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“Ah.”
Ayaka shielded her eyes from the rain when she looked up at the sky and took a step backwards. She did forget that raining season started and left her umbrella at home because of that. The morning was sunny and warm and as she was in a rush, she didn’t pick it up at her door.
“Good grief,” someone behind Ayaka said and made her heart skip a beat. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize that voice, not even when it was half drowned in the sound of the rain. “Couldn’t the rain wait until I’m home?”
Lumine.
She stepped next to Ayaka and a surprised look appeared on Lumine’s face. “Oh, hello, president.” The confused expression made room for something soft. “You’re leaving early today.”
A light pink appeared on Ayaka’s cheeks, and she looked down on her feet, rubbing her knees against each other. “Y-yes,” she answered then. “We could finish our meeting early today and everyone left fast to escape the rain.” She looked up at the sky again. It was covered in thick, dark gray clouds which didn’t seem like they would let a ray of sunshine through them.
“They’re smart,” Lumine answered her and a chuckle escaped her mouth. “I hope it doesn’t last too long, I can’t stand that heavy rain.” She let out a long sigh, a huge contrast to her soft laugh a second ago. “If you don’t mind, I’ll wait with you here.”
“Ah-?” Ayaka couldn’t stop that sound from escaping and the heat rushed up into her face, and she averted her eyes as fast as she has raised them. Did it look like she was waiting for the rain to clear up? She had left the building only briefly before Lumine and didn’t expect to run into her here. “Of course! It’s not like I own this place and you’re free to choose where to stand and-”
Lumine’s laugh interrupted her. “There is no reason to be so stiff and polite around me, you know?” she said eventually after catching her breath and swiped a tear aside. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh but-” she adjusted her bag on her shoulder, “you look so cute right now!”
There was no way Ayaka was able to stop her blood from rushing up into her face, painting it all red like the cherries in her garden.
Even after a few tries, Ayaka couldn’t bring out a coherent word, even less a sentence hence Lumine spoke again. “You probably should call Thoma to pick you up. I’m surprised he isn’t here yet.”
Ayaka looked down on her feet again. “You’re right, I should do that,” she replied and felt a wave of sadness running through her. If she called Thoma, he would be here in a few minutes, picking her up with the car and getting her home all safe and dry but that would also mean to end the time with Lumine.
She didn’t want that.
Her heart sped up a little bit more and her lips went dry. “He-He is out on a trip with a friend of him,” Ayaka lied. Well, it was only half a lie as Thoma was on a trip today but it was more likely that he already returned than him being still away. “I don’t want him to rush it.”
“Oh,” Lumine answered in a short manner and shrugged it off. “My brother’s out with Xiao, so he left me alone.” She looked at Ayaka and shrugged again. “We are in the same boat, then.” With that said, Lumine looked up at the sky, Ayaka following it and not noticing how Lumine looked back at her. “So, how about we go for a hot chocolate and some tea?” she asked. “There’s this new coffee shop I wanted to try out for two weeks now.”
Again, Ayaka had a hard time getting her words out. “Are you- Are you sure you want to go there with me?” Then the realization came before Lumine could answer her. “But I didn’t bring any money or an umbrella.”
Lumine smiled. “No problem, I share my umbrella with you and your tea is on me.”
“You-You can’t pay for me!” Ayaka’s heart was beating so fast and loud that she wasn’t able to stop her voice from getting louder in the protest than she anticipated it. “Ah- I’m sorry, I didn’t want to-”
For a moment, Lumine looked away from Ayaka. “And here I get dumped by my crush since first year high school.”
Confused, Ayaka blinked at Lumine. It took her a few moments to realize what those words meant. “You-You were asking me out?” she asked. “For a-” The heat in her face grew hot in an uncomfortable way. “A date?”
“I did a few times but you never got my intentions right.”
All the moments Lumine invited her to be with her alone, and herself being clumsy and awkward, rushed through her mind. Then, Ayaka bowed deeply in front of Lumine. “I’m so sorry but I really want to go out with you.”
Lumine patted her shoulder to give her a sign to get up again, Ayaka looking up at her with big, innocent eyes. “How am I able to resist you with your pretty eyes?”
The red deepened on Ayaka’s cheeks.