Long, flowing, ebony hair, swaying gently by the warm breeze of air. Cheeks, slightly flushed, and facial features manually carved by God himself. It was an elegant sight. It was truly mesmerizing and I couldn't take my eyes off it. A scene that would take one's breath away. A breathtaking scene!
Despite the sun being so high, there was a large shade, providing cover enough for the two of us. It wasn't exactly hot, but it's not cool either. It was right in the middle, just enough to prevent us from breaking a sweat. I say that, but my hands are sweating like crazy right now.
We were sitting side to side, Amano and I, a meter of gap between us. The silence somehow felt relaxing, but at the same time; quite uncomfortable. Questions like 'Do I go first?' or, 'Do I wait?' filled my already distorted mind.
My heart was beating faster at every breeze. It's also becoming painfully loud every tick of a second. I wonder if Amano can hear it from this distance. Probably not.
"So...what brought you up here?"
There it is, the first question that broke the silence.
Good question...What am I even doing here? It's pretty vague. How should I even respond?
I tried to look up to get some ideas. "Um...how should I say this... I guess..."
Crap, I can't even construct a proper sentence. And here I thought I was already getting better at communication. Why was it so easy for her when she confronted me last time? I knew I should've backed out when I had the chance. Well, it's far too late for that now.
"Were you awake back then?"
My gaze flicked towards Amano with a "Huh?". I was expecting more of a "Is it your hobby to follow girls your age?" type of question, so it really caught me off guard. And what does she mean am I awake?
I have a hard time seeing her face from this angle due to her hair blocking most of it, but there's a part of her cheeks that is showing, and it's noticeably red. Maybe it's because of the heat.
"I'm talking about yesterday." She kept gazing in the endless horizon. Her side profile is just dazzling.
"I'm not exactly sure which part you're talking about— Wait?! I didn't do weird things while sleeping, did I?"
Amano let out a short giggle. Her shoulder seemed to have relaxed and her tone showed signs of relief.
"I guess you aren't," Amano finally met my gaze and she gave me a warm smile. I was taken aback and I felt my heart skip a beat. It's not fair. She's way too cute! I have no idea what she's talking about, though.
"So, going back to my question," Amano paused. "What are you doing here?"
I briefly glanced at her before directing my eyes to the sky. "It's just... If I'm misunderstanding something, feel free to punch me in the face—"
"Isn't that too harsh?"
"I thought that would only be appropriate."
"Just what do you think of me?" Amano gave me a concerning look.
"Anyways, earlier... Um, how do I say this—"
"You must be talking about how I was occasionally looking at you, right?"
"Uhh, exactly, right. I thought there's something you want to say, that's why I followed you up here. Don't get the wrong idea, though! I'm not a creep or something of that sort."
"Relax, I know that." She chuckled, then, she gazed at the group of birds that flew by. "As long as you're not awake that time, it's all good."
I can't see the expression she's making, but her tone is making me a bit curious. If it's not something that I did... was is something she did? Like hell, there's no way something like that would happen. Well, If she prefers not to tell me, I won't force her. As long as it's not a big deal... I hope.
While I was lost in my thoughts, a question that is lately piquing my interest popped over my head.
"–Hey, Amano-san."
"Hm?"
"I noticed that you're always leaving the classroom every lunch break. I wonder if you're always going here, or are there any other places you would go?"
Amano looked a bit puzzled at my question. She glanced at me and put one finger on her chin. She's so cute. "I guess you would notice that... yeah, I always go here every lunch break."
"Is there any particular reason for that?"
"Well, to give one, I like the atmosphere, it's calming. Plus, I can't stand the noise back there, it's too loud, and I can't even focus on reading."
"Can't deny it..." I chuckled quietly.
So Amano isn't fond of rowdy places, huh? I guess we're a bit similar on that one.
"Well, I don't want to be a bother, so I'll be going now. Sorry for disturbing you." I stood up and patted my pants.
"Okay." Amano waved the back of her hand.
After making it back to class, unsurprisingly, Haru was already halfway eating through the lunch that we're supposed to share. This guy...
"Hey! Didn't I tell you to wait?!"
Haru, who just noticed me, was clearly startled, then he frowned a bit.
"I can't help it, I waited for too long already, my stomach can't take it anymore."
Your stomach always can't take it! I can only sigh at Haru's reasoning. Well, I did take quite some time there.
"What did you talk about anyway?"
"Nothing too concerning."
"Ehh?"
"I promise, there's no strange development or something. I mean, why would a development occur in the first place...—What?"
Haru was looking at me with an ugly smug. Somehow, I felt like slapping that chubby face of his.
"Nothing, come on, let's eat."
Speaking of eating...I didn't see any sort of lunch with Amano earlier. Is she on a diet? I guess that wouldn't be surprising, after all, she has a figure that looks really hard to maintain. What kind of things does she do there, anyway?
"Hey, Kenji-kun, you gonna eat?"
"Of course, I'm gonna eat."
"What are you waiting for, then?"
I plopped myself at the seat beside Haru, my own seat, by the way. He's almost done eating, but there is a couple of untouched takoyaki at the side of his lunchbox.
"Those for me?"
"I'll eat it if you want."
"No, please don't," I quickly took the blessings Haru prepared for me today. Thank god I have this bastard as a friend. I put both of my hands together and bowed.
"I can't help but feel like you were just thinking of something stupid right now."
"If expressing one's gratitude is stupid, then feel free to call me one."
Haru snorted, somewhat annoyed at my reply.
"Hey, do you know anything that Amano liked spending time with? Like a hobby or something."
Haru's annoyed expression quickly turned into something dumb as he leaned in on me with a weird, irritating, excited looking face.
"Fufu...What's this all of a sudden?"
"Stop looking at me like that, it's creeping me out." I gently pushed him back. "Oh, I didn't get to tell you right—" Oops, I almost had a slip of tongue there. Forgive me, Amano. I doubt that it's appropriate to tell Haru about her secret place. I mean, it's forbidden grounds, after all.
"Didn't get to tell me what?"
"Ah, I forgot... by the way, except for reading, I don't really see Amano do anything else while she's here. Plus, it's also great to get some new ideas for a present, right?"
"Don't you already have a present?" Haru gave me a look of suspicion. It seems like he's not buying it.
"I thought it would be nice to have some more, you know? It's like the saying 'The more, the merrier.'" I tried sounding as normal as possible.
"You're acting weird," Haru tightened his eyes. "Anyways, I think I saw her drawing a lot back then when we were still in middle school. Though, I don't know if she still does."
Hmm. Some useless information we got here. But at least I got his attention on something else.
"Apart from that, anything else?" I asked, trying to further divert his attention.
Haru looked down and put both his hands on his chin. He seemed to be seriously using his brain right now. Luckily he's an idiot, so he didn't notice my genius plan.
"Nah, I can't remember anything else."
"It's okay, thanks for trying, at least."
Mission success.
"So, what's the reason?"
"Huh?"
Just when I thought that it was finally over...
"You think I forgot, don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Come on, Kenji-kun, don't play dumb with me." He leaned closer. "So, why is Amano staring?"
"Oh that...She didn't tell me, actually. But I think it has something to do with yesterday when I fell asleep."
Amano asked me if I'm awake, so I think that's when exactly something happened.
"Maybe I was right?" Haru smiled creepily.
"I'm pretty steady when I'm asleep. In fact, I'm so steady that it has become something I can be proud of." I clenched my right hand and slammed it into my chest.
"Don't you think that's kinda creepy?"
"Oh, shut up."
No matter how infuriating or how dumb they get, I guess having a friend that you can banter with like this is fun.