It Was Always You, love triangles with no point!

Chapter 9 - Hanging out Part 2

They all leave the café and make it to the train station. They board the train, happy to see it's not too busy. Ereen and Kanna sit and talk more about Yon, while Sam, Lincoln, and Ereen look out the window as the city passes them by. Yon looks at Yui on her phone as she shows him a cute outfit she is interested in buying for the trip.

The train reaches the station, and the group exits the train, excited for the mall. They enter the first shop and begin looking at various outfits together. Yui steps into the changing room to try on an outfit coming out in a beautiful white sundress with black lacing. She asks the others what they think and everyone agrees she looks, but Yon can't say anything. He stares at Yui, his cheeks flushed red and mouth hanging open. Yui notices him staring and feels a little embarrassed.

"W-What do you think, Yon?" she asks nervously.

Yui's cheeks turn red and she looks down slightly, becoming more embarrassed. She puts her hands behind her back and gazes a little to the right. Yon gulps, and his heart pounds.

"Beautiful." he says bluntly.

Yui, taken aback by Yon's response, looks at him along with everyone else.

"What was that?" Lincoln says, teasing Yon.

Yon, flustered, panics for a moment at what he had just said.

"I mean, it looks great on you! That's definitely the one." He nervously laughs off what he said before.

Yui smiles and shakes her head in agreement.

"Ok! This is the one then."

She goes back into the changing room and changes back into her regular clothes. The others all try on different outfits. Sam buys a casual sporty outfit, Lincoln goes with a yellow t-shirt and denim shorts, and Ereen buys a black sun hat with a purple ribbon, saying she already has plenty of clothes. Kareen finds nothing interesting saying she will look at a different store, while Yon buys a Tan polo shirt and blue denim jeans. Kanna, not a part of the class, and not going on the trip, still finds a colorful hoodie she is really interested in. Yon buys the hoodie for her, making her smile brightly throughout the rest of the shopping the group does.

After several hours of shopping, the group finally stops for a break to get some food. They stop at the food court and all get what they want before sitting together.

"We sure did a lot today," Lincoln says while yawning.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Yon lays his head back against his chair.

Sam points a French fry at the boys. "You boys are weak! I shop like this all the time, no problem." The other girls shake their heads in agreement. Yon and Lincoln slouch into their chairs in defeat.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Kanna asks before sipping on her soda.

They all think for a moment and talk at the same time. They all pause and chuckle a little before Lincoln decides for the group he will go first.

"Well, Kanna knows mostly how me, Sam, and Yon met, but I'll share with the new people here." Lincoln answers.

Yui looks at Lincoln, interested in the story, while both Kareen and Ereen glance up from their phones.

"Us three all went to the same elementary school and high school. We've sort of just stayed stuck to each other like glue." He laughs, reminiscing about their long friendship together.

Sam shakes her head in agreement, "Yep! That about sums it up!" She takes a big gulp of her drink before continuing, "Kareen and Ereen are still new people to me." Both girls look at Sam, "But after talking to them, they are both really nice people with great goals in mind." The table is really quiet, both the girls blushing at Sam's comment. They look at each other, catching the other one blushing and looking away quickly.

"What about you two?" Lincoln prods at Kareen and Ereen. 

"You two obviously have some sort of history."

Kareen looks at Ereen, who looks down and is a little sad.

"I wouldn't say history..." Ereen glances to her side, bothered by the question.

"We just have known each other for a long time..." Ereen squirms, unable to handle the question. 

Everyone eyeballs her, making her increasingly uncomfortable. Kareen looks at Ereen, understanding that it's upsetting for her to talk about this. She quickly jumps in to take the heat off of her.

"Yep! We've been friends for a very long time! What about you, Yui? How do you and Yon know each other?"

Ereen, relieved that Kareen changed the topic over to someone else, sighs in relief. She also thinks for a moment about how Kareen still called her a friend after all this time. She smiles softly. Yui, surprised about how quickly the question came at her, has trouble finding words. She eats a chicken nugget and takes a sip of her drink before answering.

"Um, well. One day after class, the teacher needed us to clean the room and so..." 

Yui explains how Yon and she cleaned the room and got free lunch passes and a free period together. She doesn't tell them about their heartfelt moment together, but just that they talked a lot and Yon was a good listener.

"Awww! That's so sweet of you Yon!" Lincoln teases Yon.

Yon, getting embarrassed, tries to downplay his actions. "I'm not that good of a listener. Anyone can do it."

"Not at all! You've always been there for us when we would rant or complain." Sam happily exclaims.

"Yeah! She's right! You always listen to me and are always a good big brother!" Kanna passionately expresses to her brother.

The pleasant words overload Yon and he melts away. Surprised at how the two immediately had something kind to say, Yui smiles to herself.

"So he really is a nice person." She thinks to herself.

Yon looks over at Ereen.

"So I guess you have befriended losers?" He sips his drink, smirking at his sly jab.

Ereen's eyes twitch, and she scowls at Yon, "No... I simply decided I could use more dogs is all." She looks and turns her head. "hmph." She calms down, drops her scowl, and looks at Sam, "Except... You." She sips her drink. "You're an exception."

Sam blushes, surprised at Ereen's change of emotion since the fight. Yon and Lincoln both freak out wondering why they're dogs, and that Sam is different. Kareen and Kanna both look at Ereen, noticing how different she has been acting throughout the day compared to how she normally is at school.

"Did something happen between those two?" Kareen thinks to herself while looking at both Sam and Ereen.

The group all continue eating, sharing stories about everyone, and laughing together. The rest of the day goes by in an instant.

"No way! It's already seven in the evening!" Yon, surprised at how quickly the day went by, stares at his phone's clock.

The others are all surprised as well at how fast the day went by. They all stand outside the mall entrance, taking in the day when a raindrop lands in the middle of them all. They all look up at the sky as rain pours down on the surrounding area.