Valentine's Day
Parallel WorldsA/N: It's a super heavy chapter so guard your heart! <3
--
After closing the front door of her apartment, Amu paused to take in the fresh air of the chilly Tuesday morning. She glanced up at the dawn sky and sighed. Japan really was the land of the rising sun. Its' orange colors seemed as if they were mocking every single one of her decisions since she had set foot in the country.
Taking the first step down the stairs, the young girl began to stroll towards the high school like every other morning-
-but today was different.
Unlike the other mornings, this time Amu had hoped not to bump into one particular person- Daiki Arioka, not Daisuke.
Her eyes were still puffy as she recalled the events from last night. Amu not only found out that her crush was interested in someone else. She also found out that his entire identity had been a cover.
'How oblivious was I?' Amu thought, feeling the need to scold herself for letting her guard down. As soon as she returned home last night, she decided to turn on the television to take her mind off the boy. However, she never expected him to suddenly appear on the screen either. Let alone, with speculations of a scandal with the girl she assumed she saw earlier before.
After a walk that seemed too short for the girl to completely straighten out her thoughts, Amu finally stopped in front of her classroom door. Hoping that Daiki wasn't there, the girl slowly pulled it open and sighed in relief when she spotted her two closest friends instead.
"Amu-chan!" Rio exclaimed before pausing to exchange quick concerned glances with Chinen. Not wanting to say the wrong words, they both hesitated and hoped that Amu could be the first to start the conversation.
Luckily, the younger girl seemed to have read their mind just by seeing their expressions. Amu thought about sweeping her feelings under a rug but given that it was Valentine's Day, she decided to just be honest.
"I found out that Dai-chan is actually Daiki." Amu said, taking her seat next to the boy.
Chinen lowered his eyes and softened his expression before apologizing. "We're sorry for hiding it from you." He said as Rio nodded in agreement. "We thought about telling you but assumed that it was better coming from Dai-chan..."
Realizing that the air was starting to become heavy around them, Amu shook her head and waved her hands back and forth to dismiss the topic. "It's totally fine!" She concluded in a more positive tone. "The past is the past, right?"
Rio and Chinen both knew that this was becoming a sensitive topic to Amu. Not wanting to nudge her any longer, they decided to change the topic to schoolwork.
Amu ped her bag to reach for her school notes but the first thing she laid her eyes on was her Valentine's gift that she made on Sunday. Amu ran her fingers alongside the ribbon that tied the box together before biting her lips. Taking a deep breath, she took the small box out of her bag and placed it on Chinen's desk.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Chii."
Chinen's gaze fell upon the box and he quickly noticed his name written on the top of it. But just before he could cherish the warm feeling emitting from his chest, Amu continued on.
“It’s to show you my thanks.”
'But all I did was set you up with someone who broke your heart...' Chinen immediately thought. Yet contrary to his thoughts, he decided to say the opposite. "You didn't have to, Amu. Just having you by my side is more than enough."
Sitting in the front row of this scene was Rio who was trying her best to comprehend what had unfolded in the past minute. She turned to face forward in her seat and pondered deeply to herself. 'Was that a confession or a rejection?'
Before the girl could develop on this thought further, her eyes landed on a few figures outside and immediately recognized one of them. There were three girls surrounding Ryosuke, each with a gift in their hands.
Assuming that they were confessing to him, Rio turned away and continued to flip through her notebook. But little did she know that Ryosuke glanced up at her window at the exact moment she looked away from him.
It only took Ryosuke a few minutes to reach the classroom. Panting heavily, he shut the classroom door behind him after he made his way in. "Morning" He greeted, still catching his breath as he made his way over to his desk.
Rio didn't seem to trust her eyes. Holding onto her disbelief, she glanced back out the window, expecting her boyfriend to still be outside. But instead, she saw the three girls huddled together in disappointment. "You didn't take the gifts from them?" She asked.
Ryosuke shrugged. "Last time I checked, I already have a girlfriend." He said, taking his seat next to Rio before turning to face her. "So the only gift I'll be accepting today is of course... from her."
Rio wasn't prepared for Ryosuke's bold statement. With a flustered expression, she pulled her gaze away from him and settled it on her notes. "After school." She mumbled, pouting her cheeks in embarrassment. "You'll get your Valentine's gift after school."
It was the boy's turn to pout impatiently. He had been waiting all month for her gift and now he needed to wait a couple more hours. Ryosuke opened his mouth to protest but immediately closed it when he noticed that Rio had already returned to her 'focus zone'.
Not wanting to bother her any longer, he turned around to face the rest of his friends hoping that they could entertain him for a bit. However, as soon as he saw Amu's solemn expression, he remembered what happened to Daiki the night before and wondered if the two had spoken yet.
"Amu found out," Chinen explained as if he had read Ryosuke's mind. "Not through Dai-chan though."
"I see.." Ryosuke replied. He thought back to his phone call last night with his best friend. A few minutes prior to that, their manager messaged the entire group to let everyone know what unraveled. Ryosuke answered Daiki's call expecting the latter to be terrified about losing his career but instead, the older one was more concerned about Amu.
"Dai-chan is at the Jimusho right now to sort things out," Ryosuke explained, catching Amu's immediate attention. "But he'll be in for lunch."
--
Although the duration of the morning class ended quicker than usual due to cautionary measures for Valentine's Day, the four somehow felt as if this was by far, the longest morning session ever.
The group left the classroom and were already on their way to their breakroom when Amu suddenly felt the need to stop halfway in her tracks. “I’m actually not feeling too well today. I think It’s best if I go home.” She said all of the sudden, capturing everyone's concerned attention.
“Are you okay?” Rio asked, feeling the girl’s forehead. “Amu-chan, you’re a bit on the feverish side. I think you should go to the infirmary instead.”
The younger girl shook her head and protested. “I think I just need sleep. I don't think I'll be able to rest well at school.”
"I can accompany you back." Chinen offered but the girl declined his gesture as well.
"I'll be okay, Chii. I live nearby the school anyway." Amu insisted. "I'll see you all tomorrow!"
Before any of them could protest further, the girl had already turned back in the opposite direction and disappeared around the corner.
"Amu wasn't lying though," Chinen said as the three continued on. "She fell asleep halfway in class. I don't think she got any rest last night."
When the group finally arrived at their usual break room, Ryosuke slid open the door and Daiki immediately jumped up from his seat in anxiousness. Howe
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