HIM – THURSDAY REUNION

Tyson sat slumped in his chair, half-heartedly listening to the lecture while his mind drifted away. He hadn’t seen Aya since Saturday as she told she’d take some time off to hang out with her mom. I wonder how she’s doing? He thought for a moment as he glanced out the window. Lecture ended shortly after and students began packing, causing the previously silent auditorium to erupt into chatter.

“Not here today either, huh?” Emma asked, her expression solemn.

“Yeah.” Tyson nodded.

“Wanna come hang out with us, then?” Jared asked. “We were thinking of seeing a movie tonight.”

“Nah, don’t wanna ruin your date,” Tyson said, his cool persona working to its full. “Have fun kids.”

“Ah, look at this. I want to punch you in the face all of a sudden.” Emma grunted.

“Please don’t. Face is the only thing I got.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t bet on it.” Emma said as she smiled wryly.

“I’m going all in, though.” Tyson said, smiling back.

“Hey, don’t flirt in front of me,” Jared said. “At least wait till I’m not here.”

“No thanks,” Tyson said, shaking his hand as he got up, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. “She’s all yours.”

“… oi, I’m not an object, you know!” Emma protested, although in vain as Tyson had already neared the exit.

Walking into the campus ground caused him to sigh; he had trouble remembering when was the last time he walked past here alone. Mingling among dozens of other students, he quickly found his way off campus, when he heard someone calling his name. As he turned sideways, he spotted a girl wearing plain jeans and a simple jacket up top. Her hair fell down straight, bangs divided at her forehead, hazelnut in color.

“You’ve forgotten me that quickly?” the girl asked expressionlessly as she approached.

“… eh? Do I know you?” Who’s this? She seems a bit familiar though…

“… I’ll punch you in the face.”

“Strangely, you’re not the first girl to say that today,” Tyson said. “Ah, but seriously, do we know each other?”

“… dude. It’s Aya. Did you pop a few pills this morning?” A-aya?!

“Eh?! WHAT?! A-aya?!” Tyson exclaimed as he suddenly scrutinized her from top to bottom, circling her swiftly. “What the fuck happened? Did you get plastic surgery?”

“… I let my hair go. Did you really identify me by my hair?” Aya said, pouting somewhat.

“Well, kind of, yeah,” Tyson nodded. “I mean, half your face was always obscured by those bangs of yours. And besides, didn’t you tell me this morning you weren’t coming?”

“Wanted to surprise you.”

“Congratulations, you did it.”

“Coffee?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Your treat.” she said as the two began walking through the crowded streets towards a nearby kebab place. “I still can’t believe you didn’t recognize me. I’m genuinely hurt.”

“Hey, don’t blame me! I haven’t seen you in like five days, and you suddenly changed your image!”

“Wow. Couldn’t you have come up with at least passable excuses?”

“… sorry. Couldn’t think of anything better.” he said, sighing. “How’ve you been?”

“Who? I thought you didn’t know me.” Aii, I didn’t know she’s the type to hold a grudge…

“I apologize, okay! It’s already my treat, what more do you want from me?!” Tyson cried out.

“A movie.”

“You want me to make a movie as an apology?! Do I look like a fucking director to you?!”

“Yeah, there’s a disturbing lack of beard on your face now that you mention it.” Aya said after short silence. “I meant take me out to see a movie, you moron.”

“Oh, that. No can do.”

“Eh? Why?” she asked, somewhat startled.

“I’m totally broke this month,” Tyson explained. “I barely have enough to survive on.”

“… ugh, fine. I’ll buy the tickets. You can pay me when you become a famous director.”

“Haven’t we already established that ain’t happening?!”

“Just how terrible are you? To force a girl to pay…”

“… did you offer?”

“Semantics.”

“They freaking matter!” Tyson exclaimed as he sighed, shaking his head. “Nothing’s changed, huh?”

“I have.”

“… no shit.”

“So, what do you think?” she asked.

“About what?”

“The change.”

“Oh,” Tyson said as he glanced over toward her once again. “It’s cute. Doesn’t match your tongue, but hey, nothing does so you’re good to go.”

“… I’ll make a wild conjecture.”

“Please don’t. It’ll probably be on point.”

“At one point in high school, you learned how to talk to girls from one of those cheap pick-up pamphlets--”

“Please don’t say anything anymore! Don’t remind me!!”

“--and now you’re stuck with being unable to properly compliment a girl without insulting her at the same time.”

“… you’re cruel, cruel woman, aren’t you?”

“He he.”

“Don’t ‘he he’ me. I already told you, haven’t I? Being a teenager in love was hard!”

“Ah, I didn’t know you are still a teenager then.”

“We’re here,” the two entered a small shop and ordered two mediums and a pair of drinks. “Anyway, let’s move away from my troubled past.”

“Why? I want to hear more.”

“… you’ve already got enough ammunition on me. Don’t you think it’d only be fair if I learned something about you as well?” Tyson said.

“Well, try to pry it out of me then.” Aya smirked.

“… do I look like someone who was a part of ‘Mission Impossible’ crew? Huh?!”

