Chapitre 58: Chapter 58
Seeing him acting like such a clown up on stage I smiled remembering our past relationship and memories.
He was a shy boy and I was fortunate enough to get with him even when all those girls were throwing themselves at him.
He was cute, polite, and always paid attention to every single word you uttered to him.
He treated everyone, and especially me, well.
Charlie Yang.
We liked each other, until one day my feelings for him were gone.
It was the sort of puppy love where we thought we'd last forever and get married but I grew out of it.
I could tell he still desperately wanted me, and that awakened some malicious feelings inside me.
Charlton tried reaching out to me.
I ignored him.
He despaired.
He stopped eating. He stopped paying attention in class.
Frequently, I would feel his stare on me which would add to my guilt.
His hair grew longer and, illogically, his height began increasing dramatically.
He should've become smaller since he was starving himself, but instead, he grew to be one of the taller people.
From the chubby cutie he was, he became a forlorn prince abandoned by the world.
Haha, I'm so poetic.
He had no friends anymore. Though good-looking, the way he rejected girls in the past because of me made him a hated person in the school.
He didn't care or explain himself to the others, though.
As long as I loved him he didn't care what anyone else thought.
Deep inside, that gave me satisfaction. Even more so when we had broken up and he was still hung over me.
Even the new students were warned to stay clear of him.
Some even thought he would end up becoming a psychopath, and Carl even spread rumors that he'd be a school shooter.
How idiotic to treat your friend like that.
Carl and his friends are idiots. They're a toxic bunch. Never liked them.
Still, I can't say anything since I'm what led Charlie to become like this.
Though his friends didn't try helping him out, I was even worse since I did not interact at all with him and was the reason why he became so depressed.
His sadness lasted quite a while and he got even worse.
He would sleep in class and stopped caring about anything. His eyes looked dead.
After a long time, he stopped staring at me.
His stare was piercing and I always felt it stuck to my head, but the intense prickly feeling of being stared at had stopped after months.
He would never turn the direction I was, and if he had to he would close his eyes or glance around me.
One time, I ignorantly tried stepping into his line of sight and he immediately began throwing up.
Since then, I stopped.
I was the reason why he was like this, yet when I finally matured a little and realized what I had done it was too late for me to do anything.
He was a miserable sight.
.
.
That was until one day he started looking up and walked with a straight back.
His demeanor changed entirely.
At school, people who would walk out of his way in revulsion, now let him pass through them with respect.
Within hours, he got his new group of friends.
They weren't just anyone though, he got friendly with the ones everyone wanted to be friends with.
And he cut his hair and looked handsome.
[Author Note: This is how 16-year-old girls' minds run, right?]
His mannerisms changed. He wasn't the shy adorable boy I used to know.
It didn't make sense.
Even more shocking, he suddenly knew how to play the piano.
It looked like he had years of experience too. Had he hidden this from me?
Then he was even spotted with one of the biggest male singers, Felix.
Small-time students like us could never make friends or even interact with such a big person, yet he looked friendly with him.
He somehow became even more charming and even my friends in older grade levels gossiped about him.
Every day, he was getting out of my reach.
The Charlie Yang that was originally wrapped around my finger left me.
I was confused.
Then, I saw him holding hands with Natsumi.
...
"Congrats, Charlton."
I saw him hesitate before looking at me. I felt satisfaction rising from within my guilty heart.
So he still has feelings for me.
I stared at his hand and the tension I felt in my mind disappeared. They weren't holding hands, they were just fighting for a chocolate bar.
I sighed in relief.
If Natsumi was holding his hand, no one else would be able to take him away.
Why do I care? Well, I wouldn't want to see my first lover and ex getting over me with a prettier and more popular girl.
He's supposed to downgrade from me, not upgrade.
Seeing Natsumi's blank face staring at me made waves of inferiority rise and I looked down at the floor.
Finally looking at the floor, my previous disposition was shaken off.
Huh, why did I suddenly turn into a bitch?
I'm never this mean but for some reason whenever it comes to Charlton I get malicious feelings in my heart.
"...Hello Maya."
I puckered my lips.
"Why aren't you calling me Mayi anymore?"
I saw him glance away and I noticed Natsumi gripping the chocolate bar slightly tightly now.
Glee rose from my heart. What if Charlie also rejected Natsumi because of me…
I shook my head and glanced back at them to find them staring at each other meaningfully.
