First Step To Come Closer

“She must be kidding, right...” Kazuma groaned while  he was still rubbing his forehead.

“Maybe it was something really important?” Emma tried to justify Yui's action.

“Well, whatever. Let's enjoy the pizza without her.” he shrugged his shoulders.

Bzz.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated again. It was Yui again.

[Nice assist from me right? Use this chance to get closer to her! Oh, and did you see her outfit? So beautiful! Try complimenting her, OK?]

“Tch, that little...” he muttered as he was clearly angry and annoyed.

“I-is something wrong? Did Nagisa-san write anything?” Emma asked shyly.

“N-no it was noth- Ah, I mean, yes!”

Kazuma had an idea. Wanting to execute his revenge he leaned over to Emma's ear.

“You know, the flower picking? Well, it was sadly too late...” he said with a sympathetic expression.

If he could, he would have given himself an award for his acting skills.

“O-oh my! Does she need help?” she asked with a shocked face.

“No need. She wrote that she was fine and that we should continue without her.” Kazuma answered with a stern look.

“I-I see. Well, as long as she is fine, I guess...” Emma said despite still having doubts.

In that moment, the waitress came to their table taking their orders.

Now having to wait again until their food came, Kazuma and Emma began their chitchat again.

“Uhm, I've been wondering all the time but you and Nagisa-san are pretty close given that both of you call each other by your first names, aren't you?” Emma stated with a smile.

“Huh? Oh, well, I don't know... Hmmm, I guess we are? We're neighbors, therefore we talk a lot with each other.” Kazuma replied uncertainly after thinking for a long time.

“I see! How lovely! I wish I had someone in my age I could also be close to...” she said.

Emma still wore a smile, however, in her eyes a hint of sadness were visible.

“Huuuh?! Aren't you quite popular at school? I thought you would have plenty of friends.” Kazuma raised his voice a little due to being shocked.

At school, Emma was always seen with a crowd of girls and boys who were following her everywhere she would go. It was as if she had her own fan club.

“Ehm... how should I say... To be honest, I have no one whom I could talk to easily. Everybody just keeps their distance from me and just views me as an unapproachable honor student...” she explained.

“I see...”

Emma was right. Every student kept their distance from her as she was an honor student who excelled in everything. In addition, she had the looks of a model and the personality of a saint. She was like their goddess, therefore they saw themselves as unworthy to even consider themselves as someone close to her.

Even though both were honor students, Kazuma was isolated from his schoolmates because of him being too serious and only being focused on his studies what made him also unapproachable.

However, many people at school kept their distance from him because they were scared. They feared him due to certain rumors saying for example that Kazuma was a member of an infamous gang or that he murdered someone.

Despite not knowing if the rumor was true or not, everyone believed the rumor.

“How about hanging out with Yui and me during school, for example during lunch time?” Kazuma tried to cheer her up.

“Really? Can I really join you?!” she exclaimed in joy.

She was so happy that she even jumped out of her seat and leaned over the table to Kazuma to hold both of his hands in hers like an innocent child.

As she held his hands, Kazuma began to blush.

“Y-y-yes, of course!” not only did he stutter but even his voice rose multiple pitches.

“How wonderful! Thank you so much! But is Nagisa-san fine with that?”

“Don't worry. Yui will be as happy as you when she hears that you will join us.” he answered with a confident smile.

“Hehehe, I'm so happy!” she finally returned to her seat and then held her cheeks with her hands in happiness.

Kazuma could only watch her reaction with a smile on his face.

After that, their food arrived.

Thus, they began to eat while chatting with no care for their surroundings and the time. They talked about school, hobbies and trivial topics.

It was the first time in years for Emma to have such a fun time whereas it was the first time in years for Kazuma to openly talk with someone else his age besides Yui.

When they finished eating, they paid for their food and left the restaurant.

“This was delicious!” Kazuma commented with a smile as he stretched his body.

“I can only agree with you!” Emma replied.

“Well then, should we head outside and grab some fresh air?” he suggested.

“Sure!”

