~1 year ago~

"Okito," I called, tapping my feet against his bed.

It was a regular scene. I was over at his house, hogging his bed to myself. Flat on my stomach, flipping through a magazine, I munched on a stash of chips nearby.

Seated on the ground, back against the bed frame, he impassively scanned his school notebook. "Hmm?"

"It says here that it's normal for cats to have eleven fingers." I shoved it towards him. "Crazy, right?"

He hummed again.

"Are you listening?"

"Nope."

Hoisting myself upward, I yanked the helix of his ear.

"Then listen."

He flinched, swatting my hand. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm getting my summer homework done."

"Summer started yesterday."

"Your point?"

"Workaholic."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Sighing, I rolled off the end of the mattress. I dipped my head over the edge, cuddling his pillow at my chest.

"Let's go to the fireworks festival."

"I believe I turned you down. A crowd like that isn't my style."

"Fine. I'll find somebody else to go with." I fondled my pockets and surfaced my cell. "Since Satoshi asked me out recently I'm sure he'll gladly take me on a date—"

He snatched my device before I could finish my sentence. His stormy blue eyes reflected timely unease, alongside his forced, yet spiteful smile.

"On second thought, count me in. Sounds like it'll be a blast."

"Yay!" I lurched upright and to the ground. I descended on my knees across from him. "I'll swing by at seven tomorrow to pick you up."

"Shouldn't it be the opposite?"

"Not with you. If I don't come over, you'll never meet me since you'll toil the evening away with schoolwork."

"I won't."

I leaned closer. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"You better keep it. I'm getting my hopes up."

"I will."

"Then, I'll wait for you. I'll be waiting, okay?"

"So cute."

"What did you say?"

"Just that you're going to kill me one of these days."

"From all the physical activity? Lazy bum."

He glanced up from his papers. "You're leaving?"

"I have to meet with someone from the Drama Club." Twisting his doorknob, I groaned, "Miko."

"The girl you're always arguing with?"

Vexation erupted within me like a volcano. "Who does she think she is? Refusing to play the piano for me like she owns the place! So what if the first time we met, I accidentally knocked over the ladder she happened to be standing on? So what if she sprained her wrist and lost her regular position as a result? The great Kotori Teruhashi was entering her future stage! It's her fault for obstructing that!"

"Stop being snooty."

I puffed my cheek.

"Can't you be angrier for my sake?"

"You're hard to get used to as is. I don't blame her for holding a grudge." He returned to highlighting. "And?"

"And?"

A stilted silence elapsed. I avoided facing him.

"Have the rest of them tried anything else?"

My lips tugged downward. "I keep telling you it's not that serious—"

"Vandalizing your stage outfit and belongings and tripping you on stage before a live audience is 'not that serious'?" Okito, who braced everything with an indifferent view on life, scowled with sufficient malice to chill me to the bone. "Your upperclassmen can be jealous of your talent all they want, but you're under no obligation to let them trample all over you."

Crossing my arms behind my back, I swerved around. "Okito, your eyebrows." I tapped between mine for emphasis. "You'll get wrinkles."

"Kotori."

"Their petty pranks and ridicule don't bother me at all," I confessed. "Simply because I stole the spotlight from them, they bare their fangs in embarrassing ways. Sooner or later, whether I tell the supervisor or not, they'll give it up."

"And if they don't?" he pressed. "You'll wait until they drive you out? Jeer you to the point you're forced to give up what you love?"

"I've stopped loving it a while ago."

He batted his eyelids. Evidently, he didn't catch my whisper.

I smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow, worrywart." With a wave over my shoulder, I shut the door behind me. "And I'm grabbing the last two carrot muffins you baked on my way out."

"Two? Last time I checked, there were five— Kotori? Did you eat them while I wasn't looking?"

I giggled on my way downstairs and out of the kitchen. Cradling one in my free hand, I took a big bite of the other. The blend of cinnamon and carrot sent my tastebuds over the moon.

"It's not my fault you're an amazing cook."

The following evening, Okito arrived at my doorstep at seven sharp.

I excitedly stared up at him.

His look soured.

"I'd ask what that expression means, but I also think I'll regret it."

My jaw collapsed. "Hey!"

