"Hideki, tell me, do you wanna know all that!"
Zeo looked serious. He wanted to tell hideki all about his past and Akari's situation too. Hopelessness was dripping from his eyes. He was waiting for Hideki's response because he thought that, if he took any other step further, he might lose the only friend he has other than Akari.
"It's because, you are the only one, who I can call a friend. So please... listen to, what I have to say."
Hideki looked around himself. There was no one there other that those two, so he took off his mask.
(Maaan! The atmosphere is so intense, I can't keep it on for any longer!)
There was a park nearby. He thought that it was better, if they both sit and relax, then chat peacefully. Zeo was looking down, waiting for his answer. He was very nervous and prepared to call things off if hideki didn't want to listen. Hideki looked at him, put his hand on his shoulder with a calm expression on his face and a gentle smile.
"Hey Zeo, let's go to that park."
He pointed towards the park that was nearby. There was no one there so it was a safe place for both of them.
"I'll listen to everything, you have to say. I am really honoured that I am the one, you're telling all your secrets. Thank you, Zeo."
As soon as he heard those words, his nervousness ran away. He looked up and smiled merrily.
"Thanks Hideki, I can count on you anytime, can I!?"
Hideki smacked gently on his head.
"Would you stop saying those kind of things? We are best friends after all. Now, let's go there and continue."
"Yes sir!"
Zeo followed Hideki as they both went into the park. They found a good place to sit, under the shade of a cherry tree.
"Go on now, I am all ears."
"Hmm, Here I go then."
Zeo took a deep breath inside and then started the story of his tragic past.
"When I was in elementary school, I used to get bullied because of my white hair. Everyone would make fun of me, call me white-haired creep and stuff. I couldn't make any friends other than Akari."
"Hirano!? Do you both know eachother for that long!?"
"Yes, well that's a story I'll tell you at the end."
"Okay, sure."
"Akari was the only one who didn't make fun of me. When I would get bullied, she would come to help. She always chased away those freakin' kids. Basically, she was the reason, I didn't drop out from school. If It weren't for her, I would've left school many years ago. I couldn't even imagine, what would happen if she weren't there. I was really happy that, someone was still by my side in this situation, protecting me. But all this happiness was shattered into pieces, when I entered middle school."
His tone changed. He started to seem depressed.
"Zeo, what happened then!?"
"I heard that, she was going to an, All girls middleschool. That was the most shocking news that I had ever heard in my life. All my hopes, of going to middleschool with her, were left stranded. I thought that, there was no more reason for me to go to school anymore. Even though, she promised me, she would be there with me, wherever I go. I didn't even ask her why she did that. The only thing that I was thinking of, was the promise she had broken. Hatred began to spread in my heart for her. I started to hate her so much that I didn't even wanted to see her face. All I could think of was, she was tired of me relying on her so she wanted to ditch me. Get rid of me."
"Don't tell me, you dropped out of school then."
"Yeah, I did. I locked myself in my room. I didn't talk to anybody. All I did to kill time was to sleep, watch anime and manga and play video games. I trapped myself in a world that would give me joy. Even though, she came to my house many times, I didn't care at all. I had totally cut off myself from the real world, specially from her. She always tried to talk to me, but I did my best to ignore her. But you know, she is something else. The best girl I've ever known for sure"
Zeo's face expression changed again. He had an expression of regret this time.
Hideki was looking calm but different thoughts were popping into his mind. He knew that something big was about to come.
"She never gave up on me. Aside from her problems, I guess, she always thought of me as her first priority. She didn't give up until she reached me."
"And how did that happen?"
"Hmph. It was when, two months had passed after I left school. It was 3:00 pm in the noon. I was busy reading a manga. Suddenly, she called me out of the blue. Ofcourse, at first, I didn't pick it up but she continuously called me. I picked it up. I wanted to say, don't bother, and put it down but she said that she needed to talk to me personally and she would be coming in five minutes, and before I could say anything to her, she hung up. I was nervous. I hadn't talked to her for quite a while. I even ignored her. Now, she was coming over, only to meet me. I thought that, I should give her a chance. And I still think that, I made a wise decision that time. She was there on the correct time. At first, I hesitated to open the door and let her into my room but I did."
["Zeo, I am here. W-Would you let me in?"
"Y-Yeah, come in."
