12.2 - Second Meeting (crush: developing!)

Considering my constant dreaming and eagerness to see her messages appearing on my phone screen (and most importantly, the wave of happiness I felt whenever she appeared in my mindscape!), it was about time to admit something: I had a crush on Rika-san. For sure.

Now that I finally managed to admit it to myself, it was also time to inform my two best friends. I decided to drop the explosive 'news bomb' on them in our group chat, writing:

Mattsun: hey so

Mattsun: what if i said i found myself a crush?

I chuckled by myself like a mischievous kid waiting for his playful trick to be recognized. About five minutes later, the first reply came from Mayu.

mayuyu: WHAT IF I SCREAMED

mayuyu: info??? more info please?!?!

I grinned at her reply. Hehe, not yet. Not before Rikkun would reply too.

mayuyu: WHERE ARE YOU

mayuyu: WHERE DID YOU GO TO. YOU CAN'T JUST DROP THAT AND DISAPPEAR—!!!!

A few minutes later, the awaited response from Riku arrived.

Rikkun: Bruh, I just took a break from gaming and this is what I come back to??

Rikkun: Seriously tho, where are you Mattsun. Come and tell us the details

Alright, alright. It was enough teasing from my side. Once my mischievous side was satisfied, I typed:

Mattsun: am here!!

mayuyu: YOU. you've been here all this time, weren't you!!!! (angry sticker)

Mattsun: teehee, oopsie~

Rikkun: Mayucore moment…

Rikkun: How does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine Mayu?

mayuyu: THIS AIN'T THE TIME FOR THAT

mayuyu: yuuumaaaa come onnnn

I laughed at their playful reactions. Sigh… I really adored these two.

Mattsun: it is my biggest honor to announce that, this humble yuuma matsushima has found a lovely and cool and charismatic and talented and gorgeous lady to have sorta romantic feels for!

mayuyu: O: !!!!

Rikkun: Sorta romantic feels? LOL

mayuyu: naah fr fr, you really going to list all those adjectives and then imply you haven't fallen totes deep for this lady you speak of?

mayuyu: WHO IS SHE ANYWAY—

Ouch, I was just trying to be honest here? Was I really that head over heels for her…?

As if to immediately bring me proof, my brain showed me a montage of my last three months in a flash. All the… you know… All the stuff you've read about so far.

I… guess they did have a point… I surrendered.

Mattsun: go easy on me ok?! this is all crazy for me, i feel like the protag of a shoujo manga myself!

Mattsun: speaking of shoujo manga, i guess this'd be a good time to reveal that i'm joining a contest by some manga publishers with this person? that's how i met her

…there was no reason to tell them about the actual first encounter, not yet. That, and my collection of irrational behaviors for the last three months of time could stay undisclosed for now. I continued typing, this time giving them some basic info about her. I told them her name, age, study field, and a little bit about her laidback and fun personality. Ah, and of course, the link to her artist account. Their response to this information was quite colorful, to say the least.

mayuyu: an artist, otaku AND beautiful? CALL THAT A TRIPLE THREAT

Rikkun: You're using all caps a lot today, aren't you

mayuyu: EXCUSE ME?! EXCUSE YOU!!!! this is an event that's of grandest BIGGEST category!! ofc i'll make a fuss!!!

Rikkun: Okay okay I get it Mayuyu

Rikkun: That being said, she really seems to be talented and is into similar hobbies with us, so that's quite fascinating that you guys got to meet

mayuyu: yeah!! it must be fate!! :3 hehehe!

Mattsun: let's not jump into conclusions! (shy sticker) oh well… i think that she at least enjoys my company, and working on our project together.

Mattsun: and that's what's most important for me

Rikkun: Yeah! Just enjoy the ride, man

mayuyu: absolutely!! gl with the contest too, show us when it's more developed, yeah? ;w;

Mattsun: of course!! (peace sign sticker)

With a sigh, I laid down on my bed. I grabbed one of my heart shaped pillows and hummed happily. Now that I had told my friends about my situation, it all started to feel much more real—rather than some sweet jasmine-scented dream I was having all on my own…