After that we had lunch together at Hayami-san's house. I just went with the flow and I drank, the beers that she brought, with both of them.
A few drinks here and there and before I knew it the alcohol was already making its effects in the three of us. Well, mostly on Hayami-san… Since I began drinking, I've always handled the booze pretty well, even though it was a recent thing.
"Hayami-san, are you sure you can drink more?"
"Don´t worry Ishi-kun! She's always like this, she's used to drink but continues to be a weak drinker as well, which is pretty hilarious!"
"Shut up Junpei… I'm perfectly fine… Am I not Ishigami? – said Hayami-san extremely slowly with her cheeks clearly rosy, while approaching me and lying on my shoulder.
"Hayami-san, you are acting extremely different from when we met and at the college…"
"Ishigami!!!!" – she said on a loud voice, while looking at me with angry eyes.
"Call me Haru! C'mon…"
"Haru.... -san…"
"No! Just Haru!"
"Is she always like this when she has a couple of drinks?" – I questioned Junpei with an annoyed face.
"Well…It's not like that. She acts like this when she is with people she trusts, out of the social context."
"We just met today…isn't that a contradiction?"
"It might be, but at the end it just means that she feels comfortable around you. Which is indeed strange…Maybe she has a crush on you? Uhuhuhuh – BUMMM!! OUCH!"
"Say another stupid thing like that and next time I throw you the table!" – said Haru while clobbering Junpei's head.
"Yeah dude… you keep saying weird stuff like that…"
"Not you too Ishi-kun!!"
"If we are talking about romance, then I guess it's time we ask the forbidden quest to Ishigami.." – declared Haru with a strange grin at her face.
"Ishigami, do you have a girlfriend or someone you like?" – asked both at the same time.
"I don't care about that… In fact, the more I stay out of the sights of love, the better I am."
"Wow…dark…" – said both of them at the same time, more annoyingly this time.
"I'm not kidding…"
"Something from your past? Well, you don't need to tell us if you don't want to…" – said Junpei.
"I don't want to…"
"Eish… I was hoping to ear that story!" – said both of them again, this time even more annoyingly that the last time, in a tone that was supposed to be low but ended up being loud at the end.
"Ahh… I don't want to ruin the mood with unnecessary stories, it doesn't matter anymore so let's just keep the talk going."
"You know it Ishi-kun!"
This little "party" of ours continued later that night what was fine because we weren't going to have classes the next day, because it was a Friday. We played some board games, some drinking games and we talked a lot.
"Well, it's already pretty late, so I better be on my way or else my parents will be extremely pissed…ahhhh" – sighed Junpei with an annoyed face.
"Must be pretty liberating to live by yourself…"
"Sometimes it can get pretty lonely you know?" – said Haru with a serious voice.
"So even you feel like that sometimes Haru-chan…Well, you have Ishi-kun next door now if you ever get lonely…"
Haru looked at me with a face that resembled her face the first time we met, with her big blue eyes wide open. Then for a moment, she looked away and with a certain blush on her face, whispered:
"If he doesn´t mind…"
My mind went blank for a millisecond, I looked away, pretty sure I was blushing too and when I turned to her again, she was about to burst out laughing.
"AHAHHAHAHAAHAH!!!"
"You really fell for that Ishi-kun…the first time you've let your guard down!"
"Really Ishigami…Ahahah…you can't make that face and expect me not to laugh…Ahahah! But I guess, I'll be at your care…"
"Don't tease me…Haru."
"Wow! You managed to call me Haru!"
"Well, you pretty much forced me to…"
"Hey guys, hope we all enjoy our college life, let's make the best of it!" – screamed Junpei while holding a beer into the air.
"Better…Let's enjoy it together!" – completed Haru while raising the beer into the air too.
I sighed.
"Guess I have no choice!" – I declared, while raising my beer to reach theirs.
"CHEERS!!!!!"
At that moment, in my mind, I thought that maybe the gray sky that has been chasing me since then would light up, just a little bit.
"Wow Ishigami…"
"Who would have thought Ishi-kun…"
"What?"
"You can smile too Ishigami!"
"It's not like I can't smile at all…"
"So, you have to smile more, I like your smile!"
"You are teasing me again…"
"Maybe a little…or not…"
"You really are troublesome, Haru."
"I like your smile too Ishi-kun!"
"Your teasing doesn't work Junpei…"
We helped Haru cleaning up the room, took out the trash and got ready to leave.
"Well Haru-chan, thank you for having us! Looking forward to next time! Junpei out!" – this is what he said while taking down the stairs in a dramatic way.
"Thank you Haru. I'm leaving now, something you need, just knock at my door."
"I know, thank you too… See you, neighbour!" – she said with a big smile.
"See you too… neighbour…" – I answered with a little smile.
After a quick bath, I sat down in my bed while thinking out loud:
"This surely is damn crazy… I just met those people today and I feel that I've known them for years. What a strange feeling. And what strange people…"
I guess it wouldn´t hurt to smile a little bit more.