After the whole confession, Chiaki could not bring herself to come to school.

How could she face herself, knowing that a lot of people would know about her getting flat out rejected?
How could she face herself, knowing that she could be bullied for being so shameless?
How could she face herself, knowing that her life would never be in peace?

It turned out that after the day she confessed, the whole school knew about this moment.

Only her side though... They didn't know Makoto's side of the story - how he was a such a dick to her emotions. They only wanted to gossip about her side - just because she was a nobody and she had the guts to confess to someone way beyond her standards.

Yeah, rumours like this spread like wildfire. Even pointless ones like this. Then again... all rumours are pointless, aren't they? What good do they bring to the school?

But, back to the point, it was pretty obvious who spread it.

"It was definitely him or his friends..."

She became a gossip in school. While walking through the corridors, she noticed people whispering amongst themselves, laughing amongst themselves while discreetly pointing to her, clearing mocking her appearance and social skills. Even people that she never met before. Chiaki tried not to listen to them, but those whispers became louder and louder, and it became too unbearable for her to ignore those 'screams'.

Weird huh? People who are complete strangers to you would be so invested in a rumour like this.

She could only imagine what they were talking about... her stupid mask, how she was so stupid for confessing and let's not forget the most obvious thing - being an outcast.

Luckily, her mask prevented her from showing these bitter tears that silently flowed every time she heard people murmuring about her.

For once, this mask was useful...

She got hated and made fun of even more, for only getting rejected. It lowered her self-esteem even more.
And her self-esteem was already low to begin with.

Hearing all of these rumours made her wish she could go back in time.

Why?

Because back then... Chiaki was alone and invisible...

Sure, it meant that she had no one to talk to. But at least she had a peaceful life. Without the need to talk to others, Chiaki could focus more on herself. Sure, it meant that no one would ever pay attention to her. But at least she could do whatever she wanted. Being alone also meant that people would not bully her, they would only ignore her.

Getting this attention was uncomfortable.

Now, she's bullied every single hour in school.

And she couldn't take it anymore.

She wished she could scream at everyone to shut up. She wished she could stop coming to school, or maybe move to a different school. She wished she could die so that she wouldn't have to suffer living every day. But sadly, all these wishes were never granted.

She already suffered from so much in the past... but this just made it worse.

But it would be a burden for her family. And Chiaki hated being a burden to anyone. Even though her dignity was sacrificed.

As for Makoto, he's still hanging out with his friends, he's still flirting with girls. He's living his normal life - but there's always something troubling at the back of his head.

Chiaki...

Every second since stepping into school, he was constantly burdened by guilt.

Maybe after what happened...

Sadly, he couldn't do anything about it.

Actually, it's more like he didn't want to do anything about it.

He could apologize, but he would look like a fool towards his "friends". He could spare some of his private time to meet up with Chiaki, though he didn't know much about Chiaki's routine and he couldn't find her every time he wanted to talk to her. He could text her, however, he didn't save her number. Of course, he could've asked her, but he was too scared.

All the excuses began popping up in his mind.

He was too scared after all.

Beneath the popularity, hard work and athletism was a person who had always been timid and insecure. Pressure caused him to be this way.

What actually happened? I'll let you decide.

But one thing you should know...that's his true self after all.

And no one else knew, except for him...

"You think I could fall in love with you?! What are you? You're only nothing in my eyes. You're an ugly piece of shit. I'm only nice to you because everyone expects me to. You're only an idiot!"

Ah.. those words that he spouted at Chiaki stabbed him back. It was torturing him to the bone.

'Karma's a bitch.' Makoto thought as a sad smile erupted from his face.

It turned out, whatever words he spouted at Chiaki were a reflection of his insecurities. He's, in fact, nothing in everyone else's eyes. He's, in fact, an ugly piece of shit in everyone else's eyes. He's also an idiot.

It's just that no one said anything to him. So, he thought everything was normal...

But not for long though...

After being blind for so long, finally, his world began to crash. He finally realised the harsh truth and how his actions had consequences.

"I'm sorry. I'm a fool to think that you're the prince to me. I'm a fool to think that you would accept me for who I am. I'm a fool to think that I could just have you fall in love with me even if we rarely interact. I'm sorry for wasting your time..."

"I think I'm the fool," Makoto thought, suddenly realizing that his words carried meaning. In fact... a painful meaning to both Chiaki and himself. His heart was throbbing in pain, knowing that every single word that he said was like millions of knives stabbing through his heart.

If he wasn't so caught up in the moment, he would've stopped himself from saying those harsh words and hurting Chiaki's feelings.

If he wasn't so obnoxious and judgmental, he would've probably made a new friend.

If he wasn't so rude and mean, he would've probably been able to interact more with Chiaki.

He could have changed his fate and actually become more popular. But his insecurities got the best of him.

"You think I could fall in love with you?! What are you? You're only nothing in my eyes. You're an ugly piece of shit. I'm only nice to you because everyone expects me to. You're only an idiot!"

Those words repeatedly played in his mind, like a broken record, forever haunting him.

And it's too late to change that.