Unfamiliar Territory (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(26) Shy Little Sweetheart

Y/n's POV:

Walking to the amusement park the next day, I receive messages from Kazuya, Kibe and Kuri, all inviting me to hang out tomorrow afternoon. Apparently one of Mami's friends have rented a function room in a bar for a day, which means there'll definitely be drinking. Due to my low tolerance for alcohol, I tend to avoid places like those. I mean, I went on hiatus so I could spend more time with them... I guess going wouldn't hurt, so long as I don't drink. I concluded, sending a message back, telling them I'll be there.

With that out of the way, I continue going towards the amusement park, meeting Sumi by the entrance, dressed in an incredibly cute outfit, a perfect parallel to her.

Y/n: "Hey, Sumi!" I say, happy to see her again.

She turns around, matching my enthusiasm, still using her phone to communicate: 

Sumi: [Hi Y/n! It's nice to see you again]

I smile, asking her what her plan for this 'date' is.

Sumi: [Follow me. We'll start at the amusement park] She types, an adorable smile overtaking her face, with a slight blush. I can tell she's trying hard just to maintain eye contact when talking.

We both pay enter the park, buying a bunch of tickets to use on rides. I was walking towards a rollercoaster, before Sumi tugs at my sleeve, looking away when she does. I was about to ask her if there's anything wrong, when I see her pointing towards one of the carnival stalls.

Y/n: "You want me to play some of these?" I ask, pointing towards the clearly rigged games with their prizes on display.

With her nod, I go up to the stalls, taking part in many of the games, sometimes redoing a couple. As expected I lose most of them until it came to darts. My father played darts with me every week since I was 12 until I moved out, and I know exactly how they're going to rig it; a fan hidden from public view. I've got two shots, one to test where the fan is, and by extension, which direction it'll blow, and the other shot to win. I throw the first one, going for the middle of the board until it lands far to the left of where I aimed. So it's on the right. I say internally, aiming my shot accordingly, still trying to hit the bullseye, but shifting the angle a little to the right. And...

Bullseye!!

I punch the air, celebrating with Sumi who also looks overjoyed. The guy at the stall asks which prize I would like. I look to Sumi for a brief moment before going with the baby elephant plushie. I give the plushie to Sumi, saying it's for her. She looks at me with a small, surprised smile on her face, before hugging the plushie. 

Sumi: [Thank you, Y/n!]

I lightly laugh, seeing her cute reaction, before asking:

Y/n: "Right, where's next."

Just like before, she walks off and I follow. We haven't been here for very long and it's already been so fun! I thought, as she leads me back to the rides. We ride on a plethora different one, ranging from the swaying pirate ship to the bumper cars, the both of us having the time of our lives. Man, it's been so long since I've been able to go out and have this much fun. I'll have to thank her for it later... I noted mentally. 

Sumi then leads me to the rollercoaster I walked towards earlier. It's a pretty fast one with lots of turns, so it stunned me when I realised that she was even going to ride this one as well.

Y/n: "S-Sumi, are you sure you want to go on this ride?" I ask, worried she'd be scared, putting her off from going on any rides in the future.

She looks at me, confirming my concern before responding:

Sumi: [I'm your 'girlfriend' for the day, so I want to ride as well]

We sit down while a park employee lowers the safety bar. There is a countdown, which seems to intimidate Sumi quite a bit, though she's doing her best not to show it.

The ride starts with a slow ascent to it's highest point, followed by a crazy fast descent, going through loops. I look to Sumi, seeing her head down and eyes close, holding onto the safety bar as if her life depends on it. Instinctively, I hold her, reassuring her that she'll be fine. Her eyes open and her entire face goes red... followed by mine when I realise what I was doing.

Y/n: "S-Sorry." I say quietly.

She nods, accepting my apology but failing to look at me when doing so.

A few more rides and attractions conclude our time at the amusement park and I get ready to tell Sumi I had fun before she taps me on the shoulder, showing me her phone once more:

Sumi: [There's one more thing I'd like to show you]

With this, I follow her yet again, observing how dark the sky had gotten. It's quite late, I wonder what she wants me to see. I wondered, before being lead to a green field with a bench. She sits down, prompting me to do the same. I sit there confused until she points towards the sky and I fully understand. 

The stars glisten beautifully on the dark canvas of the sky. We sit there for a good while, admiring the view. The pink-haired girl gets my attention once more and I turn my head towards her.

Sumi's POV:

Sumi: [Thank you for coming today Y/n. I had a lot of fun with you and I feel more confident than ever!] 

I beam at him whilst holding my phone up for him to see. Once he finishes reading my message, he looks back at me with that kind smile of his. A smile I've seen many times. A smile I cherish.

Y/n: "I'm glad you had fun too! I haven't felt this free in ages. From what I can see, you're already an amazing 'girlfriend'. So long as you're this confident around others, anyone in their right mind would love you!" He says as I force myself to look away from him, hiding another immense blush that made it's way onto my face.

A few minutes later, he gets up, reiterating that he had a good time and says goodbye, walking away afterwards. Something inside me gave way and before I had the chance to stop myself, it came out:

Sumi: "I-I love you..." I squeak

Being a couple of metres away, he turns around and smiles. I await his response, more nervous than I've been for anything in my life. My heart beats rapidly as he opens his mouth to speak.

Y/n: "Sorry, I was a little too far away, what did you say?" He asks sweetly.

He didn't hear... tears threaten to fall as I turn my head away from him. Once I recollect myself, I look back at him, smiling and speaking once more:

Sumi: "H-Have a good night!" I say on the spot, frustrated that I couldn't repeat myself.

I arrive home, going straight to my bed and snuggling with the plushie I got just a few hours ago. The tears finally fall as I ponder on what could have been if I'd just repeated myself.

Is my chance gone... I contemplate, struggling to sleep due to the tears. I get up and start writing something down.

If I can't work up the courage to tell him just yet, then I'll write him this letter instead. I'll give it to him when we next meet. If he doesn't want to see me after that... then he won't have to...