Requited, Unrequited: Chapter Eight

Friends

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One day, when I was in junior-high school I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. Her name was Miyano Shiho. It looked like she was carrying all of her books.

Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? She must really be a nerd, I thought.

I had quite a weekend planned-parties and a soccer game with my friends Heiji, Hakuba and Kaito-so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running towards her. They ran at her, knocking all of her books out of her arms and tripping her so she landed in the dirt. She looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in her eyes. I was a bit shocked.

I was in a really good mood that day, so I jogged over to her and as she crawled around collecting her books, I saw a tear in her eye. She looked up when she saw me coming towards her and swiftly brushed it away, hoping I didn't notice.

As I handed her a few of her scattered books I said, "Those guys are jerks. They should get on with their lives."

She looked at me in a surprised manner and then said, "Thanks!" There was a big smile on her face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped her pick up her books, and asked her where she lived. As it turned out, she lived near me, so I asked her why I had never seen her before. She said she had gone to a private school before. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before, but I did, and it was the greatest thing I did that made me happy.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of her books. She turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked her if she wanted to hang out with me more. She said yes.

Over the next four years, Shiho and I became best friends. She was there for me when I first got my heart broken because of Ran, my childhood crush, and I'm quite embarrassed to say this, but she has a really nice comfortable shoulder to cry on. She was always there when something went wrong. And, in return, I helped her in meeting some of my friends, even though there was this weird pang in my chest and it felt like my stomach had dropped and then been tied into knots. We had a strange friendship but it was solid.

When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Shiho decided on Oxford, and I was going to Harvard.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the kilometers would never be a problem. She was going to be a scientist, and I was going for criminology.

Shiho was valedictorian of our class. I teased her all the time about being a nerd. She had to prepare a speech for graduation.

Graduation day, I saw Shiho. She looked really great. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. She had more dates than I had and all the boys loved him. I wasn't sure why though, but it annoyed me so much.

I could see that she was nervous about her speech. So I took her hand and said, "You'll be great."

She looked at me with one of those looks-the really grateful one-and smiled. "Thanks," she said. Shiho smiled at me that I felt my heart melt. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I struggled to fight the blush that was creeping onto my pale cheeks. I hope she doesn't read my mind and find me in such a mess, I thought, panicking. Every time she read my mind she found something to embarrass me with.

"Trust me you'll be fine." I told her, encouragingly, "And even if you screw up your fan boys will still love you!" I added teasingly.

She made a face at me, before laughing. She had such a light, carefree laugh. I really like it; it makes you feel like laughing too and it never failed to brighten my mood. I beamed at her, gave her a peck on the forehead, and told her she was almost up before going to my seat.

I saw that a light pink flush had crept across her naturally pale cheeks, and she looked quite shy and embarrassed. And then, I noticed a faraway look in her eyes, she was thinking about something. Shiho looked thoughtful, before smiling softly and throwing her speech away. I couldn't help but feel confused at that. But I didn't get much time to contemplate on that because she was already being called.

As she started her speech, she cleared her throat, and began "Although I already had a speech prepared, I realized that it was more important for me to tell you this. Besides, my old speech would have probably bored you all." She smirked.

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend of someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you my story."

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as she told the story of the first day we met. She had planned to kill herself over the weekend. She talked of how she had cleaned out her locker so her parents wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying her stuff home.

I felt a coldness rush over me as I realized that she might have died if I hadn't befriended her. It scared me witless, to know that the witty, sarcastic girl that I knew and adored had sunk that deeply into depression.

She looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this gorgeous, popular woman told us all about her weakest moment.

"And I would like to thank that friend of mine, for all that he has done for me and for bringing me back from a dark, depressing place that I hope I never go to again." She was walking down with a microphone in her hand while she said that. She was heading towards me. I felt frozen on the spot. I couldn't move no matter how hard I willed myself to. It was as though I was rooted to the ground.

"Thank you, Kudo Shinichi. Thank you for everything. I would have never come this far without you. You are the greatest friend I could have ever asked for." She told me sincerely.

I was stunned beyond words. She smiled softly, her hand cupping my cheek. She leaned and kissed me softly on the lips. I was so surprised that I almost pulled away, but there was this part of me that felt like everything was right. Intense heat rushed through me even though it was such a gentle kiss.

She pulled away, a slight flush on her cheeks. There was silence all around the hall as everyone stared shocked, Shiho kissing me was as unimaginable as Heiji kissing Sonoko. Everyone was staring, wondering how I would react to my best friend kissing me.

"I-I-I—" Shiho stuttered, embarrassed, with that adorable flush on her face.

Now it was my turn to smirk and swept her off her feet, which I did. I kissed her with such longing I never knew I had. Cheers erupted from everyone around us but these thoughts were instantly dismissed as a comforting warmth wrapped around me. It took me a moment to realize that her arms were wrapped around my neck. As that warmth and the tingly sensation in my body increased I realized that over the years, I had fallen for my best friend, without even noticing.

We pulled apart for breath and she whispered three short but sweet words. "I love you."

My heart fluttered, and I fought down the desire to kiss her again. "As I love you."

Louder cheers erupted from everyone and that brought me back to reality. I had completely forgotten that we were at school in front of everyone. We both blushed and Shiho buried her head into my chest.

After the graduation, and of course everyone's teasing of me and Shiho, I saw her parents. They had come up to me and were smiling that same grateful smile that was the first smile Shiho ever smiled at me. They had come over to thank me. Not until that moment did I realize its depth. I almost cried when it hit me.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. We were given a significant role in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for good in others and don't let them just fade away and sink into depression. There are those out there who need help, but you have to be willing to help and realize how much you can the lives of those around you.

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

Akitsuki Akira ©Friends