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Nene slowly tied the ribbon around the box. Her heart skipped as she wondered if this was enough to convey her feelings.
And suddenly Hanako-kun’s words echoed in her ears. “Just knowing someone’s thinking about you is enough to make people happy.” He had looked so wistful when he’d said it, but Nene had been too distracted by Kou to ever ask Hanako what he had meant.
Nene dashed out of the Home Ec—she was late, so very late as she glanced out the hall window. The sun was low past the trees with purple and pink hues that decorated the sky like a burst of paint.
And her running came to a screeching halt as she stared at the infamous Girl’s Bathroom. The very bathroom that held her most precious memories. She absently placed her hand over her heavy heart…Hanako-kun. If someone had once told her that the girl’s bathroom would make up the best parts of her school years, she would have laughed.
But even so…
A dream came to her from the other night—she back in the bathroom the very day she’d met the unearthly boy, except in the dream, with the mermaid scale in her hand, she was given an option to do it all over again or to end it.
Right here, right now.
She swallowed the scale without hesitation.
Because no matter what, she would pick Hanako any time, and every time.
The only thing she will forever regret was not being honest about her feelings sooner and before it was too late.
“Hanako-kun…” she whispered, and somehow, she found herself inside the bathroom—as if her legs walked on their own. And she stood before the third stall. His stall, the very stall that started it all.
She splayed her fingers against it. It was cool to the touch and still glimmered with cleanliness from Nene’s constant cleanings.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “Thank you, Hanako-kun.”
Now she truly was cutting it close. He probably left already—and if that’s the case, she’d shatter right then and there.
But somehow she made it to the rooftop, her sweaty forehead made her bangs to stick uncomfortably, but she brushed them aside as she took deep, heavy breaths. And there, in the distance, stood a boy with choppy dark hair. His back faced her and his hands were deep into his pockets as he stared off at the sunset. It outlined him in an inhuman glow.
Nene breathed in deeply and held the box of chocolates behind her back. Every part of her shook and burned. She felt as though she were on fire as she moved closer, legs stiff.
“Amane-kun!” She managed to call out.
“Oh, Yashiro?” Amane whirled and a small grin appeared on his lips. “You made it.”
“Sorry, I was late,” she said. “These…took longer than expected.”
“What did?”
And Nene sheepishly held out the box before him. The box of chocolates she’d worked so hard on for Amane.
And suddenly Amane pulled Nene against his chest, hugging her tightly. She could feel his heart race against her ears. A sound she would never get enough of.
“Yashiro…” he said her name, his lips just barely skimmed her neck, and she shuddered. It made her want him to say her name over and over and over again.
“A-Amane-kun, what is it?” Her face burned a million shades of red.
He chuckles softly as he pulls back. “It’s nothing…” His own cheeks looked as red as hers felt as he murmured so softly, it nearly undid every part of Nene. “You have to be careful who you give these to, okay? Someone might get the wrong idea.”
Nene held the box up to her lips and looked away. “What if…” She fiddled with a strand of her long hair. “I want…someone…to get the wrong idea?” She shyly glanced at Amane and a brilliant red flush raced across his cheeks and over the bridge of his nose.
“W-what?”
“It’s just…” Nene tugged on his uniform, pulling him closer. “I wanted to…”
“Wanted what? Yashiro?”
The sound of her name was all it took for her walls to crumble. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him—short and chaste, and yet, as she pulled back, all she could think about was how soft his lips were and how sweaty her palms were.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Amane-kun.”
“Ya-Yashiro!” he stammered, as he touched his lips. His face blazed as red as the sunset itself.
Nene’s body clammed up and she shyly toyed with her fingers. “I like you,” she said, peeking up at him through her eyelashes. “I really like you.”
And Amane jolted.
And Nene panicked. “A-ah, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way back!” She waved her hands, trying to backtrack. “I just…I just wanted you to…know…”
Amane’s eyes were hidden behind his bangs. He glanced at her, and jammed his hands back into his pockets. And his eyes softened. “I…like you too, Yashiro…”
Her heart stuttered and she had no idea how to contain her nerves—but as she looked up at the night sky—
“Look, Amane-kun! The moon is out!” Nene ran to the edge of the roof, and took a seat. Amane sat next to her, his arm brushed against her own, and she shivered. Their fingers slowly and hesitantly intertwined.
“Happy Valentine's day,” said Amane.
And in the twilit sky, red with the rays of the setting sun…and the glow of the full moon, Nene fell in love with a supernatural boy, who is now of this world.
~Fin