One Final Curveball

As Saturday slowly approached, there was one final curveball thrown at Sota for him to deal with. 

He sat there, rereading the messages on his phone screen. 

[Riku (Queen)]: Hey all, bad news :( I'm not going to be able to make it to our hang out this Saturday. Had a family emergency come up...

[Ren]: Oh, no! I hope everything's okay...

[Riku (Queen)]: Nothing too bad. Don't hold up on my account, though! Just make sure you two eat enough for me! <3

His initial instinct was to panic, but he swiftly pushed that aside. Allowing that would only waste all the forward progress he had been working to make. Instead, he calmly closed the text and dialed in Riku's number. 

"Can't stand the thought of a weekend hangout without me, huh?" Riku teased immediately upon answering. 

"Something like that... Any particular reason? Or just general flakiness?" 

"I'm hurt, Sota!" he replied, playing up the drama. "You don't believe in your dear best friend?"

Sota didn't reply - he simply sat in silence while he awaited for Riku to finally address his initial question. A few moments passed, and then he finally heard Riku begin to speak. 

"I know we haven't had a chance to discuss the conversation you had with your sister, but there's no doubt something has changed. You've been attending class regularly, your demeanor has returned to normal, and you've even instigated this Saturday event. I have to assume there's some sort of plan in your mind - and I don't think my attendance really is that big of a part of it."

Sota remained quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully while he confirmed that Riku had nothing else to add. 

"I have to know what it is that I'm actually feeling," Sota finally admitted. "This is an opportunity to sort things out without causing things to get weird. You being there made the environment more comfortable for her, especially if things got off-course."

"I think you're overestimating," Riku admitted. "You two managed to keep each other company through several hours of a tournament, and that's not a particularly exciting event. A day of fun shenanigans around town should be a breeze compared to that, IF you don't get in your own way..."

"You're right on paper, but what about Ren? As a high schooler, she might interpret this in a way that makes her uneasy."

"If we're sticking with honesty..." Riku replied. "Then don't you think it's time we put this 'high schooler' thing to bed, Sota? She's only two years younger than us - you and I both know that's not that strange. On top of that, we both know she is significantly more mature than a typical girl her age. The entire thing was an excuse for you to be mad at yourself. I'm sure even you realized that."

Sota did not respond. He had come to that conclusion logically, but hadn't voiced it out loud due to his own internal hesitation. 

"To that end, though, I'll do you a solid and have a girl-to-girl check in with her. If I sense that she's uneasy or going in the wrong direction, I'll give you the scoop and you can cancel the event."

"If you think it would help, then do what you feel is best."

The conversation ended not too long after that. Sota leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He wasn't thrilled, but he was aware that this was a possibility. He never really got an answer as to whether Riku actually had something come up or not. Still, Riku had done more than enough over these last few months to help out.

He grabbed his phone, and reopened the text chain from before

[Sota]: Sorry to hear that! I guess it will just be Ren and I, then. Assuming you're still up for it?

It was only a few moments before a reply came through.

[Ren]: That works fine for me! I can send you over my address so you can pick me up Saturday morning!

***

Ren sat in class staring at her phone. She'd still agreed to go, even without Riku. She was eager to enjoy her first time out with others as a teenage girl. 

With that being said, the implications of the change were starting to pop into her mind. 

Without Riku there, it's just going to be Senpai and me. Kind of like a date...

As this thought began processing, it led to a small whirlwind of emotions hitting her in rapid succession. Sota was someone she admired a lot. He was older, very knowledgeable, and had always been kind. 

She could feel her internal 'teenage girl' emotions wanting to squeal a bit, but she contained it. A lot had been going well for her lately, and it was beginning to make her uneasy. Especially since in spite of everything, she often blamed herself for the situation she had grown up in.

There's no chance this is a date. Senpai is too far ahead of me. I'd be an idiot to think he'd go on a date with a girl like me...

Just like that, the emotional turmoil of the 'date' idea was gone. With the truth re-established, she collected herself.

Still, I was valued enough to get invited out with them outside of class. That's more than enough for someone like me.

***

"Soooo... I see the class princess has decided to still hang out with our beloved Senpai. Good for you, girl!"

Ren looked up from her bag to see Riku standing over her, wearing his usual teasing expression.  

"Well, yeah," Ren replied, taking a sip of water. "I'm sure you two would've done the same if I couldn't make it, right?"

"Sure! But are you gonna be comfortable with just you and him?"

He was being playful and acting like the 'girl best friend', but he listened intently for Ren's response. He did agree to poking at the subject a bit, after all. Would she become flushed and embarrassed? Or would she act giddy?

Her response, unexpectedly, was laughter. 

"Don't be silly, Riku! There's no way Senpai would be into someone like me. He even said he was looking to celebrate our progress before the tournament."

While Ren still didn't hear the self-deprecation behind 'someone like me', Riku could. It was unlike Ren to say something that came off that way - it made Riku curious to dig a bit deeper.

"Humor me, then," Riku chuckled, keeping up his teasing facade. "Let's say it did end up being more like a date. What would you think?"

"Do you know something I don't?"

"Nope!" Riku shot back. "I'm just a gossip queen is all! I like to imagine what could be. I'm a hopeless romantic like that!"

Ren pondered his thought. Riku felt a bit bad about the deceit. He was uniquely good at lying, and it wasn't something he was proud of. Especially towards Ren, who he almost felt a sibling-like connection with at this point.

"I guess we'd see where it went, then," she admitted. "He a nice guy and has always been kind to me. Also, I think I'd need to better understand why he picked me out of all people..."

"I don't know, Ren," Riku teased. "Older guys are pretty smooth. What if he wins you over with his charm?"

"Not a chance."

Her curt and matter-of-fact answer, being as quick as it was, caught Riku off-guard. 

"I've spent my whole life reading and dodging lies," Ren admitted, a gentle tone to her voice. "I have to 'read' people who are narcissists on a daily basis. Senpai may be smart, but he's also genuine. I don't think he'd lie like that, unless he was lying to himself. Even then, compared to the others, it'd be so obvious."

Ren chuckled at the thought of Sota trying to 'act' his way through a lie. Riku, on the other hand, was a bit shocked by the answer Ren had given. It's true they had never really talked in-detail about personal matters, but that wasn't a typical teenager answer. If anything, it sounded like someone else who had a dark side they kept to themselves.

To that thought, Riku's heart felt reprieve and he laughed with her. 

"I'll at least say this," Riku finally replied. "Sota is definitely a good guy, but don't sell yourself short. He'd be lucky to have someone like you. I'll remind him of that too, if need be. Us queens need to stick together!"

Ren seemed surprised by Riku's 'lucky to have you' statement. With that final note, Riku said his goodbyes and walked away, confident that his attendance would only get in their way.

The next couple of days passed without trouble, and Saturday arrived in no time.