Jealousy

"Naomi...what do you mean by 'her'?"

Naomi reluctantly wiped the tears from her face.

Her voice softened.

"You...idiot. Guess your klutziness hasn't changed, huh?"

Her voice was so quiet, it felt like she didn't want me to hear her at all.

"What Naomi? Speak up."

Naomi clenched her fists, and her lip quivered.

"Ugh, just forget it..."

With that, Naomi stormed off.

Seriously, what was this girl's problem?

I already had enough on my plate as is; I didn't need another thing to worry about.

Why was she acting like this, though?

Maybe it was teenage angst? After all, Akio was no stranger to that.

Whatever it is, it probably didn't concern me, so I decided to stay out of it....

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The next day rolled around, and things were different.

"G'morning Kyoshiro!"

Naomi cocked her head towards me. Just like Akio did...

And that G'morning...it was the same casual greeting as me, and Akio did.

The more I studied Naomi, the more I saw of Akio. It was starting to throw me off guard.

Why was she so similar?

"Kyo-kun you okay? You seem in deep thought about something, man, you good?

With those words, Tsumigi-kun brought me back to my senses.

"O-oh yeah, nothing to worry about. I'm...fine."

Something wasn't right, I knew that for sure. It was probably my Akio-withdrawals coming back to haunt me. I hated to admit it, but without Akio around, I was starting to feel lost.

"Have you heard? We're getting our first assignment today."

My ears perked up.

"What's it about? It better not be some boring essay or an Icebreaker."

Our first day was purely just an introduction day, nothing less, nothing more. This meant the first 'working day' was upon us. I just hoped we didn't have to do those boring icebreakers. Everyone loathed them, me included.

Just as Tsumigi-kun was about to get the satisfaction of telling me what it was, a cold few words stripped all his hope away.

"Class, today we will be acting in pairs. You are going to be acting out a duet scene from your favourite movies."

"So, Kyo-kun want to-"

A hand raised in the air.

"Could Kyoshiro-kun and I work in a pair?"

A cold-hearted smirk smeared across Naomi's face.

Ugh, what was her obsession with me? She was being a pain in the ass to my quiet life.

"Well...If Kyoshiro-kun is ok with it, I don't see why not."

As much as she confused me, it would've been a real dick move to coldheartedly turn her down in front of this sea of faces. The old me would've done it in a heartbeat, I'm sure. The me in that moment, however, wavered.

"Sure, I don't mind...I guess."

As I said those words, you could see the shift it had on Naomi. Her eyes were practically blinding from how much they sparkled.

"What movie and scene-"

"The movie will be The One Without You. As for the scene...I'm thinking the kiss scene between Kyoshiro-kun and Fujisawa-san.

The room was filled with a wave of gossip.

"That scene was sooo romantic."

"I could feel the emotion through the screen"

Why that scene? I had long forgotten about those days, those days that were tainted with so much hardship for Akio and me, were brought back to light.

I held my tongue.

...

"Aww, Kyoshiro-kun-Or, should I say Tatsu-kun, you aren't afraid of a little kiss, are you? We are actors after all. We can't be afraid to have a little kiss here and there. Can we?"

In all fairness, she wasn't Incorrect which pissed me off even more. The more she talked, the more she started to sound like Akio.

It made my skin crawl.

That teasing tone she tried so desperately to imitate just felt like she was mocking the one I loved most.

"Cat got your tongue, Tatsu-kunnn?"

The 'cat' hadn't got anything other than my pride.

If it were me in Akio's position, I bet she'd stick up for me in a heartbeat. So why did I choose to say nothing?

Was I that desperate for people's acknowledgement?

'Make some friends in college. I'll be angry at you if you don't'

Those words of encouragement she tried to give me seemed to be weighing on me... so much so that I didn't utter a word against Naomi's harsh words.

"So, If your not saying anything, Kyoshiro-kun, I'm guessing it's ok?" The teacher stated quizically.

It wasn't ok, I knew that. Yet, I went along with it...

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Naomi and I walked up to the front of the class.

That devilish smirk appeared on her face once again.

It was sickening.

We reached the front of the class. Sweat was dripping from my brow.

The longer it took to reach there, the more I felt my sense of self vanishing. It was as if my body had a mind of its own. All that time Akio and I spent building something precious was it all about to be thrown away just like that?

The thought scared me.

I knew it was 'just for work', but the way Naomi looked in that moment, you could tell she was being driven by something else.

A coldhearted but seemingly genuine smile spread across her face.

She was obviously no stranger to doing scenes like this, that's for sure.

As we both stood there, the tension in the room was at an all-time high. The air was thin and filled with regret.

Just then, I felt Naomi pull me closer.

Her breath pressed against my ear, her voice softened.

"Will this...finally make you look my way?"

Her face was flushed.

She was clearly looking forward to this.

"When you two are ready, please feel free to begin."

Unaware of the tension forming between us.

With that, Naomi pulled me in close

A familiar scent wrapped around me.

No way....

It was the same brand of perfume Akio always wore.

That was the tipping point.

As my lips got closer to Naomi's, Thoughts of Akio started to rummage around my head.

"Tatsu-kun, I love you"

Those words Akio uttered to me, they were my saviour. They had been the reason why I was able to stand here today.

Without her, I probably wouldn't have gone to college in the first place.

The time I spent with her, I wished to protect it. Not just for me but for Akio aswell.

My fingers wandered back to the ring, the ring that bound us.

In that moment, my body moved on its own.

My hand...covered Naomi's mouth.