It Was Just A Simple Misunderstanding

Hina had nowhere left to run. No windows to jump out of, either.

Thanks to Hayami’s experience of wandering around the school, looking for the best gacha gaming hiding spots, they managed to corner Hina into a dead-end.

Naturally, Hina slumped against the wall, looking no different from a hunted animal.

“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, HAYAMI?!” Hina screamed. “Why are you chasing me?! Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”

Hayami stood her ground.

“Because w-we were friends.”

“We were. I’ve treated you with nothing but disrespect ever since.” Hina closed her eyes. “So why can’t you get it through that birdbrain of yours?”

“You know something that really annoys me?” Akira stepped forward. “Three out of three times I’ve seen you, you ran away from your problems, without fail.”

Hina scoffed. “That just makes you a hypocrite, doesn’t it? You are running away from being an idol yourself.”

Akira didn't retreat. Instead, he stepped into her personal space.

SLAM.

His hand hit the wall right next to Hina’s ear.

“There is a difference, Hina-chan,” Akira said slowly. “My entire career is staked on Hayami-san. And I want to keep it that way. Meanwhile, you…”

Hina tried to wiggle away, but it was no use.

“Instead of confronting Hayami about how you feel, you blanked out. Maybe the idea of being sincere terrifies you so much that you’d rather pick the more juvenile option of avoiding it.”

“You assume a lot about our relationship…”

“I’m confident enough to know that it wasn’t Hayami, not really. It was you trying to shed your past by any means necessary. You couldn’t be associated with an antisocial girl like her. Not if you wanted to make friends, huh?”

“You are wrong,” Hina said adamantly.

Akira moved back. “Oh?”

“I ran away because I felt uncool!”

…

Akira clicked his tongue. “You’re right, I did get that quite wrong.”

“I looked at you,” Hina gasped, staring past Akira to look at Hayami. “I looked at you with your games and your weird clothes and your bubble tea, and I felt… I felt like I was suffocating. Being suffocated by the game. Y-You… it felt like I was being pushed out of your life—that I wasn’t good enough.”

Hayami suddenly felt awful.

“So I thought—you know what? Screw you. I don’t need some weird girl like you being my best friend. I can strike out on my own just fine. And it worked! It worked. People looked at me. They smiled at me. I felt… I felt good when I hadn’t for the longest time. And despite it… my stomach hurt. I was terrified I was going to say the wrong thing, or wear the wrong thing… and I…”

Tears flowed down Hina’s face. She slid against the wall and onto the floor.

“And then I’d see you. Walking down the hall. Alone. And you looked… you looked fine. You didn't care; you had your phone to keep you company. And it made me so angry.”

Hina wiped her nose on her sleeve.

“I grabbed hold of people I thought were cool and important; told myself I was superior for being able to control them. I hated you because you reminded me of a time when I wasn't popular, and I wasn't perfect, and I didn't have this… this constant noise in my head telling me that none of these relationships were beyond skin-deep. I hated you because you made me think about whether I made the wrong decision.”

Hayami stared at the girl on the floor.

“I…” Hayami also started to tear up. “I didn’t get into games because of you. I didn’t wear the headphones to ignore you.”

Hayami dropped to her knees. She didn't care about the dusty floor. She needed to be on the same level.

“I was tired,” Hayami said quietly. “Because of my family situation.”

Akira’s eyes lit in recognition. “Your uncle.”

“It was everyone. My Grandma… the money… that damned cult… it was too much,” Hayami continued. “I don’t remember much from that period of my life. All I remember is the constant sense of needing to escape… and feeling that I wasn’t worth your time.”

“You thought… I was too good for you?” Hina asked.

“Yes.”

“And all this time… I thought that you thought that you were too cool for me.”

They stared at each other.

“Oh,” Hayami simply said.

“H-Heh.”

“Alright, alright, up you go, idiot girl,” Akira said, forcefully dragging Hina up by her shoulders. “I’ve got something important to tell you. I changed it so Hayami is your running teammate in for the 400-meter.”

“Excuse me? How?!”

“Well…”

\\

TWO HOURS AGO…

Mr. Tanaka jumped in his seat. “A-A-A-A-Akira?! Visiting me of all people? Well, I… uh… uhm…”

“Can you do me a favor, Mr. Tanaka?”

“O-Of course.”

“I need you to put Hayami together with Hina as part of the same House in the 400-meter.”

“I… what?” Tanaka britlsed. “Look, I know the 400-meter is the graveyard slot and nobody wants to run it. But I can’t just torch our House’s chances by subbing in Hayami. We’re in the lead for the first time in twenty years. If she runs, we are guaranteed to lo—”

He cut himself off, realizing he was already losing the argument against his expectant stare.

“Gah! Why am I even entertaining this? This is rigged! This is corruption at its finest!”

“Me owing you a favor is no small thing, you know?”

“Well, I-I won’t give in to my own student’s demands just for any willy-nilly price, no matter who you are!”

“I’ll convince the school board to give the Sports department more budget…”

BAM.

“SHE RUNS, OR I RESIGN!”

\\

“Damn idols and their damn effect on people,” Hina seethed. “I-I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter, then.”

Akira’s hand slammed against the wall behind Hina again. “Nope. And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t try running away again.”

“W-What are you doing?!” Hina cried, blushing up a storm.

“To pry an answer out of you, of course. I’ll accept no less.”

Hayami looked at them weirdly.

Soon, she pictured herself in Hina’s position—she couldn’t help it. She could imagine the smell of his summer musk, the overbearing sense of presence that kept her plastered to the wall behind her.

With ease, he could overwhelm her, his taut and chiseled muscles could slap some sense into her, yet he restrained himself all the same, unwilling or unbothered to resorting to cruelty.

She looked at Akira’s broad back, the way his form boxed Hina in completely and utterly, the sheer volume of his muscles which flexed under his pressure.

A traitorous, intrusive thought soon flashed across her mind. ‘Why do I wish that was me?’

She slapped her own cheeks mentally.

But the image burned. She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

“A-Akira?” Hayami called out.

The star flashed her a grin over his shoulder. “Yes, darling?”

“I…” Hayami stammered, feeling a flush creep up her neck. “I don’t… can you please s-stop…”

She didn't get to finish the thought.

Suddenly, the door to the hallway flew open with a bang.

“Akira-kun! Where were you running off to?” a girl’s voice shrilled from the doorway. “Why were you chasing H—”

The sentence died in the girl’s throat.

She, along with her three friends, froze in the doorway.

The tableau before them was very incriminating. Akira was still pushing Hina against the wall. His hand was by her head. His face was inches from hers. Hina was flushed red.

Hayami paled. From the angle of the door, it would’ve looked like the cover of a trashy otome game.

The silence lasted exactly one second when one of them pulled out her phone.

BAM.

The flash of a camera blinded them all.