Together Forever

Chapter 10

My Own Struggles

The next morning was a busy one for me. I made sure the entire house was clean and that I had everything that was needed to house a guest: Extra blankets, a futon, pillows, and all of the other things like that. Once it hit noon, I freshened up and waited for Umi-chan to show up. Like always, she showed up right on time and I invited her in.

This was her first time coming to my house so I decided to give her a little tour. My house wasn't anything special so the tour didn't last long. When that was done, we headed into the kitchen where my mom graciously provided us with some snacks until dinner.

"I really like your house, Kotori. It feels very comfortable."

"Thank you. I'm an only child so my parents did their best to make it feel homey."

"I would hope a house would feel homey. Didn't you ever feel bored as an only child?"

"Yes and no. I'm sure you can guess the pluses and minuses of being an only child. Wait a second, do you have siblings?"

"Yeah. I know it may not seem like it, but I have an older sister."

"Really? To be completely honest, I thought you were an only child too."

"I pretty much am. She's a lot older than me and has a life of her own so sometimes, I forget that I have a sister."

"Aw, I'm sorry."

Even though I've known Umi-chan the longest out of all of the people I've met, I was still getting to know her. And the funny thing was that she was still surprising me at every turn. After our little snack, we moved up to my room where we got comfortable for the afternoon.

"So how are you and Honoka-san doing?"

This question came out of nowhere and it definitely caught me off guard. I never pictured Umi-chan to ask me something like that.

"We're fine. We were going to hang out this weekend, but she ended up doing something with her family so…" A few seconds went by until I realized what I had just said. "Oh! In no way does this make you my second choice. Please don't take it that way. I'm sorry."

"Kotori, it's fine. I originally had plans myself, but they ended up getting cancelled so I'm glad we got to hangout."

"Oh okay. Haha." After that, the conversation got a little awkward with silence so I did my best at coming up with something else to talk about. "So you do you have someone that you like, Umi-chan?"

"Huh?"

"Oh come on, you're the prince of our school. I'm sure all of the girls are lining up to simply talk to you. I'm so jealous."

"Trust me. It's not something I'm particularly happy about. I don't know why they treat me like that. I even tell them that they can just talk to me, but they continue to treat me like some celebrity."

"It's because you're so pretty. Everyone's jealous and that makes them feel scared to talk to you."

"I guess."

I looked at her and could tell her getting sad. And then, I remembered that she didn't even answer my initial question.

"Oh yeah, who do you like? I wanna know. I'm sure there's someone out there that you like."

"Haha. You really like this topic, don't you?"

"Of course. I'm a helpless romantic. What can I do? Anyway, stop avoiding the subject and tell me who's on your special list?"

"Okay okay. Calm down. There is someone. I'm not quite sure that I like them or anything. I just feel good whenever I'm around them."

"Aw! That's so cute."

"Yeah. I just… I don't think they even see me."

"What do you mean? I mean, unless if you're hiding in a corner, I'm sure they'll be able to see you."

"It's not like that. I meant it as a metaphor. They're with someone else and I feel that that someone else isn't the best person for them."

"Oh, I see."

"You do?"

"Of course. It's your typical case of unrequited love. I know it may sound a bit disheartening, but I promise… With your beauty and charm, you'll get across to this person and make them yours. Whoever it is, they're one lucky person."

"Kotori… That person is you."

All of a sudden, everything stopped. To my eyes, it felt as if the entire world stopped and only Umi-chan existed. She looked at me with honest eyes and trembling hands.

"Me?"

"Forgive me."

At that moment, Umi-chan leaned across the floor and stole a kiss from my lips. I didn't know what to do. I honestly didn't even know what was happening. All I knew was that her lips and incredibly soft. That's when I tried to remember the sensation of being kissed by Honoka, but I couldn't. There something else stopping me from thinking about it. As the kiss went on, my mind started to get more and more blank until she finally broke away. My eyes were still closed, but I knew that Umi-chan was still looking at me.

"Umi-chan…" As I opened my eyes, I could feel a tear running down my face. "Huh?"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just…"

I suddenly covered my face with one hand and used the over one to cut her off mid-sentence.

"Umi-chan, you know I love Honoka-chan. Why would you do that?"

"I don't know what came over me. I just…"

I couldn't control it anymore. I stood up and ran out of the room in search of the bathroom. Once I got there, I let it all out. I didn't know why I was crying. It wasn't the type of crying one does when they feel hurt. It was another kind of crying that I didn't even know existed.

So many things were going through my head that I just couldn't just understand. What made her say that that person was me? Why couldn't I think about Honoka-chan when she kissed me? Does this make me a bad person for cheating on Honoka-chan. I know that it just a kiss, but the smallest things done against a partner in a relationship can end up being a lot worse in the end. I just didn't know what to do or think. Umi-chan is a special person to me. She made me feel wanted again. She saved me. I can't just end it all there. I'm in her debt. What am I supposed to do?

I don't know how much time had passed, but when I left the bathroom and returned to my room, Umi-chan was gone. All that was left was a note on my bed.

Kotori, I'm terribly sorry about what I did to you. That was stupid and immature of me to do. If you believe that being my friend is too hard on you, I understand completely. I just want your life to be happy and carefree. If I can't do that as a friend, then what good am I at all? I hope that we can continue to be friends, but for now, I think it would be best for us to keep our distance. I'll continue to think about what I did and what I can do better so that doesn't happen again. I just want to see you smile again. ~Umi

Umi-chan left. That wasn't what I wanted at all. I wanted to hang out with her all weekend. She didn't have to leave. That's when I grabbed my phone and dialed her up. Unfortunately, it went straight to voicemail. I tried again, but I got the same result. That's when I decided to leave her message.

"Umi-chan, I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. Of course I want to continue being friends with you. After all, you're like the most important person in my life. I… I guess I'll see you at school then."

…

The rest of the weekend was a long one, but eventually school came around once again. I got ready as quickly as I could to hopefully catch Umi-chan before class began. As I ran to school, I managed to catch Honoka. However, it looked as though she walking into an alleyway. I tried calling out to her, but she escaped without hearing me. I looked at my watch and saw that I had some time so I decided to chase after her. Once I made it to that alleyway, I peeked in and saw her making out with another. She was a smaller girl with red hair. I didn't know her, but I did know what was going on.

My chest suddenly felt as though something inside of it had exploded. I clenched my fists, closed my eyes, and ran to school as fast as I could. Without taking a second look, I ran past the school entrance and into the shoe locker area where I was stopped by a body. They held onto me which kept me from falling to the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was Umi-chan.

"Kotori, are you okay?"

I couldn't respond. The tears were coming and they were coming fast.

"Umi-chaaan!"

End of Chapter 10