Chapter 3:

Wait, Is This A Date?

Louder Than Words

I had woken up late the next morning, so I was in a rush as I followed my usual path to school. I had completely forgotten to grab anything for breakfast before heading out. Maybe that was why my stomach felt like it was in knots, and not because I had just bumped into Nakamura at the school gates. As I approached, my steps faltered slightly and my mind was racing, searching for the right words to say to her. Thankfully, she took the initiative and greeted me first.

"Good Morning, Tachibana-kun." Her tone was warm and friendly. It caught me off guard.

"M-morning," I managed to mumble back.

She frowned slightly at my lackluster response, but chose not to follow up on it.

"Are we still good for meeting up in the library later?" She asked.

"Er, sure."

We met up later that day during lunch. The library was rather empty at this time of day, so we were the only two there. We sat down at the same table as yesterday and she eyed me curiously. When I averted my gaze, she let out a loud sigh.

"C'mon tell me, what's wrong?"

"Huh? No, nothings wrong…"

"Then why are you acting so strangely around me?" She leaned in close, resting her chin in her hands as she waited for my answer.

"Well… um… I just, y'know. I didn't realise before, but now it's kind of embarrassing."

"You mean yesterday?"

I nodded, "I've never shared any of that with anyone before. Today when I saw you, I just felt weird around you, I didn't really know how to react."

"I think I understand," Nakamura nodded, "but if we're going to be friends, then you'll need to get over it. Tell you what, we have the day off tomorrow. How about we meet up in town and spend the day together?"

"Wait, really?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, the more time we spend together, the more comfortable you'll hopefully feel around me."

I agreed, trying hard not to let the uncertainty show on my face.

"Great! So let's meet outside the station entrance, say around 10."

***

I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, trying to make myself look somewhat presentable before I left to meet up with Nakamura. I was desperately trying to flatten my hair when Hikari spotted me while passing by my door.

"Oho?" She smirked, "are you going somewhere today, Nii-san?"

"Just into town for a while," I responded curtly.

"And you're dressing up for that?" She continued to glare at me, as if she was trying to read my mind, "are you meeting up with someone?"

"Urk."

The resulting look that grew across her face could only be described as devilish. "S-so what if I am?"

She sauntered over with the smuggest look on her face, resting her arm on my shoulder.

"Is my dearest Nii-san going out on a D-A-T-E?" She whispered into my ear, slowly spelling out the one word I had been trying to avoid thinking about. I blushed furiously and tried to shake the little hellspawn off. Hikari couldn't help but laugh.

"I-Im not!" I yelled.

"Oho, so defensive!" She snickered.

"Ugh, whatever! You little-!"

Before I could start to retaliate, she darted away with a satisfied grin on her face."Bye, Nii-san! Tell her I said hi!"

"Hikari?!"

And she was gone.I let out a deep sigh as she disappeared from sight, thankful that I didn't have to suffer under her relentless teasing any longer. With a final huff, I checked the time and realised I needed to get a move on. I left my room and headed to the front door, throwing on my coat and slipping on a pair of shoes before heading out.

We had agreed to meet up at the station, which was a short bus ride away from my home. Unfortunately, this meant I had a lot of time to be alone with my thoughts and Hikari's words kept replaying in my mind. A girl and a guy together, this really was sort of a date, wasn't it?

No, no, no, no, no!

I had to stop thinking about it. I wasn't even interested in Nakamura like that. We're just friends, hanging out. Nothing more.

But still, this would be my first ever date.

I shook my head to clear my mind as the bus pulled to a stop. I stepped off and made my way down the street, spotting the station entrance just a little further up ahead. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait for Nakamura to arrive as she was already there, perched up against a wall.

"Hey," she said as I approached, offering a slight wave.

I greeted her in return and she gave me a once over.

"Not bad. You actually cleaned up pretty nicely."

I wasn't expecting to receive a compliment and it took me aback. "Th-thanks," I managed to mumble out, "y-you too."

I had half expected her to wear her school uniform. The formal look just seemed to suit her. But of course she wasn't. She was instead wearing a loose fitting red sweater and a pair of jeans. Her hair was done up too. Her usual bangs were swept behind her ears and pinned back by a red clip. She looked... surprisingly cute, actually.

"So, uh, what's the plan for today?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"No idea. I thought it would be fun to just see where our feet take us."

"O-okay, sounds good."

