a/n; kuroyaoyaoya , oh my god, this was so much better in my head i am s o b b i n g ;-;

i love you ahl ♥ my precious little baby. happy late valentine's day- //slapped because THIS IS THE LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY LMAO

lmao i'll shut up now xD here goes, part 2 ;-; bahliy, i tried ;A;

•••

Chuuya has the music on when Ahl wakes up the next morning.

She finds herself cringing when she is awake enough to make out the lyrics.

'Can't wait anymore, I won't wait

I need to tell you how I feel when I see us together forever.'

Ahl puts on her headphones and plays a pop song. She refuses to let it bother her, but she could not stop herself. She wanted it to stop, but she had never been able to ask him why he played it so much, in the first place.

I'll ask him today. I need to ask him to stop it. Yes.

With this thought, she walks outside to head to the bus station with Chuuya.

Ahl waits for 30 minutes before she gives up and goes to the bus station alone.

She was late to school, she had forgotten her lunch box, and got hit in the face three times in a row during PE.

This was not her day.

Ahl has a bad feeling as she walks out of the nurse's office at the end of the session. Her fingers are sore from holding the ice pack for so long, and she just wanted to crawl into a ball and sleep, at home.

Filtering through her friends who were laughing about something that happened in Science class, Ahl makes her way out of the building, to the bus stop. She wanted to talk to Chuuya about what a sucky day it was, to hear him say 'Life is shit like that, after all', and then laugh about it.

Ahl wanted Chuuya's company.

And yet, she understood what kind of a job he had, what he had the power to do, and the differences between them were terrifyingly overwhelming.

She still liked him despite all that.

Because at the end of the day, it all came down to the fact she felt relaxed, around him.

And if Chuuya felt that way as well, then that was all that mattered.

Upon reaching her building, Ahl feels her chest tightening when she does not hear the familiar song playing.

And the next day.

And the day after that.

Each day when she wakes up, she wants to start crying, when she realises that she doesn't hear the music anymore.

Even though she hated it so much... She couldn't help finding the song, and playing it on her own.

'In my dreams, you're with me,

We'll be everything I want us to be...'

She knew it would hurt even more, and yet, she couldn't help herself.

---

A week passed by in what felt like slow motion. Ahl was slowly starting to get used to how her life was before she met him... Even though it still wasn't the same, of course. As she dragged her way upstairs, each step more of a burden to her than a simple mean of going home, she sighs, soft sighs that echo through the close-lived in features of the tunnel-like staircase.

Her steps come to a halt when she notices the feeling of a presence when she climbed the stair to the first floor.

Suddenly, she feels her legs get weak, and she clumsily hurried up; her eyes going wide as she saw Chuuya leaning against the wall beside his apartment door. There is blood dripping from an injury on his forehead, and from the dust and the colour on his trench coat and shirt, Ahl could easily tell that he had gone through a brutal fight.

"Chuuya!" She cries, sinking down to her knees in front of him. She was internally panicking while she presses the wrist of her collar to his forehead.

"Stop it, Ahliy." Chuuya hisses, flinching slightly as he looks at her wide-eyed. But of course, there was no way she could leave him be.

"Please, try to get up. I'll help you." She tried to sound as sincere as possible, meaning every word as she looked at him with her hands extended out towards him. Ahl can easily notice the hesitation before he raises a hand in defeat. 

With his weight making Ahl barely able to keep her own feet upright, she helps Chuuya sit on the couch. As soon as he does, she can see him close his eyes shut, wincing at the contact. It made her heart hurt when she saw the pain he was in, and the fact that he was trying to hide it made her even sadder.

With Chuuya's instructions, she finds a first-aid box, sitting in front of him as she dabs some medicine on the bandage. With every time the medicine came in contact with his skin, Ahl could hear him hiss under his breath. He has his eyes closed the entire time as she rolled the clean bandage around his forehead, his wrists, and on his shin, which had been cut deep, the cloth of his trousers ripping through in the process.

