Being friends is also important

Haru followed Fuyuki all the way to the station. They boarded a train afterwards and sat side by side. The train wasn’t jammed as it was almost the end of rush hour, so they managed to take a couple of seat.

“So? Where are we going?”

“You’ll know soon enough. Sora and I have a special spot only the two of us know.”

“Wow, aren’t you guys lovey-dovey?”

Fuyuki took a look at her phone. Sora had read her message and responded with a brief reply “I’m on my way.” These few words alone made her hands cold that it started to shake a little bit.

She knew that talking to him wouldn’t change anything and that no matter what she’d do, she’d still get rejected. But somehow, she was still afraid.

“By the way,” Haru spoke while looking at his phone. “When are you planning to stop by the house again?”

“Huh?”

“You promised to Hiroko you’re coming back to play again, remember?”

Right. I did promise.

“I’m not sure yet…”

“Well, you better make do with your promise. Hiroko really had fun playing with you and I’m sure she’s gonna keep asking me when you’re coming back.”

Fuyuki smiled a little bit. Sure, she was still scared of what would happen later but, at the very least, she had something to look forward to after all this.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to come again this week. After all, I need some healing from Hiroko! I’m gonna rub my face all over her cute face!”

“On second thought, don’t come back. I do’t want a pervert coming close to my sister.”

“Hmm? What’s this? Aren’t you just afraid you’re sister is going to like me more than you?”

“Me, afraid? Ha! As if! Don’t get cocky just because she wants you to come back. You still need more time before you can surpass me!”

Fuyuki gritted her teeth. “Maybe I should really get adopted into your family…or maybe I can just kidnap Hiroko, hahaha…”

Haru placed his phone on his left ear. “Hello, police? There’s a woman here who is a-“

“I was just kidding, I was just kidding.”

“Hey, stop grabbing my phone-“

As she tried to grab the phone away from him, their faces came close to each other. Fuyuki could clearly see Haru’s eyes as he tried to look away from her.

“Can you get of off me?”

“S-Sorry…”

After a few minutes, they arrived at the station. 

“Can we stop by my house first? I’d like to get changed.”

“Just don't take too long.”

And so they headed first to Fuyuki’s house. Just like Haru’s house, hers was also just the same one as the houses in her neighborhood.

“Alright, I’m gonna go roam around. Just text me when you finished changing.”

“Huh? You’re not coming inside? It’s cold out here, you know.”

Haru nodded. “Yeah, it’s a hassle doing all the introduction to your family.”

“Well, fair enough…” 

Fuyuki went inside and was immediately greeted by her mother. She didn’t look too worried as she just told her the food was ready. After explaining that she had to go out again, Fuyuki went to her room and got changed.

Since it was going to be a bit cold, Fuyuki wore a sweatpants and a sweater underneath the borrowed jacket. She tied her hair in a ponytail and grabbed a couple of hand warmers and flashlights on the way out. Ever since nearly freezing herself at that night on Christmas Eve, she promised herself not to feel too much cold again.

After texting Haru, they met up at a nearby vending machine where Haru was drinking a bitter coffee.

“You really like hot coffee, huh?”

As Fuyuki made her entrance, for a second, Haru stood still looking at him. His cheeks were red but she wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold weather or the hot coffee he was drinking.

“W-What’s not there to like? It’s warm and gives you energy.” He then tossed her another can. “Don’t worry, that’s sweet.”

“No way, this is actually my favorite drink! How’d you know that? Maybe you really are my stalker…”

“It was just a guess!”

“Hehe, I’m just kidding. Thanks, by the way.” She smiled and then handed him a flashlight. “Well, let’s get going.”

Fuyuki and Sora’s usual spot was on a nearby hill that overlooked the entire neighborhood. They stumbled upon the place when they were out adventuring together when they were kids. The place was basically treated as a forest and many wild animals lived there. There was also a rumor that a lady lived and died in this place, and when people stumbled on the hill, they’d often say they hear crying like a young girl left all alone.

But I don’t think I’ve heard a crying girl before.

“Hey, are you sure this place is safe?” Haru asked as he noticed a bunch of dilapidated warning signs and a broken fence.

“Yeah, I’ve been here a hundred times already, sometimes even alone.” Fuyuki said as she lead going through the fence. “I’m pretty sure they just placed those as a way to scare off kids roaming around. Anyone that lived here long enough knows this place is just as safe down there in the neighborhood.”

Afterwards, they just followed a trail that Fuyuki had traversed for many times. It was actually the reason why they had found their usual spot. They saw the trail and decided to follow it.

I wonder if some people used to go to that spot.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

About five minutes, up ahead, they saw a bright, white light in the distance. Fuyuki sharply inhaled as she instantly knew that it was Sora.

“That’s him. Let’s go.”

As they arrived, they find Sora seating on a chair, drinking something as he vacantly stared in the distance.

On the side, Fuyuki smiled as she saw the tent they put up was still in good condition. There were stains here and there but it still looked good that she’d even sleep inside it if it came to it.

If the tent was fine then their other stuff must be fine, too, evident of the chair Sora was sitting on.

“Yo.” She called out.

“Took you a while…and Shiraishi?”

“Yeah, she asked me to tag along.”

“Well, I was a bit scared to talk to you…”

“I see. Here,” Sora threw a can of soda which was the one she just had earlier. “Sorry, Shiraishi, I don’t have one for you. Also, you make it sound like I’m gonna hurt you.”

“Technically, you will but of course not intentionally or in a physical way, you know what I mean. Anyway! Thank you for this…What I mean is I want to talk to you again about our current relationship.”

“Hmm…I’ve also been meaning to talk to you.”

“W-What do you want to talk about…?”

“Well, for starters, I did have feelings for you.”

