The Guy I've Always Loved (Anime Story)

Chapter 40: Boyfriend

- Takami's POV -

Kiyoshi and I were walking home from school after swim practice.

"You swim pretty fast, huh?" I asked.

"I'm not the best and I'm definitely not the worst. I'm mediocre." He scratched his head.

"I bet you're just being modest. I've seen you swim before and it was really fast." I came closer to his face.

"Did you even see the other members? They were way faster than me." He giggled.

I looked in the other direction and pouted. "Really? I didn't notice them..." I whispered that last part.

Kiyoshi put his arm around my neck and smiled. "Thanks, it means a lot."

"You know, I was wondering I could come to your house sometime," I said straightforwardly.

He blushed hard. "What? Why? Not that I don't want you to come. In fact, I really want you too, but why?"

I tilted my head. "I just thought that you and Aoi are really fun to hang out with. Is that bad?"

Kiyoshi stuttered. "Of course not! But... um... I'm glad..."

I giggled. "You're so cute."

He blushed even harder and looked the other way. "Not cute... handsome..."

I blinked twice and started to giggled again. "Yep, soo handsome." I smiled.

"I should probably take you home. It's getting pretty late."

"Can I tell you something?" I asked him.

"What is it?" He tilted his head.

I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "You're the reason why I'm happy every day."

Kiyoshi tilted his head further. "Huh? Why are you telling me this?"

I tried to avoid eye contact by looking at the other direction. "I mean if it wasn't for you, I would've been mopping feeling all sad because of my previous crush."

Kiyoshi smiled and put his arm on top of my head. "I'm happy because of you too."

In Front of My House

"Thanks for taking me home." I started to open the front door of my house.

"No problem. I don't mind doing this every day." He stuck out his tongue.

I giggled. "See you later." I opened the front door and walked in. I bent down and started to take off my shoes until I saw three extra pairs of shoes. One pair was Mrs. Suzu, another looked really familiar, and another looked foreign.

"Thanks for having us, Mrs. Hirota," Aki said in the living room.

My eyes widened. "Aki...?" Suddenly, a tear fell down my face and I quickly ran out the door, leaving my school bag at home. I looked left and right to try to catch up to Kiyoshi, then I saw him to my right and I ran. "Kiyoshi!"

He turned around and looked confused. "Takami? What are you doing?"

Immediately, I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I don't wanna go back home."

He tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

At the Park

On the Swings

"So your previous crush is at your house right now?" Kiyoshi sat on the swing beside me.

I nodded my head, yes. "He left me to protect my smile and I should be grateful, but now... I don't know how to feel." Tears ran down my face. "I want to see him, but I'm too scared to. Why do I have so much confusion?" 

Kiyoshi got off the swing and stood in front of me. "Didn't you say that I make you happy every day?" He took a pause. "Do you think you might like me?" 

My eyes widened. "I like you?" After I heard that out loud, my heart became at ease. "I like you, Kiyoshi." I smiled. 

"

In My House

Kiyoshi and I took off our shoes and walked into the living room while I was holding onto Kiyoshi's arm tightly.

"Mom?"

My mom was sitting on the chair across from the couch. "Takami, Aki came back." She put her hands together excitedly.

"Isn't this great, Takami?" Kenta sat beside Aki.

I looked at Aki and my body started to shiver. "Hey...?"

"Akihiro?" Kiyoshi walked up to him and clasped hands.

"Kiyoshi? You know Aki?" I asked.

"Yeah, I met him in Kami-Shirataki when I was visiting my grandmother." Aki stood up and Kiyoshi put his arm around his neck.

Aki tilted his head. "So you know Takami?" He asked him.

Kiyoshi smiled. "Yeah, Takami is my... is my..."

Aki and I both waited for what he was gonna say.

"You know..." He looked around and tried to find a way out.

I giggled. "You could say Kiyoshi is my boyfriend."

Kiyoshi walked up to me and put his arm around my neck. "We only became official like just a few minutes ago."

I held onto his hand tightly and tried to avoid eye contact with Aki.

"That's great." Aki smiled at me.

I blinked twice out of confusion, but then I smiled and whisper, "Thank you."