"Hey, do you have anyone that you like?" She asked while pushing the stray strands of her brown hair behind her ears. Her top button was undone, leaving her collarbone exposed. With a radiant smile, it seemed like she was enjoying herself while asking the typical high school question to her friends.
"I have one, but he's already taken" upon saying those words, Slyph's shoulder dropped a little and she had a sad smile on her face. Her two friends patted her back, consoling her. Gradually, she recovered from her depressed state and acted as if nothing happened.
"What about you Shiro?"
Shiro froze, cold sweat droplets started forming on her forehead as she let out an awkward laugh.
Avoiding the question is out of the question. Wait, that's a good pun actually. She thought to herself but it accidentally leaked out as a soft whisper.
"Now now, don't mess with us Shiro"
"Yeah! Tell us who you're crushing on!"
Her friends, Alice and Slyph teased her while pinching her cheeks.
"Ow ow ow owww!" She slapped both of their hands and started rubbing her red puffy cheeks. Shiro quickly took revenge by pinching their cheeks with one hand each. The three of them started chuckling away at how silly they were.
"What's up with us, pinching each other?" they said in unison before forming a smile. Even though it seemed like her friends forgot about that topic, they didn't. After calming down a bit, Alice's eyes lit up as she asked the same question with a mischevious smile.
"Soooo Shiro, care to tell us your crush now?" she gripped firmly onto Shiro's shoulder. Tensing up, she gave in, knowing that they probably weren't going to let her go until she answers. Softly, she slowly spoke in a volume only the two girls could hear.
"I.. I like.. Kadota from our class" she felt her ears burning up as the words left her word.
"Ohhhhh!!" Slyph and Alice let out a victorious battle cry as they had successfully gotten an answer out of Shiro.
"Shhh!! Guys.. not so loud.." it was a failed attempt at trying to shush them. She knew that her friends would not do something bad with this new found information, but she had her suspicion that they might try to plot a scheme to get Kadota to notice her.
Although it sounded easy, it was actually hard to actually make it happen. Blood would often rush to her brain and face when he got near. This made her unable to think or hold a proper conversation, heart beating fast and loud, afraid he might actually be able to hear it. Because of this, she hasn't managed to even greet him.
There were a few times she almost greeted him, but somehow she blanked out and the only word floating in her mind was "FUCK". She also almost bit her tongue as she opened her mouth to speak.
Afraid of failure, Shiro has never tried to make Kadota notice her. She was scared of the possibility of her pushing her luck too far and being unable to ever become friends if things became awkward after she confesses.
"Let's just be friends, okay?" She didn't want to hear this reply as she knew that it'd usually mean the complete opposite. Kadota would probably avoid her as much as possible as he was too kind and would think he had hurt her. She didn't want to make him feel guilty for rejecting her.
It can't be helped if he didn't feel the same way as her. Shiro convinced herself that she would be alright just being a minor character, supporting him, it was alright just existing and not affecting the main character in any way.
"Hey Shiro, we need to make plans to get you with Kadota!" Alice shouted as she slammed her palm on the table. Slyph nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Shiro wanted to refuse but the both of them gave their best puppy eyes look. A sigh escaped from her mouth as she relented and nodded her head, knowing that any attempts to go against them would be futile.
It's going to be a really long plan, preempting herself, knowing the plan or plans was going to be a pain in the ass.
Plan 1: Start a conversation
"So Shiro, as for your first task. I want you to study about boys", Slyph said as she stood up confidently.
"Does it have any benefits to be honest?" Shiro mumbled as she twirled the stray strands of hair that managed to fall on her face, again. Clearly showing signs of disinterest, Slyph and Alice started doubting themselves realized how stupid their first plan sounded.
"Urgh, okay fine. We just want you to try and start a conversation with him!",Alice raised her toned a little bit. Giving up, she faced Alice with a deadpan face.
"Hello, how are you doing?" surprisingly, she didn't stutter nor bit her tongue.
"Can I ask you about your hobbies?" again with those flawless actions. Alice and Slyph were shocked because they didn't expect her to be like this.
"I like you, can you go out with me?" she confessed like it was nothing. She didn't show any signs of shyness nor act like a coward.
To actually described her in her state right now, she's more like...
"What are you, a robot in training?", Slyph cant help herself after seeing how critical her friend was in her communication skills. She didn't show any interest in her talks whatsoever. Her voice sounds like some kind of robotic voice that you can find online.
