I still remember the first day that I saw him. It was in the fifth grade. We were in the middle of the school year, and he had just transferred in. On his first day, he had worn the cutest pair of overalls. He had this pouty expression on. He was sad that his mother had left him. New kids rarely ever come to our school. I remember how excited I was, once I saw his ears and that's when I lost it. I ran up to him and rubbed them in front of the class. He'd turned red because I had embarrassed him so much, but I didn't care. Since then, we have been inseparable. We went to the same schools. We had the same hobbies. We even had the same friends. His family even treated me as one of their own. No surprise, we even ended up going to the same college. We were joined at the hip... until we weren't. It was our senior year of college. I had finally built up the courage to confess my feelings to him… but then she came. Suddenly, it wasn’t we anymore, but the.
They did everything together. They laughed, they kissed, and they spent an endless amount of time together. They even had their inside jokes, and suddenly, there was less and less time for me; less time for us. I was forced to watch them be all giddy and happy together every day at lunch, just as I was now. Usually, I could stomach their love and act like it didn’t hurt me, but today I couldn’t. I couldn’t pry my eyes away from them; Inuyasha and Kikyo. Not as if they would notice. They were too busy looking at each other. It burned to watch the pair of them. It burned even more to admit that they looked good together. I've loved him since we were kids. I did any and everything I could for him. Whatever he asked of me I did. I even went to the same college as him. So we could be close together. So, it hurt to watch him give everything I wanted to some other girl he'd known for two seconds. He didn’t care for girls much. So I thought everything was okay. It was, until her. I’d known something was going on. However, I never knew that it was serious. I never knew it was her.
I was a walking cliché. The girl falls for her best friend but he doesn't return her affection. It sounded like I was living in a bad rom-com movie, minus the comedy part. I just thought that he would see it by now. How much I loved and cared for him. That one day it wouldn't matter. That, if he chose me it would have all been worth it. I still remember the day he introduced me to her. That day will forever be etched into my memory. He told her that I was his best friend. Only God knew how much I wanted to be so much more. He made sure to explain how special she was to him. I wanted to be special to him. I sounded so miserable and the worst part about all of this. There was not a single thing to hate. She was great. She was kind, smart, and beautiful. No wonder Inuyasha had fallen for her. Any man with eyes would pick her. She was kind. She was beautiful. She was smart. No wonder Inuyasha had fallen for her. There wasn't a guy who wouldn't.
"Kagome, you're staring," Sango whispered.
I poked at my food. "Sorry," I mumbled, looking down.
"You've got to get past this Kagome. We're in college now. You've turned down guy after guy waiting for him. He's not worth it, and he doesn't even deserve you. I don't even know what you see in him. He's an asshole."
"But he's my asshole," I said, trying to laugh it off.
Sango waved her finger. "No. He is her asshole Kagome. As your friend, I’ll keep reminding you. Until it sticks."
I dropped my chopsticks onto my tray. "Yes. You've been reminding me of that since they got together."
She folded her arms. "Hopefully, you'll open your eyes and start listening."
“You don’t know if they’ll last Sango.
She rolled her eyes. “You talk crap about how their relationship won’t last. If you talked any more shit, you’d be shaped like a toilet.” She whispered to me. “I mean look at them Kagome. That is not a couple that will be breaking up anytime soon.”
I sighed, grabbing my bag. "I'll see you later."
She called after me, but I just kept walking. I had seen enough today, and I heard enough about me letting go. To last me a lifetime. I went into the parking lot and got in my car. I kicked my feet up onto the dash and. I just sat there in silence.
I groaned, running my fingers through my hair. " God I am so pathetic. Wake up Kagome."
I felt my pocket vibrate. I pulled out my phone to see a message from Inuyasha. He was asking me if I was alright because I stormed off and if I was still coming to dinner tonight. I wasn't going to miss dinner. I had barely had any time alone with him.
"Yeah, I'll be there," I replied
I tossed my phone onto the passenger seat. A huge smile on my face.
"Here we go."
____________________________________________________________________________________
I rushed home to shower and changed. I wanted to look my best for him and his parents. I knew his older brother was back in town. So, he would most likely be there as well, but I didn’t care much about that. Sesshomaru and I rarely ever spoke. I could count on both hands the number of times we’ve said hello and goodbye to one another. I was looking forward to this dinner. This was the one thing I still had with him. Dinner with his family every few weeks; when his parents found the time. It was the one place Kikyo hadn’t infiltrated. Inuyasha's family was crazy rich, and I mean crazy. Upper one percent rich, and it always took me a long time to drive up their driveway but it was always worth it. They made me feel like I was a part of their family. I parked, grabbing the flowers from my backseat. I headed over to the front door. I knocked, smiling so hard my face hurt. The door opened and it was Totosai, their butler.
He smiled. "Hello, Lady Kagome. It is nice to see you again. Do come in, everyone is waiting for you."
I went inside and handed him my coat. I damn near ran to the dining room. I stopped in my tracks once I'd gotten there. My shoulders sank. There she was again; Kikyo. I was an idiot. Of course, she was here. Why wouldn't she be? They were getting serious. I tried my best to hide how I felt. Being a priestess had its perks. Hiding my aura in a room full of demons always came in handy. I smiled grit my teeth, and swallowed the pain.
"Kagome sweetheart, how are you?" Izayoi asked.
"I'm alright. Thank you for asking." I said, handing her the flowers.
"You girls are so sweet. Bringing me flowers like this."
I watched her set my flowers down next to Kikyo's.
Of course, her flowers were bigger and prettier.
I said hello to everyone and sat down.
"You know guys, Kikyo is a priestess too," he said smiling.
Of course, she is. Was there nothing I could have for myself?
"How lovely. Just like Kagome." Izaiyo said. " I wonder what else you two girls have in common."
The same taste in guys it seems.
I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. They were all lovey-dovey at the dinner table. They were looking into each other's eyes.
I tried to distract myself with anything I could find. I bounced back and forth between picking at my food and making small talk with his parents. I occasionally glanced over the pair of them. I had been caught in the act. Sesshomaru was looking at me.
How long had he been watching?
I immediately looked back down at my plate embarrassed. The rest of the night went by quickly, I couldn't bear to be in the same room as them any longer. It was stifling. I said my goodbyes. I made up some bullshit reason about not feeling well and I all but ran out of the house. By the time I reached my car. I realized I didn't have my car keys.
"Shit, I left them inside."
I turned around to head back for them. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sesshomaru was standing behind me.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"You left this," he said, holding his hand out.
I held my hand out and he dropped my car keys into my hand.
I relaxed a bit. "Oh, thank you."
"Kagome."
I looked up at him. It was the first time he had ever said my name.
"You should let go."
I looked at him strangely. "Let go?"
"Of Inuyasha," he said.
With that, he left.