Finally, Okumori Toshiro arrives at the mall.

 A clear vision of lilies, but a blurry vision of sunflowers.

A clear vision of rain, but a blurry vision of sunlight.

Finally, a vivid image of a smoldering cigarette that lay on an ashtray.

Rays of lively sunlight shone upon the smoke that left the tip of the white tobacco stick, with its dust drifting down and piling up onto the tray.

All of it triggered an uneasy sensation throughout my body.

Fortunately, my dreams of melancholia would abruptly come to an end, and I would wake up to a refreshing cushion planted on my face.

But instead of that usual cold, fluffy, and nice cotton that you would usually feel when snuggling with a pillow, it was very warm and… Alive? The back of the pillow was unusually hard, yet smooth, although the front was snug and delicate.

Driven by my interest, I looked at what I had been cuddling and caressing all night. Suddenly, my pillow had letters on it.

Meow! It said in pink.

The pillow sheet was damp in the middle, though, and it looked like a small pond of wetness had formed overnight. I mystifyingly eyed it, and eventually began to theorize what was the cause.

Crying?

I relocated my eyesight above me, and what I saw made my previous worry incomparable to how alarmed I was of what was in front of me.

Above me was Miyake. Like a cat, she quietly and gently slept. Her arm was softly wrapped around my head, and her breathing became apparent to me as her chest lightly touched my chin every few seconds.

The pillow I had been shoving my face in and snuggling with throughout the night… It had been her chest?!

This is a joke, right? How did she even get in here? Why am I even hugging her?

I steadily retracted my arms away from her body, trying my best not to disrupt her deep slumber. Once I was free, I stepped away from the bed and examined the comfortless situation I had just been in.

Miyake’s blonde hair was now just a frizzy mess that coated her face. Every time she breathed out, her hair would fly upwards, revealing her thin lips and intricate cheeks for a split second before coming back down and concealing them again. Miyake was also dressed in a white sweatshirt that was too big and revealed her pale, smooth collarbone, with sleeves that were too long where it hid her hands. She had a pink skirt, too, with some white socks for her feet.

… Hey… Hey, hey! Nothing happened, right?! Right?! We didn’t do anything at all, right?!

She then jolted up from the bed and frantically searched her surroundings.

"I fell asleep?!" She whispered loudly

Miyake would eventually land her eyes on me and present a bright red face with steam leaving her ears.

“I-I-" She stuttered.

We were both clearly mortified by each other's existence. I had chills driving up and down on my back as if it was a highway.

"Oh? You two finally woke up?"

To our right, had been my mother. She was by the doorway with a suspicious smile “Weeeeell, it was bound to happen! Congrats, Toshiro! Everyone’s first time is always a memorable time!”

She promptly stopped herself and squinted at me.

“But, did you use a cond-?”

I leaped to the door and slapped it closed to prevent her from finishing, then grimaced and turned at Miyake. She was sitting on my bed with her legs formed as a W, and her hands in between her thighs that fidgeted nervously. Her face that was always optimistic and euphoric was now a flustered mess that hid behind her messy bed hair.

"It's not what you think! I swear! Nothing bad happened!” She aggressively stated "I just wanted to... Comfort you! That's it!"

A sigh exited my body as I drearily stared at her.

I didn't know what made her presume that I had needed to be hugged while I slept just for meager consolation. Her deliberate lying only made my curiosity worse, and the wet mark that was displayed on her sweatshirt caught my intrigued eyes. It made me wonder if that was the reason for her supposed solacing actions.

"Was I crying?" I humorlessly asked.

I waited, but she didn't respond.

The silence that soon befell upon us was like a forest. The only sounds that entered my ears were the birds chirping outside accompanied by the swaying of trees, and the sounds of leaves that floated past from outside the window.

Yet, the feeling of despondency and grimness continued to hover around inside my body as I began to recall my abnormal dream.

"You guys are going to the mall today, right? I have your clothes ready!" My mom notified us from behind the door.

We both simultaneously moved our heads over skeptically.

"Clothes...?" Miyake confusingly wondered.

Then, the quiet Miyake that was formerly present had vanished in an instant as her bemused look turned into a thrilled and upbeat expression.

"Mall! We're going to the mall! I forgot!" She exclaimed. "I'll explain everything to you when we get there, okay, Okumori-kun?! Right now, I need to get ready!"

Wait, wait, wait! You’re telling me this now?! I didn’t even agree to it yet through text!

She gave me a quick pat on the head. “Why don’t you go and get ready too, hm?” Then exited the room before I could even react.

You extroverted freaks! Let me enjoy my solitude for once!

I dropped to my bed and released a small sigh.

–

I finally would be able to gather the energy to get ready, even if I had despised the idea of leaving the house. I took a shower, cleaned my face, and blow-dried my hair before looking into what had appeared in my room.

On the bed, was an oversized brown retro cargo jacket and a white shirt with some black jeans. In front of it on the floor were some stylish white shoes that matched the outfit.

"What is this?” I muttered.

"Wear it."

I gulped and carefully looked at the door. My mother was there, having a happy grin that looked nothing but terrifying.

"Wear it." She repeated.

She then vanished.

She picked this out, didn't she? What's with the style? It's too attention-grabbing. I don't want people staring at me. I haven't even worn it and I already feel embarrassed.