"Chuuya, why?"

He knew. He just knew. He knew that would be the first thing Ahl would ask of him.

"That is just so like you." He mumbles, shifting his weight to his right and leaning against the armrest.

"You owe me an explanation."

"Ahliy, can you press that button there? The one with the red light blinking above it?"

Dumbfounded by his sudden request- especially since he never asks her to do anything for him- Ahl hurries to get up. She stops in front of the music player, glancing at Chuuya before pressing the button.

'And from then,

Who knows?'

"Why?" She finds herself asking again, as she sat down on the coffee table. Chuuya furrows his eyebrows, swatting his hand to get her to stand up. But from the way she was looking at him, he knew she needed an answer.

"I like this song."

"I wanted an answer for that, but you know what I mean."

"Ahl. I work at the Port Mafia. This is the kind of place it is. I need to be able to take this little bit of pain."

And hidden behind the upturned lips, Ahl knew for certain that he was lying. And it is proved, when she notices little tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

And when he was sure that Ahliy could understand, he sighs again, further in defeat. Frozen in spot, clearly not knowing how to react; it actually makes Ahl regret asking something like that, which he wanted to hide so much.

"You know what. It's fine. I know you're not telling to look out for me, so its fi-"

"I don't know where they are."

"Who?"

"My parents."

Ahl almost slips from her seat, making Chuuya reach a hand out. He flinches at the pain, and luckily, Ahl manages to get on her feet before she fell to her face.

She blinked once... twice... she lost count before her voice could gather a word.

"Oh..."

"I don't know where they are. So I'm going to find out. This is why I joined the Port in the first place."

Chuuya was finally confessing things to her, she should have been happy that he was, and yet... There are tears in her eyes as well, while Chuuya goes on.

"So here I am, accepting even the harshest things in life as my 'destiny.'"

"Chuuya..."

"Because even if saying that I didn't 'want' to is as easy as ABC... I have a duty."

The last word he used makes Ahl shudder. She hated it so much, but she understood that this was where he belonged, and he was doing what he felt was right. She trusted him.

"It hurts. Knowing I'm not the best. No matter how hard I try. And someone better appears, and all I can think is that... 'I am aware of it, you don't need to rub it on my face.' I know it's wrong, and yet, this is what I have chosen."

Ahl could only stand and look at the way Chuuya leans against the soft material of the couch. She wondered what she could say to make him feel better, but she knew she couldn't change something like that.

She could only do one thing.

And that was, placing her hand on the top of his head. While Chuuya looked up at her in confusion, she finds a little smile forming on her face; he could easily tell that it was a sad smile, one that made Chuuya's heart race yet want to croak at the same time.

"I accept who you are as a person." Ahl states. "And that won't change. No matter what you do."

The blue-eyed man blinks up at her, the warmth of her fingertips making him gulp internally.

He was not supposed to feel this way.

"Ahl, I need some time on my own. So..."

Ahl gives a nod, she tried to step into his shoes and understand what he was going through. She couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. So, all she can do is let him decide what was right.

She didn't want to leave.

She wanted to cry, instead.

The music that had been playing continuously felt like background music up until she reaches the door.

The last bit of the lyrics she hears before she closes the doors makes her heart flinch.

'Maybe this will be the night that we kiss, for the first time.

Or is that me and my imagination?'

---

Chuuya has a lot to say, the next morning.

So much, that he is waiting outside his apartment door when Ahl climbs down the stairs.

"Good morning." She greets, adjusting the straps of her backpack. The man gives a nod in response, walking down the stairs. Ahl notices that he was no longer limping, and most of the bruises he had on were now gone.

Maybe Chuuya isn't the only one with those kinds of supernatural powers...

"Ahliy?" Chuuya calls, snapping her out of her thoughts. Ahl shakes her head, hurrying to catch up to the brunette. 

