Orphan

Outing

Ran's POV:

Tomoe and I walked to the mall together. We didn't talk much. It wasn't like there was much to say. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, though. It actually feels nice.

I've been thinking over what Tomoe said. So, they'll be nicer to me now if I tell them things? I hope so. They understood exactly why I was hesitating. Well, mostly.

I guess it all does stem back from them freaking out at me when I'd talk. Since they kept doing that, I started thinking I was just burdening them. I guess that wasn't the case. They just didn't know how to get me to be more open.

"Hey, Tomoe?" I looked over at her.

"Yeah?" She replied, glancing my way.

"After this… do you have anything else to do?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I can do it later." Tomoe replied, "Why?"

I stared at the ground, "Well… I want to… I want to see the others… and talk."

That was a lot harder to admit than I thought it would be. Why? They promised they won't be mean anymore. This is okay now. I can tell them these things. Right?

"Okay. Let me see if they're all available then." Tomoe pulled out her phone and started texting them.

We continued to walk while she did that. It wasn't long before we reached the mall.

"They all agreed. We'll meet up at the park in two hours." Tomoe stated.

"Okay." I replied. I guess that'll work.

We went into one store. It was a grocery store. I kinda assumed that was what she was sent to buy. We started a small chat while shopping. We just talked about our classes and how much we liked our teachers. She didn't bring up anything that would result in me having to mention the bullying.

It was about half-an-hour later when we finished. We walked back to her house and put everything away. I couldn't really help because I didn't know how they organize their fridge. I just awkwardly stood to the side while Tomoe did that.

Then, Ako came downstairs. She smiled and ran to give me a hug. I hugged her back, albeit a little awkwardly. I had not been expecting a hug when she appeared.

"Someone seems like they're in a good mood." I stated as Ako pulled away.

Ako smiled at me, "Rin-Rin asked me to hang out today!"

"Who?" I have no clue who that is.

"A friend she met online." Tomoe replied.

"Oh. Well, I'm glad you made a close friend." I said.

"I just wish we were the same age…" Ako pouted.

"How old is she?" I asked.

"She's 16." Ako replied.

"So, a year older than us, huh?" I looked at Tomoe.

"Yeah. At least it was someone close in age." Tomoe gave Ako a slight glare.

"Come on. You made a big fuss over nothing." Ako huffed, "I'm going now. Bye."

I looked at Tomoe and waited for her to explain. She waited until we heard the front door close.

"Okay… I may have overreacted when Ako told me she made an online friend." Tomoe mumbled, "That's all I'll say."

"Overprotective of her?"

Tomoe shrugged, "I guess maybe I am."

"So… what now?" I asked. We still had ages until it was time to meet up.

"I don't know. You wanna watch TV or something?" Tomoe shrugged.

…

We spent the time watching TV and talking. Eventually it was time for us to head to the park. We were the first ones to arrive. We sat on the ground and waited.

I found a stick and started drawing in the dirt. Tomoe found a stick as well and joined me. We were doodling weird pictures and giggling. It was nice. It's nice to just get to be myself like this. To not have to worry.

A few minutes later, Himari arrived. We stopped drawing and greeted her. Not too long after Tsugumi and Moca arrived as well. We were all sitting in a circle.

"So, what's up?" Himari asked.

"Well… we haven't really hung out much…" I mumbled, "I… I thought it'd be nice to do."

"So… I'm guessing the talk went well?" Moca asked as she looked at Tomoe.

"Yeah. I'd say it did." Tomow replied.

"What's there to talk about?" Himari asked.

"I don't know…" I mumbled. I didn't really think too much about this.

"Well, do you want to talk about what's been going on or would you rather we avoid that?" Moca questioned.

I don't think I really want to talk about it. They don't need to know every small detail. They know the basics, so that's good enough. If anything else comes up, I'll try and tell them then.

I shook my head. I'd rather just have a nice day with them. Like we used to have.

"I have a question." Tsugumi stated.

"What's up?" We all looked at her.

"Well… about… our relationship…" Tsugumi trailed off.

We all got the message, though. That was a thing to think about. I bet it was a shock for them all to learn they all confessed to me before. I really don't know what I'd do. How am I supposed to handle this?

"Well, it's Ran's choice over what comes of it." Himari said.

What do I want? If I choose one of them, won't that make the others upset? If I say no to them all, would that be worse? Agh… this is tough. Should I ask for more time to think? Or… maybe I have an idea.

"How about we're all together…" I mumbled quietly.

"All together?" Tomoe repeated.

"Like, the five of us are all dating?" Moca asked.

I gave a slight nod. If we do that, then no one will be hurt, right? I hope so.

I glanced around at them all. They were all looked at each other. I guess they're trying to decide how to respond.

"I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work." Himari said.

"Hmm… seems fine to me." Moca hummed.

"Why not?" Tomoe agreed.

"T-this will be interesting." Tsugumi stammered.

So… that means… they accept it?

"So, we're all…" I couldn't finish it.

"We're all dating."