Incident Under the Roof

I’m not exactly sure if letting a girl go up a ladder first is a cavalier thing to do. One could argue that I’d be there to catch her if she somehow succumbed to the alluring pull of gravity. Though, as Koyori is carefully advancing step by step, my stupid-ass pubescent mind can only think about the possibility of catching brief flashes of something my eyes aren’t supposed to be seeing.

Right now, if Yori really were to slip, I couldn’t even catch her fall for I am standing a fair distance away while awkwardly staring at my feet to avoid such a situation at all costs. I mean, that girl in the eroge I was playing back then was climbing a tree and her skirt was a lot shorter but still… better be safe than sorry!

Finally, my friend reaches the 2nd floor. Hastily, I climb those stairs I know by heart in a fragment of the time it took her. My heart is starting to beat faster though I can hardly blame it on the sudden surge of physical activity.

The 2nd floor is directly under the roof. Only two tiny windows on each side of the walls illuminate a really narrow hallway completely framed by wooden planks on both the floor, walls, and ceiling.

I used to compare it to those scary old houses you’d often see in horror movies when I was younger though I’m a little too old now to get spooked by a scarcely illuminated room without much space to go around.

Regardless, a certain amount of anxiety wafts through the dusty air. The narrow corridor barely allows two young teenagers to walk alongside each other and Koyori has positioned herself a little too cl…

Suddenly, something touches my shoulders.

“Eeek!”

My legs react immediately. I’m leaping backward at full strength, tumbling over and finding myself on the slightly dusty wooden floor before I know what hit me. Only when Yori’s resounding laughter catches up to me, do I begin to understand. Did that really just happen?!

“Hahaha, oh Keiichi you’re such a dork, hahaha!”

While rubbing my back and silently bewailing my throbbing butt, my eyes wander over to where Koyori is leaning against the wall while giggling uncontrollably. Some tears are springing from her closed eyes and I’m losing myself in the vista of my adorable childhood friend laughing out loud at my idiocy.

Usually, embarrassing myself like this doesn’t sit well with me but, for some unknown reason, I find myself joining in, if a little hesitatingly and only for a moment’s notice. Humiliating myself in front of her doesn’t feel nearly as grave as it does when my mother is watching too. After all, I get to enjoy seeing the cute face she makes when she laughs. Wait, why am I even thinking like that?!

“You know, I was actually the one who felt a little spooked so I clung to you. Didn’t expect you to be so frightened, hahaha!”

Koyori is wiping away the droplets of water that haven’t managed to escape her eyes. For an ever so brief moment, her cheerful gaze meets my anxious glimpse before I hastily break the connection that’s trying to form between us.

“Heck, I don’t even know why I just did that…” I mutter to myself, flinching at the bruise that’s forming on my bum. Koyori seems to take notice of my situation, finally wiping the giggles from her expression.

“Are you okay, though?” she inquires, taking two steps towards my position which brings me back to something I was trying to explain earlier: She’s too close goddammit!

“Here, let me help you up.”

Yori doesn’t wait for my compliance, crouching down a tiny bit to lunge for my wrists. Her hands feel pleasantly warm against my cold, sweaty skin. Though, unironically, it doesn’t help at all against the nervosity causing the sweating in the first place.

Koyori, for someone so visually fragile, possesses a good amount of strength. Almost effortlessly, she’s lifting me back up to my feet. And she’s holding me WAY too close!!!

Bare centimeters are separating our bodies. She’s standing so close to me that the frilly cloth of her dress is gently swaying against my shaky knees. Koyori is still holding onto my wrists, keeping them fixated on chest height. Escaping is futile. I want to run away and yet I want Koyori’s warm touch to remain on my wrists forever. Maybe even try to hold hers…

WTF am I feeling here?! Why would I even want to do such a thing? It’s cringe and embarrassing! What’s happening with my brain today?!

“Kei-kun, what’s gotten into you today? You’re being such a doofus.”

Koyori, you don’t understand!

“Come on, smile and laugh like me, hehehe.”

Please just let me gooooooo…

I’m not sure if she can read my mind. Koyori releases the shackles on my hands as soon as I raise the thought, however, I am terribly wrong to assume she’s doing it in my favor. A silly giggle full of childish anticipation echoes through the room as she’s pulling my cheeks.

The sorry excuse of a smile that appears on my face against my will quickly causes Koyori to lose it again, freeing me from her assault at last. While she’s once again holding her belly in ridiculous laughter, I take this chance to finally put some much-needed distance between us lest I collapse from the pure stress of enduring the close proximity between us.

Seriously, Koyori. You’re making everything worse for me right now!

My mind makes a weak attempt at persuading me to let my frustration show but…

How can I be mad at her when she’s literally so…

Cheerful? Lively? Maybe even angelic with a devilish little twist? Whatever negativity lingers on my mind, the sight of her enjoying herself somehow sweeps it away with astonishing ease.

“By the way, this isn’t your room, right?”

I’d be a very sad person if this little corridor comprised all of my usable space.

“Of course not,” I confirm, using this welcome interjection to sober up and return to the original objective. “This floor has only two rooms. We’re using the one on the southern side of the house as a general storage room and, well…”

A dramatic pause interrupts my explanation as a sudden thought twists my mind.

“The other one is… my room.

Which is in a state of utter chaos. I’m fucked, aren’t I?