CHAPTER 18After that I just couldn’t stay at the party. I was too bothered with Eri storming out. All I could think about was her. I tried to cheer up and try and stay until the end of the party. I just couldn’t. I was sulking the whole time I was here. I stood clear away from Sayu since then too. If she had the nerves to come to me, I swear she’s going to be sorry! Everyone knew I was angry. They didn’t bother to come near me. That’s probably a smart thing.
Sayu must really be KY to not have known (nor seen the signs) that Reina and Eri liked each other. One can only hope that she was drunk off her ass when she kissed Reina and that she didn't really intend to hurt Eri the way that she did.
But Koharu on the other hand thought it was ok to sit next to me. She has on this very serious face. Unlike her usually perky smile.
...
“Tanaka-san?” She suddenly speaks
We’re back to formalities now? I guess she’s just being careful to not piss me off. I look at her, waiting for her to say something else.
“You don’t have to worry about Kamei-san. She’ll be upset, but I know that she really cares for you and will forgive you. Just…give her, her space ok?”
While normally first reaction would be to chase after Eri and try to explain things right away, Koharu's suggestion might not be that bad of an idea. With luck, Eri will calm down and be willing to give Reina a chance to explain.
She goes back to playing with her fingers and staring at her feet. I guess that’s not all she has on her mind.
“What is it? You can tell me.” I coax
“Do you…like Michishige-san?”
...
“No, I don’t.” I honestly reply
Koharu perks up again. That’s strange. I raise a brow.
“Why? Do YOU like Sayu?”
She sits up stiff and her eyes go wide. She shakes her head. I can see her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
“N-no!”
OSNAP!!! KOHARU LIKES SAYU!!!
“I’m going home. I’ll see you later. And tell Sayu about your feelings, maybe she might like you back.” I tell her before I leave.
Who knows, maybe Sayu's just been acting super-flirty towards the others in order to make Koharu jealous and prompt her into making her move?
Hey, it's possible.
I go to say bye to Risa, but it looks like she’s too busy making out with Ai.
“Uh…guys?”
They don’t move. I clear my throat loudly several times. They desperately need a room. Risa looks over Ai’s shoulder and blushes. At least she has some decency. Ai on the other hand looks really annoyed that I interrupted them.
...
She’s too busy with Risa to say anything back. Why can’t she wait until AFTER the party to ravage her girlfriend?
I have some things to keep me busy. I’ll play with Yuka or talk to my uncle. What would he say if I told him what’s bothering me?! Would he kick me out when he knows about the whole Eri and me thing? We’re MORE than just friends I know that. Will he tell my parents?! What would THEY think?! Gah! So many things could happen and none of them are looking too good either. Maybe I won’t tell him.
It's understandable that she's hesitant; after all, she has absolutely no idea of how he feels about this sort of relationship. He's been very understanding and open-minded so far, but one never knows if there's that one little thing that can just set a person off.
At the end of the day, if she tells him, it's definitely a risk. But if she doesn't, then she can't get his advice/help on what's bothering her.
Every since the incident at Ai’s party, Eri wasn’t talking to me. She didn’t say hello to me or hang around the others a lot either because of me. It’s been almost a week and she STILL isn’t talking to me!
*REINA TALKS WITH TAKAGAKI*
After this part, you can probably look up "raburabu" in a dictionary and find a pic of TakaGaki in it.
Ai nods agreeing with whatever Risa is saying. She really isn’t much of a talker when it comes to lunch huh?
Not really with anything else, come to think of it.
“You should go to Eri. She might be angry with you, but if you go and tell her how much you love her, I’m sure that will change things. She could use something good in her life too since she’s going through so much at home.” Ai says
Okay, now this just makes one even MORE curious as to specifically what's going on in Eri's homelife.
CHAPTER 19I’ve only been in front of her house once, but I find it with little struggle. I walk up the steps and knock on the door. I really hope she answers. I don’t want to face her dad or mom when they open the door. But who answers the door is something completely different than what I had in mind. A small girl that’s around seven answers the door. Did I get the right house? I’m sure I did. I don’t remember Eri mentioning she has a sister, but than again she’s never told me anything about her life and she steers clear of telling me about things at her house. The little girl tilts her head and looks at me.
“Um…is…Eri there?”
Then she does something completely strange. She starts moving her fingers in all sorts of weird shapes really fast. I look at her puzzled. What is she doing?! Maybe she’s just messing with me.
Oh whoa...she's deaf, isn't she? The little girl's doing sign language!
Again she looks at me and I don’t get ANYTHING she just did. What is this all about? Then some old man walks up to her and puts both his hands on her shoulder. It must be Eri’s father. I straighten up and look at him.
“I’m sorry about that. She normally doesn’t answer the door.” He apologizes, he sounds really nice
“It’s ok. She’s really shy to speak I guess.”
He shakes his head.
“It’s not that. She’s a mute. She CAN’T talk.”
