Song: Nothing by The Script
I wanted to give everyone a heads up that some parts will be what she's doing in past-tense but other parts will seem like it's being written far into the future. Like "back then..." or "that night..." and so on.
Mina's POV
It's been a year and half since Sora left for college. He promised that he would call or text or email. Or... do something. He had promised that he would visit as much as he could. The only thing is, is that he hasn't visited or contacted me in any way, shape, or form. No birthday present. No Christmas present. Nothing.
Right now, I'm seventeen years old and in my last year of high school. By now, I'm way over Sora. I just assumed that we broke up, even though I guess we ended on good terms. For all I know, Sora could have another girlfriend or he could be dead
I haven't heard a thing from him, so I don't know anything that's going on in his life. But it's not like I cared much about him anymore.
At least, that's what I told myself.
Right now, Isamu, Aiko, and I are putting the decorations on our Christmas tree.
Earlier that year, we had moved into a larger apartment. We now have two floors and four bedrooms. Two master bedrooms and two guest bedrooms. We have a full sized kitchen with an island, which we use as our dining table. We have a living room with a 60 inch TV and a couch that has eight seats. We also have a spare room in which I moved my otaku lair into.
You see, a few months after I turned 16, I got a job. Don't ask how I managed it, but I landed a job as a Game Designer. Well, I guess I'm more of the artist, but yeah. I draw specific things and proceed to color it. Then, I begin putting it in motion. And you wouldn't BELIEVE the pay! Along with my grandfather's $1000 a month, I get a total of $7195 every. Single. Month. Heheh... I guess you could say I hit the jackpot, huh?
"So Mina, do you think he's coming this Christmas?" Aiko-chan asked as she took out the streamer for the tree.
"Let's face it, he's never gonna come back. Tch. At least not until he graduates," I scowled.
"He promised that he would visit, I'm sure he'll come at least once. Don't you think, Isamu?" she replied.
"To be honest, I never really trusted him to begin with. He was too good to be true. Just, too perfect. He never took advantage of our royalty, he was too nice, never rude, he never snapped. Sora was the same from the beginning till the end," Isamu stated.
I couldn't take this anymore and snapped. "Y'know? Maybe that's just the kind of person that Sora is! He's probably just too busy visit!"
"What about calling? Or texting or emailing or Skype?" Isamu countered.
"Well, maybe he doesn't have good service down there?" I said in a questioning manner.
"In a college? Really? Both the professors and students practically live off of their cellphones!"
"Isamu, she's been depressed ever since Sora left, don't make her worse!" Aiko whispered to my brother, but I still faintly heard her voice.
We just continued to decorate the tree without much talking. Aiko would attempt to start a conversation, but neither Isamu nor I would answer.
My mind just traveled back to when Sora was here. Man, those days were the happy days.
People say I'm better off without him and that he was holding me back. I don't see how be could've held me back, but whatever. They were just trying to cheer me up.
I kept telling myself that I don't need Sora and that I am better off without him, but it wasn't the truth. I kept on lying to myself over and over again in hopes that I would believe my own words. But my efforts had never worked for an instant.
After a total of about five and a half hours, we finished the tree. You may think that's a long time, but we have a pretty large tree. It's about sixteen feet tall and six feet in diameter.
Our apartment is the kind where the living room doesn't have a ceiling like the rest of the first floor. It's open, but there's a chandelier hanging down from the second floor's ceiling. The bottom of the chandelier was about a foot away from their top of the tree, so we had no choice but to go without the beautiful star.
Oh my poor, beautiful star.
Since it was only 4:51 and there was plenty of time before I needed to make dinner, I decided to dust off some stuff. Its been a while since we cleaned the house besides the weekly vacuuming, so the picture frames and tables and things were pretty dusty. Then again the last time things were cleaned was when we first moved in eight months ago.
I began to dust off the picture frames along the wall. Some were of family. Some were of Cana, me, and our new friends, Fumiko and Kaito.
They're twins and they moved from Nagasaki all the way to Hokkaidō, where we live. Fumiko is female and older by two minutes. She has dyed blue and green hair and the most beautiful green eyes you will ever see. Kaito has brown hair and breathtakingly gorgeous blue eyes. Not to mention, Cana seems to have a little thing for him.
Other pictures were of some landmarks all over Japan and of Sora. I put the strip of pictures that we took when he and I went to that amusement park into a frame.
Man, the good old days.
I began to stare at that picture strip when Aiko came up behind me.
"You're better off without him, okay sis?"
"Yeah," I said and gave her a fake smile.
That seemed like all I was doing lately. Giving fake smiles. I rarely smiled for real anymore. My life just isn't as happy without Sora.