Slyph and Alice thought that Shiro is an excellent talker because of her personality in class. Shiro usually acted like a mannered girl and always keep her composure. She also had a cute side but they didn't know she had a computer side underneath her.
Its actually surprising how boring can she be. Especially if she acts like this, they sure Kadota will not notice her and can only see her as a weird girl. Alice was struggling, thinking about something that could help Shiro. Slyph, on the other hand, was sighing loudly and putting her right hand on her face trying swallowed the facts that Shiro was more hopeless than she thought.
Alice suddenly stood up. She looked at Shiro with a face that said "You're doom my friend" before she took out her phone. Her fingers were dancing on the screen as she trying to open something.
"Okay here is my new plan. I want you to try and start a conversation with Kadota!" she shoved her phone to Shiro's face. Shiro unconsciously slapped it away and it fell onto Slyph's lap. Slyph took a look at the screen before she quickly handed the phone to Shiro.
"Whats up with you guys" Shiro took the phone and was about to give it back to Alice but the voices that came out from it made she froze.
"Hello, Shiro you there? Alice said you have something to tell me" without any doubt that was Kadota's voice. Shiro mind went completely blank. She faced both Alice and Slyph while covering the microphone.
"What the heck" of course it was Shiro who said that.
"Just ask him when he's free. Invite him on a date!" Alice shows a thumbs up and Slyph just sitting behind her, nodding eagerly, again.
"Hello, anyone there? Shiro took a deep breath and answered the call.
"H-Hey K-Kadota. Do.. do? DO you know who I-I I Am?!" she timidly asked. Her chest was going up and down and her feet were slowly shaking. Her heartbeat was beyond the chart and she couldn't hold a proper conversation anymore.
"Oh, there you are Shiro. So, what do you want to talk about" Shiro was lost in her thought? The soothing voice of Kadota's was like a melody to her ears. So this is what it feels like when you fall in love, Shiro thought silently.
"So hu urm.. Ah. Kadota, do . I erm, do you have any plans urm, wait ahhhh tomorrow?" she stuttered every single word that she spoke. Alice and Slyph snickered on her antics. Shiro gave them a dead glare which could make a grown-up man felt threatened.
Both of them responded with a smile before going down on all four. Shiro gave them a nod and thumbs up before moving her attention to the phone again.
"I think I am free tomorrow, why is that?" she celebrates her small victory with her right hand on the air and having a wide smile from ear to ear. Shiro cleared her throat before she asked Kadota the most life-threatening question in her life.
"Urm, Kadota. Do you want to join m-m-m me to a brand new café that everyone is talking about?" she waited anxiously for his answer. It felt like an eternity, every second made her more and more nervous. She doesn't know what to do if Kadota said no but at least she tried.
"Sure, I will meet you there at 11 a.m.", Kadota agreed to join her at the café. Shiro felt happiness started to fill up her body. Words can't express how happy and eager she was for tomorrow.
"Thank you, meet you there Kadota" she ended the call and gave the phone to Alice again. For now, she wanted to go home so she could prepare for tomorrow. Before she can even walk, both Alice and Slyph held her hands which made her unable to leave.
"Guys, I need to go!", her tone was very happy but menacing at the same time which made both of them shivered. Still, that doesn't mean the will give up that easily. They dragged Alice to a shopping district.
Shiro just lets out complaints and bad words as they were walking without any sign of stopping. After a few minutes of walking aimlessly, they finally went inside a clothing store.
"This is the second plan, we will call it.... Preparation" Alice said with a big smile on her face.
Plan 2: Preparation
"Maybe this one, what do you think Shiro?" Alice shoved a newly arrived dress to her face. The dress was decorated with some flower patterns and the color suit Shiro's body very well. The price was also aren't that high. It's a little bit over 100 USD but she thought that it's a good choice.
"Yeah, that looks nice" Slyph agreed with Alice opinion. They had been in this store for around 2 hours already. Every time Shiro picked a dress, Alice and Slyph will always say something like "That didn't look good" or "it doesn't suit you" and etc.
Sometimes, she even wondered if her opinion was being considered or not. She knew her friends wanted the best for her but its really tiring to keep up with them. She was about to give up and went home before something caught her eyes.
A dress with a nice aqua blue color was hanging on the shelf. The long sleeves dress was decorated with some ergonomic patterns and have some nice touches like side pockets, firm but comfortable cotton and the price was around 70 USD.
Shiro took the dress and tried it out in a dressing room. The dress fit her perfectly and it looks good on her. she asked both Alice and Slyph for their opinions and both of them agreed with her.
