I don't own anything.
"Yoru, you do know that we don't have to go to a specific place to eat. We've passed McDonalds, In-and-Out, Panera Bread, and Olive Garden. I'm not picky with my food." I said. After our movie, we had been walking up, down, and around the streets of the city.
"No, this is our first date. I have to bring you to this café. Suu makes the best chocolate crepes." My purple haired companion pressed, urging me to continue on. I looked up at his bright golden eyes that matched the street lights.
"You and your brother always loved chocolate crepes." I remarked. I could feel the corners of my lips quirk up at the thought.
"Amu—" I could hear his disappointed tone.
"No, you guys would love anything chocolate." I corrected myself, shining my smile up at him. Stopping dead in his tracks, he almost bumped into a man; but I stopped and pulled him into an empty alcove before they could collide. "Yoru, watch out. You almost bumped into—"
"Why are you always talking about Ikuto? Even when you're not saying it, I can see that you're thinking about him. E-Everything in this world reminds you of him." Yoru's voice shook out in a frazzled tone. He seemed exhausted and annoyed. When his fringe fell in front of his golden eyes, I wanted to move them away; but I'm sure that wouldn't help anything.
"What are you talking about? I haven't been—"
"Especially me. Everything I do and say reminds you of him. I'm the one here, not him. What should I do to get your attention?" He sighed.
"Ikuto's like my older brother." I whispered to him, but I wasn't even entirely sure that was true. A pang of pain spiked through my chest at the mere thought of it.
"You don't even know you love him, do you?" His left golden eye peeked from his bangs to search my expression.
"Yoru, I couldn't love Ikuto. He has a girlfriend." I stared at him, trying to search for answers as well.
"Geez, Amu, I don't care about Ikuto's relationship status. Do you or do you not love—or at least like—Ikuto?" He asked me, looking at me with both eyes. He looked at me with so much hope that something inside me deflated.
"If Ikuto didn't have a girlfriend, I would…" I took a moment to think about my impression of him.
Ikuto's brooding blue eyes, his matching blue hair that curled at the ends, his weird habit to buy me things as recompense, his bittersweet chocolate scent that hid under that strong cologne his girlfriend bought him, his all-knowing smirk that enticed the life in me, his sensitivity beneath his cool demeanor, and every single detail filled me with such rapture and pleasantness that my body felt like a sauna. This warm heat flushed across my face and this pull ached from my heart to him. These feelings were associated with love, weren't they?
"I would love—" I stopped myself. Yoru's grin and hope had fallen to that wistful sorrowful look I remembered from the theater. This was the golden boy I would break.
"I would love Ikuto as a brother." Lowering my head in shame, the words rattled down. I could hear his heart and lungs swell as my heart and lungs deflated.
"Maybe if I tell myself enough, I'll actually believe it." I thought to myself.
Dead Boyfriend's Brother
"Ikuto, what are you doing at my doorstep? You know my dad might come out any second." I whispered to Ikuto. Pretending to forget my father's last attempt on his life, he remained there, leaning on the pillar.
"Amu, I need to tell you something." His words whelmed me with hope—the same hope in Yoru. Pulling his weight off the pillar, he took a step closer.
"Are you dying?" I gave a sad excuse of a joke, trying to ease my own nervous heart rate.
"Yes." His response stunned me. "If I don't get these words out, I think I might die from the pressure."
"Ikuto, there's no need to be melodramatic. My ears are yours." As well as my heart. I slapped myself for that cheesy thought. That movie really got to me. I stepped closer to him and left only a few inches between us.
"I love you, Amu." His words stole my breath away. I could feel that burning heat sing in my veins, but I bit my lip.
"Me too, Ikuto. Now you'd better get going home." I choked on every word I wanted to say, but I knew that he meant—
"No, Amu, I love you." Ikuto whispered, bringing his hand to my cheek. My body impulsively leaned into his touch before I could stop it.
"Your girlfriend?" I asked him. I brought my hand to his hand and interlaced them together.
"She only tried to help me get over you, but I couldn't stop thinking about you." His answer almost threw away all the world's worries from me, but it was almost.
"Ikuto." I could feel him shudder as his name left my mouth. His name felt so different than before yet so similar. "And if I were to say yes, what next?" The most loving smile sneaked onto his flawless face. "What would we tell Yoru?" The smile's flare burned out in that instant.
"We would tell him… Tell him that…" A look of helplessness flashed on his face, leaving only a hard scowl.
"Ikuto, you're not the type of person who would heartlessly steal his brother's girlfriend." You're also not the type of person who would be able to stand the burden of having his brother's girlfriend's heart. I left out that last thought.
"Amu," The way he said my name almost brought me to my knees, but I pulled his hand away from my cheek and abandoned it to his side.
"You don't have to worry, Ikuto. I only love you as an older brother. I love Yoru as a man. That's why I'll forget this ever happened." My gaze fell to my shoes somewhere throughout my "statement".
"You're lying." He stated it with utter confidence. I glanced up, and I was sure that it wasn't from mild desperation but from true confidence. I tilted my head and smiled a lifeless smile.
"Ikuto, do you really want the alternative reality to be the truth?" I asked, more to myself.
"I'm sorry." He walked a few paces past me before adding, "Thanks for forgetting." His thunderous footsteps fell in time with every shard of my broken heart.
Thanks for reading.