I Hope You’re Still Alive When Tomorrow Comes - 2

Chapter 2: Stalker

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I didn’t know who this girl was.

“….No, I… I’m not going to die.”

Taken aback, I managed a reply with a hoarse voice. 

“Then why are you standing up while looking at the train?!”

She shouted. She was awfully close, as if she wanted to block my path.

“Why… Because I wanted to get on the train?”

I answered, still feeling confused when the train smoothly slid into the platform. The doors opened and the passengers began to disembark. And yet, the girl remained standing in front of me, refusing to move. 

“You’re lying! That’s the up-train! Tsuchiya-kun should be taking the down-train to get home! Are you planning to go to a faraway station and jump in front of a train there?!”

“…Huh?”

For a few seconds, I only stared at the girl’s face in silence. I really didn’t know this girl. Her shoulder-length brown hair was loosely curled inward at the ends. She was wearing our high school uniform. It seemed she went to the same school as me but I didn’t recognize her at all. Which meant, we weren’t in the same class, nor in the same committee duty, nor assigned in the same cleaning area. In fact, I didn’t remember I ever talked to her before. 

And yet, why…

“How do you know?”

“Huh?”

“How do you know my name and which train I take?”

Feeling a slight chill running down my spine, I asked cautiously.

“Because Tsuchiya-kun always takes the same train.”

She answered smoothly without any hesitation.

“Both in the morning and on Tsuchiya-kun’s way back. You always take the same route. I know which station Tsuchiya-kun gets off at. After all, I’m always watching you.”

“…Always?”

Since we went to the same high school, it wouldn’t be strange for us to board the same train together. More so if our home were headed in the same direction. It shouldn’t be strange. I also think it shouldn’t be strange for her to remember the faces of people who always took the same train as her and got off at the same stations as her. 

But somehow, her ‘always’ carried a different nuance. 

The way she casually mentioned my name, had a strange sense of familiarity to it. She sounded like she was calling a friend, even though I didn’t know her. 

“More importantly, you can’t die! Absolutely not! Furthermore, over silly stuff like a broken heart?? You’re definitely, definitely not allowed to die!”

As if regaining her previous composure, she went back to persuading me again. 

She was clenching her fists in front of her chest and from behind her, I could see the train doors closing. The train slowly began to move, disappearing from the platform. 

“….Broken heart…?”

“There are plenty of other girls! There are over three hundred students just at our high school alone. So, I think it is foolish to die just because of an unrequited love. It is so incredibly foolish. In fact, why don’t you date me instead?! How about it?!”

Her barrage of words hardly registered in my head. Only one word she mentioned that got stuck in my mind.

Broken heart… Broken heart…

“…How do you know?”

If she knew about the heartbreak, that meant she also saw the kissing scene between Nanami and an unknown guy that I had seen earlier. Which also meant this girl was also in the same park I had been before coming to this station. Basically…. It meant…

“Don’t tell me… You were following me?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Her response was so nonchalant that I didn’t know what to react. 

“Huh?”

I ended up letting out a dumbfounded sound instead. 

“I was. Since we left the school, Tsuchiya-kun looked kind of scary when you followed those two. I had a bad feeling about it, you know? Then after you saw those two kissing, you started walking away with a very dejected expression on your face. I got worried. I was afraid you might do something bad. I watched you carefully and then, you muttered something about wanting to die and all. Then, you stared blankly at the incoming train. I thought,’This must be it!’ so I immediately called out to you.”

I stared at her face in shock. 

Eventually, my head finished processing her words. My mouth rapidly became dry. 

“No, wait… Hold on…”

I inadvertently took a step back, only to hit my foot against the bench.

“What? Always, you said? So you’re always like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you always watch me and follow me?”

“Yes.”

She said, sounding as nonchalant as ever. 

She was looking straight into my eyes. Her expression was devoid of any hesitation. In fact, her face seemed to be filled with a sense of righteousness, as if she hadn’t done anything wrong in the slightest. 

“I’m always watching you, Tsuchiya-kun. Be that in the morning, at school, on your way home. In fact, I’m glad I do. Because today… I was able to stop you from dying, Tsuchiya-kun.”

The girl standing in front of me boldly declared that she had been stalking me. 

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T/N: I love how unapologetic this girl is (๑*ᗜ*)

Also down-train = train going away from Tokyo

Up-train = train going to Tokyo (the city)