As The World Caves In (Saiki X Teruhashi)

Chapter 8

Kusuo took the glass from her pale hand, but hesitated to sip it. He looked down at the liquid, and then at Kokomi. She was already halfway through with her drink, but before she could give it another taste, Saiki softly put his hand on hers, and lowered it. He looked at her deeply and compassionately, and with elegance ringing through his voice, he advised;

"I think we should find somewhere we can stay before we drink again. We still need to drive, and we probably have low alcohol tolerance since this is our first time."

"Oh, that's a good point. Sorry, I don't really think when I let my guard down from my perfect pretty girl self." She chuckled a little when she said it, but it was forced.

"You don't need to do that anymore." He said in an attempt to comfort her. "Your much more tolerable without the act."

Teruhashi burst out laughing, but this time it was real. There was a colossal difference between this chuckle, and the fake one she annexed onto her last sentence.  It felt rougher, with subtle ups and downs in her tone of voice. It was just what Kusuo wanted to hear. Satisfied with making her laugh, he stood up from the ground he sat on, dusting off bits of grass from his tux. He offered her a hand, and she gladly took it. They poured their Champaign back into it's bottle, and snugly shoved the cork back into place. Saiki led Kokomi back into the car, and stretched his fingers on the steering wheel. They set the glasses in their cupholders, and awaited driving once again. As usual, Kokomi leaned her arm across the dashboard to push the button that would open the rooftop. 

"Well.. where should we go? Our houses are no good.. so is there anywhere else?" She asked.

"We could go to a hotel." He offered, the idea had already been in his mind since they left the Teruhashi household.

Kokomi nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement. 

"A hotel, alone, with Kusuo! This'll be the highlight of my life!" The thought dominated her mind. Though she was already dating him, she still treated her feelings towards him like she had a crush.

Kusuo smiled slightly with content, as he could feel her enthusiastic aura filing the car. Yet, he was a little frustrated. He could tell by her face that thoughts raced through her mind, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Sometimes, he wished he would've kept his physic abilities for a while longer. He decided that it didn't matter exactly what her ideas were, as long as he knew they were pleasant. He tapped on the wheel like he was drumming, and started the engine. With a deep rumble, the dashboard lit up and the car was ready to ride. With a push of gasoline, it rolled up the curb and back onto the empty, run down street that stretched throughout the middle of nowhere. Saiki decided to keep moving up North, away from the town and his family that he loathed. He assumed that Kokomi felt the same way about her own kin. After what seemed like forever, the corn field that they parked their car next to ended, and they could see farther out into the horizon. Surprisingly, they saw a massive, shimmering sea out of the passenger window. The sands were so white that it stung to look at, the brightness contrasting the dull color palate of the dying leaves covering the corn plants.

 Saiki already knew of this beach, although he didn't know that they were so close to it. Fascinated by the colorful hues that saturated the seaside, he made a right turn and continued down the gravel road that lead into a collection of pristine buildings. He backed into a parking space, which was closer to the ocean than the entrance of the place he selected, and peered at Kokomi as if he was asking permission to head to the shore. She was beaming at the sight of it, so Kusuo took that as a yes. They popped open their car doors and bolted down the parking lot, but slowed down a bit when their feet touched the sand. Though it was difficult to sprint on the grainy texture of the ground beneath her, Teruhashi won the race to the seafront when she picked up speed. She threw her arms up in the air playfully as Kusuo caught up to her. He was wheezing, and the tone that Teruhashi adorned quickly changed when she noticed.