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"..You don't have what it takes to become a star."
Was the last thing Rui ever told Tsukasa.
He shouldnt miss Tsukasa. He barely knew the man. They only met a couple of weeks ago. Rui had every right to hate that man, for the horrible things he told Nene, to his singular goal being stardom -- Rui should not miss him.
And he doesnt, For three long weeks, Rui thought about everything but Tsukasa. His life goes on, he even made up with Nene. The hole in his heart spoke against him. The feeling of velvety yellow tulips scraping against his throat spoke against him. Yet, he couldnt bring himself to face Tsukasa. The anger which fueled him to leave Tsukasa that summer even had almost completely left him. Leaving in its place a hollow shell of the man Rui once was, and two whole yellow tulips.
Rui had started assembling the flowers once they starting coming more than one at a time. Call it morbid curiosity, but it made Rui feel whole. To know his love for Tsukasa ran so deep that it would eventually kill him -- Rui was happy to never speak to Tsukasa again. Atleast, thats what he told himself. Day in and day out while ignoring every glance the blonde man sent his way. He wondered how much longer he could lie to himself.
The petals were becoming increasingly harder to hide from his parents. He knows he should tell them, they have a right to know that their son is dying but, he cant bring himself to vocalize his feelings for a man he barely knew. Barely knew would be an understatement, if the shared moments in those few weeks actually meant anything to Tsukasa. It is clear as day that it does not - especially if his words from that day were anything to go off of.
.
..
... Nene and Tsukasa had made up. The younger girl was currently crying in his lap, begging him to "Just listen to Tsukasa, Damn it!" And god, how much he wish he could. He felt every flower bloom in his chest, the pain a subtle reminder of why he couldnt fulfill his friends wish. He never told Nene just how far the "hate" for Tsukasa ran, yet, He couldnt pass off the look in her eyes when he told her "I wont stop you no matter what you decide to do." as anything besides knowing. Knowing every part of him before he himself did. Although, he doubted that Nene knew he was bent over the sink all night, creating the prettiest mess he had ever seen.
He overheard his classmates talking about another show taking place on the Wonder Stage in just a few weeks. Some part of him knew that Nene would take his words to heart and listen, and the rest of him couldnt stand to see the two of them together. Its not like they were dating, Nene told Rui she liked Emu only a couple weeks after they met, however, he couldnt help but notice that there werent petals coming out anymore. Full bloomed flowers.. they were pretty too.