7 7.Love comes like a storm

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Word Count:1444]

I turned back towards the park to see Irina and Issei with some other kids. Irina was waving her hand excitedly. I waved back and came closer to them.

"Hey, Kou-kun!Where have you been lately? You haven't been coming to play lately" she pouted cutely while crossing her hands under her chest though there was nothing to show for now. But after a few years.....ahem

"Sorry, Irina-chan.I've been busy lately but I'll come regularly to play with you from tomorrow onwards"

'I've been busy creating those techniques in the dungeon but now that I'm done I will be returning to my routine' I thought.

She stopped pouting at that. She looked really cute pouting like that.

"Oh! Who's she? Your friend?" she looked strangely at her as she asked me the question.

"Hello. I'm Asagi Azusawa, Miyamura-kun's friend and next-door neighbor" she replied with a smile while staring directly into her eyes.

Irina's eyes twitched at that.

"I'm Irina Shidou, Kou-Kun's friend"

"Kou-kun.I didn't know you had such a cute girl as a neighbor!" she looked back at me with those words.

"Hahaha" I laughed awkwardly at that.

"They only moved in last week"

"Kou-kun!It couldn't be that you were so busy playing with her that you forgot to come here, could it?" she stared at me dangerously as she asked me those questions.

"Umm...Hello!I'm Issei...." The pervert tried introducing himself but nobody seemed to care as Azusawa cut in the middle of his speech.

"Miyamura-kun.It's getting late. Shouldn't we get going? Mom asked to go home straight after school. She said she would be making something special for dinner today. She also asked you to join us" she said as she started pulling me.

"Wait!" exclaimed Irina.

"If you need to go home early, you can just go back yourself. Kou-kun will be playing with us for a while" Irina declared as she looked at me.

"I-I only came here recently. I don't think I can go home alone" she said as she acted meek and had some droplets of tears in her eyes.

I could only sigh at them. Her parents asked me to take care of her.

"Sorry, Irina-chan.I promise to come tomorrow" I said as I started going back with Azusawa.

"Hmph!Baka Kou-kun!" Irina pouted again as she went back to the others with Issei following behind her.

On our way back we didn't talk much. In front of our houses...

"Remember to come by dinner time"Azusawa reminded me.

"OK. Take care, Azusawa"

"A-asagi" she muttered something while fidgeting slightly but because of her low voice I couldn't hear it properly.

"What?" I inquired.

"I SAID you can just c-call m-me Asagi!" she screamed in anger at first but then her voice became soft.

"Sure, Asagi. You can also call me Kouske" I replied nonchalantly.

"OKAY! K-Koke" her face was beet red while saying that. After that, we went to our respective houses. When it was time for dinner I went to the Azusawas. It was a hearty feast.

They were a cheerful bunch. Only Asagi was a bit less talkative that day.

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Irina's POV

My mood's been bad for a few days now. Kou-kun has not come to the park recently. So I was a bit upset.

Issei-kun's been my closest friend since coming here. But lately, he's been behaving a bit weirdly.

Always saying something about 'breasts' and 'harem kings'.I thought do all the boys think like that nowadays?

When I asked my parents they said that God doesn't like things like that. So we should always be pure in our hearts and minds.

They asked me why I was asking these types of questions. I told them about what Issei-kun's been doing lately.

Both of them had some strange looks on their faces for a while. After that, they seemingly went to Issei-kun's parents to say something.

After a few days, Issei-kun's behavior became even stranger. He would stare at older girls walking on the road beside the park. There was some strange gleam in his eyes.

He would look at them and then laugh while his breathing became rough. The older girls would look at him disgustingly but it seemed to only make him behave even more strangely.

I don't know why but I always have the urge to stay away from him when I see him like that. But he's a close friend of mine. I cannot do that!

Then one day I met Kou-kun. He came to play with us on his own. He was nothing like Issei-kun.

He was always gentle and calm. Sometimes it feels like I'm talking to an older person. He acts very mature, like the adults.

He's very responsible, even my parents said that. They were extremely happy that I made a.....normal...friend.

Kou-kun would always go along with all my antics. He would listen to my words attentively. He never got bothered by my enthusiasm.

He also came to visit our home. We even had an outing with my family. It was one of my happiest times.

Without me even realizing I started spending less and less time playing with Issei-kun but I would find myself always waiting to meet my Kou-kun.

My heart would always beat faster around him, my breathing would get rougher and something gentle would stir up inside my stomach.

At first, I got really scared, thinking if I was getting sick. I told my parents about my heart beating erratically sometimes. They got tensed. But when I told them that it only happens around Kou-kun and how strangely even though my heart is beating so fast I find peace around him.

Hearing my words they became a bit relaxed. My mother started laughing while saying something about 'young love'.But my father had an odd expression while muttering something about 'how dare....next time...show him..'.

I couldn't make sense of what he meant. But my mother's words stuck to me. Is this love? Do I love Kou-kun? Then I get to live with Kou-kun my entire life? I have read some tales about love where a hero comes to save the princess from the evil dragon. Then they live happily ever after being married and spending eternities together. [A/N: Here, he's the evil dragon though! Hehehe!]

My head becomes fuzzy thinking about all that.

After that, it's been a while since I've seen Kou-kun. Lately, he isn't coming to play. My parents told me he must be busy with his studies as exam season is near. Now I wish we were in the same school! Maybe next year! We could also spend our time together in the school...hehehe...I unconsciously started laughing. When my parents caught me laughing like that they stared weirdly at me.

It's frustrating not being able to meet him! My mood's been the worst lately. I'm more prone to become angry lately. I even lashed out a few times at Issei-kun when he was making those weird faces. It must be because I'm upset. huh?

Then I saw Kou-kun for the first time in two weeks. He had his school uniform on. He must be returning from school.

I called out to him. I acted angry at first because he hadn't come to meet me for so long. But then I noticed there was a cute blonde with him. I felt hurt. When I was only thinking about him all this time, he's been busy playing around with this girl!

And the way she acted annoyed me. When I heard she was his new neighbor, I was extremely upset knowing that she could meet him whenever she wanted whether it be day or night. It must be nice.

I felt my heart ache to see them together. My heart was tight. Is this what jealousy feels like? Am I becoming a bad girl? Papa always says that as believers of the church, our hearts should always be pure.

My heart almost broke when I saw him choose her over me. I didn't stay long in the park after that. I cried and cried a lot that night until I felt lighter. My parents were worried about me. When I told my mom what happened she told me not to worry about it. She said it must have been urgent for him to go back then. She said I could just meet him tomorrow. So I fell asleep waiting for today to end and for a new day to come quickly.

But I don't like that girl!

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