So she does like him…
As a girl, it's obvious to me. It's even more obvious to me when she looks at him the same way I did when I started crushing on him.
What about him? Does he like her?
He's changed so much. I can't even read his face like I used to be able to.
His face is locked and says nothing. In the past, his entire body opened up with full trust to me, and just by his gaze and body language, I could tell what he was thinking and feeling.
Now, he's less guarded with Natsumi than even me...
Am I regretful?
No, I broke up with him for a reason. It's been almost a year now.
We've moved past each other now.
But for some reason, I still feel like grasping at straws.
He's almost going to be a celebrity… and I don't want to see him getting with anyone.
"Yeah, how long have you been together? By the way, why do I never see you two together or doing anything, like what's up with that?"
"We're not together."
His voice, deeper than I remember it to be, sharply cut the conversation.
Charlton said it so coldly… his voice used to be cozy and snuggly but now it just directly scratches ruggedly next to your ear with a dark tone.
I'm the reason for this?
He stopped speaking for months but I didn't think it would affect him to the point where he is now speaking roughly.
At least his voice sounds better than the day he finally started talking again. I do remember eavesdropping a little on the conversations he was having with his new friends and his raspy voice struggled to even speak back then.
He's doing way better now, though. Way better… with Natsumi...
"Yeah, it's been quite a while since we've broken up."
In the past, he became my source of ego and confidence when all of those girls were rejected because of me.
It felt empowering that the object of desire of many people instead desired me.
Admitting the guilty thoughts to myself, I finally knew why I had malicious thoughts whenever it was about him.
What is becoming of me?
Interrupting their conversation, I blurted,
"Charlton, why'd you suddenly stop talking to me? I know we broke up but you didn't have to do that."
His face stayed the same. Locked, showing nothing, yet polite looking.
He just laughed sheepishly and replied,
"Haha, I've been busy. Sorry."
I...
Stop with these thoughts!
You two already broke up. He's already past you, and you're past him.
Let him have his life and stop trying to drag him down.
I sighed mentally after berating myself.
Yes. You two were part of each other's life but it's time to move on.
Leaving him was the best for him. He's now a way better version of himself than he could have ever been before if he were with me.
We're both better off without each other.
Finally, with peace of mind, I smiled to myself.
I hope we can still at least be friends.
"Haha, you spilled tea on Carl?"
"No, he just wanted to pick a fight and blamed me for it."
We laughed.
Charlie and Natsumi… they definitely do suit each other.
…
POV: ???
That's right… piss right off.
…
Tuesday
[Kaz: "Hey, Charlie. How are you doing?"]
[Charlie: "Hi. Good, thank you. How are you?"]
[Kaz: "Good man, thanks."]
[Charlie: "That makes me happy."]
I smiled at the camera.
When I realized I had gotten over Maya, I emitted one of the most perfect smiles which granted me 55 points.
[Modeling has gained 26.4 points.]
I tried copying it, but it's hard to perfectly emulate every single facial muscle consciously without having something to be as happy and relieved about as getting over your ex.
Still, I went from the 3.3 point gain to 8.8. It's a huge boost, but there are still many details missing to get the 55 point smile.
I've realized that while streaming gives a 5x boost, recording instead gives a 3x boost.
Not as much, but recording and uploading allows people to watch at any time.
When I get the perfect smile down, it'll be 55 x 5, or 275 points every single smile in a stream. And with the addition of the resting look drilled into my head by Blake which is a constant 3.3 points —16.5 with the streaming boost— the winter fashion show will be a walk through the park.
[Kaz: "I knew you were polite, but you're making me feel really special."]
He jokingly said.
In the video call, I saw him present a flustered maiden expression.
[You thought the homiesexual jokes were over, but it was I, D—]
[Charlie: "Hahaha you're funny. From the way you texted I thought you were a little more serious."]
[Kaz: "Haha thanks. Am I really that serious when texting?"]
Just butter 'em up a 'lil and everyone will be happy.
[Danya: "Haha you are."]
[Charlie: "Hello, is this Danya?"]
[Danya: "Yup, as you can see by my username."]
He was a skinny looking guy with brown curly hair. He reminds me a little of Alex, except Alex has blonde hair.
[Charlie: "Haha, ohh true. Nice to meet you, I'm Charlie."]
