"Hiroki! Please open up, let's just talk about it, okay?" I screwed up this time. This is not how I expected my first kiss with Hiroki to go, at all. I never even expected to have the opportunity to do it. He's probably so upset at me right now, damn it! Just as I sigh and throw my head down in defeat, Hiroki unlocks the door. I nervously take a deep breath and he opens the door just enough for me to see his head poke out.
"You're not gonna tickle me again… are you?" Hiroki asks in an uneasy tone. 'Aww, he's not upset, just shy. He's so precious.' I rapidly shake my head from side to side in hopes of reassuring Hiroki.
"I won't! I pinky promise," I eagerly say while offering my pinky for a truce. Hiroki hesitantly wraps his pinky around mine and fully opens the door. He lets my pinky go and I walk back to the living area as Hiroki quietly follows behind me. We both take a seat on opposite ends of the couch in complete silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's so damn awkward right now. I didn't mean to overreact, but I freaked! How was I supposed to remain calm when my crush of almost four years kissed me by accident? I feel horrible. Josai likes someone else, I should not be in this situation with him. I sighed while dropping my head to stare at the floor.
"You don't need to apologize, it wasn't your fault. I was moving around so wildly and made you lose balance," I say as I look in Josai's direction without making eye contact. Silence began to flood the room.
"Hiroki? You never fully answered my question from earlier though. The one before we… kissed," Josai mumbles shyly as he turns his head to look at me. His facial expression doesn't look as playful anymore. Josai seems serious to know my answer.
"Oh, umm… what did you ask exactly?" I attempt to play dumb in hopes that he'll give up on the whole situation. Big mistake… Josai scoots closer to me and places his arm behind me on the edge of the couch. My heart cannot take this. I lower my head to stare at my lap.
"The question was: Do you, Hiroki, have a crush? A lover? Maybe a boyfriend?" Josai smirks as he leans forward to force us into locking eyes. I turn my head and quickly stand up.
I began to pace back and forth, avoiding any glace in Josai's direction. "Boyfriend?! Who said I was into guys?" (Who am I kidding, I'm literally in love with one.) "Either way, I don't think your crush would appreciate you being this close with me, especially in public. Don't you think it could give her the wrong signal?"
Josai holds his stomach and begins to laugh, hard. I stop pacing to look at him, confused as to what I said that was funny. "Ahh, you're right! It very well could give the wrong signal… but who said I was into girls??"
I dot my eyes frantically across the floor and begin to fidget with my fingers. I walk to the kitchen area and I can still feel Josai's stare burning a hole into my back. I begin clearing off the kitchen table and throwing away the empty containers of food.
"Hey, Hiroki," Josai calls out, "You actually know my crush very well, though. It's almost like you two are the same person!" Alarms start to go off in my head. I throw away the last piece of trash before crossing my arms and turning to face Josai.
"Welp! What exactly is that supposed to mean, sir?" I rack my brain trying to discover the person that Josai and I have in common, but not one person comes to mind.
"Sweet, sweet, Hiro. You'll figure it out soon…" says Josai as he tilts his head and winks. As the realization sinks in, my face heats up and I know my ears are as red a rouge.
Josai… likes me?