Daiki X Nanako

Where is he? She thought. He was supposed to be here half an hour ago.

She was sitting on a bench at a park, waiting for her boyfriend, who was supposed to appear half an hour ago but until that moment, he was still nowhere to be seen. Was he standing her up? Was he doing something else? Did he wake up late?

If he was, he’s so going to get it, she thought. That is, if he comes.

She continued sitting on the bench, waiting for him. She was bored. So, so bored. They hadn’t been on a date for a long time. What’s more, it was their first anniversary and it was her birthday. Surely he didn’t forget about that? She sighed. How long more was she going to wait for him? She’d called him but he didn’t answer his handphone.

She sighed. She looked around her. There were many couples there. Holding hands, smiling at each other. She smiled. She remembered what happened exactly a year before in that spot. She had found a note that asked her to go to that certain park on that certain bench from her locker. It had been signed anonymous. She had wondered what it was all about and to make things easier to understand, she went to the park.

Then, out of nowhere, her crush appeared. She looked at him and he looked at her. Before she could say a single word, he hugged her and confessed. She had been so happy. From then on, they always went out together frequently. But lately, they hardly even saw each other except in school.

Suddenly, she spied someone who looked extremely familiar, sitting on a bench somewhere far off. She squinted. Who was it? She thought. Then, her eyes detected a hairstyle that she would recognize anywhere. Dai-chan! She thought. So he had arrived. Just that he was waiting at the wrong bench. She smiled. He wasn’t late at all.

She stood up and started to walk towards him. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock. It can’t be, she thought. What did she see but her boyfriend cheat on her. There she was, about to go to her boyfriend. To say hi, to be playful and pretend to punish him for being late, to hug him, to be close to him. They had always been like that. Why then, why did he want to stop all that? And what’s more, he was cheating on her with her best friend. How could he?

Her eyes were soon filled with tears, threatening to flow out. She stood there staring at both her best friend and boy..,no, ex-boyfriend sit together. They smiled happily. They chatted like they had been an item for quite a long time. Did that mean he had been cheating on her for a long time? It can’t be, it can’t be...

Without waiting any longer, she turned and ran away. How could he? She thought. They had been so happy together. Did he really not care about their past memories together? Did he really like someone else? Did he... did he stop loving her?

~~~~~
Nanako lied on her bed, her mind full of thoughts, her eyes full of tears. She reminisced the times when she and her boyfriend went out together and had so much fun. When she had tripped over a stone, he held her in his arms. When her beloved pet passed away, he hugged her and consoled her. When she was injured, he cleaned her wound for her. For the whole year before, he had taken such good care of her. He had promised her to always be with her and her only.

Then why? Why did he cheat on her?

Ding!

Her handphone rang. She just received a message. She took it and saw ‘Sender: Dai-chan’. It was him, she thought. What did he want? Did he at last realized that they were supposed to meet up?

‘Meet me at the bench now.’

The message was short. He had never sent her such short messages except to say he missed her or little wishes. Did he want to break up? She thought. Was he going to tell her that he liked her best friend instead of her? Was he going to say that had a change of heart? Was he going to say he cheated on her? Was he?

She wiped her tears. She was going to end the relationship. She did not want him to do it. She didn’t know why. Maybe she wanted to do it so that she could feel better about it. So that she wouldn’t think too much about it. Yes, she decided. She will end it.

~~~~~
“You came,” he said.

She was silent. She didn’t know what to say. She looked away.

“Happy birthday, Nana-chan. Sorry I couldn’t meet up with you just now. I was busy and totally forgot the time. I...”

“Enough.”

“What?”

“Enough! I’ve had enough of your lies. How long more do you intend to deceive me? You weren’t busy. You met up with my best friend for a date. At the time we were supposed to be together. You think I was blind? You think you could go on deceiving me like this and I’ll never find out? Well, too bad for you, I have.”

A silent moment.

“Why, Dai-chan? Why?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “How long have you been going out together?”

“We never did,” he replied.

“Don’t lie! I saw both of you together. I...”

“Yeah, you saw us. But did you see us hold hands? Did you see us hug? Did you? No, you didn’t. That’s because it was all a lie.”

“A.. lie?”

“Yeah, a lie. Both of us made a plan. That is, to make you sad and then happy, on your birthday and our anniversary.”

“That’s right!” her best friend popped out from behind a bush. “And they’re all in the plan.” A few more of her friends popped out beside her.

“But...but...”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Dai-chan said as he pulled her into an embrace. “Just remember, I’ll never leave you. Happy birthday and happy first anniversary, Nana-chan,” he said and kissed her.

-brenda-