you belong with me | nishimura riki [니키]

⚘ dinner

In less than ten minutes, they arrived at their final destination. Aeri stops slowly in front of the gatehouse of Ni-ki. She peeked in her bike mirror, trying not to look him in the eye and make things even more awkward. As soon as she realized their eyes met through the mirror, she glanced aside.

"You can go down now." Gazing downward when she gave a green-light  for him to go.

He carefully steps off her bike and scratches his head, unsure of what to do next.

"Thanks. I enjoyed the ride. I'll see you at dinner then?"

She responded to him by nodding and humming while continuing to look down at her bike. She quickly drive her bike to her house swiftly and parked it in front of her garage. She hurriedly grabbed the grocery bags, walked quickly letting herself in, and ran to the kitchen.

She inhaled deeply whilst making an effort to ease up. 

Her mother offered her a cup of water to sip as she gave her a concerned look.

"Are you okay? What's with all the sudden tension?" Her mother asked, seeming genuinely worried about her daughter.

The female gulped down the water fast. Taking a few more breaths, she shook her head and smiled to her mother, reassuring her that nothing strange had happened.

"Oh, all right, then. Go ahead and change up. Later, I need your assistance in the kitchen." She gave a nod and hurried up to her room.

At this point, she didn't know how to feel. Worried? Fearful? Frustrated?  She's not entirely sure. She is certain, though, that Riki won't ever be her friend. It was barely beyond her vision.

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She's finally able to get some rest after helping to cook dinner for nearly the entire afternoon. After standing the entire time, she was definitely exhausted. She decided to freshen herself up.

"Finally, a cool relaxing bath and that's all I need right now." She let out a great exhale from her body.

She took somewhat a little bit of time to shower. After all, she needs to take a longer time to get ready. She didn't want to look unkempt, especially to Riki. She worries that he will take advantage of it and make fun of her at school.

She slipped a white puffy sleeve top over her dark-washed denim pants after drying her hair and applying minimal makeup. She hurriedly pulled her hair into a messy bun and looked up and down in the mirror, analyzing herself, before heading downstairs to assist her mother with any last-minute setups.

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Ding Dong. There it was. The doorbell rang.

She made little steps in the direction of the door, hesitating to open it as she felt so nervous and hesitant. 

She inhaled deeply as she grasped the doorknob, trying to mentally get ready. When she finally turned the handle, the door opened with four kind smiles seen, greeting her in front.

She promptly bowed and smiled back, gesturing her arm to let them in so as not to make it awkward.

"Hello dear, you must be Aeri! And oh, you look so adorable." Riki's mother complimented her, giving her a warm hug.

She hesitates to return the hug at first and just awkwardly smiles. She's still not comfortable with the concept of making physical contact.

She turned to face the other guests as she was giving the mother a hug. Two females: one younger, one older.

'They must to be his siblings. How beautiful!' She said to herself.

Her gaze eventually shifted to meet his. He was simply smiling at her while massaging the back of his neck. She gave him a short smile, then looked down and softly breaking the hug.

"Come in. I'll direct all of you towards the dining table!"

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"Oh, the food was amazing.  We appreciate you having us over. I am extremely grateful to have such a thoughtful and welcoming neighbor."  the mother spoke, sounding sincere and affectionate.

"Oh, that was nothing.  I'm just happy that you all are already feeling welcomed."

"By the way Aeri, Riki. By any chance, do you guys know each other?  Since you both attend the same school, may I just ask if you two are classmates?" Aeri's mother asked,  fingers intertwined and a smile directed towards the two 18-year-olds.

Aeri's eyes widened as she looked up, flinching slightly at the unexpected question. Her gaze shifted gradually to the male seated opposite her. She could see him smirking a little already, so she knew there was no need in resisting.  She sighed and open her mouth ready to reply, only to have someone else respond before her.

"Yes, we are classmates. In fact, we're close." He declared.

Aeri's eyes widened; she wasn't expecting to hear him say that. She tries to explain and deny, but was cut off again.

" I'm glad to hear that! I'm so happy she's making friends there. You know, she can be a little shy at times. She's always with that Hana girl but hearing what you said, I'm happy." Hearing Riki's words made her mother smile.

Her mother's abrupt remarks caused her to feel sad and a little offended.

"I'll clean up your plates now, you can pass it over to me once you're done." She forced a smile as she gets up and carefully pushing her chair away from the table.

She gathered the dirty dishes quickly and hurried her steps to the kitchen sink in an attempt to escape the chaos of the conversion taking place there. Without her knowing, someone else was following her behind.

"Do you need my help?"

She let out a slight scream , taken aback by the sudden voice.

"No it's okay, i got it, and plus, you're a guest."

"I don't mind helping for a little bit."

Aeri bit her lip, not knowing if she should accept his offer, but she nodded when she saw how many plates were in the sink.

Riki smiled, and immediately pulling up the sleeves of his sweater, making sure it does not get wet.

All Aeri could do was sigh and approach the boy cautiously.

"By the way, I didn't mean to lie just now."

"It's okay, I'm actually glad you said that. Maybe then will my mom be relieved of her concern for my social life." She laughs awkwardly.

"Why not we get along with it? I mean, let's keep in touch, Choi Aeri. I'd like to be friends with you." The boy smiled at her while leaning on his arm that's against the sink top, waiting for her to respond.

He took her by surprise. She gave him a side glance, stopping from whatever she was doing, and then returned back to washing.

"Stop lying, i know you're just trying to make fun of me." She scoffed, feeling a little pathetic that he was taking pity on her.

"No I mean it Aeri. Let's be friends."

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Things are about to become interesting... 🤔

ᡣ𐭩🧸ྀི‧₊˚ Do vote and comment if you're enjoying the ff so far! It means a lot! 🖇️✩ ₊˚🎧⊹♡