Silence filled the air.

Yuki was scared but he at least managed to convey his feelings. “Even if she doesn’t like me back, the worst she’ll say is no,” he told himself as a way of reassurance.

Suddenly, Sophie let out a small laugh.

“Ew, no way.”

“There’s no way I would go out with someone like you.”

Yuki’s heart shattered. He thought that nothing she said would surprise him. He couldn’t even speak.

“First of all, you’re ugly.” Sophie continued.

“Second, you’re a nerd that tries too hard.”

“Lastly, what made you think that out of everyone, I would go out with you? Are you stupid or something?”

Yuki couldn’t say anything. Sophie seemed so kind. He would have never expected her to insult him like this. He felt defeated. No tears were coming from his eyes. Yuki hadn’t accepted what he heard.

“Although, I’m not entirely evil.”

“Be my little doggie and I’ll think about going out with you.” Sophie proposed.

“I’ll let you ask me out again on Valentine’s day.”

Yuki thought he found hope. Another chance to prove himself worthy of Sophie. He was prepared to do anything. He had reached the lowest level of desperation.

He quickly agreed to the conditions Sophie had made and they went their separate ways.

From that day on, Sophie used Yuki as if he were her slave. She made him do all her homework. Carry her books. Degrade him whenever she was bored. Yuki had become her toy. Every once in a while, she would get close to him. She wanted to remind him that he never had a chance.

“If you keep slacking off, I don’t think I’ll be able to go out with you,” Sophie said.

She liked playing with his feelings. However, Yuki took her remarks seriously and pushed himself even further. Sophie took notice of this and continued toying with his heart.

People mocked and laughed at him. Throwing insults like “what a moron.”

Yuki didn’t care. As long as he could be with Sophie, that’s all that mattered. He cut off all his friends and peers. Yuki could no longer be considered a person. All he was now was a puny slave.

Valentine’s day was fast approaching. Knowing this, Yuki prepared himself to make his second confession. He had done everything Sophie ever asked of him. There was no reason for her to reject him.

Feeling confident, he woke up very early in the morning. He took an extra long shower, brushed his teeth until they glistened, combed his hair and wore the fanciest outfit he had. Nothing was going to stop him from winning Sophie’s heart.

The day progressed like any other school day. Some people made their confessions in the morning. However, Yuki was going to wait until the day was over to make his move.

He waited and waited. It seemed as if the day was longer than usual. After what felt like weeks, the bell rang signalling that the day was over.

Yuki quickly ran to the washroom because he was getting nervous again. He couldn’t back away now. All of the humiliation he suffered was going to pay off. He gave himself a pep-talk and got out of the washroom to make his confession.

Right as he got out, he saw something that rocked his world. Time began to slow down until it eventually stopped. Sophie was kissing a guy from his class. Yuki recognized him as the Captain of the basketball team but couldn’t remember his name. He stared at them for what seemed like an eternity.

The guy kissing Sophie noticed this. He pulled away from Sophie and looked at Yuki. He grinned at him and went back to making out with Sophie.

This brought Yuki back to reality. The shock from this event shattered Yuki’s heart. The pain from his first rejection had returned. He had forgotten about it because he thought he had a second chance with her. Now, he had to deal with his previous pain along with his new one.

Yuki had been manipulated, humiliated, betrayed, then finally thrown away like a used-up doll. He couldn’t accept what had just happened. He smiled and went home. It was the only thing he could do.

“I told you so.” Yuki heard in the distance as he walked away from the school.

When he got home, he went to his room and hid under his blankets. He still hadn’t fully comprehended what took place an hour ago. He thought that he could finally be happy with his crush.

Minutes later, he got a text on his phone. It was from Sophie.

“Maybe she wants to tell me that I misunderstood.”

“Maybe he forced himself on to her,” he told himself.

He slowly opened the notification. The text message read as “I don’t need you anymore.”

Yuki finally accepted it. He never had a chance with her. Tears came from his eyes endlessly. He didn’t want to cry anymore. After all, she wasn’t obligated to feel the same way about him. Even though he wanted to stop crying, he couldn’t. Tears flowed from his eyes like water.

He decided to skip a week from school. He didn’t want to face his class, his old friends and most of all Sophie. Yuki’s mother didn’t care. His grades were already high, skipping a week wouldn’t do any harm.

During his week of recovery, he couldn’t eat anything. If he tried eating, he would feel nauseous. He didn’t want to live anymore. He saw no purpose in his existence.

Soon after, Yuki returned to school. He didn’t bother trying to find new friends. He had already accepted that he would be alone for the rest of the school year.

Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he arranged a plan with his guidance counsellor for him to go to a high school far away. In doing this, there would be little chance for him to find people from his middle school. He would get a fresh start to life.

[Next memory]