Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 12

I forced the stupid thought away, but the tears just kept coming. Stop it, I scolded myself, tightening my grip around my knees to help bring myself back to reality and out of the swirling hurricane of thoughts that occupied my mind. I have Keigo. As long as I have Keigo, I'll be fine. It doesn't matter if everyone leaves me behind. It doesn't matter if the whole world hates me. I still have Keigo beside me, so I'll be okay. I let out a pathetic chuckle, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand as I leaned against the wall. Hah. He really is all I have left now, isn't he? Everyone else is either already gone, or will leave me behind as soon as they get tired of me.

On shaky legs, I slowly stood up, only now realizing that my phone was still in my hand, and that I'd nearly crushed it in my grip. I quickly checked the time - not even ten yet. What a great start for the weekend. Barely any sleep, overdosing on caffeine, and breaking down twice in less than eight hours. I found myself wishing selfishly that Keigo was awake and beside me, comforting me with just his presence, but that was stupid. He already did so much for me - he deserved to at least get some sleep. It wasn't fair to him if I kept clinging on. He had his own life without me, and I couldn't just be by his side at all times. 

That's right. I'm fine on my own,  I told myself even though I knew it was a lie. If it wasn't for Keigo, then I would've been either dead or in an even worse condition than I was now. No way in hell would I be fine on my own. Still, I splashed some water on my face and tried to rub the exhaustion out of my eyes, but only succeeded in making my vision even more blurry. Once I'd managed to calm myself down a little, I went to the extra bedroom that we turned into a shared study, checking thoroughly to make sure that all my work was done before grabbing a book off one of the shelves and returning to the living room, collapsing onto the couch in exhaustion.

I could feel my eyes get a little heavier with every line I read, but the rush of adrenaline from my coffee earlier kept me awake. After maybe an hour, I heard the groan of the mattress from the bedroom, and Keigo slowly shuffled out, yawning loudly as he ran a hand through his hair and stretched out his wings. Once he saw me, he immediately seemed to wake up a little, and gave me a massive hug, and I put my book down for a quick second to kiss the tip of his nose. I'd washed up a little earlier, so I doubted Keigo would be able to tell that I was crying before - I stopped shaking a while ago, but the sadness still lurked a little at the back of my mind.

With a quiet grunt, Keigo lifted me off the couch, holding me gently in his arms and I struggled a little against him, but his grip around me was too strong, and all I could do was squirm as he peppered my face with butterfly kisses. I finally managed to push him away, just the tiniest bit, but it was enough to make us both grin. There he goes again, being the light of my life. It was funny, really, how he always managed to cheer me up with the simplest of things, but I faked a pout and gave him an overexaggerated frown.

"Put me down," I whined, punching his arm weakly, and he just laughed at me.

"Or what?" Keigo pulled me in a little closer, squeezing me into his chest. 

I smirked and elbowed him in the gut, and Keigo yelped at the sudden pain, instinctively letting me go and making me drop onto the cushions of the couch. As soon as he recovered, though, he pounced on me from above, pinning me to the couch as he tickled anything he could reach, and I laughed uncontrollably as I tried to push him off in useless attempts. Keigo wasn't even that much taller than me, but while I was lean and agile, he was more strong and muscular. I could probably slip away from him if I tried, but I was giggling too hard, and it helped distract me from last night. By now, he and I both knew talking it out was useless - the best he could do for me was distract me from it. 

In a quick move, I managed to flip us over and tackled Keigo, tickling his sides, and the entire apartment echoed with joyous laughter, and only when we were both tired did we come to a stop. Keigo's stomach growled loudly, and we stared each other right in the eye, pursing our lips to keep ourselves quiet, but the corner of Keigo's mouth twitched, and before I knew it, I was dragging him into the kitchen, trying my best to control my giggles as I used the rest of the batter to make Keigo's breakfast - if he tried to cook something himself without my supervision, he'd probably burn down the entire complex. I made another batch of coffee for the both of us, and watched happily as Keigo attacked his plate of pancakes, savoring every bite, my eyes almost closed as a massive smile spread across my face. I don't know what I did to deserve someone as perfect as him, but whatever it is, I'm happy I did it.

"What're you staring at?" Keigo asked through a mouth full of pancakes, and I wacked the back of his head.

"Nothing," I rolled my eyes, ignoring his teasing raised eyebrow. "You're just a really messy eater, y'know?"

"Whatever you say," he answered, shrugging his shoulders before continuing to shovel pancakes into his mouth. The coffee machine gave a loud beep, and I poured us both a cup each, adding a little bit of cream and sugar into his, and sat down across from Keigo. He watched me take a slow sip, his eyes growing a little more serious. "Did you manage to get any sleep after... that? I tried to stay awake until you'd fall asleep, but I must've been pretty tired..."

Poor Keigo. He must be exhausted from having to be a pro hero that thousands of people look up to, and he still manages to take care of me... "Yep, slept like a baby!" I grinned at him, hiding my face behind my cup as I took another sip so he couldn't see through the lie. No need to worry him over nothing. Keigo just shook his head a little, sighing loudly as if to tell me he didn't believe me, but he finished eating his breakfast and chugged his cup of coffee as if nothing bothered him. As soon as he was done, he kissed my forehead in thanks and washed the dishes, before turning to me with an excited grin. "Oh no. You're plotting something. What are you plotting?"

"Hey, why am I plotting?" Keigo whined and tried to go in for a hug, but with my coffee still in hand, I dodged out of the way. "Why can't I be just thinking?"

"Keigo, just tell me what you want."

"I'm taking you out," he announced proudly.

I giggled a little at his overjoyed expression. "I would hope so. I mean, you are my boyfriend, aren't you?" 

"Just get dressed, okay?" Keigo sighed, choosing to ignore my teasing, and in a matter of minutes, we were both ready for whatever mystery date he came up with. 

We left the apartment behind, wandering through the streets hand in hand as Keigo brought me to all of our favorite places, from the beach to the tiny café to the old bridge that was once a bustling highway but now stood in an abandoned part of the city's outskirts. We passed by the carnival from yesterday, the elderly man from the game waving at us when he spotted us in the crowds again, and we waved back. The whole day, his hand never left mine, and although it was summer, his warmth still felt comforting next to me. We'd left at maybe eleven and got home past midnight, giddy and tired from spending the whole day laughing at even the smallest of things, and despite the fact that I'd had more than the recommended amount of caffeine, I had no trouble curling up beside Keigo and falling asleep.

The next day was a little more calm, with Keigo dragging me out of the house to visit another old friend of ours - Akina Yushido, who'd been a little too busy with her career as a singer to check up on us. Surprisingly enough, she and I had met back at U.A. and become friends over the fact that we were both somewhat outcasts, and I eventually introduced her to Keigo, but we'd lost touch after she graduated a year before me. Still, seeing her was relieving, and by the time the day was over, the thoughts that had clouded my mind on Saturday's morning couldn't have been further away.