“Well, if you went to gym at least once in your life, maybe?” Aya said, tilting her head.

“… please stop proposing to do things I’ll never do in my life.”

“Ah, thanks,” Aya said as two medium kebabs landed on their table as the two slowly began eating. “So, what do you want to know?”

“… alright, your first crush.” Tyson asked. I’ll make fun of her taste! Wait, I should have asked for a high school crush! She’s probably gonna go all the way back to the kindergarten!

“George Cloney.” Aya said plainly.

“…”

“… don’t look at me with those eyes that scream ‘could you be more cliche’. You’re not Chandler.”

“I-I meant, you know, a human crush.”

“… wow, I didn’t think you saw actors as inhuman.”

“No, you’re the only creature in this world I see as inhuman,” Tyson said. “I mean, you know, your classmates and whatnot. Someone who would actually sleep with you.”

“… hmm…” Aya thought for a moment as she looked at him deeply, tiling her head. “You?”

“… at least remove that question mark at the end.”

“Wow, I’m amazed that you spotted it!”

“Don’t be amazed by something so stupid!” I guess… she’s fine… or maybe she’s just pretending to not make me worry. Ah, whatever, I’ll just go with the flow then… “

“Well, I could name you about twelve thousand fictional crushes if it will help.”

“Hah, I could name you at least one hundred thousand of mine!”

“… that’s depressing.”

“… yeah, let’s pretend I never said that,” Tyson said. “You’re awfully guarded for someone who said she has no secret she can’t divulge.”

“It’s not that I’m guarded,” Aya said. “It’s just that I don’t think I ever had a proper crush, actually.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I probably did have some when I was younger, but who remembers something from primary school?” ‘kay, let’s just let that one slide…

“Y-yeah, you’re right. Khm, alright, your most embarrassing story, then.” Tyson changed the subject quickly.

“Hmm… oh, I got it! In second grade of high-school,” Aya began casually. “We had this two-nights trip to the beach. First night in, I got my period, but I didn’t realize it. Anyway, because I was excited, I slept in my swimsuit, so, tomorrow morning when we headed over to the sea---”

“--oh my god stop, that’s way too embarrassing!!” Tyson exclaimed as his cheeks flushed red.

“… didn’t you ask for an embarrassing story?” Aya tilted her head in confusion.

“Y-yeah, but that’s like, you know, ‘ooh, when I was four I wet myself accidentally’ or ‘I didn’t know how to ride a bike until I was 8’. You went straight into ‘things that scarred me for life’.”

“… but it didn’t scar me for life.”

“It would scar any normal girl!”

“What’s the big deal? Boys just thought I pissed blood until I sat them down and explained menstrual cycle properly.” OOOH MY GOOOD!! unable to handle it anymore, Tyson buried his head into the table, certain his cheeks were as read as her panties were that day. “Ty? You okay Ty? Did you get a fever?”

“… l-let me recover, just give me a moment, please.”

“Uh… okay?”

“You… you don’t tell that story often, do you?” Tyson asked cautiously.

“Hm, it doesn’t really come up. However, it did become somewhat of a legend in my high school, I hear.” No freaking wonder!!

“Aah, whatever,” Tyson sighed, taking a bite of the kebab. “It’s just weird, you know?!”

“Weird?”

“I mean, you haven’t even known me for twenty days, yet here you are retelling me a fanfic story of Carrie, set in the sea.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it?” Aya said, smiling lightly. “You don’t seem to type to write a story about it and get rich. Also, seriously, stop with the ancient movie references. I’ll start thinking you’re an old geezer.”

“… if I did write that story, you’d just become a bait for shark attack anyway.”

“Aah, poor me, from main role relegated down to ‘that naked chick that had her period and then got sacked’. How cruel are you~~ anyway, now it’s your turn to tell me your most embarrassing story.”

“Never.”

“Okay, I’ll make a wild conjuncture---”

“Please don’t, yours seem more like journalistic facts than conjunctures!!”

“--at one point or another, Emma caught you jacking off.”

“…”

“… wait, I’m right?”

“… I hate you.” Tyson mumbled, looking away. “How can you write my backstory so accurately it hurts?”

“Eeh, so she’d seen it. Maybe that’s the reason you two never worked out. Ouch, that one hurt even me.”

“Then you can imagine how I’m feeling!! Don’t judge it before you’ve even seen it, please!!”

“Oh? You plan on flashing me?” Aya said, smirking. … I can see why she wants to become a teacher. Forgive me, all her future students; I tried.

“Y-yeah!! If you keep pestering me like that, I’ll scar you for life!”

“… wow, it’s that ugly?!”

“N-no, you idiot! You know? If you see it, you can never marry, that kind of a spiel!”

“Oh well. I don’t mind marrying you in that case.”

“… f-fine then! I’ll never show it to you, no matter how much you beg! Ha ha ha, how about that?”

“… you really think dicks are something anyone wants to see for real?”

“… sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Aya said as she winked. “I don’t mind if it’s yours, though.” … are these signals?! Is it just teasing?! Pamphlets never mentioned about anyone like her!!