Work Text:
"Hey, wanna play chess?"
Goro had seen you ask other kids before running up to him with your box. He had wondered what its contents were. You had been carrying it everywhere with you the past few days. From up close, the lid resembled a chess board.
"Sure. Let's have a fun game!"
Goro could entertain you this once and maybe get some enjoyment out of it, too. The next day, you would go back to ignoring him. He was content with that and wouldn't bother you.
"Let's play again, Akechi-kun!"
You came back. As soon as you caught sight of him, you abandoned your friends to invite him.
"Sure, we can play in the break."
Would you ask tomorrow too? What about the day after?
You didn't have the box with you. It had to come to an end eventually. He was about to turn away when he caught you waving at him with blue cards in your hand.
"I only have one set, we can't play the traditional game. But we can divide them and play 1v1."
"I'm not familiar with the rules."
"I'll explain while we play."
Some days, you were with your friends or made other new friends. They had pokemon cards, too. You played the traditional game with them. You laughed with them, too.
It was easier to laugh with you. Those times were the best. He didn't want to share you.
Even when you were with someone else, he stayed around. He didn't mean to listen in, that's just what happened when he stayed close.
"You do know that the new kid is going to leave soon."
If only that wasn't true. It wasn't official. Not that it mattered, everyone still knew. Teachers and students alike, himself included.
"No. So what if he does? I like playing with Akechi-kun."
Getting invested in him wouldn't pay out. He had moved three times in the last month alone. And it would happen again.
"Good news! I bought us a second Pokemon card set!"
You explained the rules all over again. It was more complex than the simple 1v1. He preferred chess. You preferred Pokemon. As long as you had fun together, he'd be down for anything.
The news of a new family came as a shock. Too soon. Not now. Not ever.
His school didn't change, however. Everything was fine. He could still spend time with you.
"Do you... want to come over and play Pokemon?"
It's the first time he invited you to anything.
He wouldn't tell you that his way to school was extended by twenty minutes or that he knew his parents not any better than you did.
If he didn't speak it aloud, it wouldn't be true.
If he showed that he was a normal boy who fit in, he wouldn't have to speak about it at all.
"I got a phone! Look!"
It was hard not to when it filled his whole vision.
"Do you have a phone too?"
"I do."
You snatched it out of his hands with enthusiasm.
"I'll exchange our numbers."
How could he say no to that?
You pulled out a piece of paper. Lines and colors formed the vague shape of a Pokemon. He didn't remember its name. You had rambled about it to a friend last Tuesday while experimenting with colored pencils.
"This morning, I learned how to set a background... It matches mine now. You'll keep it, right?"
The Pokemon stared at him from his phone when you gave it back to him, cheerfully smiling. You, not the Pokemon. That had more of a demonic frown going on. If that was its face.
How could he say no to you?
A bunch of other students were already surrounding you, asking to be your partner for the school trip. You wouldn't notice one less amidst all these options.
"Do you have a partner for the school trip, Akechi-kun?"
Your voice startled him. He was convinced he would only get to hear your voice in distant chatter today. He averted his head, hiding the feelings expressed by his eyes. It was easier to keep his voice steady and controlled. Cold, unbothered, not caring much about the trip was the tone he was going for.
"No. I think I'll wait until the end and ask whoever is left."
"Do you not want to go with me?"
Him, out of everyone? Say no more. Especially not sounding so dejected and sad. Not because of him. Not if he can help it.
Your hand bumped into his. His first instinct was to back off. It happened again. He caught you looking and quickly turning away, inspecting the flowers to your side.
After the next contact, Goro took your hand in his. You faced ahead with a big smile.
This was silly. You could've asked.
"Best friends forever."
Your wide smile turns to him expectantly, waiting for a a reply.
"Yes. Best friends... forever."
You squeezed his hand. It was a promise.
A promise that wasn't his to make. At the end of the week he would be in a different city. The only reason he stayed in this family so long was so he could go on this school trip.
It was time to say goodbye and come clean. Atleast he should. But there was simply no way he could face you. So he didn't.