“I’m not here for—“She paused for a second and did a double take. “W-W-What…!?”

“That’s right. Ever since we were kids, I had feelings for you. Well, I’m sure you know the story, right? I was a shy kid and you were a bright star. I followed you everywhere and we made this secret base.”

Fuyuki remembered. Those were their precious memories. Playing under the sun for hours. Sometimes, she wished she could relived that.

“But then, in middle school, you started to become popular. Boys leagues above me started flocking to you and I thought to myself back then who was I to be with you. That was when I decided to change. I worked on myself so I can be worthy of you.”

Fuyuki saw that transformation. He became a handsome, reliable and confident person.

“Even at the start of our highschool, I was really happy to still be your classmate. But I never really found the courage to confess to you. I knew deep down I was still scared especially seeing how you reject those who confess you. I might have changed outwardly but I guess I’m still the same kid who was afraid of the dog. Afraid that if I confessed and you rejected me, we might no longer become friends.”

Fuyuki completely understood that as she had the same problem. She had seen it happened to some her friends. Heck, even the guys who confessed to her stopped talking to her.

“But then, I get to know her. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about, right?”

Fuyuki nodded slightly. “You’re talking about Umi, right?”

Sora sheepishly nodded with his cheeks turning red. “Y-Yeah, we became close during our rivalry on who to become the secretary in the student council. The president gave us a lot of work to see who can handle it much better. At first, we were wary of each other but we eventually gotten to know each other that way. It surprised me that there were a lot of common things with us.”

Fuyuki saw how Sora smiled fondly when she talked about Umi. She immediately knew that was the kind of smile when you like someone. She’d know because she’d often smile the same way whenever Sora was around.

“Best of all, it felt like I didn’t have to be worthy of her. It felt like I finally had someone who I didn’t need to chase.”

I really hate being beautiful.

As someone who was being confessed to practically every day, Fuyuki knew she was beautitful and had a great personality. But these things had caused her nothing but heartache. It was the reason why she often had a cold attitude towards her suitors. She wanted to be seen as an imperfect person.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell it to you before. I wanted to tell you when I confessed to you but I was confused, too, of what to make of my feelings. But when you confessed to me, I immediately thought of her and that was when I found out the answer.”

“A-Ah, so, that’s how you found out…” Fuyuki’s voice cracked and tears started forming at the edge of her eyes.

“I was worried, too, you know. I thought this was the end ouf our relationship and that we’ll drift apart. I truly mean it when I said you were someone important to me. If it weren’t for you, I would still be nothing. That’s why…I hope we can overcome this and still be friends.” Sora’s voice also started to crack.

It was clear that he didn’t like hurting Fuyuki. There was no bad guy here. Just two people who have different feelings for each other.

Fuyuki wiped the tears from her eyes and, with a smile, said, “You’re in luck! I came here just to say that. It still hurts knowing I can’t have you, but I also cherish our friendship. That’s why let’s make up! No more awkwardness between us and let’s do our best to maintain our friendship, okay?” Fuyuki raised her hand for a handshake.

“Yeah, I’ll be in your care.” Sora took her hand and gave it a firm shake. Under the night sky, both of them smiled.

Suddenly, they heard someone clapped slowly. They thought there was an animal nearby but it was just Haru looking like he had just listened to Murasaki’s lecture. “Good for you two. Can I go now?”

“I totally forgot you were there.” Fuyuki said. “Wait, I was just kidding! Don’t leave yet! You can get easily lost in this place, you know?”

And that was enough for Haru to stop taking another step. “Fine…”

Fuyuki sighed in relief. “So, anyway, when are you planning to confess to Umi?”

Sora shuddered at the thought. “I haven’t even thought of it…Unlike you, I’m too scared when it comes to these things.”

“That’s no good, you know? Look at what happened to me. If I confessed earlier that I liked you, we would have been a couple now. What if someone took Umi away? As her best friend, I definitely know a couple of guys that’s serious about her. Learn from your childhood friend or else you’re definitely going to regret it.”

“But I don’t even know where to start. I’ve never confessed to someone before.” Sora really looked clueless on what to do.

“Haven’t you been confessed before? Just learn from those experiences.” Just like Fuyuki, Sora was popular. Although she hadn’t seen someone confessing to him, she nonetheless heard the outcomes of those confessions.

“So, I’ll just say I like her…and that’s about it?”

Fuyuki facepalmed. This was the true Sora she knew. “There’s more to that but I guess what you don’t know, you don’t know. I guess there’s no other choice. Fine then, I’ll be your wingman!”

“My wingman?”

“That’s right! I’ll set up everything, so you just have to worry about what you’re going to say.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to sound arrogant here but helping the guy you like get together with the girl he likes is kinda…”

“Don’t worry about it. This also helps me move on from you. Besides, you and Umi are my best friends. I couldn’t ask for more.”

“Well, if you say so…”

She then faced Haru and pointed at him. “And you! You’re gonna be the assistant of the wingman. The wingman of the wingman!”

“No, no, no, I don’t want any part of this.”

“Too late, you’re already part of it!”

As Fuyuki ignored Haru’s protests, she said, “As for when we’ll do it, what could be better than Valentine’s Day?”

“Wait, isn’t that a bit close? I don’t think I’ll have enough time to get my heart ready…” Valentine’s Day was roughly two weeks.

“Love waits for no one, Sora.”

“Isn’t it time waits for no one…?” Haru said in the fading background.

“Anyway, that’s it and that’s that. I’ll tell you more details when I planned it out. In the meantime, you just try to get closer to Umi and deepen your relationship. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. This is way harder than doing student council’s work…”

“Don’t worry, this will be a piece of cake!”

After all, Umi likes you, too.