The two of us headed off towards the shopping district. It was late October, and the air was cold and brisk. However, that didn't seem to deter people, and the streets were as busy as ever. As we were walking by, there was one particular establishment that caught my eye. Some of the staff were standing outside, each of them beautiful, young women who were all dressed up in the same frilled uniform and beckoning to potential customers.

In short, it was a maid café.

I felt a sharp tug on my arm as Nakamura dragged me away, the disdainful scorn on her face saying "really?!"

I scratched my cheek awkwardly and averted my gaze, "sorry…"

"If you want to go to a café, then at least choose somewhere a little more … normal. Ah, this place will do. Let's go in there," Nakamura said, pointing towards a small café on the opposite side of the street.

As we walked inside, the door chime rang. The café was fairly small, but it had a welcoming atmosphere. We took a seat at a table by the window. As soon as the two of us sat down, a young waitress, who had been standing behind the counter, came up to greet us.

"Welcome," she said cheerily, placing a menu on the table.

Nakamura and I both ordered, and the waitress bowed and left to get our drinks.

"So tell me," Nakamura started, wanting to break the silence, "what kind of books do you like, any favourite authors?"

"Hmm, let's see," I began listing off the first names that came to mind, "Itou Yusuke, Fujimoto Yumi, Kawaguchi Hina…"

The eyes of the girl sitting across from me lit up after I mentioned that last name.

"Kawaguchi-sensei?! I love her works, they're so good!"

Her reaction caught me by surprise, she was practically leaning forward in her seat.

"You've read her latest work right? It was amazing! I mean, the protagonist was so cool and badass and-"

I watched her go on and on, talking about the book in great detail, and couldn't help but smile.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'm sorry," I apologised. "It's just… you're usually so serious, but now you're acting like a totally different person. I'm having a hard time taking you seriously," I laughed.

"S-shut up," she said, pouting.

After we had finished our drinks and paid the bill, we exited the café. We still had plenty of time left, so we continued walking. We spotted some batting cages nearby, so we decided to stay to play a few rounds. Nakamura hit the ball that was hurtling towards her cleanly. There wasn't much power behind her swings, but her aim was dead on, and the ball flew across the court. Impressed, I stepped up after her, ready to show her what I was made of. I readied my bat and swung hard. But instead of feeling the force of the ball colliding with my bat, I heard a whizz fly past my ear, followed by a clunk as something hit the fence behind me.

I'd missed.

Grumbling, I tried again, adjusting my position slightly, and raising my bat a little higher.

Clunk!

I had missed yet again, and I heard stifled laughter coming from Nakamura's direction. I shot her a dirty look and she waved it off, smiling sheepishly.

"Are you still sulking?"

After we had left the batting cages, we had made our way to the park. I was currently slumped over on a bench, and Nakamura was hovering above me, having just returned from a short trip over to the vending machines.

"I'm not," I sulked.

She chuckled as she handed me a can of soda. "I didn't realise you were such a sore loser," she teased.

"I'm not. I was just...having an off day."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"Well, it's the truth!"

Nakamura smiled as she plopped down on the bench beside me. "You know, I'm glad it worked out well today."

"Hmm?"

"We were able to hang out, as friends, you didn't just shut yourself away like usual. You were a lot calmer today."

Oh right, that had been the reason for today hadn't it? I had almost forgotten that. But she was right, I didn't feel quite as nervous as I had thought I would. If anything, I had enjoyed spending time with her.

"Yeah, I guess so."

I turned to face her. Her eyes were closed, and she was leaning back against the bench.

"Thank you," I added quietly.

Her reaction suggested I had caught her off guard.

"You don't need to thank me. It's really not a big deal."

"It's more than that though," I continued, "you've helped me gain confidence, you're helping me with Iwasaki-san. You're going above and beyond for me. It can't all just be because you wanted to read my stories?"

"It was just that, at first. But you're right, there is more to it than that. I said before that you and Chizuru are a lot alike, but…" she paused, before smiling sheepishly, "I can also see some of myself in you too. We both struggle with letting people in and showing our true selves. And I suppose, the more time I've spent with you, the more I've found myself wanting to cheer you on."

"..."

"That sounded kinda cheesy, huh?"

"No," I said, smiling, "not at all."

"Good, because that wasn't easy for me to admit. So don't expect to hear it again," she retorted, although there was a hint of softness to her voice.