"What took you guys so long? I've been waiting here for like forever."
The sound of Bright's voice resonated in Eirin's ears as the other students near the main gate of the high school surrounded them. It hadn't been long since dismissal, but Bright was already in front of the gate with his huge smile and his hand waving.
"Did you skip the last class? There's no way you could arrive here before us," Ava said and rolled her eyes. She then held onto Eirin's hand and said, "Before that, aren't you going to greet my Ei with a happy birthday?" Emphasizing the word my, which caused Bright to sneer at Ava.
"Let's do that later. Why don't we go now? We're in the other people's way." Eirin suggested after seeing how the two were so close to bickering again.
"I agree! I'm so hungry. I feel like I could eat a whole pig."
"Wait a minute."
Eirin and Ava turned back to Bright after he said that.
"This is my gift."
Bright gave Eirin a small blue paper box, making the teenage girl gulp as she stole a glance at Ava who was still holding her hand.
"Didn't you already give a gift?"
Eirin accepted the small paper bag, thinking that it would be better to do so. "I don't think I should keep on receiving gifts like this from the both of you."
Ava giggled. "What's with that? My Ei is the best in the world, so of course I want her to receive all the good things." Eirin could not stop sighing after hearing that from her best friend. Even though she feels the same towards Ava, Eirin thinks that she was not deserving of such affection.
"I think Mr. Bright Goodwin agrees. Let me see what's inside."
"Why are you calling me by my full name — wait, don't open it here!"
Ava opened the paper bag, revealing a cute and small white rabbit keychain that was still inside a transparent pink plastic.
"What a surprise. I thought he'll give you a ring or something," Ava said, making Bright's face turn red as she placed the keychain on Eirin's backpack without asking. "It suits my Ei so well." Her smile, and the way she emphasized the word 'my', made Bright glare at her and Ava just laughed.
'Why are they being like this?'
Eirin pulled Ava to her side after sighing. "Let's go. Grandma's waiting for us already."
The three of them walked on the pavement towards the bus stop, thinking that it would be faster to ride the bus than walk.
"Thank you for the gifts, guys."
Ava pulled Eirin into a hug as they sat on the deserted bus. "Everything for my everything," Ava said and giggled. "You deserve all the beautiful things because you're so pretty." Her eyes sparkled while looking at Eirin, and her sincere words caused the teenage girl to feel happy.
"Why do you keep acting like Eirin's your girlfriend?"
The two glanced at Bright, who was standing beside their seats instead of sitting down on the empty seat behind or in front.
"It's not like Eirin's your belonging, and she's not an object for you to claim."
Ava raised an eyebrow and moved closer to Eirin. "But Ei is mine. Isn't that right, Ei?" Her round black eyes twinkled as she tilted her head with a cheeky smile on her face. "Ei is mine, and she even said that we'll be together forever. Stop being jealous and sit down."
"Why would Eirin say something cringe like that?"
Bright chuckled and stayed holding on to the bus-holder. There were tons of spaces for him to sit as there were only the three of them occupying the bus, but Bright chose to stand beside the two, thinking that if he can't sit beside Eirin, then he'll stand near her.
"I did say that."
Bright's expression caused Ava to laugh as he stuttered saying, "R-Really? You want to be with this girl forever?" The sound of Ava chuckling in the background made Bright blink his eyes thousands of times.
"I won."
Eirin just shook her head after Ava cuddled with her after winning against Bright Goodwin.
"You're both my best friends, and I would be happy if I could spend my whole life with you two," Eirin said, thus making silence envelop the three.
It was rare for Eirin to say words directly. The timid girl they would always have to pull to keep her from standing still in her position said such words. The silence and tranquility caused Ava to feel overwhelmed with feelings.
"That's right. Ei and I are forever."
As they got off the bus, everything felt normal, as if nothing terrible happened to Eirin at all.
'It's weird.'
The comfort her friends gave her almost made her lose herself from reality and forget about the bad things. She almost forgot about the incident earlier with Shade.
'If I want answers, I need to ask my grandmother. That's what that man, Link said.'
Eirin got lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice they were already standing in front of the gate for minutes.
"Ei?"
Eirin blinked her eyes lots of times after Ava nudged her.
"Are you sure you're not the one feeling sick? You've been out of it since your ballet recital."
It was inevitable. The way Eirin acted caused her friends to worry about her well-being. Tons of unknown things are happening to her, and she can't even talk about it to anyone except for her grandmother. Of course, she will be out of it.
"That's…"
"Children, you have arrived. Come on in."
Eleanor got out and opened the door for the three with a huge smile on her face, not knowing that she cut off her granddaughter's words.
'I'm glad I couldn't say it. I don't need to involve Ava in this mess too.'
As they followed Eleanor to the house, they noticed the slight difference she made.
