Hobi and Ryo sat side by side at the end of dance class. The instructor was about to announce who would get to represent the school at the competition. Everyone waited with bated breath, eyes wide open in anticipation. "I have chosen... Iki-Ryo! Everyone, please support him as he prepares for the competition, he'll need all your encouragement." Everyone clapped loudly. If it had been anyone else, they would have been jealous, but it was Iki-Ryo, one just didn't show dislike towards him.
"Hey, congratulations! You're going to be amazing at the competition!" Hobi exclaimed. He was slightly disappointed that he hadn't gotten the honour of competing, but he couldn't help but feel like a proud teacher seeing Ryo get it after helping him. Hobi held his hand up for a high-five. It was a shock when Ryo ignored him and walked right past him. "Ryo? Didn't you hear me?" He said, chasing after Ryo. "I heard you," Ryo said sharply, before continuing to walk away. Hobi just stood there, confusion on his face.
"Ryo! Ryo!" Hobi saw Ryo again at the end of school, and was determined to get him to talk. "Can't you just talk to me? What's going on?" At this moment, Ryo finally turned around to face him. Hobi felt afraid when he saw the angry heat in Ryo's eyes. "Can't you see that I don't want to talk to you?" Ryo hissed. Hobi took a step back out of surprise. "What do you mean? We've been talking for weeks now! Why don't you want to talk to me?" Ryo scoffed and smirked. "You're pathetic if you thought I actually wanted to be friends with you. I just wanted to make sure I got to compete. Now that I am competing, I don't want to see you anymore. Got it?" With that, he walked off. Hobi stood in the same spot, shocked.
Hobi locked himself in a bathroom cubicle before letting the tears stream down. He couldn't believe it. A few weeks of friendship had been the happiest weeks of his life, and now he knew they were all fake.
So, I fake my happiness, I don't get friendship. When I'm honest, I get a fake friendship. What else am I supposed to do?
He started sobbing. A knock on the door resounded. "Hey, are you okay? Do you need a teacher to come?" Hobi replied shakily "No, I'll be fine." The footsteps went away.
What a lie. I'll never be fine. I've seen so many movies that have loners who are miserable and never understood it. Now I know how it feels. It really is real.
How could Ry-, Iki-Ryo do that to me? Can someone really be that selfish? Who would ever think of pretending to be friends with someone just to use them? Then again, why would the coolest person in school want to talk to me? I should've known.
What's even worse is that I gave up my chance to compete. Dance is my passion. How could I have let myself ignore my passion for a friendship that didn't last? How could I have been so stupid?
Hobi wiped his tears. He had calmed down a bit by now. He went out of the cubicle and washed his face. He looked at himself in the mirror. All he saw was a broken boy who had nothing much left to live for. Someone who had been scarred and traumatised mentally. He couldn't bring himself to smile anymore.
Maybe... it's not worth trying to make friends anymore. It's not going to happen anyway, no matter how hard I try. People don't like me, I just have to accept that. I'll focus on my dancing. I'll go back to being the best in class. Who cares if the others think I'm being greedy for the spotlight? I want to be the best at dance. I want to do something with my dance in the future. They're just doing it as a hobby.
Yes. That's what I'll do. I don't need friends. I can do everything alone. I've been doing so this whole time. I can do it the rest of my life. Friends aren't the most important thing. Not having friends isn't the end of the world. I'll just live with the fact that I can't make friends.
Hobi kept looking at his reflection. His face had hardened, no longer hurt. On the outside, at least. He took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, stone cold.
He didn't need friends. He didn't want friends. He would be fine alone. Really, he would.