That night, I called Sora on his cellphone. But just like every other time I called before, he didn't pick up. My calls went to voicemail every single time.
I told him that I still loved him and wanted him to come back home, but even if he did listen to my voicemail, I didn't know if he would come home. I was crying uncontrollably. I just couldn't stop myself from remembering the past when he was still around.
I was so sick and tired of just hearing nothing. I don't care if it's just a simple "hey", I just want to hear his voice. It's been so long since we've talked that I began to forget what his voice sounded like.
One day before Christmas Eve
"Hey Mina?" Sahara-chan asked me as she started peeling another apple.
There's one more day until Christmas Eve and I'm hosting a Christmas party at my apartment with all of my friends. Ms. Takeda is currently on a date with her new boyfriend, so I'm watching over Sahara, Gracie, and Mikasa.
"Yeah?"
"Did you know that if you add the word 'viciously' to your action, it becomes like 1000 times more hilarious?"
"Oh really?" I ask with an amused tone. I was looking forward to this.
"Yeah, like viscously peeling apples."
"Viscously watching anime," I try.
"Viscously baking a potato," Mikasa-chan speaks up as she continues to chop cheese into cubes.
That's when we all started laughing hysterically. Like, how do you bake viscously?
"Viscously murders seven children," Gracie-chan states with a serious tone.
She was slicing the giant pepperoni stick with a sharp knife, we each slowly backed away from her in fear that she decided to murder us. That would only make three, but still.
"Viscously worries about Gracie-chan's brain. And viscously wonders if she needs to go a mental hospital," I say with one of the most worried voices that I have ever spoken in.
"Oh come on guys, I was just joking! Can't you take a joke? And besides, if I want to be the world's greatest detective, I can't be in jail for murdering seven children," Gracie spoke with a sigh.
Everyone laughed it off nervously and got back to work on making the food for the party.
At the party on December 24th
"So Mina, this is my girlfriend, Yuki-chan," Isamu announced as he came through the front door with a girl standing beside him.
"Hey, it's so nice to meet you, Yuki-chan. I've heard so many great things about you. I'm Isamu's older sister, Mina," I greet her with a warm smile.
That was one of the few smiles nowadays that weren't faked.
"Yes, you too, Mina-chan," she replied shyly.
Yuki-chan had long blonde hair put into a braid on the side. She wore a green tunic with a red belt. She also had on black and white striped leggings.
Her black glasses seemed to enhance her gorgeous blue eyes.
A/N: I just found this picture on Pinterest and thought she looked cute. Yeah, this is Yuki-chan :)
I watched as the couple walked inside of the decorated apartment and started talking to their friends who were also invited.
'She seems to be a nice girl,' I thought.
"Mina-onee-chan, this is Daichi-kun, my boyfriend!" my little sister exclaimed happily from the door.
"Hmm? Oh it's nice to- woooah..." I started saying, but then I noticed a giant standing beside Aiko and gaped at him. My jaw was practically resting on the ground.
He started chuckling and greeted me. "Nice to finally meet you, Mina-san. I'm Daichi Sohma."
"U-uhh yeah. Nice to meet you, Daichi-kun," I said nervously. That kid almost reached the top of the door. The door is seven feet tall!
Daichi-kun had blue-ish black hair and green eyes. He wore a dark brown scarf, a slightly lighter brown jacket, and black sweats.
A/N: I just found this photo on Pinterest and I couldn't find any others, so I guess this is Daichi.
I realized that all of the guests had arrived, so I closed the door and joined my friends.
"Alright everyone, the turducken is ready to eat!" I announced from the kitchen as I took the food out of the oven and onto the island. It sat in the middle, surrounded by all of the sides and drinks.
Everyone filed into the kitchen and filled their plates with food. Then they sat back down on the sofa and talked happily while they ate.
And of course, just as I sat down and got comfortable beside my best friend, Cana, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Aiko said and she made her way over to the door.
"Hello?" she asked. Just as she said it, she slammed the door loudly and came back to the couch.
"Who was it?" I wondered.
"No one," my sister replied sternly.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
But just as she said it, the doorbell rang again and I eyed her suspiciously. I got up from my comfortable seat and opened the door.
And there he stood. My supposed "boyfriend". Sora was standing in front of my apartment door with a small smile on his face.
"Hey," he spoke softly and took a small step forward. And then I slammed the door in his face.
But of course, with my luck, that didn't work out so well. One of his feet just so happened to be just barely inside the apartment and of course the door hit the shoe and smacked me in the face.
"Owww..." I whined and grabbed my bleeding nose. I tilted my head back to try and stop the nosebleed.
