Warmth

-LEAH'S POINT OF VIEW-

:Daikuhara-san, this is my home. Thank you for bringing me here.

*Jousuke puts Leah down*

;You're welcome. Are you really okay now? If not, I'll buy you some medicine.

*Leah blushed*

:Y-yes, don't worry about me!

;Do you have a fever? You're red.

:N-no, D-Daikuhara-san. I feel amazing.

;Okay, if you feel anything bad, call me. You have my number anyways.

:S-sure!

;By the way, do you feel cold?

:Somehow, yes.

*Jousuke removed his hoodie and offered it to Leah*

;Here, take this.

:W-why?

;You really look sick.

:N-no, trust me, I'm fine!

;My conscience would kill me if you don't take this.

;Well...I guess I'll take it...

*Leah took the hoodie and covered her face with it and she looked at Jousuke*

;W-why? Is something wrong?

:N-n-no! I just thought that you're doing too much for me!

;Well, I don't mind. At least my conscience will be happy. That'd be enough for my self-satisfaction.

*Jousuke smiled and Leah blushed with amazement in her eyes*

;I'll be going now, stay safe and take care, Boutsuki-san. Make sure you'll wear that and keep yourself warm.

:Y-yeah, you too!

*Jousuke walked away*

"Aren't we too close today, Daikuhara-san? Is it because we're friends or is it because of something else?"

*Leah wore Jousuke's hoodie and checked her heartbeat*

"It's too fast. Why?"

*Leah went inside their house and saw Litsuko*

:Oh, mom. I'm home

;Welcome home. Oh my, Leah-chan...is he your boyfriend?

:W-what do you mean, mom?

;I mean, he's carrying you and he gave you his hoodie. And the way he talks to you, that's so sweet!

:N-no, you misunderstood! It's because I passed out due to fear and he's the only one who can carry me! And also, he asked me if I'm cold and I said I am!

;Then how can you walk by yourself now? And you're even sweating! Oh my! My daughter's enjoying her youth!

:It's not like that, mom!

*Litsuko went to the kitchen and sang a love song while Leah was annoyed and she went to her room*

"Gosh, why does everyone think we're lovers?"

*Leah remembered the line "Besides, we really do look good together." by Jousuke and she fell to her knees and blushed*

"Hmmm, what does he mean? Why is my heart beating so fast when I'm thinking of him?"

*Leah's phone rang*

:Hello?

;Good evening, Leah-chan!

:Oh, good evening, Junna-chan. Why did you call?

;I've heard something! I'm so happy for you!

:W-what?

;Don't act fool! Mashiro-chan saw you earlier at Shibuya Parco. She told me the guy we saw from hallway was carrying you. How lovely!

"Not the two of you too!"

:N-no, Junna-chan, it's not like that. He's not my lover! He's just my friend.

;If he really is, then why is he carrying you?

:I passed out because of fear. Some of my friends, Him, and I, entered a horror house for fun. But moments later, they decided to split up, so I have to explore by myself. You all know I'm always scared of anything that surrounds me whenever I'm alone. The moment I saw a ghost, it was disgusting and scary. That ghost was full of blood and everything. So then, I ran! So fast! Then I bumped into that guy and he helped me calm down and lessen my fear. The last thing I remembered inside that house is a jumpscare while I'm hugging that guy's arms. After that, I saw him face-to-face while I'm laying down in a bench. I can't walk that time due to abnormal heartbeat and blood flow. You know my blood really is abnormal. So he have to carry me because in our friend group, he's the only one who can do that! That's what happened! Nothing's going on between us. We're just friends!

;Well, if that's so, Leah-chan, why are you so nervous?

*Junna laughed*

:N-n-n-no! O-of c...course I'm not!

;You are, you're stuttering so hard!

:T-trust me, I-I'm not!

*Junna laughed harder*

As time goes by, Leah and Junna continued telling stories. Until Litsuko shouted "Leah-chan, it's dinner time!"

Leah replied to Litsuko "Coming, mom!" and then she greeted Junna a goodbye "Hey, Junna-chan, I'll talk to you next time. Mom's calling me for dinner."

"Okay sure! Bye!" said Junna.

"Bye!" said Leah and then she got up and realized she's still wearing Jousuke's hoodie.

She thought to herself "It feels so warm and it smells so good. Why do I feel like he's still carrying me right now?" He's the first man to ever do that to me..."

She removed Jousuke's hoodie and smelled it and said "It smells like him. I could get use to this."

She folded the hoodie nicely and went to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry for the late meal. I've had a hard time washing bunch of dishes." said Litsuko and then she chuckled.

"It's fine mom. By the way, where's dad?" Leah replied and asked.

"He's still in our room. He said he's not going to eat with us today since he wanna finish his a lot of work so badly." said Litsuko.

"I see." Leah replied.

They both sat down and had a meal and said "Thank you for the meal."

-JOUSUKE'S HOUSE-

"I'm home!" said Jousuke.

"Welcome home. You're home late, any reasons why?" said Miyako.

"Yes, I helped someone in need." said Jousuke and then he remembered Leah.

"Okay, that's my son. By the way, the food's on the fridge. Make sure to save some for your sister." said Miyako.

"No thanks, I already ate on the way home. She can have it." said Jousuke.

"It's Onigiri." said Miyako.

Jousuke quickly ran to the fridge and shouted "Thank you for the meal!"

As Jousuke was eating, his phone vibrated. He thought to himself "A text? From whom?"

He checked his phone and saw a message from Leah. He thought to himself "Boutsuki-san? What's going on?"

He opened the message and saw "Thank you for today, Daikuhara-san. You've been a great help to me. Also, thank you for letting me borrow your hoodie. I'll return it on monday."

Jousuke replied "You're welcome. By the way, no, you can keep that hoodie. I'm getting taller and taller, it might not fit for me anytime soon."

Leah blushed and replied "If that's so, how can I return the favor?"

Jousuke replied "You don't have to. We're friends, anyways."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Jousuke replied.

"Okay, have a good night!" said Leah.

"You too. By the way, you look good and cute earlier, I didn't know you're fashionable." said Jousuke.

Leah replied with "😊" sticker. At her bed, she's swinging her feet out of happiness. She thought to herself "He thinks I'm cute! I'm so happy!" and then she hugged Jousuke's hoodie and once again thought to herself "Why do I feel like he's different from every other man. Could it be I like him? There's no way!"

As Jousuke continued eating, Miyako entered the kitchen and asked "How was your day? Did you enjoy hanging out with your friends?"

"Yeah. T'was fun. We entered a horror house, tried different rides, and ate some strange food." Jousuke replied.

"Okay, good. Since you had a lot of fun today, you'll be the one to clean the house tomorrow, okay?" said Miyako.

Jousuke thought to himself "That was an unexpected ending..." and then he replied "Sure, I will."

"Good. Wake up at 5:30AM." said Miyako.

"5:30AM!?" Jousuke shouted in shock.