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Chapter 9 - The childhood friend advantage.

Today was supposed to be just another ordinary day...

But then, just now, at eleven-thirty p.m., a huge event happened.

Hikari: "Hmm, where should we go? The park nearby? The big central park? The shopping district? Aquarium? Zoo? Botanical garden? Planetarium? Art museum? Library? Arcade? Bowling alley? Karaoke? Amusement park? Stadium? The movies? Concert hall?"

It's been thirty minutes since we made plans to go out together this weekend...

My Mom yelled at me, Hurry up and take a bath! So now I'm sitting here, submerged in a hot bath at 42 degrees, already blushing and only getting redder in the steamy tub, late at night.

I should be relaxing, soaking in the water, but my head's spinning so much I'm getting lightheaded.
Still, I'm desperately wracking my brain, trying to plan the perfect date for this weekend.

When I asked him, Where do you wanna go? He just hit me with, Hmm, anywhere's fine. You know, the exact same response that'd totally get him scolded if he said it to his mom when she's asking about dinner.

Hikari: "Alright! I've got to make the most of my childhood friend advantage!"

Yeah, when it comes to what makes me stand out from any other girl who might be interested in him, that's pretty much my trump card.
Not that I've heard of any actual competition or anything, but still.

Which means, maybe it's better to avoid places we haven't been to yet.
I want somewhere that's already ours, where we've made memories together.
A place that's etched in both of our minds, filled with nostalgia, warmth, and maybe even a bit of affection.

Hikari: "...Except, whenever we did go out, our parents were always with us!"

Yeah, back in elementary school, we'd go out together almost every weekend.
The park, the amusement park, the beach, the pool, skiing, skating... we did it all.

...With our parents tagging along. Every single time!

My mom has always had weekends off, so whenever we had an outing, she'd get all excited and start planning. She'd end up chatting nonstop with Ta~kun's mom, totally caught up in their own world, while we were pretty much left to ourselves...

Hikari: "Wait... that means... technically, we were alone!"

As the fog of memory starts to clear, those loud, chaotic scenes from the past begin to shift. Maybe they weren't completely ruined after all.

In my memories, our moms were barely even there. Instead, I see him -- back when he was this shy, quiet kid, and I didn't even think of him as a boy. I probably didn't even understand what that meant.

Like that one time at the local park. Our moms were deep in conversation on a bench, leaving the two of us to run wild on the grassy field.

Right in the middle was this huge tree, where we even carved our heights, like some kind of classic scene straight out of a romance game...

Hikari: "Wait! I was taller than him all the way up till fifth grade!"

Oh, right... if I bring up our old height comparisons, I might hit a sore spot.

I mean, back in elementary school, I'd grown pretty fast.
I was tall, energetic, and definitely didn't feel out of place among the boys.

Not that I'm bragging or anything! Honestly, I'm the one who's ended up with a complex about it now.

But back then, he was not just shorter than me -- he was even below the class average, and he was super quiet, too. When we played together, he'd just silently follow along behind me...

Yuu: "S-sniff... hhic... hic..."
Hikari: "Ta~kun, seriously? Why are you so scared of that?"
Yuu: "But... but... it came out of nowhere..."
Hikari: "C'mon, everyone knows that's like a classic horror setup where the monster attacks you if you're alone in the woods!"
Yuu: "I didn't know that... I've never seen anything like this before..."

Yup, whenever we watched a horror movie together, he'd be the first to start tearing up.
And me? I'd be the kid with the twisted sense of humor, predicting every jump scare and bracing for it with smug satisfaction.

Hikari: "Hey, Ta~kun, aren't you gonna sing?"
Yuu: "I... I'm too shy to sing in front of people..."
Hikari: "What? Then why did you even come to karaoke?"
Yuu: "Well... because you said you wanted to go..."
Hikari: "Ugh, c'mon, you could've told me that first! If I'd known you weren't gonna sing, I would've planned something else!"
Yuu: "Uh, yeah... sorry..."
Hikari: "Alright, we'll head out in an hour then... until then, you're on tambourine duty!"

Things like karaoke and bowling weren't his thing. He wasn't into doing anything that put him in the spotlight.
While I loved being the center of attention, singing and showing off...
We were complete opposites, totally incompatible back then.

Hikari: "Ugh, this is bad... this is really bad..."

Trying to make use of my childhood friend advantage by planning a date around our old memories...

It always ends up bringing along the childhood friend drawbacks, and turns the whole thing into a potential disaster.

I mean, when I think about it, wasn't I kind of awful to him back then? I was always doing what I wanted, pushing my own hobbies onto him, and completely ignoring the fact that he was scared or didn't like it.

...But then again, that's how it always was between us back then. He really was just like a little brother to me.

All the way through middle school -- no, actually, until just a year ago -- I never saw him as a boy. He was just my pure and simple childhood friend, nothing more.

Hikari: "Why did I end up... liking a guy like him? Pfft... haha!"

I was about to say it out loud, but then I just couldn't help but laugh.

"Why did I end up falling for a guy like him?"

I mean, come on, it's such a classic line in rom-coms, right?

In movies, dramas, manga, anime... As a kid, I'd always watch those scenes and go, Oh, here it comes, here it comes! bracing myself with this jaded, cynical attitude.

Because of that, I never really felt the real charm of those scenes...
I never experienced that sense of excitement or butterflies.

Hikari: "Ahaha, ahahahaha...... haha, haa..."

So... what about now?

Now that I'm actually in love?

Now that I'm thinking about him all the time, putting in so much effort, using every bit of energy I've got just to make him like me?
I'm even willing to change myself for him.

But at the same time... I just want him to accept me as I am.
Stuck in this impossible contradiction, constantly getting nowhere...

Hikari: "Why... did I end up falling for a guy like him...?"

Somehow, that classic line hits different now.

Before, I'd just laugh whenever some character on a screen or in a book would say it.

But now, saying it myself... it almost brings tears to my eyes.

Hikari: "Alright...!"

I've decided on the date plan.

I'll make full use of my childhood friend advantage.
And if that brings along the childhood friend drawbacks, so be it.

I'm going to show up just as I am.

The me who treated him like a little brother when we were kids.
The me who can't even look him in the eyes now.
I'll bring it all with me to the date.

It's going to be okay, it'll be okay...

Because even with all that, I believe that he, the person he is now, will rise above it all and accept me, just as I am.

............
............

I'm Shirasaka Hikari, sixteen years old......

......and for the first time in my life, I'm going on a one-on-one date with the person I like.

............

Oh, and, of course, I totally overheated in the bath.