Steer Me Up

The Fruits of "Hard Work"

Months have passed, the year has changed. Yukino has learned a lot. It seems like she knew enough to begin with but  we still did practice lessons even at her place or mine, we've come to like each other's company quite a bit. So I just kept going with it.
Spring has come and so did Yukino's allergies, didn't know she had any…every time she sneezed she apologized I don't know why but it's cute, she also likes to explain that she is not sick and that she just has allergies from time to time. She's softened up, either that or I'm getting used to her. The last couple of weeks I've refused to take any money from her, she seemed against it at first but everything worked out in the end.
We'd spend our weekends watching her favorite movies from Japan with English subtitles so that I could understand and she could practice her reading skills.  Buddy has gotten used to her  and he likes to lay between us on the sofa while watching movies. Everything seemed to go quite smoothly.
In a couple of days. It was going to be Katie's birthday. Other than me she wanted to invite Yukino as well I hadn't told Yukino yet.

“You know you scared me the first couple of months”

Katie said to me during work.

“What are you talking about?”

“When you first started hanging out with Yukino, I thought you forgot all about me!”

Katie seemed like she was opening up quite a lot these days too, we're getting closer and for once it doesn't feel weird at all.

“It must've seemed like that right? I'm sorry I was curious to what kind of person she'd be and after a month she'd wanted to hangout more often”

“Yeah, I understood that later. It's just during that time my friends started distancing themselves from me, I don't know why but they barely picked up any calls or texted me back”

Katie seemed down.

“Is everything solved now?”

I asked sincerely.

“Not really, eventually one of them answered the phone; I asked them if they were avoiding me for some reason but I didn't get a straight answer and I decided to stop calling and we haven't talked ever since”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks…But it's ok I have Bill, you and Maybe Yukino right? haha”

Katie laughed awkwardly and I nodded with a smile.

“Do you think she'll come on Saturday?”

“You're asking me? You're friends with her!”

  Friends?! We're friends all right. After work I called Yukino to tell her that she was invited to Katie's party and I asked her if she wanted to come with me; of course she said no and hung up. But I wasn't gonna take no for an answer when Katie was that sad on her birthday and I wasn't with her that time, so I went to see Yukino after her work. She was just finished and heading to her bike and I stopped her.

“Hi!”

“Hi.”

…

“Can you please come to the party? Please?”

“I told you no”

“But, come on it'll be just the four of us"

I asked kindly she turned at me before putting her helmet on and without an expression she answered.

“No”

“Yukino seriously, all those months didn't you learn anything?”

“I learned how to read English”