Friends

Another one about Shiro, Acorn, and co. This one includes Asa, the medic of the group. Enjoy!

Acorn knocked on the medic’s door, a piece of paper clenched in her fist. Asa answered it quickly, stepping aside without a word to let her in. The girl strode over to the couch with a familiarity that proved the numerous visits to this room. She plopped down in her seat, crossing her arms and staring her best friend down and waited for him to explain.

“You got my note, I see.” He began.

“M-hm.”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“About?”  Asa frowned and sat beside her, catching her eyes with a rather pointed look.

“You like Shiro.” Asa said firmly, not a question, not a smug exclamation, just a fact.  Acorn’s eyes went wide and she turned crimson, spluttering out pure gibberish. “Don’t bother lying; I’m not as dense as Shiro is. You like him.” Acorn finally got her tongue untangled.

“He’s not dense! And I don’t like him, honest!” Asa tapped his foot, scowling. “Stop that.” He scowled worse. “It’s not… I can’t… You know how much he loves her!” She blurted out, looking cross.

“That’s true. What are you going to do about it?” Asa took the near confession in stride, hardly batting an eye.

“Wait, you don’t think it’s silly that I like him?” Acorn was surprised; usually Asa was very practical, even to a fault.

“Of course not. You can’t control who you like. You should be careful not to get too attached though.” He replied casually.

“That makes no sense!” Acorn snapped in protest, fuming. “First you say I can’t help it and then say I can?!” Asa poked her nose. “H-Hey! Cut it out.” The medic poked two fingers on either side of her mouth and made her smile, looking very serious.

“There. Much better.”  She swatted at him but he dodged, getting off of the couch and rearranging his medicine vials on the table across from them.

“What was that about?” She growled, rubbing her cheeks.

“You shouldn’t look so sad all the time. Liking someone who doesn’t like you back is tough, but you can get through it, I know.”

“How would you know?!”

“Because I like someone who likes someone else.” Asa kept his back to his friend, re-wrapping a roll of gauze that had come un-done. He said it casually, but Acorn was intrigued.

“Do I know her?”

“No.” Not like I do anyway. He thought.

“What’s her name?” Asa paused on that one.

“I don’t know.” The fact was true. She’d never told him her real name.

“Oh. She’s a secretive girl then. Well, good luck trying to get her to like you!” Acorn said cheerfully. Asa laughed bitterly.

“I’d rather she didn’t.” Acorn opened her mouth to argue but Asa cut her off, turning back around. “For her to even realize I like her, she’d have to be hurt by the guy she likes. I’d rather her forget I exist than see her hurting.” Asa shifted uncomfortably, feeling like he’d crossed out of his comfort zone.

“That’s really sweet of you, Asa.” The medic looked up at her sharply. “That girl is stupid not to like you.” Acorn crossed the room and pecked him on the cheek, smiling. “Thank you for cheering me up, you’re the best friend a girl could have!” With that, she practically skipped out of the room, leaving Asa stunned.

Asa touched his cheek with a shaking hand, staring at the door as if Acorn was going to bound back through it. He sighed and laughed sadly, shaking his head.

“You idiot, you just insulted yourself.”

--Kelsie