The Lovely Artist

Chapter 4 Start

Aoi was sitting alone on the roof. I sneaked up behind her to see what she was sketching. I gave as less footsteps as I could. Thankfully, she was wearing headphones. I sneaked up behind her and saw that she was sketching a man. It was handsome enough to not find whose portrait it was. But it was recognizable to know...

It was me.

The man she was sketching was me. As she sketched, she hummed the song she was hearing while munching on her lunch.

The sudden situation surprised me and I messed up. She saw my shadow.

"What are you doing here?" She said while shaking, sweating, and holding the sketchbook as close to her chest as she could.

"Did you see that?!" She said as tears enveloped her eyes. She got up and ran away with her stuff while crying. She left the school and went home. I felt guilty for sneaking up to her but it was also a surprise that how good her art was and how she drew me. In the end, I decided to face her and resolve this... misunderstanding? or whatever it was.

I got her house address from Ayame. It was very hard to get but I somehow convinced Ayame. I don't wanna talk about how. And now...

I'm standing in front of her house! How did I get here?! I mean I did want to get here but isn't this way too quick?!

"I have to muster some courage up and do it!" I said to myself as I took heavy steps towards the main door.

"As I thought, I can't do it,"  I told myself. All of a sudden, a motivating me pops out of nowhere. Holding a pistol in hand, he told me, "Do it or no balls." These were all the words I needed to hear. 

I ran up to the door and I knocked on it 3 times.

I heard footsteps. I was thinking that if it was a family member of hers, what to say then.

The door opens

I thought it would be her parents or a sibling. But no... It was her. Aoi Mei was standing right in front of me.

 She startled.

"Why are you here?" She said shockingly.

"I'm sorry," I said as I lowered my head to show my remorse.

She let out a huge sigh.

"It's okay." she held out her hand and invited me inside.

I entered her house.

"You live alone?" I asked Aoi.

"Why," She asked me as she stared me down.

"I mean, I don't see anyone besides you here," I said as I frequently looked here and there.

"My parents are not home. They are never home. They rarely even see my face" She said.

I felt bad for her as I could relate to her. I asked her if she had any complaints about me. She said "No" but I could feel her avoid me.

 "Don't stop talking to me. I don't want to become a stranger to you! After all, We are best friends!" I said worryingly.

"Then, you can become someone better than who you are to me." She said while having a straight face. But I could feel that she smiled. I do not know how to explain it. But I felt like she was smiling.

"Why don't you come to my room? We can chit-chat about what you said today and resolve the misunderstanding. Or maybe, perhaps it was never a misunderstanding." She said but this time, I saw it. She smiled, It was my first time seeing her smile. It was weird but warm. I didn't know why but I kept following into her room.

"Sit down here," Aoi said

"Your room is quite different from what you look like. People might not believe that this is your room." I said. Her room had no girly feeling about it. Just an ordinary room. Was I always in an illusion believing girls' rooms were different than boys? Or is it just that Aoi's different?

"People have a habit of judging," She said.

I would have been one of 'those people' too If I didn't know Aoi beforehand.

"So, about the morning," she said while staring into my eyes.

A chill went down my spine. I couldn't find any words to say to her.

"After seeing that. You know I like you right? I don't want to be just friends with you. I want to go out with you." She said while staring into my eyes. Her cheeks got red but her determination was there.

I couldn't believe what I was encountering.

"Will you go out with me, Iharu?"

.....................................................................................................

[Narration: Iharu got confessed by his friend Aoi Mei. Now,  will he accept the proposal or will he reject it?]

Chapter 4 End