[Warning 15+]
Part One~She Only Acts Like Her Old Self When She's with Me... Wait, Hold Up!~Chapter 37And That's Why, Haruki―
The rain that'd been pouring since last night had totally cleared up by dawn.
The sky, looking all washed and pristine after the rain scrubbed away all the crap in the air, was a deep, clear blue. Even though it was barely daybreak, the sun was already being super extra, beaming right through the curtains and stinging Haruki's eyelids.
"Mnh… …ugh… …wait, what?"
Waking up, Haruki felt a bit tripped out by the unfamiliar view hitting her eyes. Her morning brain wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders yet. But weirdly enough, she felt totally at peace, and as she slowly looked around the room, her head finally started to clear.
"Oh, right. I'm having a sleepover, aren't I?"
Haruki was crashing in Hayato's room.
Haruki'd told the boy who actually lives here that she'd be fine on the couch, but he totally shot her down, insisting it was his own selfish call since he was the one who invited her to stay.
A quick look at the clock showed it was just before 5 AM in the morning. Even though Haruki'd woken up way earlier than usual, she wasn't sleepy at all. She must've been completely knocked out to feel this refreshed.
It was such a trippy feeling.
That heavy, mucky feeling Haruki'd always carried deep down was just... ...gone. It was like all that gunk got washed away with her tears yesterday, leaving her heart feeling as clear and bright as the sky outside.
'―At the very least, I can be right there by your side.'
Hayato's words from last night suddenly flashed through Haruki's mind.
An unfamiliar scent was wafting from the futon and the shirt Haruki was wearing.
Haruki gripped the shirt—which was way too big for her, with the hem hanging down like a summer dress—real tight.
"…Ehehe."
And just like that, a giggle slipped out.
Being wrapped up in this shirt that felt like a one-piece dress gave Haruki this crazy sense of security, like she was being held by something huge. She knew she was totally floating on cloud nine right now.
Between feeling stoked and super embarrassed, Haruki ended up burying her face in the pillow, letting out some weird "Mya mya" noises while rolling all over the bed.
(I guess some promises actually do get kept after all…)
Haruki quietly stared at the pinky finger on her left hand. The sensation of their fingers interlocking came rushing back to her.
Immediately, Hayato's face popped into Haruki's head again, making her feel all restless and fidgety.
Haruki couldn't figure out why she was acting like this, so she shook her head hard, trying to brush off that weird, fuzzy feeling in her chest.
"Right, it's Monday, so I can't exactly just lounge around all day."
It was a school day, obviously. Even though Haruki'd already knocked out her assignments, she still had to head back home to change into her uniform and deal with the pile of burnable trash she needed to take out.
Trying her best to keep it together, Haruki crept toward the living room on tiptoe while running through her to-do list.
"…Mnh… …ugh…"
"―!"
There he was—Hayato, sprawled out with a towel-blanket barely covering his stomach. He was totally out cold, not even a hint of him waking up. His sleeping posture was kind of a mess; One leg was dangling off the sofa onto the floor, and he was snoring away with a totally clueless, peaceful look on his face.
The second Haruki caught a glimpse of Hayato's face, that smoldering feeling deep in her chest just erupted into a full-blown wildfire, and her heart started thumping like crazy out of nowhere.
(What the heck is this…?)
Haruki was completely thrown by this sudden surge of emotion that she couldn't even put a finger on.
Come to think of it, this wasn't just a "right now" thing. Ever since the day they reunited, Hayato'd been messing with Haruki's head non-stop.
On Haruki's first day at the new school, she'd wondered what Hayato'd think of how much she'd changed, but he just gave her that same old smirk and treated her like some monkey monster. Unlike other boys, he'd always lend her a hand without any hidden motives or being a total calculative j*rk. Even when she tried to tease him to make his heart race, it either fell flat or backfired on her big time. And last night? She'd completely exposed her weakest self to him.
Just thinking about it made Haruki's face heat up with pure embarrassment, and yet, there was Hayato, just snoozing away with the most carefree look on his face.
(Man, why am I the only one acting like a mess? That's so not fair…!)
Thanks to Hayato, Haruki's heart felt a whole lot lighter. He'd totally bailed her out.
It was probably because of that oath they took—that since they were best buds, they'd have each other's backs no matter what.
While Haruki was stoked about it, she also felt kinda salty that she was always the one being taken care of.
Driven by that petty, childish vibe, Haruki crept up on the sleeping Hayato, determined to pull some kind of prank on him.
(Alright, what should I do to you?)
With a mischievous smirk on her face, Haruki started checking Hayato out for real.
The messy, coarse hair Hayato'd just let grow out, those surprisingly long eyelashes, the slightly tanned skin... ...If Haruki looked closely, she could see a resemblance to his little sis, Himeko, yet he had these sharp, handsome features that reminded Haruki he was definitely a boy.
(…Wait, is Hayato actually, like, kinda cool?)
That thought just popped into Haruki's head out of nowhere. To Haruki, Hayato had always just been Hayato; She'd never even considered something like that before.
Maybe it was the shock or just total confusion, but Haruki's heart started pounding so hard it actually hurt. For some weird reason, Hayato's dry, slightly chapped lips started looking like some kind of tasty snack, and she actually found herself thinking about "moisturizing" them herself. Like she was being pulled in by a magnet, she naturally started leaning her face in closer.
That was when it happened.
"Mnn…"
"―!?"
Without any warning at all, Hayato tossed and turned in his sleep. Since they almost collided thanks to his sudden move, Haruki snapped back to reality and scrambled backward, slamming her hand over her own mouth.
Holding her racing heart, Haruki looked over at Hayato, but he was just snoozing away as peacefully as ever, looking like he didn't have a single care in the world.
(What the heck was I just about to do…?)
It was totally subconscious. That's the kind of move you don't even pull on a friend as a joke. It was a straight-up line-crosser.
Haruki couldn't hide how shocked and shaken she was by her own move, and at the same time, her head was spinning with thoughts of Hayato and that annoying, cool-boy sleeping face of his.
"―!"
Haruki realized things were gonna get ugly if she just kept letting Hayato win at every turn.
Haruki felt like it'd be totally unfair if she didn't get some kind of payback on her bestie; Like she wouldn't even be able to look at Hayato in the eye otherwise. Fuelled by that petty, childish competitive streak, she bolted back to Hayato's room and yanked open his closet.
"Whoa, everything's so organized… ...which means it's probably around here… …oh, found it."
After finding what she was looking for, Haruki quickly changed into it and headed back to the living room.
It was exactly five in the morning. Hayato was still totally out of it, snoozing away.
Haruki poked Hayato's cheek while calling out to him, just to see how deep of a sleep he was in.
"Yo, you awake? If you don't get up, something crazy's gonna happen, you know? You cool with that?"
Haruki whispered it a few times, but all she got back was a dopey-sounding groan.
(Right, back in the day, once Hayato knocked out for a nap or whatever, nothing could ever wake him up.)
Convinced that Hayato wasn't gonna budge no matter what she did, Haruki boldly started moving his body around.
"This is just payback, okay?― ―Mnh."
Haruki muttered it like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else― and then, the sharp click of a phone camera echoed through the dead-quiet living room.
A totally mischievous smirk spread across Haruki's face.
Author's Notes:
Drop me a five-star rating, meow!
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Meow.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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