How does one freeze the moment forever? You'll have to capture it with a polaroid and make it your home. You'll forever be the girl in his polaroids, you'll forever be his first love.
How are you? I'm terribly sorry for the delay. This past couple of months I've been dealing with a lot of personal stuff but I'm slowly sorting it out. I've been working on a lot of chapters and will continue to update my stories. Anyways, thank you so much for waiting and I also want to thank the new readers coming every week, you guys are the best.
- Aia.
2:33 pm
My heart thudded erratically in my chest as I stood at the entrance of the train station, waiting anxiously for her arrival. Each passing minute felt like an eternity, my impatience growing with every glance at my phone.
What in the world am I doing here? What do I expect to come of this excursion with her?
Honestly, Rintarou? What were you thinking?
I should have just kept quiet that day and let her walk away. Maybe then I wouldn't be plagued by this confusion and anxiety. I essentially asked her out on a date. A bloody date! It's absurd.
Running a hand through my hair, I took a deep breath, trying to quell the nerves coursing through me. There's no way she'll ever perceive this as a date. She's oblivious like that, and here I am, trying to convince myself otherwise like a complete idiot.
"Rin-kun!" Her voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to see her approaching, her smile bright and infectious. Despite my inner turmoil, I couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth at the sight of her.
"Have you been waiting long?" she asked, her concern evident in her voice.
"No," I replied tersely, my gaze flicking away momentarily before I turned to lead the way inside. But her presence beside me was a constant distraction, her proximity stirring up emotions I couldn't quite name. After a few steps, she nudged my elbow, holding up her bag. I rolled my eyes at her.
"What? It's heavy," she protested.
Then why did you have to bring so much?
Once we were seated on the train, she leaned in close, her breath warm against my ear as she whispered, "Where are we going?"
"It's a secret," I replied, the corners of my lips twitching into a faint smile at her curious expression. Despite my attempts to maintain a facade of nonchalance, I couldn't shake the underlying anticipation tingling beneath my skin.
—
"Where exactly are we?" she asked, pulling me back to the present with her persistent questioning.
"We're close," I replied evasively, unable to articulate the swirl of emotions churning within me. It was as if I was teetering on the edge of a precipice, uncertain of what lay beyond.
Finally, we arrived at our destination, and as she looked around in awe, her eyes widened in wonder. The sight of her, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, stirred something deep within me, a longing I couldn't ignore.
"Rin-kun, you found it! I just saw this on my social media!" she exclaimed, her excitement infectious as she darted ahead, her laughter ringing out like music in the air.
But amid the joy and laughter, a sense of unease gnawed at me. It was as if I had stumbled upon a truth I wasn't yet ready to confront, a truth that lay hidden beneath the surface of our friendship.
"Did you just take a photo of me?" she turned to look at me, her gaze searching, as if probing the depths of my soul.
"What? You're imagining things," I replied, my voice betraying none of the turmoil raging within me. Friends weren't supposed to make you nervous, weren't supposed to leave you feeling breathless and uncertain.
As she continued to stare at me, unconvinced, her gaze shifted to the camera in my hands. "I'm taking a picture of the flowers," I lied, gesturing towards the vibrant field behind her.
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Her response was a forced smile, a thin veil barely concealing her embarrassment. "Oh..." she murmured, her cheeks tinted with a delicate flush.
In that moment, a realization struck me like lightning, illuminating the depths of my emotions with startling clarity. Despite my attempts to dismiss it, I couldn't deny the undeniable truth: she was undeniably beautiful, and I was undeniably drawn to her. It was as if I had been struck by a bolt of lightning, electrified by the sheer intensity of my attraction.
But unlike Barry Allen, who emerged unscathed from the shock, I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of my feelings. Caught between desire and apprehension, I was adrift in a sea of uncertainty, unsure of what lay ahead.
