fourth chapter

He was glad that she hadn’t let go of his book. he looked down at his notebook and saw that he was still drawing the boy, with black ink this time. and now he was wearing a hat. he smiled and nodded. “okay, i’ll take you” he said softly. He gave his notebook and pen back to the girl, then walked ahead of her. When he looked back, he noticed that she was following him closely, like she always did. he could hear her heels clicking against the concrete ground as they walked together. Haruki held his notebook tightly in his hand and tried to concentrate on making every step of their walk to his house easier for him. He could hear her breathing heavily and could see that she was panting. he slowed his pace, so that he could walk side by side with her, and offered her a handkerchief so that she could wipe her forehead. Once she had recovered enough, she smiled at him gratefully. “thanks” she said, taking his handkerchief from him. Haruki nodded, then he took his hand away and continued walking, without looking back at her.

“you know, I don’t believe in magic.” the girl stated, breaking the silence that had fallen between them since they had started walking together.Haruki looked at her curiously. “why not?” he asked, wondering why she would think that. She shrugged. “well, maybe I should start believing in something.” Haruki frowned slightly. What could she mean by that? “but then again, I guess some things don’t require any belief.” Haruki watched her as she stared at her shoes. “like what?” he asked curiously. “like love” she said, finally meeting his gaze. Haruki stopped in his tracks. ‘love’? Hadn’t he heard those words before somewhere? Hadn’t he felt… something for somebody once? “you love someone?” Haruki asked, not quite believing what he had just heard. She smiled a little bit wider than before. “yeah” she admitted. “but you can’t tell them” she added, as if it was the end of the conversation. Haruki didn’t like it. “who is he?” he asked. “you’ll understand soon” the girl replied, turning away from him again. Haruki frowned. He wanted to understand who the mysterious boy was that made his heart beat faster when he thought of him.Who was he exactly? How come he loved him so much? Haruki sighed and followed after her. she had been talking so fast he barely caught anything she had said. “do you ever think about us going home?” he asked her, stopping in front of her. she looked at him surprised. “you too?” she gasped, staring at him wide eyed. Haruki nodded. “i don’t know. I’ve never done this before.” “this?” The girl repeated. Haruki nodded, feeling a lump growing in his throat. “being with somebody like this. i feel happy when i’m with you.” The girl smiled. “same here, sweetheart” she replied. Haruki looked at her, confused. “what?” “you don’t know how hard it’s been for me to keep myself from hugging you when I see you.” Haruki chuckled lightly. “me too.” he nodded and they looked at each other. They both seemed to look into the others eyes as though searching for answers, and then suddenly Haruki found himself leaning forward and pressing his lips against the girls. she closed her eyes and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.The kiss was gentle, soft, slow. Haruki could taste the vanilla on her lips. she tasted like flowers. She smelled nice too. She smelled like the flower beds in her garden, and the sea breeze that came through her open window late at night. It had to have been raining when he arrived, because her room smelled strongly of rain. It reminded him of the day that he had first met her. She opened her mouth and pressed herself into him harder. He could feel her smile against his lips, which were currently glued onto hers. Her tongue brushed against his bottom lip, asking for entrance. Haruki obliged her immediately. “Haruki…” she said, sounding breathless. “huh?” he murmured, still kissing her. “your name is really cute. i love it” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “thank you” he said softly against her skin, his voice muffled by her skin. She shivered in delight. “i love you.” she said, pulling away from him slightly so that she could look into his eyes. “i love you too” he said. “really?” “yes” he assured her, kissing her gently. Then, she pushed herself back towards him, kissing him again.Chapter 3: The First Day

“oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, jumping out of bed. “it’s finally happened! i’m engaged!!!” she shouted excitedly. “congrats” Haruki replied, smiling brightly and sitting up. She grabbed his wrist and squeezed it. “thank you” she said softly, still smiling widely. Haruki nodded his head. “you seem very happy,” he remarked. “because I am. this is the happiest moment of my life!” she said. “i know, i can see” Haruki responded, chuckling. “oh, shut up!” she said, laughing. “i need to go shower and change clothes. i’ll be right back” she said, then ran off to the bathroom. Haruki laid back on the bed, thinking about his upcoming engagement party. He was invited to the engagement party of two people who had gotten married. One of them, was named Kimizuki Kazunari and the other was called Kimiko Tanaka. He liked the names. They sounded beautiful. “they sound good” he commented to himself. he got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower and shave. “. “I wonder if I will see anyone else there” he thought aloud, as he undressed and stepped under the cold water.

When he emerged from the bathroom, freshly shaved and showered, he saw that the girl he had seen earlier was standing right outside his door. “come in” he told her quietly. She stood in front of him shyly and smiled. “hi” she said, blushing faintly. Haruki smiled, then sat down on the edge of his bed. “so you’re the fiancée” he muttered, half amused and half jealous. “yeah, sorry” she said. Haruki shook his head. “no, no… it’s fine” he answered, “just doesn’t seem fair. You get to marry him. And i’m the one getting dumped” he said. He smiled to make sure she wouldn’t hear the bitterness in his voice, but the girl didn’t seem to notice. Haruki noticed that the girl was still blushing, which he assumed meant that she was uncomfortable.

He sighed. Why was she here? Why wasn’t she at the wedding rehearsal with everyone else? It shouldn’t matter anyway, he decided. But, somehow, it did. “

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