This wasn't the only thing that was bugging me today, though. I felt more exhausted than usual, and I realized that I had been coughing a lot when I was in the bathroom. Taking a step felt oddly heavier than before, and my throat earned an itch every few minutes.

It wasn't anything severe, though, so I simply disregarded it and forced myself to believe that it was just my groggy morning self acting up.

I forced myself to wear the overdressed outfit my mom had chosen for me and surveyed myself in the mirror. Unexpectedly, I looked fairly good, but my shame for wearing such a fashionable and snazzy outfit didn’t go away. I think I’d be better off wearing just some jeans and a plain sweatshirt.

When I looked in the living room, I saw Miyake and my mom cuddling their cheeks against each other like rabbits with glee.

"The outfit is so good! I love it! I love it so muuuuuch!" Miyake squealed.

"I know, right?!" My mom replied.

"Oh hey, Okumori-kun, look over here!”

Miyake pulled away and revealed herself to me by bringing her arms out. “I look cute, right?!”

Her previously messy bed hair had now taken the form of a wavy, shiny blonde, concealed under a thick-white woolen beret on her head.

She had two silver necklaces that distanced each other, with one right at her collarbone and the other one more lowered towards the chest area. She also wore a light brown sweater that was under a big olive green coat.

Finally, along with her top, was a dark blue asymmetrical skirt that reached her knees, and some white canvas sneakers on her feet.

Seeing her in such a stylish outfit made me feel peculiar. Was this even legal? She looks… Hot, I guess?

To be put simply; it was dangerous.

Miyake then wrapped her arms around me and nuzzled her face on my chest.

"It looks soooo nice! Your mom is so cool! I love her! Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful! Without you, I wouldn’t have met her! How crazy is thaaaat?!”

I had a hot feeling run through my face when she snuggled on me.

She’s so warm…

My mom placed her hands on her hips and smugly stood upon Miyake’s showering of compliments.

"Ooh, wait, your outfit looks cool too!" Miyake cheered when she brought her head back.

She’d put her hand on my head and caress it with a teasing look. “A little hot, too, if I may.” she softly whispered.

I snatched her wrist and tried to give her a glowering look, but instead returned expanded eyes and trembling lips.

“Uwah, you exploded with redness when I said that, haha!” Miyake laughed. “I’m just kidding, Okumori-kun. You look good though, really!”

"Jeez, just kiss already…” My mom grumbled in the back. “It’s not like you two didn’t just do it last night…”

Shut up! We didn’t! Don’t make it worse!

“Ha… Haha…” Miyake shyly chuckled.

We left the house and got in the car shortly after. My mom would drive us there, while I sat in the passenger seat with Miyake in the back, who hummed a discernible tune pleasantly.

Asu No Yozora Shoukaihan.

I took a deep breath and attempted to sympathize with the slightly off-note sounds that left Miyake's mouth.

If I'm being truthfully honest, I was, and currently still am under the impression that this day was going to be excruciatingly dreadful.

Why would someone who absolutely loathes social interaction want to go somewhere where socializing is essentially everywhere you look? Just the mere thought of the number of people present in the mall was enough for me to already get inundated. I haven’t seen such a large body of people in a while, so that only made my anxiety even worse.

I didn't forget about the sleeping incident either. It had been bugging me the whole time, and just thinking about it made me bitter.

The sight of gray powerlines, gray cars, and gray roads ran past my eyesight. In fact, everything felt rather bland just by looking at it. Japan was seeming duller today, and I didn’t like that. Maybe it’s just the weather?

"So? What are you two planning to do at the mall?" My mom questioned with curiousness yet with elation as well.

Miyake's noises stopped, followed by a hesitant laugh.

"Well, we don't really know." She apologized. "I was going to come over yesterday to talk to Okumori-kun about it, but well..."

"Hm?" My mom asked, intrigued by her abrupt end of a sentence.

"Nothing. I just didn't have the time, sorry. We'll figure it out as we go!" Miyake responded, trying to keep that confidential tone of hers to its usual level.

Frankly, I was more irked at how desperately she was trying to hide what had happened. Her attempts were futile, and I could sense that it was fueling my mother’s juvenile thinking because of her smirk while she drove.

After Miyake's response, my mom simply nodded and smiled.

"It's more fun that way!” She convinced Miyake. “I remember when I went with my friends to the mall! We always went there without a plan and just walked into random stores… Oh, the times!”

My mom continued to gossip and gab about her teenage years to diminish the difficult temper me and Miyake had, chatting on and on about how she missed the simple days of hanging out with friends, and all the risky stuff they did.

“Do you still talk with them now?” Wondered Miyake.

“Mmm… Well, yes and no,” My mom answered, a little afflicted. “We try to hang out together sometimes, but usually it’s only me and one other person… After high school, we all went to different universities. I still think about them every day, though, and I don’t regret being friends with them!”

Mom, you should really stop going to those meetups…

Eventually, we'd arrive at our destination. My mom would cheer us on as if we were some sort of bride and groom, screaming stuff such as “Go, you two!” and “I’m so happy for you!” before she drove off.

"Mall! Yay!" Miyake exclaimed when we stood in front of the mall.

Just seeing the mass amounts of people come and go was already making me dizzy. I really don't know how I'll survive this.

"Come on, Okumori-kun!"

Miyake then grabbed my wrist and pulled me forwards to the overwhelming sounds of socialization.

Wait, people might get the wrong idea, Miyake! Let go of me! Oh no. No, no, no… 

I'm doomed!