Kiss and Date

    How was I so normal even after what had happened? I accepted my parents' suggestion to change my life so fast. Shouldn't I be feeling more depressed? Here I am, feeling normal. And how did I find a friend so quickly? I am an introvert, aren't I? Am I in the denial stage? Like Natsuki had said. I didn't know myself well. I was at the dinner table thinking about stuff.          

              We're going to your grandparent's place this Sunday, I heard my mom say. She had to inform her parents about her pregnancy after all. I'm sure my relatives would ridicule her. 

             "Can't you just call them?", I asked, not liking the thought of my aunts and uncles talking bad about my mom. Women are pitiful. If they get pregnant too early or too late, they get called names. I'm happy I was born a man. Mom and Dad told me they wanted to give them a surprise. I understood their excitement.                             

          "Son, are you ready to meet your family after years?", asked Dad. I shook my head from side to side. NO. OK. That was all they said.                            It was Saturday and I was dying to know how Natsuki's date went. I went to the cherry blossom tree which no longer wore the beautiful pink flowers. Cherry blossoms have a short life but they live to the fullest. Shining beautifully each day of their lives and making humans fall in love with them.                                                    When I got closer to the tree, I heard someone crying. I went to take a look. It was Natsuki dressed differently than usual. I became worried. "Hey, what's wrong?"                                         "I - got giz-zed. My fir-sh gi-zz", he said in a gibberish manner. I understood what he meant but I acted like I didn't. He sounded like a little boy at that moment. He looked so adorable.          

        "So the girl who you went on a date with kissed you?"

Hn. Yes, He replied. "She told me to lean in and I did. Before I knew it her lips were on mine"                        That's sad, I thought. I didn't quite know what to say. What was I supposed to say to someone who was kissed without consent? "Did you say something to her?", I said in the end. 

       "I  pushed her and ran away", he said devastatingly, making circles in the grass with his index finger. I knelt, held his chin up, and wiped his tears. "It'll be alright", I said. He started crying even louder. I patted his head and caressed his shoulder. Out of the blue, he embraced me. Natsuki was warm. I rested my face on his head.   

                "There there, child. Don't cry. Everything will be alright ", I assured him. He raised his head to look at me. Our faces were only a few centimeters apart. I gulped in. He blushed and let go of me.

               "Thank you for this, Haruki-san", he said, "Gotta go. Let's meet tomorrow at 11 ". Natsuki left. I froze. I couldn't process what just happened.                                

                The next day, I woke up early to prepare for my parents' departure. Honestly, I was feeling sad. I had never been home alone for the past few years.        

                      After they left I went to the kitchen to tidy it up. On the dining table, I found a note in an envelope with some cash: Be well, son. Don't spend too much. Love, Mom, and Dad. Thank you, I said loudly. I finished my chores as fast as I could. I had to go on a date with Natsuki. I was nervous. 

                I didn't own many outfits. I thought of the fact that Natsuki was a teenager meant that he'd be excellent at dressing up. Natsuki thought I looked older than I was, I'm sure it was due to my dressing sense. The only time I saw Natsuki wear something other than his school sports uniform was yesterday. I wonder what he'd wear today. I was excited to see him. In the end, I chose a basic white T-shirt with 'I Love Anime' written on it and beige cotton jeans.       

              I reached the Sakura Tree at 10:30. I didn't want him to be there before me but to my surprise, he was already there. "Hi, Natsu-kun, you're quite early", I said, waving my hand. He waved back, "Good morning, Haruki-san, I wanted to get here first. I've been waiting for about half an hour". I felt defeated. 

                   "Do you mind if I take a detour first?", said Natsuki. Sure, I said. I checked out his outfit. Wide solid black sports shorts, plain gray T-shirt, and beige backpack. He looked so good. I lost again.                           

                     We walked and turned left and right a lot. I did not know where we were headed but it seemed far. I wanted to ask him where we were going but I just walked on. I hadn't walked around this neighborhood in a long time. It was the way to my high school. 

                

               After about 30 minutes Natsuki said, "We're here, Haruki-san. My high school". I couldn't believe that he was also a student of Kisaragi High School.

                    "I'll call my teammates out. I just needed to give them something", he said, digging into his bag. He took out his smartphone and what seemed like headbands. I made these, he informed me.           

                    They look cool, I said looking at the school. He went a little farther than me to speak on the phone. When he came back he told me that his teammates wanted to meet him at the gymnasium. 

                              "Please come with me", he requested, to which I couldn't decline. I went inside this damned school for the first time after graduation. I felt stuffy. I didn't like being here, I wanted to go out but I didn't want to ruin Natsuki's day. Inside the school, I felt all sorts of things, shame, fear, sadness, and anger.     

                We reached outside the gymnasium and two boys came out to meet Natsu-kun. 

             "Ehh?? You came, Natsu-chan?", they said in sync.                   

               "Of course. I did and I brought these as well. I made them", Natsuki said, sounding proud. They said, thank you and I thought they would leave but they looked at me and sneered, "Is he your boyfriend, Natsu-chan?"                                         It reminded me of the time when the bullies asked Akira whether I was his boyfriend and he laughed and said, "Ew, no. I don't want to catch what he has. I dated him only for laughs". His words and the people's laughter were audible in my head. I couldn't shake it away.                                  

       Natsu-Kun was going to say something but I interrupted, "We're just friends. Nothing more". I left. Natsu-kun came running after me. He looked at me with his innocent eyes and that healed me. 

                   "Sorry. I acted that way", I said to Natsuki. It's fine, he lied. I didn't want him to get bullied like I was.                              

                 We went to the park, then lunch at a family restaurant where Natsuki didn't eat much and I had to finish the food he ordered and then to an arcade. I showed Natsuki my gaming skills. It was still early when we were done with our date.

               "It's still too early to go home. Would you like to come over to my place? My parents are not at home", I had already planned this. My room is clean, I thought and smiled.    

                      "Huh? Is it okay?", he said. I nodded. We reached my place when the sun was almost setting. I took him to my room. "Tea? Coffee? Juice?". He chose Tea. I left him in my room to make tea when I reached he was asleep on the study table. I didn't want to wake him up, he looked tired. 

                       Natsuki woke up and came to the kitchen when I was making dinner. Why didn't you wake me up? he asked.                        

                You looked peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you, I said, slicing the vegetables. He looked at me astonishingly. 

                     "Call your parents, tell them you are having dinner with your friend", it sounded like an order. He went out of the room for some time and came back in. I did, he informed me.      

                We had dinner together and I told him a lot of things about the games I used to play and the many anime that I've watched. He also liked anime but wasn't such a devoted fan unlike me. We talked and laughed a lot. I wish this moment lasted forever. 

                      "You didn't like the food, Natsu-kun?", I asked him, seeing he had only eaten a little bit of food served on the plate.                 

                 "I don't eat much at dinnertime", he said. I didn't ask further. He helped me do the dishes.                            

           It was time to leave and I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I offered to drop him but he was bent on going alone. He gave me his contact number. I was overwhelmed with joy.                                    He texted me when he had reached home. "I have reached home safely(smiling emoji)", it read. 

  

"Good night(purple heart emoji)", I replied.  

    After some minutes another text came.
Natsu-kun: I liked going on a date with you, Haruki-san. Thank you for spending your time with me. Let's do it again sometime later.

Haruki: Sure. I liked your company too. 

He read the message but he didn't reply. I fell asleep waiting for the message.