it into the inside pocket of his jacket and made his way out the door.
He rode the subway towards the Television Studio. The entire ride he could not sit still, his feet were constantly tapping against the subway's floor and his hands were shaking with anticipation. He could barely contain his excitement. For as long as he could remember, TK wanted to get a real valentine, one that came from another boy that had real feelings for him, and he was about to get his wish…
Or so he thought…
After almost half an hour, when the subway pulled into the station, TK practically bowled down every person there trying to get above ground again. He ran as fast as he could to get to the Television Studio.
In just a few minutes, TK stood outside the Television Studio, kneeled over and breathing heavily. He took a deep breath a sighed. He looked at the clock resting over the Studio's door. It was exactly 9 o'clock, the time he was supposed to meet his secret admirer. TK took a look around, hoping to see Davis, or someone relatively close to his age at least, but he saw no one even close to that description.
TK sighed and looked to the ground. "I should have known…" he turned around and prepared himself to walk back to the subway.
"Oh, TK, don't tell me you're leaving without giving me a kiss…" a deep, obnoxious voice spoke from behind.
TK froze in his tracks. He knew that voice anywhere. He spun back around and he nearly fainted when he saw Takehiro Makino standing there with a smug look on his face.
Takehiro was a student from TK's school and the quarterback of the football team. He was pretty tall for his age, and he always wore a black biker jacket, jeans, black boots and he kept his short brown hair spiked up with more gel than Matt did. Takehiro loved nothing more than messing with TK, partially because he was an easy target, but mainly for him being gay. Takehiro had done a lot of mean things to TK over the years, such as stealing his clothes while he was in gym class or tripping him in the cafeteria so he fell on his lunch. In other words, Takehiro was a bully, specifically TK's.
"I see you got my letter…" Takehiro said, adding in a sinister chuckle. "I knew you were a fairy after I saw you checking out Davis in the locker room…"
"Takehiro… y-you didn't…" TK pulled the valentine out from his jacket and looked fearfully at it. He felt himself starting to cry again.
Takehiro smirked. "Oh… but I did. I thought this is what you've always wanted, isn't it? To get a valentine from a hot guy? Well congrats, you got one, now get out of here, ya fag! Oh hold on…" he pulled out a cell phone and took a picture of TK with tears streaming down his face and his cheeks bright red. "Perfect! Now I have something to put on Facebook under the heading 'Blonde's in tears over a broken heart!'" He started to laugh maniacally while TK was trying his best not to start bawling.
TK didn't say a word before he ran off. His one wish, the only thing he'd ever wanted on Valentine's Day, was nothing more than a prank set up to humiliate him. He felt like such an idiot for falling for it.
He kept running until he reached the park, where he took a seat on the bench and really let his tears come out, along with some minor whaling. "I-I'm… I'm such a-an i-idiot… I sh-should have guessed it was Takehiro… j-just because it was for me… Go-Good things never happen to me, th-they never have and they never will!"
"They might, if you talk to someone about it …" A caring voice spoke from behind him.
TK's head shot around, recognizing the voice anywhere. His face lit up bright red and his heart started beating like a snare drum. Standing there was none other than Davis Motomiya!
"D-Davis?" TK stuttered.
Davis grinned and waved his hand. "Hey, TK, what's up?"
