Book 2: Chapter 10 (1/2)

It was Monday now and I stood on the roof of the school, waiting with a frown on my face. In my hands was a note I had received earlier that day in my locker from the most unlikely of sources. Each time I glanced down at it, my frown only grew deeper. This would have been the last person I would have expected to reach out to me in the slightest.

The door popped open and a familiar person walked out. He had the same smile on his face that he always wore. It was somewhat fake and irritated me just to look at it. However, I manage to similarly prevent my expression from turning ugly as I faced him.

“Hello, Derek,” I said stiffly.

Derek laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “I suppose I have a lot to atone for. We used to be best friends.”

I lowered my head, frowning as I tried to figure out what his game was. “What do you mean?”

Derek grimaced. “You were right about Akiko. I looked into it, and it seems like she got drunk and passed out at a party and five guys had their way with her.”

I let out a noise. “That… I…”

Derek raised a hand. “I know you were just trying to protect her the only way you could. Turning facts into rumors make it a best-kept secret…”

“H-how did you find out?” I asked quietly after a moment.

Derek smiled bitterly. “Akiko… dumped me the other night.”

My eyes spun to Derek and my mouth fell open. My surprise was genuine. It was the last thing I would have expected, Akiko leaving her beloved. Was she really that guilty over our relationship? No… she told Derek about the rape event. If anything, she cleared my name. She could have said I was blackmailing her, but she didn’t mention me at all. This really didn’t make any sense.

“Why? What happened?” I asked.

“Haha… she… uh… said she was interested in someone else, and she didn’t want to continue to be a cheater like me.”

“Someone else?” My eyes widened. “Seriously?”

Derek made a rough chuckle. “Yeah… the slut. That’s why… I know how you feel. I guess I only started dating her because I was angry at you, so I didn’t take our relationship very seriously. However, I’m usually the one who does the dumping. This… got me thinking a bit.”

“You know I know that you had an affair with Akiko for a year, right?” I admitted.

“Heh…” Derek looked down. “I thought you might have realized that…”

“You still think we’re going to be friends?”

Derek chuckled wryly. “Well, I’m not interested in being enemies.”

I frowned while watching him out of the corner of my eye. In many ways, I had never gotten the vengeance on him that I had wanted. I had stolen his girl and NTR’d him, but she wasn’t a girl he cared for, and she was mine a short time prior. That was hardly an act of fitting revenge. Part of the reason I was okay with this was that we had years of friendship behind us. I was willing to overlook it and let bygones be bygones.

However, if I ever did want revenge, it’d be easier to obtain if he wasn’t looking for it. Then again, the same could be true for him. Derek wasn’t an idiot, and if he did know I had an affair with Akiko, he could be trying to give me a Trojan horse. This relationship was a double-edged sword and I needed to be careful if I wanted to pursue it.

“I’ll… think about it.” I said as much as I was willing to, and then turned and headed for the door leading back into the high school.

“Hakaru…” Derek called, causing me to stop and look over at him.

“What?

“Times… are changing.” Derek sounded awkward as he spoke. “Somethings been happening lately. Call it paranoia, an ominous feeling, something. It’s better to have allies than enemies, I think. We need to stand up to people like this Jack guy…”

“Jack?” I froze for a second and then turned. “What about Jack?”

Derek grimaced. “I heard that your sister was being used by him. I’ve done some background on him and he’s been with a lot of girls. Likes to take them from guys like you and me.”