[Danya: "Nice to meet you too."]
[Charlie: "And… Marco? Nice to meet you Marco."]
He had black curly hair instead and was of darker skin.
[Marco: "Hello, nice to meet you, Charlie."]
[Charlie: "I like both of you guys' hairs."]
[Danya: "Really? I think Asian hair is cooler since you can do cool hairstyles and stuff."]
[Marco: "Yeah, I can't do much with my hair."]
[Charlie: "Well, it's a little stiff and straight and if cut short it's very spiky and sticks out like porcupine hairs."]
[Kaz: "Yeah, my mom used to complain about my dad's hair pricking her frequently when sleeping. It got to the point where he had to grow it out, haha."]
[Danya: "No way."]
[Marco: "You're also Asian?"]
[Kaz: "Half german, half Korean."]
[Charlie: "Woah. I didn't know that."]
[Kaz: "Yup. Love my heritage. My dad is also the reason why I love playing the piano."]
I nodded in appreciation. I also enjoy Chess and playing it with my dad is always a joy.
Tonight when he gets back we should definitely play a few rounds.
[Marco: "I was thinking the german side would be the reason why you liked the piano."]
[Kaz: "Haha, many assume that, yeah."]
I'm going to guess like on Earth, Pangaea also has many german composers.
On Earth, many illustrious pianists like Beethoven, Bach, and Pachelbel were born in Germany. Actually, Pachelbel is the composer of Canon in D, the piece I took into my hands.
[Danya: "Huh, why?"]
[Marco: "Tsk tsk, you're missing in knowledge of your piano forefathers, young one."]
Danya sheepishly smiled and scratched his head.
He pointed at the camera, or at us,
[Danya: "You're only two years older than me. 22 years old, you're an old head, oldie."]
Marco pointed back at him comically.
[Marco: "Oldie? You're 20 years old. You're not so young yourself."]
[Danya: "Don't go around calling me a young one, oldie!"]
We laughed.
[Kaz: "So you guys know what we'll be doing today?"]
[Charlie: "The information you sent me says we'll be judging your fan's playing?"]
[Danya: "Ah, Kaz? Do you want to die? You said you couldn't tell me because it was confidential information."]
[Marco: "Haha, he also told me what we'd be doing."]
Kaz smiled lazily,
[Kaz: "Payback for your prank the other day."]
[Danya: "I did the same prank on Marco and he didn't do anything back to me."]
[Kaz: "Oh he has, you just haven't realized it."]
[Danya: "WHAT?!"]
[Marco: "He's just joking."]
[Marco: "Look, you're scaring Charlie off, dude."]
I don't know where he got that from because I'm laughing my nose off.
[Charlie: "You guys are too funny."]
They smiled proudly. Everyone likes being told they're funny, right?
[Marco: "By the way Charlie, how old are you? You look pretty young yourself. I don't think you'd be able to complain if I called you young one, unlike Danya."]
[Charlie: "Haha, I'm 14 years old."]
Kaz spit out his drink.
Danya fell on his back from his seat.
Marco almost slammed his face onto the monitor.
I began laughing even harder.
[Charlie: "I'm kidding, I'm 16 years old."]
[Danya: "Dude! Kaz, you'll be facing charges and 3 years of jail time! Get away from me, you scourge of the society!"]
Kaz spit out water again and began choking while laughing.
[Author Note:
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed it. I did even though I had to rewrite the chapter.
I proofread and edited my friend's Yandere story (still debating if I should tell her I'm also a writer) and my writing too got influenced. I wrote Maya a little too obsessive so I had to rewrite her entire thoughts once again to make her a normal 16-year-old.
Maybe in the future, I'll write a story with a Yandere in it and highlight the brutal and horrible aspect of having to deal with one. I'm not too much on the angst and traumatizing type of writing though, I'm a softie that likes fluffy and happy stories.
I recommend opening up another tab and reading both this chapter and the one before at the same time. It'll give you a little more perspective on things that Charlie has yet to mention or details he hides from the readers.
Anyway, new characters! What will I do with them? Who knows! Thank you for reading :).
To the readers who've read until here: Thank you, I love you.
Song Recommendations:
yaeow - i'm just a ghost
Grant - The Edge (feat. Nevve)
^ for those who enjoy electronic music with good vocals.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone