I love you (1)

"How? Since when?"

Her voice trembled as she asked these questions.

"Hana..." I called out to her gently.

"You..."

I smiled at her, but she stood with her head down as if she was afraid to look at me.

"Hana..." I repeated.

She didn't answer, and then I finally found the courage to say the words I'd wanted to say for so long.

"Don't worry," I whispered softly. "Your feelings are mutual..."

"Eh?"

Finally, her surprised eyes met mine. There was a look of disbelief in them, as if she was trying to figure out if I was messing with her or not.

"What's there to be surprised about?" I said.

"But... What do you mean? You never..."

"You were so wrapped up in your fears that you didn't notice my feelings..." I said.

She looked at me with incomprehension in her eyes.

"Wait... Are you saying... You really like me?"

It was as if she didn't believe my words and expected me to say it was all a joke. 

But it wasn't a joke or a game, it was the truth.

"I do... I love you," I said, lowering my head awkwardly.

I was embarrassed too, I was confessing to her after all. I could feel my heart beating faster and my cheeks burning.

"No, no, I mean... like... like romantically?" she asked, still not believing me.

"Yeah... I'm in love with you..."

"Wait... so all this time..."

"Yes..."

"And... How long have you known about my feelings?..."

"I had an idea, but I wasn't completely sure..."

At that moment I felt her hands slip from mine.

Lifting my eyes slightly, I saw that she was now sitting on the floor, her legs bent sideways. Her face, which she covered with her hands, was slightly downcast.

It seemed that all the feelings she had been hiding, trying to keep inside, were finally coming out.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?" I asked softly, kneeling down next to her.

I could feel the hardness of the floor against my skin, but it didn't matter.

Still reluctant to look at me, as if she wasn't ready to reveal all her feelings, she continued to cover her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry, Emi! I'm such a coward! I couldn't confess! I was so afraid!"

Ah...

Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me.

"Stupid girl... I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have put you through this... Your confession in that love letter was so sweet, I just wanted you to say those words yourself..."

"Is it true? Do you really love me?"

She finally raised her eyes to mine.

"Why would I lie?"

"I-I don't believe you..."

"You're such a dummy."

"Am I dreaming?"

"You're not..."

She'd always been the braver one between us, but to see her like this...

I pulled away slightly and, cupping her cheeks with my palms, brought her face close to mine.

She didn't resist.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Hana... Please don't cry.

"What did you tell them?" I asked.

"Um... what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the members of the drama club."

"Ah... I-I just asked them not to tell you... not to tell you that it was me in that costume..."

"And they weren't surprised?"

"They were..."

"What about the original actor? Do you know him?"

"He's a friend of my brother's."

"Oh, right, your brother's on the student council."

"Yeah... and... and our music club is friends with the drama club, so we know each other..." her voice trembled slightly. 

I watched the first tear roll down her cheek.

"So they basically asked you to temporarily replace him. I see, and you thought you could get away from me?" I said with a warm smile, trying to calm her down.

But she only lowered her head in embarrassment, probably not wanting me to see the tears she could no longer hold back.

Then I heard her sob quietly.

"Hey... Calm down..." I said, gently stroking her back.

Finally, she gave in completely and started sobbing in my arms. "I was worried. I... I dropped that stupid love letter, too! I'm such an idiot," she sobbed, "but I couldn't help it. I've been hiding my feelings for so long..."

"Hey, don't call the letter stupid, it was really sweet... And you're not an idiot. You have no idea how happy I was when I read it."

She clung to me tightly, pulling me even closer...

"Waa!"

Her slender fingers dug awkwardly into the fabric of my clothes as I stroked her head gently, soothingly...

We sat in silence for a while, only her sobs filling the room.

I didn't know how much time had passed.

At some point, as her sobs subsided, she suddenly tightened her embrace...

Then I heard her soft whisper that gently touched my ear.

"You little..."

There was still a slight tremor in her voice from her recent tears, but now it sounded confident, firm, and determined.

Hmm? Had I awakened the beast?

"Hey..." I murmured.

I felt her head fall on my shoulder.

"You made me cry... I'll show you," she whispered.

