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"This is it." Her mother muttered, her arms crossed as she looked at her daughter standing awkwardly in front of them.
"Stay away from trouble and study hard." Her dad said, "Sending you to Sapporo is a lot of money."
Her mother nodded in agreement.
Kohari looked down at her feet, nodding. "Don't worry, I won't waste your money."
"Good, good. Let's take a picture now."
Her dad took his phone and opened it to the camera, her mother already snaking an arm around her thin waist and curling her lips into a smile. He stood beside Kohari, raising in phone in the air.
"3, 2, 1..." Kohari forced a believable smile and the picture was taken.
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"All they care about is their stupid money and their pride!" Kohari grumbled as she got off the train, a surprised Lev looking down at her.
She'd been sulking for a whole two hours, bitter about her parents. The past couple hours were favouring her... but not at the same time.
"Hey... at least you don't have to worry about them anymore." The boy responded quickly, following after the the girl and taking her large suitcase.
"Hey! I can carry that!"
The tall boy extended the luggage handle, ignoring the female, knowing she wouldn't make a scene because of the busy crowd all around them. If there was one thing Kohari hated the most, it would be unwanted attention.
He gave her a toothy grin and a lazy shrug, placing his gym bag atop the luggage, before pulling her luggage behind him. The female grumbled some incoherent words under her breath before following behind him.
After catching up with Lev's long strides, the female looked up at him from the side. "Did you get in trouble for skipping?"
Lev groaned. "I got killed."
Kohari laughed. "You're fiiiine. What time is your practice today, by the way?"
His emerald hues met with her lavender orbs. "It was an early morning practice. We finished like half an hour ago."
The female pursed her lips, taking a look at her phone. "It's only like eleven-thirty... my train comes at nine. I thought maybe I could pass some time, watching your team practice and stuff."
"Tokyo will keep us busy, don't worry, Taira-chan."
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"Kei?" He sat up.
"Yeah?" The blonde replied, rubbing his tired eyes due to staying awake all night.
"I'm going to buy groceries, do you want to come with me?" His mother asked, attempting to get the boy out of his room. It was way past noon and he hadn't even come down to eat.
"No thanks."
There was slight pause. "Okay, then. There's food in the kitchen for you."
He didn't reply. The male sat in his bed, staring at his sheets mindlessly. He was incredibly tired, yet his mind wouldn't let him rest.
All he saw was her. Her smile, her face, her tears. Tsukishima didn't think a breakup would be this bad, especially since their relationship was already rotten.
But no, it was exhausting for his mind. It left him a lot more broken than he thought he'd end up. There was huge, empty pit in his his chest and he didn't know what to do about it.
He had it all with her. The male never put so much energy into making sure Kohari saw the good in him. Of course, it was embarrassing, but she was just... everything he craved and she gave it.
Her playful and patient aura never clashed with his moodier and 'how lazy can I be, but still make it work' aura. Put simply, Kohari was the one.
And now, he was suffering from the repercussions because his ego got too inflated; because something in him believed she would stay... and knowing her, she would've, so that's why he ended it.
Because they couldn't go on. The fights, Sapporo... it wouldn't work.
"Even if you never loved me—I still love you."
"Way to go, Kei." He muttered to himself. "You really do ruin everything, don't you?"
... Now, he was feeling like all his hard work went to waste.
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"You're curious, aren't you?" Kohari questioned, not meeting Lev's gaze as she looked out of the cafe's wall windows. Her irises gazed over the happy people, the barking dogs, the busy street—city life was truly something else.
"You're talking about Tsukishima-san, aren't you?" He muttered, his emerald, cat-like irises piercing through her. "Of course I'm curious. But it's not my business or whatever..." He grumbled the last part as he replied. "If you're okay with telling me, I'm happy to listen; and if you're not, hey, that's fine, too."
The female turned to look at him, his tone changing multiple times during his little talk, didn't faze her, no, it was the fact a literal perfect answer just spouted from his lips.
"Why do you look so shocked?!" Lev exclaimed, slamming his empty cup on the tiny wooden table. Kohari only laughed.
"I wasn't expecting that answer. Usually, all I get silence... because the person wants to know, but doesn't want to be upfront about it." Leaning back in her seat, the female ran lazy hand through her hair.
"Sorry to say, Taira-chan, I'm far from the usual!" He gloated, pointing a thumb at himself while he grinned at her stupidly.
"Very far..." The ravenette replied, nodding her head sarcastically as she gave a 'really' smile; only to which the boy slumped, knowing he would never win against her. It wasn't like her words hurt him in any way, as he understood her humor rather well, it was the fact it was her; she just had him wrapped around her finger.
And he didn't mind it, strangely.
"But really," She said. "I'm more than okay to tell you... it's just that, I don't want you to see him as a bad person, because really, he's not. I guess it was just time's way of telling us... it was the wrong time."
