Lolita Love Story

During the short break, Kougou was all that Saikai could think of. She finished her pencil drawing of him, and lay back on her pillows, thinking of what he might be doing as she wiped her graphite-smudged fingers on a tissue. She imagined him reading or studying quietly in his room, or maybe watching TV with his father. He seemed like the kind of person who liked a quiet environment. She could hardly imagine him going out for errands or playing sports, even though he was on the soccer team now. Kougou was always surprising her, though.

She smiled. Kougou Nagasawa, the new boy, the object of the popular girls' affections, was her friend. He noticed her, spoke to her, and cared about her. It was the first time she thought so much about a boy and, despite her nervousness, he said he noticed her too. She felt her heart fluttering just thinking about him, about his soft, small smile and dark but gentle eyes. She even had fondness toward his strange hairstyle and pale, lean frame.

She closed her eyes and imagined that he was holding her hand and lying beside her on the pink blankets, also facing the ceiling. Her heart swelled like a flower blossoming inside her chest.

"Ki ni naru hito ga iru," she admitted softly to herself, unable to hold back her smile.



As nighttime darkened the sky, Saikai got ready for bed. She pulled on her nightgown, a soft white robe that she pulled over her head. She lifted the hood, which had rabbit ears, and put her headphones in, listening to B1A4 through earphones the shape of lollipops. With a yawn, she crawled into bed, dozing off to the sound of one of her favorite songs. She woke up several hours later, having forgotten to brush her teeth. Groaning, she pushed herself out of bed.

Saikai was about to go to the bathroom when she noticed a head of silver hair bobbing its way down the street. Without a second thought, she rushed quietly down the stairs past her grandma's room and out the front door. Just as she slid the door open, the boy reached up and threw a rock at her window. She hesitated, not knowing if she should really confront him or if she should go back inside. Now that she was looking at him, she began to have her doubts.

The choice was made for her as he turned to bend down and grab another rock and saw her standing there in her pajamas. He gave her a slow, devilish grin and merely waved.

Saikai couldn't do anything but stare. The boy had a moderate build with wide, strong shoulders, and whipcord arms that were ringed with kanji tattoos. His silver hair was long, hanging in front of one of his eyes and touching his shoulders just barely. He had skin neither especially tan nor especially pale. His lip was pierced and he wore only a tank top and baggy sweatpants that were tied as tightly as the strings would allow, but they still struggled to stay on his thin hips.

"Hi," he called, breaking her stare.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked uncertainly, hugging herself as she suppressed a shiver. He moved closer until he was standing at the base of the stairs to the lawn. She took a subconscious step back.

"Just causing a little trouble, I suppose," he answered in an even, almost haughty tone. "What are you doing?"

"I want to know why you're throwing rocks at my window," she said bravely. Her knees were shaking.

"That's your window?" he asked innocently, scratching his head as if he didn't realize.

"You've seen me up there before," she accused, backing up slowly to the door. "You stared at me and then just kept going like nothing happened."

"Did I scare you?" he asked, looking almost apologetic. "I really didn't mean for it to be like that. I was just messing around."

"Well you scared me... so please stop."

He smiled sadly, showing her his palms as if in defeat. "Sure, whatever you ask. But... how else was I supposed to get you to talk to me?"

"W-what? You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. You seem different than most people I see around. I mean, I happened to be walking by when you came home one day." He scratched his head uncomfortably again and let out a charming, self-directed laugh. "I meant to talk to you then, but it seemed like you were in a rush."

"Who are you?"

"Sorry, what was I thinking?" he said, laughing a little. He bowed respectfully. "I'm Caym. I may have been dropping by a lot, but I don't know your name. Honest."

"How do you know me?"

"I don't," he admitted. "Like I said, I saw you around and wanted to talk to you. You seem interesting. You know how it is here: everyone is supposed to look, act, and dress the same. I'm not like them. Neither are you. We're different."

She blushed, hoping that he meant her clothes.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he assured her. "You're pretty, and your clothes are pretty. They suit you."

"Please stop throwing rocks at my window," she said matter-of-factly, turning around and going back inside. "Good night."



