That Blonde Guy

Chapter 18

It was June 19th, the day of the sleepover. The sky was sunless, just like what it had been the past few days.

When I and the girls arrived at the Sano Residence that Monday morning, Emma welcomed us with a tight hug and a big smile on her sweet face.

"I missed you all!" She exclaimed. "Come on, let's go inside!"

Hina and Sayuri excitedly went with her, and with a small on my lips, I silently followed behind. Last night, I was actually thinking of not going with them. No actual reason, just me being all tied up in knots about the possibility of seeing Mikey again. I just thought it'd be better if I refrained from seeing him so this stupid feeling that I had for him would just go away, but on the other hand, I didn't want to miss the chance to hang out with the girls. I guessed it couldn't be helped.

"Please feel at home," Emma said. "You can put your things here for now, we'll bring them later in the room."

I could hear Hina and Sayuri talking to Emma saying how nice the place was, but I was there standing a few distance away, staring at the entirety of the living room. I've been here before because Mikey took me here the night after he rescued me, but looking around, it felt as though it was my first time being here. The place didn't seem to be familiar at all.

"Wait, where's everyone?" Sayuri suddenly asked.

"Oh, you mean the people in the house? It's only the three of us that lives here. Grandpa, Mikey, and me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Grandpa went out to meet with his fellow instructors so he wont be back for a while. And Mikey--he's out somewhere with his friends."

I found out that Emma and Mikey were actually just half siblings, with the same father but different mothers. She didn't mention anything about their parents and said that their grandfather was the one who raised them, who was actually a veteran dojo instructor. I didn't realize that I was bracing myself til Emma said that Mikey was not here. I felt somewhat relieved knowing that I wouldn't be seeing him around since he's not home. Well, he'll surely be here later. This is his house, after all.

Before I left earlier, Haruto came in the house with his dog, Sachi. He came to tell me that he want to see the last day of the festival with me tomorrow but since I was already off for the sleep over, I had to decline. I ended up giving him my number so he could send me a message and tell me about the festival since he planned to just go alone. As the girls and I talked inside Emma's room, I felt my phone vibrated inside my pocket and it was a message from him saying, 'Stay safe, Nika. Enjoy your sleep over.'

I was about to text back but the phone suddenly started ringing, and my eyes squinted when I saw Kei's name on the screen. I excused myself and went out to answer it.

["Yo."]

"Yo."

Normally, I'd just ignore his call but I realized maybe he just wanna check on me. His voice sounded like he's in high spirit and I could hear engine sounds in the background. Maybe he's out on the streets.

["You at your friend's house already?"]

"Yeah."

["Just checking."]

I paused, the corner of my lips stretched. "You?"

["Out here somewhere. Off to a friend's house later."]

There was silence for a moment and I sighed, not knowing what to say.

["Have fun in there, Witch."]