Outsider Syndrome | ✓

Chapter 34 (1) - "Celebrity Buzz"

I collided face-first into a pole. The third since I'd departed for school this morning.

Retreating, I gently rubbed the site of pain, thinning my eyelids in the act. The ache, however, was hardly noticeable with my senses as detached as they were.

I couldn't think straight.

My fingers balled the fabric above my chest.

I'd never been confessed to before, let alone that boldly. And the one person that did. . . was my childhood best friend.

Because I said I missed him and wanted to see him.

Because I repeatedly implied our feelings were mutual.

Rin-Rin was convinced we were dating for almost a year now. Every conversation, every text message. . . even the reason he put work on hold and came running to see me yesterday.

I was extremely insensitive.

Since we weren't technically "dating", me clearing up that misunderstanding could hardly be considered a "breakup." Nevertheless, it must've very much felt like one to him.

How many times had he told me he loved me growing up and I brushed it aside as platonic? How many times did I hurt him without intending to? There was no need to dwell on it. Doing so wouldn't change the past. Despite yesterday's events being the hugest blow of all, he set the record straight. I could run or hide all I want, but this reality was something I had to face eventually.

"More than anyone else in the whole world, I love you, Shiina."

His confession echoed in my ears and in my heart.

Another hard surface knocked the air out of me.

Grunting, I fell into a crouch.

"Are you trying to knock yourself out?"

I craned my neck.

It was Koshiba. Coat snug around her body, umbrella clasped in palm. Impassive, she stared down at me.

"That's the fourth lamppost you've hit now. I know you're lanky, but this is overkill."

Ascending to my feet, I massaged my nose. "I'm fin—"

The lamppost gave me another thorough beating.

"You're clearly not fine," Koshiba enunciated, jerking me by the arm toward her. While I grimaced pathetically, she expunged a breath. "Toru's acting strange too. Left without me this morning, with not so much as a message. His parents mentioned something about him being uncharacteristically down."

"Igarashi. . . is?" I formulated a response. Now out of the pool of my thoughts, my surroundings tumbled into place. Koshiba's firm grasp on me, passing Hoshizaki Academy students murmuring about 'Beanstalk Shiina's' comedic stumbles, my pulsating face.

Koshiba, who typically appeared seconds from ripping off my head, despondently sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have left early yesterday. So? Your childhood friend returned home and confessed, right?"

Every inch of my body locked up. She knew? How?

"I have feelings for Toru. Don't tell me you forgot," she responded, as if peering into my mind. "And since I technically consider you a love rival, I've made it a goal to gather as much information on you as possible. Though, this confession I heard from Toru himself. We talked briefly last night."