It surely didn't feel like the wrong time, god, no. Kohari thought, averting her gaze to the drumming of her fingers on the table.
"Honestly, I never liked him, anyway." Lev blurted. "It wasn't because he was your boyfriend, I just... gah! I don't know how to explain it!"
Letting a breath of air pass through her grinning lips, it was like a calm, quiet laugh passed through, as Kohari nodded in understanding.
"But also—" Somehow knowing what Kohari was going to say, Lev interrupted her.
"You won't hurt my feelings." He said, reassuring one of her many worries. "I know how you felt for him was... I don't know how to explain it, again!" He spoke, slightly frustrated at his loss for words. Luckily, Kohari understood, like she always did.
It was his way of saying, 'I may like you, more than a friend should, but I saw, clearly, the connection you had. I know I kinda messed it up, so I'm going to listen.'
Kohari almost laughed, not out of pity because Lev knew he couldn't match up to Tsukishima, in terms of fighting for her heart, but for the fact he'd matured... a lot.
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TWO MONTHS AGO
"This is the city?" Kohari whispered to herself, looking around. "It's almost the same, but the buildings look more... building..."
"Wow, ten-out-of-ten vocab, you got there, Kohari." Tsukishima replied, smirking at his girlfriend, who playfully rolled her eyes at him.
"This Tokyo air is doing something to me." She retorted, taking a whiff.
"You're a dork." He said, flicking her forehead as he smiled.
From afar, a certain grey-haired male got caught in her trance. Her smile and her playful aura working magic on him the second he laid his eyes on her.
"Are you staring at Taira, Lev?" Hinata questioned, looking at where Lev was looking.
"A-ah, is that her name?"
"Yup, she's Tsukishima's girlfriend: Taira Kohari!"
"Hi, I'm Haiba Lev. You—you have very pretty eyes!"
And that's when it began. Ten months into their relationship, they had their first big fight. It was due to Tsukishima's uneasiness toward Lev. Kohari respected it, but even after talking to Lev about it, he didn't seem to lay off.
It was an like unexpected rapid in their already not-so-smooth-sailing relationship. Because the number of quarrels they had—even if they were small, added on to the emotional fatigue; to the point where they just broke.
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"Taira? Earth to Taira!" Snapping back to reality, she met Lev's concerned irises. "You were out of it, you okay?"
She nodded, placing her chin in the palm of her hand, a breath of air passing through her lips. "I was just reminded of how we first met. Do you remember?"
Lev swallowed thickly, nodding. "Y—yeah, at the practice camp in second year."
There was no response from the female. And like a daytime terror, their conversation back then echoed in his head.
"You're a nice guy, Haiba-kun. But I have a boyfriend and he's not very comfortable with how friendly we've been; especially since we only met like... a couple hours ago. I—I know you don't like me like that, but—"
"About that, Taira-chan." He interrupted, his blushing face almost speaking for him. "I do like you, like—like t—that or whatever."
Her eyes widened.
"In case you forgot," Tsukishima said, appearing out of nowhere and slinging a lazy arm around the female's shoulders, as his eyes narrowed. "She has a boyfriend."
He didn't forget the look in her eyes when he confessed, almost like there was fear from his confession.
"Y—you know, Taira-chan. I owe you an apology." He muttered, his eyes focused on the table.
Damn right. She thought, but I guess it was my fault. Even being here now, it's wrong, but he makes me feel something. Not like that sickly love feeling, but like a relaxing breeze on a hot summer day.
"It's okay. It's not like it was your fault. Things probably would've gone smoother if you didn't confess, but I'm glad Tsukishima and I broke up. It hurts, no question, but now I don't have to worry about studying far away." Kohari said, leaning back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other.
"I—I'm sorry, still." Lev muttered, before he looked up at her. "But how can you still hang out with me so comfortably? It almost feels like you're invalidating how I feel for you, the way you act so okay."
"I know." She whispered. "I don't mean to make you feel like your feelings are invalidated. I definitely know they're there, but I just can't see you as more than a friend. You're amazing, as a person, and when my relationship wasn't going so well, I thought about it. I wondered if I should give you a chance because you're so patient and gentle with me... and hey, maybe this is because I'm fresh out of a relationship, but it just doesn't feel right."
Lev smiled weakly, rubbing his face with his hand. Is this what they call 'friend zoning'?
He sighed loudly, meeting, and drowning in her orchid hues. "Still, give it some thought, please? When you're ready for a relationship again, I'll be here. I still like you, Taira-chan, I won't burden you with how I feel, but because I like you, because I unintentionally helped send your first relationship down the drain, it's my job to help you cope... as your... friend."
God, that word never tasted so bitter in his mouth.
Kohari grinned at him, hiding the sadness she felt behind it.
"Thank you, Lev."
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Album:
Life After Love — Victoria Monét
Are you confused? Me too.