SOCIALLY AWKWARD

10. Dating 101

As asked, Kenma had made sure to text Ameri that he'd made it home safely after their date. And though both still giddy and over the moon from how they'd parted, they had spent the rest of that night chatting.

But much to Ameri's dismay, the tone of their conversation had remained unaltered and had not taken the turn she had been expecting it to.

Knowing Kenma, she had managed to convince herself that he was likely to need more time and courage to overstep that line and had kept herself in check, lest she was to rush him into anything he wouldn't be comfortable with. But when Sunday evening had arrived with no substantial changes still, she had found it harder to withhold her disappointment. And by Monday morning, she had avowed it to herself that she would not be the one to go to him, no matter how much she was dying to. It was up to him to steer their ship now.

Misaki thought it stupid when she had confided in her on their way to school. "So now you're playing hard to get?"

"Does someone pay you to shit on my parade? Can't you be supportive for once in your life?"

"A best friend's job is to not support stupidity."

"You misread the job description."

Misaki rolled her eyes. "But seriously, what happened to your promise to come clean with each other about everything?"

"It'll be in effect..." Ameri mumbled, "right after this. You have to understand I can't be the only one putting effort into this."

"He asked you out."

"Only because I did it first. Look, I've already done much more than a lady is supposed to, okay? From now on, it's up to the gentleman."

"Tch, I should've expected this when I forced you to read Pride and Prejudice."

The fervent blush that swept across Ameri's cheeks when she stepped into class and locked eyes with Kenma that morning wasn't courtesy of her newfound dignity alone, but the recollection of how their date had ended as well. A similar color was drawn to his face as he bashfully waved at her, but his smile fell when she made a beeline for her desk instead of his.

Kenma was beyond confused. He'd been under the impression that their relationship had been restored and that everything would fall back into place and had even asked his mother to make him bentos to have together for lunch at their usual spot in the schoolyard.

He wasn't immediately discouraged, though, and still fueled by the promise he'd made to her, spent the entire first period psyching himself up to walk to her. When the bell rang, however, it took him one minute too many to stir himself into action, and Ameri was already running off with her girlfriends. The rest of her day was spent with them.

"How did it go?" Coach Nekomata asked Kenma when he made it to the gym later that day, making his skin crawl as all eyes landed on him.

"He fumbled so bad, Sensei. She's still avoiding him."

"Shut up, Yamamoto," Kuroo snarled.

"Kids these days. Well, I've done my part," the coach said before ordering them to get moving.

"You better leave him alone." Kuroo glared at Yamamoto as the players stood in position, him and Yaku ensuring to keep everyone off his back for the rest of the training.

Kenma was surprised, in a good way, to find Ameri loitering outside the gates when he and his friends were leaving the school grounds after practice. Leaning against the brick wall with arms and brows tautly crossed, she looked all but pleased and approachable; so much so that the joy of her sight melted straight into worry, and he needed encouragement from his teammates to bite the bullet.

Ameri's greeting was cold, and so were her replies to any questions he posed as they set off towards the station.

"Did I do something?" Kenma struck up after a never-ending and tension-ridden train ride.

Ameri shrugged without meeting his gaze.

"What's wrong then?"

"Nothing."

"Okay," sighed Kenma helplessly.

"Not it's not okay!"

"You just said that nothing's wrong."

"That means that there is something wrong!"

Kenma gaped at her in utter silence for a few moments, trying to make sense of this nonsensical conversation. "Then why'd you say nothing?"

"Because— ughhh!" Ameri tugged at the ends of her ponytail. "Why didn't you come to me at lunch break?"

"Because you were with your friends. I didn't want to bother you."

"You wouldn't have bothered me. I was actually waiting for you."

"How am I supposed to know?" Kenma asked incredulously. "You were avoiding me and looked like you were having fun with them."

"I was pretending! Aaagh!" Ameri buried her face in the palms of her hands, screaming and stomping to let out her frustration. "You're going to drive me crazy!"

Kenma was too stunned to say anything.

Letting out a deep breath, she stood upright and fixed her hair. When she finally met his eye, the genuine puzzlement in his expression only heightened her exasperation.

"So, did that date mean nothing? Do you just take girls out and then act normally after it?"

"Is there something specific that should be done?"

"Well, for one you should tell me what we are now."

"We're... f-friends?"

Lord have mercy!

"Okay, you've never done this before, so I'll let this one slide." Ameri heaved a sigh. "But basically what's gonna happen now is we're going to start dating."

Kenma's cheeks heated up at her words; he hadn't thought of any of this, nor did he get the chance to inquire Kuroo about it. "O-okay?"

"It's nothing to be afraid of. We're just going to be... umm, how do I put this without scaring you off?" Ameri whispered under her breath. "We're going to become each other's favorite person. We will do and share everything with each other. Is that okay with you?"

Kenma hesitantly nodded. "I don't see how that's any different from what we were already doing. Why do we have to label it as 'dating' now?"

"Because it does come with some extra perks... ones that aren't accessible in normal friendships."

"Like?"

"Like, holding hands," Ameri said as she excitedly slipped her hand into his, entwining their fingers, and tugged him down the street. Kenma's heart almost skipped a beat, but he managed to overcome his panic by the time they reached her neighborhood.

"That's me," Ameri whispered when they reached their destination, but neither of them seemed to want to let go. Kenma drew her to take shelter under a Sakura tree opposite her apartment building, and they stood in silence, both hands now intertwined.

Kenma's eyes, in contrast with the rest of him, were intimidating, and being under their scrutiny was thrilling. Butterflies fluttered in Ameri's stomach when his face suddenly loomed closer to hers to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. When he pulled away, she stood on her tiptoes and captured his lips in a longer and much more passionate one.

"This is another perk of dating," she murmured when they parted.

He smiled shyly. "I really like both."

"As you should!"

Before she went inside, Ameri wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss, one that he was more than willing to indulge her in and melted into with much more confidence and ease.