"I decorated a little based on what Eirin likes."
All sorts of blue filled the living room. From sky blue and white balloons on the ceiling to the light blue shining carpet on the floor. Their once messy and tainted with blood living room turned into a fancy place with all the decorations.
"I did not know what teenagers nowadays want, so I asked my assistants, and this is what they said."
Eirin was in awe, not knowing what she was supposed to do, making Ava slightly give her a push to make her walk into the middle of the decorations. The teenage girl did not expect such a celebration after what happened to her and her grandmother the other day. Her eyes then landed on the blue balloons letters creating a birthday greeting; pasted on the wall that was covered with blue and white silk, saying,
Happy 16th Birthday Eirin.
The teenage girl stared at her name and smiled. "Thank you, Grandma. I love it," she said and went to hug her grandmother.
'I should just enjoy this day.'
"Let's sing her a happy birthday!"
They all sang Eirin a happy birthday with her grandmother's assistant holding her round sky blue cake with clouds decoration and a candle on top.
"Happy birthday to you."
The voices of her beloved people filled her ears as she blew out the candle, making them all clap and congratulate her. If she had died, would they be crying instead of smiling on her birthday? That thought lingered inside Eirin's head as she holds her cake and smile in front of the camera. The mere thought of that slowly made her lose her smile.
'Stop, you're not going to die.'
"Wow!"
Ava's loud voice distracted Eirin from her thoughts as the food brought by Eleanor's assistants caused them to be in awe. All different kinds of cuisine, those even served in Eleanor's restaurant, were present.
"Caviar!"
The reason why Ava was so gleeful was because of the caviar on the table. She could not bother giving any other dish a look as she quickly took a spoonful of the caviar. As they continued celebrating, something kept bugging Eirin, making her conscious of her every move. It was Bright's eyes that kept following her. Hearing Ava's laugh in the background caused Eirin's chest to tighten as guilt filled her heart.
The ring on her finger reminded her of what Bright had said the other day.
"And then, during Ei's 6th birthday, we bought a matching hair clip," Ava said. "Bright wanted to have one too, so I gave him mine."
Eirin stayed silent after hearing that. She's been trying to stop herself from biting her fingernail, avoiding letting the people with her learn of her anxiousness. Just feeling Bright's stares makes her heart skip a beat, but she also feels awful.
Bright, with his hopeful eyes, stared at Eirin. As if looking at something precious, he could not take his eyes off of her while thinking of how beautiful she was again. He could not even focus on his food at all.
"There are still appetizers in the kitchen," Eleanor said while her assistant helped her give some food to the restaurant staff that was invited to eat. "Since our Eirin doesn't look big gathering, even though it is her Sweet 16, I still wanted to cook a lot," she added.
"I'll go get it."
Eirin, who could not endure Bright's obvious stares, decided to escape to the kitchen. However, Bright saw this as a chance to talk to her alone without anyone disturbing them.
"I'll help." Eirin quickly turned around after hearing Bright's voice. "I also wanted to talk to you about yesterday. Did you get home safe?"
They entered the kitchen, and Eirin glanced at the food on the counter. "As you can see, totally fine."
"Your eyes are swollen, though. Did something happen after we parted ways? Or did Ava make you cry?"
'Why is he so observant but also clueless?'
Eirin smiled and faced Bright. "No, not really. Nothing happened, and Ava didn't make me cry. I just haven't had enough sleep."
How could she not keep on crying when she almost died? But Eirin knew that saying that would make things more complicated than it already is.
"Ei."
Eirin moved away from Bright. "Yes? What is it, Ava?"
"My mom's telling me to go home now. I still want to eat and spend more time with you, though," Ava pouted and said that while walking towards Eirin, hoping for a hug, which Eirin quickly obliges.
Eirin's forehead creased as she touched Ava's cold and freezing hand. Even her arms and cheeks were unusually cold.
"Are you okay? Your body's cold."
Ava laughed it off. "Of course, I'm fine. Maybe because I just ate some ice cream." Despite her words, Ava could not hide how pale her face had become.
"You know what? Your mom's right. You should go home now."
Eirin held Ava's hand and pulled her out of the kitchen.
"Grandma, Ava needs to go home now."
After bidding Eleanor goodbye and packing some food to take, Bright followed the two outside the house.
"I'll go with you."
Ava and Eirin held hands on their way to Ava's house.
"I really enjoyed this day. Being with Ei makes me happy, and I wish I could be with you all the time."
Hearing that put a smile on Eirin's face.
"Why do I feel like a third wheel every time the three of us are together?" Bright said, making the two laugh.
"I really wish for this moment to last forever."
The sound of cars on the street filled Eirin's ears as her eyes landed on her best friend, who had let go of her hand and fallen to the ground.
"A…va?"