Chapter 2

I stood there, dumbfounded for a couple of seconds.

"How did you know where I live?"

"I asked the school," Ai responded, not breaking her smile.

"And they just told you where I live?"

That should be illegal. Why do they get to just up and tell anyone private information?

"Yup! That's why I'm here!"

This girl. She was almost too happy, if that's the correct description. Nothing like the seemingly deep-in-thought girl from yesterday.

"Well, go home unless you actually need something," I said, getting tired of the back and forth.

"Nope!"

After she said that, I just slammed the door.

Why is she trying so hard? It's obvious that I'm not interested. I stood in front of the door for a few seconds, wondering what I should do about the burden that stood behind it. Maybe if I let her see a small bit of how much of a mess I am, she'll leave me alone? No, that wouldn't work. Knowing her, she'd try to clean the house.

"I'll make you breakfast!"

That's a dirty play. I hadn't had a homemade breakfast in months. There was no way I could resist this. Giving in, I turned around and opened up the door. The girl behind it had the satisfied look of a cat who had just caught their prey on her face.

"Just to make something clear. You are not to go in any other room except the kitchen or dining room. No bedroom, no living room, nothing else. Is that clear?"

She nodded, and followed me into my kitchen. I watch her eyes wander around the room, inspecting every corner.

"Ignore the mess," I said instinctively. I really could care less what she thinks of me.

Ignoring me, she began rummaging through my cabinets, searching for pots and pans and whatnot to cook with. What part about not snooping does she not understand?

"What should I make you?" Ai now had the look of a fierce athlete, preparing for a match.

There were many options, but just one stuck out to me.

"An omelette, I guess."

She made what I could only describe as a grunt of acknowledgement, and turned to begin cooking. She was like a wizard. Really. I could barely even see what she was doing, that's how fast she worked. Skillfully, dicing up peppers and other vegetables, cracking eggs. She really was precise. Give me a hundred years and I wouldn't even come close to her level. As she cooks, a delicious smell fills my house. A smell that had been absent for a long time. The smell of home cooked food.

"Done!" Ai yells into the living room, where I was waiting.

It looked delicious. But yet, at the sight of this beautiful meal, I felt nothing. No joy, no happiness. Just hunger.

Why do I eat? I asked myself this as I shoveled in a mouthful of omelette. I'm just going to be hungry again in a few hours. And yet, I would crave even more if I didn't. It's like an endless cycle, really.

The omelette was delicious. And I hate that.

Just then, I felt shocked eyes burning into my skull. Looking up, Ai was staring at me with a concerned look.

"Wha…"

I hadn't even realized. Tears were streaming down my face. My face turned red with embarrassment.

"Why am I...what's wrong with me…" I have mumbled, half fake-laughed.

I wiped and wiped at my tears, but that only seemed to make more flow out.

At this point, there was no point in trying to stop them. I just sat there crying for absolutely no reason, in front of a girl who rejected me. These tears have no meaning. Stuff that has no meaning doesn't deserve to exist, and yet they do. Why? Why can't I just understand? I hate this.

After that incident, we didn't talk much. We simply sat in silence. It wasn't awkward or anything, we just didn't need to talk. We both should be in school right now, but it was already around 9 am, so we just skipped. After a while, Ai got up and looked over at me.

"We should go out!"

I never know what to expect from her.

"We should be in school right now. What if someone sees us?"

To this, she frowns.

"You'd probably be skipping class anyways. And I've never done anything like this before, so I want to."

She has a point in that first statement.

"What would we do in the first place? I have no real hobbies or interests, so you'd just be dragging me along with you."

That was a lie.

"Liar!"

Did she read my mind?

"I followed you last night. You're pretty good at ice skating."

What are you, a stalker?

I can't believe this girl.

"No I'm not. And even if I was, what's your point?" I said, looking away.

I never intended to let any of my classmates find out my hobbies,but I guess it's too late now.

"I'm saying we should go! I want to try it!"

She stared at me with almost puppy dog-like eyes, practically begging.

She really is beautiful.

Eventually, I just gave in. I swear, there's something about her.