He let you down. He made you sad.
You saw what he really was now. An unwanted liar, dissapointment, coward, traitor, who broke promises in record time.
You didn't give up on him. Even kilometers away, your presence stayed a constant in his life. Message after message came in. None got a response.
[ I heard that you won't come to school anymore ]
[ I hope you're ok ]
[ Did I do something wrong? ]
[ Miss u ]
Apologies and questions turned into updates about your life. Anything from big changes to little afterthoughts.
[ A shoe center opened across the street. Crazy how close. Now I don't have to take the bus for an hour just to get freaking shoes of all things. ]
[ I see u read this. Respond. Respond. ]
[ Can you believe I got full marks on the test you escaped? 100%! no kidding ]
[ qwrtzuppadfgjllyxvnmmnbvvcylkjhfdapoureteq ]
[ I just saw the PRETTIEST bird. If it had stayed a second longer, I could have shown you. ]
[picture: A birdless tree]
Why?
No one wanted him around. Not his father who abandoned the family. Not his mother who left him too early. Not the adults who said they'd give him a chance just to give up and pass him to the next. Not the other kids who stopped caring after the smallest distance or didn't bother wasting energy on the kid who would leave soon in the first place.
So why? Why you?
For the first month, Goro's fingers hovered over the keyboard every so often. He wanted to reply.
That you didn't need to worry.
That he missed you too.
Maybe where every new family was located so you could follow it.
You probably didn't care about any of this. You never saw him. The strangers he tried to call family didn't concern you in the slightest. They were replaced by other strangers before they mattered to him.
You should concentrate on school. The important things in life. Not him. He only dissapointed you.
He stopped opening the messages. Not even granting you a 'read'. A pathetic attempt to keep you away because he couldn't turn you down directly.
But every day without a message, he feared that the silence became his new forever.
He read every single message.
In a constant state of anticipation, the vibration of any phone send him on auto pilot to check his notifications. It was bad enough to wake him up for a sleepless night shared under only the same stars. This was unhealthy. He was fully aware.
He spent money and tried this food you mentioned, for fucks sake! Out of desperate for some kind of connection to you. It tasted just as gross as it had looked in the picture you had sent and worse than it had sounded in your complaint.
Next time, you should send him a recommendation.
He could ask for it. But he couldn't. Not after ghosting you all this time.
He should let you go.
But every time he went to change his phone background, he couldn't delete the bad Pokemon drawing you had proudly cursed his phone with.
You had other friends. You didn't need him.
Then you sent a picture that told him exactly where you were right this moment.
Five minutes.
You were a five minute walk away.
He was ready to leave the house before he could compute.
No. It was wrong. You didn't know each other anymore.
He scrolled through your messages and stopped at a picture from a few days ago. It was a screenshot of a very early time with the caption "sstayd Wake till noe. do not receommd". In the background of the screenshot was your phone's wallpaper: The same vague shape of some Pokemon of which he never learned the name.
Well. He would be careful not to let you see him. He added a hat. Then a scarf. Almost a full year had passed. You wouldn't recognise him if you did see him anyways.
To be certain, he also put on the winter coat. It was new from last winter and you had never seen him wear it.
It had made sense when he stormed out without second thought. Now not so much. No, it had been very stupid all along - why did he do that. Why did he ever think it was acceptable to do.
You spotted him exactly because of the get up. It's summer. Literally everyone else walked around with the least clothes possible.
Right, right! That's why it's so hot. The summer heat in winter clothes. Not because he was an embarrassing fool.
Why didn't you ignore him when you had the chance, pretended you didn't notice him?
Your face shined brighter than he remembered and your hand was warmer, too, as you dragged him to an open cafe.
"Did I not mention why I'm here? I guess the new episode of The Amazing Digital Circus aired at the same day. Must've slipped my mind. I'm here with my family to visit their friends. We've been here for two days. They're basically strangers to me so I stroll around town most of the time."
