A Thank You Treat

“You know, I didn’t really expect you to come with me.” Ayako said as they walked, the orange hue of the setting sun loomed right in their face.

They were on their way to the newly opened cafe that Ayako mentioned earlier.

“I just have nothing to do, that’s all.”

In contrary, he had something to do. He wanted to check out the new cafe as he heard that their cakes were really good, and he wanted to get his little sister a slice.

“Well, that’s good! It’s kinda scary to order when you’re alone, you know?” Ayako shivered at the thought.

“What are you, a kid?”

Ayako giggled. “By the way,” she turned around. “Why are you so far away from me?”

Currently, Haru was five steps behind Ayako. If a stranger look at them, they’d think didn’t know each other. “I don’t want to be seen together with you. Just think of it as if I'm there with you in spirit.”

Ayako understandably pouted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means what it means. I don’t want any rumors going around.” Haru said as he looked around. Since this was near their school, the chance of bumping to another student, or even their classmate, was dangerously high.

“Rumors?” she tilted her head.

Haru nodded. “A boy and a girl walking together and going to a café. What do you think people will think about?” Haru prioritized his peaceful life in the school. If he was seen with one of the most beautiful girls in the school, no doubt he’d be questioned left and right.

“I don’t think anyone will think about anything. I do it all the time with Sora.”

“Of course, they won't. Everybody knows you're each other's childhood friend. Plus, I’m pretty sure people think you guys were going out.”

“Seriously? I’ve never heard such thing!”

“Yeah, that’s why this distance is fine.”

“You know, you kinda look like a stalker. Hey, wait a minute! I was just joking!” Haru started to even further the distance between him and her.

“Fine,” Surprisingly, she gave up. “We’re going to be eating at the same table, anyway.”

“No, I’m going to take out.”

“What!?” She turned around, again, her eyes widened. “But I’m gonna treat you as thanks for what you did to me.”

“Yeah, that should be fine, no? What matters is that you’re thanking me.”

She suddenly sat down by the side of the road. She kept her legs closed to avoid revealing anything, while she buried her head in it.

“What are you doing?” Haru asked.

“I’m not going anywhere until you walk with me and eat with me.” She protested with her head still buried on her legs. She sounded like a sulking child who couldn’t get what they wanted at the supermarket.

This girl…

Haru sighed. “Is that so? You’re gonna stay there just like what you did on Christmas Eve?”

Haru received a furrowed stare. Very scary. “Shut up! Do you know how it feels to get rejected? It hurts, you know.”

Haru had liked a number of girls before. After all, he was still a regular boy but he had never confessed to any of them. He could see, though, how painful it would be to get rejected by the person you love. He imagined it as if he gave his sister a gift and then she rejected it. Haru would be bedridden for weeks if that happened.

“All right.” Haru offered his hand, feeling bad for the sulking girl. “I’ll walk alongside you. But don’t blame me if there are rumors.”

She brooded for a moment but nevertheless took his hand and pulled her up. “Hehe, Shiraishi, you’re so self-conscious.”

After walking side by side for a while, they arrived at the café. 

“Here we are!”

“Wow, this place looks comfy.”

The place was decorated with a simplistic look. The wall was painted with abstract art and bookshelves here and there were placed. With music so slow you could fall asleep, Haru instantly liked the café.

Since it was a bit hidden, there weren’t many people during this hour. It might had been bad for business but it was good for them. They picked a table at one of the corners and looked at the menu.

“Is there anything you like, Shiraishi?”

Most of the menu consisted of light desserts and a variety of drinks. He had already his eyes on what to pick but Ayako seemed to be struggling.

“Nngh, I don’t know what to pick…” Ayako’s eyes darted all over the menu.

“Just pick one already. I bet they all taste great, anyway.”

“Then why don’t you pick for me?”

“Huh?”

“I can’t decide on anything. It’s gonna take at least ten minutes for me to decide.”

“Fine. Then we’ll order this one.” Haru pointed at the cakes.

Ayako eyes seemed to sparkle. “Ooh, that looks delicious! But what about drinks?”

“Can’t you decide it for yourself?”

“That’s also gonna take ten minutes…” she shrugged. But Haru could see she was enjoying whatever she was doing.

“How about I get you black coffee?” Haru smiled.

“I take it back, I take it back! Milk tea is fine!”

