No Contact Pt. 1

My body shot up in an instant. What... Where am I? I looked around. Is this... my room?

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck my head like a sledgehammer. I reached up to hold it, but it did little to nothing. What the heck? Where is this coming from? What happened to me?

My eyes trailed off and fixed on my nightstand. On the surface was a cup of water and two tablets of... Is that hangover medicine? I had hangover medicine? Since when? Wait, no... More importantly, when did I put that there?

Regardless, I took it and drank it down. Anything to get rid of this terrible headache. Thereafter, I lifted my sheets to the side and sat up.

"...Huh...?"

My clothes... This blouse is... Why am I wearing it? Wait, why do I look like I just came back from a party? I even have my jewelry on.

"Ugh! Agh... Ha..."

My head was plagued by yet another painful sensation. That's... That's right. I went to the Christmas party yesterday. That's why I'm wearing these clothes. And...

A sudden chill ran up my spine. I remember. Hours into the party, Kurobe asked me out, and when I rejected him, he... He tried to...

My stomach began to churn. I felt like throwing up, but then... I remembered. He was there... That face that appeared moments before I was ready to give up.

"...Tsuki..." I mumbled beneath my breath.

It's all coming back to me. After what Kurobe tried to do to me, I used my pepper spray on him before running away. I ran for so long that I almost gave up. That was when Tsuki appeared from out of nowhere. He... He beat up Kurobe and his friends violently, and he didn't stop until I told him to. He even took me back to my apartment when he asked me to.

Oh, shit... All those things I said to him... Dammit. He better not have taken any of it to heart.

Why was he there? Why did he bother to save me? No... I should be thankful. He saved me... again. No, I shouldn't. Wait, should I?

"Shit..." I muttered as I picked up my phone for a call. "Saki? Hey, can you come over? I think... I'm gonna hyperventilate or something... Thanks. I'll see you in a bit."

I stumbled over to the washroom and sat down on the stool in front of my mirror. Gosh, I look like a mess. My hair is all over the place.

After taking off my clothes from last night, I took a brief shower. Saki's going to be here soon. There's no time for my whole routine. 

Once I felt that I was at least clean enough to go about my day, I stepped out to dry myself off. From the countertop, I grabbed a brush and began stroking it through my hair. Even though I've had plenty of time to get used to the waviness, it still always gets in the way sometimes. I don't really mind, though. Just takes a bit more time.

As I continued to brush my hair, three knocks came from the front door.

"Hey, Ayaka!" Saki called from the other side. "I'm coming in!"

"Go ahead!" I shouted back.

I heard the door click open followed by footsteps. From the entrance of the washroom, Saki rushed in, nearly smacking her face against the doorframe.

"Are you alright?!" she shouted.

"Eh? W-why wouldn't I be?" I stuttered.

"You told me you were gonna hyperventilate!"

"Ah... Yeah... I did say that, huh? No, I just wanted to see you. Thought it was about time I got off my ass and actually did something productive. Come help me brush my hair."

"Gosh, this girl..."

Saki came over and took the brush from my hand. She then began pulling it through my hair as gently as possible.

"So what's this about doing something productive?" she asked.

"Hm... I'm not sure," I replied. "Maybe we can go to the mall? That always took my mind away from stressful things."

"Yeah, I'm down. You gonna wear makeup today?"

"Hm... Do you have any on right now?"

"None at all, not even eyeliner. I rushed out of my room as soon as I got off the call with you."

"Then I won't use any. It's too much work anyway. My natural face is enough. Besides..."

I don't have anyone to impress. At least, that's what I told myself in my head. I didn't even wear makeup for the Christmas party. In fact, the last time I wore makeup was... when I went with Tsuki to that new tapioca shop. I don't even know why I did all that work just for him. Just for... a murderer.

"Alright, done!" Saki exclaimed. "Now, get dressed so we can get a move on."

"Mhm!" I nodded my head.

It took me only a couple of minutes to get dressed. Huh... Just like that, I'm all ready to go. I guess... There's really no reason for me to put in any effort this time around, is there?

I went out into the living room to meet Saki, who was sitting on the couch with her phone out. When she noticed me, she slipped it into her pocket and stood up with a cheerful smile.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep!" I grinned.

I walked over to the front door before Saki suddenly called out my name with a worried tone.

"Ayaka... Are you really okay?"

I stopped and rested my hand on the doorknob. Immediately, my mind was flooded with the memories I spent with Tsuki. Why is he suddenly popping up like this?

"To be honest, no," I said. "There's just... So much on my mind right now."

Saki walked up and rested her hand on my back.

"I'll wait for you to tell me what happened," she said. "Until then, I'll be right here, Ayaka."

"...Thanks, Saki," I smiled. "It means a lot."

"Any time. Now, come on! Back to the mall, we go!"

Within just a half-hour, Saki and I were already window shopping at the mall. This... was the first instance where I felt something off about Tsuki.

"Ugh!" I groaned audibly, catching Saki by surprise.

"A-Ayaka?!" she exclaimed.

"Oh... Um... It's nothing, Saki. Sorry. L-let's keep going this way."

What is this? What's happening to me? Why does he keep appearing in my head?

He lied to me. He hurt me. I trusted him, and he broke that trust. I don't care what he has to say. I don't care what he does from now on. He means nothing to me now... so why can't I forget about him?!

"Ayaka!" Saki's voice pierced my ears.

Just like that, I found myself standing in the center of the mall. I looked behind me to see that Saki was catching up to me, out of breath and delirious.

"Gosh... You walk too damn fast, girl..." she said, gasping for air.

"S-sorry... I was just—"

"Thinking about him?"

"Eh?! N-no! That's not..."

Not what? It's exactly as it appears. I keep thinking about him. No matter what I do, he keeps popping up. I can't necessarily hide it from Saki either. She knows me too well.

"I'm tired," I sighed. "Can we call it a day?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Saki replied. "You need to rest."

As soon as I got home, I planted myself on my bed and refused to move for hours. Eventually, the sun fell, yet I felt nothing. I wasn't tired. I wasn't hungry. I wasn't even thirsty.

This is going nowhere. The more I try to forget about him, the more I keep thinking about him. At this rate, I'm never gonna be allowed to move on. There's only one way out of this.

I pulled my phone and unblocked Tsuki on Line. After spending a whole five minutes thinking about what to say, I took a deep breath and pressed the send button.

Me: "Alright, speak. Give me your piece."

I waited for a bit. No reply. That's strange. He usually replies no more than ten seconds after I text him. I guess it's possible that he's just being petty. I would be too.

Me: "Hey. Last chance before you get blocked again."

Again, it was left on delivered. Whatever. If he doesn't wanna reply, then that's on him. I don't give a shit.

Just in case, though... I'll leave him unblocked. Maybe he's busy murdering someone again. Probably wouldn't be the first time he left me hanging to do just that.

The next day, I checked my phone. Nothing. What the hell? Is he really giving me the silent treatment?

Ayaka: "Can you reply already?"

Without a second thought, I shut off my phone and went about my day like normal. Only, it wasn't normal. Like yesterday, he kept showing up in places I knew he wasn't. For a split second, I see him, but he disappears immediately after.

What is this...? What is going on with me?