Her fingers dug deeper into my back as she pulled me closer...

"I love you..."

"I love you too," I replied softly.

A thought came to me: I had called Hana a coward, but...

"You know... maybe I'm a bigger coward than you. Maybe that's why I acted the way I did..." I said.

"No..." I heard her whisper.

"No?"

"I won't forgive you..."

"Huh?..."

Her answer surprised me.

I pulled away slightly and met her confident gaze as she looked at me.

"I will only forgive you if you do everything I ask," she said with a devilish smile.

Ah, she's just getting back at me for all my teasing... Well, I don't really mind. She can do whatever she wants to me.

"Sure... I'll do anything for you," I said with a soft smile.

"Be careful though. Who knows what I'll ask for," she said playfully.

"It doesn't really matter," I grinned. "Ask for whatever you want, my queen."

"Pfft. Hahaha."

Her laughter, so close, was very sweet. It gently tickled my heart.

"What? Queen? You're so funny, hahaha. And why are you acting so brave? Aren't you afraid? What if I ask you to shout that you love me in front of the whole school?" she asked.

"I can do it," I said confidently. "Do you want me to?" 

"Not a shred of doubt, huh?..." she said, pulling back a little in surprise.

"You don't like it?" I asked, moving my face a little closer.

"No... it's not that..." she replied, looking at me a little embarrassed. "I'm just not used to it..."

"It's just... for some reason I feel like I can do anything for you... Don't you feel the same way?" I asked.

"Hmmm..." she said with a slight hesitation in her eyes.

"Huh? Don't tell me you don't?"

She only laughed in response.

"Pfft... Look at your face, hahaha. You look so desperate!"

"Hey. Don't play with me now," I said with a pout. "If you don't feel the same way, I'll..."

"Hey, calm down, silly. Of course I feel the same way..." she said, taking my hand in hers.

"So... then... Do you have anything in mind that you want me to do?" I asked after a short pause.

"You really can't wait for me to order you around, can you?"

"Hahahah, maybe..."

"Hmmm... Let me think..." she paused, thinking. "Well... Then take me out on a date..."

"That's it?"

"Lol. What's with the tone? You almost sound disappointed."

"Well, I thought you were going to ask me to kiss you and hold your hands and cuddle you every day..." I said embarrassed.

I could see her cheeks instantly turning red.

"Huh?! Is that what you've been dreaming about?" she asked.

"Uh... Of course... Isn't that what couples do?"

"Couples?"

"I mean, we're a couple now, right?"

"Well... Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"What? Or is it just me who thinks that?" I asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

"No, no... I've always wanted to be your girlfriend, too. It's just that this whole thing really feels like a dream..."

"Yeah... you're probably right," I said thoughtfully.

Then I looked into her eyes again. "But it's not a dream, it's real. So you better get used to it, I'm going to be very clingy, you know?"

She just smiled playfully at my words.

"Hah! Well, if you're really that desperate," she said, moving closer to me. "You can kiss me whenever you want, sweetie..."

I immediately felt my cheeks getting hot...

"W-What do you mean?" I asked.

"You want to kiss me, don't you?"

I averted my eyes...

It was like a game. We both weren't used to all this yet...

"I mean… Yeah… I want to..." I said quietly.

She didn't answer, but kept looking into my eyes.

"You want to do it now?" I added, feeling my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Hmmm... Well, maybe not right now..." she said, pulling away with the same sly look on her face.

She was definitely teasing me. It was like I was completely in the palm of her hand.

"Then when?" I asked.

"Pfft," she laughed. "Can't wait to kiss me, huh? Well, I've got a great idea! Next time, make it a surprise."

"Surprise?"

"Yeah. Next time, just kiss me without asking," she said with a satisfied smile. "That would be really cool! Like, super romantic!"

I laughed. "Hahaha... You're finally showing your romantic side, Hana."

"I've always had that side... I was just too embarrassed to show it to you..."

She was right... Even though I wanted to kiss her right now, I somehow felt that the time wasn't right yet.

But for now it was enough to be with her like this. To feel her warmth, to see her gentle gaze... to finally be able to express my feelings, to hold her in my arms without trying to hide anything…