My Other Half - A Story of Love and Revenge: Chapter 1

Haru

My whole life, I always felt like I didn’t belong. No matter the situation or who I was trying to connect with, there was always a chasm that separated me from everybody else. It’s the same way Neo felt when he was inside the Matrix. The world was rejecting me. Could it possibly be that I wasn’t supposed to live in this world? Are there actually more worlds out there? Why do I have an out-of-body experience every once in a while, where nothing around me feels real? The wish I hoped for the most was to have these types of questions answered.

Growing up and trying to make friends never worked for me. There were a few people I got along with, but all of those ended in failure. One of them used to talk behind my back. Another one stole my favorite Ghostbusters action figure. The person who I was the closest to in middle school ended up dying in a tragic accident. All these strange occurrences happening in my life caused me to shut myself off from everyone around me.

I would always go to the furthest seat away from everyone else and just keep my head down during class. But this also made me an extremely easy mark for people who like to terrorize others. I still remember in my last year of middle school during flag football. I always gave it my all, so no one could say anything about my effort. But this one time, I ended up going face-first into one of the guys who usually annoyed me. You could see two indents on his face from where my front teeth impacted his face.

I’m sure anyone with a decent IQ could figure out what this would lead too. For the next year, I was made fun of for trying to eat his face. It was always the same three, and they were also in my homeroom. So I had no choice but to deal with them on a daily basis. Thankfully, I was now entering my last year of high school. What I wouldn’t give to just skip this year and graduate already. Little did I know this year was going to be much shorter than I realized.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

As I was staring up at the ceiling, the noise you dread the most started blaring. I quickly slammed my hand down on the snooze button for the alarm to shut up. Turning my head back to the ceiling, I sighed heavily. Why do I even have to get up and go to school? I already know it’s going to suck.

“Haru, get off your ass and get dressed. You have ten minutes before you have to leave for school.” My mother said with a fed-up tone.

What? I only have ten minutes before I have to leave for school. But that could only mean I’ve hit the snooze button more than once! I threw my covers off the bed, jumped up, and started speed dressing. After putting on my school clothes, I run into the bathroom. Where I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth. By the time I was finished with everything and ran out into the kitchen, ten minutes had already passed.

I noticed my mom just standing there with her arms crossed, “Did you forget something before you ran out here?” She tapped her feet impatiently.

“Umm... I can’t think of anything.” I said, not understanding her intentions.

“You don’t have your backpack, Haru. Go get it now and be on your way.” She said with a sigh.

“Oh right, I will be right back.” I ran like hell back to my room.

Once I grabbed my backpack, I hurried back to my mom. She gave me a packed lunch, and I was out the door. As I started making my way to school, I noticed there was someone in a Hoodie with animal ears protruding out the top.

When I got a little closer to the hooded person, they stared at me intently; I couldn’t help but gaze back at them and noticed it was a girl. The Hoodie was covering up a knee-high black one-piece dress. The second her piercing blue eyes reached mine, I was stunned.

She was also rocking silver hair, which is something you don’t see every day. What a beautiful girl! That was the only thing running through my mind. If only someone that beautiful could give me a chance.

As I stood there for a good while just staring at her, she gave me a smile that sent me straight to heaven. The fact she actually acknowledged my existence was something most girls won’t even do. I was completely bewildered by her actions, so I just nodded to her.

Just keep walking, Haru; she only smiled at you because of the awkward situation. Once I passed by her, I took a quick glance back, and she started following me.

Was she not waiting for someone else? Why would she decide to follow me of all people? On my ten-minute walk to school, she kept about a twenty-foot distance between us. This can’t be a new way of messing with me is it? By getting my hopes up? I'm probably just over thinking it.

Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past those assholes to mess with me like this. She looked like a popular girl, one who probably goes after the guy with the most admirers. So she can show her superiority to all those who would place their significance above her own. On the other hand, wearing a Hoodie with animal ears is a bit weird. But I’m sure with her looks, no one’s going to say a word and just think it's cute.

Walking through the front entrance of my high school, I head to the area where you pick up your schedule. There are about ten people in line; after I stand behind the last person, the hoodie girl from before stands right behind me. She got so incredibly close to me as if she had no issues getting in people's personal space.

Just what in the world is she thinking? I thought it was for the best to just ignore her for now; she then started rubbing her body against mine, which caused me to go into a state of shock. What is happening? I was much too afraid to turn around and question her actions, so I just stood there like a deer in headlights.

There is one thing I know for sure: she smells wonderful. But damn it, Haru, you can’t fall for a girl like this. She is the definition of out of your league. It will only end in unrequited feelings from my side and her probably laughing at the idea of even thinking I had a chance. After about five minutes, I got up to the table to find my name and schedule. As I started looking through the names, hoodie girl came right next to me, close enough to rub arms.

