Forgive Me
Prologue
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down;
"Perhaps it crept to one's side like an old friend through quiet ways;
"Perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music;
"Perhaps… perhaps… love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its grass sheath." Hikari read aloud dreamily, getting lost in the poetical words.
"Very well read, Hikari, thank you." Ms. Kinomoto's voice rang out, waking her from her daze.
Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of Hikari's Literature class and, thankfully, the end of school.
Hikari pulled herself together, still feeling mesmerized by the beautiful words she just read. She walked gracefully out of the classroom, soon joined by her best friend Takeru Takaishi, who also took Literature with her.
With his trademark bucket hat sitting aloft on his messy blonde hair, ocean blue eyes always shining with hope and joy for life and a bright innocent smile stretched across his face, Takeru always managed to bring a smile as bright as his own to her own face.
"Walk home with me, Hikari?" he beamed appealing to her.
"Do you still need to ask?" she answered, half-jokingly. It was somewhat of a routine which began since middle school that they would walk home together everyday after school.
They started strolling leisurely, enjoying the fine weather shining on them. "So, you free tomorrow, Hikari?" Takeru asked.
"Uh huh, why?" she tucked a strand of honey brown hair behind her ear as she surveyed him inquisitively.
"Well, maybe you could keep me company at home while my mom's working at Tokyo." He eyed her hopefully.
A playful twinkle appeared in her warm brown eyes as she pretended to consider carefully. "Hmm… I don't know Takeru… Daisuke said he might want to hang out with me tomorrow."
"Daisuke!?!" he said, his voice in a mixture of alarm and disgust. "What are you two going to do together?"
She hid her smirk and laugh as carefully as she could. "Well, maybe go to the mall or something."
"Oh." He cast his crestfallen eyes on the dewy grass.
She giggled and hugged him as how any friend would and said "Don't worry; I'll never leave my best friend in the lurch all by himself!"
A slight blush rose up his face, unnoticed by her and drew in a breath of relief. "So you were just teasing huh? Well, you'll get it!" He began tickling her, making her shriek and both started chasing each other around.
"Alright, alright! I won't lie to you anymore, ok? Stop it!" she said amidst breathless laughter and pants.
"Promise?" he said, childishly holding up a pinky finger to her.
"Promise!" she smiled cheerfully up at him.
The two best friends continued their way home, full of noisy chatter and laughter. Soon, Hikari reached her block of apartments and they bid each other farewell.
As soon as Hikari set her backpack on her bedroom floor, the telephone rang shrilly.
An equally shrill voice blasted from it when she picked it up.
"Hi Hikari!" Miyako Inoue excitedly addressed her friend and without pausing to let her respond, carried on straight to the point. "So, I saw you and Takeru walking home together again for probably the thousandth time! Are you guys dating and not telling us huh?" she teased.
"Of course not!" Hikari cried out in genuine astonishment, "Takeru's my best friend!" she continued indignantly.
"You mean, you still don't even have the slightest liking for him, romantically speaking?"
"Yes, Miyako." She answered decidedly and honestly.
There was a pause before Miyako gave a sigh. "Alright, so what are you doing during the weekend?"
But in her mind, Miyako was wishing that Hikari would answer differently once to her question, which she had asked countless of times, for Takeru's sake as well as Hikari's own…