“Then I guess we just order.” Haru looked at Ayako as if expecting her to do something.

“About ordering…”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not used to ordering! Whenever I go to these places, my friends are with me.”

Haru’s initial idea of Ayako being this strong, cold woman had faded entirely. She was now more like a kitten

So that’s why they think of her as their little sister.

Haru raised his hand and said “Excuse me, we’d like to order!”

After stating their orders, the waitress went away.

“You know, I seriously thought you would choke on that one.”

“Why? Is it because I don’t talk to other people a lot?”

She nodded. “Here I was, waiting for a laugh that never came…”

“Listen. First of all, it’s not that hard to order, it’s literally just talking to other people. Second, that’s prejudice. I could say the same thing about you being extrovert but can’t order.”

“I can totally do it! But it’s nicer to rely on other people.”

“Yes, yes, whatever you say.”

Ayako pouted. It seemed like she didn’t want to be treated like a little girl. But her actions sometimes were conflicting to Haru. Ayako was a Schrödinger cat. She could also be a walking dice. Every movement she did was random and every word that came out of her mouth could either be a lullaby or the explosion of a bomb. You get the idea.

The food arrived quickly as if time had sped up. 

"Wow, this looks great!" 

Ayako started to take pictures. This didn’t surprise Haru, though. If he cared getting likes or hearts in social media, he would have done the same.

Just before he could get a bite of his cake, Ayako pulled his plate beside her plate. “Let me borrow that for a second.” She took pictures of both of their cakes.

Haru sighed. “Ask before you do it.” But Haru didn’t mind. After all, this was her treat.

She returned his plate and started to bite on her food. The moment Haru had waited for finally arrived.

“Its…It’s delicious! What the heck is this!?”

Haru breathed a sigh of relief. He ordered that food for Ayako as he wanted to know if the food was delicious. He could then order it for his little sister. Remember, a lot of what Haru did, he had his little sister in mind.

“How is yours, Shiraishi? Do you like it?” Ayako had a determined look on her, just like Haru earlier. It seemed that she was also waiting for something.

“Yea, I like it a lot.”

Ayako also breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you liked it. For a second there, I thought you wouldn’t enjoy the things here.” Ayako smiled awkwardly.

“It’s a treat, of course I would enjoy it. Although, compared to what I gave you before, I should be the one who’s worrying.”

“Honestly, that meat buns tasted really good.”

Haru furrowed his brows. “Really?”

She nodded happily. "I wouldn’t forget the warm things on that cold night.” 

Haru couldn’t help but look away from her bright smile. 

“Anyway, you should try my food!” Ayako scooped a part of the cake to her spoon and raised it to Haru’s mouth. “Here, try it!”

Wait, wait, she’s not trying to feed it to me, is she!?

Haru was caught off guard by her sudden action. As he looked towards Ayako, he noticed her innocent-looking face as if this was just a normal thing to do for her.

As the spoon drew nearer to Haru, Ayako, unaware of the turmoil she had brought him, realized something. Her face suddenly reddened and said, “I’m not supposed to do this, am I?”

“You think!?”

“I’m sorry, okay? I usually do this to my friends…”

“By friends, you mean your girl friends, right?”

She nodded. “I also sometimes do it to Sora.”

No wonder he knows you like him.

“Here, you try mine, I try yours.” Haru said as he pushed his plate to him. Ayako also did the same.

Not gonna lie, though, I wouldn’t mind Ayako feeding me…

In all consideration, Haru was still a boy and Ayako was still one of the most beautiful girls in the school. The fact that they were together in this café when they hadn’t even had any contact before should have been downright impossible. But here they were.

Wait, this is totally an indirect kiss...He realized before the spoon went to his mouth. The fact paralyzed him but when he saw her not minding about the indirect kiss, he felt pretty stupid about it.

“It tastes good but it’s a bit bitter.” Ayako said.

“Yours also taste good but it’s too sweet.”

Ayako giggled. “Guess we’re not compatible with foods, huh? Sora also prefers things not too sweet.”

“Seems like you do these things a lot with Takata.” Haru observed.

“Yeah, on our way home, we’d pretty much stop at these cafes. There are also karaoke around. Sometimes we’d go with our friends but sometimes it’d be just the two of us.” Ayako smiled and giggled as she recalled their moments together.

