'Ow, I fell again. Silly me.' I thought to myself as I picked up my books and straightened out my uniform. My friend, Kiku, picked up the remainder of my books and asked, "(Name)-san, are you all right?" I nodded and replied, "Yeah! I didn't get hurt or anything." As we reached the end of the hall, I turned to him and said, "Thanks for walking me to class. I hope I don't make you late or anything." He shook his head and said, "Hai, it's not a problem. I won't be late because my class is in the room across from yours, remember?" I let out a small 'Oh' and Kiku chuckled and said, "See you later, (Name)-san" and walked out the door.
~Kiku's POV~
How could (Name)-san be so cheerful? So many bad things had happened to her before. She's lost her family and she has to work 2 jobs to support herself, but every time I ask her if she needs my family to help her or not, she brushes it off with a cheerful smile. It's not that I don't like her cheerful attitude…in fact I like it very much. Even more than the cherry blossoms of my homeland, Japan, but I could never tell that to her. I could never tell her that I would actually let her hug me, hold my hands, or even kiss me. I felt my cheeks heat up as I sat down in my seat. I shook my head a bit to clear my thoughts and said hello to a fellow classmate of mine and got out my notebook to take notes of my favorite subject: mathematics. I sighed inwardly wishing I could be there to protect her from any more harm. Little did I know about the events that were to come.
~Timeskip!~
Today, I had offered to help (Name)-san with some of her homework. She was so busy supporting herself that she barely has time to do her homework. Nevertheless, she still has good grades. I walked to her apartment with my book bag and some flowers. It was my first time visiting her house so I thought I should bring her something. They weren't just any flowers. They were the one and only sakura that I love dearly. I thought that (Name)-san deserved the best flowers in the world, so I brought her these. I knocked on her door and after a few seconds, I saw (Name)-san open the door, smiling her beautiful smile, but something was off. "Hello, Kiku. Come inside," she said softly as she ushered me inside. I took off my shoes and stepped inside her house. The apartment was very neat. It had 2 bean bag chairs, a coffee table and a small TV inside the living room. Down the hall was the bathroom and what I presumed was (Name)-san's bedroom. A few steps to my right was the kitchen. Overall, it was very neat and comfy. "After my parents died, I lived with my grandma for a few years. Then, she died too and she left me with her fortune which was quite a lot. I was reluctant to spend it but I had to so I could buy the things for this apartment. I didn't need to spend too much and I did get some money from selling her things. After that happened, I sold the house because it was too much for me. Then I rented this apartment and the landlady was nice and lowered my rent to only $350 per month. Though I still have more than enough money to pay the rent for quite a while, I figured it was best to get some jobs to have some money in case of emergencies. I'm grateful for my grandma but I feel lonely and lost without her and my parents…" she explained to me in a soft whisper.
I felt myself tear up a bit at this. She had lost her grandmother too? I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain she had gone through. I couldn't go one day without my parents or my grandmother. Then, as I expected, she bounced back from her depressed state and exclaimed, "Well, we should get started now!" and dashed into the living room. I sighed a bit and got out my textbooks to start this study session.
~Your POV~
As I dashed into the living room, I could feel myself tear up a bit. Today was the day that I had lost my parents to a car crash. On top of that, my grandmother died today too because of old age. This day is so very painful for me but I couldn't let Kiku see me in a depressed state. How could I let the boy I like see me in such a state? Yes, I do admit that I have developed some feelings for the Japanese boy ever since we became friends. I wanted to be cute and sweet like those girls in the anime(s) he watches in order to impress him. Even if today is a day of tragedies for me, I still have to appear that way towards him. So, quickly, without him noticing, I wiped my face with my sleeve and got out my homework, ready to study.
~Timeskip!~
We had started with the math homework because it was Kiku's favorite subject. Usually, I'm pretty good at solving problems, but alas, my mini depression was preventing from doing so. I had drifted off into my own world and started thinking about my parents. "…(Name)-san? (Name)-san, are you all right?" Kiku's lovely voice brought me out of my daydream. I shook my head a little and looked at him. Worry was written all over his beautiful face. "What is wrong, (Name)-san? You're usually very focused but today you seem…troubled. Is everything all right?" he inquired, scooting a millimeter closer to me. I sighed and thought to myself, 'Well, he's going to have to know sooner or later' and whispered, "Today was the day that both my parents and grandmother died. It's a really sad day for me and I'm sorry that I'm troubling you. I don't want to waste your time anymore, so I'll get back to work, I promise." During my explanation, I had started to cry and it was gradually getting stronger. Suddenly, Kiku did something that surprised me. He enveloped me in a hug. My eyes widened in shock and I hugged back. Then, he cooed softly in my ear, "Don't worry, (Name). I won't let anything else happen to you. I'll protect you from every harm, be it mentally or physically. I promise. Aishiteru, (Name)." I blushed crimson and looked at Kiku, who was blushing equally and was looking to the side. I smiled softly and said, "I love you too." He looked at me and smiled brightly while his coffee brown eyes sparkled in happiness. I put my face in the crook of his neck and smile while he kissed the top of my head. Once again, I had someone truly special in my life and I don't plan on losing him anytime soon.