Broken Dreams Blossom into Beautiful Songs

11

"What is it?" An asked, on guard. Akito inhales. "Ugh... Look I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things about Kohane." Akito said looking to the side. An seemed surprised. "Wow... I didn't expect you to say that, but if you actually mean it... It's alright. Kohane has long forgiven you after all." An smiled crossing her arms. "So... Do you think we could be friends?" Akito tried his hardest not to cringe at his words. He didn't think it'd be this easy. An laughed. "Sure! Why not?" An replied, almost mockingly.

Akito tried his best to stay composed. "In that case... We should all meet up together. Me, you, Kohane... And Toya." Akito replied swallowing the lump in his throat. For some reason that made him uncomfortable. He felt a pit in his stomach as An replied, "Sure, Kohane would love that! And I think Toya seems like a nice guy... How does tomorrow sound? It's a weekend day~" Akito felt nervous. "No!" He responded. An seemed shocked. Akito tried to calm down his heartbeat, "I mean... No, that won't work, I have my shift tomorrow and the next day at the boutique... Could we try to do it today?"

In an attempt to cover up his uneasiness, Akito accidentally made the gathering more imminent. "Oh? You're an eager one! That's fine with me." An chuckled. Akito rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah... Cya after school then." Akito replied walking away. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. This was all part of his plan, after all, and things are going better than he thought. This would also give Toya the chance to talk to Kohane... Like Akito wanted. Akito sighed. Why did that bother him? He shook his head.

Akito looked back at his notebook. Now that he thought about it, his plan was kind of stupid, wasn't it? It replied on lying to others and manipulating their emotions. But... Did he have any other choice? Now that he's started, can he really turn back now? He sighed. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted to get with his crush while helping his buddy out... It can't be that horrible then, right? Akito stuffed his notebook in his bag. He didn't want to think about it anymore.

Toya's Perspective:

The day was rather bland and boring for Toya. That all changed when he saw Akito through the window. Toya laughed as he saw Akito struggle on an assignment, though he felt concerned. Even though Akito didn't feel the same about him, his feelings only grew. Toya wondered if it would be an issue. He already told Akito how he felt, and Akito still agreed to be friends with him... Yet, Toya couldn't help but worry about it. Shouldn't his feelings be dying down? Shouldn't the rejection have put him in his place? Toya felt guilty as he thought about it. Was he really okay with how things were going?

That's a stupid question. Of course he wasn't, but... He couldn't help it. He wanted to be selfish. He didn't want to throw his feelings away. He couldn't. He sighed as he watched Akito watch his crush. He knew that Akito had fallen for her, though Toya knew there was more to her than that would meet the eye. He went to the same prep school as her in junior high. Akito's crush's name was Ryoko Fujiwara. She may the one person Toya can't stand. It wasn't because of her looks or her sloppy hygiene, no it was her personality.

Toya's dislike for Ryoko started back in junior high. Most people who went to that school cam from rich backgrounds, including Ryoko. Her father was the executive CEO of some big company and spoiled his only daughter. This wasn't Toya's issue, as plenty of the other kids at Toya's prep school were just as spoiled and he knew better than to assume things about other people's lives. This was around the time Toya lost his brother and emotionally, he was at his lowest. Not only did he lose his brother, he also lost his parents, seeing through their façade. He felt so empty and lost.

Toya was used to the eyes of others glued to him, as he was conventionally attractive. So, he wasn't all too surprised when he found out a fellow classmate, Ryoko, had fallen for him. She was often teased due to her chubby appearance, however she was quick to defend herself. Toya saw that she had drive, however he didn't like her in that way. Back then, he was much more cold and distant due to his own problems, and so when she confessed to him on a day that was going relatively horrible for him... His response was cold and off putting. He still remembered the look on her face.

Of course, Toya recognized now that the way he handled that situation was not ideal, however that doesn't change her actions. It started off easy, with Ryoko starting to call him by his first name. This bothered him slightly as he barely knew her, but he let her do it. He didn't have the emotional capacity to tell her to stop even if it made him slightly uncomfortable. After a while, it seemed that Ryoko began to leave Toya alone. Which relieved him. However he began to notice that he never felt alone. No matter where he went, even if it were in the bathroom, he felt like someone was watching him. He didn't even feel safe in his own room.

It reminded Toya of his childhood, how his parents would tell him exactly what to do. He had no room to grow and be his own person. Once he finally felt he had broken free of that by rebelling against his parents, he was quickly pulled back into reality with this apparent stalker. One day, after a long day at junior high Toya walked home. The same creepy feeling washed over him, this time it felt more intense. Toya was over the fear, and was beginning to get annoyed. What could this person want with him..? He'd gladly give it up if it meant they'd just leave him alone. He just wanted to grieve over the loss of his brother in peace.

As Toya took another step forward, he felt someone pounce on him. It was Ryoko. His eyes widened as she stabbed his arm with a screw driver. "How dare you..? Do you not know how badly you hurt me!?" She yelled. Toya could barely believe what was happening. Ryoko seemed to be kind and sweet, he would've never thought she'd have been like this... She put the screw driver up to Toya's throat, her eyes widened and she seemed crazed. "You will love me, Toya!" She screamed, her voice shaking. Toya had enough. He pushed her away harshly, the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Don't call me that..!" She stepped backwards, the pain settling in. "Oh..? What's wrong, sweetheart?" Ryoko asked throwing the screw driver to the side as she stood up. Toya shook his head in fear. "What is wrong with you!? I could never love you!" Toya replied. She stood still in shock at his words. Toya took this opportunity to run away. His heart was racing as he felt the excruciating pain. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. The next day, Toya was treated at the hospital.

He tried to explain what happened, but no one believed him. Ryoko was seen as a smart and sweet girl with a good future ahead. While Toya was silent and rarely interacted with others at this point. To others, Toya had no credibility. Not to mention the fact that he was a guy in junior high, who was claiming to be attacked by a girl. He faced teasing, but it seemed that Ryoko had finally left him alone. He grew to accept that Ryoko would never be held accountable for what she did to him, so he decided to just avoid her.

That leads back to a high school. He thought he'd escaped her, but she attended the same school as him. Not only that, but the person who Toya loved so dearly seemed to have fallen for her. She couldn't care less about Akito's feelings. She just wanted to use him to get to Toya. But, how was Toya supposed to tell Akito that? He doubted he'd be believed, and he couldn't really blame Akito for that. Toya still has a scar from where he was impaled on his arm. He remembered that he couldn't move it properly for two months after the incident. He sighed as he struggled with his past.