Celebration

Neo didn't believe Saya's answer.

"Really?" he asked, completely surprised.

"Yes!" she replied, smiling.

Hearing her "yes" made him very happy, so happy that he wanted to scream and jump, but he stopped himself from making a scene, even though his face already showed his happiness.

"So, when?" she said, interrupting his deeper thoughts.

Another thing he hadn't thought about, "when". He wanted to go out with her so much that he forgot the most important details.

"How about tomorrow at 2:30?" he asked hopefully, wishing she could make it.

Saya thought for a moment before answering, and the delay was killing the boy; she was probably wondering if there was anything planned for the next day.

"Alright. Where shall we meet?" she replied.

Neo tried to think of a special place, but he had no ideas. Inogura's Ramen would not be a good option. Especially if the baseball team showed up, it would ruin the atmosphere.

"You choose," he said, letting her choose the place.

She chuckled softly. "You ask me out and I pick the place? Interesting... How well do you know the Union district?"

"A little, I've been there a few times with the baseball team."

"Great, can you meet me at the clock in the central square?"

"Yeah, that works."

Neo didn't remember exactly where it was, but he was sure it would be easy to find.

They stared at each other for a while, hoping one of them would say something more. The boy remembered that he had to go to practice and said hastily as he left,

"Sorry, I just remembered I'm late, I have to go."

"All right, see you tomorrow," she said excitedly.

When Neo arrived at the gym, his happiness was obvious. Takeshi knew that something else had happened. At the end of the training, his suspicion was confirmed when Neo mentioned that he wouldn't show up the next day.

"Why? Huh? What are you doing tomorrow?" Takeshi asked curiously.

"I'm going to downtown Union."

"Going alone?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe nothing! You invited someone, didn't you?"

"I didn't invite anyone."

That night, Neo worked at Inogura's Ramen, and it was almost closing time when the baseball team showed up in force. Lenner and Apolo were there as well.

"We brought pizza for everyone," Takeshi said, holding a pile of boxes.

The owner closed the restaurant; he was a little sad not to cook for the boys. But Takeshi and Tadashi explained that it wouldn't be fair for him to work more; this moment was for celebration.

"And what are we celebrating?" Neo asked innocently.

They gathered around Neo.

"The growth of my boy, Neo!" Takeshi replied enthusiastically.

"My boy!" Maeda said, putting his arm around Neo's neck.

"My boy!" Pietro said, holding up a bag of soda.

"My boy!" Nagoya said, ruffling Neo's hair.

"My boy!" Apolo said, a little lost in the situation.

"My boy!" Lenner said absentmindedly.

"My boy!" Shike said, jumping on Neo.

"My boy!" Tadashi said calmly.

"Why all this?" Neo asked, still confused.

"Stop lying, we know you're going out with Saya tomorrow, you rascal," Takeshi explained.

Neo was immediately embarrassed. "How?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense!" Shike complained.

"You think you can hide things from us?" Tadashi challenged.

"Who else would you invite? Sunny?" Pietro asked.

"It makes sense," Neo said in disbelief.

They all gathered around the table to eat.

Ryu seemed a little disappointed. "I could have sworn Neo wasn't straight."

"Better luck next time," Maeda told him.

The group teased Neo quite a bit, giving him romantic advice on what to do, how to get them home, and a bunch of things that would surely be forgotten later.

The party was filled with laughter and jokes, with games brought by Pietro. They enjoyed themselves. The owner's energy ran out early, and he went to sleep, leaving the boys to play and joke with each other.

The next day, Neo woke up, momentarily forgetting that he had an appointment with Saya. He went to the bathroom, showered and brushed his teeth. Only then did he remember. He chose his nicest outfit, a white t-shirt and black pants; he liked the contrast between the very dark and very light colors.

The time was approaching, so he mentally prepared himself to meet her. He would be alone with her and couldn't afford to get nervous and say nothing.

Already in the Union district, he noticed something he hadn't noticed on his previous visits. A map that clearly showed the division into cardinal points and a center that Neo assumed was where he and Saya had agreed to meet.

In the middle of the square was a clock that seemed to be a point of reference for many people, as several were gathered there, many of them waiting. The clock read 2:20 pm, ten minutes earlier than scheduled.

There were four benches around the clock tower, and since he had arrived early, he knew he would have to wait. He chose to sit on the one with a view to the north.

As he sat, he watched the activity in front of him, people coming and going. If there was one thing he often wondered, it was this: Where were they going? What were they doing?

Neo fell silent, hoping for an answer, but there was only silence.

His thoughts distracted him from the fear and nervousness he had felt earlier, but some time had passed, so he looked at the clock to see the time.

When he turned around and looked up, it was 2:35 pm, five minutes past the appointed time.

Nervousness began to creep in; had she forgotten? What could have happened to her? Would she really show up?

Still, he didn't want her to come; just the thought of how she might be dressed and who she was as a person made him nervous, and he might end up doing something wrong. So he didn't want her to show up.

His thoughts soon shifted with the passage of time, considering that she still hadn't arrived. The truth was that deep in his heart, he wanted her to come. Even if he got nervous and didn't know what to do, he wanted to be there, better than being alone and thinking she wouldn't show up.

Neo was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings. Only when he felt a hand on his right hand, he snapped back to reality and realized that Saya was already sitting next to him.