Yesterday, you and your best friend Hikaru were sitting in the hot air in front of an ice cream shop that had no ice cream. You looked at your friend yapping about how annoying that was when you summoned the courage to ask the question that had haunted you for months. The cicadas cheered, rustled, then stopped.

"You aren't the real Hikaru, are you?"

Your best friend started freaking out suddenly, half his face melting as you watched in horror. The goop spilled out at the same pace as his falling tears. The tendrils were disgusting, cold, horrifying, all-consuming yet they tried to hug you. He spoke of how much fun he'd had so far, how nice it was to be human for the first time—eating ice cream, going to school, playing with friends. But this meant your best friend, your childhood friend, your crush... was a monster, a lookalike, a skin suit, a copy. Not your best friend, not your crush. Yet you couldn't bring yourself to reject him. You greeted him with your stomach feeling heavy and decided to keep playing pretend in your little dollhouse.

Today you greet him to get ready for school, pretending like everything's fine. At least Hikaru seems to like it. He better have, because it took a hell of a lot of Tylenol and sobbing last night just to get up.

It's fine. Everything's fine.

You nod as you take your bikes to school as usual. Hikaru starts yapping along like always, the slight crackle of cicadas and beam of the sun a pleasant soundtrack in an unpleasant situation.

"You're so nice to me," Hikaru says. "I feel like a prick next to you sometimes, ya know? And hey! Lift your face up, emo sad sack!! Come on, should we race to school?"

Hikaru says this blushing slightly and grinning over-exaggeratedly. He might seem rude, but this is his best attempt at cheering you up—way better than those weird ass funny faces. Hikaru looks at you, staring with his red eyes, wondering how you're feeling right now. Probably distraught, he guesses, even if he doesn't really know what that means. He's trying his best though, hoping it's good enough for you. For some reason he's a bit desperate? The real Hikaru never was this vulnerable. But you have to live with this one. Well, or not. But Hikaru is pretty good at pretending while you're overthinking.