A Teasing Love

Looking for them Part 2

Ako's POV

"Why are you in love with Subaru?"

I freeze. That seriously caught me unprepared.

Kanata notice that I stopped and looked at me. Maybe confused, curious, I don't know.

I take a quick moment to think about my answer.

"W-Well" I feel a bit nervous suddenly. "I always loved the way he acted towards his fans, how he putted all his efforts in each show and concerts, how he was so nice and kind. So I think that is because of that."

When I finish, I get a strange feeling in my belly. I try to figure out the motive, when Kanata spoke:

"That looks more like admiration than love, in my opinion."

It was like someone had slapped me in the face.

Admiration? Well of course I admire him. He was the reason to why I became an idol, after all.

I start thinking of how my career has started. All because of Subaru. Because I wanted to know him and because I wanted him to know me, I enrolled in the same academy as him and I became an idol. But when I started to do my Aikatsu and start getting some reputation, I was no longer doing this because of him but because I loved what I was doing: representing and serving as an example for all my fans. When I met Yume, Koharu, Laura and Mahiru, that only intensified my love for Aikatsu. And made me realize that doing Aikatsu with my friends is so much funny.

All at once, like when the pieces of a puzzle fit, I realize the feeling that I had when I said the reasons to why I was in love with Subaru.

The feeling was the one we got when we know we're lying about something. The reasons I said were not ones to justify my love. They served to justify my admiration for him.

"I-I don't love Subaru..." I whisper for only me to hear.

The feeling I had in my belly starts to disappear, like... like as if what I was saying was not a lie.

Then I start feeling something roll in my face. I raise my hand to my face and touched it. They were tears. I was softly crying.

But I was not sad. In fact, it was if something has been released from within me. I felt relieved somehow. Like... I wasn't lying to myself anymore.

When Kanata noticed that I was crying, he made a panicked face.

"W-Why are you crying? It is because of my question? S-Sorry, I didn't want to make you sad." He says in a guilty tone.

Seeing him panicking made me giggle a little and, when I was about to start wiping the tears from my face, I feel something on my cheeks. I look up and see that Kanata was wiping my tears with his thumbs. With concern mirrored on his face. And something more.

My cheeks started to become warm again.

"Sorry, I'm an idiot." He apologized. "I shouldn't have said that."

I look straight in his eyes.

And I do something I was not planning on doing.

I leaned forward as I closed my eyes and pressed my lips onto his right cheek.

Seconds later, I pull away and I'm pretty sure that my face was very flushed.

What surprised me is that his face was tinted red too.

"Arigato, Kanata." I smile.

"F-For what?" He stuttered.

"For helping me to understand my feelings."