“Just a Girl” SayakaxYuu One-shot

Just a Girl

(SayakaxYuu)

One-shot

Day 1

School ID. Check.

Train Pass. Check.

Books. Check.

Phone. Check.

MP3 player. Check.

Am I missing anything? I checked around my bag.  Once I confirmed I had everything I said goodbye to my mother and headed out the door.  Wait, do I have my keys? I fished around my pocket and felt the tip of the cold metal.  I popped my headphones in my ear and played my favorite song.  I placed my ID around my neck and smirked at the picture.  I had come out fine but stupid Yuuka had crossed out my name.  Instead of Sayaka, she replaced it with Saya-chan.  I hated that nickname, but it was Yuuka, so she could get away with anything.  I waited patiently for the train. I should have brought a book with me. I always felt awkward just standing there with nothing to look at.  The train arrived moments later. I looked at the watch. Just on time.

I leaned against the door and stuffed my hands in my pockets.  Maybe if I concentrate on the music I won’t feel so awkward.  I spaced out for a bit, but then someone said something to me.

“Excuse me.” I moved to my left and let the person pass. It was a girl.  Only this wasn’t just any girl. This girl was gorgeous.  She stood across from me and I felt my insides moving around. Is that even possible? I locked eyes with her for a moment and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.  She’s just a girl. What the hell is wrong with me? I shook my head. She’s just a girl.  She’s human. I broke away from our locked eyes and stared at some random gum on the floor.

When’s my stop coming? This feels so weird.  Several minutes later, I heard the name of my stop and I turned around and walked out the door. That girl was still inside. I wonder what stops she gets off at.

But I guess it really doesn’t matter. I’ll never see her again.

*****

Day 2

Another day of school and another day of the same exact routine.  I said goodbye to my mother and walked to the train station.  At least today is a little warmer. I opted not to wear my school sweater today.  I didn’t want to start sweating or anything.  The train came on time like always and I walked in and stood in my spot.  I had a book in my hand today.  I didn’t want to go through the same awkwardness as yesterday.  I started reading and didn’t even notice the train stopping.  I lost my concentration when I felt someone brush against me.  I turned to my side and my eyes widened.  It was her again. I looked around all freaked out.  Why is she standing there? There’s more room on the other side. There are seats! Why is she standing right next to me? I looked at her again and she gave me a small smile.  I felt like melting.  Wasn’t the AC on? What’s going on? I cleared my throat and tried my best to keep reading.  I couldn’t focus, though.  I kept feeling her brush against me.  She was either fixing her hair or checking her phone.  I could feel the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Someone pass me a towel please! I can’t take this.

My stop finally came and I practically ran out.  I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding in. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and straightened out.  Damn, I’ve only seen this girl twice and I’m acting like such a sissy.  This isn’t cool.

“Saya-chan!” I saw Yuuka running in the distance.  She was waving happily at me.  Come on, Kitahara, keep your cool.  You don’t want Yuuka to start worrying about you.  She reached me and stopped to catch her breath.

“Come on, the bus is going to leave without us!” She grabbed me by the hand and we ran to the bus.

Thoughts of the girl from the train quickly disappeared.

*****

Day 3

Ah crap, I’m gonna be late. I’m gonna miss my train!! I ran to the station but the train was already passing.  Shit. I hope Yuuka waits for me at the bus stop.  I stood against the wall and crossed my arms.  I knew I should have had everything prepared last night.  I spent too much time this morning trying to print out my work and that had made me late.  If there’s one thing I hate, it’s breaking my morning routine.  At least the next train came quickly.  I walked in and sat down.  I don’t feel like standing today.  I looked around.  Of course there were different people on this train.  I guess I won’t see that girl today.  Good thing, too. If she sat next to me I don’t know how I would react.

It’s strange isn’t it? I mean I’ve only seen her two times and she can already make me turn into mush.  I don’t even know her name.  I’m such a loser.  I can’t even go up to her.  She’ll probably think I’m weird.  Ah, whatever. She’s probably already where she needs to be anyway. I won’t see her today.  I sat back and enjoyed the music playing.  I hummed along with it.  This train was really empty, too. I would take it everyday, but I need to get to the bus on time.  I stared at the floor in boredom and then I saw some feet pass by me.  The person sat next to me and I looked at them.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

It was her.  She gave me a wide grin.

