Chapter 9 someday you would look my way

Piiing~

HE heard the sound of the whistle signaling the end of his class and immediately leave. He brisk walk towards the nearest faucet without even a second glance. He's just glad that nobody seemed to notice the distance and awkward atmosphere surrounding them. He doesn't think that he can continue pretending to be buddy-buddy with him. He need to get away, for him staying in the same place as Momoshiro is too much to handle.

Moving on auto-pilot Echizen Ryoma arrived at the nearest faucet and started cleaning up. Since when did Takeshi's presence became hard for him? Since when did that awkward and stifling atmosphere surrounded them? Since when did... Everything about them turned into an act?

Echizen paused and the water from the faucet continued to soak his head. The cold of the water did nothing to appease his mood. Immediately, as if snapping out from his trance he turned the faucet off, and rubbed his head with his towel. His gaze automatically searching, and locking at that tall figure he had grown to love.

Those strong arms that used to publicly hold him in a headlock and privately enclosed him in a gentle embrace. Those long legs that jumped higher than anyone and pedalled the way to his house, those eyes that are filled with love and warmth, those lips that is always locked in a goofy grin, that voice that booms louder than anyone yet is gentler than anybody and that person that he love more than anyone, will soon no longer be his. He knew, they both knew that they're falling apart and the day of breaking up is near.

Ryoma forced his eyes to direct his look at something else, staring at him just causes him pain. 1 week, 2 weeks, he didn't know when it started but Takeshi slowly turned cold. He had always knew that the degree of love they feel for one another differs. But he thought that the distance had decreased as the years had passed but he guessed wrong. Takeshi started refusing to spend time with him, he started canceling dates they had long planned, he started calling and mailing someone for long periods of time, he started... Forgetting his presence. But even so, Ryoma believed that in time and with trust everything will return to normal.

'If I could just rekindle his interest then everything would be fine', he thought that way until that incident. Ryoma stared far ahead with tears threatening to fall from his eyes but with sheer will power he willed himself to stop and walked back to his classroom. He will not allow himself to cry, not now, not... When he had already cried enough.

A few days later

He didn't notice how or when he got to the classroom but he is just glad that he was able to do so without problems. He's thankful that his body is able to remember to do things on its own while his mind is drifting off to who knows where. He almost didn't notice the folded piece of paper falling from the notebook he's arranging if not because the piece seemed to have came from a torn page of a notebook and Echizen never tear a piece from a notebook. And peaking at him was a beautiful and clean handwriting that is obviously not his. Curiosity got the better of him and he took the folded piece of paper and read it.

"Tears come streaming down your face when you lose something you can't replace...

When you love someone but it goes to waste...

Could it be worse?"

I hate to see you sad, if there's a way for me to take your pain and make it mine then I would gladly do it for you.

But with the distance between us all I can do is write these lyrics -in a letter that will never reach you- and hope that someday-

Ryoma turned the paper upside down and back and forth but he can't see the continuation of the message nor anything indicating who the sender is. He wants to know what else it says. Why does it fees like the sender knows what he's feeling? And why does the message... Feel familiar? The image of the mask man flash in his mind the feeling of sacrifice and longing that the mask man and the message emit overlaps. And immediately, as if on cue, gentle hazel eyes and low singing voice come barreling his senses but as soon as the thought emerge he immediately disperse it. The absurdity of the notion was enough to make him think that this whole thing about Momoshiro is starting to drive him insane.

He shook his head and decided to focus on looking for the continuation of the message. Maybe the continuation is written in another piece of paper and started searching high and low.

' where is it? The continuation? What do you mean by 'a letter that will never reach you' and someday what? What do you hope for? You hope that someday- I'll be happy? That I'll be fine? Be able to move on? or someday-'

"You would look my way"

He immediately turned back and saw Sakuno standing behind him holding the piece of paper. 'since when did she had it? More importantly... It's from Ryuzaki?"

