Closer To You

It seemed like the buzz of the culture festival was still enduring days after it had ended. Everyone seemed to still be riding on the highs they had felt. That went the same for Shinohara, who was practically hopping into the classroom that morning. Though it didn't actually seem all that different from his usual bravado.

“Mornin’ Ren! How are you this fine day?”

“Oh, good morning. Y-yeah, I'm doing okay.”

“Better than okay from what I've noticed. Iwasaki-chan seemed really grateful for what you did for her during the performance, ya know? Things seemed to be going pretty smoothly between you two.”

This got Nakamura’s attention, who had been hovering nearby.

“Will you keep it down,” she reprimanded him, “we don't need anyone else overhearing you.”

“Ah, my bad,” he grinned unabashedly, “though I'm sure people are already talking anyway, you weren't exactly subtle.”

Nakamura sighed, “that may be so, but Chizuru still isn't aware of it. I'd like to keep it that way until Tachibana-kun is ready to tell her how he feels.”

“How about it,” Shinohara said, turning back to me, “any plans to confess soon?”

“Woah, woah. I am so not ready for that yet! I-its fine to just take these things slow…” I trailed off.

“Best to get it over with soon. Christmas is only a few weeks away, remember. I'd bet it'd make for a pretty romantic evening for a newly formed couple,” he winked.

“Knock it off,” I said, pushing him back playfully.

The three of us met up with Iwasaki and Inaba at lunch. They were already seated and eating when we found them.

“Hey guys,” Inaba greeted as we sat down to join them, “I was just mentioning to Iwasaki-san that maybe we should do a little something to celebrate the successful performance.”

“What did you have in mind?” Nakamura asked.

“Just a small party in the clubroom, or something like that.”

Shinohara's eyes lit up, “that's a great idea! Man, I'm already pumped up for it.”

“Great, I'm glad to hear you're all on board. Now then, we are going to need to buy some supplies for it. Iwasaki-san, would you take care of that?”

“Oh, sure.”

“Would you mind going with her, Tachibana-san? It may be too much for one person alone to carry.”

“Er, yeah. I suppose I could.”

I looked over towards Iwasaki, but she didn't seem too thrilled by this arrangement.

“S-senpai?” Iwasaki countered, leaning over the table towards Inaba.

“What? I have a bunch of stuff to do already, and I don't trust Shinohara to be able to handle this properly.”

“Hey!” Shinohara protested, his mouth still half full of food.

Inaba continued as if she hadn't heard him.

“I’d feel a lot better if two of you were on this.”

“What about Aya-chan?” Iwasaki gestured towards Nakamura.

“Ah, no. I'm going to have to pass as well,” she smiled back awkwardly.

Iwasaki finally gave in and agreed to go with me, though she still didn't look comfortable with this. Why was Inaba pushing it so hard? What was going on between the two of them today? I felt like I was missing some important context.

I pulled Nakamura to the side once we had split from the others. I felt like she'd be able to fill me in on whatever it was that I was missing. Her reaction wasn't exactly what I was expecting, she was acting as if she already knew what I wanted to ask.

“I know you're probably getting all worked up over this, but try to not overthink it.”

“Um, what are we talking about?” I cocked my head to the side.

“What are we..? Wow, you're so dense sometimes,” she groaned, “didn't you read the room at all?”

“Yeah, I noticed something was off with them. I was going to ask you about it.”

She stared at me incredulously.

“Oh, I give up,” she said, rubbing her temples, “look, you two are gonna be alone together, yes?

“Yeah…?”

“Then isn't this basically a date?”

I blinked absentmindedly, until what she had just said started to sink in.

“HUH!?!”

***

After school had ended, I waited by the entrance for Iwasaki. I didn't have to wait too long for her to appear with her bag slung over her shoulder. There was a chill in the air that afternoon, so she had thrown on her cream-coloured coat and was wrapped up in a red tartan scarf too.

“H-hey,” she waved my way.

“Should we get going?” I scratched my cheek, trying to appear nonchalant, though a thousand different thoughts were currently running through my head.

