Chapter 47: The "Hero's" Pathetic Excuse

I stare at him.

He slides down the railing.

He sits on the balcony floor.

The 'King of Gamers'. 'Deception'.

He looks like a total loser.

"You... froze?" I ask. My voice is still cold. But the 'murder' has faded.

Now I'm just... confused.

He buries his face in his hands.

His hoodie sleeves are still damp.

"You... you weren't breathing," he mutters, his voice muffled. "You were... Twilight, you were blue. Your lips. I... I've never seen... that. Not in real life. It's not like in the games."

He's shaking. For real.

"I panicked," he says. "I grabbed you. I yelled. I didn't know what to do. I just... I yelled at you to 'wake up'. Like an idiot."

He is an idiot.

"And then... he shoved me," he says.

"Fuji?"

"Yeah. Mr. Perfect. He just shoved me out of the way. He said 'MOVE'. And he... he just... did it. He knew what to do. He wasn't scared. He just... saved you."

He looks up at me.

His eyes are red.

Is he... crying? This jerk?

"And then you woke up," he whispers. "And you looked at him. And then you passed out. And I was... I was so... angry."

"Angry?" I snap. "I almost DIED. And YOU were 'angry'?"

"NOT AT YOU!" he yells. "At HIM! At MYSELF! He ALWAYS wins! He's 'Mr. Perfect'! He's the 'Prince' at school! He's the 'Hero'! And I'm just... the 'gamer jerk'."

He is the 'gamer jerk'.

"So when you woke up... in the bed..." he mumbles. "And you asked what happened... I... I just said it. 'I saved you'. It just... came out. It was so easy. And then... you looked at me."

He stands up.

"You looked at me like... like I wasn't a jerk. Like I was... 'him'. Like I was a 'hero'. And I LIKED IT."

He shouts the last part.

I am speechless.

This is the stupidest, most pathetic, most selfish... most... human... thing I have ever heard.

"You liked it," I repeat, deadpan.

"YES!" he says. "All last night! On the balcony! You smiled at me! You talked to me! You weren't 'Bloody Twilight'! You were... Aoi! And I was the guy who 'saved' you."

He takes a deep breath.

"It was the best night of my life. And it was a total lie."

He leans against the railing. Defeated.

"So. Yeah. I'm a scumbag. A liar. And a coward. Are you gonna punch me now?"

He closes his eyes. He braces himself.

I look at him.

This entire time.

All this drama.

All this 'romance'.

It was because this 'King' has an inferiority complex.

This is so dumb.

I am so mad.

I am so...

I can't even...

I start to laugh.

It's not a 'happy' laugh.

It's a 'Bloody Twilight' laugh.

The one that makes people cry.

Daiki's eyes snap open.

"W-why are you laughing?"

"You... you IDIOT!" I cackle. "You did all of this... because you're JEALOUS of FUJI?"

"It's not just... Yes!" he snaps.

"You lied! To ME! Because you wanted to 'win'? You wanted a 'point'? You thought I was a 'prize' you could 'steal'?"

His face drops.

"No! Twilight, that's not..."

"That's EXACTLY what it is!" I snap, the 'humor' gone.

"You didn't care that I almost DIED. You cared that you 'lost' to Fuji!"

"That's not true! I was scared!"

"You were scared FIRST! And you were JEALOUS SECOND! And you were a LIAR THIRD!"

I am poking his chest again.

"I... I am a fool. I am a moron. I believed YOU."

I am so embarrassed. My face is on fire.

I turn to leave.

"Twilight, wait!" he grabs my arm.

Big mistake.

Instinct.

Trauma.

Pure 'Bloody Twilight'.

I grab his wrist. I twist. I use his momentum.

WHAM.

Daiki Hanata is on his back. On the balcony floor.

I am pinning his arm.

His eyes are wide.

He is in shock.

Rika, Toujo, and Hiroto are all standing at the glass door.

Their jaws are on the floor.

"Don't. Ever," I hiss, my face centimeters from his.

"Touch. Me."

I let him go.

I stand up.

I straighten my shirt.

(It's still his stupid hoodie.)

I rip it off.

I throw it at his face.

"We are done," I snarl.

I stalk off the balcony. Past my 'friends'.

"Aoi-chan... wow," Toujo whispers.

I ignore him.

I am furious. I am humiliated.

And now...

I have to find Fuji.

Oh, God.

This is ten times worse.