“I never got to tell you…I was sorry. I still am sorry.” The words came out of Shōya’s mouth slowly as he signed those words to you. Although his hands were a bit shaky, making the sign language a little sloppy, he tried his best. His heart raced but he was looking at you head on despite how utterly terrified he felt.

He had once bullied you badly in the past. Of course he came to deeply regret his actions. Shōya wasn’t the same rowdy kid anymore who didn’t understand. In fact, now he understood too much. He was withdrawn and afraid, he could barely look others in the eye let alone you. Some days he thought it’d be better off if he was just…gone.

But the truth was, he had to stay. He had to stay and see it through to the end. To pay for his mistakes. To say he was sorry. To show he was sorry. But he still felt lingering guilt and regret that haunted him to this day not only for his past actions, but for his feelings towards you. How ironic was that? The kid that once bullied you now having a crush on you. Maybe more than that.

He could own up to the fact that he bullied you - but not to the fact that he had feelings for you. To put that burden on you now, he’d be truly horrible. He wasn’t deserving.