Could she just be doing this unknowingly? Could it be she’s really dingy and not sure of her surroundings? I’m not saying I dislike the fact she’s rubbing her arm onto mine, but I just don’t want to get the wrong idea. She is sending me so many mixed signals. It could also be that those are just in my head? Let’s just forget about this and go to class.

When I finally got to my homeroom, which was almost on the other side of the school entrance. I noticed right away that a few of my tormentors were also in the class. They haven’t noticed me yet, so let’s just hurry and run to a seat. I go to the opposite side of the room and sit at a table in the back corner. Once I got myself situated, I noticed Hoodie girl walk through the door. At the same time, I look at the open seat next to me and put my head down.

Why would you even think for a second that she would sit next to you? I guess I’m just reading too many fantasy novels and way too much wishful thinking. The loser guy always gets the cute girl in those types of stories. There's no way I would become some kind of male protagonist in a fantasy novel. I look up slightly and notice the three instigators moving towards her. That seems about right, and I’m sure they're going to ask her to join them. You would have to be blind to not see how cute she is under that Hoodie and want to spend time with her.

I tried my best to listen in on their conversation, “Hey cutie, want to sit with us?”

“…” She just looked up at them and proceeded to brush right past as if she could care less about their attention.

One of them grabbed her shoulder. “Hey, what’s up with that stuck-up attitude?” The whole class started to pay attention at this time.

“Fuck off.” She glared at the guys with so much killing intent that I'm sure everyone else in the room was feeling the weight of her words. The one who touched her shoulder let go immediately. They all had this fear of death written all over their faces.

Thinking to myself, I’m really glad I didn’t try to say anything to her. I could only imagine it probably would have been much worse for me. What a great way to start off a new school year, seeing those douche bags getting their confidence shattered. As I was having those thoughts, I noticed someone come near me. I look up, and it’s Hoodie staring right at me.

“Mind if I sit here?” She asks.

“Um… sure, if you don’t mind sitting next to me.” I replied, not understanding why she would choose to sit next to someone like me.

“Why do you say it like that?” She said with a tilted head.

“Well, most people avoid me, so it will only hurt your social standing by interacting with everyone's punching bag.” I said as I looked over at the three who got rejected by her. They were all trying to pierce me with their eyes. As if to say, you're going to fucking die.

“I don’t really care what other people think about me.” She gave me a warm smile.

“Well, suit yourself.” After seeing her smile, I couldn’t help but smile back. At the same time, I got this tingly feeling deep inside me. It was something foreign, but it felt really nice.

Hoodie sat down at the table and went about her business. I just looked forward, afraid to even make eye contact with the very cute girl sitting really close to me. It’s extremely rare for me to have a conversation with a girl. Usually it wasn’t a very positive experience and always led to her walking away quickly or looking for a friend to help her out.

I remember this one time a year ago when I bumped into a girl in a hallway by accident. She responded by slapping me in the face, “Watch where you’re going, loser.” That was the extent of our conversation. What the hell, though? Did that deserve such a harsh reaction?

When I was deep in thought thinking about how vicious girls can be, someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up, and Hoodie was literally right in front of my face. What’s her deal, seriously? She acted as if those other guys were the plague. But she’s going out of her way to have a conversation with me? If I moved a few inches, I could kiss her right on the lips with how close she is, but of course I would never attempt that.

“My name is Akari.”

I was stunned by the fact she introduced herself to me first, “I’m Haru.” I said as I had a confused expression on my face.

“You look surprised.” Akari asked.

“Well, I don’t usually get this kind of attention from a girl; she would rather ignore me than talk. I’m sure everyone here is wondering if you’re on medication. Especially the three losers who you told to fuck off earlier, and by the way, that was really enjoyable.” I said with a chuckle.

“Do those three trouble you, Haru?” Akari asked with a cold tone.

“The last five years of my school life, those assholes have tormented me. I’m sure because of the fact you’re giving me attention, I will get their wrath later on. I’m not saying I dislike it or anything.” I said worried, she might get the wrong idea. “It’s just frustrating dealing with them.”

I stared at Akari as she was deep in thought. “Do you want me to kill them?” She asked with a serious face.

“What? Kill them? I mean, it would be a great service to the world if they disappeared. But with laws in place against that, sadly it’s not possible.” I said with a sigh as I saw Akari’s eyes shine for a second. Was she being serious?

“Well, if you ever change your mind, let me know.” She said confidently as if she could get it done.

“Why would you even go that far for me?”

“That’s a secret.” She gave me a wink.

What in the world is going on? Why is this girl acting like her goal was to talk to me from the very beginning? Still, it’s best not to get my hopes up. I have no idea what her motives are and if she could be trusted. But wouldn’t it be amazing if she were actually interested in me? Spending time with her would make my life a lot better. But these thoughts will only ever be that and will probably never change.