You blink a few times, staring at her. "If you keep insisting.. we can go to my place."
"Good. Lead me." She says, standing up and grabbing your hand.
"Y-Yoru! I don't need your help, really! I'm perfectly fine on my own!" Asa pleads in Yoru's ear.
No. You definitely do.
"You don't even know how to interact with people, let alone romantically!!!" She yells, beginning to get angry.
Another girl in our class has been reading romance manga. I also studied the movie you both watched. I'm confident in my abilities.
"This is real life! It's not a stupid movie or manga, idiot!"
Be quiet, Asa!
"HELL NO! GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!"
FINE!
Asa's grip on your hand tightens as you two walk. "Are you sure you don't wanna stay at the park for a little longer? I thought I saw some ducks back there.." You mention. "Ducks? There's ducks??" She says, looking behind you two. "We can go look at them before we go to my place if you want."
"Only because I've never seen ducks, though."
You both turn around and walk to one of the bigger ponds, and you spot a few ducks gathered together, flapping their wings at each other. "Aww, they're so cute!" Asa says and starts to approach one. "Asa, don't get too close to one!" You yell out of worry. "I won't, I just wanna get a better look at them!" She says quietly.
The ducks snap their heads at Asa, silently staring at her. One begins to approach her, tilting its head back and forth. "Uh.. Asa.."
She puts her hand out slowly as the duck continues to approach her. It stops in front of her hand, looking down at it and back up at her.
"H-Hey.. can I pet you..?" She says and kneels down. She gently places her hand on the back of its neck and starts to scratch it. The duck flaps its wings a little but lets her pet it.
The other ducks approach her, and she start petting all of them. You laugh a bit, starting to walk over. "Yo, just don't touch your face or anything. You don't really know where the ducks have been." You say, now standing next to her.
"I figured that, don't worry!" She says with a smile. One of the ducks gets in the way of another, and she starts petting that duck. All of a sudden, all the other ducks are trying to be pet at the same time.
One of them pecks her arm, and she yelps. "Ow! Hey- AH!"
You quickly pick her up under her arms, and you both start running from the angry ducks. Why are they even angry?!
"EEEK! THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!" She yells, looking behind the army of ducks waddling after you two.
QUACK, QUACK, QUACK QUACK, QUACK!
The ducks are surprisingly fast. One of them is trying to jump onto her! Uh oh!
You run faster, realizing she can't keep up with you as she's already getting out of breath. "Asa! Hop on my back!" You yell, bending over while running a little bit. She does without hesitation, and she wraps herself around you.
You hold onto her thighs and put some distance between you and the ducks. The hold she has on you tightens, but she makes sure not to choke you. Their quacks get quieter and eventually stop.
You reach the gate and put her down, hunching over to catch your breath. She looks behind her and sees the ducks waddling on back.
You stand up and stretch, letting out a big sigh. "I didn't think I'd be running from ducks today."
"Sorry.. I didn't know they'd just snap at me.." She mumbles. You can tell by the look on her face that she feels guilty.
"Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault, Asa." You say, kissing her cheek and placing your hand on her back. "Let's just go to my place, 'kay?" Her face turns red. She begins to walk with you, remaining silent.
"Hey! Chicken girl! What's up?!" You hear a girl yell from behind. You hear two other girls laughing.
Asa remains silent, and you look over your shoulder. You know them, they're from your class.
One of them places their hand on your shoulder. "Heeey, Y/N, why are you with chicken girl?" The girl says.
"Why are you in my business?"
"Just wondering why you're hanging out with a loser."
The other two are standing beside Asa, quietly giggling. Asa stares down at her shoes, quiet as a mouse.
You look around, not seeing really anybody on the streets.
You grab her wrist and throw her hand off your shoulder.
"What's your deal? She didn't do anything wrong. It was just a mistake." You tell her.
"We'd still have Bucky if it weren't for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she went vegan after-"
Blood gushes out of her nose, and she falls onto the ground. The other two girls gasp. Asa whips her head around and sees you wiping blood off your knuckles.
You kneel down next to the girl and get in her face. "When you get home, take a look in the mirror and decide who's the bigger loser, asshole. Don't pick on her 'cuz you didn't wanna kill a fucking devil."
You stand up and push the other two girls. They stumble back and hit the gate, catching themselves. You grab Asa and pull her away, continuing to walk down the sidewalk.
After a couple minutes of silence, she spoke. "Why did you do that?"
"You need to stand up for yourself. They're not gonna stop 'till you do something about it."
"I can solve my problems on my own.."
"Then tell me how you'll solve it."
She goes quiet and stops walking. "Do you not think I can?" She says, becoming a little offended. You stop and turn around. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have told you to stand up for yourself." You reply.
"..Then tell me how. Preferably without hurting anyone, though.. that was a little mean." She says and starts walking again. You trail beside her and sigh. "Well, with brats like that, it's not as if you can talk to them. You gotta show them that their actions have consequences."
"But.. I don't know how."
"If you can't do that, then you could just stop giving a reaction. They're doing that just to see you hurt."
"Oh.. well, I guess that makes sense. I can try."