"But I think it doesn't look cute enough"
"Yeah, cute is justice" with their usual hyper personality, all Shiro could do was rolled her eyes and ignored them completely. She asked to store clerk to wrap the dress before she paid for it. Later, they went to a parfait store and ordered bubble tea with a chocolate banana parfait.
"Shu Good" Shiro took a bite of the parfait and was greeted with a delightful taste of the creamy chocolate sauce with the banana wrapped around a pastry. She ate the dessert while sometimes let out a cute squeal while enjoying the food.
As the sun goes down, Shiro excused herself and went home as quickly as possible. She knew tomorrow gonna be a long day for her. Sigh, it's still a pain in the ass.
The second day came in quick. Shiro was sleeping soundly on the bed before the sunlight made it ways through the curtain and pierced her eyes with the UV light.
"Mah eyes!" she screams, waking up the others. Rubbing her eyes for a while, she then went to the bathroom and took a bath. She let her body in the water and relaxed her sore muscles.
"That's hit the spots!" her hands stretched out and her body was in happy mode. She grabbed a shampoo and washed her hair and rinse it after a few minutes. Of course, she didn't forget to wash her body too.
She rinsed her body and applied a moisturizer and soap to it. She then rinsed her body again and wrapped herself with a towel before going to her room. The dress that she bought yesterday was already on her bed so she just put it on and went down for breakfast.
"I still have an hour before 11... I guess I will call Alice then" her fingers dance around the screen before she tapped Alice' phone number. Alice quickly picked up the call and started rambling random things.
"Hey Shiro, are you have done yet? You still have an hour before the date so you should practice a little bit. Don't worry if Kadota rejects you, we will still be there if you need someone to talk to. About that, try not to make fun of yourself because it will make you less appealing..."
"Yeah, yeah. I am fine. I just want to say thank you for your helps yesterday and don't worry, I will not make anything weird. Okay, MOM?"
"Hahaha, does I sound like your mom. I guess I shouldn't be that worry"
"Yeah, you should. I am the same age as you!"
"Okay, fine. I hope the best for you bye!"
"Thank you, bye!"
Shiro ended the call and took a look at the clock.
10.45, she thought she should get going because she didn't want Kadota to wait for her. she said her farewell to her mom before putting on her shoes. She grabbed her bag and went to the café. After 10 minutes of walking, she arrived in front of the café.
She looks around for Kadota but didn't see him there yet. She guessed she was a little bit early on the schedule but didn't mind it that much. She put on her earphone and played some music while waiting for him.
She played the song "I Like Me Better" by Lauv. She then proceeded to sing along the lyrics and enjoyed herself a little bit.
"I Like Me Better When I am with you
Ohh~
I know from the first time
I'd stay for a long time 'cause
I like me better when
I like me better when I'm with you" she was too absorbed in her own little concert that she didn't notice Kadota smiling broadly behind her.
"Hey, finish your concert already? How about we go to the café now. My friends said there are some tasty treats that you can get if you come early" Kadota stretched out his hand to Shiro which she responded with a burning face.
"Su-sure" Shiro cursed herself. Both of them went to the café and pick a table with two seats. They were about to order something but Shiro spotted a couple discount for the treats.
"Can I have.."
"Could we have the couple sets please, with more chocolate!" Shiro cut off Kadota and ordered the couple sets. Kadota could just widen his eyes as he didn't know how to react. Shiro was bewildered when Kadota suddenly being silent before she remembered what she just did.
"Urm, i-it is not what –i-i-t Look like Kadota, I –I- I ordered it because it gave us a discount" Kadota just nodded because he knew his face was now as red as a tomato.
Shiro didn't know that Kadota would have this shy side on him which she found amusing and cute. While waiting for the foods, both Shiro and Kadota fell silent. Neither both of them try to start a conversation.
I guess maybe I should try to be bold once, Shiro whispered slowly. She then faced Kadota with a serious but calm face and asked Kadota to listen for a second.
"Hey Kadota, come closer. I want to whisper something to you" Kadota who was fidgeting like crazy decided that he would just listen to her request. It's not like it would be something outrages, right?
Shiro move closer to Kadota's ear and said
"I like you Kadota, can you go out with me?". Kadota, who didn't expect the thing to be a confession fell off from his seat. He could felt his ears burning up and his talk was a mess.
"I-ur, Please. Then, so I, we , hope. I urm" Shiro put a finger on his lips as she shushed her.
"I will take that as a Yes!" Shiro said while laughing.