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It was supposed to be a joke, just a little silly prank. Her classmate lent her a short black wig with blue ombre at the tips that resembled her current hair. 'An-chan, try wearing this to surprise people!' she said with a light-hearted laugh while handing her the wig which she answered with thinking that it did sound kinda fun. Suddenly showing up in Weekend Garage, surprising everyone, and then appearing the next day back with her long hair that miraculously grew in one day.
It must be fun to see Kohane's cute reaction. Touya's rare puzzled expression might be interesting too. And most importantly, a certain grumpy someone's surprised face would be her greatest entertainment even though he'd definitely act like he didn't care soon. Shiraishi An was really looking forward to it.
That was what should be happening, how she imagined it to be—her guess was completely on point, except for one person.
When An showed up late in the usual meeting place wearing the wig, Kohane quickly approached while asking her why she cut her hair before giving her tons of compliments for it, Touya said that it was surprising but she looked fresh with her change of style, while Akito—
"Akito, you spilled your coffee."
"W-whoa, sorry Ken-san!"
"That's not where you can get a napkin from, Akito. Why do you suddenly act like it's your first time here?"
"Oh, right. Nothing... I just kind of mixed things up."
—seemed as if his brain stopped working ever since he saw her with her short hair.
No, I mean, isn't your reaction a bit too exaggerated, Akito?
If it was the usual Akito then he'd be staring wide-eyed at her for a moment, giving her a light comment like 'hee? It's unusual for you to cut your hair' or something, and after that Akito would act like usual without even mentioning it anymore for the rest of the day. Strangely, today's Akito wasn't anything near that.
Assuming that An didn't count it wrong, for this one day Akito had zoned out while staring at her around six times, bumping onto something when he walked around four times, getting found out trying to play with her hair on reflex but only to play with thin air because he forgot she cut her hair short two times, and other uncommon careless mistakes for a Shinonome Akito which she couldn't mention one by one.
To cut things short, Akito was being totally weird for the whole day just because of a simple matter of someone trying a different hairstyle.
"Akito, Shiraishi, sorry we're leaving first."
"An-chan, Shinonome-kun, see you tomorrow!"
"It's alright, be careful you guys! Touya, make sure you walk Kohane home! She's cute so it's dangerous!"
"Got it, Shiraishi."
"A-An-chan!!"
There was no spoken agreement, but somehow it had become Touya's responsibility to take Kohane home after practice now. After smiling and waving her hand at her two teammates, her head turned to her other teammate who was left on the counter seat. Akito was supposed to be killing time until the time for his part-time job, but just earlier he told them someone asked him for a switch so he could've just gone home now.
"Akito, aren't you going to go home too?" she asked as he took a seat beside him.
"I think I'll stay a little longer."
"Hmm, alright then."
Silence. The time had long passed the cafe's crowded hours and her father left to get some ingredients they ran out, leaving her alone with her only companion. Both fixed their gazes down to their respective gadgets, An somehow was unable to figure out the reason for this awkward silence between them.
In the midst of the quietness, Akito suddenly let out an exhale.
"Then? Who is the person?"
"...Ha?"
She made a dumb voice when he threw the question at her out of nowhere, his eyes still fixated on his phone. An could hear Akito clicking his tongue.
"Who did you just confess to?"
"...?"
The hell is he talking about? An blinked her eyes, face fully filled with confusion, and Akito let out another heavy sigh. He finally put down his phone to turn his head at her. His face was unusually serious when he repeated the question.
"Don't try to act stupid... who is it? The one who broke your heart."
It wasn't that she had trouble hearing his voice, it was just that she had trouble comprehending his question. She never even thought about having a romantic relationship, let alone confessing to someone and having her heart broken. Where did he even get the idea?
"Eh...? No one—"
"You wouldn't suddenly make a reckless decision like cutting the hair you've been taking care of all these years if nothing happened," the voice that cut her words said in a rather strong tone. "So, just tell me. Who's the bastard?"
"Wait, wait, wait. It's strange enough to associate cutting one's hair to experiencing a heartbreak. Are you a high-school girl? What if it's just some kid sticking a gum on my hair, so I have no choice but to cut it off?"
"...Ha? Which brat did that to your hair?"
"Whoa, I'm kidding! It's just an example of something other than a heartbreak!! Don't make a face that looks like you're going to hunt a small kid like that, I don't know if you're serious or not!"
Seriously, she eyed him again after he had calmed down even slightly. An clearly had told them she just cut her hair for a change of style when she first arrived, but it seemed he didn't believe her on her words at all. The hands that were clenched until the knuckles almost turned white looked a bit painful, what makes him this frustrated?
"I don't get it at all... is that person really worth it? Even though it was really pretty..."
Akito spoke again, which made her raise a brow. Her eyes reflexively closed tight and her shoulders jolted a bit when he moved his hand to touch the tips of her short-lengthened hair. A hint of longing for the night sky curtains seen from the pair of olive color as she opened her eyes to peek.
For some reason, there was something changing about the mood. Her heartbeat was getting faster and her face slowly heated up. It all started as a prank, it was supposed to be a small prank. You're not supposed to overreact it like this!
"...Really, rather than some loser who can't appreciate you like that, don't you think I'm a lot better?"
The words, which she never expected would come out of his mouth at all, was directed at her, passed through her ears, and softly dispersed. The meaning of the words wasn't that difficult to figure out, yet it seemed her brain refused to process it. The cheeks that were still trying to fake a smile twitched slightly as he said it without a moment's pause. Like something's tingling in her heart, like she wanted to run away.
"An."
What's it? she frowned. Just call me like you usually do. There was no need to use such an affectionate voice to call her, don't just suddenly make my name sounds like something lovely as you like. A totally different tone of voice than usual, making her all warm and fuzzy inside. Who was this guy in front of her? She couldn't recognize him at all. The tone was familiar, similar to that one she incidentally heard when she served a pair of lovers in Weekend Garage, voice sweeter than some artificial sweetener that made the listener shy and jittery.
"I love you."
Just a simple three-words sentence, but she swallowed her spit. Her own heartbeat felt unbearably loud, ringing on her eardrums. Does everyone feel like this when someone confesses their feelings to you? Her brain stopped working, her body stopped listening to her, and her face felt like reaching the boiling point in an instant.
It was unexpected, everything was never a part of the plan, there was never a time when An imagined this guy in front of her would tell her those words.
Yet, even so, even if that's so.
Because Shinonome Akito who just told her that he loved her suddenly looked dazzling, she couldn't help but accepted his hand, a size totally bigger than hers, to hold her face and gently pulled her closer to him.
As their faces overlapped with each other, Shiraishi An had given up thinking whether the prank was a success or a failure.
"Ta—da! Here, it's the hair that Akito loves so much! You can play with it to your heart's content, I'm giving you a special permission!"
"... Don't talk to me."
"No way~ my boyfriend has grown so cold even though it's only our first day dating. I wonder if it's already the time to break up."
"An, you... damn it. You should've said it's just a wig... I feel so stupid."
"Because that's exactly the purpose of the prank, to make Akito feel stupid. Well, I never expected someone would mistake it as coping mechanism for a heartbreak though."
"I can't help it... I mean, I was so shaken I couldn't think straight."
"Mhm, I get it. So, are you relieved now that I didn't actually cut my hair~?"
"... Somewhat."
"Ahaha, your ears are red! Shinonome Akito sure has a cute side."
"I'll shut you up if you keep being annoying like this, you know? You'll regret it, An."
"Hm? What are you going to do anywa—Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait a moment please!! Hey, Aki—mmph!!!"
At least in one way or another, the prank was definitely a success.