FATED

CHAPTER 3- Hina

Tsukishima was surprisingly more annoying than I thought. Date? Boyfriend? Sure, he's handsome, his cold demeanor is very attractive. Gah, whatever. 

I walked into the house with a frown plastered on my face. 

"Someone's grumpy. What's wrong Hina?" my mom asked looking up from her book.

"Nothing mom. I'm hungry by the way, do we have anything to eat?"

"Yeah! I made some cheese bread sticks and cookies. Take them to your room," she said, smiling a little too broadly which made me stare at her for a few moments longer with my brows slightly raised. She shrugged. 

".....okay." I grabbed the tray off the counter and went up to my room. I opened the door and almost dropped the tray. A tall, very familiar dark haired boy was lying on my bed with one of mangas in his hand. 

I sighed and placed the tray and my bag on my table and chair. No wonder my mom was so smiley. Her favorite boy was here.

"Oh! Hi Hina!" the  boy said as he sprung off the bed and engulfed me in a hug. I patted his back and squirmed out of his grasp and looked him up and down, taking in the bodily changes he had gone through.

Itsuki Fushida. My childhood friend who was gone for about two years and now back. He used to live right next to me, along with his sister, brother and parents. His dad and mine are high school senior-junior so we were literally like one family. They were supposed to be in the U.S. for another three years but here he is, standing in front of me.

"You've grown tall," he said, grabbing my shoulders. I slapped them away and offered the bread sticks my mom made.

"Ah they're as tasty as I remember," he said, chomping on one of them.

"So, you're visiting?" I asked, sitting on my chair to segregate my books. 

"Come on, you've got to be more expressive about how happy you are to have me back!" he said and forcefully pulled me up from my chair. I raised my brows at the distance he had kept between us. Only a few inches. We were too close. 

"Why'd you cut your hair?" he asked in a low whisper. That's when I also realized that his voice had become huskier and deeper.

I gently pulled myself away from him and asked, "Why'd you become taller?"

He smirked. He ran a hand through his hair and stepped forward towards me. Something was wrong with him. I took another step back and was now against a wall. He put his hand next to my head. 

"Did the Americans mess with your head?" I asked as I craned my neck up to see him. His face was as handsome as ever. He had grown quite a lot, his hair fell on his forehead and his braces were gone. He was the same guy I knew two years ago and yet so different. 

I pushed him away and went back to my desk while he sat back on my bed. 

"Well, how have you been, Headset?" he asked. 

"I've been great, thanks. So you're staying?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah. I'll graduate from here and then off to Canada. Just like how we both decided," he smiled. 

"That was years ago Itsuki," I said, sighing.

"So you aren't going abroad to study?"

"Of course I am," I said and sat down the wrong way on my chair with my elbows on the backrest. I ate one of the bread sticks while Itsuki filled me in about his two years in America. Not that I asked but I listened to him anyways. 

He stopped when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Itsuki said. I wanted to remind him that he was in my room not his but didn't bother to. A man, who resembled Itsuki a little but looked like a better version of Itsuki.

Haruki Fushida. Itsuki's older brother.

I crushed on him before they left for the U.S. I liked him a lot but not anymore. He's eight years older than Itsuki and I. 

"Oh my god Headset! You've grown so much!" he said, pulling me into a hug. I plastered another smile and patted his back in return. This was a house invasion my mom forgot to tell me about. 

"Haruki! Hey! You're still as handsome as ever," I said while taking a step towards my door. 

"Haha, you flatter me Headset. You've become quite beautiful yourself," he said, scratching his head. My middle school self would've been delighted to hear these words but I wasn't. I smiled and slipped out of my room and towards Tobio's. 

I knocked on Tobio's door. He opened it while yawning. 

"You're sleeping? While the Fushidas have invaded our house?" I asked.

"Wait, what? I thought they weren't here for five years! What are you talking about?"

I pulled him out and we walked to the living room. My mom was having the time of her life. She was talking to the third Fushida offspring, Hanabi Fushida. She's a year younger than us and was having a lively conversation with my mom. 

My mom always complained about how I didn't like to gossip, go shopping with her or cook and bake with her. But to my fortune, Hanabi did all of that with my mom. I wouldn't be surprised if my mom took her into our family.

"Tobio!" she squealed and hugged him. Glad that she went to him first, I went over to my mom. 

"Mom? I think you have something that you haven't told." I said, with my brows raised.

"Oh come on! The Fushida's are back! Be more expressive Hina! I know you're squealing on the inside," my mom said, patting me on the back. I forced a suggestive shrug and bit back the urge to sigh. Hanabi was still clinging to Tobio.

"Alright! Dinner time!" I heard the very familiar loud voice that came from the front door. Mr. Fushida. A small smile played my lips. It felt nostalgic. I stood up to greet him. He engulfed me in a hug and I returned it, smiling genuinely this time. 

Our house felt noisy as ever and I'd lie if I said I didn't miss this. We all ate dinner, played monopoly, both the dads got drunk and we wrapped up, bidding goodbye to the Fushida siblings.

Exhausted, I went up to my room and fell face first on my pillow while the adults stayed up for quite a while catching up on the past two year's stories.

I glanced at my clock one last time, looked at my table which had my packed bag for tomorrow.

I'm finally a third year and with this thought I passed out.