#argggghhhhhhh

you could see the way her hands shook a little, even from the distance you were watching from.

it wasn’t like you meant to watch. no, you thought you were quite unfortunate to have stumbled across this scene on your way out of school for the day.

but you continued to stare, despite your anguish at what could come. it felt as though your feet were glued to the ground, your eyes stuck onto rin’s figure, awaiting his response to what was obviously a confession.

the girl was pretty. you could tell even from the side view of her that you had currently. you couldn’t imagine how much prettier she looked to rin right now, face to face.

the scene before you seemed to be playing out in slow-motion. it felt like centuries since you had first laid eyes on that strikingly red box in front of the striker.

but, finally, someone seemed to have pressed play on the remote, for all your fears came true as itoshi rin took the box from the girl’s hand.

oh.

in all honesty, you hadn’t expected that. you knew rin, you were friends, best friends in your eyes. he had always said he rejects every chocolate he receives on valentines day (and it’s always a lot). he had always said he wasn’t interested in a lukewarm relationship with the people who confessed to him, as he never even knew who the majority of them were.

itoshi rin was not interested in relationships. it hurt, sure, but that fact also meant that you were safe from seeing him ever enter a relationship with anyone that wasn’t you. you were sure it would forever be an unrequited love, but he’s your best friend and there’s no one that will steal his heart, so that’s enough for you.

but why… why is that box of chocolates in his hands now?

you can’t hear the words he says and you don’t want to, lest they break your heart more. suddenly, the glue on your shoes dissolves and you can move again. move. away from this moment, away from the pieces of your heart beneath your feet, away from the itoshi rin who you could no longer keep to yourself.

your feet moved before your mind completely caught up. before you knew it, you were running. running to where? you didn’t think about that. rather you couldn’t think of anything besides rin’s hands holding those chocolates and the terribly pretty girl he took them from.

as you ran, and ran, and ran, you didn’t notice, you couldn’t notice—not in your current state—that your sudden movement had caused rin to become aware of your presence. all he saw was your sad face and your hair blowing in the wind before you were completely out of his sight.

you couldn’t see how rin didn’t spare one last glance at the confessing girl before he ran towards your back.

itoshi rin was now chasing you with a stupidly big and red box of chocolates in his hands.

he couldn’t get the look in your eyes out of his head. why did you look so sad? were you looking at him? did he cause that look in your eyes?

that last thought caused him to speed up.

rin was a soccer player, after all. when being chased by soccer prodigy, you can’t expect to win in speed. but he doesn’t expect you to be so fast. what was making you run away like this?

before he can muster up an answer to his own question, he reaches you. his hand is grabbing your wrist before you can run any farther.

you stopped. you’re panting. he expects you to look back at him but you don’t.

and of course you know. you know that it’s rin whose grip is on your wrist. you think you could sense his presence always.

but you can’t turn around. you can’t turn around or rin will see the tears staining your face and you’ll see that obnoxious red box in his hands. you can’t bring yourself to do it, but your feet are once again glued to the ground. maybe rin’s presence has the ability to do that to you.

before long he speaks up, “look at me.” ah, you swore that phrase and his voice, directed at you, made your heartbeat increase a tenfold.

and so you did, because who were you to deny him when he asks like that? your self-restraint and respect is really at zero when it comes to him.

you look at him and his eyes widen at the tracks of tears running down your face. he unconsciously steps closer, the hand that was previously on your wrist reaching out to your face, yet he abruptly pulls it away before it makes contact.

“what’s wrong?”

at his words, your eyes momentarily drift to the box of chocolates in his hands. rin is observant by nature, as the striker he is, and he doesn’t miss the fleeting glance you give to his hand.

his hand that is holding the box of chocolates that he forgot about in the chaos of running after you and seeing your tear-stained face.

but this realization is a welcome one to him as he extends the hand that’s holding the chocolates towards you. “for you,” he doesn’t give anything away from his voice and his eyes are boring into your own, although no outward expression is present.

“what?” it came out weak, far weaker than you’d like to be in front of rin but you suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. for one he’s seeing the complete mess you are right now and for two you no longer have any hope for a chance with him.

his words didn’t even really register in your head. all you saw were his eyes that looked to be in as much pain as you were. why is he sad? did you cause that look in his eyes?

“they’re your favorite,” his brows are furrowed now, he doesn’t know the right thing to say, or the right thing to do, not when you’re staring between him and the box of chocolates looking so incredibly hurt.

“rin, wh-“

he cuts you off, “that girl… i was going to let her keep these before i actually looked at them and realized they were your favorite kind,” he stopped for a moment to look at you. “i took the chocolates then said i didn’t return her feelings.” rin’s seemingly done with his explanation and he’s staring at you, awaiting your response.

and you laughed. laughed at the absurdity of it all and the completely serious look that rin has on his face, box of chocolates still outstretched towards you in his hands. “rin, don’t you think that’s a little rude?”

“no. they were for me either way?” he’s so nonchalant you can’t help but burst into another fit of giggles.

you’re laughing and realizing your chest doesn’t hurt anymore. you don’t feel the sharp shards of your broken heart stabbing your insides any longer, but instead a light fluttering in your stomach.

rin is so unintentionally funny, and cute, and not at all good with words but somehow everything he says leaves you like this.

you take the chocolates from his hands (finally). “so you took these from some poor girl who was confessing to you?” he nods. “for me?” he nods. “why?”