I Met Her on The Subway [MonaRisa]

Part 2

I can't believe it. This could not actually be happening right now. What sort of magic is this? What if this is all just a dream? I am not dreaming, am I?

I pinched my arm to try and snap out of my dream. It hurt a lot. There was a big red mark where I pinched my arm. It was a confirmation that I was in fact not dreaming.

There were a few fragments of memories in my head of what happened. The last thing I remember was suddenly realizing that I was in my room. I don't remember when I got off the train or when I arrived at home.

I was lying down on my bed. My body rolled to both sides of the bed repeatedly. My heart was out of control. It was beating erratically as if it was mirroring my current actions. Exhaustion eventually hit me, and I settled down in the middle of my bed.

My eyes wandered to the white ceiling of my room. I reached my right hand out towards the ceiling. It was shaking uncontrollably. I grabbed it with my left hand, but it was also shaking uncontrollably.

It was only then that I remembered I was holding a piece of paper in my right hand. I lowered my hands to a comfortable distance from my face to read the contents of the piece of paper. It was Manaka's cell phone number.

"Call me," her voice echoed in my head.

My heart went into another frenzy. This is what I cannot believe. I never once thought that it was possible for her to remember me after the first meeting. Let alone giving me her cell phone number and telling me to call her. I was very shocked, but at the same time ecstatic.

I reached for my cell phone beside me and opened the dialer on it. My hands were shaking as I tapped in Manaka's number. I pressed the wrong numbers a few times as my shaky hands moved from the correct number. The correct numbers were eventually tapped in.

My finger hovered over the call button. I hesitated as I was thinking of something to say when she picks up. Do I tell her how I have been stalking her for the past month? Should I just introduce myself properly to her?

"Hey there, my name is Watanabe Risa. I have been stalking you for the past month," I thought to myself.

I shook my head to get rid of the idea. What kind of introduction is that? She will probably get the wrong impression of me, and then she will decide to never talk to me ever again. That was something I had to avoid.

"Hello?" I suddenly heard Manaka's voice come from my phone.

The sudden sound surprised me. I almost dropped my phone to the ground as I threw my phone up in surprise. The phone landed in the palm of my hand after I fumbled about to get a grip on the phone.

I must have tapped on the call button when I was thinking of something to say. My heart started to beat faster as my head was in chaos trying to think of something to say. The next few words were going to be important.

"Hello?!" I suddenly yell into the phone. I smacked my forehead with my free hand. What kind of reply was that?

There was a moment of silence before Manaka broke the silence, "Ah! Is this the girl from the train?"

"Ummm... I guess it is?" I replied, doubting myself.

I could hear a giggle on the other side, "What do you mean 'You guess'? But I guess with that kind of reply it means it really is you."

"Ummm...," I was lost for words to say.

"What is it?" Manaka asked.

"I-I-I don't know what to say...," I replied in a soft voice.

There was laughter coming from Manaka, "I guess you could introduce yourself to me. I don't even know your name. But I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Shida Manaka, yoroshiku."

"I already know what your name is... I saw it when I give you your school ID back. My name is Watanabe Risa, yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Ha ha ha. I guess I should have expected as much. 'Risa' is a nice name by the way. I like it. Can I call you by your first name? You can call me 'Manaka' too."

I could feel my cheeks redden from Manaka's reply, "Yeah, that is fine, Manaka-chan."

"You don't need to add '-chan'. Try saying my name without any honorifics."

"Ma-Ma-Mana..... ka," my heart was beating intensely. We were already on first name basis after only a few minutes of interaction.

"I'm happy to hear you call my name, Risa. But I want to get straight to the point. I guess you already understand why I gave you my number, right?"

"No, what for?" I pretended to be ignorant. I knew very well why she gave me her cell phone number, but I wanted to hear the words directly from her mouth.

"What? I thought you knew...," I could hear a sigh coming from Manaka's mouth. "I guess we should just forget about all of this..."

My heart was suddenly thrown upside down, "Wait! I know why you gave me your number. Don't leave!"

Manaka bursted out in laughter, "I knew it! You do know the reason."

"Mou! I hate you, Manaka!" I pouted even though Manaka couldn't see me.

"Wait Risa! I was just joking. What I wanted to say is that I love you Risa. Please go out with me," Manaka suddenly confessed her love to me.

My cheeks became even redder than before, "I love you too...," I replied with a very soft voice.

"Huh? What did you say?" Manaka asked.

"I said... I love you...," my voice was still soft.

"I still can't hear you. Can you say that again?"

"I said I love you!" I yelled. I felt a weight off my shoulder by saying it out loud and clear for Manaka to hear.

There was a moment of silence before Manaka replied, "I am very happy that you told me that right now. To be honest, I heard you the first time, but I wanted to hear you say it again and again."

"Mou! Stop teasing me!" my voice was filled with annoyance.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stop. I love to tease you. Your reactions are cute and I love that about you," Manaka confessed to me.

My heart melted at Manaka's words. She seems to like teasing me. I honestly don't like it, but she knows what to say to get at my heart. This was the person that I became obsessed with, and I love every part of her.

"Say Risa...," Manaka's voice suddenly went soft.

"What is it?" I asked with curiosity in my voice.

"Let's go on a date."