"I see. Have you been to the karaoke next door? I hear students talk about it every day. It might be worth checking out. I haven't been there myself so I can't tell if it's actually good or an exaggeration."
"I haven't even noticed it. Maybe I would go if I was here with like, five more people. Going to a karaoke isn't an activity I'd considered by myself."
"Same here."
Two friends meeting by chance on the weekend. That's what this casual conversation implied.
As if you haven't spent time apart.
The meaningless conversation slowed down when a waiter brought the menu and you looked at the options.
"They have a lot of drinks here."
"And desserts, too."
He couldn't take it. You were too nice. To lovely. Too good to be left behind by someone like him.
He missed you. He missed you. So much. He missed you. Dammit, he still missed you. He had no right to feel this way. He was the one who left. Who never replied. He shouldn't be allowed to sit here with you.
Every single second with him was a mistake.
When the waiter left with your orders, Goro put his head on the table and blocked the light radiating from your face with his phone. Stupid. Why were you here? Why did you bother, taking time out of your day for him?
Even now, all he was good for was letting you down. After minutes of typing, unable to look you into the eyes, all he was capable of was
[ Why? ]
He let his hand sink and laid the phone down.
Don't smile. Don't be happy to see him.
"I'm hungry."
... What? Oh, you thought he asked why you brought him here.
Yes, you couldn't read minds. You wouldn't know what's going on in his. How much he had going on with these three letters. How they repeated endlessly and formed new questions every day.
Why.
It asked for more than Goro could wrap his head around. What a dumb, open ended question. He had set you up for failure. You could only have given a false answer.
"And I want you around."
Your unprompted addition went straight to his heart, shattering the molten glass.
"No- what I did to you was horrible. I was a bad friend. No, less than that. A friend doesn't read hundreds of messages and leaves them unopened. For all you know, I could have died!"
"You have something to say to me. And it's not that."
He straightened his back and put his hands hands in his lap, leaving the phone on the table.
Despite all the insults he had drowned himself in, Goro wasn't stupid.
Forget about why.
"Sorry."
That should replace it.
"I'm sorry."
Sorry for not telling you that he would leave.
Sorry for not saying goodbye.
Sorry for the silence.
Sorry for being like this.
Sorry for the late apology.
He should never have shut you out.
His future would be brighter with you in it.
He knew because you had single handedly lit his past up with so much light, he had been able to see and move forward.
"You still have the background!"
"Don't look at that! It doesn't mean..."
He snatched his phone from the table.
Doesn't mean what? It did mean the world.
He's hopeless.
"I'm not that much into Pokemon anymore anyway."
He knew. You had told him about a new interest every other week.
"Why don't we change it, for old times sake? I have a bunch of good Persona wallpapers."
He hasn't been able to do it. This was an opportunity to leave the past behind him. He passed his phone to you.
"Go on. You can change it."
You stood up and turned around, held the phone high, and took a selfie.
"Sike! It's not going to be Persona. Who cares about Persona? Let this serve you as a reminder that I exist."
"Will we meet again?"
"Only if you want to. I'll be here for two weeks and you have my number."
"I do."
"I'll be awaiting your text."
[ Would you like to play chess at my place next Sunday? It's okay if you hate me but I hope you can give me a chance.]
Your reply was instant.
[ Yes. Prepare to loose. I have trained since our last match. And just so you know, a shirt is enough. We're not going ice skating, nor will winter be back by then. ]
He nervously typed. He wouldn't have repeated it. What did you take him for?
It almost slipped his mind that you weren't serious. This was a joke.
[ If it wasn't for your reminder, I would've greeted you with a scarf around my neck. ]
... This was okay.
[ I'm sitting at the dinner table and can't leave. helppppp meeee ]
[ Go Butterfree, I choose you!]
[ picture: A butterfly on the rim of a glass beside an empty but dirty plate ]
[ Haha, I lied! I'm not over Pokemon yet. Face me in battle!!! ]
Maybe more than okay. Fantastic in the most awesome way.
[ I'll leave this to you, Pidgey!]
[ picture: A blurry bird in the sky outside of a window ]