****

I heard from my friends once that love can only end up with sorrow and now I think that’s true in more ways than one. Love was something I thought could be magical and nice as it kept going but later realized that it was all for nothing. Maybe it’s because I don’t believe in fate and destiny. It’s all a lie. Yes I finally said it and I’ll say it again 'Love is all a dream. You wake up one day with this feeling of security when your with someone and then it suddenly fades away. Yes, love is all a dream.’ And that’s how I’ve been living my entire life. It's not easy to believe in something just because everyone else does. It's how I've been living. It's not the way I've been brought up. I lived the way I wanted to and my way of living does not include the word love in it. I've had many dreams but this dream called love will never come true. No matter the years it takes to find.

Love...

****

If only there was a way I could not go to school today it would be amazing. For those of you who don’t know, my name is Akio. My name means 'Bright Child' but I guess I’m pretty much the opposite.

“Oii! Akio. Wait for me!”

“Hurry up, your going to make us late again.”

“Its not my fault that I’m so slow.”

If you actually think about it she never does any work. She loves potato chips and drinks only soda. I'm glad she doesn't gain weight. She’s one of the cutest girls on the campus. There have been many boys who've asked her out but she always had an excuse for it until one day she told me.

“Do you know what I keep rejecting these boys?”

“seriously! How would I know?”

“There’s someone I already like and the worst part is that I have to hide it from you.”

At that moment I thought she was talking about me but then it seemed to obvious that she told me something like that out of nowhere. She was smart at whatever topic that was thrown at her. The most energetic girl became dull they day and I didn't know what to do. So I told her that everyone has secrets and some are hidden to protect other people. If I haven't introduced myself yet I'm sorry. My name is Akio Tachibana. And the girl I'm with is the opposite of me. Her name is Fuyuko Yuki. Her name means 'Winter Child,' for Fuyuko and 'Snow,' for Yuki. Our names are the polar opposites of us and I guess this is what you call fate between two people. But as I said before that the words 'Fate' and 'Destiny' have no meaning in my life.

I walked to school with Fuyuko walking beside me. We go to class on time and sit down at our seats. My seat was in the centre of the class while hers was at the end of the class. I wish I had her seat. Usually the back row of the class is the most unoccupied in every school. She was the real deal in our class and nothing about her would change the way I feel about her. Oh I must have said to early in the story. I've always been a guy who was terrible at lying so I don't speak at all to most people. Because most of them are just seemly annoying. Fuyuko was different from most people I've seen.

“Oi! Akio! Want to hit the canteen during lunch. I forgot to bring mine today.”

She's always been very clumsy at house work but other than that she can do most things. I know I said this before that she can do nothing but laze around at home but I guess she does have a sense of responsibility.

“I'll be there.”

“Thank you!,” she says work the biggest smile in the world. A smile I've always been fascinated with. No matter how many times it's shown to me.

Class ended and we walked to the canteen to get some food. My life with her which was going nowhere. I really wish she'd stop treating me like her younger brother ( We are in the same class by the way). I really want you guys too see what happens next because it was the only time in my life where I experienced my first feelings of hope and security. I wasn’t sure if I was happy with it but that's what I wanted so I went along with it.

“Let's go,” she's says.

“Hmm. Let's go,” I say with a bright smile on my face.

A smile only she's seen and a smile she brought to my face. I'm happy that she has done all this for me but she doesn't deserve to live this way. I know she feels lonely and I know that I'm the only one that's stopping her from being happy. Like I said before she was the one who brought that smile on my face so she's the only one who deserves to see it. And now I'm guessing that it's my turn to bring a smile to her face because it's very pathetic when I smile alone. I've always smiled alone and now I want us to smile together. I want us to be happy together. I don't want her to do anything for me anymore because now it's my turn to make her smile. I've decided that if I could change something then I'll change the way we live. I want her to smile. She deserves to smile.

We walked for a bit and took the stairs to the terrace of the school building. It was our favourite place in the entire school. It gave me a peace of mind and I knew that the only reason she’s staying here is because of me. We were having lunch and then I realized that it was time to let her know that I could look out for myself and that she didn’t need to stay with me just because I had no friends. I didn’t want any but every time I told her that she would say that I didn’t have to hide my pain for such things.

“You know that you-“

‘Trrring,' the bell rang before I could finish my sentence.

“Oh! Time’s up, let’s go to class now huh?,” she says with that smile on her face.

“Ok..”

We get up and walk down to the classroom. There are always people who talk about us. Thinking that I’m making her stay with me by blackmailing her in one way or the other. Nobody stays with me or wants to be my friend since I have a dark and straightforward personality. I don’t know why but I’m the type of person who can’t do anything by himself unless he is asked to do something. I usually follow what other people do and I imitate them. My mother told me not to lie when I was a kid and that’s what I’ve been doing from then whether it hurts or not. I do it for the benefit of others. I don’t do it because I want to hurt people. I just don’t know how to lie about it. It’s strange how misleading information can pass on. I do pray everyday that I have friends in the future. I did find one but I want to find more for her sake. For Fuyuko and me. I want to see her smile more happily and more realistic. Maybe instead of telling her that I want to-

“ What was I about to tell her again? I thought of being more kinder to people but it doesn’t mean I’ll trust them. It’s hard to trust people you’ve just met but then again I’ll be nice to people. It’s for my sake. It’s for her sake and that in itself has a meaning to it. It has a meaning in my heart. It’s something I haven’t been giving much thought about her and I feel bad for her. I didn’t know she was lonely even though she has people who want to be with her.

“ Akio? You ok? You’ve been spacing out lately!,” Fuyuko asked me out of concern.

“ I’m fine. Thanks though,” I say with satisfaction.

“ For what?,” she asks worried this time. “ Has something happened? You can tell me about it, right?”

She was almost in tears this time. I don’t know why she was. She often told me that I reminded her of someone close to her. Must be her boyfriend or something. I guess that’s why she cares so much about me.

“ There’s nothing wrong don’t worry. You always worry. Anyways I have something to tell you.”

“ What is it?”

“ I’m planning on making friends. It’s not that I can trust them right away but I’m planning on changing myself. I’m going to cut my hair and smile more. How does that sound?”

I’m happy your doing this,” she said in tears this time.

“ Oii! You...ok?.. Oii, Fuyuko. Sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry,” I was wondering why she was crying.

“ I’m just to happy. Thank you Akio.”

I was surprised she cared about me so much. I mean it’s the least I can do for her. It’s the least I can do for us.

“ Let’s go home,” I tell her.

“ Let’s go!”