Chapter 3: Solace! (1)

Angel started living with Angelica less than twenty-four hours ago. As part of his duties, he came to wake her up, forgetting in the process that he had haphephobia. Angelica upon seeing him in her room was stunned. She played an innocent prank on him and that didn't end well.

" Really! If you fear me, why did you come here?" She got close to him touching him by the waist.

Angel got scared by her action and started crying:" I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong?"

...

" Forgive me if I did? It won't happen again!" He sobbed even more.

Angelica pulled him into an embrace." Stop crying! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that. Stop crying, please!"

A Few Hours Later

Fukuoka Daiichi High School

" That's all for today, class! See you tomorrow!" Professor Ayaka Shun exits the classroom.

Fukuoka Daiichi High School Cafeteria

" Angelica!" Sarah called out to Angelica but she was absent-minded.

" What's wrong with her?" Anna tried calling her out next. She shouted to achieve that aim which brought positive results.

" Oh, it's you guys! Sorry for not responding earlier! I didn't hear you".

...

" We noticed you were absent-minded. What's wrong?" Sarah asked her friend.

" Tell us what's going on! We're your friends". Anna asked her friend with a concerned expression.

...

" I did something terrible. It started this morning...….." Angelica went down memory lane.

Earlier this morning

" Higurashi-San, wake up! You'll be late for school. Higurashi-San! Higurashi-San!"

" Hum! Angel, it's you! What brings you here early in the morning?"

" I came to wake you up!"

" Wake me up? I thought you feared me. I could hurt you if you stay here, you know. You shouldn't stay here! Go!"

" I'm here to wake you up and that's what I will do".

" Really! If you fear me, why did you come here?" Angelica played a prank on him and that scared Angel which later on, she felt guilty of.

" I'm sorry! Have I done something wrong? Forgive me if I did? It won't happen again!" He sobbed due to the fright she caused him.

" Stop crying! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that. Stop crying, please!" As a result, she hugged him to calm him down.

Back to the present

" I see, now! There's something I don't understand though". Sarah retorted.

" What?"

" Why was he so scared when you touched him?" Sarah inquired from Angelica in an inquisitive tone.

" She's right! That makes little sense".

" Let me explain so you can understand why this is an issue!"

...

" He has haphephobia". I retorted.

" Haphephobia?" Sarah and Anna were both shocked at my declaration. Their reaction wasn't abnormal at all, so I could understand why they would react that way.

" That's right! He fears any kind of touch. He's so scared to the point of crying. He doesn't let anyone get close to him. With my joke, I only make things worse. I didn't mean to scare him. I only wanted to play a prank on him". I was guilty of the prank I had played on him. My expression reflected it perfectly.

Anna said in retortion:" Whatever your intentions were behind your actions, you scared him away. Make things right with him".

" You're right! I have to apologize to him". I decided to do so after listening to Anna's suggestion.

Francois Showed up just then. Fortunately, he didn't hear anything of what we were talking about. " Who do you need to apologize to?"

" It's you, Francois!" Sarah was the first to react to his presence.

( Francois? Has he heard our conversation?)

" Hello, Angelica!" Francois greeted me with a warm grin.

" Hello, Francois!" I greeted him back.

" What were you guys talking about?" Inquired Francois curiously.

Francois's question put me in a difficult situation. I didn't know what to tell him or how to answer his question. Fortunately, the bell saved me in the nick of time.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

" Sorry, Francois! The bell rang. We need to go back to class. We'll talk later! See you!" I escaped from him.

" See you later, Francois!" Anna bid her goodbyes to Francois and followed me behind.

" See you!" Sarah joined us and together, we headed to our respective classes for the day.

After School

" See you tomorrow, girls!" I bid goodbyes to my friends.

10 minutes later

" Hello, girls!" Francois met with Sarah and Anna on their way home.

" Why are you still here? Haven't you got home yet?" Anna asked Francois, surprised that he still hasn't gone home.

" I'm waiting for Angelica!" He answered Anna's question.

" You're waiting for Angelica?" Anna was surprised by the response she received as he has been pretty busy lately due to club activities.

" Yes! Where is she?"

" You missed her not so long ago. She had already gone home". Sarah answered the question in Anna's stead.

" She went home? She never went home without me before. This is a first. When did she leave?"

" About 10 minutes ago!" Anna responded.

" 10 minutes ago? I can still catch up with her if I hurry. Goodbye, girls! See you tomorrow at school!" Francois left the girls to catch up to his girlfriend.

Sarah looked at him as he left. She sighed:" This doesn't look good at all!"

" I agree! Let's just hope everything works out perfectly".

On the road

Angelica on the way back to her house was thinking back on everything that happened in the last thirty-six hours.

('Don't touch me!')

('To treat my wounds, you must touch me').

('I'm sorry! Forgive me if I did something wrong!')

( All this time, Angel was suffering inside without a word. I made his haphephobia even worse. I wonder what made him like this? I want to ask him why he's so scared of people, but I don't dare. After the silly prank I've played on him, I don't dare to ask him anything).

" Angelica? I've finally caught up with you".

I heard a voice and when I looked who it was that interpellated me, I was surprised to find Francois. He was sweating. I guessed he might have run from school to catch up to me.

" Francois? Why were you following me?"

" I was following you because I wanted to talk to you".

" You wanted to talk to me? Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?" I asked him inquisitively.

" No, it couldn't wait until tomorrow. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?" His response made me kinda confused.

" What do you mean?"

Francois said assertively:" You've been avoiding me since yesterday. You wanted to tell me something but didn't dare to. As you looked very bothered, I called you to ask you what was going on".

" You called me? When?"

" Last night! To my surprise, I heard a man's voice over the phone. What's even more shocking is that you didn't tell me anything and didn't call me back either to explain yourself".

( I see! That means the call Angel picked up yesterday night was his. I was so tired last night that I didn't even check my phone before going to sleep).

" Sorry! I was extremely tired last night, so I haven't checked my phone since last night. I'm very sorry!" I sincerely apologized to Francois.

" It's understandable! Do you care to explain who was that man who answered your phone last night?" Francois got back to the topic at hand.

Angelica Higurashi

(What do I do? Do I tell him the truth or not? If I were to tell him the truth, would he believe me? What to do? What to do?)

" Angelica? Angelica? Earth to Angelica?" Francois called out my name numerous times.

" Yes!"

" What were you thinking about?"

" Nothing!"

" Please answer my question?" Francois was getting impatient as he wasn't getting any response from me.

Angelica thought about what her friends told her. On that resolution, she decided to tell her boyfriend the truth in the hopes that he might believe her.

" I'll tell you everything that you want to know but I'm afraid that you might not believe me even if I were to tell you the whole truth this instant". I said in a firm tone.

???

" I'll believe it! I'll believe whatever you tell me, so please, tell me the truth". His gaze was piercing as he stared right through my eyes.

…

" I'll tell you the truth, but it'll take too long to explain everything to you now. Can we discuss this tomorrow?"

...