I glared at Sora who was trying his best not to burst out laughing.
"What do you want?" I asked him coldly.
"To see my girlfriend without getting a door slammed in my face."
"What girlfriend? No one here is dating you, Sora. At least, not anymore." A flash of hurt showed on his face and I immediately felt the guilt.
"I'm sorry, Mina," he apologized.
I scoffed. "Well 'sorry' ain't gonna cut it, buddy. I mean, what boyfriend just leaves their girlfriend to travel halfway across the world and doesn't call. Doesn't text. Doesn't email. Doesn't do anything?" By now, tears were starting to gather in my eyes as my rage piled up.
"I... I don't know," Sora whispered and stared at the ground.
"Why are you doing here anyways, and how did you find me?" I asked. My nosebleed finally stopped bleeding, so I looked up at him properly.
"Umm. I just wanted to see your face. I thought that you would be happy to see me after a year and a half. I tried to contact you, I really did. But you see, my phone didn't exactly have service all the way in America. I miss you, Mina." He looked at me with pleading eyes that I almost gave in to.
"But why couldn't you visit? Not even once during all that time. Not during summer break, or Christmas break, or spring break. Do you know what you put me through?" I yelled at him. Tears were racing down my cheeks fast and I was almost blinded by them as well.
"I-I don't know."
"Hey, Mina! We're gonna watch a movie, what's up?" Isamu came around the corner and asked. "Tch. Why are you here now, after all this time? Just go back to America already."
He walked towards us and embraced me in a hug and I sobbed on my little brother's shoulder.
"Yeah. You're right. I should just go back to America. Umm, bye."
I watched out of the corner of my eyes as he turned around and got his suitcase which was beside the door. It actually hurt to see my loved ones walk away from me. Again.
And this time, he really might not come back ever again.
I sighed. "Wait." I got out of Isamu's hold and wiped my tears. "If you came all this way, you might as well stay for Christmas and your birthday," I reasoned.
"Thank you," he replied and walked inside.
I led him to a spare guest bedroom where he would be staying.
"Wow, nice place you got here," Sora spoke as we went up the stairs.
"Thanks." I opened the door to the nearly empty room. "You'll be staying here for the time being. Make yourself at home. Breakfast is at 7:00am."
"Thank you. Umm... Can I ask you something?"
"Uhh sure," I replied and leaned against the door frame and he sat on the bed.
"Why did you say that we weren't dating anymore earlier? Last time I checked, we never broke up."
"Oh, uhh, I don't know. Maybe because for one, I had no idea if you were dead or alive. We haven't even talked for a year and a half."
"I said I'm sorry..." Sora whispered.
"Umm, Sora?" I asked.
"Hmm?"
"I was thinking. Since we're still apparently dating and all, I think we should maybe break up? It doesn't seem like it's working out anymore. I'm sorry."
I watched as a flash of hurt showed on his face once again.
"Yeah, that's probably best, huh?" he whispered.
"Anyways, how'd you find me here, Sora?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"Well I kind of went back to the old place and it turned out that everything was gone. So, I went down to Ms. Takeda's place and asked about you. She told you were living here now, so I came," he explained.
"Oh, I see. Err, you can join everyone downstairs at the Christmas party. If you want," I offered.
"Okay, thanks."
"Oh yeah, and all the stuff that was still in your apartment is still there," I mentioned.
"Huh? I thought that someone would've moved in. Or people moved my stuff since no one was paying rent," he replied with astonishment.
"Well no one would move in if they thought someone is still living there. I've been paying the rent every month. It's not like I have anywhere to put your stuff."
"Why would you do something like that? You have to pay rent for this place too," Sora asked me with a confused tone.
I clenched my fists. "I don't know," I began in a whisper, "I guess I just thought that you would be coming back earlier," I finished, my voice raising a bit at the end.
I didn't stay for an answer, whether he was giving one or not. I went back downstairs and joined everyone else.
Shortly after, I saw him walking down the stairs. He caught my stare and I quickly looked away.
I guess the rest of the night went smoothly. Sahara, Mikasa, and Gracie seemed happy that Sora was back. They kept pestering him with questions. I couldn't help but listen in.
"So," Gracie began, "do you still love Mina as much as before you left?"
My eyes widened in shock as I sucked in a sharp breath. I felt his gaze on me, but I pretended to be interested in some random discussion the others were having.
'That girl is the spawn of Satan, I swear.' I mentally scoffed.
I heard Sora sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do," he said softly, but I could hear him loud and clear.
'I do too, Sora.'
"So why didn't you come back sooner? Didn't you miss her?" Gracie continued.
