One-Shot Romance Short Story Collection [Rerekoi] 10. Strength 800

One-Shot Romance Short Story Collection [Rerekoi]

*Although these are one-shots, I use the same header image for related chapters, so please use them as a reference.

Chapter 10: Strength

I shouldn't have introduced her to Aya.
I had a feeling that might happen, but I never thought it would actually come true.

Susumu is a friend of my brother, who is two years older than me, from the light music club.
He often comes over after club activities to eat dinner with us.
We started dating around the time I finished my university entrance exams.
We go to different universities, and Susumu is busy with his band and part-time job, so we don't see each other as much as before, but things are going okay.

I became friends with Aya during the university freshman orientation.
Her makeup, fashion, and personality are all cute, and it's a bit of a point of pride to spend time with Aya on campus.
Aya isn't exactly the type to be flashy, but she has a charm that makes people want to look back at her, and in fact, she has been hit on by male students.
From my perspective, as someone dating Susumu, it's strange that Aya doesn't have a boyfriend.
At university, it looked like I was the responsible one protecting cute Aya.

When I would talk only about Aya even when I was with Susumu, he said,
"Bring her to our regular live show."
Aya, who didn't have a boyfriend, was also very interested in my boyfriend, so we decided to have dinner together after their performance at Lip House.
I can't compete with Aya in terms of femininity, but the only thing I'm winning at is that I'm dating Susumu.
I couldn't help but be happy that I could show off Susumu like that.

"Is Susumu-san a vocalist? That's cool."
Wait, didn't I tell Aya that?
He's quite popular even within the light music club and with other universities' clubs, I said, holding my head high.
I'm glad I brought Aya along.
I'm really glad I could show her off to Aya.

Susumu increased his part-time hours and started job hunting, so the time we could meet became even more limited.
Is he at work? Is he job hunting? Is he at a live show? Is he tired and sleeping? When I think about things like that, I wonder if I should refrain from contacting him.
My brother goes to the same university as Susumu, but since their departments and the industries they are aiming for are different, they don't seem to meet often, so I don't get any information about Susumu.

I still hang out with Aya at school like her bodyguard, but we've started doing things separately on days off from university.
Even if one of our classes ended early, we used to wait for each other for at least one period, but Aya stopped waiting for me.
It's not like I can't do things on my own, so it's fine, I guess.

"Hey, did you break up with Susumu? I saw him with Aya-chan."
That's a cruel joke, brother...
I thought, but it wasn't a joke.
Susumu, who was supposed to be busy with work and job hunting, was meeting with Aya, who would leave before me.
Something must have happened at the restaurant where we ate after the Lip House live show, while I was in the restroom.

Susumu says he didn't stop liking me.
That's unfair, Susumu. Just tell me you stopped liking me.
Tell me you like Aya-chan more than me.
If you don't tell me, I can't give up, can I?

Aya-chan is cute.
She's cute in both appearance and personality.
I'm proud to be with her, too.
So tell me you like her more than me.
Why do you say things like, "You're responsible, so you'll be fine"?
Why do you say, "You'll find a better boyfriend"?
I want Susumu.
I don't want to date a better boyfriend.

Do you think I'm strong because I don't cry?
Do you think I'm no trouble because I don't get angry?
Do you think I don't need support because I don't rely on you?
Do you think I'm fine on my own because I have a strong will?
Do you think it's okay to break up because I'm fine doing things on my own?

Not crying when I want to cry, not getting angry when I want to get angry, not acting spoiled when I want to be spoiled, and pretending to be fine alone when I want to be with you—that is the strength of mine that Susumu sees.
I should have just cried, I should have just gotten angry, I should have just acted spoiled, I should have just said I wanted to be together.
What kind of strength is that?
Aren't those all just impressive weak points?
I just didn't want to be a burden to Susumu, that's all.

I'm Anri, aren't I?
I might lose my boyfriend and my best friend at the same time.
It's laughable that it's just like the lyrics.
Even so, if I see Aya at university, I might put on a straight face and hang out with her.
That's not because I'm strong.
It's because I'm afraid of losing my best friend too.
It's because I'm afraid of no longer being the 'friend's little sister' in Susumu's eyes.
Aya still hasn't told me anything, you know.

If Aya chooses to stay with me instead of rejecting me, I think it's Aya, not me, who is truly strong.
Why can't Susumu understand that?

#SadnessNeverStops #Anri⤵️

Afterword⤵️

(|Akizane Rereko)

*****************

※This is a work of fiction

66-Day Writing x Running [Season 2] participants wanted

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