After exiting the mall, they noticed that the temperatures dropped down a little bit and that the sun already began to set as the sky was colored in orange.

“Wow, how beautiful!” Emma commented the view of the sky.

“...”

Kazuma, however, did not pay attention to the setting sun anymore but to Emma.

“Are you fine?” she asked while tilting her head in confusion.

Not noticing how long he stared at her, Emma realized his stare and began to worry.

“Oh, n-no it's nothing...” he waved his hand in front of her.

Yet he remembered something. He thought about Yui's last message. Thinking that this might be the perfect time, he mustered up all his courage again and tried her advice.

“Well, it's just... I thought that you looked beautiful, especially with today's clothes...” he scratched his cheek with his index finger.

“Huh? Oh, ehm, t-thank you...” she blushed madly while playing with her hair shyly.

Both of them only stood in front of the mall blushing.

“Y-you also l- kyaah!” Emma tried to say something but someone who exited the mall bumped into her making her fall.

“Oh, sorry.” the passerby said.

“!”

Luckily Kazuma was fast enough to prevent her from hitting the ground. He pulled one of her arms to himself and grabbed her waist to stabilize her.

Now, both of their faces were close from touching each other. They stared each other in their eyes deeply. As a result, their faces were redder than before.

Both of their hearts beat faster than before.

Emma was completely overwhelmed with this situation. Were they about to kiss? In her entire 17 years, there was no moment where her face was this close with that of a boy. She was not ready yet, especially with Kazuma whom she got to know for real today. Should she push him away? But that would only make it awkward between them again. That was something she tried to stop due to her finally having real friends she could hang out with. Not knowing what to do, she could only stare into his eyes.

Kazuma was lost in thoughts. With their faces so close to each other, should he kiss her? Of course he should not but as a boy in that age, he could not win against reason. The fragrance of citrus coming from her was tickling his nose, making it more difficult to resist her. However, deep down, he tried to resist. A kiss would only ruin his entire efforts from today. He did not want to get rejected again and to make it awkward between them again. Starting from zero again was the worst case scenario. Not knowing what to do, he could only stare into her eyes.

Then, after a long time, Kazuma snapped back to reality.

“Ah, I-I'm sorry! Are you alright?” he let go of her abruptly and moved away a bit to create distance between them.

“I-I-I'm fine. Thank you for saving me from falling!” she stuttered.

“N-no problem!”

“...”

“...”

The silence returned.

“I-I-I have to go now. Someone will pick me up now!” she stuttered while still having a red face.

“A-alright, see you at school then!” he waved his hand.

“Yes, see you then!” she waved her hand back and then walked away.

When she was nowhere to be seen anymore, Kazuma also decided to walk home.

During the time he walked home, he did not notice that he wore a smile for the entire way back.

Finally at home, Kazuma quickly made himself ready for bed.

Being in his bed, Kazuma took out his phone and wrote Yui.

[Hey, Yui. Nice assist!]

[I know right?] Yui replied right away.

[Did you also took my advice and complimented her outfit? Girls love to hear when someone praises their looks!] she continued.

[Yep, I did. Thanks for the advice!]

[WHAT! I didn't expect that you actually had the courage to do that! I'm proud of you!]

Kazuma did not know if he should be angry or proud after reading her message.

[How lowly do you think of me...] he wrote.

[Good night!] she dodged the question.

“That sly fox...” he said to himself while his eyebrows twitched due to being infuriated.

He put his phone away and decided to go to sleep. However, he remembered something yet again. It was something he wanted to say all the time but always forgot to say.

Kazuma took his phone again and was typing a message before he went to sleep.

Meanwhile in the building next to Kazuma's house, Yui, who was also in her bed and ready to sleep, got a notification from her phone.

“Hm? Another message from Kazuma?” she said to herself.

She proceeded to open their chat to read the message.

[By the way, you also looked nice today.]

As she read the message, she began to blush a little bit and put her phone away before hiding her face in her pillow.

“D-don't surprise me like that, idiot...” she muttered with a reddened face.