“Did you get held up, too?”

I was at a loss for words.  Come on, think Kitahara! What word do you say when you want to agree? Ummm…OH!

“Yes, I did.”  She gave me another smile and went to check her phone.

Geez, even her voice is cute.  I wished she could have said more, but she continued looking at her phone.  I felt so nervous.  I coughed and played around with the strap on my own phone.  I felt it vibrate and I had gotten a message from Yuuka.

“Where are you? The bus is late too, but it can come at any moment.”

“I’m almost there. Just one more stop. Wait for me.”

“Ok. I will.”

I got up and stood by the door.  I looked back at the girl.  She gave me a small wave.  I remained serious, mostly because my heart was beating at mach speed.  I waved back and once the doors opened, I ran out.  She must think I’m a dork now.  I ran down the steps, making sure to jump before I reached the last few.  Thank the heavens for pants.  If I was wearing my skirt today, every single pervert in the area would have gotten a full view.

I spotted Yuuka looking desperately in my direction and at the bus that was stationed at the bus stop.

“Get on it, Yuuka!” I ran at full speed and stepped foot inside right before he closed the doors.

I’ll say it again. I hate when my morning routine is ruined.

*****

Day 4

Even though yesterday’s routine was ruined, today was a lot better.  I walked out of my house on time. In fact, I think I was a bit early today.  I waited for the train and it came at the usual time.  I walked in, feeling a bit anxious to see the girl.  Today I would try and talk to her.  It’s not like she would bite my head off or anything.  Her stop finally came and she got on.  Only there was someone with her this time.  It was a guy.  He had his arm around her shoulders.  She looked at me for a second and flashed me a tiny smile. Does she know what she’s doing to me? That’s not fair.  I just started liking her and this is what happens? She’s taken? And by a guy.  I’m an idiot.

I didn’t smile back and instead went to look at my phone.  I’m stupid.  I mean, I shouldn’t be mad, but I can’t help it.  I don’t fall for people that easily.  I should have just ignored her.  I’m taking a different train tomorrow.

I watched as the guy played with her hair and I couldn’t help but feel the jealousy boiling up within me.  He held her hand and whispered something in her ear.  I expected her to giggle or something but her expression remained unchanged.  She looked almost….upset.

Whatever, she’s probably mad at him or something.  My stop came and I got off.  I turned back to look at her through the glass doors.  The look in her eyes….scared me a little.  They were dark, but almost pleading.  I turned back and tried to bang on the door but it was too late.  The train was already moving.  There’s something wrong.  I can tell.

I have to see her tomorrow. I better see her tomorrow.

******

Day 5

I ran out of my house. Today I didn’t care if I had all of my things.  I decided I would leave earlier and get off at her stop.  I caught the train and felt the anxiety hit.  I hope I’m not making a mistake.  I hope I’m not overreacting.  I just couldn’t get that look in her eyes out of my head.  There was something wrong.  Her stop finally came and I stepped off. I looked around and found somewhere to sit.  She might show up at any moment.  Keep your cool, Kitahara.  I took out my notebook and tried to study.  I tried my best to focus but it was hard.

“Hey, it’s you.”  I looked up.  It was her.  She had a cut on her cheek.  I stared at it and she seemed to notice.  She cleared her throat and tucked back a strand of her hair. She sat down next to me expecting me to say some words.  What do I say? I didn’t think this far.  Now that I’m here how do I explain that I worried about her yesterday? How do I say that I, a complete stranger, was worried about her well being?  I was probably making a million different faces right now.  She turned to me and I noticed her neck was bruised.

“Are you ok?” I blurted out. She covered her neck with her hand.

“I’m fine.”

“I…well..yesterday…I…saw the way you looked at me when I got off and…I don’t know, but it worried me a little.  You probably think I’m weird.  I don’t even know your name and I’m worrying about you. I…well…I..”

“Yuu.”

“Huh?”

“My name. Yuu is my name.  You’re not weird anymore.  You know my name.”

