Sunoo walks to our table with the drinks he ordered for us.
"Thank you, Sunoo! You didn't have to pay for it all by yourself though," I tell him.
"It's alright! I did ask you to come out with me so I feel like I should be the one to pay for you," he says and smiles brightly.
All of a sudden, Sunoo gets quiet and we share some awkward looks.
"Sunoo... are you... okay?" I ask him. His eyes dart up at me and he stutters for a second before telling me that he's okay. "Sunoo, you know you can talk to me, right?" He sighs and looks down at his hands. I have a feeling that he still feels weird about me and Ni-ki. "Sunoo... do you need to talk about it?"
He looks up at me. "Are you sure it won't make you feel uncomfortable?" He asks me. Sunoo is always so considerate of me and my feelings, which is my favorite thing about him.
"No, it won't. I want you to tell me. I am your best friend, you know. I'm here for you whenever you need it," I tell him and he lets out a small smile before talking.
Sunoo explains everything to me, from the first day we met and became friends to the moment he realized his crush, to when Ni-ki and I started dating. It made me remember lots of little moments that were significant to him, but that I forgot.
For example, when I gave him an extra 50 cents to get a drink when he needed it, and when I let him stay over at my house the night his parents got into an argument. The biggest one was the time when we were in like 5th grade and this kid was bullying him and I stood up for him.
"Sunoo, I didn't know it was going on for this long. I wish you would've told me this earlier and maybe... maybe it would've all been different," I say and take a sip of my drink. "But we're still friends now, so it's okay. Let's enjoy our time together now," I smile and it brings his mood back up, making Sunoo smile back at me.
We talk for a while longer and Sunoo gets a text from his mom telling him to come home, so he has to leave earlier than he expected. I walk home myself and decide to stop by Ni-ki's house since I have a little bit of extra time before I have to be home.
I ring the doorbell and it's only about thirty seconds until someone opens the door.
"Hi, Hana!" Sola says and waves at me. I say hi back and she turns around and yells, "Hana's here!" into the house. "Come on in, Hana!" She says and steps out of the way, allowing me to walk in. I step in and put on the slippers they have by the door and follow Sola to the living room.
"Ni-ki's up in his room, if you're looking for him," Konon says, looking up at me for only a second before she continues texting on her phone.
"You can go up there, Hana. I think he's just doing homework," Mrs. Nishimura says as she comes out of the kitchen and sits on the couch.
"It's the last door on the right." She says and smiles to me.
"Okay, thank you," I say and follow her instructions to get to Ni-ki's room. I reach the door at the end of the hallway and I hear music playing. I knock on the door and the music stops. He opens the door and smiles when he sees me.
"Hana!! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Sunoo?" He asks me.
"He had to go home early. So I thought I would stop by your house before going home," I tell him and he grabs my hand and drags me into his bedroom.
"I'll show you around my room since you're here," he says. "There's nothing super special, but it's my comfort place." Ni-ki shows me to his "gaming station" where he has a gaming console and some games that he says he plays from time to time. He shows me his comics, which is something I didn't know he liked. He told me that I can borrow any of them if I would like to. And he showed me the school work that he was working on.
"I'll put my homework up for now, so we can spend time together," he smiles again and closes his binder, putting it back into his bag. "Here, sit," he says and clears his bed for us to sit down.
"What do you want to do, since you're here?" He asks me, still holding my hand from when we walked in.
"Just sit here with you. We can... watch a movie," I suggest.
"Sure, let me get the remote and we'll find something," he says. We lean against the headboard of his bed and look through the movies we can watch. Finally, Ni-ki decides on a scary movie.
"Ni-ki, can we watch something else? I don't like scary movies," I tell him and he looks to me.
"It'll be okay, Hana. I'm here," he says and smiles.
"But... can we watch it another day, I just feel like watching something happy," I say and he agrees and switches to a different movie.
As we're watching it, Ni-ki's mom knocks on the door and opens it, holding a tray of snacks.
"I figured you guys may be hungry before dinnertime. I got you some chopped up vegetables and fruits," she says and sets it at the end of the bed.
"Thank you, Mom," Ni-ki says.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Nishimura," I also say.
"You're welcome. Are you planning on staying for dinner too, Hana?" She asks me with a welcoming smile on her face.
"Sorry, but I have to eat dinner at home tonight. I have some things to do before school tomorrow and my mom wants me home earlier tonight," I say politely.
"That's all right then. Thank you for coming over for a little while. You can enjoy the snacks before you go home," she says and leaves again.
"What time do you have to be home?" Ni-ki asks.
I look at my phone to see the time and realize I have 45 minutes left.
"I probably have to leave in about 30 minutes," I tell him and he nods and continues the movie. I feel myself drift off a few times, but I wake up when my head touches his shoulder. I hope it wasn't too obvious.
30 minutes later, we turn the movie off and leave Ni-ki's room.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ni-ki," I say and open the front door. I hear shuffling behind me and I see Ni-ki putting his shoes on.
"What are you doing?" I ask Ni-ki.
"I'm walking you home like usual. I don't like thinking about you walking home alone," he says.
"Ni-ki, I walked home alone for years before you started walking me home. I'll be okay," I reassure him.
"Still, I want to walk you home," he holds my hands and gets closer to me. His chest pushes up against my body and I give in.
"Ok," I say and he smiles victoriously.
"Mom, I'm walking Hana home! I'll be back in about 15 minutes!" He yells and Mrs. Nishimura responds immediately.
"Okay, be safe!" She says and we leave.
It goes the same way as earlier, holding hands as we walk and we kiss when we reach my porch.
"Bye Ni-ki," I let go of his hand and reach for the door handle.
"Wait, don't go yet," he says and wraps his arms around my body. His face digs into my neck and I feel very safe in his arms.
I pull away again and he kisses me unexpectedly a second time.
"I..." I say with red cheeks.
"Thank you for liking me, Hana," he says and smiles. "Bye," he says and blushes. He turns around and leaves and I watch him walk away and wait for myself to stop blushing.
Once I feel somewhat normal again, I walk in my house and expect to see Jay sitting by the window, but he's not there. I smell the food my mom's cooking for dinner and I get excited to eat.
"Mom, I'm back!" I yell, walking into the kitchen. I see her leaning on the counter and talking to someone on the phone.
I can't make put what she's saying because she's whispering. When I walk up to her, she hears me and hangs up the phone.
"Hey, Hana. How was your afternoon?" She asks me, more smiley than usual.
"It was... good. Who were you talking to on the phone a minute ago?" I ask her.
"Nobody, just one of my friends. It's not a big deal. Just go get ready for dinner," she says and gives me a side hug.
It is kinda weird that she was talking to someone that quietly, but I probably shouldn't meddle in her business. So I just listen to her and go upstairs and get ready for dinner.
(A/N : Sorry for taking so long to update but I hope you enjoy this chapter and all the upcoming ones! As always, have a nice day and take care of yourself! Bye! <3 )