Somebody kill me now.
"Wh-What did you say?"
I inhaled sharply, grabbed my things and stood up as if I were pricked on the butt and had taken three steps away when I felt him grab me by the arm, "Hey, you can't just leave after blurting that out."
My heart pounded harder in my chest when the warmth of his hand crept up to my spine. I shut my eyes and heaved a deep breath. "Wh-What I meant was... I l-like you... your eyes!!" I had said the last two words louder than I had planned and there I was, hoping he wouldn't notice the nervousness in my voice.
I felt his grip loosen, "My...my eyes?"
I nodded.
"When you said you liked me... what you meant was..."
I nodded again. Seconds passed by and he still didn't answer so I peeked up at him over my shoulder and he had this super confused face on. When our eyes met, it quickly disappeared and before I knew it, he had started giggling until eventually, he was already laughing. He had let go of my arm and was hugging his stomach until he'd covered his face.
I should've ran when I had the chance but the sound of his laughter made me stay. When his laughter died down, he slid his hand in his pocket while the other hand covered half of his face. When I looked at him properly, my eyes almost bulged out from its sockets.
"I-I'm sorry. I think... I think this so-called 'popular' thing is getting into my head." He looked away, his cheeks burning. "For a second there," then he looked at me and smiled shyly as he rested his hand on the back of his neck, "I thought you actually liked me."
At that moment I heard the angels sing and saw all the flowers bloom. As much as I wanted to tell him the truth, the moment I had opened my mouth, my voice wouldn't come out. Something was squeezing my heart seeing him like that. As if I had given him false hope.
Before I could make up my mind on what I'm supposed to say, he'd shrugged, "But yeah, it's okay. Thanks for complimenting my eyes. So yeah, I gotta go. See ya!"
And there I was, the biggest idiot of the century, looking at the person I liked walk away. He waved the back of his hand at me. I sighed and looked at my shoes, wondering why I had to deny my feelings for him.
"And oh, yeah."
I flinched, looked up and saw him smiling.
"I like your eyes, too."
There. There. He suddenly said he liked my eyes. Why? Why would he say that? Did he say that because I told him I liked his eyes so he answered the same thing just to show respect? What was that for? Why'd he throw me that bomb? Really? Really now?
I hurried to the nearest comfort room and dropped my books on the sink and stared at my eyes. I wondered what was there to like about them when they were just eyes. Normal eyes. Not that the color's normal, it's a faded chestnut. I looked at myself and mumbled, "If I had told him I like him... would he have told me he liked me, too?"
Realizing what I just said, I pressed my forehead against the mirror and laughed at myself. Yeah, you wish. I heaved a deep breath and looked at my reflection again. My hair was flying in all directions. I frowned. I seriously talked to the person I like looking like this?
Idiocy on a whole new level.
The next morning, as I attended the class, Minoru Naoki's laughter and compliment didn't leave my mind. When the bell rang, I hurriedly grabbed my favorite book and headed to our secret base (okay, I'm getting way over my head) totally floating on cloud nine when I bumped on a wall. Wait, a wall?
"Miss, are you okay?"
I looked up to find a stranger. He had jet-black hair and wonderful blue eyes. He was tall, I didn't even reach his chin. He had piercings on his left ear and he was wearing the school's uniform rather...uniquely. Maybe he's a fashionable person. I mean, his collar was up; his polo was unbuttoned, revealing his black shirt underneath and his polo was rolled halfway across his arms. Maybe he's a delinquent?
"Whoa, checking me out already? Aren't you aggressive?" his voice was a bit playful but it leaned more on the uh... let's say... serious tone? He looked like the type who would snap anytime. "Seriously, there has to be a law not to stare at someone for a long time without saying shit."
When I heard him curse, I flinched and hugged the book I had tighter and looked down, "I-I'm sorry."
"Wow, so you openly agree you were staring at me?"
Still looking down, I answered, "Yes, I'm sorry."
I heard him snort and then he laughed. I peeked up at him and the moment he raised his hand, I shut my eyes close and waited for it to land on me--on my head. He'd suddenly ruffled my hair, "You're really weird, you know that?"
Thanks. It's not the first time I heard that.
He stood upright and grinned, "What's your name?"
"Mirai Akane-"
"Ooh!" then he took my hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you!"
"Wha?"
"I'm Aoi Jin!"
"Eh?"
"I got to go then. See you when I see you, Akane!"
Before I could correct him in calling me by my name, before I could tell him I wasn't interested in knowing what his name was, before I could move a muscle, he'd already ran off.
"What..."
"Akane~!"
I looked behind me and saw Minoru walking towards me with a big smile on his face. The students who were at the corridor at that time all turned to me. Uh-oh...
"H-Hello," I said, forcing myself to smile and calm down. The girls were already shooting darts at me with their eyes and I can even feel them from behind me. "What...brought you here?"
"Nothing," he said as soon as he'd approached me. "Who was that guy you were talking to earlier?"
I tilted my head to the side, "Guy? You mean Aoi Jin?"
"Yeah. Wow, I'm surprised you'd already memorized his name."
"Oh!" I looked down again, "I-It was easy because his name's short..."
"Is he your friend?"
"No, I just bumped into him." I looked up at him and smiled shyly, "He was really talkative. At first I thought he was a delinquent but then the way he acted was the opposite I had second thoughts."
Minoru blinked. His eyes narrowed for a second but it quickly disappeared because he'd smiled again, "You just have to be careful around him. I heard he IS a delinquent."
"Really?" then I looked at where Aoi Jin had disappeared from. "I don't think so, though..."
"You either listen to me or I'll gouge your eyes out."
It came out as a whisper but it had sent chill down my spine because the voice was ice cold and domineering that I immediately turned to Minoru, wide-eyed, "Wh-What?"
"Hm? What?"
"Di-did you say something?"
He arched a brow, "No I didn't." I was about to say something when he'd smiled, "Come on? To the usual spot?"
I was too giddy when I'd heard him say 'to the usual spot' because to me it meant it was definitely already ours and I wasn't getting over my head. Maybe it was because of that denied confession of mine but I think we grew closer.
Even so, I didn't notice the look that Minoru gave me as I turned around and started walking.
His eyes were cold and his lips were shut in a straight line.