Crossing the bridge, or not?

We all decided on going to a hot spring that's nearby so we could relax.

"Man, this feels nice." Yoshito gazed at the sky, sighing.

"Miyuki's definitely an interesting girl, isn't she? I could never get tired of watching her, she's full of energy."

"You're right, but I'm not sure whether she's energetic or reckless."

Just as before, Yoshito appeared to be a little put off by her as they first met, but now he's getting used to all of her energetic self. This is good, it makes the process of having them be together a lot easier, but I would be lying if I said it doesn't hurt.

"Hey, Yasuhito, I was wondering if there's something going on between you and Eri?" Yoshito sat fully up as he asked.

"Huh?!"

There has never been anything going between Eri and I, sure we got along well as we reached the end of our college days. We'd also go drinking together at times actually, but that doesn't mean there was anything between us.

I remember I once asked Eri if she'd be willing to go shopping with me to help me find a present for Miyuki, she ended up declining at first but accepted to go along with me when I promised that I'd get her a present as well. We did struggle trying to find a gift for Miyuki, and I did end up getting Eri something, which was a pair of gloves that she really seemed to like, thankfully. We did have good times with each other, but I've never had a thought of there being something between us.

"I mean, the both of you were getting along really well on our way here."

"And how was any of that getting along well? All she did was get angry at me."

"I don't know man, I feel like she had fun being your navigator."

There's no way that's true.

"She only became my navigator because someone here decided to be sleepy." I glared at him icily.

"Okay jeez, but that is a good point I'm not gonna lie, I just noticed that she's been staring at you more often lately."

"Wha- nope, you gotta be kidding." I splashed some of the warm water on my face to hide the fact that I'm feeling flustered.

"Look Yasuhito, I know I've told you this a bunch of times before, but I just want you to know that if you ever need some advice, feel free to let me know, I want you to be happy." Yoshito suddenly looked at me, serious.

"I appreciate that very much man, and likewise." I smiled.

Miyuki was rejected by Yoshito, and I was there for her, I took advantage of her being in a vulnerable state just to be able to date her. I really am terrible.

"Hey! I heard there's an ice cream shop nearby, wanna go?"

"Sure, but we'll have to wait for the girls to leave the hot spring as well." Yoshito and I got up to leave and get dressed.

"Okay! Now that we're all here, let's head towards the ice cream shop. Oh, we'll have to cross a bridge by the way." Yoshito looked away as he announced that.

"What!?"

"Are you serious?!"

"Yay! Another fun thing to do!"

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?!" I shook him by the shoulder.

"I don't know, I didn't think it'd matter." He said as he was being shaken.

"Come on guys, maybe it'll be fun." Miyuki got in between us.

We make it to the bridge, it is made up of ivy vines that have been placed together, seeing this is a first for me. The bridge is also placed quite high up with the river down below.

"Actually… I think I'll just stay here, forget about the ice cream." I shakily said.

"Why would you wanna do that if we've already made it here?" Miyuki suddenly spoke up from behind.

"Miyuki, please don't be too excited about this." Eri anxiously said.

"Aww come on, there's nothing to be scared of. Hey Yasuhito, the bridge also has wires underneath, what's wrapped around them just seems to look like vines, so there's no need to worry about it breaking!" Miyuki attempted to help me relax.

I mean, the bridge itself isn't what I'm scared of, I'm just very afraid of heights.

"Are you kidding me… this is.." I froze, not being able to move.

The bridge doesn't even have an actual floor, just a bunch of logs stuck together, which have somewhat wide gaps between them.

"Okay! I'll lead the way." Miyuki walked towards the bridge without hesitation.

"Woah, it's shaking a lot more than I expected!" She looked down below.

"See! It's fine, the best thing to do is to hang onto the handrails, come on!" She gestured us to go along.

"Well guys, let's go!" Yoshito was up next to walk onto the bridge.

"Woah.. this is a lot more than I expected." Yoshito said as he began to shakily, and slowly walk across the bridge.

"Hey Eri, you ready?" I look towards her.

"…"

"Eri, are you feeling okay?" I tapped her shoulder.

"Huh?" She turned to look at me.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said if you're ready."

"Actually, I'm really afraid of heights." She said with a fearful expression.

She's never mentioned this before.

"So I'm not the only one." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Wait, you're afraid of heights as well?" Eri looked at me with a surprised face.

"I've never thought of you as someone that has fears."

"Oh come on, I'm not that cool." I chuckled.

"Well, what should we do?" Eri turned towards the bridge.

"Umm… I guess the only thing to do is to try our best to get over there."

Miyuki and Yoshito have already gotten farther across the bridge, them going together was definitely a good idea.

"Miyuki, don't start shaking the bridge!"

"I'm sorry!"

Yoshito and Miyuki can be heard yelling.

"Should we go ahead?" I began to walk towards the bridge when I feel a tug at my sleeve.

"I'm sorry.. I can't.. I can't do this." Eri had a look of genuine fear on her face.

"Hey, it's okay, I understand that. I'll just call Yoshito when Miyuki and him are done crossing the bridge and let him know we couldn't do it."

When I look back at the bridge, they're already on the other side. They begin to wave at us and I call Yoshito.

"Hey, sorry we couldn't do it, I was just really afraid and Eri was kind enough to stay with me."

"Hey man, it's fine, sorry it felt like we were forcing you guys to do this, do you guys want ice cream?"

"Nah we're good, we'll wait for you guys here."

"Sounds good, and hey, I don't know if you noticed but Miyuki was holding onto my arm when we were close to finishing crossing the bridge, I felt so manly." He quietly giggled as he said that and hung up.

"Wanna go sit on the bench while we wait for them?" Eri came up to me.

"So, why did you tell him you were one that was afraid?" She looked at me, discontented.

"You heard that?"

"…"

"Sorry, I just felt like he'd use that to tease you any change he gets and I notice how annoyed you appear when he teases you."

Eri seemed to have been caught off guard with what I said.

"You really didn't have to do that." She looked away from me.

"So, I noticed that you've been staring at Miyuki a lot today, is there any reason behind that?" She asked as she's fidgeting with her fingers.

Crap, what do I say? Oh! I know.

"There's really no particular reason, I just felt like she's quite reckless and wanted to make sure she's being safe and not putting herself in any danger."

"Hmm.. that is a fair point, she can be reckless at times. Well, thank you for keeping an eye on her." She smiled at me.

You know, now that I notice, I've never realized how pretty Eri's smile is. It's so welcoming.