"Yeah?"

"Can I pick you up after school? I want to take you out." He says. Ahl wasn't sure if she heard right.

"Eh?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." She sees a faint red bursting onto his face, and Ahl feels her heart race a little. "After you finish club."

"Okay..."

There is silence between the two while they sat on the bus, even when they climb off and finally glance at each other before parting ways.

"So..."

"I'll see you later, then." He says. She gives a little nod before she dashes into the building to see her friends.

---

When Chuuya asked her where she wanted to go, Ahl mentions a cafe' nearby that she used to visit a lot ever since she was little.

She had dodged all her friends who gave her suspicious looks when Chuuya stood outside the gate. She couldn't hide the fact that her heart skipped irrationally when she ran up to him smiling at her a little.

She could tell everyone that... But not Chuuya himself.

"So, what do we have to eat?"

"Have you seriously never been on a date before?" Ahl asks, squinting her eyes at the man. She has to try her hardest to hide the giggle when Chuuya's face turns pink, contrasting the lock of his hair that hung over from the left side of his face.

"This isn't a da- Never mind. Just pick something."

The radio inside the cafe' begins to play a familar song, and for a full minute, Chuuya and Ahliy can only look at each other, their eyes not wavering a single bit.

'We walk, we laugh, we spend our time, walking by the ocean side,

My hands are jelly intertwined, a feeling I just can't describe.'

A waitress appears with their orders a while later. They snap out of their thoughts and sigh. Ahl tells him about the play her school was going to hold next month, and Chuuya comments occasionally on how silly she was while taking small sips of his champagne.

"You're going to get drunk."

"No. I'm sober. I have things to tell you, so I'm going to limit how much I have today." He has to say, placing the glass down and reaching for something in his coat pocket.

"Here. It's Valentine's day, right? You were so excited for today, so I got you something."

Ahl's reaches for the small box she is being handed, gulping when she sees the small bites of fancy-looking chocolate inside.

"It should actually be the other way around! I didn't make anything for you."

That was a lie. She had chocolate cupcakes she made for him, sitting on the counter of her home. She couldn't wait to give it to him, when they reached her house.

"It's fine. I don't need anything. It's just my way of saying thank you for everything, and that I'm sorry."

"For?" Confused, Ahl tilts her head as she munched on a bite of the chocolate. It was slightly sweet with little crumbs of nuts inside it. When Chuuya does not take the piece that she holds out for him, she realises that he was very serious.

"I have something to tell you."

Ahl stops stirring her cup of coffee, and shoots a glance at the man in front of her. Chuuya taps on his phone screen and then places it near Ahl's coffee cup. She sees that it is a text, one filled with complicated names, but by the end of it, she is able to get the gist of what it says.

"Oh."

"Yes."

"You have to leave? For how long?"

Chuuya nods, watching the way the high-school girl fiddled with her fingers. She almost hits the cup, and he sighs.

"Till everything becomes fine."

But everything never gets fine...

"What are you saying?" Ahl asks, hands on the table. Chuuya slides his phone into his pocket, taking a sip of his drink before he took a deep breath.

"I'm going to move out. From the apartment. From the city. Away."

It takes a couple seconds for his words to sink in. And when it does, all her questions get answered automatically.

"Away... From me?"

"Yes." Chuuya confirms. "I have to. Or else nothing will change. And you know exactly what I mean."

She did. And yet...

"Is it because of our age difference?"

"What? No. I didn't really think of that. And it's getting late, so hurry and finish your food, or your mom will get angry."

"I'm not hungry."

A furrow etches itself on his face, and he picks up his trench coat. Ahl frowns and picks her bookbag, watching the way Chuuya pays for the meal they barely finished. More silence followed as they walked towards their building. It became more and more painful as they walked next to each other.

They cared so much for each other, but how was it that they knew almost nothing about the other?

How could they have such strong feelings for each other when they couldn't understand each other?

