A Single Footprint in the Snow (18)
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN: Ninomiya Kazunari, Age: 16 -- Aiba Masaki, Age: 17
Aiba hugs him, squeezing him tight, and thanks him. Nino thinks he can drown forever in Aiba's arms. Butterflies flutter through his stomach and he allows himself the joy of being there and feeling so different.
Then Aiba breaks his dream by saying, "Thank you, Kazu! Thank you for forcing me to join the Student Committee. Asano's taking part in it, too."
Aiba releases him abruptly and steps away. Nino stands alone, lost where he had just been in Aiba's embrace. His tall friend whisks out his phone and looks at the number on his screen; Asano's. Nino has endured through everything; knowing he is confused and different, knowing Aiba is not like him and understanding that he can do nothing to change it. But at last he snaps.
"You're a fool," Nino tells his friend.
His insult isn't anything new, but the anger on his face shocks Aiba. Aiba blanches and stares back at him speechless.
"She doesn't like you, stupid," Nino states coldly.
Dismay replaces Aiba's once ecstatic expression and Nino realizes with a start that he has fallen. He cannot do this. He's already promised that he will not hurt Aiba.
He runs home.
Locked in his bedroom, he hears a knock as his door and a hesitant call, "Kazu? Did I do something wrong?"
Nino tries to block his ears.
"Kazu, I'm sorry," Aiba says. "Please don't be angry."
Nino's fury turns to disgust at himself. You're not wrong, he tells Aiba silently. I'm wrong. Because I like you. The self admission crushes him and he cries. He muffles his sobs with a pillow. The overwhelming despair hangs over him, emptying his entire being. It's hopeless. He cares for Aiba so much, but Aiba will never like him in the same way. Never.
Aiba belongs next to a cute girl. He will smile at her. And Nino can only watch from afar every moment his best friend loves someone else.
"Kazu?" Aiba calls from outside the door.
Nino buries himself under his blankets and pillows, trying to swallow his pathetic tears.
* *
NINETEEN
EIGHTEEN: Ninomiya Kazunari, Age: 16 -- Aiba Masaki, Age: 17
Aiba hugs him, squeezing him tight, and thanks him. Nino thinks he can drown forever in Aiba's arms. Butterflies flutter through his stomach and he allows himself the joy of being there and feeling so different.
Then Aiba breaks his dream by saying, "Thank you, Kazu! Thank you for forcing me to join the Student Committee. Asano's taking part in it, too."
Aiba releases him abruptly and steps away. Nino stands alone, lost where he had just been in Aiba's embrace. His tall friend whisks out his phone and looks at the number on his screen; Asano's. Nino has endured through everything; knowing he is confused and different, knowing Aiba is not like him and understanding that he can do nothing to change it. But at last he snaps.
"You're a fool," Nino tells his friend.
His insult isn't anything new, but the anger on his face shocks Aiba. Aiba blanches and stares back at him speechless.
"She doesn't like you, stupid," Nino states coldly.
Dismay replaces Aiba's once ecstatic expression and Nino realizes with a start that he has fallen. He cannot do this. He's already promised that he will not hurt Aiba.
He runs home.
Locked in his bedroom, he hears a knock as his door and a hesitant call, "Kazu? Did I do something wrong?"
Nino tries to block his ears.
"Kazu, I'm sorry," Aiba says. "Please don't be angry."
Nino's fury turns to disgust at himself. You're not wrong, he tells Aiba silently. I'm wrong. Because I like you. The self admission crushes him and he cries. He muffles his sobs with a pillow. The overwhelming despair hangs over him, emptying his entire being. It's hopeless. He cares for Aiba so much, but Aiba will never like him in the same way. Never.
Aiba belongs next to a cute girl. He will smile at her. And Nino can only watch from afar every moment his best friend loves someone else.
"Kazu?" Aiba calls from outside the door.
Nino buries himself under his blankets and pillows, trying to swallow his pathetic tears.
* *
NINETEEN