Zeo opened the door for Akari and she went in. Zeo sat on his bed looking sideways and Akari on the floor looking at him.
"So... What is it that you want. If you just came here to see me, you can leave now. Thanks for accompanying me but, I am all good by myself."
"How can you be good by yourself leaving me all alone!? Do you even know, how much I was worried!? I thought that we would never meet eachother again!"
Akari's eyes filled with tears and the moment Zeo realized that, she started crying. Zeo after seeing this, couldn't believe his eyes. He had never seen her cry, ever before. In every kind of situation, she was the strong one, of them. He went to her instantly and sat infront of her looking down. When she noticed that, she wiped her tears with her hands and hugged him tightly. He patted her back with a little bit blush on his face.
"Please, Please! Never leave me like that again!"
"It's fine, I won't leave you again, I promise."
She pulled herself back and looked at him in the eyes with her hands on his shoulder. Her eyes were shining. Zeo's face became red.
"Do you really mean that!"
"Y-Yes! Sure, I do!"
She hugged him again, gently with a smile on her face. Zeo's face was full red. He was blushing really hard.
"Thank you, Zeo."
"Uhh, It's okay but, w-would you please..."
Akari suddenly realized. She pulled her seft away instantly. Her face became red too. She was really embarrassed.
"I-I am really sorry. I didn't mean to do that on purpose! It's just that, I was so glad to see you again that I got carried away by the moment."
"It's okay! Don't worry!"
(I should cool myself down and act like it's nothing. Otherwise, she'll think that I'm a creep.)
(What was I thinking! I know it's just Zeo but, why am I having this strange feeling? I've known him for a long time, but I've never felt this way before. Is this, what people call lov-)
"Hey Akari... would you tell me... why didn't you go to middleschool with me? Please... I really wanna know!"
Her face was full of sorrow. The tears which had dried out, returned. She covered her face and started crying again. Zeo consoled her by patting her back once again. When she was done, she looked at him, in his eyes one more time.
"I can trust you at least, can I!?"
"Hmm. Anytime, Akari."
She smiled hopelessly and told him all the story about the incident that happened to her. Zeo couldn't believe, what he just heard. He was so shocked and infuriated that he was trying his hard to control his rage.
"I swear! I'm gonna kill that guy on the spot, wherever I'll see him. That bastard!"
After that, Zeo apologized to Akari for all the wrong ideas, he had about her. She forgave him and left after a little more talk, encouraging him to go to school again. The next day, he started going to school with a new hair style. At first, he kept his hair straight, so his face was not properly shown. This time he swept it to a side. His handsome face could be seen clearly and it was none less than a celebrity's. After going to school, his charm attracted the attention of all girls readily and he gained popularity in no time. That was when his past trauma ended.]
"Well, I really thought that now, I could at least live a normal life like others. Make friends, have fun and enjoy my school life peacefully but, I still had no friends. Because of the dazzling looks I had, everyone felt cautious around me. The whole three years of middleschool flew by, with me having no friends at school. I was the centre of attention and people tried to talk to me but, no one ever felt completely comfortable around me."
"How can you say that so certainly."
"Actually, I am really good at reading people. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have seen through you too. But besides that, thanks again for being my first ever friend and listening to me. I really fely relieved now."
"You're welcome! However, the situation in which Hirano was, I was really frustrated when you told me about it."
"Yeah, I know. I felt the same way too. But forget about that-."
Hideki looked at his watch. It was 3:45 pm. It was already that late. They were busy chatting for straight two hours and he didn't even notice. He had to buy food, snacks and an alarm clock because he had broken it earlier this morning, so he had to go now.
"Looks like, I have to go. I have to buy some things from the convenience store too. So, would you please excuse me?"
"Y-Yeah sure."
Hideki took his bag around his shoulder and ran off.
"See you tomorrow at school, Zeo!"
"Yeah! See you!"
(Not today, but some day, I will listen to you too as you did for me.)
Hideki was running back home. He was checking the list of things he had made before, which he had to buy, on the way back.
"Let's see then, I guess I'll have instant noodles for dinner tonight. I hope they taste good. Atleast, that's what Ren told me. I don't know if I should really trust her after what she did this morning. Well, whatever.I guess, I'll go with it then. So, instant noodles, here I come!"