Before Saikai went out the next day, she peeked out the window to make sure Caym wasn't there. She doubted that he would be, since he only showed up at night all the times before, but she didn't want to see him on her way to school. Only after she decided that the coast was clear did she pick up her briefcase and finish her breakfast. "Ittekimasu," she called to her grandma, who was watching soap operas in the sitting room.

Rie was waiting for her at the train station as she usually was. The only difference was that she wasn't surrounded by a crowd of giggling, gossiping girls. She looked sad.

"Are you okay?" Saikai asked, worried. "You look... tired."

"I look terrible, I know," Rie said unhappily, looking at the ground. "I got sick a few days ago, and it's just been getting worse lately."

"Where is everyone else?"

"Oh," Rie said, looking around as if noticing for the first time that she was alone, "I think they're taking the train in their neighborhood. They built a new station out there, I guess."

Saikai nodded, but didn't recall hearing anything about a new train station. The two girls boarded the train in silence, and their ride to school was also quiet except for the bustle of the train. When they arrived at school, Rie didn't perk up as she usually did. Instead, she just mumbled a quick "see you later" to Saikai and slipped into the crowd. Saikai stood at her locker for a moment, trying to think of what might be on her friend's mind. She had never been one to blend in or just "go with the flow". Rie had always been the one making the flow.

She closed her locker and headed to class when she was nudged into another student.

"Sorry!" she said, helping pick up the things she bumped out of his hands. He began to pick them up, too, when she noticed how pale his hands were. She looked up. It was Kougou. "Senpai!"

"It's okay," he said softly, his voice almost carried away by the loudness of the hallway. He straightened the papers and tucked them into a folder. She blushed as she realized she was staring, and held his briefcase while he finished putting things in order. He took it back only a few moments later. "Thank you."

"Wh-what are you doing today?" she asked nervously, unable to look at his face. "I mean, for lunch."

"I'm going out with some guys from the soccer team," he answered after a moment.

"Oh... Um, would you like to... eat together sometime?"

"All I ever bring is ramen," he admitted, laughing softly. "I'm not too good at cooking."

"I can bring something," Saikai offered, smiling a little. They began to walk to class, noticing that the hallways were emptying. "What do you like?"

"You're giving me a choice?" he asked, as if he'd never had the option in his life. "Of anything?" She nodded. "Well, my mom used to make this spicy curry. It was my favorite." He paused, as if reminiscing. "Do you think it would be okay to have that?"

"I make curry with my grandma sometimes. I think I could make a spicy curry... But I don't know if it will be as good as your mom's."

"I'm sure it will be delicious." He smiled. "How about on Thursday?"



That day, during lunch, Saikai sat on the grass with Rie, who was alone again. She seemed grateful for her company. As they were eating, Saikai noticed Kougou and a few boys from the soccer team walking out together. There were a few girls, too. She noticed that Fumiko, Takeshi's girlfriend, was talking to Kougou and looked down at her food, feeling less of an appetite. Fumiko was really pretty, probably the prettiest girl in school, and always looked perfect. Her parents were rich and could afford to buy her the best makeup and clothes, and she always had the newest fashions. Even Rie wasn't as pretty or popular as Fumiko.

"Sai-chan..." Rie was looking at her with pity in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Saikai said, forcing a smile. The silence stretched between them until she spoke again. "Rie-chan, do you know anyone with silver hair?"

"No, not really."

"Not really?"

"Well, I met a guy at the arcade during the summer with silver hair, but it's not like I talk to him anymore. We were just acquaintances for the summer."

"Did you find out what his name was?"

"No, I just called him Youma because he was so pale and kinda spooky looking. He called me Chara-chan. We never swapped our real names."

Saikai thought a bit. It wasn't hard to imagine Caym giving someone like Rie that kind of name, but then again, she barely knew him well enough to say for sure if that was his true personality or if it was just a front.

"Why are you asking? Does it have something to do with Kougou?"

"No, it's about that person who's been throwing rocks at my window. I confronted him last night and he said his name was Caym and that he just wanted to talk to me. He has silver hair and tattoos."

"What a creep! You should call the police if he comes back."

"Yeah..." Saikai said, but she was still too curious to do something like that and he didn't really seem like he was dangerous, just a little weird. Was he really telling the truth? Did he really just want to talk to her? She went back to eating in silence.