Then her smile suddenly turned upside down. “But lately, we haven’t done any of that. After he rejected me, we haven’t made any eye contact at all. Was I wrong to confess?”

“I’m sure your friendship doesn’t run that shallow, right? In fact, why are you even avoiding him in the first place?”

Ever since she confessed, Haru noticed they had been avoiding each other. Well, to be precise, he noticed Ayako avoiding Takata. Usually, they’d have lunch together but ever since her confession, he hadn’t seen them at all together.

“I don’t know at all. Everytime he gets close to me, I feel my heart ache and before I know it, I’ve already ran away from him.” Ayako put a hand on her chest. 

“I guess it’s fine to feel that way. Wounds don’t heal that fast, after all. But you also have to think about your friendship. Do you also want to lose that?”

The way Haru saw it, if they keep avoiding each other, then they would gradually grew apart. The relationship they had built all this time would crumble if they continued doing this.

“No, I don’t want that to happen...”

“Well, you better get used to that feeling then. Go and have some talk already. Become friends again, so you stop pestering me.”

Ayako pouted. “Am I really that annoying to you?”

“Yes. Yes, you are.” He then started to look away. “But thank you for this treat. It was nice...”

Haru did find her annoying. He’d prefer peace over being in the spotlight. But somehow, he had fun doing this. After all, these kinds of things were the things he used to do.

Hearing that from Haru, Ayako grinned from ear to ear. “What is that? Can you say it one more time? I can’t hear you!” Ayako’s face clearly showed she enjoyed teasing him.

“That’s the only time I’ll say it!”

“No fair!” Ayako giggled. “Anyway, it’s getting late, we should wrap this up.”

Haru nodded. “Finally, something I agree with you.”

They headed towards the counter and paid for their food.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pay?” He was really grateful but at the same time, it made him uncomfortable. Haru didn't like the idea of being indebted to someone. 

“Don’t worry, this is basically pocket change for me. I would have treated you more if you only had asked. I feel like this is not enough.”

"Nah, this is more than enough." Haru couldn’t ask for more. He didn’t expect to be repaid for what he had done before, so this was pretty much enough for him.

Suddenly, Ayako’s eyes perked up, as if she had thought of something great. “Why don’t I get a cake for your little sister?”

“I never thought something good would come out of your mouth.” Haru had wanted to buy his little sister a slice, but this event came out of nowhere and he’d been unprepared.

“Hey, just what do you take me for?” Ayako pouted. “Well, what does your little sister like?”

“Well, she likes sweet foods like you. So, if you don’t mind, we can order what you ordered.”

“Oh, she likes sweet foods, too? I have a feeling I will like your little sister. You’ve got to introduce me to her someday.”

“Sure, if something comes up.”

They then ordered a slice of cake and left. The moon had basically replaced the sun by the time they had left. Since the place was near the station, Haru didn’t have to worry about seeing her off.

As they left the cafe, Haru cleared his throat and tried his best to say, “T-Thanks for the treat.”

“You’re welcome.” Ayako grinned. “Well then, guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you.” Haru started to turn around and leave.

“Wait, Shiraishi!” Haru turned around as Ayako called his name. “Would you mind if I ask you to take a picture of your little sister eating the cake and send it to me?”

“Well, I don’t really mind.” Haru was fine with it since Ayako was a girl. “Just don’t pass it around without my permission.”

“Roger that,” she said and then she took out her phone. “Here’s my Lime account.”

“Oh, we have (line).”

“Yes, otherwise, how’d you going to send the picture to me.”

Haru scanned her QR code, and her account showed up. It was a close-up photo of her face smiling with a cat beside her.

I know a couple of guys who’d do anything to do what we just did.

“Oh, you don’t have any profile picture?”

Currently, Haru’s profile picture was the default one. The classic silhouette of a person. 

“I’m not active in chatting with anyone, so I don’t really see the need to put one.”

Haru wasn’t photogenic and didn’t like putting his face as his profile picture. Maybe I’ll just put Miku as my profile picture.

“Well, you better put one as I’m going to chat you more than you think.” She then turned around and started to leave, the setting sun behind her. “See you tomorrow, Shiraishi!” She said as she waved goodbye.

Really, what a strange girl. Haru raised his hand a bit to say goodbye, one corner of his mouth tilting slightly upward.