Something different

Talk

Here I was seated, between Al and the porthole. The plane's cream white seats were slightly trembling as it slowly accelerated, taking off from the tarmac.

As it took its flight, a slightly unwelcomed sound pressured my eardrums as well as many other people's too. Though, it didn't bother me that much as I was still deep in thoughts. But how not to be? This was not only concerning my future, but Rui's and Hina's too.

After some time, the plane was high in the sky, far above the ocean, and the pressure lessened. My thoughts drifted towards the big blue landscape, maybe it would be more accurate to say "oceanscape". It somewhat relieved the tension of my body and I turned my head towards Al. I smiled.

N:_Soooo... How are you gonna make up with Lilly?
He greeted my question with an ironic grin, before putting his head on the backseat, his gaze wandering on the ceiling.

A:_I don't know what I'm gonna say to her...  Apologizing of course but... is that all? I don't really know what I should say. What if I get rejected?
He then looked at me, his eyes shining with emotions, seemingly reflecting the turmoil of his feelings. With such a gaze directed at me, I couldn't help but tease him a little.

N:_So you're going to confess to her?
I smiled mischievously, already knowing how he would react. And he reacted exactly how I predicted.

A:_What?! N-no I won't. I should just explain her what happened at that time.

N:_ Yeah, that's for the best. Good luck Al, I hope you'll be successful.
I patted his shoulder as he smiled back at me, seemingly a little more relaxed than before.

A:_Thank you. What about you Nat-chan?
He asked with a serious face. I fazed a little, before replying somewhat awkwardly.

N:_Er.... That's complicated... Like...really.
I was hesitating whether to tell him or not. After all, thus was a huge matter.

A:_What's so complicated? Come on Nat-chan, I'm your best friend. You know you can tell me everything.
He said with a big, shameless smile.

N:_It's... I don't know...

A:_More complicated than your relationship with Rui-chan?

N:_Yeah... Kinda
I sighed, dispirited by the complexity of the situation. I didn't want to hurt Rui nor Hina.

A:_Really?! Well... If you need me, I'm here to help...
He exclaimed, surprised that a situation even more complex than my relationship with Rui can exist.

The both of us  then went silent for a long time. After some time, Al broke the awkward silence, trying to alleviate the mood.
A:_Well, for now lets talk about something else, 'kay?

N:_Yeah...
I sighed once more, considering whether I should tell him or not.

A:_What's your next piece? The last one was really awesome, remember how frightened we were by your acting talent?
He gave me a big bright smile, trying to cheer me up.

N:_Thanks. It will be a comedy. Something based on the relationship between a mother and her son who is in the rebellious phase.
I gave him more details on the piece, the different roles, the big brother role I'll play, ...
... He's a young teacher in the same highschool his brother is in.
"Kinda ironic.. ." I thought.

Our conversation continued on for an hour or two, and we were both smiling, having a great time. The plane was flying above a white sea of clouds, and sometimes we could see the blue of the ocean under the clouds.
N:_How has been the work lately? The kids are not too hard to handle?

A:_Nah, they're fun. Cute too. And they learn pretty quickly. They have a little difficulty on the pronunciation, but overall, they're doing fine. Maybe I should become an English teacher. In elementary school though.
He joked, but I know he was still serious about it.

"English teacher, huh..." I turned my head and stared at the clouds in the sky. "Maybe..."
N:_Hey Al... If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else, okay? Not even Momo or Ashihara. You promise me?
I said slowly, considering what I was saying all along.

A:_Yes, don't worry about that, I know how to shut my mouth.
He smiled to me, a look of "you can have confidence in me" on his face.

N:_Rui or Kiriya-sensei are fine though. They already know how things are.

A:_Okay.
He was looking at me with a serious look on his face.

N:_I... You know that before Rui, I had another girlfriend.

A:_Yes?
He asked, somewhat taken aback that I would start by that.

N:_It was her big sister...

A:_What?! You were going out with Rui-chan's big sis? How come we never encountered her?
He was staring at me, dumbfounded.

N:_You did. You just didn't knew it was her. She was Hina.

A:_Wait. Hina. Hina-sensei?

N:_Yes.
He was all the more stunned after hearing that truth. Then he went silent for a moment, taking the time to think about that situation.
Well, you know I fell in love with her on my first year of high school. Then I tried to forget about her because she had a boyfriend, and met Rui. That the first time we had sex.
After that, we soon started being a family, and we got Hina to leave her boyfriend because their relationship was hurting her a lot.
After some time, we started dating but our relationship got found out by the school. So she disappeared, leaving just a letter, saying that she left to protect my future from any scandal.
I met her once, back then at Oshima and she rejected me. I didn't know she was lying. That's also why I started to accept Rui's feelings and fell in love with her.
She came back after one year, she quitted teaching, it was too hard for to be there alone. Then we had to tell her about Rui and I because...she was trying to seduce me. And Rui was reaaally jealous. Though I can understand that.
I grin.
Then there was the stalker incident. And then the gangster incident.

A:_Wait whaaat?!! Gangsters ?! How come I don't know anything about that. That seems really dangerous...
He got extremely surprised and pouted, annoyed by the fact that I didn't say anything about this before now.

N:_Well, things turned out well and nothing much happened. I met a girl in a party and she came in my apartment to live for some days because she just got kicked of her room. And she had some problems with gangsters dealing drugs. So we were kidnapped.
But Hina and Kobayashi-san were keeping an eye on us so they called yakuzas as a reinforcement and annihilated the gangsters.
And after that, Kobayashi-san took care of Misaki and Hina went to live in my apartment to protect me.
But the fact is that she still loved me all along, and she sacrificed so much to support me...
I heaved a long, long sigh after having told him that story. Al signed too.

A:_Truly, things aren't simple with you.
So... What are you gonna do?

N:_I'm not sure... I mean, right now I have to be there for Rui and help her.
But I want to be there for Hina too... And depending on what will happen on this trip, I might have to do things differently to what I want, in the end...
I let my head lie on my palm as my gaze slowly drifted towards a little dot on the seat in front of me as I lost myself in my thoughts. Al was lost in his thoughts too.
Time slowly flowed by, seconds, minutes... After a long time, Al patted my shoulder as I turned to face him. He said.

A:_I don't know what you should do, but you have to do something. Either you state from the start who you want to live your life with, either you state from the start that you haven't decided yet. It's your choice. I'll be here for you, I'll just be waiting at the hotel so you can have some intimacy. If you need help, you just gotta call me, I'll be right there.
He then smiled, like one would do to cheer up his friend.

N:_Thank you Al. Well, truth to be told, I might need your help for something...