" hey hana, don't you think it's too much... " you heard a timid voice say.
isn't that hana's friend? you recognised that voice.
" what the heck are you talking about? the school needs more gossip! it's such a dull and boring place here, " hana answered back, almost sounded halfhearted.
you leaned in closer and put your ear on the toilet door, trying your best to eavesdrop on whatever was happening in there.
" yo. this ain't it, " you heard another firmer voice say, " outing someone's sexuality for your own amusement? that's messed up. "
" what so you're taking their side now? " you heard hana become more serious, " go ahead. go make friends with the two weirdos. one's a cheater and one's a fucking disgusting cockroach. i don't need you, both of you. "
there was a tense moment of silence before you heard a sudden loud metal slam coming from the toilet which caused you to jump.
" listen here. i don't know what happened between you and y/n, but you do not call a gay person disgusting, " the second unknown voice said, clearly enraged, " outing a person's sexuality? picking fights with a girl you barely know? all this so you can steal someones man? you are the disgusting one. "
there was another moment of silence before hana spoke up, " so what? so what if i want takahashi for myself? so what if i think homosexuals are disgusting? why are you even defending them? could it be that you're a- "
and then you heard a loud slap.
...
" minari, let's go. we don't need to be seen with people like her, " the second voice said in a calmer but colder tone.
you quickly registered what was about to happen but before you could hide, the door has already swung open to reveal the two unknown girls and hana, who was just stunned.
the two girls looked at you, at first in shock. and then the shorter of the two mumbled a " sorry, " before the other girl grabbed the her hand and stormed off.
hana glared at you. her eye brows were quivering as hot tears started streaming down the red mark on her right cheek.
" this is all your fault, " she menacingly said.
seeing her in this defend less state, you wanted to feel sorry for her, but then you realised how she literally ruined your best friend's life, tried to seduce your boyfriend and is selfish, homophobic asshole who just proved that she doesn't appreciate even her own friends. now you were the one getting angry.
you entered the toilet, leaving the door wide open. it didn't occur to you that any passerby could see what was happening inside, but to be honest, you didn't quite care.
" why the heck did you do that to aki? " you questioned. you dug your nails into your palm as you fisted your hands as you clenched your teeth hard. it took you everything to not throw a punch at her.
" simple, " hana started as she walked towards you with mascara dripping down her face like black paint, " i just wanted to see everyone around you suffer. "
you impulsively threw your fist on the porcelain wall next to you, causing hana to jump.
you were so pissed off that you couldn't feel any pain from that.
" you're fucking crazy. "
you walked towards the trembling hana. with every step forward, she took a step back.
" why so quiet? didn't you have a lot to say about aki just now? come on, speak up, " you threatened.
" what are you doing? get away from me, " hana said as she felt the wall hit her back.
" why? are you scared that i might hurt you? you wouldn't be if you just learnt to shut the fuck up, " you growled as you grabbed her collar to bring her face closer to yours, " this is the consequence of your own actions. you brought this upon yourself. "
you could see her lips quivering as sweat dripped down her face. this was the messiest you have seen hana and part of you was enjoying it. her dry blond hair was a mess and she never once actually stopped crying. her face looked like melted ice cream with all the foundation and mascara dripping. considering the scared state she was in, you applauded her in your head for not breaking character.
" w- what do you think you a- are doing? a- are you a pervert? "
" so what if i'm a pervert? scared? you shouldn't be after everything you've done. scared that i might like girls too? don't worry, even if i did, i wouldn't like a girl like you, " you bit back.
" y- you're crazy, leave me al- "
" y/n? what are you doing? "
and there it was again. prince charming was here to save hana.
" wow, his timing couldn't be more perfect, " you mumbled under your breath, even more frustrated and annoyed.
you bet hana was thanking all the gods for answering her prayers.
you glared at hana for a second longer before harshly releasing her from your grip. you mentally prepared to come face to face with the last person you want to see right now.
" y/n... what's going on? are you alr- oh my goodness, you're bleeding from your hand, " takahashi worriedly blurted as he grabbed you by your wrists on your attempt to head out the toilet.
you looked up at him and shot him an icy glare. he momentarily froze when he saw the expression you wore on your face. you were so crossed that anyone would know to just shut up and walk away if they saw you.
" are you oka- "
before he could complete his sentence, you violently tried to shake him off, only for him to grip harder.
" y/n. please. "
the look on his face was so heart wrenching. he was basically begging with his eyes. but all you saw was red. right now your priorities were aki and you didn't need to deal with anyone else right now.
" let me go, " you hissed.
" please, y/n, " he begged, but your mind was set on helping the one person who always took your side, no matter what.
you used your other free hand to pull takahashi off. you then sprinted back to the rooftop to find aki, leaving takahashi to stare at your back view as you ran off.
" ta-takahashi? " hana called out, capturing takahashi's attention.
he looked at hana, with her legs sprawled out on the toilet floor and she was a sobbing mess.
" please... please help me, " she desperately cried.
takahashi looked at her with worried eyes but all he could think about was the blood he saw on your hands. hana didn't seemed to be bleeding anywhere so it was definitely yours. his heart hurt at the thought of you bleeding.
in that moment, his head was so clouded with thoughts of you that he couldn't find an ounce of pity for hana.
" i'm sorry, " takahashi apologised to hana as he sprinted after you.
hana was left alone on the toilet floor. she felt as if her world was crumbling. in a matter of ten minutes, her friends were no longer by her side and her crush literally left her, a shaking mess, alone.
she hugged her knees close to her chess as she buried her head in her arms as she sobbed.
this was karma's greeting to her.
シ this chapter was extremely difficult and uncomfortable to write.
i hope this chapter serves as a message to everyone to be nice to one another, even if you have differences. it doesn't hurt to show respect.
also i want to point out that calling someone who openly shares problematic opinions out is something that should be done even if they are close to you. calling them out does not make you a bad friend, it makes you a better person.
one more thing,,, hopefully this book gives me the chance to break down each character's complex personalities a little more. i want to explain why each character behaves the way they do through the story plot.
to be honest, i intended for this book to be a one shot, hence the abrupt earlier chapters, but then as i continued writing, i started wanting to show more depth to the relationships and characters in this story.
fun fact:: the relationship between takahashi and y/n is actually (and unknowingly) based off a relationship i have with a friend. i wasn't trying to make it so but it just came out like this so i decided to roll with it. the funny thing is, both takahashi and my friend play volleyball and the childhood friend dynamic is prevalent as well... AAAA idk, i think it's different from what people normally would assume the " childhood friends to lovers " trope is so i really do want to show you guys more of what the dynamic between them is like.
welp i hope you all have a good day/night. rest well my loves, see you in the next chapter ♡︎