“Oh…uh…my name is Sayaka. It’s nice to meet you.” I extended my hand forward and waited for her to grab it.  She didn’t so I pulled back.  She looked at me for a minute and noticing the frown that was forming on my face, she began to laugh. I pouted.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me. I’m trying to be polite here.” Her laughing ceased and she grabbed my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

We heard the rumbling from the train and she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the end of the platform.

“But I always stand over there!” I was trying to make my voice louder but she still ignored me.  We got in and sat down.  There was nobody around.

“Are we late or something?” She shook her head.

“Not at all.  There’s nothing to be late to.”

“Huh? What do you mean? I have to catch the bus.”

“Nope. You don’t have to.  We’re skipping school.”

“Whaaat? No way.  I can’t skip school.  My friend is waiting for me at the bus stop and my mother would kill me if she found out, which she will.  My school will call her.”

“You need to live a little. It’s just one day.  Besides, don’t you want to start your weekend early?”

“But…I have a test today.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know someplace we can go.”

My head started to hurt.  I had just met this girl and already she was leading me into something crazy.  I can’t believe I’m cutting school.  What if the cops catch us? What if we get kidnapped by some psycho?  What if Yuuka gets mad at me?

Yuuka….

I should send her a text.

“Hey, get on the bus without me.  I’m not going to school.”

“What? Why not? Are you feeling ok? Are you sick? Why didn’t you let me know last night? If I had known then I would be with you right now.”

“Woah, woah, Yuuka. Calm down.  I’m ok.  It’s a really long story.”

“As long as The Never Ending Story?”

I giggled a bit.  Yuu looked at me strangely.

“I’m sorry. My friend is being stupid right now.” Yuu nodded her head and looked out the window. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair.  It was so shiny.

I went back to my phone.

“No, Yuuka.  I’ll talk to you about it later.  I know I’m going to get into trouble, but it’s ok.  You still have Nocchi to bug.”

“Aw…fine.  Have fun with whoever you’re with.”

Wait…how does she know I’m with somebody? Well…I guess it is kind of obvious.  What’s the point of cutting if you’re going to do something by yourself?  I put my phone away and Yuu looked at me.  I was trying to find the right words to say.

“Um…you have really nice hair.”

“Hmm, do I? I’ve been thinking of cutting it.”

“What? No way. Don’t do that.  It’s really nice.”  She smirked at me and poked my side.

“You’re really cute, you know.” I was a little shocked by what she had said.  I had never considered myself cute at all.

“Oh…thanks.” I tried to hide my blush.  I stole a glance at her neck and noticed the bruise again.  I was so tempted to ask her about it.  The entire reason why I had gotten off her stop was to find out if she was ok.  That guy seemed shady. I noticed her smile.

“I bet you’re wondering about this bruise and about the cut on my cheek.”

“I…no….actually, yes…I am.”

“You saw that guy I was with yesterday, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” I might have said that too harshly. She was aware of the change in my tone of voice.

“Does that make you jealous?”  I might as well be honest.

“Yes… it does.”

“I see. Are you interested in me?” Well duh.

“Yes.”

She giggled and kissed my cheek.  My hand shot up and touched the area she had kissed.  I wasn’t expecting her to say “I like you, too” since it seemed like she was already taken.  She didn’t tell me more about him, though.

“This is the last stop on the train. Please take all your belongings with you and have a nice day.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the best park in the world.”

“A park? What are we going to do there?”

“Relax.  Enjoy the fact that we have life.”

“Um…ok.”

I guess she’s really into just being happy.  The cuts and bruises on her face still troubled me greatly and I made it a point to ask her again. We sat down on the grass and faced the small pond that was smack dab in the middle of the park.

“You know, I’ve never realized how much I take for granted.  Waking up every morning, having friends, being able to walk, being able to breathe.  I never take notice of all of that.”

She did have a point.  We’re all so caught up in the latest trends and making money and we forget all the good things we already have.

“You’re right.” She lied back and pulled me down with her.

“I’m sorry. I’m being a bit weird right now.  What grade are you in?”

“I’m a junior.  I’m 16.”

“Ah, I’m a senior. I’m 18.”

“Are you getting ready for college?”