"Oki, Oki!"

My little brother poked his way between us, tugging desperately at Okito's pants. He knocked his head back, stars dancing in his doe-eyes.

Softening, Okito hoisted him into his arms.

"Hey, Sota. What do you suppose is wrong with your sister?"

"A lot!"

"Excuse me!"

Okito interjected, insisting he meant no harm. After promising Sota he'd play with him another time, the two of us were off. My wooden sandals and yukata didn't make movements easy.

After sauntering a hefty distance, he heaved.

"Why're you angry? Did I say something to hurt your feelings?"

"Hint," I pettily replied. "Something about me is different from usual. What is it?"

His pause was painstaking. In one fluid movement, he ducked over to my ear. "You gained some weight, didn't you? There's need to worry about it."

"Don't make me hit you!" I extended my index finger to my head. "I'm wearing these bunny ears! Notice it! Comment on it! Ask me questions about why I have it on!"

"It comes back to that after all." He dramatically sighed for the second time.

I fumed beneath a pout.

"You're demanding." The corner of his mouth lifted. "If I say you're cute will you drop it?"

"Depends how cute."

"Heart-stopping."

The entrance to the festival came into view. Mouth-watering scents and happy-go-lucky chitchat followed suit. I elevated a fist.

"Perfect! Now to find a handsome guy to take advantage of and trick into buying me grub."

As I positioned my palm above my forehead, scanning the premises, Okito deadpanned.

"Did you blow your allowance on desserts again?"

"Of course I did." I stopped inches from his face. "Oh, look. A handsome guy to take advantage of."

He seized my collar. I was left no choice but to be dragged to his whims, deep inside the teeming crowds.

"Why invite me if I'm going to end up treating you?"

"Elementary, my dear Okito. A hottie like me deserves being waited on hand and foot."

"Act cocky. You're not getting a thing."

"I'll behave. I will, so spoil me. Please."

Our evening launched into a whirlpool of merriment from there. Okito, being the studious workaholic he was, excelled at every game he put his mind to. I stood nowhere close to an equal, not that it stopped me from challenging him to every booth we passed. Long accustomed to my selfish demands, he went along with my proclamations and treated me to a fair amount of goods courtesy of his generous heart. Toward the end of the night, when others departed to find a proper spot to view tonight's firework display, I dragged him by the hand up countless flights of steps.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" He swatted aside branches. "We're losing signs of civilization."

Munching on the last of my cotton candy, I flashed him a grin. "I scoped out the area beforehand. Trust me. From higher ground, we'll see them without a hitch."

My shoes slicked from under me. I flailed my arms in an attempt to stabilize my balance only to slam against a solid surface. Okito positioned his palms on my shoulders from behind, successfully steadying me.

"Not unless you hurt yourself." I steered my attention onto the blades of grass, muddy from rain that had fallen the night prior. He frowned. "Let's turn back now."

Deafening bangs erupted. My heart lurched a beat.

"Later! It's started."

Shaking free of his hold, I hastened down the uneven path.

"Kotori!" he shouted after me.

Past the canopies and the trail illuminated by random bursts in the sky, I reached the clearing. Countless fireworks sprung into the dark of night, exploding in various awe-inspiring colours. I absorbed each beautiful streak, absolutely immersed. I sensed Okito's piercing stare. Without my awareness, he'd taken the spot adjacent to me.

"So beautiful," I gushed. "They can pass as sprinkles almost."

His nonchalance suffered. "You..."

A laugh spilled out of me.

My shoulders slumped. I intertwined my fingers behind my back.

Maybe now, I could say it.

I had to.

"I've made up my mind."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Don't tell me you want me to bake you donuts with sprinkles?"

"I won't protest if you do, but no. Not that." I flickered my focus skyward, raising my pitch so it wouldn't be drowned out by the fireworks. "I'm quitting drama."

"What?"

"You're in the Cooking Club, right? I'll submit an admission form. No favouritism, though, just 'cause you're Vice President. I think once I figure out how not to burn desserts, I'll make it far as a pastry chef—"

"Is this another one of your jokes?"

His sharp inquiry caused me to stiffen. I gnawed the inside of my cheek. But, burying my apprehension the best I could, I stared levelly at him.

