"Not-Shizuku!" OC x Yoshida Haru [Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun]

Chapter 9

"Good morning, Slender Man-san!" I greeted with a smile from my quivering lips.

"Oh, Messenger-chan! Here to see Haru again? He's upstairs, probably sleeping," Slender Man-san replied with a smile back. He looked a bit surprised to see me today without my usual varsity jacket. Today, I wore a white, sleeveless dress, with a denim jacket that went down to mid-thigh; wore with a pair of my favorite UGG boots. I nodded and took the steps up the stairs to Haru's unlocked room. I opened the door and took a peek inside, Haru was already awake, still in his sleepwear.

"Good morning, Haru!" I yelled, startling him until he fell back from his bed onto the floor. 

"Aki? Why're you here?" He asked (God, that hurt my feelings..), scrambling back on his feet to greet me.

"Since Mizutani-san, Asako and Sou ditched us to hang out, we're going to show them we're not lonely!" I came up with a (genius) answer, "So get changed! We're going out!"

He nodded, since he always liked the idea of friends hanging out, and I'm sorry to disappoint him, but today, I'm going to attempt for a rank higher than 'friend'.

He came out with a hoodie and jeans, typical. "So where're we going?" he asked, excited for today. I made a thinking face, but actually I had already planned the whole thing yesterday.

"Shopping! For Halloween!" I said, dragging him out, also muttering a goodbye to Slender Man-san, "Let's go!!" I was excited for today as well.

We stopped inside the mall, the center of the shopping mall had booths set up, displaying costumes discounted to a low price. I pulled Haru's hoodie and we joined into the busy crowd. I halted in front of a booth, noticing a well-made vampire costume from a large distance with my hawk eyes. "This is made for you, Haru!" I pushed him into the changing room with the costume  in his hands.

He came out and I fawned over him. He looked.. okay, I admit, he's attractive. I pretended to squeal like how a friend would when they see a friend who was very compatible with an outfit. "How is it?" he twirled around like how a girl would when looking for the right wedding dress. I nodded.

"You look like a real vampire, Haru! We're getting this!" I didn't give him a choice, but he seemed to like it too anyways. He thanked me for buying it for him, since I had insisted. He then told me that, in exchange, he'd pick my Halloween costume.

As we were lining up to enter a shop full of customers, a girl bumped into me. She was being pulled by a spiky-haired guy, and she apologized to me shyly, before saying to her.. boyfriend (?), "Slow down, Eijirou!" As I was bumped into, I fell into Haru's torso. I apologized, while feeling quite bewildered by how he was flustered at our contact. He was probably not used to skin contact.

After pulling me around for quite a while, he ended up with a doll's dress, bloody and tattered, which, to my happiness, came with a creepy knife, with the blade dirtied by a blood-like substance. I changed into it inside one of the changing rooms we waited very long to get into. 

"How is it?" I asked, examining every little detail in the costume. I loved it.

"You look like you just killed someone!" Okay, that isn't the best compliment (or insult?), but I just smiled anyways, despite the looks Haru was getting from the people who overheard our conversation. He, in return for his costume, paid for mine, which was more expensive that his, as I expected from the effort that was displayed from the details in the costume.

"Happy Halloween, love birds!" A middle-aged woman, the cashier, told us with a smile as she handed Haru my costume in its bag. I shook my head and denied the 'love birds' part. She apologized, but with a suggestive smile saying 'He's a keeper.'. I nodded and smiled in appreciation. I needed that, since I was about to confess.

"Hey, Haru! Let's take a stroll in the park!" The park was quiet, perfect for our situation.

As we walked side by side, we kept silent. I was listening to the sounds of nature to calm down, while I'm pretty sure he's doing the same.

"Hey, Haru?" I asked, turning to him.

He turned to me, "Yeah?"

"What if I told you..," I started, he looked at me, listening, "I like you?"

"Yeah? I like you too!" I'm pretty sure he got it wrong, so I corrected him.

"I meant.. I like you romantically," I said, "Like how a girl likes a boy." His eyes turned as wide as saucers, and he turned away, blushing and hiding his face behind his hoodie's sleeve.

"I don't know.. These few days.. I don't even know if I am sure about my love for Shizuku anymore.. How does it feel it you love someone, tell me, Aki," he said, his voice muffled from hiding his face behind his sleeve.

"I'm unsure too.. but I'm pretty sure that you've captured my heart, Haru," I said, making his face redder, "I'm new at this.. so if you say yes, we're gonna take this slowly..."

"Does.. Does Shizuku know about this?" He asked, not revealing his face just yet.

"Mizutani-san? I challenged her to win your heart a few days ago.. she accepted," I told him, "So yes, she does know."

We stopped walking now, I was looking around, while waiting for his reply. 

"I feel bad, Aki," he said, "If I were to accept your confession, wouldn't that be cheating?"

I shook my head, "She accepted the challenge, Haru. If she doesn't fight for her first love like me, it's her loss, isn't it?" I offered him a weak smile, my mind filling with words of how he would reject me.

"What is this feeling, Aki? Is it friendship, or.. or... love?" He blurted out, "Wherever I go, I'm always searching for you in crowds.. When you touch me, I feel my heart racing.."

I was about to say "It's love.", when I heard a gasp and a bag dropping on the floor.

It was Mizutani-san, walking home from her day hanging out with Asako and Sou. It was the worst timing anyone could ever imagine, and she was in tears. It seemed like she overheard our conversation.

"Do.. do you not love me anymore.. Haru?" she asked, before taking off. I huffed mentally, is this your way of fighting for your first love, Mizutani-san? By crying and making people pity you? I can't help but insult her mentally. I was only surprised when Haru dropped our shopping bags and ran after Mizutani-san. 

I took a sharp breathe as I grabbed our shopping bags, Mizutani-san's belongings, and started sprinting after them as fast I could while holding the load.

I'm not losing easily, Mizutani-san.