The Newcomer's Ball III

 I expected Haru or anyone to step in, but he just stayed silent with his arms around me. His face was a mix of anger and shame, but Haru kept his eyes on us, almost as if observing my reaction. The man kept rattling off nonsense I couldn’t understand between his drunken state and slurred words. When the man slapped Haru’s hand away from my shoulder and tried to grab me, I felt my anger bubble inside my body. I never wanted to be a burden; I never wanted my anger to get the better of me, but…

When I blinked, I felt someone cover my eyes with their hands; upon uncovering them, I found myself in that same field. A woman who looked exactly like me carefully approached me and met my eyes.

“You can endure it, Lili. I believe in you,” Her lips curled up into a soft, reassuring smile.

“Touko…” I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

“I’m not like you.”

When I opened my eyes again, I felt power surging through my body, so much so it was overwhelming, almost like it was screaming at me to do something. Subconsciously, I begin chanting a spell. Noticing this, Haru tried to grab my hand and pull me away, but it was too late. I extended my hand forcefully, releasing a powerful burst of energy that sent the man flying into the wall. The impact caused the wall to crack, and small pieces of it subsequently fell to the ground.

I slowly realized the extent of what I’d done, my hand trembling fearfully. Haru suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the scene, but not before I could look at everyone’s faces. As expected, the partygoers stared at me horrifiedly, and the entertainers glanced at each other in confusion, unsure if they should continue their acts.

That familiar, piercing pain flooded my head, and I instinctively forced Haru’s hand away as I grasped at my hair. My arms tensed and shook as I shut my eyes tight, trying to relieve myself of this pain. I hesitantly opened my eyes again and looked up.
—
At that moment, a scene unfolded in front of me. That familiar girl, Touko, and Haru were standing outside what appeared to be a high school late at night. The two were playfully laughing with each other before an older man approached them with a beer bottle in his hand. Frightened, Haru tried pulling Touko away from the scene, only for the man to get physical with them. With no hesitation, Touko winded up her arm and punched the man with all her strength. The newly found admiration showed itself on Haru’s face like that was the moment he fell in love with her.

I know now. Haru didn’t interfere, not because he was scared to stand up to him. He didn’t interfere because he knew I’d recall this memory, even if it hurt me.
—
The silent tension was still floating when I returned to reality. It wasn’t the horrified or disgusted faces that hurt me in the crowd; it was when I saw Selene. She looked at me with pity, her hand pressed against the side of her head. A stray tear fell down her face and onto the ground, matching the rhythm of the broken pieces of the wall. Before I got a chance to yell out to her, men decked out in security uniforms quickly teleported in front of us and grabbed Haru and me by our shoulders before teleporting us away from the ball with no explanation.
—
We sat on the castle steps with our knees to our chests. The silence was abruptly cut by Haru speaking, “I’m sorry, Lili… I just-”

“I know.” I assured him, “I know everything.”

He turned to me expectantly, “That night when the man harassed you- that’s when you fell in love with Touko, right?” I asked, giving him a curious smile. Of course, I know his answer.

“Y-Yeah…” He looked at me surprised, “It’s crazy how you can piece these things together, Lili.”

For a moment, I wonder. If that was the moment Haru fell for Touko, then does that mean…? I glance at his face, his usual warmth spread across it. We exchanged a comfortable silence cut through by the giant castle door opening with a squeak and then closing with an echoing boom.

What emerged from inside the shining castle was Selene. Her eyes glanced around outside before landing on Haru and me.

“Can I speak to Lili alone, Haruki?” She asked suddenly, moving between me and Haru. He shot me a confused glance but complied and walked away to the other side of the stairs. At that moment, Selene pointed at the ground, up in the air, across, and down again. I realized she created a sound-proof barrier, preventing people from listening to us.

“You were right, Lili… memory recall is painful and scary,” She muttered, looking down at the steps, hugging her knees.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

She speaks softly as she recalls her memory.
—
“I was in an apartment; the news was playing, talking about a serial killer in the area. I went to lock the door, but as my hand touched the knob, a man swung the door open. Before I even looked at him, I knew he’d be the serial killer. I didn’t even have enough time to look up before I felt the most excruciating pain I’d ever experienced in my chest. I stumbled backward and hit my shelf, knocking all the books onto the ground. That was when I died.”
—
“Wow… that must’ve been hard to recount all at once. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t the emotional pain that got me. When you struck that man, I felt the stab wound in my chest as if it was happening all over again. I knew what true pain he felt.”

For a moment, I felt bad for the man I hurt. Noticing the contempt I was showing on my face, she hesitantly put her hand on my shoulder.

“Still, though, it didn’t scare me. That experience makes me want to learn more about myself and you, too.” For the first time, I see a smile on her face.

“By ‘you’... who do you mean?”

Almost as if she understood what I meant, she hugged me.

“You, Lili. Not Touko. You.”

I reciprocate her hug as tears well up in my eyes. I’m not a placeholder for Touko anymore. Someone wants me. Someone needs me. I cried into Selene’s arms, finding solace and acceptance. Touching around my head, I felt Haru’s flower crown and the key hairclip.

If someone needs me, I can’t keep pretending to be someone I’m not.

I unclip the hairclip and carefully slide it into Selene’s hair.

“Consider this the mark of our friendship. I’m your key, Selene. I have the ability to set you free.”

The two of us stayed locked in an emotional embrace as the barrier disappeared around us. The right side of my bangs fell back down, covering my eye. Together, we marked our newfound friendship.