The Story of Us-2

The ringing of my phone surprises me. No one ever calls me. Could it be….? No, I doubt he would call me…. But….?

The need to find out who it is takes over, and I lunge for it, reading the name on the screen.

It’s Kukai! I flip it open, my heart racing, my face hurting because I’m smiling so much.

“Hello?”
“Hey, Reika-chan.”

I try to refrain from screeching in happiness.

“Hey, Kukai-kun,” I reply after a moment of regaining my composure.

“So… I’m coming to Christmas this year.”
“Cool… why haven’t you come the last few years?”
“Well…. Er…. I asked my parents…. But they said that… there’s nothing ‘good enough’ here to fly out and back. I’ve been saving up enough money so I can fly there and back.”

My heart literally stops.

All this time, I’ve been blaming him. When… it was his parent’s fault.

“So… the same reason for birthdays?”
“Well, yeah, for your birthday, but… for my birthday, my parents said it would be ‘stupid’ to ask you to fly out for my birthday.”
“Oh.”
“You sound disappointed? Or… something?”

I sigh, frowning and biting on my lower lip.

“All this time… because you haven’t talked to us lately…. I thought that… you’d replaced us.”

“No! I wanted to call you guys, like, every week but my parents said ‘it’s too expensive’ even though I was paying for my own phone.”

Now I feel even angrier at myself. And then the waterworks come on.

“Reika- Reika-chan?! Are you alright?!”

I wipe my face off, and try to talk.

“All this time… I had thought… that you…. Had been forgetting about us…..”
“No!”
“I’m sorry, Kukai-kun.”
“No, no, it’s not your fault.”

I don’t tell him the thought that’s been weighing on my heart. I want to tell him in person.

“So I’ll be up 3 days before Christmas Eve. My parents haven’t been letting me do any Christmas shopping, so will you help me?”
“Of course!”

A whole day of Kukai to myself? Just shopping? Who WOULDN’T say yes?! Err…. probably Tadase, Nagi, Rima, Amu, Yaya… Yeah. Only I would have a blast. Sigh. Oh well! It’s KUKAI!

“Soo…. What’d cha get me?” Kukai asks nonchalantly.

“I’m not telling you!”

“Oh, before I forget…. I’ll be staying till after New Years.”

Ohmigawd. I’ll FINALLY have someone to kiss on New Years. EEEEEEEE!

This is, like, the best day, EVER!

“Reika? You still there?”
“Oh, mhm.”
“So… I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Alright.”
“Bye, Riki-chan.”
“Bye, Kukai-kun.”

I hear a buzz, click, and the dial tone. I sigh, setting my phone down.

Happily, I flop down on my bed.

Kukai…