My best friend, Tokuda Kuma, and Mai had been dating since we all were in middle school. Literally the definition of textbook love birds. They were soulmates, that much was evident. Mai was sweet, witty, with a bubbly personality that invaded a room and forced you to smile. Tokuda was a star athlete, honest, and kind to a fault. Always willing to help anyone in need, even if it meant sacrificing his small amount of free time. They were the ultimate power couple here at Shojun Academy. Both popular, both amiable, both majorly in love with one another, that it sometimes made me sick with my own loneliness.

I should probably introduce myself. I am Akira Zenko. The stark opposite of Tokuda. But somehow, the two of us are best friends.

Our father’s had been college buddies, and they did everything together. Went to school, went on vacation, worked at the same company, and even died together. They had been on a work trip, when their flight went down over the ocean. The tragic accident had no survivors and left me without a dad but Tokuda without a home. His mother had passed from terminal cancer a few years after he was born, and with both of his grandparents already passed on. He was alone.

My mother, the saint that she is, took Tokuda in, he was already like her second son, so he came to live with us. She eventually legally adopted him and now we are brothers, although not by blood, but in every other sense of the word. Fate had a weird way of bringing our family together.

Tokuda’s life has not been an easy one, but I never see him cry, he is the strongest person I know. He perseveres even when adversity keeps knocking him down. It’s one of the reasons why he is such a good athlete. He doesn’t quit.

That was until three weeks ago.

I can remember it all in my mind like it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday and we had all been invited for karaoke after our midterms. The breeze of the crisp fall air had us all with red faces from the cold. The line of students gathered at the posted grades. We were second years, so good grades were beginning to be important for getting into the university of our choosing.

Tokuda and Mai had made the top three, again. I had been number seven. Of course, I could have been number 1, but I didn’t want to bring attention to myself. Number seven was a great stopping point. I knew all the answers on the exams. I easily could of pulled out the highest score. But I have this down to a science. Coming in 7th place, it shows my smarts, but also doesn’t bring attention to myself. These people have no earthly clue of my true aptitude. I remembering thinking I should come in first or second one time, just to stir the pot.

“Lucky number seven again Akira?” Mai always spoke with authentic glee.

“You could say that” I said. We smiled at each other, stepping back from the poster and letting the other students look up their rankings.

“I am so glad its over, I honestly was nervous I couldn’t make the top 10 again. The pressure to maintain these rankings is getting crazy.” She gazed up at the poster deep in thought.

“You don’t have to lie you know…We both know, you only came in third because you didn’t want to deal with Tokuda’s tantrum if you beat him.”

She chuckled, affirming my accusation. We both knew we would never hear the end of it. We stared at each other for a moment, as if speaking to each other with our eyes.

I wish I could tell her.

Tokuda came running down the hall. He was class A while Mai and I were Class B. He would meet up with us after school and we would all walk home together.

“Hey guys! It’s finally over! Top 10 am I right? So, guess what? Yamato and a few of the others are going to karaoke to celebrate, let’s go!” Tokuda grabbed Mai’s hand with one arm and then pushed me with the other, urging us to go along.

Of course I had obliged. He was my brother after all. I always kept a low profile, never wanting to be noticed. It worked well for me. I didn’t have to try so hard and being invisible except for your close circle had its perks. I was that one friend that was the invisible third wheel. One you always invited but never particularly cared to get to know. I was average popularity as far as I could tell. People knew I was smart, and I was likeable enough, but I never really talked, kept a low profile, and usually was the friend that shined light on others, rather than myself. Unlike some bitch I knew.

Speak of the devil, here comes Satan reincarnate.

Her name was Megami, which is pretty ironic considering it means woman is God, because she is most certainly not a saint. Although she does think she is the God of our school. She was rank 4 in the school. Smart, popular, but the meanest of the mean girls you will ever meet. She sat adjacent to me and Mai and loved to flaunt her body so that the guys in our class would do her favors.

Megami strolled down the hallway, her entourage of wannabe “it” girls in tow. She looked at the posted scores, smiling with her devious conniving smile, I could tell she didn’t care for Mai coming before her. Mai was the sweet to her sour. Both of them were night and day. It didn’t help that Megumi often would make snide remarks to Mai and often pitted the class against her ideas and suggestions.

Of course, this was only a fraction of what I knew Megumi was capable of. She was known to often bully girls as if a way to hold power over them. However, she kept her bullying to a minimum around Mai. Possibly because she didn’t want Tokuda to see her for the demon she was. Everyone knew that Megami had a crush on Tokuda, ever since middle school when she confessed her feelings. Tokuda had barely known her then and turned her down without a second thought. It was the most embarrassing of confession stories. To this day, Megami had never shown interest in anyone else, and had turned down every confession and dating offer given to her. She wore tons of makeup, flaunted her breasts and thighs, but none of that could mask what she truly was. She was an empty shell, just like me.

Her outward appearance might be fooling everyone else, but I saw her for what she really was. I think she knew this, she was sure to stay clear of me, even though I was Tokuda’s best friend. I didn’t blame her. I had heard rumors that most everyone in the school thought I was a bad boy that Tokuda only hung out with because we were brothers. She probably didn’t want to tarnish that image of hers, even if to get closer to Tokuda.

“Tokuda, rank 2 again. You are smart as ever I see. I am sure next time you will be rank one.” Megami twirled a strand of hair smiling, obviously flirting with Tokuda right in front of Mai. Mai’s face was always joyful, but I could tell inside, she was a little strained. Who does this bitch think she is?

