Broken Dreams Blossom into Beautiful Songs

7

The day passed by quickly, unlike Akito's feelings of resentment. Why didn't his crush help him? Why did it have to be Toya, of all people? He sighed leaning into his desk. His eyes went over to his crush. She sat three rows in front of him, two to his left. She wasn't the most physically attractive, and her hair was typically unkept. But, for some reason Akito was able to look past that. It was strange, typically he'd have some kind of standard regarding hygiene and attractiveness, but she really stole his heart.

He looked down at his notebook and began to sketch her from the place he saw her, occasionally using his pencil to get the exact angle correct. He didn't find her to be pretty, physically frowning at the picture. However, he managed to look past that as he wrote her personality traits around her drawing. "Passionate, hardworking, kind, smart..." He could go on and on. He smiled at his finished work, all positive words surrounding the not so appealing person in the middle of them.

He noticed a pair of silver eyes staring at Akito through the classroom window. It was Toya. Akito didn't really want to see him right now, but felt obligated to return the gaze. Toya smiled and placed a note against his classroom's window that read, 'Hi Akito.' when his teacher looked the other way. Akito chuckled, knowing how astute Toya was. Even a stranger could tell Toya cared about his grades, and the fact Toya would risk getting in trouble to do something like this seemed ironic to Akito.

Akito took a glance at his teacher, making sure he didn't see him. Then, Akito wrote a note of his own and placed it up against the window. 'Hi Toya, how's it like to be in the smart class?' Akito teased. Toya took a second to respond as his teacher lectured their class. 'It's actually quite boring... It'd be better if we had more people like you.' He responded with another note. Akito seemed taken aback by Toya's comment. He furrowed his brow. 'I'd only disturb your class, I couldn't keep up.' Akito replied, his hand shaking a bit as he wrote the note.

Toya shook his head as he began to write his response. He placed his note up with a smile. 'I'm sure you could. You're smart, you know.' Akito rolled his eyes. 'That's hard to believe coming from someone like you.' Akito responded. Akito felt frustrated at Toya's praise. It felt like a slap on the face. Akito had thought so many negative things about Toya, and to accept his compliments would be like admitting that he was wrong. Before Toya could fire another compliment at Akito, Akito decided to end the conversation before it became too "dangerous."

'Well, I'll see you at lunch, we can talk then.' Akito scurried to write. Toya promptly nodded, looking disappointed as he turned his head to this board in his classroom. Akito sighed in relief. Now he could go back to not paying attention in class. How boring... He couldn't help but feel like he enjoyed talking to Toya. He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that. He sighed again, causing the per sitting next to him to look in his direction. "Are you alright?" She asked. Akito nodded before slamming his head into his desk.

The rest of the first half of Akito's day seemed to slip by, the lunch bell ringing not too long after Akito's interaction with Toya. Akito sighs as he got up. He made sure to bring his lunch this time, as Toya asked him to, and he'd rather avoid getting into conflict about something so stupid. He slowly stood up from his chair. His crush stopped him from leaving the room. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit as her hand touched his. "Yes..?" He asked. His crush slightly blushed. Akito's mind began racing. What could she be thinking about..?

"Shinonome-san... Uhm, You..." She seemed nervous. "Uhm, I..?" Akito's cheeks were fully red at this point. And like a shattering vase, her response shocked Akito, "Did you find out anything about Toya Aoyagi's relationship status..? Is he single..?" She asked shyly. Akito felt disappointed. He sighed as the blush on his cheeks faded and he cleared his throat. "Why do you want to know anyway?" He asked, his tone slightly stiffened. "O-oh... Well, I want to know if maybe... I'd have a chance with him."

Akito's eyes widened as he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. He knew this, deep down... But still, to hear her say it. He composed himself as he contemplated on whether to tell her the truth. "No, he isn't." Akito responded, his feelings overwhelmed his reasoning. "...Oh... Do you know her name?" She asked, her voice softened. It hurt Akito to see her like that. "W-Well... She goes to a different school..." Akito said defeatedly. Toya walked over to Akito's classroom door, "Are you coming..?" Toya asked, yawning.

Akito didn't like the idea of leaving his crush like that. "I..!" Akito was cut off by his crush looking at Toya angrily and running out of the classroom. It seemed her jealousy got the best of her. Akito's eyes softened. Toya slightly raised his eyebrows. "What was up with her?" He asked softly. "...Don't worry about it..." Akito replied guiltily. He shouldn't have done that... It was petty. He put his hand on Toya's shoulder, he wasn't able to conceal his body shaking. "Where do you want to eat lunch?" Akito asked trying desperately to erase what just happened from his mind.

Toya thought for a moment. "I'm not sure... Are you okay?" Toya responded concerned. Akito closed his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Yes, I am let's just forget about that..." He retorted, his voice had a hint of anger in it. Toya slightly frowned. Akito tried his best to calm down. He felt so guilty and pathetic. He really had stooped low, huh..? He shook his head as he focused on the conversation at hand. "Where do you normally eat lunch? We'll eat there." Akito asked promptly. Toya paused for a moment. "Well?" Akito broke the silence. Toya slightly smiled, looking Akito in the eyes. "On the rooftop."