Mute

37 | We Need To Talk...

I paced in my room, biting my finger. I hadn't been this agitated in months. I hadn't seen Shouto yet, and hadn't wanted to tell him about the kiss the other day over the phone. But I didn't want him to be upset.

I had no doubt he would be though, Shouto would probably want to kill something, not that I would blame him.

I glanced up sharply as I heard someone knock on the door down stairs. I walked quickly downstairs, hesitating in front of the room. I inhaled deeply and opened the door.

"Hey. Can I come in?"

I nodded, staring just past Shouto. He walked with me to the kitchen and waited silently as I began making us tea.

"You said it was important." He rubbed my shoulder. "You sounded upset."

I worked slightly slower. "Yeah, I ummm, need to talk with you."

He stiffened slightly. "About...us?"

I looked up in surprise, realizing how it must have sounded. "No!" I flinched and dropped my gaze. "No I just...we need to talk."

"Alright. I'll listen."

I hesitated, turning and focusing on the tea. I had no idea how to tell him about it, despite both days of simply thinking. I didn't know Shouto well enough yet to know how to tell him things like this properly. I spent several minutes stalling, and he waited patiently.

"Do you remember, I went to my school for their new years eve party?"

"Yes, you said you were going to wear that red dress."

I nodded. "Umm, yeah." I trialed off again, inhaling deeply. "Right, well umm, our school apparently has a stupid tradition. I didn't know about it before because I lived in America so I didn't know about it."

Shouto was silent, listening curiously as I poured the hot water into the cups.

"Umm, the tradition, the students select two students at random and shove them into the middle of the gym while everyone else counts down."

Shouto nodded. "And they kiss at the count of 0, that sounds like a very interesting tradition."

I nodded. "I guess. Umm, I was kinda, pushed, by the students, into the middle?" I kept my gze strictly off him, waiting for an explosion. Shouto didn't explode. He was deathly silent.

"Who else."

"Umm, they pushed ...Shiro, they pushed Shiro into the middle."

"And you kissed?"

"No!" I glanced up at him quickly, his expression was carefully blank as I panicked. "Yes? I didn't mean to! I didn't know it was happening until it was too late, so I didn't do anything! But I didn't kiss him back!"

"He kissed you, but you didn't kiss him." Shouto clarified.

I nodded, staring at the ground as tears welled up in my eyes. "If I'd known about the stupid tradition  would have stayed home." I said quietly. "If i'd known I wouldn't have let them push me to the middle and I would have pushed Shiro away."

"What did you do after?"

I quickly ran my sleeve under my eye, it absorbed the tear. "I came home!" I inhaled sharply as Shouto suddenly lifted my chin, I hadn't even heard him step closer. He scanned my teary eyes, pulling me to his chest a moment later.

"I'm not mad." He assured me as he smoothed my hair. I wrapped my arms around him. "I just want to know exactly what happened so no one can try to tell me lies. I'm not upset with you in the slightest Emiko. I trust you."

I nodded and bit my lip in an attempt to stop my tears, feeling humiliated as they continued to stream down my cheeks.

"I'm not mad, but I want to get the story straight. Correct me if I'm wrong. You were forced into the middle of the gym while you didn't know what was happening. Shiro was also forced into the middle, and when the clock struck midnight he kissed you, without your consent, because of a tradition. Then you came home and worried for two days."

I nodded silently. Shouto rubbed soothing circles on my back.

"Alright. That's all I needed to know."

We stood in silence for several minutes until my tears finally dried. I pulled back slightly and rubbed my face. "Im sorry, I made a mess." I whispered. I turned and grabbed a towel, running it under cold water.

Shouto let me clean myself up before saying anything. "I don't think you messed anything up. You were amazing. I don't know many other people who would have told me that."

I ducked my head and ran my fingers through my hair. I felt extremely awkward now. Shouto was being calm and collected, and I was crying my eyes out.

"I'm going to go brush my hair. And...I'm sorry Shouto."

He surprised me by kissing me gently and then smiling softly at me. "Again, there's nothing to be sorry for. Go clean up, I'll wait down here for you."