"Did you write-"

"I'm sorry I found the paper on the floor, I just read it so I'll know whom it belongs to... I didn't know it was Echizen's! I'm sorry I didn't know it was a love letter I really didn't mean to read it and-"

"It's not from you?" he don't know why but somehow he felt relieved that it didn't come from her.

"Ah no..." Sakuno looked down, her face red with having to read the love letter for Echizen.

'You would look my way'

"By the way Ryuzaki-san what did you say just now?"

"AH... Sorry?"

"No... About the look my way" somehow... That sentence fit perfectly.

"You would look my way?"

"Yes that, why did you say it?"

"Ah, it's just that while I was reading the uhm.. Letter the words just came out my mouth. And"

"Why?"

Ryuzaki tilted her head a bit confused with Ryoma's insistent questioning. Sensing that he's making Ryuzaki uncomfortable he decided to change the subject.

"NO never mind thank you" he was about to leave when he felt someone pulling at his jacket.

"Ah sorry! Uhm... You forgot this" she immediately pulled her hands and returned the letter which Echizen accepted. "The song... From the first line... It's coldplay's fix you." she added, he was about to ask her about the second line but was cut off when Fuji called him.

"Thank you Ryuzaki-san" and with that he walked towards Fuji.

"What were you talking about with Sakuno-chan?" Fuji greeted

"Nothing" as he said this he hid the message inside his pocket.

"What do you want sempai?"

"Actually I have a favor to ask" Echizen mentally paled, a favor from Fuji is never good.

"I refuse" he said as he hastily tried to walk past him

"OH come on I just want you to deliver something" Fuji held Echizen's shoulder so he won't be able to escape while holding up an ominous plastic bag.

"Can you take it Tezuka? I got something to do."

"You can ask Oishi-sempai to give it to him"

"But Oishi doesn't know about that" Fuji faked whine.

"It is not-"

"And Tezuka knows that song... Coldplay's fix you. You can ask him to sing it for you he wouldn't mind" Fuji whispered into his ears. Honestly he still don't want to be alone with the captain. Even though Tezuka's treating him the same way as before, and not like a person who just confessed to him, truthfully he had almost forgotten about it. But the roof top will surely trigger it all but it's so tempting. And with curiosity getting the better of him again, he found himself in the rooftop with a silently eating Tezuka sitting beside him.

Today Tezuka still has his jacket on though its unzip and the white shirt is slightly opened, on his side was the guitar. For a few minutes they sat in an awkward silence and quietly eating their food. Echizen's afraid that Tezuka will bring up the confession thingy and though his answer would still be the same he is not comfortable with rejecting the same person twice. Especially if that person is someone he respects.

The awkward atmosphere lasted for a few more minutes before Tezuka took his guitar and started strumming some random songs. And soon, with the sound of the guitar the awkward atmosphere evaporated and was replaced by a comfortable silence. Ryoma's very thankful that Tezuka decided not to bring up the confession thing and he was able to experience this companionable silence. A thing he might have been yearning for. This past weeks had been very hard for the freshman, he had been surprised, hurt, depressed and anxious. He'd been so tired of crying at home, practicing tennis, and pretending to be fine in school. This moment where he can just put everything behind his mind and listen to the guitar is what he badly need right now.

Slowly his body started to relax and his mind is a blissfully blank. When he look up all he can see is a vast blue sky and all he can hear is the sound of a calming guitar, before he knew it his eyes started to drop and the fatigue caused by lack of sleep and emotional stress started making him light headed. As he drift to sleep the last he can remember are the sound of guitar and gentle hands coaxing him to rest his head on hard yet reassuring shoulders.

Whew... Done~ since the whole scene became too long I decided to cut it in two~ the next update will still be about Ryoma and more questions will be answered.. XD by the way response corner will be put up next chapter thank you!

Disclaimer:

I almost forgot about this since I very well know that I don't own POT nor the songs XD .