BEST FRIENDS ❨ shirabu kenjiro ❩

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE ∆ A KISS

they were silent for a couple of seconds, shirabu was to shy to speak more and kana...

the copper haired male widened his eyes at the sight in front of him— is kana crying?! why?

"o-oi, why are you crying?" shirabu asked, moving his seat closer to hers,  nervously trying to take kana's hands off of her face. he took his handkerchief and wiped the girl's tears away when she took her hands off of her face, concerned and confused about how kana felt.

"kenjiro..." she muttered, her lower lip trembling which made the male chuckle at how she looked quite like a baby. "why are you laughing at me...?"

"you look like a baby," he replied, shaking his head and playfully covering kana's face with his handkerchief. "why were you even crying? did i say something wrong?"

"it's just that... your words really touched me a lot. it made me really happy that you're really comfortable with me and that your eyes are only trained on me. it reassured me a lot, and it's so nice actually knowing how you feel." kana explained, using the handkerchief to wipe away excess tears.

he was left speechless. it made him all warm and fuzzy inside when he heard how his words actually affected kana. he felt like he was such an important person to her, in the same way that she is to him. it was a truly beautiful feeling when you have someone who will meet you halfway— all is fair and you love each other dearly.

"in that case, then i will start actually speaking out what i truly mean." shirabu replied, a soft smile plastered across his lips as he stared at only kana.

it was safe to say that she is the only one that his eyes will ever look at in the most lovely of ways, and that she is the only person that he will ever smile at in the most sweetest. for kana, he can be whoever he wanted to be, and he can love as much as he wanted to be loved.

"that would be lovely, jiro." kana said, smiling back at him in the same lovely smile that she ever gave him when they first met— although this time it was more intimate, and much more filled with love.

"you gave me a new nickname."

"w-well... i wanted to call you something that only i can call you, so..."

"then perhaps you would want to call me your boyfriend?"

thump.

thump.

silence filled their table as both teens blushed at what shirabu kenjiro just uttered— something that kana never truly expected for him to say at that moment. if anything, even the second year male was surprised with how much braver he was with kana. if the two third years did not even give him the talk, he will probably stay crushing madly on her in secret.

if he were to choose between liking kana in secret and actually being able to express himself right in front of her, it was no doubt that he will choose to adore her freely. although it was such a very nerve-wracking step for him to actually admit how he feels, he was glad that he stepped out of his comfort zone which got them where they are right now.

"i... if you're okay with me, then... i suppose it's okay if you call me your girlfriend, too."

the guy wanted to cover his whole face with how warm it was— he wanted to jump around and slap himself so as to have himself woken up. not that he ever wanted to wake up anyway, if staying in this dream meant having kana as his girlfriend. it was such a shock to him that she would actually like him back, in the same way that it was a shock to her that her best friend actually reciprocates her long and supposedly unrequited love.

if she were to compare it to the mangas that she used to read back then, she would have just a couple of words in mind that relates to their situation— slow burn, oblivious, and special. all of it seemed to describe how their story unfolded, and how special it was to them. after all, they had each other's backs even before deciding that they actually liked each other in some way that was not platonic.

"are you being serious right now? kana, if you're kidding around, you'd better-"

before he could even finish his sentence, he was surprised when he felt something soft that came in contact with the corner of his lips.

something soft.

something...

my first kiss?!

"hah?!"

"sorry! you were just blabbering a lot and i didn't know how to shut you up..."

"kana... you're messing with my thoughts, what the-"

"would you like another kiss?"

shirabu kenjiro, although wanting to talk more, stayed silent immediately. he was way too embarrassed and his heart was beating way too fast for all of kana's shenanigans.

"maybe another time."

oh, did kana want to melt on the ground out of embarrassment— although being the first to tease. only when she fell silent did she realize something,

hold on... that was also my first kiss!