“Yes, I’m very nervous about it but I’m still looking forward to it.”

“That’s great. What are you majoring in?”

“Well, criminal justice.  I want to bring down the bad guys.” I laughed.  This girl was just so care-free.  I turned to the side and propped up my head with my hand.

“So..can I ask about those cuts?” She stared up at the sky and sighed.

“It was that guy.  He did it to me.”

“So why are you still with him?”

“I’m breaking it off with him later.  I’m just scared is all.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No, it’s ok.  This has been going on long enough.  I have to do this on my own.”

“But what if he hurts you again? I don’t want him to.”

What am I saying? I barely know her and I’m already willing to do anything for her.  I can’t help it.

“He won’t hurt me. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I…”

“I’ll be ok…I promise.”

“Pinky swear?” She brought up her hand.

“Pinky swear.”

It was a childish act but somehow it really made me feel better. She got up and I followed behind her.

“Let’s go get a bite to eat, ok?”

“Alright.”

*****

“Yuuka, I’m telling you, she wasn’t some stalker pedophile.  She’s only two years older than me.”  Yuuka tugged on my sleeves.

“No….that’s creepy.  She dragged you out of school and everything.”

“She didn’t drag me out of school because I was never in school to begin with.”

“See, exactly! She’s a bad influence. I’m waking up early and taking the train with you on Monday.”

“No, you don’t have to. I’m fine.”

“Nope, nothing you say will change my mind.”

“Fine, fine.  Once you meet her, you’ll like her, but don’t like her too much.”

“Oooh…I see where you’re going with this.”

“Yes, now shut up.”

“Awww, Saya-chan and Yuu-chan.  How should I mix your names up? Hey! Yuuka! That’s so funny.”  She started laughing like a maniac and I just sat there. She stopped laughing and pouted.  I couldn’t remain quiet. I started laughing right along with her. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. Oh Yuuka, you are just too funny.

*****

Final day

“So how many more stops?”

“Next one.”

“Ok, good. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You’re putting me in an awkward position you know.  I hardly even know her that well and I already have you all up in her business.”

“Whaat? I’m just trying to watch out for you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The doors opened but there was no sign of Yuu. I walked to the door and stuck my head out.  She wasn’t around.  I went to sit back down.  I guess she got sick over the weekend.

The thought of that guy doing something to her never even crossed my mind.

“Guess she’s sick.”

“Aww, oh well, I’ll just take the train with you tomorrow.”

“Man, you sure are nosy.”

“Yup.”

We arrived to school but there was an announcement.

“Everyone please report to the auditorium. I repeat, everyone please report to the auditorium.”

“Huh? What’s going on?” Yuuka just shrugged her shoulders and left her things in her locker.  We both headed to the auditorium and found some seats.

We waited a while. I guess they were waiting for the first bell to ring. I heard some girls chattering next to me.

“Yeah, I think he stabbed her 20 times.  There was a lot of rage in that guy.”

“But why did he do it?”

“She broke up with him.  He couldn’t take it, so he killed her.  He killed himself right after.”

“Wow, what a crazy bastard.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It couldn’t be her, right? No…no…of course not.  She’s fine. She’s just sick at home.

The bell rang and the principal began to speak.

“Girls, today I come to you with some heartbreaking news.” She cleared her throat.

“Saturday night, a senior from our sister school was murdered.  She got into an altercation with her boyfriend and he decided to take her life and then his own.”

No.

“This news affects us greatly.  She was just a girl like any of you.  She was doing good in school, had her mind set on her goals and she was always helping the community.”

No.

“Her name was Kikkawa Yuu.”

No. It’s not her.  It can’t be her. I refuse to believe it was her.

A picture of her was shown on the projector.

Everything froze.

I remembered the words that she had said to me that Friday.

“Relax.  Enjoy the fact that we have life.”

She knew.  She knew he was going to kill her.  Why didn’t she let me go with her? She knew she was going to die.  She just wanted to enjoy her last day.  She just wanted to be at peace.

Why?

WHY?

She promised.  We even did a pinky swear.  She promised me she would be ok.

She…promised.

I could have saved her.

I…should have saved her.

I should have known.

1 Comment

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI