What She Wants

What does a couple do when being alone?

Anna was sandwiching my face with her soft hands. To be honest, if it's her hands, then I wouldn't mind getting my face sandwiched. Wait, what the heck was I talking about?

I noticed her gaze piercing me more and more the longer I made her wait.

I didn't have any memories so how should I know? Think. Think. Think!

Ah! I remember watching a show a few days ago. It was about singles having to live on an island where they flirt with the opposite sex, I suppose.

Then, based on the show the answer should be obvious.

“Kish?” I said with my face still being formed like a fish making it harder to speak properly.

Suddenly, Anna's face reddened up to her ears. Aside from her eyes widening, even her jaw dropped.

Hold up. Was my answer correct or not?

“K-k-kiss?! W-well, i-it may be also an answer... But no!” she replied flustered while she tried to find her composure.

She let go of my face and waved her hands around wildly while trying to find the right words.

Usually she was the one to tease me so seeing her being on the receiving end was kind of refreshing and cute.

“If kissing wasn't the correct answer, then what could it be?” I pondered awhile.

“What I wanted to hear was 'date', you idiot!”

Date?

Sigh.

“I guess, I should have been more careful with my words. Sorry for misleading you, hehe...” she laughed it off as if it was no big deal.

“I see. Just a date, huh...” I said after I freed myself from her grasp.

“What's with this disappointed tone of yours?” Anna glared at me sharply.

“What? Did I sound disappointed?” I replied honestly.

“And you didn't even notice it. Geez...” she sighed in defeat.

“Ugh, whatever. Let's not waste time here anymore. It's time for a date!” she quickly switched gears as she grabbed my arm.

I thought the same, however...

“Wait a minute.” I stopped her.

“What is it?”

“We still have to pay for our drinks.” I said as I pointed at our table.

“A-ah, right. T-that was actually the next thing I wanted to do before our date, you know?” she shrugged her shoulders as she said it arrogantly with poor acting skills.

Hold up. Did Fynn and Jack pay for their drinks yet?

“...”

No they didn't, those damn idiots...

After I shouldered the entire bill, Anna and I could finally enjoy our date.

“Why are you filming us so much?”

Anna, who was clinging on my left arm, recorded the two us with her phone.

“Does it bother you so much? I just want to watch them again later at home.”

Sigh.

How could I possibly say that it bothers me if she's so cute?

“It's fine...” I said dejected.

“Hehe, nice!”

Thus, we continued strolling around the mall as she kept on filming us from time to time.

“Oh, look at that, Leon!” Anna said excited when she pointed at a handbag from a store.

The handbag seemed very elegant and also...

...very pricey.

“Must be a designer bag.” I remarked.

“Yup!”

She looked at me with an expectant and a child like expression.

Don't tell me...

“D-do you want that bag?” I asked nervously.

“W-well, I don't want to pressure you but...” her voice sounded guilty as her head hung low.

“...our anniversary will be soon, you know?” she elaborated.

“Anniversary?” I tilted my head.

“In less than two weeks, one year will have passed since we became a couple.”

She looked up to me with eyes that were begging me.

“I thought that it would be nice to receive that bag as a present for our anniversary...”

“A-are you sure you want that bag?” I asked with a hint of fear.

I was scared to know the price. However, I still ended up taking a peek on the price tag.

“...”

I broke into a cold sweat.

I had to ask my parents to give me my allowance for next month in advance if I wanted to purchase it.

“M-maybe we'll find better looking bags.”

She took my hands and embraced them with hers.

“Is that a no?”

“...”

Sadly, she knew how to persuade me.

“I'll make sure to give it to you on our anniversary...” I promised defeated.

“Yay!” she jumped in joy.

Even though it will be hard to recover from this financial crisis, it may be worth it as long as she will be happy.

When I noticed that the crowd in the mall began to decrease in size, I checked the time.

“Oh, is it this late, already?”

“Wow, time sure flies by, huh?” Anna expressed her surprise.

“Time to say goodbye then. I have to catch my bus now.” she added.

Then, Anna came closer to me.

“Could you close your eyes for a moment?” she asked with her cheeks being tinted in red.

Closing my eyes? Why should I d- Ah, I get it! In the last few days, I also read some romance manga. Therefore, I recognized what event was coming. It will definitely be a kiss!

“Sure.” I replied confident.

Of course, I formed my mouth in preparation for the kiss even though I looked like a fish now.

Hm?

Nothing happened yet although almost an entire minute passed.

So I decided to open my eyes.

In front of me was Anna who recorded me with her phone while she tried to hold back her laughter.

“W-w-what are you doing?!”

In my embarrassed state, I did everything I could to grab her phone but I only wasted my energy.

“Hahaha! S-sorry! After all, teasing you is too funny!” she confessed as she was on the verge of dying from laughing.

Powerless as I was, I gritted my teeth.

“D-delete it!”

My face was burning so much, I thought my head was steaming.

“No can do, hehe!” she rejected me playfully.

“Hey-”

“Oh, my bus is coming! Sorry, I have to go now! See you!”

And in an instant, she vanished.

This little...

Sigh.

I had to heave a heavy sigh again.

With nothing left to do here, I also decided to go home.

“Hey, sorry but can we ask you something?”

“Hm?”

After I exited the mall, two boys approximately in my age approached me.

“Sure.”

Just what did they want from me?

“Are you a friend of Anna?”

What? From where did they know her?

Wait, I can already guess why. Maybe rumors about her beauty already spread around in the entire city.

That's my girl.

I smirked proudly.

“Uhm, hello?”

One of them waved his hand in front of me.

I suppose that I made them wait for too long.

“Ah, yeah, sorry. I'm not just a friend of hers.”

“I'm her boyfriend.” I said as I pointed with my thumb at myself.

“...”

The two of them turned speechless as their jaws dropped.

“I-is something wrong?” I asked hesitatingly.

Suddenly, their expressions changed when each one of them patted my shoulders.

What the hell? Why were they looking at me so compassionately. And why did I see a tear forming in the eye of one of the two boys?

“I see... I see... I see now...” one of them repeated.

What's going on here?

“It's about Anna.” the other one began to speak.

He took a deep breath before continuing his statement.

“You must be her new one, right?”