Ah, a mute? That's a little more complicated, as the next question has got to be, is she a mute because she medically is unable to speak, or is it that she refuses to due to some psychological trauma?
“Eri isn’t here. She’s at work. She started today.”
“Work? Can you tell me where she is? It’s kind of important that I talk to her.”
“You won’t be able to get there on foot. It’s pretty far.”
Far? How can it be far? Eri would have to go there directly from school, right? Even then it shouldn't be too bad seeing as how Reina came to the house directly after school. Assuming that Eri isn't getting picked up and driven to her new job immediately after classes are done, and if it IS so far that going by foot isn't practical, then the only way Eri would be able to get there on time would be for her to have dropped out of school.
There’s this loud deep chesty cough just then coming from one of the rooms down the hall. It doesn’t sound like a nice type of cough. This one sounds like it hurts. Who is that? Eri’s brother walks out the front door and tells me to follow him to his car. Was that Eri’s mom who did that bad cough?
Ooooooooooooooh that can't be good. It does, unfortunately, offer a possible reason why Eri would need to get a job instead of staying in school.
The ride to Eri’s job was a forty-minute drive. It was way out in the open too. It wasn’t in the city more like the in the country. There were miles of empty fields and ever so often a few houses. I saw a few horses and cows grazing. It was completely different than the city. It was quiet and it smelled like horse crap really bad. I was still amazed that Eri got a job. Did she get it to keep away from me more? Or she needed the money? The car stops and I look in front of me. We stopped in front of a farm. Some old looking guy comes out from his house to us.
“This is where she’ll be just about everyday after school. Try not to visit her all the time it’ll distract her from her job.” Her brother tells me
Okay, almost an hour out of the city? If Eri hasn't dropped out of school, then she MUST be getting a ride there. But then, why is it that she's having to work so far away?
She has on this angry face, but then it turns more into a sad face. She puts the pig down and picks up another one to feed it.
“What do you want?”
I suddenly forgot my whole plan to this conversation. Damn it. I pick up the baby pig and walk farther into the stable. I put it with the other baby pigs on the pile of hay. I squat down to look at Eri, but she won’t look at me. This is going to be hard. I can’t tell if she’s angry or just hurt.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else kissing Sayu?” She grumbles
Oh that stings. From Eri's POV though, and what she saw, it's understandable.
“I don’t like Sayu, Eri. We’re just friends and that’s it. I have no feelings for her whatsoever.”
I really hope she believes me. I can deal with others not believing me or calling me a liar, but if she does it would bother me.
“That’s the reason why you came all the way over here? To just clarify things from Ai’s party and then that would be the end of it?”
What more does she want from me?! I told her what she wanted to know!
Dammit Reina, just SAY IT ALREADY!!!
This is now or never and I can’t let this chance slip from me. So I skip words and do something I feel that’s natural and will explain everything in a single second. I get up take Eri by her arms and kiss her. I kiss her more passionately than I did at the pottery shop. She went tense for a few seconds, but I felt her relax and when I thought that she wasn’t going to push me away and run, I let her go and rest my arms on her waist. She even kisses me back, but it’s not wet kisses. I still let her set the pace. I end it when the need for air was very strong. She looks at me in surprise. Now I know what to say.
Even better!
“You’re ALL I want Eri. I don’t want anyone else. I want to be with you. I want only YOU to kiss me and hold me, and most importantly; I want you to say yes to dating me.”
I speak with all my heart into each word. Hopefully this convinces her. Her face turns red and she doesn’t know what to say at first. She opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. She tries again time, but it’s the same thing. So instead she nods. And I feel like I’ve won the lottery! I smile so big I show my teeth. I hug her tight not wanting to let go.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH!!! TANAKAMEI!!!
“Come on let’s leave.” I say
“I can’t. I have to work the full hour or else I won’t get paid.”
Oops.
*REINA HELPS ERI WORK*
Majorly sweet gesture by Reina, but...
I stepped into a pothole and well…I went tumbling to the ground hard. That was embarrassing. Eri was laughing half the time as she helped me up and I got dirt all over my clothes!
... there's a part of her that sooooooooooooo wishes she didn't volunteer.
“There you are. I was wondering where you were.” My uncle tells me from the living room. I walk pass him and he cringes.
“Is that YOU smelling like that?”
“I was at a farm helping my friend.”
He cringes.
“Go take a shower you smell so bad.”
I laugh and head to the bathroom.
Question now is whether or not her uncle's going to pursue the questioning any further, and if he does, how will he react when he finds out.
I’m so glad things are cleared up between Eri and I. I feel so much better. I also feel like a little schoolgirl that has a huge crush on someone. I say that because I can’t seem to push away the urge to giggle. Giggling would mess up my image. But I can’t control it. I can’t wait to see her tomorrow at school!
Reina =
Topic: This Thing Called Love(UPDATED 11/26/14) [COMPLETE] (Read 177787 times)