The sudden change of Aki Hartez

Chapter E8

Aki's Perspective:

"I will be on your side no matter what, I promise."

The shitiest words I've ever heard.

It's making me want to die, yet I still want to enjoy upcoming adventures. 

Something must be wrong with me.

It's the eighth of January, and at the moment, I just walked past Natasha. She was Suzuki as usual. Natasha is acting as if she has known Suzuki for a lifetime. Without me, she would never meet her. That's a fact.

As I made my way down the hall towards my classroom, I suddenly noticed Nikkita running towards me with a look of sheer panic on his face. His skin was flushed, and sweat was dripping down his forehead.

"Junior, please!" he blurted out, his voice shaking with desperation.

Confused and intrigued, I asked him what was going on. That's when he made a startling confession.

"Don't tell anyone my secret please, if you tell anyone, I'll be in big trouble," he whispered, his eyes darting around to make sure no one else was listening.

He continued, "If you promise to keep my secret, I'll do whatever you want. I'll even name my firstborn child after you."
His voice was full of sincerity, and I could tell he was serious about keeping this secret hidden, even though I had no idea what the secret was.

Despite my better judgment, I agreed to keep his unknown secret and promised not to tell anyone.

With a quick nod, Nikkita ran off in the opposite direction, leaving me to wonder what kind of secret could be so important that he'd do anything to keep it hidden.

As I sat down in the cafeteria, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Nikkita, the guy who I've had only a few interactions with, suddenly sat down next to me and started chatting like we've been friends forever.

It was weird enough already, but he then proceeded to offer tutoring and even suggested going shopping together.

I felt like I was in a fever dream, trying to make sense of this sudden change of events.
It was all so bizarre, and I couldn't stop wondering what could've caused such a sudden shift in his attitude towards me.

Despite the weirdness of the situation, I couldn't deny the curiosity that was gnawing away at me.
I wanted to know what his secret was, what it was that made him suddenly act like we were best friends.

And so, I gave in to my curiosity and played along, wondering where this strange day would take me next.

"Thank you for keeping this secret."
"Uh, yeah, um, it's no problem."

"So, are you and Rav dating or?"
"Huh?! No, we just had a few unexpected interactions, that's all."

"Hm, weird. After you came to his life, I finally saw him smile like a normal person. And at band rehearsals, he keeps talking about you. So me, Matyas and Mirey thought you guys were dating."

"Oh, wow."

"Hey, junior, how about we go to swimming pool together?"

"Um. I'm not in the mood to go, so I think I'm going to pass."

I politely refused because I'm not stepping into water with fresh scars. 

He understood, so instead of going to the swimming pool, as he had initially suggested, he suggested we head to the arcade and shopping mall instead.
As we made our way there, I felt a sense of gratitude and happiness wash over me. It had been a while since I'd felt this way, and it was refreshing to be able to let loose and have some fun.