𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗧𝗘𝗫𝗧 ; ʜᴀɴᴀɴᴇɴᴇ ✓

𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚

— in which confessions are made

- - -

"Go and get him, Yashiro."

The words echoed in Yashiro's mind for a while, as if a song on repeat in a radio. It confused Yashiro, because why would Akane know about Hanako? But it slipped off of her mind when she opened the front door of her house.

Panting, and nearly out of breath, Yashiro stumbled in her home, frantically kicking her shoes off (of course, properly placing them in a shelf after), and running upstairs to her room. The slam of her door was pretty loud, but that was the last of Yashiro's worries. Her parents weren't home yet anyway so no one would scold her for being in a hurry.

She rummaged through her bag, searching for a certain rectangular device. As soon as she found it, Yashiro scrolled through the chatrooms, old and new, then didn't hesitate to click the dial button.

On the first ring, he picked up.

Awkward silence washed over them, and it was pretty much inevitable. It is strange that Yashiro suddenly called him after days of ignoring each other because of a fight Yashiro caused. The said girl's face grew hot in embarrassment.

Yashiro breathed in. "I'm sor—"

"Yashiro, I—"

"You go first," they both said at the same time. Yashiro was surprised, but it didn't stop the laugh that left her lips when Hanako chuckled.

Yashiro cleared her throat after a minute, searching for the right words to say — and there is a lot to say. "Hanako-kun, I'm sorry. . .I hurt you because I was too stupid and naive to let Fuji-kun control who I can talk to. I am still guilty about it. I hope we can start again?"

Hanako was silent for a second. "It's fine. I just— I missed talking to you, Yashiro."

Yashiro's heart thumped in her chest, so dangerously loud she was afraid he would hear it and laugh at her. But something was off. Yashiro couldn't really place a finger on it, but Hanako's voice was oddly hoarse and rough today.

And Yashiro knew what Hanako's voice normally sounded like. (Because she usually tried to repeat his voice in her head before she goes to sleep as if it's a lullaby). In Yashiro's defense, his voice is soothing, despite being oddly high-pitched.

"Hanako-kun, were you crying?" Yashiro asked carefully, and slowly, because she was afraid that he would hang up if she said something wrong.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," Hanako sheepishly admitted. "Maybe someday I'll tell you everything about me. For now, can we just. . .enjoy the moment? Hearing your voice just makes me calm, y'know?"

Yashiro sat on her (very clean) floor, hugging her knees close to her chest, wearing a wide, shaky smile she hadn't wore for a while. "Are you sure? Because I have a lot to talk about."

"I'm all ears!" Yashiro couldn't help but imagine a boy around her age, excitedly pumping his fist up in the air. The faceless stranger would probably be curled up in his bed.

It then kind of dawned on Yashiro that she had never seen Hanako's face before. (Or maybe she did?) But she set it aside for the meantime.

"Fuji-kun and I broke up."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"He was a pretty lame boyfriend anyway. You deserve better—"

Yashiro cut him off. "I know. I kind of figured that maybe I should just be patient and wait for my soulmate and not jump at any given chance." She nervously twirled a finger around her hair, curling and tugging at it.

Yashiro could feel his grin. "Who cares about soulmates anyway when I can come home looking forward to your text."

Yashiro's breath hitched, and she's more than sure that Hanako heard it. She felt a burn creep up her face — but it wasn't a painful kind of burn, it felt right, especially because Hanako is the one who made her blush.

"I think I love you," Yashiro breathed. And she meant it. No accidental blurts; it came right from the heart.

"Really?" Yashiro could've sworn he sounded like a child from the way his voice went a pitch higher than usual.

"Is it bad to fall in love with someone right after I broke up with someone?" For Yashiro, though, she didn't feel guilty. Maybe it was because it felt right: Yashiro was meant to do this with Hanako all along.

"No, I don't blame you, Yashiro. I am charming and wholesome!"

And just like that, Hanako had ruined the moment they were having. Yashiro deadpanned and refrained from sighing in disappointment.

"Hanako-kun, I confessed to you, now's not the time to feed your own ego."

He chuckled. "I think I love you, too, Yashiro." He paused. "Actually, that's stupid. I know I love you. I have from the start."