BELOVED BY THE TWINS

CHAPTER 17

"BELOVED BY THE TWINS

by: Dark Flame Master

JURI'S POV

I just transferred to this school and as usual everyone was amazed by my looks. Not that I think I’m all that but I get it. I have this cute, small frame that people tend to notice. I’m short though and I really hate that part. Well, maybe hate is too strong of a word. I don’t hate being short but I just don’t like it when people point it out. It’s like I already know you don’t need to remind me. Still, I guess it bothers me more than I think. Anyway, that’s not the point.

The real point is that I made a new friend today. His name is Shin.

On the first day of school, Shin totally avoided me. Like every time I tried to talk to him he’d just give me these one-word answers or act like he didn’t hear me. I thought maybe he was mean but don’t tell him I said that. After a while I realized he didn’t actually mean to be rude. After class though, he called me "shorty," and I swear I almost punched him just a tiny bit not hard! But I held myself back because you know I was trying to make a good impression.

Today I greeted him again and guess what? He ignored me. Completely! I tried to catch up to him but he walked so fast. I wasn’t mad though. After all, that’s just how Shin is.

When I handed him this little note that has a doodle of our bald teacher I noticed something surprising he smiled. Just a little. It was so small that if you weren’t paying attention you’d miss it. But I saw it and honestly it was kind of cute. Not that I like him that way or anything! I don’t. It’s more like… if I had a younger brother I’d want him to be like Shin.

During lunch, a group of girls came up to me and told me to stay away from Shin. They said he was gay like that was supposed to scare me off or something. It made me so mad.

I’m not the type to just let things slide so I dropped the whole cute and pure girl act I usually put on and let them see the real me. I told them off, hard. I didn’t know Shin was listening though. He overheard everything.

Later, when it was just the two of us I felt this connection between us. I don’t know why but it seemed like we understood each other. I told him about my past, things I don’t usually share with people. And you know what? He didn’t judge me. That’s when I realized Shin isn’t just some quiet kid. That’s how we became friends today.

After class, Shin even asked if I wanted to walk home with him but I had somewhere to be. I had to go to the hospital. There’s someone really important to me there.

As I was walking, I saw this huge fire across the street. The flames were so big and smoke was everywhere. People were shouting trying to help and it was all chaos. My first instinct was to call Shin but when I did he hung up right away. I guess he was busy.

When I finally made it to the hospital I felt a little shaken. I walked into the room and there she was lying in bed looking a little pale but still beautiful.

"Hi! How are you doing?" I asked, walking over to her bedside with a big smile.

"I’m fine. You don’t really need to come here anymore," Ai said, her voice soft but firm.

"Don’t worry about it," I said, sitting down beside her and taking her hand. "And besides, it’s my fault anyway."

Ai shook her head gently. "No, it’s my fault. If I had trusted you back then none of this would’ve happened."

I squeezed her hand a little tighter. "I still have a part in this so I want to take care of you. It’s the least I can do."

She smiled at me and for a second it was like everything was okay again, like we were back to the way things used to be. "Your new uniform is cute," Ai said, changing the subject.

"Right?" I smiled. "Oh, and I made a new friend today. He’s kind of like us."

Ai’s eyes softened. "Is that so?"

I nodded and hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Do you think we’ll ever get back to the way things were?" I asked, my voice is quieter now.

Instead of answering, Ai reached out and patted my head like she always did when I was upset. I leaned into her touch closing my eyes for a moment. It was comforting but at the same time I felt this ache in my chest. I missed her. I missed how we used to be.

"Ai…" I started looking up at her wanting to say more. I wanted to tell her everything I was feeling.

But she gently covered my mouth with her hand before I could finish. "Don’t. Don’t say it," Ai whispered, her voice trembling a little.

"But—"

"If I get discharged then you can say whatever you want," she said, her eyes locking with mine. "Okay?"

I blinked back and nodded. "Really?"

"Yes," she said with a small smile though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

We talked for a little while longer but eventually I had to go. It was getting late and visiting hours were almost over.

"Bye, Ai," I said, standing up and giving her one last hug.

"Bye-bye… bunny," she said.

I froze. "What did you just call me?" I asked, smiling.

"Nothing. Go home now," she replied.

I knew she had called me a bunny. I knew it but I just want to hear it one more time. I held myself back, I didn’t want to push it. As I left the hospital I felt a little better. Seeing Ai always had that effect on me. But as I walked into the lobby I spotted someone familiar sitting there.

"CUTIE!" I shouted, running over to him and throwing my arms around his neck in a hug hoping to surprise him. But the real surprise was mine.

As I hugged Shin, I noticed two guys standing next to him staring at me with expressions I couldn’t quite read so I pulled back a little.

"Cutie?" I heard one of the guys say, his voice was low and cold. He was glaring at me like I’d just done something unforgivable.

I looked over at the other guy and while he seemed a little calmer there was this tension in his eyes. It was like he was holding something back, like he didn’t trust me.

"Juri, what are you doing here?" Shin asked, his voice a little awkward as he tried to pull away from my hug.

"Oh, I just visited someone important to me," I said casually, not wanting to make things more awkward.

"Is that so?" Shin replied, glancing nervously at the twins.

One of the twins, the one who had glared at me was still staring, his gaze hard and piercing. "Cutie?" he repeated, his voice filled with suspicion.

The other twin spoke up, his tone a little softer but still serious. "Who is this girl?"

Shin looked uncomfortable like he wasn’t sure what to say. "She… she’s the girl I was talking about. We became friends today."

I noticed how both twins’ expressions changed at that. They were more relaxed now but I knew that they hated me.

"The cute girl?" the rude twin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shin nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "Yeah."

"You just became friends today, and she’s calling you that already?" That rude guy said

I shrugged smiling innocently. "Is it wrong? I mean, isn’t he cute?"

The rude guy's expression darkened for a moment before he replied. "You’re right," he said slowly, "but don’t call him that in public."

"Who are they, Shin?" I asked, suddenly feeling like I was missing something important.

Shin hesitated before answering. "Uh… this one here is Luca, and this one is Ruka."

So the guy who had been glaring at me was Ruka. He definitely seemed like the more intense one.

"They’re my—" Shin started but Ruka cut him off, his voice sharp.

"We’re his roommates," Ruka said glaring at me again almost like he thought I was trying to steal Shin from them.

"Okay," I said, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Well, bye, Shin. I need to go home now."

"Yeah, go home already," Ruka muttered under his breath giving me this smug grin like he thought he had won some kind of battle.

I wasn’t about to let him have the last word though. As I turned to leave, I flashed him my middle finger behind Shin’s back. I hope Shin didn’t see that but honestly I didn’t care if Ruka did.