When Haru was little, he would always play alone. He was far more ahead than the other kids his age, so he preferred reading to playing with the sandbox or the other toys. When he was 8, the kids started to pick on him a bit. They just thought he was a bit weird, but never took it physically.

One of the kids in his class was Mira, she lived in the same neighbourhood, so their families knew each other very well. They would often walk to school and home together, but Mira didn't know a lot about Haru, cause he never talked, though it was not that Haru didn't like her. Mira would talk about her new toys, dresses, tea parties with her dolls, the newest Barbx movies, but Haru wasn’t interested in any of that. Other kids would know how to switch the conversation to something related to them, but Haru always let her talk. Mira admired that about him, she was glad she had someone to ramble to on the way to school and home. That being said, she would much rather prefer him to talk about himself for once.

The teachers got worried, as his social skills can’t develop well if he keeps to himself all the time, so they told him t participate and join the games the kids were playing. Then one day, Haru asked the kids if he could join their tag you’re it game. He mustered up all the courage, as disappointing his teachers was worse than missing his precious reading hours. The kids were a little bit surprised, but they welcomed him. He quickly learned the game, and got very good at it. Though, not everyone was as happy. One of the kids specifically ran after Haru and when he go to him he pushed him down. A false and quiet “Oops.” leaving his mouth. He fell face down on the ground. Everyone stopped and went to check on him. Mira was playing with the girls that time, but it didn’t take long for her to notice. She ran over immediately.

“Who did this?!” She shouted. The boy was standing a few meters away, arms folded, frowning and pouting. That immediately gave it away. She went over to the boy and put her arms on her hips like an angry mother. 

“You! Why did you do this to him?” She asked him angrily.

“Why do you care? He is just a weird loner.” The boy responded. Mira got furious. She turned to Haru, who was sitting on the floor, holding his head and helped him up. Turning her gaze back at the guilty boy, she notices something. Yes, it was the face she knew all too well from watching the villains in her favourite Barbx movies. It was pure jealousy. Suddenly everything was clear.

“He is not a weird loner.” Mira said.

“He is a smart and kind boy. I grew up with him and I can tell you that it just takes a while for him to open up. He doesn’t like fake people, he doesn’t want to pretend to be interested in things he isn’t. But I don’t care, cause I can talk with him.” Mira was determined to show everyone that Haru is a normal, though be it extremely smart, guy.

Her speech got the boy flustered, ashamed of what he did he apologised to everyone. Apparently the boy had a crush on Mira, and when he saw her talking all happily to Haru morning and afternoon, he would get jealous. He couldn’t stand that Haru wasn’t talking back to her either. This was when Mira realised that not everybody gets treated fairly. She accepted that Haru didn’t talk about fun girly things with her, as long as there was someone she could ramble to, but she also understood that Haru needs to learn to stand up for himself. So she was determined to help him become strong and confident. This was the start of something great for Haru. In fact, there were some kids in his class who shared his interests. Mira introduced him to them, which meant no more sitting alone in the corner. 

Slowly but surely Haru started to open up. His popularity grew as the kids found out he was great at everything. The boy who pushed him down during recess would still look at him and Mira with a pained expression, he avoided them as much as he could. Haru, being the kind and mature kid he was, didn’t want to ostracise the boy, he accepted his apology and welcomed him. Though, Mira was a bit skeptical, but if it made Haru happy, she would gladly go along with it.

His name, Yuya.

Years went by, eventually Haru, Yuya and Mira all went to the same junior high school. Mira was still more close to Haru, but Yuya didn’t want to be left out and was kind of always there. They quickly became the popular group of the class. Mira being super pretty and well-off, when word got out that Mira was to be in a magazine soon and landed some commercial jobs, she quickly became it-girl of the school. Yuya being super athletic and great with the girls earned him loads of popularity and friends too. 

On the other hand, Haru was funny and caring, sassy and smart.  But the popularity did not affect his grades. He was always the best of his year, with scores of at least 90, every test or exam he takes. Great grades, athletic, a great performer and looks that can kill. Hence they called him the Model Student. His confidence went from zero to a hundred and that was all the result of Mira's great work. Since discovering his talents, he became very open about his hobbies and would participate in various school activities. It was only natural he became Student Council President and kept that title all the throughout junior high.

Then it was time for senior high...

Mira was still the most popular girl at their school. Just like Haru, great grades, athletic and is absolutely stunning. By that time, she has been in a dozen magazines and half a dozen commercials, but to Haru, Mira was just his best friend, nothing really special. The power duo they were, they would remind people of Hxrry Pxtter and Hermixne. Haru Tomi and Miraone Sakura. You could say Yuya was their Rxn, but a less involved version. Haru would get confessed to on a weekly basis, but unfortunately for them, he was never interested. Yes, he was that level popular. He was a true heartbreaker who always went back to the same person, Mira. People often joked that it looked like they were secretly dating, which they always just laughed off. Sometimes they even played along. But despite the years they've known each other, they never developed any romantic feelings for each other. Yuya, was as always, just there. He had his own friends, but since he knew the two since elementary too, he would still hang out with them at school.

Nothing to worry about...

...

“Nothing stays the same it all gets crushed. It all gets broken. It all passes with time. Only the moment you're in has any meaning." ― Guillaume Musso, Que serais-je sans toi?