𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅

Since summer vacation began, three weeks have passed. Nothing of note has happened during that time other than that time Y/n went to the cafe with Ishigami.

Days of studying, working, eating, taking a bath, more working, sleeping, and that's all. This has certainly become a boring summer vacation.

"I wonder what Ishigami-kun's doing right now..." Y/n mumbled, wrapping her arms around a pillow.

Meanwhile with Ishigami...

"Should I send her a message? Maybe we could go to that cafe again. Nah, she might get bored of the same thing." Ishigami sighed, deleting his message that he was supposed to send to Y/n.

"Am I some blushing girl?! Write, delete, write, delete! What is this, your first love?!" Ishigami threw his phone before ruffling his hair in frustration.

It is his first love. He indeed had a crush on one specific girl, but this is his first love.

In the end, none of them sent a message to each other...how sad.

𝚈/𝚗'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

I don't have any summer memories. But that's not a problem, I'm fine with it.

I've never gone on a family vacation. But that's fine...because everyone doesn't really pay attention to me, nor do they care about my well-being.

I've never gone to the cherry blossom trees even though they're scattered all around Japan, except that one time...

Ive never gone shopping with a group of friends. So I felt a mix of anxiety and fear whne I got invited.

But everything will be all right...the people I am going with are good people. They are all very nice.

Everyone around me is nice. Very nice people indeed. The only problem is me.

【 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 】

"My name is L/n Y/n! Nice to meet all of you! I hope we become great friends!" a young girl with h/c hair greeted.

Everyone in class immediately started talking to her and asked if they wanted to be her friend.

She had this huge grin on her face and a confident look that attracted others towards her. She was like some kind of magnet when it comes to making friends.

After 2 months, Y/n had already blended into the school, it was as if she had always been there since the first-year of middle school at Shuchiin Academy.

"Y/n, we're going to the mall with Izumi and Aiko, wanna come with?" a friend of Y/n asked.

"Sure!" Y/n smiled innocently. Who knew that just like that, her smile vanished.

The four girls, including Y/n, went to the mall and went shopping together. Since Y/n was the richest of all, Y/n paid for all of their purchases since the other girls kept on insisting. Y/n couldn't help but do it.

"Y/n, take a picture of us!" Izumi exclaimed handing Y/n her phone. Y/n smiled and took a picture of he rthree friends.

Every time they would go out, Y/n would always be the one walking behind them. It was like she was out of place, like she didn't belong there.

But despite what others thought, Y/n saw the opposite, she would always smile and try to catch up to them.

She tried to improve herself by buying them gifts regularly and keeping a smile on her face. She tried to please all of them.

Her friends took advantage of her money and kindness. They always insisted on Y/n paying, Y/n just shrugged it off and did it.

"Hey guys, I bought so-" Y/n noticed her three friends talking. She decided not to disturb them.

She hid behind the wall and just listened to their conversation while holding three paper bags.

"Y/n is so useful! She's like our dog, she does everything for us."

"I know right? Looks at this gold necklace she got me. Does she even have a brain or something?"

"Maybe not!" the three of them laughed as they chatted about their friend.

Y/n listened in silence, feeling her heart ache. But she just listened and kept quiet.

"What are you planning to ask from her next? I'm going to ask her to buy me a diamond necklace."

"A diamond necklace? Then I'm going with some diamond earrings!"

"I'll ask her to buy me this really expensive bracelet. There's only one left in the world, I have to have it! Let's go to the jewelry shop next week."

"Wanna go karaoke after this?"

"Of course! Are we bringing Y/n along?"

"Heck no! Who likes hanging out with her anyway? The only thing that's great about her is that she's rich."

Brick by brick, her walls came tumbling down. As she ran from her friends the tears in her eyes turned the rainy day into a whirlwind of grays and yellows.

She slammed into the bathroom door. She didn't care who saw. She just broke down. The sobs punched through, ripping through her muscles, bones, and guts.

She pressed her forehead against the grimy stall door and began to let her heart yank in and out of her chest.

It pulled back in like a yo yo. Over and over. In and out. She was hollow. Her life crumbled in her fingertips.

But she didn't make a sound. She didn't even let a whimper escape from her lips. She kept it all in.

This kept going, she held everything in until one day, she saw one of her friends being bullied.

That's right, she still is their friend despite what she had heard. After all, she had no one else other than them.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Y/n yelled, punching the girl who was gripping on Izumi's hair harshly.

Y/n continued to beat the person up until they were unrecognizable. She stood up and turned to her.

The person was a bloody mess, nose smashed and eyes almost shut with swelling.

Their arms are wrapped around their guts like they're holding them in and to be honest they were beaten up so bad they could play as a zombie in a film.

"Y-You monster!" Izumi screamed. Y/n tilted her head until she saw Ootomo, another friend of hers, recording the scene with a smirking Izumi behind her.

"What's going on?" Y/n asked, wondering why they were all staring at her like some kind of monster.

Y/n turned to the person she had beaten up to see an unconscious Aiko. Y/n gasped and quickly tried to wake her up.

"We'll be reporting this to the teacher, you monster."

"Wait, why?" Y/n mumbled.

"Why? Why?! That's because we caught you hanging out with my boyfriend!" Ootomo shouted.

"You've got the wrong idea! I wasn't hanging out with him! He dragged me along!" Y/n argued.

"Stop lying! You got close to us so that you can ruin my relationship with my boyfriend!" Ootomo pointed an accusing finger at her.

"You're gross! You lying pig! We caught you with her boyfriend and you're saying that he's the one who made the move?" Izumi smirked.

"I hope you die, Y/n." the two left as they carried Aiko along with them.

Y/n just stared at their silhouettes, dumbfounded, she wondered why and what she did wrong.

No, she knew that she did nothing wrong and this was just a whole misunderstanding. But they planned to do this from the start.

The saddest thing about being used is that it never comes from strangers, but from people you trusted.

What hurts the most is when you trust someone blindly, and that person proves to you that you are truly blind.

When someone uses you, it's a reflection of their character, not yours. But you still can't help but to ponder about your flaws and imperfections.

After word got around, everyone found out what had happened. The school planned on expelling her, but Y/N's parents begged them not to.

Her family grew distant from her because of that. The once loving family has now shattered and turned into a family where only a few words are exchanged, and sometimes, none.

Ever since that incident, she had feared crowds. She was afraid that they will judge her and laugh at her flaws.

I mean, no one believed her, not even her family. They only thought of her as a monster.

She let that negative emotion swallow her and pour acid into her soul. She fought for the good memories, the reasons to keep her head high and be confident.

She fought to keep herself empathic even as every terrible thing she had predicted came true.

For her, that's the betrayal, that lack of willingness to fight the negative thoughts and think the best of her, to recall her soul as it was when they laughed.

Ever since that day, Y/n could not hold her head high, she always kept it low, fearing that others would see her as a monster.

She never accepted any invitation from her classmates, fearing that she might ruin their fun.

She always stuttered whenever she spoke, trying to find the right words so that she won't mess up.

Even though the three girls betrayed and used her, she still thought that it was her fault.

A few months into high school and Shirogane had already approached her to become their Historian.

Y/n immediately declined an dtold him that she won't be able to help. Shirogane asked her everyday.

Y/n decided to accept the invitation since he won't leave her alone until she accepted.

There, she met some interesting people. People who made her feel welcomed. People who didn't use her. Real people.

【 𝙴𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 】

My father has never said 'good night to me. My mother has never greeted me with a' good morning'.

I don't remember them ever saying 'See you later', 'Good job', or 'I love you' to me either.

If only I continued...if only...if only I was good enough. No, none of this hurts my feelings. Because it's been that way ever since. I have to get used to it one way or the other.

My classmates always treated me like some kind of cherry blossom, once they die, they leave and come back once I'm in full bloom.

But..it's fine. After all, I'm surrounded by people who accept me for who I am. They don't talk to me because I'm rich, but because I'm me.

It's like they're waiting for me. Waiting for the process until I reach my full bloom.

I'm glad I'm surrounded by people like the President, Kaguya-san, Chika-san, and Ishigami-kun.

I'm glad I'm surrounded by real people.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·