Stormy Summer

A Reassuring Confession

Barely able to catch myself before falling over, I take a look at the culprit.

A... bear? I pulled the stuffed animal further away from my face.

Not a bear...

Turning it over, I realized that it was a huge white cat with little specks of black and gray.

When I turned to Bokuto to ask him what this is for, he already went ahead. I offered a quick, polite good-bye to the girl in the booth and hurried after Bokuto, quickly catching up to him.

Upon catching up, Bokuto suddenly stopped, which caused me to run straight into him. I was about to ask him why he'd stopped when he turned around and send me an actual, genuine smile. A smile that stopped me in my tracks of addressing his off behavior, "The firework is about to start," was all he said before he grabbed my free hand that wasn't holding up this giant cat plush and started walking in a slower pace toward the clearing from earlier. Only now, it was filled with people.

How long have we been straying around, looking for everyone? Surely it couldn't have been that long...

It did get somewhat dark though, and it was starting to get colder as well.

I strained my neck, trying to spot any familiar faces amongst the sea of students but was unable to find anyone. I was about to ask Bokuto whether he could see anyone when he started to walk through the mess of people toward a quieter part of the clearing, "From what Kuroo told me, we'll be able to see the firework best from over here," he stopped. We were little ways away from the crowd of people now, "I'm sure they'll show up here at some point," Bokuto sounded so sure of himself that I couldn't help but believe him.

It's going to be alright.

The following silence is comfortable, unlike the last ones. I wasn't even about to say anything but suddenly remembered something. Letting go of Bokuto's hand, I started searching my pockets. After a bit of fumbling, I got what I'd searched for, holding my hand out to Bokuto, "A 'thanks' for the owl keychain you gave me," I explained as he didn't make a move in taking the keychain from me.

"What's this?" he asked once he took it and looked at it more closely. I faltered for a second, "A... Tanuki?" it sounded more like a question. To be honest, I wasn't actually sure what this is supposed to be... I just thought it looked cute, somehow. Bokuto shook his head in thought.

"It's not... I've seen one before and they don't look like this," he explained slowly. I didn't know what to say except, "Maybe we can ask Rose later... She usually knows this kind of stuff," silence falls again after he nods. For a while, the distant chattering from the other students is the only thing to be heard.

Is this how it's going to be?

All of these awkward silences are going to kill me. Should I say something?

What are we supposed to talk about?

I still can't help but feel that this awkward tension between us is my fault... Everything was fine until I decided to open my mouth and confess...

"I've been thinking," bokuto starts after a while, nearly making me jump from the suddenness of his voice cutting through the silence, "I think... I probably owe you an apology," he trailed off toward the end, seeming nervous.

"For what?" I asked as he didn't continue. Bokuto hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "Kuroo told me about your conversation, and-"

"What... conversation?" I interrupted him, my insecurity skyrocketing. I couldn't look Bokuto in the eye, not liking where this was going. At all.

Bokuto hesitated, "At the store... Yesterday..."

He did what?! I didn't want to listen to him any further. I wanted to run away and maybe scream and Kuro along the way.

How could he?

I trusted him!

I didn't even realize that I'd begun to retreat when Bokuto suddenly grabbed my shoulders, stopping my now failed attempt to get out of this situation, "I don't know what exactly you two talked about but..." he took a deep breath, "I don't... hate you..." he was looking at me with such intensity that I was barely able to hold eye contact.

Okay... So Kuro didn't tell him everything we talked about...

Still doesn't verify that Kuro didn't say too much, though... Come to think of it... What exactly did Kuro say, anyway?

I took a deep breath, "Is this what you've been thinking about this whole day?" Even if Kuro had said too much, it wouldn't be Bokuto's fault. There's no reason to be angry with him... I can deal with Kuro later, "I can't... I don't like the idea of you thinking that I don't like you anymore," his voice trailed off toward the end and it was quiet in a way that I almost didn't catch his next words, "especially since that couldn't be further from the truth," he was hugging me now. I couldn't help but notice how much I've missed this over time, I had grown so used to this that'd when it was gone, I realized how much it actually meant.

I also noticed how glad I was that he couldn't see my face this way. I was blushing beyond belief, my heart speeding up at his words or his actions, I didn't know.

We were startled by the sound of cheering as the firework started and Bokuto pulled away slightly, though not letting go of my shoulders. We watched the firework for a little while until I heard him say something.

It was so quiet, though, that I couldn't make out what exactly he had said and when I turned to look at him to ask him what he'd said, I was stunned silent by something else entirely.