Himiko's P.O.V.
*****
Texting with Ouma last night was the best decision I think I've every made. I missed him so much but then again, felt stupid since I really don't know him at all. We both decided that since we hardly know each other that texting wasn't enough. He asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him and I said yes. Before going to sleep, he let me know that I should wear something nice, which made me wonder what exactly he had in mind for our first date. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he wanted to go on a date with me, but here I was, staring in to my closet trying to figure out what to wear.
I decided on a simple black dress since you can do anything with something like that. Plus, it was one of the few things that fit me nicely. I slid on a pair of black flats and stared at my almost completed look in the mirror. For a few minutes, I contemplated on whether or not I should wear makeup. Deciding against it, I sighed thinking that at some point I would start to cry, whether that be seeing Ouma again or having a panic attack. I didn't want to waste any product. I guess this is how I'm going to look tonight.
My phone buzzed in my ear nearly sending me into panic. I quickly looked down at it and felt calm when I saw a text from Ouma. He's here. I quickly ran to my window and saw him standing outside his car. He had on a really nice, dark button down, a dark pair of slacks, and boots. He looked just as handsome as he did yesterday. I made my way downstairs and after having a mini lecture about being safe from my mom, I walked outside. As I walked towards him, his smile sent me into a daze. I felt like nothing existed around me. It was just him and me in this world. I stopped in front of him, craned my neck, and smiled back up at him.
"Hey," his voice shook me back into reality.
"Hi," my face heated up.
He looked me up and down for a couple of seconds, his face turning slightly red, "You look beautiful."
I smiled and brushed my hair away, "Thank you."
He quickly opened the passenger door and after I got in, he shut it for me. This was not the same Ouma as I knew in the simulator. This one was different by a landslide. He got in the car and began to drive off. His car was really nice and clean. No music played so the only noises that were made was our breathing and the traffic outside. I stared at him for a few minutes and continued to take in every single feature of him. He really has changed. I wonder if he's talked to anyone else.
"So have you kept in touch with anyone," I asked.
He chuckled a little, "Yeah, I have. I've talked with Shuichi, Kaito, and Miu," he laughed again, "You weren't there, but Miu and I had a pretty emotional apology with each other."
I remember when they found her family, and the sight of seeing her cry when she was told they wouldn't come to pick her up was heart breaking, "Where is she now?"
"I'm pretty sure she moved in with Keebo," he said, "She was with Kaede for a while but the two of them just couldn't stay away from each other."
I smiled remembering how close the two were in the simulator. We all thought that since Keebo was an actual human that Miu wouldn't be interested him him, but I guess we were all wrong. They were perfect for each other no matter what situation we're in.
"So," Ouma spoke up again, "I'm really hoping you enjoy dinner tonight."
"Where are we going?"
He looked over at me for a second and smiled, "It's a surprise!"
We sat in silence for the rest of the drive. Every now and then, I would catch Ouma sneaking peaks at me. I almost thought that he would reach over to hold my hand but told myself that it wouldn't happen. I thought back to when we were out of the simulator, walking around Hope's Peak Academy trying to figure out a way to get outside. His arm was wrapped around me tightly and I was craving that feeling again. I was craving the warmth of his body against mine. Overall, at the end of the day, I just craved him. Only him.
"We're here," Ouma spoke up and parked the car.
In front of us was a restaurant I've never been to before only because it was extremely fancy. Does Ouma even have the money for a place like this? More importantly, are people going to come up and talk to us? I took a deep breath and was about to open my door when Ouma stopped me. He quickly ran outside to my door and opened it up. He held his hand out, smiling down at me with that entrancing smile of his. I took it and got out. The walk to the entrance nearly sent me into a spiral of panic. Could I do this? Is Ouma freaking out also? Looking up at him, nothing screamed panic. Was I just crazy.
"Hey," I tried to stop talking but I couldn't, "I'm a little nervous."
Ouma stopped walking almost immediately to face me, "What's wrong?"
"What if people run up to us and start talking to us," I asked, my voice started to shake, "I don't want people talking to us! What if they ask us about the simulator?"
"Hey," Ouma placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down, "Listen Himiko, if at any point when we're in there, people start harassing us, we'll leave. We won't know what will happen unless we just do it."
I nodded, "Okay. But what if-."
"Don't worry about the what ifs," Ouma said, "You survived the entire simulator. You can do anything, and I'll be right by your side the entire way."
I couldn't help but smile. I was still trembling under his hands but it calmed down a lot. Eventually, after a few deep breaths from my part, we walked into the restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't busy at all. I looked around the room while Ouma talked to one of the hosts. The lighting was dim, and the seats were spaced out a lot. With the scene like this, there's probably less of a chance that someone would come up to us. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Ouma speak up, sounding angry.
"What do you mean you don't have my reservation," he asked, "I called this morning as soon as you guys opened and I was told it was written down!"
"I'm really sorry sir," the woman flipped through the pages, "You just aren't in the book."
Ouma ran a hand through his hair, "Alright, what do I have to do to get a table?"
"Ouma," I hesitantly spoke up and wrapped my arm around his, "We don't have to be here, it's fine."
He sighed before giving the hostess one last rude look. I had to pull him out a little just because a scene was about to happen and that was the last thing I wanted. As soon as we got outside, Ouma nearly broke down.
"Himiko, I'm so sorry, I really thought they would-," he started.
"It's fine," and it really was, "We don't have to do something fancy."
"What would you like to do then?"
"Let's just go to the park."
And that's exactly what we did. We looked a little out of place since we looked so nice, but I didn't care anymore. Ouma had calmed down at this point, and he was finally having a better time. As we walked, our fingers eventually laced together. His hand was so warm, and I felt safe walking next to him. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore. For the rest of the night, we talked and talked until we were too tired to talk anymore. Every second that was spent with him made me feel a happiness that I didn't recognize.
I didn't want this night to end. On the drive back to my home, I mentally prepared myself to say goodbye to him. Would he even want to see me again? I definitely wanted to see him. When he parked in front of my house, he turned to me with a light smile on his face.
"I'm really sorry about tonight," he said, "I hope it wasn't ruined."
I shook my head and smiled at him, "Nothing about it was bad, I had a really good time."
He sighed in relief. His hand slid over to me and I took it in mine. We stared at each other for the longest time, nothing but silence surrounded us. Ouma carefully reached over to the radio and turned up the music. I didn't know what was playing, it must have come out when we were in the simulator, but it was soft and slow. I knew what was coming. Ouma unbuckled his seat and once again walked around to open my door.
"Dance with me," he voice was barely above a whisper.
Without even hesitating, I took his hand and he pulled me into his arms. For the rest of the song, we held each other and gently swung back and forth.
