White Lilies on the Scarf

It took Rossi-chan a few minutes to regain composure. She briefly left to the bathroom, which I discovered was connected to her room, to wash her face. She then returned to her cushion and cleared her throat with some tea.

"I-I don’t really know what to say… I’ve never gotten a gift this…thoughtful and…wonderful from a friend before. Ah, don’t tell Hanamaru-chan I said that, her gifts are lovely."

I tilted my head back as a chuckle slipped out.

"I-I genuinely can’t thank you enough for this. It may seem as if I am overreacting, but I assure you––"

"I know you’re not. We’ve known each other for several months now, I’d like to think I know you decently enough to distinguish your reactions."

"I know you well enough to know that ‘distinguish’ is a big word for you. Fufu."

"Wow okay, I see how it is."

"Teehee."

She took another deep look at the paintings, and a knowing smile reappeared. She returned the canvases into their respective wrapping papers and placed them back into the bag.

"I hope you’ll find a good place for them," I said, looking around her room and seeing zero available space.

"Of course I will!" she exclaimed. "I might cry again while hanging them up."

"Here’s hopin’," I remarked.

She grabbed the Christmas box intended for me and placed it on the table.
"It's your turn. A-Are you okay?"

My already reddened face was buried in my palms. I mumbled an inaudible, “I’m fine,” and took a deep breath.

I brought the box closer to me and inspected it.
It's so neatly wrapped in this paper. Did she do this herself?
I quickly glanced at her.
Yeah it definitely seems like she could do it, I had Muku wrap mine.

"U-Um, before you open it…" she interjected with a defeated tone. "I-I’m sorry that…well, it is not as much as what you got me…"

"O-Oh no no no, you don’t need to apologize for that!"
I waved my hands around in a panic.
"A-As I said, mine’s just one gift…and I didn’t even fully make it. S-So please, don’t worry about it!"

"O-Okay…"

Hmm, what's that about? Did she get me somethin’ I don’t like? Do I even have anythin’ I don’t like?

I said, "There’s only two things hangin’ on the walls in my room: Karuta poster and the birthday gift you gave me. I’m not a materialistic dude, but I’ll be immensely happy with whatever you give me, because it’s bound to be somethin’ I’ve never had before."

I began unwrapping the box. Her nervousness grew on her face more and more, becoming as white as a sheet by the time I was done taking off the paper. I lifted the cover off, and inside of it was the item she decided was suited for me.

"Is this…oh wow, it is!"
My first reaction was to sink my face closer to the table.
"This is so cool! Wh–– Did you make this? It’s amazin’!"
I picked up the gift and held it up in the air.

"D-Do you really…like it?" she asked rather worriedly.
She clenched her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Of course! I mean look at it…it’s a scarf! And even better, it’s got a floral pattern to it!"
While it was rather embarrassing looking back, I pictured my face similarly to Rossi-chan when she opened her gift. Not to paint myself as handsome or anything, but I was probably vividly vibrant in her eyes; hopefully.

I wrapped the scarf around my neck, with Rossi-chan’s assistance.

"Thanks."

"M-Mhm…"

"Wow… I can finally keep my neck warm for the rest of the season. This really couldn’t have come at a better time! Thanks a lot, Rossi-chan, really!" I eagerly proclaimed my gratitude.

Her face had shifted back to pink. Caught by surprise, "Y-You’re welcome," was all she could say.

"Based on the patterns and appearance of this flower…these are white lilies, right? Or am I embarrassin’ myself here?"

She audibly gasped with her mouth as wide as her eyes. The corners of her lips shifted upwards. Saying no words, she rapidly shook her head up and down along with her arms in an exhilarated motion.

I thrusted a fist into the air in celebration.
"Nice! The black gradients as the background really made them stand out even more."

"Right, right?!" she chipped in. "I love the way it gradually goes up and down like a wave, that was hard to do! The frills on the ends are so soft as well."

It’s impressive how she made somethin’ like this. She’s been thinkin’ of me this whole time, payin’ attention to what I’ve said. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one thinkin’ of the other…

"Ki-Kiyoshi…kun?"

"Hmm?"

"I…I… You don’t have to, but if you’d like…then can you please…umm."

It was rare to see her shy, despite seeing it a few times already in one day. I guess even she had some things that were difficult to ask for, considering how she’d blatantly throw her requests at me all the time. Luckily, I knew what she wanted to ask.

"Sure," I responded. "From now on."

She nodded in agreement.

"So, how do I look?"
I stood up and posed quizzically.

"W-Well, it suits you. You look…ahem, good, with it."

"Seriously? This must be how you feel all the time, huh?"

"Wh-What?"

"Heha, you look so red. It’s funny to see."

"Eeh?! Stop teasing me!" she playfully exclaimed as she threw her fists up and down.

"Wait…look at the time. It’s gettin’ quite late."

"That’s true. Since we exchanged gifts and had some time to talk, it’s better to conclude things now just to be safe."

"Alrighty then."

We tidied up her room to make it even cleaner than it was before. She spread the canvases on her bed because she was going to immediately find space for them. I had the scarf around my neck for the rest of the night.

"I’ll walk you outside, just let me put these dishes away. You can wait downstairs."

An idea came to mind.
"A-Actually, I wanted to use the bathroom, can I?"

"Of course. I’ll meet you downstairs then?"

"Sounds great."

I entered the bathroom, but didn't use it. My ears pressed against the door, waiting to hear the sound of her leaving the room. Once she did, I stepped out and looked around the walls once more.

"There it is."

I found a calendar, an actual one, not a book. It was pinned on December, but luckily she didn’t rip and throw out the previous months. I undid the pushpin and flipped the pages back to July.

I whispered, "Forgive my nosiness."

I had flipped to my birthday because I wanted to see if she wrote anything down for the day. It wasn’t to inflate my ego, but to see if she made any specific symbols on it. For that month, there were two flower symbols drawn on different dates; one being my birthday.

"Right, Natsu-chan’s birthday is the 2nd, that’s the other flower. So birthdays have flower symbols on them."

I flipped through August to December, noticing some more flowers, but the birthday didn’t belong to who I was looking for. Back to January, I perused until I found the date.

"April 17th, huh? It’s like poetry, it rhymes. Guess I have that much time to think of a good birthday present."

At her front door, I took my first steps into her front garden. The stars were infinite, I had desired for that night to be the same way. She stood at the door, with my hoodie still equipped, but I had no reason to tell her.

She said, "I-I genuinely had an amazing time with you. I have never felt such happiness and bliss in…ever, I believe. Thank you so much for giving me this day that I will…certainly…never forget."
She began to slowly tear as she reached the end of her sentence.

I delicately caressed her cheek to wipe it away, giving her a reassuring gaze.
"I think I should be thankin’ you. Tonight was somethin’ I never thought I’d experience after what happened to me in middle school. I’m glad that…that I got to experience this with you, Yuri-chan."

She tilted her head, not due to confusion, but as she would say it – bliss. Her smile that I had seen so often was the only thing I was hoping to see one last time before the night concluded.

We bowed farewell towards each other, and I walked to her gate. I turned around one final time to see the door being shut. I was pleased to know she was safe, and hoped her parents arrived soon.

I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked through the neighborhood. The cool air whisked around me, with my newly gifted scarf protecting my neck. I looked at the rising moon, as white as the lilies that inspired Yuri-chan’s gift to me.

I wonder when she’ll realize I sent Muku the video of her reaction. She’s definitely goin’ to kill me.

I walked through the calming neighborhood back to my apartment.