Even Though I Loved You First

~High School [Year 1 – Semester 1]

“…a-and then, and then! They just started flirting in the middle of class! How come they aren’t even together yet?! No… why am I the one that has to deal with all this crap?!” (Arisa)

“There, there. You went through a lot, huh?” (Kei)

It’s been about half a year since both Kei and Arisa became friends with each other, their friendship was more about letting the other vent any frustration or anger the other possessed. Sometimes, Arisa gave Kei advice (though the former had no experience in love).

“My stomach hurts from thinking about it…” Arisa slumped on the table, shoulders dropped.

“Can I order another glass?” Kei asked.

“…be my guest…” (Arisa)

As Kei raised his hand and called the waiter over, he made a quick order and once again, turned his attention towards Arisa.

“Anyhow, how’s high school?” (Kei)

“…you sound like an old man…” (Arisa)

“That so?” (Kei)

“Unn.” (Arisa)

Not only with Kei, but Arisa no longer hid her true self. Once the changes began to be noticeable, Karane felt overjoyed that Arisa was no longer distant, she felt happy since their friend group was more united than ever.

“High school, huh…? It’s really busy  but I’m hanging in there…” (Arisa)

“I see. Don’t force yourself, okay?” (Kei)

“I have you to vent my frustration with. So, I’ll be okay… I think…” (Arisa)

“I’m not your psychologist…” Kei sighed.

“It’s fine, isn’t it~?” (Arisa)

“At this point… I wonder who the ‘senior’ is…” (Kei)

The two of them bursted out in laughter.

♡

Naturally, they laughed together a lot, however, for a sturdy friendship to be formed, you have to know both their joy and sadness.

“Arisa?” (Kei)

“Ah… Kei… Uhm, sorry to call you all of a sudden…” (Arisa)

“No, no. I don’t mind but… Are you okay? You look worse for wear…” (Kei)

Arriving at the point where they agreed to meet this time, Kei found a gloomy and almost-in-the-verge-of-tears Arisa. Kei and Arisa belonged to different friend groups, and while Kei was still in middle school, Arisa was already in highschool, so they couldn’t meet inside their school grounds.

Due to this, they naturally met once or twice in two weeks. However, contrary to when they scheduled days beforehand, Arisa’s call this time around was—abrupt.

“W-well… I-I…” She was shivering and stuttering, Kei noticed her anxiousness and sat down next to her, took out a bottle and a handkerchief from his bag.

In a gentle voice, he said,

“First of all, you should calm down. Here, drink some water.” He wrapped the handkerchief around his bottle filled with freezing cold water and handed it to her.

“U-unn… Thanks…” Arisa accepted the bottle, and drank a little. With the sensation of cold water pouring down her throat, Arisa felt like she was calming down even more.

“You okay now?” (Kei)

“Unn… I am…” (Arisa)

“Alright then, mind telling me everything?” (Kei)

Arisa softly nodded, and after a while began to talk. “So… I just happened to see Seichiiro being confessed to a few days ago. Today when I was talking with Kokoro, I told her about it and… once again, she denied her feelings for Seichiiro…” (Arisa)

“Unn.” (Kei)

“S-something inside me snapped and… and..:” (Arisa)

“Take a deep breath, okay? And…?” Kei started rubbing her back as she took a deep breath.

“I… kind of ended up yelling at her… ‘Shouldn’t you take a risk?’ I said… ‘Don’t do something you will regret.’ I said… I said all those things to her yet I don’t even know what she’s going through… I’m all talk… I was easily swayed by my emotions and screamed at her face…” She started to shake, a change that Kei clearly noticed.

“W-what should I do, Kei? What if… hic… She starts hating me for it? I… hic… How should I face her next time?” Tears streamed down her cheeks, she was clearly scared… Scared to lose someone precious to her… Scared to be alone again.

“Arisa.” Arisa lifted her head, at Kei’s gentle calling.

“Do you hate Shiina for being dishonest about such feelings?” Kei asked.

Arisa shook her head, and with a quivering voice, she answered, “I don’t… It’s just that… I don’t want to see her sad… If she doesn’t confess to him at least, she would end up regretting it in the long run…” (Arisa)

Kei felt a little stab on his chest, because he too, was hiding his feelings and postponing his confession. However, Kei understood this wasn’t about him, so he ignored it.

“Then— Do you believe in her? Do you believe in the friendship you two built over the years?” He softly spoke.

“…huh?” She looked up, Kei no was no longer looking at Arisa, he was looking nowhere in particular. A nostalgic look was clearly noticeable on his face.

“I’m just a kid, so I can’t exactly understand but… Situations like this are necessary from time to time for the building of unbreakable bonds. Even close friends will vent out their anger and irritation on each other, they may yell at each other an be at odds for a while, but–” (Kei)

Kei too has been at odds with some of his friends, Their ideals just didn’t match. He drifted apart from some of them, but he also strengthened his relationships with others.

“If those same friends can resolve even the most heavy of fights, their bonds could be considered nearly unbreakable. You should just believe in Shiina. You snapped for Shiina’s sake, right?” (Kei)

“Unn.” She nodded.

“Then, Shiina probably knows that too. So rest assured, even if you yelled at her, you only have to apologize and think things through. Grown ups fix their conflicts through mutual understanding. Well… most of them, at least… That’s what dad told me.” He smiled wryly.

“I-I see…” Arisa turned her gaze to the bottle wrapped on Kei’s handkerchief and thought for a bit.

‘Mutual understanding’, huh? She felt scared just moments ago, she still felt that way. However, she felt a little bit more at ease now…

Arisa didn’t realize at the time but, this was clearly the moment that her feelings of love bloomed.

Just like that, time passed and Kei entered his first year of high school. Months passed, seasons changed and before she knew it, autumn came around just like that. Then, one afternoon when Arisa was walking home after finishing club activities, it started.

“Hm? Is that you, Kei?” (Arisa)

“…Arisa…?” (Kei)

The adventures they’ll go through the following months and the love that bloomed between them.

The death of a nameless story, was upon them.