Forgive Me For Forgetting You

Fading Echos

I don't remember when it started exactly.
Maybe during the second selection.
Or maybe it was even before that—when he first looked at me like I was worth something. Like I mattered.

It was small at first. Just this weird flutter in my chest whenever he talked to me... or glared at me... or said my name.
Which wasn't often.

Rin Itoshi doesn't talk much. Especially not to me.

He avoids me, actually. Doesn't even look at me unless he has to.
Always choosing the seat furthest away, brushing past me in the halls like I'm invisible, cold as ever on the field—even when we win together.

So I got the message pretty early on.

Whatever I feel... it's not mutual.

But that didn't stop it.
I kept catching myself watching him when he wasn't looking.
Noticing the way his jaw clenched when he was focused.
The way he tied his laces before every match.
The way he never smiled, except maybe once—maybe—when we won that one time and I swore I saw something shift in his eyes.

I sound pathetic.

But I couldn't help it.

Somewhere along the line, admiration turned into something else.
Something heavier. Something harder to ignore.

And now it's like this thing inside me—this aching thing—that I can't get rid of no matter how hard I try.

And Rin...
He just keeps running further away.

And I keep letting him.