Silent Angel

Chapter 10

The rest of the day went by quickly, as well as most of Friday, besides the fact that Rin wasn't seen at all since our encounter in the library. As I walked out of the final class of the week, I was greeted by an extremely happy Saki.

"Hi Mako-chan!" she said as she hugged me, catching me off guard.

"Oh, hey Saki-chan!" I smiled and hugged her back. Saki let go of me and laughed.

"Did I surprise you?"

"You did, actually." I laughed gently and patted her head. "I'm still so excited for this weekend."

"You should be. Your beautiful girlfriend is staying over with you!" she said in a teasing tone, while pretending to pout.

Over the last few weeks, Saki had come slightly more out of her shell. Her humour changed slightly, and she was a lot less shy. Saki's teasing was like a breath of fresh air.

And the best thing of all?

Saki began to feel more comfortable about her looks. After years of being affected by them, she finally began to accept when people complimented her. As she broke out of her shell, she gained more friends, who started to see her for who she really was, not what she was on the outside. Just thinking about how she changed put a smile on my face.

As we exited the school, snow began to fall gently. It felt too early for something like this, but I always thought of snow as a beautiful sight. Saki held on to my hand and stayed close to me as we walked.

We headed towards Saki's home first, as she needed clothes and other things. We walked down the quiet streets as snow gently flew down all around us.

Saki held out a hand to try and catch the snow. As it touched her hand, it melted almost instantly. "Aww, I wanted to see how pretty it was!"

I laughed and patted her head. "You're such a child."

"Hey! You can't date children!" She smiled cheekily.

"Ah, I guess we're breaking up." I returned the smile.

She burst out laughing. A perfect, beautiful laugh, the laugh of someone who had not a single trouble. I couldn't help but join in.

Saki sighed happily. The ground was almost completely plastered with snow by now. A few minutes later, we arrived at her house. I waited outside as she quickly packed an overnight bag. She ran out, holding a bright blue bag with black stripes on it.

"Saki-chan, would you like me to hold your bag for you?"

"What a gentleman. It's okay, Mako-chan. But thank you."

Saki held my hand with her other free hand, and we walked to my house through the snow.

As we approached, I noticed someone standing at our door. My mum wasn't at home, so nobody could answer. As I approached closer, I realised it was Rin, and she was holding a brightly decorated vanilla cake. But how did she know where I live...?

"Rin-chan! Hey!" Saki called out to her as we approached.

"Hello, Saki-chan and Mako-kun. I.. I just wanted to apologise for yesterday. I did not mean any harm, I was just quite upset. I baked this cake for you both to make up for it." She held the cake out to Saki.

Saki was lost for words. "Rin-chan, that's really sweet, but I can't accept this."

Rin shook her head. "Please. I insist."

Saki sighed and took the cake with her free hand. "Okay." She gently smiled at Rin. "But Rin-chan, I do forgive you."

Rin smiled gently, but I had a question to ask her.