Strawberry Milk [COMPLETED]

❧Chapter Twenty-Four

"Do you really think I should?"

"Of course! Don't you think it's a great idea, Emi?"

"Mm-hm! Natsu-Chan is right, Ichigo! You should totally do it!"

I looked nervously across the school courtyard until my eyes fell on Hajime. He was glowing as always, the center of a crowd as he chartered excitedly with his friends about something. I stood off to the side to chat with Emi and Natsu, who I was glad to find very good, genuine friends in.

It was the day after me and Hajime had kissed for the first time in the pantry of his family bakery. It felt like our embraces and kisses could last for hours, but they ended as quickly as they began when Hajime saw the time. He walked me back to school and held my hand the entire way, a bit shyly I might add, and we went our separate ways wordlessly.

We had barely gotten more than a glimpse of each other when the school day ended. It was time for my car to leave, and I'd been waiting for him for almost 10 minutes until I saw him exit the school with his friends. His face was still red and they seemed to be teasing about something.

I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted his name so loudly, he could have heard me a mile away. The entire student body lifted and turned their heads to look at me, but I never took my eyes off of my target. Hajime looked up, his cheeks growing even redder.

I giggled and outstretched my arm in the air to wave at him frantically. After some taunting by his friends, Hajime waved back shyly, a tender smile on his face.

Why's he so shy all of a sudden! He's the one that seduced me!

I told the girls all about it and they told me he probably couldn't help himself and felt like he'd done something wrong to me by springing a kiss on me like that. I got worried that maybe he regretted it, but they reassured me that he seemed really happy after he came back to class, albeit dazed. Apparently Hajime had never had a girlfriend before(that they know of), or showed any particular interest in anyone at school except for me.

"This is all pretty new to him, too. He totally couldn't help himself cause you're so gorgeous, Ichigo!"

"Yeah! We have an idea!"

After some secretive chatter about their own love lives this morning, Emi suggested I write Hajime a love letter!

"Clearly, you're way too shy to tell him face to face, but you can get out everything you want to say if you write it down!"

"I never imagined he'd be so shy...he must really like you, Ichigo!"

"Like me...?" I wondered aloud, gazing at him across the school courtyard. I had liked to imagine it was possible as we kissed and held each other yesterday, but I still wanted to hear it from him. I didn't want it to be awkward between us, I wanted us both to be honest with each other.

"I'll do it!" I decided.

🍓

Frickin' easier said than done.

I tore out every single page of one of my composition notebooks trying to write this stupid love letter. I'd never been good with words — especially the cheesy kind. But apparently all I could write were cheesy love letters!

I had no idea what to say. Just a "I like you" may have been enough for a lot of people, but I wanted Hajime to know so much more. I wanted him to read my letter carefully and know my exact feelings and how much I wanted to be with him!

Wait...

Couldn't I just write that?

I sit up after almost drowning in the pile of wadded up paper scattered across my desk. I grab a fresh sheet of paper and pick my red ink pen back up to start scribbling down my thoughts again. By the end of the night, I had an honest sounding, super sweet, yet super genuine love letter written and folded terribly inside an envelope and then sealed with a mega cheesy heart sticker.

I wasn't quite sure the outcome, but I was proud and satisfied with what I'd gotten done! The hard part was finding a chance to give it to Hajime!

Oh, well. That's a problem for tomorrow morning's Ichigo!

BRRRRRRRRR!

My phone vibrates, and when I grabbed it to look at the screen, my jaw dropped. My 6:00 AM alarm was going off!

Oh...my...lord...

"I PULLED AN ALL NIGHTER ON THIS DAMN LOVE LETTER?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I screamed my head off in anger. I was exhausted and had let the time slip by as I focused entirely on this letter. Hajime was going to get this damn letter, I was going to make sure of it!

I wasn't going to lose sleep for nothing!