One Shot of Chance

Chapter 6

Rowie stood there without moving an inch. She was only staring at the guy in front of her. She did not know what to say at times like that. What could a guy like him want from someone like her?

He was wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of black pants. He had this tiny black earring on his left ear that caught Rowie's attention. Another sign of being a bad boy. She did not know what to say.

"Ahm..." Shintaro fidgeted at the ticket he was holding and looked away. "Hi, Rowie-san. I —I doubt that you know me, but in case you do not really know me, I am Shintaro Yamazaki." He smiled. He was unsure whether to mention the encounter at The Midnight Bar, but it was not really hard to tell that he was the guy smoking cigarettes after drinking alcohol.

Rowie remained unmoving. She just stared at him, still did not know what to say because it seemed like the guy already knew who she was. There was no need to introduce herself.

Shintaro's smile faltered. He became conscious as she continued staring at him. "Ahm... what? Ah!" He handed her the ticket that he had been holding for a while. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go watch the movie tomorrow?" he asked hesitantly.

She looked down and a little smile appeared on her face. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling more. What should she do? Her crush just asked her out on a date —if you would call this a date. But for her, it was indeed a date.

It was not bad to assume, right?

Instead of agreeing, she chose to play a little hard-to-get. She crossed her arms on her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why should I? Give me one reason why I should go on a date with you."

He opened his mouth to say, it was not a date. But he shook his head to prevent saying that. He glanced around to find an answer, and the deity must be on his side because he saw his best friend, Kazu, waving a paper at him saying, Tell her you like her.

Shintaro shook his head again and closed his eyes. That was ridiculous! He did not have any guts to say that to her. She barely knew him, and he could not prove it either because he barely knew her as well.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes shot open when she spoke in front of him. "I like you," he said without even thinking. Their eyes rounded, both shocked by the statement. "I —I mean, no... what I mean is –"

"It's okay. I got that a lot. I mean, saying they liked or loved me but did not really mean it," like my Dad. She swallowed the lump on her throat and tried to smile.

He saw the sadness in her eyes. That was why he said something that he did not think about again. "It is true. I do really like you."

They stared at each other for like an hour, but in fact, it was just seconds. Both of them looked away at the same time when they noticed they were staring for too long. Rowie picked the ticket slowly, not sure if she would go or not.

"I think it is already a good enough reason for me to say yes?" Rowie asked, more like to herself. It was not like they were really going on a date or something. They were just going to watch a movie together, nothing more.

It is not a date.

Shintaro smiled widely. He seemed happier than before. It was like winning a lottery when he did not even sign up for it. "See you at the movie house, then."

"Sure." Rowie smiled.

Shintaro ambled towards Kazu who was smiling widely at his friend. He gave him a high five and smacked his head. Rowie did not bother hiding her smile anymore. She was just so happy to prevent it from forming.