Hearts Disguised
Chapter 7
The Only Path to Take
"A younger sister?" Yang looked at her and saw that she had a really surprised look on her face. She knew she crossed the line so there was nothing left to do, but apologize.
"I'm sorry. I know that was stupid of me to ask. Please just try to forget I even asked."
"Haha, it's alright. From what you've told, it's completely understandable and I wish I could, but the way my dad is, that just wouldn't be a good idea for you. Now, if my mom was still alive, then it might be a different story." At that moment, Yang bowed her head in sadness, but immediately, a hand was placed on her head which made her look back up. "Hey, I might not be able to really be an older sister to you, but I can sure by best to be one towards you." A tear fell from her eye as she jumped at Coco and hugged her as tight as she could.
It pained her to see Yang like this. She didn't really understand the full extent of her situation, but she did know that she was hurting. All she could do for her was be the best friend she could be. Unfortunately, there was nothing else she could do. She wasn't 18 yet and having Yang as a sister with her dad was just unsafe. As the night grew late, Yang started to calm down and they were able to get to bed with rested hearts.
When the next morning came around, Coco was the first one to wake up. She got out of bed and silently walked out of her room as to not wake up Yang. She scanned the house to make sure that her dad wasn't home. After it was clear, she walked back up to her room and woke up Yang. Unfortunately, it was still a school day so there was no rest for them. They got ready and made their way to the front door. Right as they opened it, Coco was grabbed from behind and Yang saw that her father was there to stop her before she could leave.
"Aha! I knew you were hiding something form me. How many times have I told you not to keep secrets from me?" Just from the way he talked to Coco, Yang knew that he was a dangerous man.
"Yang, just go on ahead. I'll meet you at school." She wanted to stay, but Coco's eyes and her father's harsh voice told her to leave as soon as possible. Without another word, she grabbed her things and made her way to school.
On the way there, she was busy in her head. What was happening? Why was her father so angry about something like that? Hopefully this wasn't all my fault. While she was thinking, she made her way onto to campus when she was stopped by a random person.
"Oh sorry, I…"
"Yang, right?" This person looked familiar, but Yang couldn't really put her finger on it.
"Yeah. You are…?" They sighed in disappointment.
"I'm Blake. You used to say hi to me every morning." Finally, it clicked.
"Oh right, Blake. You're the class rep. How are you?"
"I'm fine. However, I think the real question is are you alright?" Yang was confused. Why was this girl so interested in her all of a sudden? Out of nowhere, she started to fumble around with her fingers as she looked at the ground. "I'm sorry if that was a sudden question. It's just that those hi's and good mornings were very helpful." At that moment, Yang figured out that her simple hospitalities did not go unnoticed.
"I'm sorry. It's just…" She suddenly stopped her train of thought. She couldn't tell her what was happening. She barely even knew this girl. "I've been feeling really sick lately so things haven't been going pretty well."
"Oh, well how are you feeling now?"
"I'm alright. I'm slowly getting better."
"That's good." With her head still looking down, she started to click her toes against the ground. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with me today." Yang was caught off guard. This girl was being so open with her. She didn't really much objection to it since she shoes to put interest in her ever since the first day. The only bad thing would be that she would skip lunch with Coco. But then again, it was just one day so it wouldn't hurt.
"Okay, sounds good."
"Really?" Her face suddenly lit up. "Okay you know the cherry blossom tree next the library?" Yang nodded her head. "Meet me there when lunch starts."
"Alright." She smiled and ran to first period as the bell rang to start off the day.
For the rest of her morning classes, Yang was actually kind of excited. She was asked to lunch by someone she didn't really know. It was definitely a start. She was on the path to making more friends, even though Coco was enough of a friend to not make her feel lonely. The morning was pretty hard for her. She was constantly called out by her teachers to pay attention. She would immediately snap back into school mode, but would eventually linger off into her thoughts. She wanted to know why this girl was so interested in her all of a sudden, but she also didn't care. It was obvious that she was doing something right if a stranger asks to hang out for lunch. Once the lunch bell rang, Yang made her way through campus until she saw the tree in sight. Before she arrived, she saw Blake already waiting for her. The wind that was blowing sent cherry blossoms flying through the air. Her long black hair was caught in the wind which nearly took Yang's breath away. There was no way around it. This girl was beautiful. Once she was over her daydreaming, she walked to the tree and sat down next to Blake.
"Hey." For some reason, Blake was caught off guard by her sudden greeting.
"H-Hi!"
"Gosh, this place is beautiful. Do you always eat here?"
"Sometimes." There was a slight gap in their conversation. "So have you adjusted well to high school?"
"Eh, sort of. Things have been difficult." Yang had to take a breather as an image of her parents came up in her head. "But I've been good. I met this really nice upperclassmen and she's been able to show me the ropes. Her name's Coco. Do you know her?" Blake shook her head. "Gosh, she's so awesome. I never knew people could be so nice." Yang kept going on and on about Coco while Blake remained silent. This wasn't really the reason why she wanted to have lunch with her. She wanted to talk about other things, but Yang was relentless and didn't allow Blake to open her mouth. Eventually, time ran out and lunch was over. "Well, this was fun. Let's do it again sometime."
"Yeah," Blake said quietly as she closed her packed up her things.
"Okay, I gotta go." Yang ran off and Blake watched her leave. She couldn't help but feel annoyed. Yang was a very vibrant person and yet, she couldn't say anything to her. She wanted to talk about something more important than Coco, but it was just impossible. She sighed and threw her backpack onto her back as she made her way to her next class.
Once school was over, Yang met up with Coco as it was mandatory for her to take her back to the orphanage. On the way there, Coco was quiet. On the other hand, Yang couldn't stop talking. She talked about how fun it was to spend the night at her house and how she got to have lunch with someone new. All Coco could do was smile and stare at the ground. Was it right to tell her now? Or should I just let it go? After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the orphanage where that same woman from before was at the front desk.
"Great. You guys made it back. Thank you for bringing her back."
"Ah, well, thank you for letting me have host her for a day."
"Hey Coco, thank you. I really needed that."
"No problem Yang."
"Let's do it again sometime." A smile appeared on her face, but Coco couldn't return the favor. Something else was going on in her head which forced her to be in pain. She couldn't tell her. How could she? She looked so happy.
"Yeah, we'll definitely try. See ya."
"Bye." Coco turned around and walked out with a troubling mind. It wasn't right what she was doing, but there was nothing else she could have done. Her days of being a good friend were over.
Meanwhile, that woman stared at Yang as she made her way to her room to unpack. She put her fingers on her chin and started to ponder the thought.
"Hey Cathy, who is that young lady? Why have I only seen her around recently?"
"She's… She just got in. Something terrible happened to her family and now, this is the only place that's left for her. The poor thing."
"Yeah. Poor thing."
…
The next day started with a skip in her step. For some reason, Yang was feeling much more chipper than she has been feeling. She quickly got ready and made her way to school in a quick fashion. When she arrived at her first period, she said good morning to Blake and Blake immediately smiled, returning the kind gesture back to her. Again, Blake couldn't muster up the courage to say anything to her. She just didn't know why. Once the morning classes were over, Yang ran to the music building and busted through the door where her Coco usually eat lunch. Unfortunately, no one was in there. All there that was in there were two chairs and one note that was sitting all by itself.
Another note?
End of Chapter 7