"Does it sound like one?"

I'd stunned him into complete silence.

I forced a chuckle. "If I tell my dad I'm pursuing the same dream as him now, do you think he'll keep in touch more? Maybe I'd have to bring him one of my desserts first. He is hopeless."

"Kotori."

"Those girls have nothing to do with it, before you ask. I decided on this myself. As much fun singing, dancing and acting are, I want to try my chances at this. I do." I smiled crookedly. "There's nothing I love more than desserts. How hard can making them actually be? You started baking recently and look how great you already are—"

He clasped my forearms with desperation I didn't anticipate.

"Okito, you're hurting me."

The pain and distress in his gaze silenced me.

"I'll talk to your supervisor on your behalf. Administration itself. This time, you can't stop me."

I clenched my jaw. "I told you—"

"If it's not the bullying, then why? You love it. You're a glutton—the biggest—but on stage, you shine brighter than stars themselves. And you'll let those bullies rob you of it? There's no way I'll let them!"

He'd been by my side longer than I could remember. This might be a selfish decision. It certainly was the worst possible timing to bring it up. But, I had no doubts. If I ran from how I felt about this now, I'd never forgive myself.

"Okito," I said, flatly. "Whether you approve of it or not... believe what I said or not... I'm becoming a pastry chef. I'll become the best in the world if that's what it'll take for you to recognize me. My desserts will put professionals to shame!"

He shook his head, as if through with listening. "You're making a mistake. You'll throw it all away? All those years—for something you have no skills in?"

"I'll start learning now."

His fingers dug into my skin, prickling me, stabbing my chest itself. We'd never argued on this extent before; raised our voices.

"Out of all your selfish demands, this wins by a landslide," he said. "Let alone bake, you've never successfully cooked a dish—made a flawless sandwich. Like Midas who turned everything he touched to gold, you burn everything in your wake. And you expect me to nod and go along with it?"

I set my jaw before it could tremble. "If you're my friend, you'll support me."

"I have supported you! Our entire lives! But if you're discarding it all for some half-hearted whim, something you clearly put no thought into, I can't. I'd be damned if I let you ruin yourself like that."

"This was never up to you anyway!" I blurted in a flurry of rage. "I—I don't need you to support me. I'll do this all alone if I have to! Be my own cheerleader!"

My vision blurred. I forced the lump in my throat back.

"Even though you'll regret it?"

"I'm doing this because I don't want to have regrets!" I shoved his chest. "From this moment forward, your friend status has been revoked! We're rivals!"

"But—"

"A person shouldn't be worried about their rival, or else it's proof they're looking down on them." I extended my forefinger at his chest. "Until the day you enjoy a dessert of mine and acknowledge this dream, I don't want to hear anymore words on this matter."

His bangs cast shadows over his eyelids. "You're going to be that obstinate about it?"

"I will." I could hardly muster the words—speak with my heart shattering into fragile pieces.

"Then, I won't acknowledge you. Neither as a rival. Nor a friend. Try to shove your desserts down my throat all you want, they'll never be good enough to change my mind."

I said what I did, but him complying so readily... cutting ties so easily...

"This is cruel, Kotori. Of course I'll worry. Of course I'll yearn to talk to you every day. Is this my karma for wishing you'd stop viewing me as a friend? If so, I didn't want this resolution. I can't approve of what you're doing either. Agh." He clenched his bangs. "This puts me in a bind."

My back knocked against a tree. Caged between his arms, his large body, I dumbly met his despair-ridden countenance.

"Can't there be a third option?" His nose, ever so slightly, grazed mine. Our breaths mingled. "If not a rival or friend, then... then please..."

His lips, centimetres from mine, stagnated. My pulse quickened, the sounds of the ongoing fireworks null in comparison to the thunderous rhythm of my heart.

"You'd rather the term 'nemesis'?" I murmured.

"You should cure your stupidity."

I parted my lips to defend myself. In that same interval, he clasped my cheeks and dragged my mouth to his.

***

Hopefully Okito and Kotori's big fight and their current relationship makes more sense now?? And that this flashback was enjoyable to read too!

Be sure to vote & comment your thoughts! <3