"If it ever gets physical, just let me know. I'll help."
"..Thank you."
You reach your apartment door, and you sigh. The door creaks open and leads to a small entrance. There's three rooms.
You kick your shoes off, and she does the same. You take the box from her and place it on a table. She follows you into your room. It's a pretty basic bedroom. A bed, a TV propped up on a desk filled with notebooks, and a small dresser.
You sit on your bed. "Well? Like it?" You ask. "I like it a lot, actually. What are all these notebooks?" She says, standing next to them as she reads a bit of what's written. You jump up and shut them. You glance at her and slide them away. "Uhh.. n-nothing."
She turns her head a bit and raises an eyebrow. She begins to open her mouth and then stops. Her face forms a smile. "It's not lovey stuff, is it?"
"N-No!"
"Let me see! I'm curious!"
"HELL NO!" You yell, pushing the notebooks further away. She lets out a disappointed sigh and looks at your window. She remembers what happened.
"Oh, yeah.." She points at the window. "How'd you.. y'know.. fall from that height?"
You go quiet and look at the window, and back at her.
"Oh, well, I figured I'd be fine."
"YOU DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD BE?!"
"N-No, I did! I'd fallen much higher before, and I survived. So.. I thought I would that time, too." You sit on the bed and look down.
She sits beside you. "How'd you even fall from that height in the first place?"
"..."
"I don't wanna talk about it."
...Oh.
"You don't have to, then." She says and stands up. "Can you show me where the bathroom is so I can wash my hands?"
"Oh.. yeah." You say, getting up and leading her. She closes the door, and the sink turns on.
After a minute, she opens the door and immediately hugs you. You stumble a little, but gain your balance. You hug back.
She looks at you and places her hand on your cheek. Her touch is cold, but the rest of her body is so warm. Your face warms her hand as you begin to blush.
"Even though it's just for a project, you've spent so much time with me. Why? Do you care about the grade that much?" She asks, looking into your eyes.
"Honestly, no. I just thought you were cool."
"I think you're cool, too."
"I'm definitely cooler than you."
"Shut up, Y/N."
You pull her back in and hug her tight, swinging her side to side gently. She giggles, and you let go. "I'll let you read what I wrote if you don't make fun of me." You say, making her promise. "Yeah, yeah, I'll try not to." She says and walks to your room.
She picks up one of the notebooks and sits down. As she reads through it, she can't contain her smile. You sit down next to her and read with her. "These are such cute poems. I love them!" She exclaims and stops reading when she sees one of the titles. "Countdown to D-Day? What's that?"
"It's a poem about a dream I had. It felt like the dream lasted months, I was crying when I woke up from it." You say and flip the page. "I'd prefer you not read that one."
She looks at you and back at the page. "Well, okay.. these are so corny!" Asa says, changing the subject. "Hey! I said to not make fun of me!" You shove her. She shoves back and laughs. "Sorry, sorry, it wasn't meant to be an insult." You narrow your eyes at her and look back at the pages.
She comes across a rather specific poem and begins to read it. "Oooh, who's this about?" She points at the poem. You immediately shut the notebook and snatch it from her. "Okay, okay, you've read enough."
"Huh?! Who's it about!"
"None of your business!"
"Oh, don't be like that! Tell me!"
"Nngghhh.. no!"
"Why!"
"IT'S EMBARRASSING!"
She stays silent and stares at you.
"Is it me?"
"H-huh?! N-NO!"
"It was a joke! I wasn't for real!"
You playfully smack her thigh. "It um.. wasn't, but, I do have to write one about you soon, so maybe it will be!" You yell, flopping onto your bed and pulling her down with.
She blushes and looks at you. "That one was all lovey, though!"
"So?"
"So..?"
Okay, maybe you're right, Yoru, it seems she does feel that way.. right? I'm not jumping to conclusions, right?
"Idiot."
Answer!
"You're an idiot."
You're no help!
You pull her close to you, snuggling up to her. She can feel a smile forming on your face.
"Y/N.. I have a question.." She whispers, hugging back.
"What is it?"
"D-Do.. uhm.."
EEEEEK! THIS IS SO HARD! YORU, SAY IT FOR ME!
"Oh, I thought you didn't need my help."
AGH! FINE!
"You gonna ask?"
"I just.. I just wanted to know, like.."
"..."
"D-Do you.. do you like me?"
"Mhm."
"HUH?!"
W-WHY IS SHE SO DIRECT?!
"What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing.. I-I just.."
You back your head up and turn hers towards you. You place your hand on her cheek, leaning a little closer.
Your eyes soften and your lips begin to part. Her gaze travels down your face and she watches you inch closer and closer. You can feel her pulling your hip closer to hers.
As you close your eyes, your lips press against hers. While you two kiss, you can feel her legs moving around. You slide your leg in between her thighs. Her legs wrap around it. You drag your hand down to her waist and hold her.
After the kiss breaks, you open your eyes and see how red she is. She opens her mouth to speak, but only a small squeak followed by a whimper comes out.
She takes a deep breath.
"I.. I like you, too."
"I know, idiot."