I didn't really want to learn the answer to that. At least, not anymore. But I still couldn't help listening.
'Ugh, you traitorous ears...'
Sora took in a deep breath before answering. "I... I don't really know. I guess I just got too caught up with my studies. Maybe I forgot about coming home? I don't know."
I looked at him with my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Hurt flashed on my face. He looked at me with wide eyes. Tears started to form as I got up from the couch and went up the stairs to my room.
'I that really all I meant to Sora?' I asked myself as I let the tears fall freely.
I felt a tug at my wrist as I reached the top of the staircase.
"Mina, wait!" Sora said from a few stairs below me.
I pull away my wrist from his hand and wiped my tears. "Wait for what? Wait for you to leave and then when you graduate college, you'll finally come back? Wait while my heart breaks in even more pieces?" I asked furiously.
I turned around to look at him. Hurt was showing visibly on his face. He looked down at his feet, but looked back up a moment later.
He pulled hard at my wrist, causing me to fall into his chest. I tried to pull away, but he only hugged me tighter.
"I didn't want to come home because I didn't know how to face you. I was gone so long, I didn't know what to say anymore. You're my everything, Mina. I thought about you day and night. When I woke up, while I ate, during class, during conversations, and even in my dreams. Even when I tried to not think about you, you always found a way into my brain. I wanted to come back home as soon as I got there. I could barely bear being away from you. Not a day passed when I didn't think of you. I wanted to come home, but I didn't know what to say. Would you be happy to see me? I didn't know. Did you get another boyfriend? Did you forget about me?"
"Sora..." I hugged him back just as tightly, closing my eyes as tears continued to fall. "I thought about you every day as well. I wished that I could just fly over there and jump into your arms. But calls never went through. You never emailed or anything, I thought that you might have forgotten me. I thought you moved on."
He pulled away slightly and I felt something soft and warm pressing on my lips. I recognized them as his own.
I smiled a bit and kissed his back. I melted into his embrace, just like I always did.
I pulled back when I was out of breath and hugged him again.
"I love you, Sora," I whispered against his chest.
"I love you too, Mina," he whispered back. "But... what's our relationship?"
I pulled away and looked at our feet. "I don't know," I muttered in response. "Maybe we should be able to date someone else if we want to. But when we see each other again in the future and our lives have calmed down a little, we can go out again if we still like each other," I suggested.
I didn't exactly like the idea of Sora dating another girl, but I didn't want to hold him back.
"Yeah, I guess that's the best idea."
I faked a smile and pecked his cheek with a kiss.
"Breakfast is at seven, okay?" I informed him as I opened my bedroom door.
"Okay," I heard him say before I closed the door.
I closed my eyes and slid down the white wooden door. I looked up at my ceiling to see the painting I did of the stars. Most of the constellations were visible.
My walls were originally white, but I was bored with them one day and just started doodling on them. Of course, they were covered with posters and a few pictures frames here and there, but I still found room to draw or paint.
I stood up and walked over to my bed. I didn't bother to lay down properly. I just did a faceplant on my pillows and fell asleep.
I hadn't even bothered to change.
The next morning, I woke up at six, like always. But this time I didn't make just the usual breakfast. I made the special pancakes I learned how to make in culinary class at school.
Honestly, they really aren't that special. They only have chocolate chips in then, but still. They're special because pancakes are a pain to make from scratch.
I mix the batter in a large bowl and the sweet smell fills the kitchen and the rest of the apartment probably. I smile as I inhale the mouth watering scent.
I mixed the batter one last time before I dropped some into the hot pan that's covered in sizzling butter.
I get out the spatula and wait until the bubbles form on the top, signaling me to flip it over.
I smile again when the pancake is a perfect golden brown.
After about a minute, I flip the pancake to see how the color is.
"I'm such a great cook," I whisper to myself when I place the perfect golden brown pancake onto the plate. I groan when I look over to the giant bowl full of batter.
I do the same with the rest of the batter. But while I was waiting, I worked on preparing the ingredients to bake a chocolate cake.
Most of the pancakes turned out to be a golden brown. I sadly ended up burning one though. I was busy trying to find the right spices, okay?
I looked at the clock to see that it was 6:57am.
'The others should be down soon,' I noted.
I opened the oven that was just starting to pre-heat and stuck the pancakes inside so that they could warm up some more.
I went to the fridge and got out strawberries, blueberries, grapes, apples, and whipped cream.
I began to slice the apples and put them in a small amount of lemon juice. I then washed the rest of the fruit and neatly put them into a bowl.
I got the pancakes out of the oven and carried the plate of about 30 to the table. I looked up to see Aiko and Isamu groggily walking down the stairs.
