Chapter 8 - Why Do I Care?

                                    

                                          
~ (Y/N)'s POV ~
                          
"Hey, Len! Wait up!" I called, running after him.
                          
Len sat in his normal seat in the back of the cafeteria. I placed myself beside him and smiled. He rolled his eyes.
                          
"Go away, (Y/N)."
                          
"I'll give you a banana if you let me stay!" I said with a giggle.
                          
Len shoved me away. "I'm serious."
                          
"I see that..." I mumbled with a shocked face. "What's wrong?"
                          
Len stared at me for a moment, and then stood to his feet and walked away. I didn't want to chase him down, that might start an argument. It always does in the movies, right? I stood up and moved to Gumi's table. She sat with IA and a pink-haired girl.
                          
"Hey, guys," I said. "Do you know what's up with Len?"
                          
Gumi shook her head. "I haven't noticed anything. He seemed bummed after we won the race yesterday."
                          
"Why would you be bummed if you win?" Asked the pink-haired girl.
                          
She looked at me and smiled. "I'm Teto, by the way."
                          
"Nice to meet you," I stated.
                          
IA looked around the room. "Maybe he got into a fight with Rin?"
                          
"No, they aren't close- from what I understood."
                          
I finished my breakfast in silence and left the cafeteria. With a sad face, I walked to the lake. I sat down in the burning sand. The waves in front of me were calming. Gentle. Peaceful. The exact opposite of my friendship with Len right now.
Other people made their way to the lake. Everyone was split into their own groups. Some splashed each other, other friends raced, and some of them lied down in the sand.
                          
"I had a feeling you'd be here." Said a familiar voice.
                          
I spun around, now broken from my thoughts of everyone else. The banana haired boy sat beside me.
                          
"Len, are you okay? What's wrong with you this morning? You had me so-"
                          
"We're done."
                          
"Huh?"
                          
"I'm not your friend anymore," Len said, standing up and dusting the sand off his shorts.
                          
I looked at him, clearly perplexed. "What do you mean? What happened?"
                          
"I know what you're doing, (Y/N). You're just going to use me."
                          
"Use you?! Len, what are you talking about?!" I asked as I stood up.
                          
He shot a glare at me. "You're going to use me and throw me away once you're done. I know how this works."
                          
"Obviously you don't, because I'm not using you!"
                          
I walked towards the giant rock that towered above the lake. Len followed me.
                          
"Stop following me. I thought you said we weren't friends."
                          
"Well, I thought you were gonna at least try to make me stay. Just proves you never really were my friend."
                          
I tried my best to hold back tears. "Len, just stop! If you don't want to be friends, fine! Just go! Stop making this worse!"
                          
"I'm not the one making this worse, you are! You're the one walking away from my conversation!"
                          
"And I'm walking away again!" I said, walking towards the end of the rock.
                          
"Wait, (Y/N), watch out!" Len called out.
                          
I quickly slipped and fell off the rock.
                          
***
                          
~ Len's POV ~
                          
I watched in horror as (Y/N) plummeted down towards the lake. Knowing there wasn't anything I could do, I just watched. Unable to move my eyes, (Y/N) kept falling. She splashed into the lake. I ran to her as fast as I could.
                          
"(Y/N)! (Y/N), are you okay?!" I yelled, pulling her to the sand.
                          
It was obvious she was confused and light-headed. (Y/N) looked at me with sad (e/c) eyes. Light mascara ran down her rosy cheeks.
                          
"Answer me!" I screamed.
                          
"I-I..." She stuttered. "I'm s-sorry..."
                          
I grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her. "You could've gotten seriously hurt back there! What if you broke a bone, (Y/N)?! Did you even think about that?!"
                          
"I already said I'm sorry!" She screamed.
                          
Everyone stared at us. Miku walked by and smirked.
                          
"Hey, klutz, thanks for getting me so many YouTube views." She said.
                          
(Y/N) looked at her with confusion. My eyes locked with Miku's, and I shot a glare into her soul.
                          
(Y/N)'s expression changed as the realization hit. "You caught that on video....?"
                          
"The whole thing. I'm gonna make money off of this video, y'know? So thanks for being so embarrassing!" Miku laughed.
                          
The turquoise haired girl strolled away with an evil smirk on her face. Before I knew it, (Y/N) was heading back to her cabin.
                          
"Wait, (Y/N)! You need to go to the nurse. That fall could cause-"
                          
Her eyes met mine when she turned around. "You're not my friend anymore, so why do you care?"
                          
(Y/N) walked away yet again.
                          
She was right.
                          
She isn't my friend anymore.
                          
I told her we were done.
                          
So why?
                          
Why do I care?