“Thanks Megami, I hope so too. But you ranked pretty high too, could be you. Hey, we all are going for Karaoke to celebrate, you are welcome to come.”

Tokuda might be smart, but he sure was stupid when it came to reading the room. Poor Mai’s grimace could no longer be hidden.

“Of course, I would love too, Tokuda, you are so sweet.” Megami’s smile transcended past Tokuda aiming straight for Mai. If I didn’t intervene, we would have a cat fight on our hands.

“We better go and rent the party room before it gets booked, don’t you think Tokuda?”

“Oh your right, let’s go” Tokuda grabbed for Mai’s hand and the two of them went off down the hallway. I remained back, watching Megami as she began walking down the other end of the hallway. She was cooking up something in that little conniving mind of hers, but to what it was, I would soon find out.

---

Karaoke had started off with Tokuda making yet again another complete idiot of himself. He couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket but decided that being the first to sing was the right choice. Fortunately, he was loved by literally our entire school, so everyone laughed it off like it was just a Tokuda thing.

I didn’t pay too much attention though. Megami had arrived, making her rounds throughout the room. The slow but noticeable path to Mai who was in a corner with a couple of other girls caught my radar. I made my way to the corner. Making eye contact with Mai just as Megami entered the group of girls.

“Hey Ladies, are we having fun?” Megumi lifted up her glass in party girl style. The group of girls did a synonymous agreement and raised their drinks as if they were getting drunk off juice.

Mai quietly made her way near to me. I grabbed for her hand to let her know I was there. I had often been the one who protected her from the shadows. She knew I was there for her, even if Tokuda was too blind to see it.

“If you are uncomfortable, we can leave, I can take you home” I whispered in her ear.

“I am fine Akira, thanks for having my back, you always do” she looked at me and smiled, letting go of the hold she had on my hand. I wished I could hold her hand longer.

That was wrong of me to think. Mai was with Tokuda. She loved Tokuda. But deep inside, Mai and me, we understood each other on a deeper level. We could look each other in the eye and know what each other was thinking. We didn’t have to speak words, we just knew. She knew who I was, my faults, my idiosyncrasies and still always made time to be a friend, to be there for me too. Megami’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Mai, whatever do you have on? Did you get that outfit from a homeless person?”

“Perhaps, that is your opinion, Tokuda said it looked good on me.” Shots fired I thought.

“Well they do say love is blind.” Megumi let out an evil laugh and the girls snickered, “But fortunately for Tokuda, I think he is beginning to see again.” She pointed her hand across the room where Tokuda stood in a group of students laughing and having fun. Two girls stood by his side, laughing and obviously flirting with him by their body language. Mai was taken aback. I could tell she was at a loss for words. Tokuda had been getting more and more popular lately. With his success in baseball, soccer, and basketball. He was the MVP champion and combined with his school smarts, he was a double knockout with the girls.

Megumi came up behind Mai who stood in disbelief as she watched Tokuda not even try to attempt to avoid the girl’s touch.

“You see, looks like Tokuda is growing tired of the same old dish, and when he does, you will finally realize the pathetic trash you are. You are nothing without Tokuda.”

Megumi smiled, fully satisfied with the hurt look on Mai’s face. She made her way to the other side of the room.

Mai stood frozen, watching Tokuda lost in conversation. Tears beginning to well in her eyes. I slowly walked up to her.

“Mai, don’t listen to her, you know Tokuda loves you. He wants you. She is just trying to bait you.”

“I am fine Akira, thanks. I think I am going to go home now.” She looked over across the room at Tokuda one more time, as if silently pleading for him to realize she was there staring. He didn’t.

“Let me take you home Mai.” She nodded, beginning to head towards the exit.

We silently walked down the dark quiet streets. Listening to the sounds of the wind bustling through the trees, taking the last bit of leaves with them. Tears silently streamed down Mai’s face unto her scarf. I watched her silently and intently, not knowing what to say to make her feel better. I reached for hand instead.

Mai’s delicate fingers encapsulated my own. Her eyes glancing up to meet mine as if to say “Thank you. I needed that.”

We stopped for a moment, gazing up at each other, letting the warmth of our hands, melt the chaos in our troubled hearts. For a moment, I could feel that undeniable feeling we both knew we shared. Was it love? was it a spark? was it chemistry? I was not sure. But when Mai looked up at me, I could see my world. A world of wonder. A world where I was more than just this lonely shell. Was it stupid of me to want to be close to her? Was it wrong to feel this way about my best friend’s girlfriend?

“Akira, we shouldn’t be holding hands” Mai hesitantly released her grasp, putting her hand in her pocket. She turned her head to gaze at the shrine. It was were they had shared their first kiss after all. I remember Tokuda bursting through my bedroom door to tell me all the details.

“Mai” I reached up, not knowing what to do, but my body was instantly drawn to her. My hand gently touched her light brown hair, slowly drawing a strand to rest behind her ear, with the other, I caressed her cheek. She looked back up to me, unable to resist my touch. We both gazed into each other’s eyes, giving into the moment. She rested her face into my palm, closing her eyes and smiling in a sweet surrender.

I felt the burn of my desire well up into my throat. I gave into its torturous blow to my mind’s rationality. I drew my face closer to hers, feeling the heat of her exhale upon my lips.

“Mai, I love you”