"It smells so good down here, sis," Aiko compliments.
Isamu nods in agreement.
I smile and reply, "I know."
I walk back into the kitchen to get plates, forks, knives, and napkins. I place those on the table and run back to retrieve the fruit and whipped cream.
"Good morning," Sora greets with a yawn as he walked towards the table.
I smile up at him. "Good morning," I responded.
As those three ate their pancakes and fruit, I continued making the chocolate cake, Sora's favorite.
In two hours, I was frosting the cake with chocolate frosting. I sprinkled white chocolate rings on the top of the cake around the edge. I added eight large strawberries on the top as well. They sat in a mound of cream cheese frosting.
"What's this?" A low voice behind me asked.
I turned around quickly to be face to face with Sora. Well, face to chin, since he's taller and all.
I sucked in a sharp breath of surprise.
"Could it be, a birthday cake?" Sora asked.
I couldn't see him since he was so close - our chests were almost touching - but I knew he was smirking.
"Umm, yeah," I answered quietly. "But it's not very good," I said, staring at the white tiled floor intently.
"What are you talking about? It looks beautiful, Mina." He backed away with a smile on his face. He licked his lips and added, "Plus, it tastes delicious."
My eyes widened and turned around to see some of the frosting and a strawberry missing. My jaw dropped as I turned back around to see him gone.
"Are you serious, Sora?! You're such a pig!" I screamed at him furiously. I got a new strawberry from the fridge and placed it on the cake to replace the eaten one.
"Thanks!" Sora shouted from somewhere in the apartment.
I groaned in frustration as I angrily fixed the messed up cake.
In the middle, I wrote the words, 'Happy birthday Sora' in blue frosting.
I put it in the fridge and called everyone down to open presents. It was Christmas Day, after all.
After we opened the presents, we enjoyed some of the cake I made. Of course, it was amazing!
The others said that they liked it as well, so that was good.
The four of us talked for hours, forgetting that Sora was gone for a year and a half. It was as if he never left. And my love for him still burned strongly.
It was an eternal flame that wouldn't go out in a million years. You could pour an ocean of water on it, and every drop would evaporate. No matter what happened, I knew that my feelings would never waver.
But I knew that I could never have him. Someone like Sora Usui deserved more than someone like me, Mina Yamanaka.
Soon enough, it was December 26th. I got up at six in the morning, just like all mornings. I made breakfast and Aiko and Isamu came down at seven, like usual. But Sora never came downstairs.
At nine, I decided to check up on him. I knocked on his bedroom door, but no one answered.
"Sora?" I asked and slowly opened the door.
I opened it wide to reveal and empty room. His suitcase was gone. He was gone.
He had left.
Again.
I strolled inside and noticed a sheet of paper was on the desk.
I picked it up and it read, 'I never liked goodbyes, so see you later, Isamu, Aiko, Mina. I'll come back eventually, I promise. Please, don't forget me. -Sora'
Tears stung my eyes as I read the words over and over again.
'So he's really gone...' I thought as I crumpled up the paper and wiped away the tears.
I walked out of the door and put on a smile, despite the pain I felt from losing him again.
"See you later, Sora. How could I ever forget you? I'll remember you until the end of my time. And not a moment will pass when I stop loving you," I whisper and walk to my room.
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4747 words in the actual chapter, not this author's note. O_o Longest chapter I've ever written by about one thousand words omg.
Ok, I am soooooo sorry that I haven't updated in literally two months, but this is the end! Don't worry, there will be a sequel that takes place when Mina leaves for college.
I've decided on renaming this book to The Girl He Saved. Thank you Sapphire_Summers for the name! Go read her book! In all honesty, it's not perfect. But neither is this. So go give it a try!! I doubt you'll regret it! (:
The sequel will be called The Girl He Saved Book 2 because I'm not creative.
Umm... Anyone feel like giving me an idea of a cover or making one...?
Sorry, this author's note is pretty long, but it's the last chapter! I have many things to say.
But I wanted to thank each and every one of you for sticking around until the end! It means a lot to me and I hope to see you in the sequel! Also, I'm not sure when I will publish the sequel yet. I'm working on this super awesome book with moonlitefox21 (you should seriously read her books omg and follow her she's amazing). It's called Decaying Souls. It will be on both of our accounts though.
Last thing, do any of you have any questions to ask? I may not have covered everything... Also, remember how in the first chapter when Mina put on the dress and necklace from her father that left Mina and her "mother"? Well I'll cover the explanation in the sequel. I kind of changed the storyline in chapter 17 I believe so I need to explain some things, ugh.
Please comment what you thought of Mina! Thank you so much for reading this!
~Sara XOXO