TK started crying even harder. Davis stepped back in surprise, but then walked around the bench and took a seat next to him. "Come on, tell me what's wrong…"
TK sniffled. "W-Why do you c-care? You've never paid a-attention to me b-before…"
Davis threw and hand over TK's shoulder. "Does there have to be a reason to care about someone crying on Valentine's Day? Come on, I want to know why you're so upset, I want to help"
TK shook his head. "I-I can't… It's too embarrassing…
"TK, don't be embarrassed to tell people about your problems…" Davis stated. He sighed. "Tell you what, I'll tell you something embarrassing about me, but then you gotta tell me what's bothering you, alright?" TK sat still for a moment before nodding. "Alright, well… my real name is Daisuke… I just made up the name 'Davis' because it sounded cooler…"
TK stopped crying and tilted his head in confusion. "W-What's embarrassing about that? 'Daisuke' means 'Big Help' in Japanese"
Davis looked down in shame. "And when have I been a big help to anyone? All I ever do is mess things up and get everyone upset…"
TK wiped away the tears in his eyes. "Davis, you're captain of the soccer team and most of the time you're the one who's making up game plays for the team. You're a big help to them"
Davis sighed. "…But that's pretty much it, other than with soccer, I'm useless. I mean, have you seen my grades? They're so low that they were actually featured in that video about improving your work ethic they showed us in class. And I'm nowhere near as helpful as my sister Jun, she can do everything, but I can't. I can't do laundry without mixing colors, I can't clean dishes without breaking them, I can't help in anyway without messing up somehow… I hid my real name because I didn't want those side comments about the things I can't do…"
TK just stared at Davis for a moment.
Davis sat upright again and looked TK in the eye. "Alright, I told you something personal about me, and now it's your turn"
TK's cheeks flushed pink again and he looked down at the ground in despair. "Takehiro…" he said softly.
"Huh?"
TK explained what happened earlier with him and Takehiro. He told him about how Takehiro sent him a fake valentine just to mess with and out him. He 'conveniently' left out the part about Davis being the person he though sent the letter, but other than that he told Davis everything. He had to pause a few times to cry, but he didn't stop. He let all of his sadness and hurt to Davis, who listened with open ears.
"And then, I wound up here, talking to you…" TK finished his story with a loud sigh. "I've never been so embarrassed or scarred in my entire life… and worst of all, I got my hopes up too high and thought that the guy I'm… in love with, wrote that letter…"
Davis put a hand on TK's shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, TK. I wish I could have done something to prevent this… say, what did that valentine say to get your hopes up so high?"
TK sniffled and pulled the valentine out from his jacket again. He handed it to Davis. "Here…" Davis took it and started to read it. "A valentine for Valentine's Day is all I ever wanted… If it was anyone other than Takehiro that wrote that, I… I don't know what I'd do… all I know is that I'd love that person as much as… the guy I love right now, and that would be a lot…"
"…TK, are you absolutely sure that you'd love the person that wrote this?" Davis asked, holding the piece of paper firmly.
"Without a doubt. It was the first valentine I'd ever gotten, and if the words are true, then I'd do whatever I could to please that per-" TK was cut off by a pair of lips being pressed up against his with extreme force, more specifically, Davis' lips!
Davis broke the kiss quickly and gave TK a warm smile. "Surprise! I'm the one who wrote the letter!" he said happily.
TK's jaw dropped in shocked. "W-W-WHAT?! YOU WROTE THAT?! B-BUT HOW?!"
"Uh… with a pencil…? And, uh… paper?"
"No! I meant, how did Takehiro get a hold of it?"
Davis shrugged. "Beats me… you don't think it might have something to do with me leaving the book I wrote it in on the locker room bench, and when I went back the next day it was gone… do you?"
TK laughed. "No… really?"
"Well anyway… are we a couple or what?"
TK leaned in a kissed him on the cheek. "That answer your question?"
They both laughed.
"I love you, Takeru…"
"I love you too, Daisuke…"
"…So, what do you think I should do to Takehiro for doing all this? Atomic wedgie or dress him up like a girl? I'll let you decide" Davis asked.
TK thought for a moment. "Wedgie, a dress isn't painful"
Davis grinned. "Wedgie it is then!" Suddenly, Davis got a sinister smirk glued to his face. "…by the way, since you don't think it's painful … would you ever be willing to wear a dress?"
TK flushed brightly, but then smiled. "Will you make Takehiro suffer?" Davis nodded. "…Alright then! Now let's go find him, I bet he's still at the TV studio!"
The boys stood up from the bench and walked hand-in-hand towards the Television Studio, ready to make an idiotic boy suffer dearly for his tormentings.