The Fated Day

The next morning, I woke up and stayed in bed for just about thirty minutes, staring at the ceiling. I didn't really have a good reason. If I had to choose one... I guess it was to allow my brain some time to render.

Suddenly, the front door clicked open.

"Hello~?" said a man with the most hideous high note.

"Quit it, Haruto," another voice muttered. "We don't even know if he's awake."

"Well, he'd better be, because the festival starts in an hour."

Still on my bed, I lifted my head just slightly to see them taking their shoes off.

"What the hell is this?" I mumbled.

"Ah! He's awake!" Haruto said. "Don't mind us, friend. We are simple travelers seeking a place to rest after a long journey."

"Get out."

"Eh?!"

Kanon scoffed before pushing Haruto aside.

"Sorry for coming over so early in the morning, Kazuha," she said. "Unlike you, we live off-campus, so instead of waiting around for the festival to start, we thought we'd hole up here."

"A heads-up would've been nice..." I sighed.

"My fault. I thought you would've been asleep. It's a Saturday, after all."

"I guess so."

With that, I plopped back down.

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Haruto exclaimed, pulling on my sheets.

"What am I doing?" I muttered. "The real question is what are you doing?!"

"Trying to get your ass up because we've got a festival to go to!"

"Give me like... Two more minutes."

"Two minutes?! What's that gonna do for you?! Get up!"

With one final pull, Haruto was able to pull my blankets off, allowing the morning cold to seep into my bones.

"Only death awaits me..." I mumbled.

"The hell are you yapping about?" Haruto sighed. "Come on. Get up."

"Tch, fine."

Choking back my laziness and unwillingness to do anything, I sluggishly rolled out of bed. After going through my morning routine, I sat in front of my closet, staring blankly at it.

"What are you doing?" Haruto asked. "You've been constipated for a hot minute."

"Thinking about what to wear."

"Huh? Since when did you ever care about what to wear? You always slap on the first thing you see and call it a day."

"Yeah, well... Today's different."

"Oh, is it?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Haruto giving a cheeky smile to Kanon, who let out a controlled chuckle.

"Leave him alone, Haruto," Kanon said.

"Oh, come on!" he replied. "You can't just sit there with a straight face when Kazuha, of all people, is about to go on a date with the cutest first-year!"

"I know. I'm happy for him too, but let's not make it any more stressful. I mean, look at him. At this rate, he's gonna die before the date even happens."

"It's not a date," I mumbled.

"Pfft~ Yeah, sure. I totally believe that."

Haruto elbowed Kanon, laughing.

"And here you were trying to lecture me about not stressing Kazuha out," he said. "Only for you to turn right around and do the very thing you got on my ass for."

"What can I say?" she shrugged. "It's fun."

"See? You get me, Kanon."

I leaned back, rolling my hands down my face.

"Another word out of you two, and I'm kicking you out."

Suddenly, a ding. All of our heads turned to my bed, where my phone was. On the screen, a notification box appeared. The moment her name appeared, I knew it was over for me.

"...Chihara Ouka... huh?" Kanon smirked.

Haruto's head began twisting towards me with snail-like speed. Slowly but surely, that stupid, devilish, godforsaken, and absolutely hideous smile of his came into view.

"No way, right?" he said to Kanon. "Like, there's actually no way I'm witnessing this happening in real time."

"Pfft, I get you," she snickered. "It's like I'm watching a live-action drama, and my best friend over there is starring as the main character."

"That's what I'm saying! Oi, Kazuha! Are you just gonna keep sitting there with your head in your ass? In case you forgot, Chihara sent you a text. Go and answer her before she calls a raincheck on you."

With a sigh, I trudged over and picked it up.

[Chihara]: "Good morning, Kinoshita! Hope I didn't wake you. You're still coming to the festival today, right?"

[Kinoshita]: "Yeah, I am. What time are you going?"

[Chihara]: "Right at nine. I wanna have as much fun as I can, so I need to maximize the time I spend there. Plus, I need to split my time efficiently."

[Kinoshita]: "Split your time? For what?"

[Chihara]: "For you, dummy. I have to hang out with my friends first, then I have to meet you next."

[Kinoshita]: "Oh. Doesn't that sound like a lot? We can just go tomorrow, if you'd like."

For a second, she didn't reply. Then, my phone began to ring, followed by the incoming call screen.

"Ooh~" Haruto grinned.

"Shut up," I muttered. "If you say a single word, I'll kill you."

He pulled his fingers across his lips to mimic a zipper as I picked up the call.

"Chihara?" I said.

"Good morning, Kinoshita," she said. Even though I couldn't see her, I knew she was smiling.

"Hey. What's with the call?"

"Well..."

For whatever reason, she paused. At the same time, I noticed Kanon and Haruto whispering to each other in the corner of my room. Without hesitation, I snatched my pillow and threw it at Haruto as hard as I could.

"Still there?" I asked.

"Y-yeah. I was just..."—she drew a deep breath—"Kinoshita?"

"What's up?"

"There's something you wanted to tell me, right?" 

"Huh? I mean... Yeah, there is."

"And you've been waiting a while to tell me... right?"

"...Yeah."

"Then, no. I don't wanna wait until tomorrow. Especially since tomorrow... Things might be a little different."

I had no words.

This just about confirms that Chihara knows exactly what I'm going to say — or rather, what I'm going to ask. If I didn't know any better... I think I might already know the answer.

I read into things a lot. This time, though, I really can't see it any other way.

And now... My chest is starting to pound.

"When do you want me to find you?" I asked.

"Whenever you want. Just don't make me wait for too long."

"Don't worry. I won't."

"Good. Then... See you later, Kinoshita."

"Yeah. See you, Chihara."

With that, she hung up, and I was left to stew in the chaos that was my current headspace. It didn't help that Haruto was slowly fading into view with that goddamn smile.

"Get out of my way before I slap the shit out of you," I mumbled.

"Haha! Alright, alright," he said, backing up. "No need to burst your ballsacks."

"The hell does that even mean?"

"Think like a man."

"Screw off already."

I stood up and scanned my closet again. It's cold outside, so maybe I'll go with that coat again. Wait... I've worn it before. She'll probably think I don't care about putting in the effort. I need something else.

Then, I sat back and laughed at myself when the realization settled in again.

I've fallen hard, haven't I?