Anyways, we're on our way to the ice rink. I was not excited. But I wouldn't necessarily say I dreaded it either. I didn't really feel anything. I don't see the appeal in doing things in groups. No matter what you could be doing, it would be just the same if you were doing it alone. More people just means more to appease. And yet, I'm still doing this. It would have been so easy to just kick her out and go back to bed. I wonder why?

As we approached the ice rink, I looked over at Ai. Her eyes were bright, and she was visibly excited. I wonder why? Couldn't she just do the same exact thing on her own? Why does she want to do this with me, out of everyone who would go ice skating with her.

I reached for the door, pulling it open and passing it to Ai as I walked in. The familiar breeze of cold air rushed over me, and I instantly relaxed. Walking up to the cash register, I passed them our money, and they handed us our skates. Getting ready took much longer than I expected, as I had to teach Ai to tie her skates. But soon enough, we began walking towards the ice.

"Just so you know, I'm not teaching you to skate. So don't even try to use me as a stabilizer."

I had no intention of holding her hand like a 2 year old and pulling her along.

To this, she replied yes.

With that, I stepped out onto the ice. Pushing myself forwards a couple of feet, I then turned to look at her. She stared curiously at the ice, tapping it with her toe. She seemed to take her ability to tap the ice as the ability to actually skate, and stepped onto the ice without a second thought. She was okay for a couple of seconds, but began to lose her balance and frantically grasped for the boards. She didn't make it though. Quite the opposite, as she somehow managed to move backwards. In a somewhat comical way, she fell straight back, legs up in the air.

"UWWAAHH," she yelled as she fell.

I stifled a laugh. I never thought I'd find seeing someone fall so cute. Seriously. What's with this girl?

Contradicting what I said earlier, I began to skate towards her to help her up. The more that I think about it, she's like a living contradiction to my existence, if that makes sense. This thought scares me. Does that mean we'll never actually understand each other, or does the "opposites attract" law apply here?

Lost in my thoughts, I must not have prepared to stop properly, as I felt a shocking jolt in my ankle as the edge of my skate got caught in the ice.

"Oops."

With that, I flew forwards, landing hard on my front. The air was forcibly smack out of my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath and unable to move.

Damn, that hurts.

I stared up at the metallic ceiling. You know, that ceiling is a lot like my body. The ceiling is just there. Not interacting. Not accomplishing anything. Simply existing to protect what's inside. That's right. I haven't gotten anywhere. I can talk to one singular girl, but what does that even matter? We're both insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

But why do I feel so content right now? All I feel is pain right now. I can't breathe, and I'm practically freezing to death. Maybe this is all to prove I'm alive. But why must it hurt? Why couldn't whoever created us give us a way to recognize meaning in a painless way? I felt like curling up in a corner and disappearing. But that's unrealistic. I exist. That's all there is to it.

Her eyes. That was all I could see. They were a deep sparkling blue.

I saw it for a moment. My purpose.

In those seemingly endless moments, we stared at each other. I wouldn't give less of a shit if all the ice just fell away underneath us, and we fell into nothing. Maybe I was right about her being a living contradiction to me.

But as quickly as those moments came, they were gone.

"HEY!"

I almost screamed out of surprise as the manager yelled at us.

"STAND UP!"

I had completely forgotten about the fact that you weren't allowed to lay on the ice. Shaken out of our dazes, we stood up, completely drenched in water. It's kind of ironic. I'm standing here, freezing to death, after feeling the most comfortable I had felt in a long time.

After that, we didn't do much. We walked around for a while, and then we went to eat lunch at a local ramen shop. It wasn't amazing, but wasn't bad. It was simply good. But everything tastes better when I was around her, for some reason. I couldn't explain it if I tried for a week. We finished eating, and then went on our way. The sun had begun to set, casting an orange glow on our surroundings.

"Hey. I never asked you, but where do you live?" Hopefully she isn't weirded out by this question.

"Oh, umm…"

Damn it, I shouldn't have asked.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

She looked away. I really shouldn't have asked.

She turned back towards me, looking straight into her eyes.

"If I tell you, please don't make me go back. Let me stay with you."

She stared at me, the most desperation she had ever shown me.

I was shocked at this sudden change, and began to inquire further, but stopped myself before I could.

"I'm not going to ask why. It's none of my business. But please, when you're comfortable enough, tell me."