Viridian and Crimson (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 18

July 15th

Today's finally my birthday. I'm officially 16 years old. It's only around 12 in the afternoon right now, Aki and I have just been chilling in his house, watching some random show on the TV. We haven't done much today, but Aki is trying to find something for us to do while I am figuring out where I'm going to head to once I leave. I want to leave sometime after the sun goes down, so there's not as many people out. In the meantime, I want to do something for my birthday with Aki.

"Hey, Aki." I said, turning to face him.

"Yeah?" He replied, looking at me.

"How about we go to that shop I got my board from, and I teach you how to skateboard?" I asked.

"I've always wanted to learn how to skateboard..." he muttered. "But, would that be fun for you? It's your birthday, I want you to have a good time before you leave." He said with a frown.

"Of course I'll have fun! I suggested it anyways. I want to spend some quality time with you before I leave anyways! This will be perfect. You can pick out your own board, too." I answered, a big smile now present on my face. Aki looked back up at me and smiled.

"Okay, then."

*At the shop

We just arrived to the shop that I got my board from, Aki is looking at the wall of skateboards trying to find one he likes. Meanwhile, I walk up to the register to say hi to the owner again. He was really friendly last time I came here. He was turned around, and I cleared my throat to get his attention. He turned around to face me.

"Oh, hey, man! You're the one that came here and rode around on that skateboard you bought for hours!" He stated, a smile on his face. "Yup! That's me! I brought a friend this time." I pointed backwards to where Aki was standing, who waved at us on return. "I'm gonna teach him how to skate." I told the man. "Cool! So I'm guessing you've gotten pretty good at skating over the last few months?" He asked. "Yeah, definitely. It's actually my birthday today... so I wanted to do something fun." I stated. "Oh, Happy Birthday, kid!" He replied.

"Thank you!" I said.

*Around 4pm

It's been a few hours since we arrived at the shop, and I've been teaching Aki the basics of skateboarding. He picked out a board he liked, and just like before, the owner let him test it out for a little while in the mini skatepark at the back of the store. I gotta say, Aki is a pretty quick learner. He's already going up and down ramps, he found his balance really fast. I'm honestly surprised. But what I'm most happy about...

Is that he's having fun.

It makes me happy to see that he's happy as well. It's just what I wanted to see before I left...

"Hey, Aki!" I yelled over to him, as I was leaning against the door frame, holding my skateboard in my arms as I watched him do his thing on the course. "Yeah?" He said, getting off his board and walking over to me. "It's been a few hours, I think we should head back inside and pay for the board and go." I said with a soft smile. His mood changed instantly. "Oh, right..." he muttered, walking past me to get inside. I sighed. Don't worry, I wish we could have more time, too...

We payed for the board, I gathered my stuff and we walked out of the store. We got on our boards and slowly skated back home, in a peaceful silence, as the soft wind blew past us. When we got home, Aki sighed loudly and flopped down on the couch, clearly tired from skating for so long. I set my board up against the wall besides the front door, and set my backpack down in my room. I sighed and sat back down next to Aki, and rested my eyes for a bit.

"Hey, 'zuku?" Aki asked, his voice muffled by the pillow on the couch being stuffed in his face. "Hmm?" I hummed, still resting my eyes as I was leaned back against the couch. "When are you going to leave?" He said, much quieter than before. If I was any farther away from him, I wouldn't have heard him. "Once the sun goes down, after dinner." I replied. "Mhm." He hummed in response.

*After dinner

Aki and I had pizza for dinner, and we talked for a little bit. I'm currently washing our dishes in the sink while Aki still hasn't left his spot at the small dining table. After I finished, I walked to the hall that my room was located in, and turned to look at Aki for a moment. His head was sitting in his arms, down on the table. I sighed, turning around so I could just get my stuff gathered quickly. I packed my essentials back into my backpack, as well as any clothes or self defense weapons. After a few minutes I finished packing, granted I didn't have many things to begin with. I took a deep breath as I zipped up my backpack, and carried it out to the living room and set it beside my skateboard. I looked over to Aki, noticing he was now on the couch, occupying himself with his phone.

"Aki." I said, seemingly not getting his attention. "Hmm?" He suddenly hummed after a moment, acknowledging that he had heard me. I softly smiled, walking over to him and standing beside him. I stood there for a few moments until he looked up at me from his phone. "What?" He said in a whisper. I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Aki..." I said again, which caused his face to scrunch up in confusion, but only for a moment, because he then realized what I meant. His eyes widened and he looked away from me, a sad expression on his face.

I stepped back, letting him stand from the couch and brush himself off. There was no reason for him to do that, I can only imagine it was to ground himself, to calm his nerves. Which clearly didn't work very well. He walked up to me and gave me a hug, his hold seemingly getting tighter every second. I hugged him back, just as tight. After what seemed like forever, he let go and backed up just a step. "I'm sorry, Aki..." I said in a whisper, seeing the pain in his eyes clear as day. "No... no, it's fine. You gotta do what you gotta do. I understand." He said, brushing off my apology. I knew he didn't want me to leave, and I didn't want to leave either. But I had to. "Alright..." I muttered, avoiding his gaze. I turned to the door, hearing him shift in his spot, stopping himself from doing anything. The longer I stay, the more it will hurt, Aki... I walked to the door, and tossed my backpack over my shoulders. I picked up my skateboard, still facing the front door as I walked to it and put my hand on the handle. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. I could hear Aki's breath hitch from behind me, causing me to hesitate for a moment longer. I turned around, looking at him one more time. "See you later, Aki." I said, softly smiling, turning back around after so I didn't see his expression. I closed the door behind me. I set off on my skateboard almost immediately, heading towards my new destination.

I hope to see you again, Aki.

A/N: just read over this, I realized it sounds like a breakup or something 😭😭