Another Day

"Please have mercy on me," I begged inciting a chuckle from him, then he, once again, began closing the short distance between us.

"I'll try." He murmured while gently using his fingers to brush my hair away from my forehead. He then kissed me above my brow and added, "I'll come to see you as soon as I get back." I was reassured by his words so I smiled.

"You better," He smirked back at me then gently pecked my lips before getting up and climbing back out the window.

"Good night." He stated before leaving.

"Good night," I replied, I waved but my nerves were making my movements awkward and mechanical. Once he had vanished from sight I fell on my hands and knees panting. I'm surprised I managed to stay composed for so long! I'm definitely not dreaming right?! This time I really felt him... we kissed for real!... this has caught me completely off guard... how do I even tell Nacina about this?! I put all the dirty clothes and pillowcases into the washing machine before returning to my bed and futilely attempting to sleep. 

The next day, Wednesday, I met up with Nacina as usual, to walk to school together. I could tell she was organizing her thoughts in order to keep our morning walk entertaining by controlling the conversation, but today I had something to tell her as well.

"Last night... Shion visited me." I blurted. Suddenly Nacina became 100% focused on me and inquired about what happened, So I told her, "Mom was asleep so... I talked to him secretly and he told me that he's going on a trip for a few days and... just wanted to see me before he left." I could feel my cheeks tingling and my heart growing warm, once again remembering the fact he went out of his way to visit me.

"Is that all?" My bestie questioned, raising her eyebrows a bit.

"Well... I confessed to him and we kissed... and he's my boyfriend now!" I continued and began rubbing my face to ease the side effects of my embarrassment a little. She gasped,

"So you're really dating now?" She urged more information from me, I smiled and looked down at my feet as we kept walking.

"Yes!... you were right. Your intuition is god-like. I should listen to you more!" I replied, complimenting her and much too happy at that moment to realize she wasn't very happy for me. "I wasn't planning on it... I actually expected to chicken out like usual... but he kept giving me signals and the voice in my head kept screaming at me, telling me to make a move. So I kissed his cheek."

"....You made the first move? Really?" She asked. I nudged her playfully.

"I can be bold if I want to!" I argued. She then gave me a weak smile before saying,

"I'm happy for you." There was a long silence after that but I was too upbeat to be bothered by it, I felt like I was walking on air. "We need to celebrate." Nacina vocalized, suddenly filled with enthusiasm "This is your first boyfriend! It's a big deal." She declared.

"Do people usually celebrate that?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"No, but we're not normal, are we?" She debated

"I guess not," I answered.

"You're coming to my place after school and I'm going to help you out. If you have any questions about dating just ask me, your upperclassman in love." I felt touched by her words and at that moment we arrived at the school. I wanted to gush about him more...

"Sounds great, thank you," I said whilst waving goodbye as we headed our separate ways.

"Anything for you, I love you!" Nacina shouted while rushing towards her class.

"I love you too!" I yelled back and began hurrying. The Swelling on Will's face had gone down considerably, he and Kriss didn't speak to me and it was still too hard for me to initiate a conversation with them so we just didn't speak.

During lunch, those two sat at a different table which was a relief since Nacina decided to let everyone at the table know my personal business.

"She's dating this guy named Shion, he's in college, over 190cm (6'3") tall and he looks like he could star in a romance movie." She ranted, I tried to hush her the entire time she was speaking but she paid me no mind.

"Wow really? I thought you were lesbians or something." Cherry commented.

"Good for you," Yai stated sincerely then Cam jumped into the conversation, saying,

"I met him! He's cool, but cheats at poker." Cam accused, I snickered a bit at that. I actually just think Serco is a pro at hiding things... perfect Poker Face. Which is both good and bad.

"You have to let us meet him," Cherry demanded, I started to say no but Nacina cut me off and blurted

"He usually meets with us after school at the gate!" I lightly jabbed her arm and shot her a look but she only laughed. All the merriment I had been feeling drifted away, I told Nacina because she is my best friend but I don't even know if Serco needed me to keep our relationship a secret and I also know him well enough to know he doesn't do well with strangers.

"But he's visiting his hometown for a few days so he won't be waiting today." I corrected her.

"That's too bad," Cherry responded, her voice sounds barely interested. As expected he wasn't waiting for me today. I'm actually glad because I was worried he wouldn't actually go to the hospital. I want him to get treatment but... I also can't deny that I miss him.

Nacina showed up at my house with a cake for her and a sub sandwich for me. She also had a gift bag.

"It's a bit unnerving that you're making this into such a big deal." Nacina giggled and brushed off my comment saying,

"I believe in making memories... I want this moment to stand out to you forever because it is a big deal. The relationships you create are important, Aki." I blushed at her response, I had no idea she'd say something so deep. Plus, I have a feeling that what I have with Serco is actually grander than just, my first boyfriend, I should celebrate.

"Fine..." After I conceded she ran to the kitchen saying,

"I'm going to pour apple juice into fancy wine glasses and you're going to have to tell me way more details about what happened last night!" I shushed her in case my mom was listening and then followed her into the kitchen where we ate our snacks and chatted.

"... When our lips touched... I didn't know what to expect. I had no idea it would feel so intense. It was like my emotions were exploding in my chest." I said in a hushed tone, wrapping up my story.

"So... you kissed his cheek... and he turned around and kissed your lips?" I nodded rapidly, flustered just from remembering that moment.

"I guess you've both been holding back... I'm jealous." I nudged her with my hand from across the table and said,

"Then go out with Cam! I've said it before but it's so obvious you like each other!" In response, Nacina hung her head,

"We've been friends for so long... yeah I've thought about being with him... I like him a lot but I also realize that if we ever cross that line, we'll never be friends again. We're not like you and Shion, we have known each other too long. Plus, I'm selfish, so I know I'll end up getting on his nerves... I don't want to lose him." Before replying to her I took a bite from my sandwich,

"So... if he ends up with someone else, you'll be okay?" She gripped at her heart and kept her head down,

"I'll be okay, I have to be okay. I'm the one rejecting him, after all. If I'm not okay, I would be a crazy person." After saying this she lifted her head and smiled at me. I feel a bit bad for Cam... it's clear to me that he's liked her from the beginning, she is his first love and he always seeks her out and finds her, no matter how crowded the area is. I hope she gives him a chance one day, but that's up to her...