Ahl thought it was unfair that she wanted to understand him. But she couldn't.

And she could do nothing but blame life, as the silence went on, all the way to their building.

Chuuya glances at Ahl, while she is making circles on the soil.

"Ahl."

"Hm?" She couldn't help it. She was being a little salty, but she thought it was fair, considering how she was feeling.

"I don't want to leave you. But I have to."

"Chuuya..."

"I feel like we were made for each other and yet we met at the wrong time." He whispers. Ahl has to blink her eyes a lot of times to avoid tears spilling out.

"I don't regret meeting you. Not one bit."

"I don't either." He has to say with a little smile. When Chuuya leans a little closer to her and places a soft kiss on her cheek, she closes her eyes. She failed once again. The tears spilt out at that.

"Maybe we'll meet again when everything is fine." He pats her head. 

But I want to stick with you even when nothing is fine...

Ahl can only give a small nod in response. While she wipes her face with the back of her hands, she notices the hat Chuuya is wearing.

"Oh. You're wearing your favourite hat today."

"Oh yeah, you noticed?" He responds, taking it off. He then places it over her head, neatening the fringe over her face a little before he moves away a little.

"Because I want you to have this. Keep this with you." He has to say, stepping inside the building. Ahl holds her composure as she walks behind him. Chuuya stops in front of his doorstep, glancing at the shorter girl behind him.

"Goodnight." Ahl speaks, and Chuuya gives a nod.

"Sleep well, Ahliy." He has to say, opening the door. "You won't find me anymore. So even if we never meet again, even if we see each other on the streets, or anywhere, please remember one thing."

"What?"

"I love you."

While Ahl takes in a lungful of air, Chuuya closes the doors softly, his own heart racing as he leant against the door with nervousness.

Meanwhile, Ahl stood, clenching her fists.

And when the music plays again, she can't stay anymore.

'All this time we spent along, thinking we don't belong.

To something so damn beautiful. So damn beautiful.'

And she raced upstairs, locking herself in her room and waiting for the tears to spill out.

But they never did.

You idiot. At least let me tell you I love you too...

---

The next morning, Chuuya does not stand in front of his apartment door.

And the next day. And the one after that.

More accurately put. It was no belonged to Chuuya anymore.

The cupcakes she had made for him goes stale, and as she throws them into the dustbin, she felt just as useless as they were.

Ahliy's heart clenched when she came back home every day and never heard the familiar, painful music again; This was not the kind of angst she liked.

She remembers what Chuuya once said... How there were so many kinds of angst...

He was right, this was the kind of horrible ones that he had mentioned.

And Ahl could not bear it.

She feels like crying when she finds a new lady moving into Chuuya'svacated apartment room.

Her lips trembled when the lady gives her bag, three days after she moved in.

"I asked around and found out that you're the only one in this building named Ahliy." She has to say, as the girl pulled out a trench coat from the bag.

The coat smelled just like him. It was still warm, it felt just like him.

And the note that reads 'For Ahliy' inside his coat pocket makes her eyes dampen.

She wanted to cry so much, but she couldn't.

They appeared in each other's life with little steps.

And what hurts the most was that they had to walk away from each other the same way...

This time, with steps that refused to budge.

It wasn't like any ordinary angst where they both would sit in a corner and cry.

This was one where they went along with every single thing life offered to them, good or bad...

While they fought hard to not lose their heads.

Afraid that they would fall apart any time soon. With tears that refused to come out of their eyes. Tears that did nothing but dampen their eyes, tears that refused to fall, tears that never, ever left them.

Never.

---

a/n; well. it's official. i can't angst. kms lmao. i'm so sorry bahliy i hope you like this anyways ;w; i love you sm, even if we don't get to talk often because we're busy. ;A; BAJEEZ THO THIS IS 3.2K WORDS I'M-- //shot

OK I'M SERIOUSLY LATE FOR CLASS NOW BYE-- //slapped