Hello, all! This update is very late because I just started Grade 11 and the university level courses have hit me really hard. So, I haven't had a lot of free time or energy lately... But anyway, I finally wrote something and I thought I'd change it up a bit: this chapter's in Piko's point of view. Enjoy~
Piko
It was a chilly autumn evening and the light of the sunset spread across the sky like a giant, orange blanket, creating great shadows on the many skyscrapers surrounding me. The air was crisp and cold, and it rustled my hair with its light breeze. The thin jacket and scarf I was wearing were barely enough to keep me warm and my eyes watered from the cold air hitting them. I leaned on the edge of the balcony of my apartment, cradling my chin in the palm of my hand as I felt tears running down the side of my reddening face.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't the cold that made my eyes water. It had been months since I'd last seen or even talked to Len, and though our little affair only lasted a few weeks, I still missed him dearly. I'd never felt the same care from anyone other than Len, the same compassion... What am I thinking? I assumed he was back with that Kaito guy now, he'd probably forgotten all about me anyway... Though I was upset from being apart from Len, I was also angry because of the fact that he'd ignored every single text message and voicemail I'd sent him in the past few months. Was it really that hard to send a quick text or to take a minute to call me saying that he didn't want to see me anymore?
I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye with the sleeve of my jacket and sniffled. Goddammit. I hadn't meant to start crying, but I couldn't help myself. I stood on my balcony sobbing for a good five minutes, heaving and hiccoughing, before I could pull myself together. What had happened to me? I had never been this emotional before meeting Len and now it seemed that whenever I remembered him I felt like bursting into tears. I sniffled again and stared at the sunset. It's just not fair I thought to myself. The sun rose and set every day at regular intervals, with nothing to interfere with its cycle that had been the same for God knows how long. Why couldn't my life be the same?
I sighed, feeling the cold autumn air brush against my face, still wet from my tears. I had to stop fussing over all of this, but something still bothered me, something inside my mind that was refusing to be ignored. The last time I'd talked to Len, he'd called me asking if he could talk to me about something. I could still remember the shakiness in his voice, almost like he was nervous, even scared. I could sense something was wrong, but I never got the chance to find out what it was because the last words he said to me were "I'll call you back when I'm in a better emotional state". He never called back.
I pulled out my phone instinctively after thinking about it and stared at its screen for a moment. It probably wouldn't be worth it, but I had to try again just once... I dialed Len's number without even looking at the keyboard and held the phone up to my ear, waiting. The silence between my phone connecting to service and when it started ringing was painful. I waited, holding my breath as Len's phone rang, anxious even though I knew he wouldn't pick up. However, just as I became impatient and was about to hang up, I heard a faint voice come from my phone's speakers.
"Hi, Piko."
"Uh...hi." I was short on words, not knowing what to say; I hadn't actually expected Len to answer. There was a short, awkward silence before I spoke up again. "I'm sorry for calling you so often, I just wanted to talk some things throu-"
"Don't apologize," Len interrupted, in a stern but quiet voice. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Uh...huh?"
"I'm sorry for everything I've done to you in the past while. I didn't mean to drag you into this whole situation and I sure as hell didn't mean to ignore you after the last time we saw each other. It's just that Kaito hasn't left me alone this entire time and I haven't had any time alone to talk to you..." Len's voice trailed off into a barely audible whisper as he rushed through saying his last few words. Something sounded off.
"Len, are you okay?"
"Shh, be quiet," he whispered. "But don't hang up."
What was going on? I didn't have time to process any of Len's words before I heard a door slam open and a deep, tenor voice in the background say "Len, who are you talking to?"
"Uh...n-no one," Len stuttered, his voice louder but sounding farther away. He must've taken his phone away from his ear.
"Are you sure? I could've sworn I heard your phone going off a few minutes ago," the deep-voiced person said.
"I was just getting a text from Meiko," Len said with a bit a nervousness in his voice. I instantly froze as I realized I was eavesdropping on Len and Kaito's conversation. I didn't know anything about this Kaito guy or how he would react to Len talking to me but I clamped my hand over my mouth to silence any possible noise that I could've made. I couldn't mess this situation up any more.
"Then why were you talking?"
"Heh, well you know me, I talk to myself a lot..." Len said in what sounded like an attempt to joke around. But then he gasped before I heard shuffling noises like someone was grabbing Len's phone. "Kaito, give it back!" Len shouted, sounding like he was even farther away from it.
"Piko...03-6743-9501..." It sounded like Kaito was reading off of the screen of Len's phone. "Where do I know that name...?"
"It doesn't matter, just give me my phone back!" Len cried. I stopped breathing in an attempt to be silent. Kaito recognized my name from somewhere...was it possible Len had told him who I was? There was an awkward silence between them before Kaito said anything.
"Wait, is this...that person... Len, how could you?" The sound of Len's face being backhanded echoed through the phone, through my ears. I gasped in surprise, praying Kaito didn't hear me as I heard Len start sobbing in the background. I couldn't believe Len was putting up with this, that he'd given me up to continue being with this jerk... Just then, I was shocked by Kaito's deep voice speaking into Len's phone, right into my ear. "Piko-san, I don't know who you are or what business you have with my Len, but I suggest you stay away before I get involved in this."
I stayed silent, shocked by what Kaito had just said. I heard Len let out one last quiet sob before my phone went silent. I stood there stupefied at what I'd just witnessed, too shocked to remember I was still standing on my balcony, my fingers turning numb from the freezing cold. I'd been able to peer into Len's life without me and couldn't understand why he would continue to live with someone like Kaito. It sounded cocky, but I believed that Len would be much better off with me...
The sun had now set and it had gotten considerably colder. I glanced out into the city-lit sky, blowing warm air onto my hands before heading back into my apartment, my heart racing and tears making their way out of my eyes once again.
