A C T  T W O - S T A R T

≫ Chapter 24 ≪

Sugawara

● • ● ☁︎ ● • ●

Restless. I felt unexplainably restless. And though I knew I didn't have to be, I felt so restless and guilty and mean and I just couldn't seem to get my mind off her.

Her.

I couldn't seem to shake her off my mind. I couldn't seem to shake off the thought of hurting her like that.

It was so blatantly evident in her eyes that she was stricken by what I had done. To stand her up like that was something that was not at all like me.

But Ichigo.

I hadn't seen Ichigo in the longest time. I had missed her terribly ever since the day she had left to study in Osaka.

Would this count as excusable? To brush off her sister because she finally arrived after so long?

Who was I kidding? I could have waited.

But I didn't.

My shoes collided with the ground below, my hands wrapped tightly around the strap of my bag. My usual smile was replaced with a frown, and I overall didn't feel like going to school. Despite our estrangement, however, I did anyway because I simply couldn't afford to miss anything, including a chance to set things straight again. Though, even volleyball was going to be difficult with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's angry stares burning holes at my back. At this point, they probably already knew what I jerk I was.

From behind me, I could hear Daichi and Asahi telling me to wait up. I stopped to do so, waving at them solemnly.

"Ohayo, Suga! How was your dance last night?" Daichi asked, grinning widely. Asahi nodded hello, smiling gently.

A pang of pain struck me. Forcing a smile, I answered, "I didn't go."

I could see his expression drop. "What?"

"I didn't go," I repeated, facing forward with my head tilted towards the ground. I breathed in and out deeply, trying to keep my head from going unnecessarily cross.

"What do you mean you didn't go?" Daichi blinked as if he heard wrong. "Did she not show up?"

My stomach flopped. "No."

"You can't mean..." Asahi mumbled from the back, seemingly shocked as well.

Daichi put a hand on my shoulder. "Suga. Did you stand her up?"

I shoved his hand away and kept silent. They did not need to mock me for a decision I knew was wrong.

"Sugawara," Daichi started, only to stay silent before coming up with a "why?"

I held my scarf closer to my face. "Her sister."

"She had a sister?!" Asahi exclaimed, genuinely shocked. "And to think she has a little brother, too."

"Well, what about Hikari-san's sister?" Daichi pressed on, probably wondering why I would do such an unmanly thing. Standing someone up simply didn't exist in Daichi's vocabulary, I believed. "Wait, isn't she...?"

"Oh wait, I think I remember. Isn't she Hikari Ichigo? The volleyball girl? The one you... like?" Asahi clarified, gradually getting more and more curious.

"Hey, don't interrupt me!"

"Honestly, I don't even know what I feel for her anymore. Argh, I don't need to think about that now. Anyways, Ichigo came back from Osaka yesterday, and she told me that she'd like to meet me when she arrived. My rash decision made me forget all about Hikari. Ayumu, not Ichigo," I explained, not wanting to look any of them in the eye. Saying it out loud made me feel a lot worse, and I didn't particularly like the blush on my face either.

"Then?"

"And so we met up in the Hikari household. We decided to catch up some more, though there were many things we already knew due to conversations online. But still, nothing beats face-to-face talk. It's been so long, y'know? I didn't know I missed her this much," I continued, the latter part of my statement spiraling into a whisper.

I heard Daichi sigh. "But Suga, that's not an excuse-"

"Wakatteru yo! Demo..."

"Demo?"

"Argh, I don't know! I feel so bad. When Hikari got home, she looked tired and lonesome and..."

"And?"

"And hurt, Daichi! She looked so stricken with betrayal. All the efforts to put our hatred aside went to waste because of me. I don't even want to go out anymore. I feel shameful and cruel. She didn't even say anything. She didn't need to. Her eyes were telling me what an idiot I was. They told me to get away from her line of sight, that she was stupid for thinking I changed. I could see it. I could see her disappointment," I told them, gritting my teeth and balling my hands into a fist.

"She's pretty sensitive, now that I think about it," Asahi commented, putting a hand on his chin.

The feeling of a slight breeze kissed my cheeks as we entered the gates of Karasuno. I kept my head tilted towards the concrete below.

"Well, I kind of understand how Hikari feels. Not that I've experienced such a thing myself, but," Daichi began, "imagine hating someone so much that it gets tiring. You attempt at friendship, and it succeeds. Maybe enough to break down any barriers that were created in the past. So you decide to hang out. And maybe you feel a little good, maybe relieved because finally, you don't have to be mean to each other. Third-years need to make memories, and you're glad you've put all the terrible things behind. You're looking forward to hanging around with this person, and just as you were supposed to enjoy a little time together, this someone leaves you. And you search for them, hoping they didn't leave you."

"Oh man," I whispered, looking at the ground, "she looked for me?"

"Didn't you say she looked tired when she got home? That was because she was running all over searching for you with worriedness evident in her tone. Anyways, as I was saying, you can't find them, and so you go home frustrated, disappointed, and maybe even sad. And when you get there, you find out you've been replaced. You've been stood up for someone else. Naturally, you'd feel irritated, even more frustrated, pained, and betrayed. Maybe she thinks she's an idiot for trusting you with a part of her."

My heart hurts. "You didn't even bother to put any filter, did you?"

He sighed once more. "Sorry, buddy. I can't really side with someone who'd do such a thing."

"Maybe you're not as dense as I think, man," I admitted, trying to lighten the mood.

The three of us opened our shoe lockers, changing into the white indoor shoes for school. Some people waved to us, greeting us.

"I'm actually pretty shocked," Asahi piped up, "I mean, you even sensed she was looking forward to it."

I turn my head towards the team captain. "Daichi, how did you know she was looking forward to it?"

It seemed as if he tried to not to, but he ended up laughing a little. "Before the thing, she, Tsukishima, Yachi, Yamaguchi, Ezakiya, Ishinomori, Michimiya, and I ate together; I think you left by then. But man, you really should have seen the look on her face. It was pretty contagious."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't stop trying to fight the urge to smile. She tried so much that her eyes began to smile, too."

● • ● ☁︎ ● • ●

a/n: yEEt

i had so much fun writing this chapter ;;v;;

and i hope you guys had fun reading it, too !!  thank you for those who are faithful and have stuck around to read this book. im preeeetty sure a lot of people have dropped it because of the sole reason i updated very slowly.

fEAR NOT !! I SHALL TRY TO KEEP A CONSISTENT UPDATE SCHED !! keep looking forward to mondays !! stuff comes out on mondays !! <<33

thank you for everyone's continuous support. also, i saw some of my friends reach a heCK LOTTA READS ON THEIR STORIES !! CONGRATS TO APRIL-CHAN AND PANDI-KUN

;;v;; congrats on your stories, bros! im so happy for you !!

IF YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED THEIR STORIES OUT, TAKE A LOOK AT Himitsudesu's Stitch by Stitch (or her newest addition, Vanilla Twilight) AND Soulless_panda's Thirteenth (with the sequel, The Eleventh Memory) BC BOTH ARE FANTASTIC AND WILL BRING YOU ON A JOURNEY YOU WON'T EVER REGRET 

AWH I MISS READING THOSE STORIES WHEN THEY WERE STILL ONGOING!! CONGRATS AGAIN <<33

anyway, f there are any stories you guys want me to check out, just drop a message on my profile !! id be more than glad to look!

once again, thank you for everyone's support. FAITO!

jaa ne~

cerys