CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Fujio was scarfing down his breakfast. He had around 15 minutes to get to school, and the bike ride to school took six to seven minutes. He also had to get to school slightly early so he could make it to his classroom on time.

Luckily, Fujio made it with a few minutes to spare. He liked getting to school early so he could feel settled and not rushed by the time classes started. That’s also why he woke up two hours before school.

Fujio sat at his desk checking his phone, reading a manga chapter. Eiichiro wasn’t at school yet. Fujio was used to seeing him walk in at the last minute but still looking calm and cool as if nothing happened. He wished he could have that attitude.

Right as the bell for the start of school rang, Eiichiro casually walked into the room. Fujio managed to wave at him before turning to face the teacher.

He focused on class for about fifteen minutes before losing interest. He could never get himself to focus, and breaks didn’t work as mental resets because of the commotion of students around him. This was one of the main reasons Fujio struggled in math.

During lunch Fujio quickly made his way to his usual room and waited for Eiichiro. He usually took a little longer to get there since he talked to a couple people on the way. Fujio silently unpacked his lunch and tried to begin eating, when he was met with a pleasant surprise.

Just like she had done a couple months ago, Hikari was standing at the doorway, smiling. This time, Fujio felt like he needed to say something. He was in shock, just like the first time, but now he knew her.

He felt like he couldn’t move. He thought every movement would make him look weird, every breath would give away the tension he was feeling, and every word would make him seem like a creep.

In the end, he just stood there staring at her. Luckily for him, Hikari took matters into her own hands.

“Hey, what’s up!” She said cheerfully, now making her way over to the table where Fujio was sitting.

“H-hi...” Fujio wanted to let her know that he was excited to see her, but the fear of embarrassment got the better of him. He watched as she casually sat down across from him, the spot that Eiichiro usually occupied, and pulled out her lunch.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both eating. Fujio tried not to stare at her or make any eye contact. He felt very hot, and he was sweating profusely. Luckily, Eiichiro came to save him.

“Oh hey, what’s up! Hikari, right? I’m Eiichiro, nice to meet you” Eiichiro walked into the room and stuck his hand out towards Hikari for a handshake. She greeted him and Eiichiro sat down next to Fujio.

Fujio felt very out of place. He felt unworthy of being there, between two people who could talk to each other effortlessly. This thought only made it worse, however, because he felt like a loser for thinking this way.

Fujio shrunk in his chair and looked straight down at his food. Suddenly he felt like leaving and felt like he didn’t know Eiichiro or Hikari at all. Meanwhile, Eiichiro had struck up a conversation with her.

“How do I even do this...” Fujio thought.

Suddenly, it felt like someone had placed a building on his back. He couldn’t even bring himself to look up. What was worse was how sudden this feeling had taken a hold of him, like a tsunami.

Unbeknownst to Fujio, Eiichiro did notice this, he always did. He saw Fujio crawl back into his shell, and he decided he couldn’t let it happen. Many times, in situations like this, Eiichiro failed to do anything. He couldn’t let this happen again.

“Hey Fujio! You remember that movie?” Eiichiro said casually. He made it sound like a normal comment, without any thought in it.

Fujio sheepishly looked up and just nodded and then began to stare at his food again. Eiichiro felt like throwing something at him.

“How are you this stupid” he thought, then he tried again.

“Fujio, remember that one scene with the guy throwing the helicopter?” Eiichiro asked him while laughing.

“y-yeah...” Fujio almost laughed, but for some reason he stopped himself.

“he’s hopeless” Eiichrio thought. He then had an idea.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom’ Eiichiro said. He then got up and accidentally bumped into Fujio on his way out of the room.

Fujio barely looked up to see him smiling at him as he left. It took him a second to understand what had happened, but when he did, he nearly fell out of his chair. 

THIS CHAPTER ENDS HERE 

Author's Note

Hello everyone, and thank you so much for reading until this point. I would like to apologize for taking so long on this chapter, I have been very busy with music auditions, homework, and life in general. Chapters will be slower from now on, but I will try my best to remain consistent. Thank you again for your support!