“Sure, okay.”

As we made our way towards the town centre, I stole a glance at her. She was looking off to the side as we walked, almost as if she was trying to pretend I wasn't there. I wondered if she was as nervous about this whole situation as I was.

Dammit, Nakamura! Why did you have to go putting these thoughts in my head? Argh!

“S-so what kinds of things are we going to need?” I asked, trying to break the tension.

“Hmm,” she thought, “probably some decorations, some party poppers too, I guess. Oh, and food!”

“Like a cake, maybe?”

She nodded, with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Exactly! We totally need to get a cake.”

“You've got quite the sweet tooth, huh?” I laughed.

She puffed out her cheeks and pouted, “hey, no fair. No teasing!”

“I'm not, I'm not,” I waved my hands reassuringly.

When we reached the shopping district, we entered a store on the left of the street that would sell the things that we needed. Iwasaki was acting like an excited puppy as she bounced from one shelf to the next, pointing out everything that caught her eye. We grabbed a pack of balloons and party poppers, as well as a banner that read “celebrations”. It was quite a sizeable amount by the time that Iwasaki was satisfied. I was seriously starting to doubt whether the club's budget was even going to cover it. Once we had paid, we made our way over to the bakery next. When we passed by the window, Iwasaki's eyes were practically glistening at the sight. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to feel hungry myself.

Anyone would be when faced with all of these colourful treats on display.

After a long deliberation, we both decided on a towering chocolate cake layered with cream. Hopefully, it would suit everyone's tastes. Once the cake was boxed up, we were just about ready to start heading back.

“Ah, it looks so good,” Iwasaki lamented, “I wish I could eat it now.”

“How about we buy a little something for ourselves too?”

“Oh, let's!”

Iwasaki ordered a strawberry crêpe, and I wasn't too fussed so settled on the same. We thanked the vendor and left the store.

“Oh, it's so good,” Iwasaki gushed as she took a bite from her crêpe.

I followed her lead and started eating my own. She was totally right, it was so sweet and delicious!

“Oh, you've got a little…” she pointed to my cheek.

I hastily rubbed my face with my free hand.

“Nope, still there,” she giggled, “here, let me.”

She stepped forward and used her thumb to brush away the cream that was on my face. Her touch was soft and gentle, and I felt my face heat up. I was painfully aware of how little distance was currently between us. She held in place for what felt like an eternity, just gazing up at me with those big eyes of hers. I wondered if her heart was beating as fast as mine was.

“Oh…no, I didn't mean…” she suddenly came to her senses and leapt back, flustered.

“Uh…oh, no. It's fine. Thanks…. Um, for helping me…”

Neither of us could look directly at the other, like we had just been caught doing something shameful.

“M-maybe we should start heading back,” I suggested.

“Mhm, r-right.”

The walk back was silent, neither of us quite sure what to say to the other. It was almost a relief when we had arrived at my place, even though it meant we would be parting ways. Just as I was about to go through the front door, Iwasaki spoke up.

“Um, T-Tachi-kun. Before you go, can we…?”

“Hmm?”

“Sorry, I-it's kind of embarrassing…” She buried her face in her hands.

“That’s okay. What is it?”

She took a deep breath before continuing, “I was thinking, i-in case we ever need to do this again, so we can coordinate with each other… m-maybe we should exchange numbers. Uh, only if you wanted to, that is…”

I was taken aback by her suggestion. Whatever I had expected her to say, it certainly wasn't that.

“Y-YES!” I blurted out a little too quickly.

“O-oh, great,” she grinned awkwardly.

I handed her my phone with my details open on the screen. She copied them into her own phone, and a second later I heard a ping coming from mine. I opened up the most recent message to see that Iwasaki had sent me a smiley face.

“Well, um, I guess I shall see you again tomorrow,” Iwasaki beamed as she bid goodbye.

I waved her off, and stepped inside. As the door clicked shut, I exhaled deeply. This had to have been a dream, right? There was no way that things could be going this perfectly. I pulled out my phone again and stared at the message she had sent, as if trying to convince myself that this was all real.