𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐧𝐢𝐜 | 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐍𝐞𝐧𝐞 (𝐓𝐁𝐇𝐊/𝐉𝐒𝐇𝐊)

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐧𝐞

  Nene opened her bento and began to consume the contents of her lunch. There was always a voice inside of her whispering "eat more, you can put some more lunch in", but for whatever reason, she never did. There wasn't even a good reason why. The cream-haired girl wasn't even insecure about any part of her body other than her ankles.

  "Nene!"

  The voice of her friend snapped Nene out of her thoughts. She flicked her gaze upward to meet the eyes of an indigo-haired girl.

  "I have something to tell you!"

  Her voice was upbeat and cheery as always, but there was something else there. However, she wasn't able to understand what it was and waited for Aoi to go on.

  Instead of actually speaking, the girl passed an envelope sealed with a rose sticker. Confused, Nene opened it carefully and removed the letter inside of it. Was there a reason she needed to use a letter instead of speaking? Maybe a secret?

  She unfolded the paper and began to read the contents.

Dear Nene,

  I decided to write this letter to you because I didn't want anyone else to hear what I have to say. Don't worry, nothing bad happened!

  Recently, Akane proposed we go on a trial date. I would've refused, but he told me it could be a double date and I didn't think I could toss aside an opportunity for you to invite Amane with you (because you clearly like him ♥!). If you decide not to come with me, I'll have to turn him down.

  While reading the letter, she chanced a glance right past Aoi's shoulder in Akane's direction. His eyes were burning intensely, but they were neither glaring nor pleading. She felt a jolt of nervousness realizing she could make or break his date with Aoi.

  If you do want to join us, we're going on a picnic in the grove of sakura trees! I walk there with you if you agree and bring a date. I think it'll be fun!

Love your friend,
Aoi

  Nene smiled, looking back up at Aoi.

  "It does sound fun! But uhm..."

  She jumped when Amane walked back into the room, realizing what her friend was suggesting.

  The amber-eyed boy was striding toward the two of them. That's right! She asked if they could eat lunch together today! And Aoi confronted her about this while he was getting his lunch box...

  Nene cupped a hand to her friend's ear and lowered the volume of her voice. She couldn't let him hear her next words.

  "I can't! I don't know why you thought I could..."

  Aoi responded quickly but spoke in a voice loud enough for Amane to hear once he took a seat at the desk beside her. It made her heart thump, startled.

  "I'll have to turn him down then... Akane's going to be quite crestfallen. I'll wait until the end of the school day, though. In case you change your mind."

  Aoi spun around and skipped back to the red-haired male, whose gaze sharpened. He was glaring daggers at her. Nene definitely had to figure something out of she might just meet her end.

  "What was that about?"

  She turned her head to the boy sitting next to her. Everything seemed to become five times more awkward and embarrassing than before... In Nene's case at least. He just sat there looking half confused, half interested.

  "Well uh..."

  She didn't know how to get the words out, blush dusting her face. The words wouldn't make it out.

  "You don't need to tell me," Amane told her, taking in a bit of food.

  Everything felt much better after he said that, but she was guilty. Why was it so hard for Nene to just tell him and ask if he'd like to join her?

  Well... It wasn't that easy either.

  "Yashiro, I was wondering."

  Her eyes flicked over to Amane's eyes but didn't meet them. He was staring down at his lunch, suddenly looking really anxious.

  "Akane told me about this uh... Thing they were putting together. A picnic of sorts. She wanted me to ask to bring someone along... So... Will you go with me?"

  Nene stared at him while silence fell between them. What was he saying..?

  He made it sound like they would just be going as friends, which was just the opposite of what Aoi had suggested to her.

  Was he... Trying to ask her out without actually asking her out..?

  "I mean uh... We don't actually have to go or anything. It was just a thought. A dumb one..."

  Nene burst upward from her chair, staring into his gaze. She was determined to get these next few words to clear up anything that had been misinterpreted.

  "No, no! I mean, I'd love to!"

  The look of surprise that flicked across his amber irises accompanied by the great silence that filled the room made her face heat up in surprise.

  She sank back into her seat and began to pick at her food, trying to ignore the stares people gave her as they eventually went back to their conversations.

  "Is this a date?" she mumbled to herself. Nene really wanted to ask him, but it was too embarrassing... She couldn't tell if that's the way he meant it or if he just wanted to go as friends. It was sort of hard to tell for her even if they had been peers and friends for a few years.

  "I-It can be if you want it to."

  Shock jolted her when she heard Amane's voice. Though she didn't look, Nene could tell he was just as nervous as she was. She forced her next words out as fast as possible.

  "Okay, then it's a date."

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Author's Note: This was in my HanaNene one-shot book just so you know! I'll be trying to finish this quickly so I can get back to that book. I hope you enjoy!

By the way, the chapters are going to be fairly short. About 1000 words give or take, so I hope you don't mind! I usually do longer, but it's probably a good length for this short story.