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Kohane wondered, briefly, how they ended up here.
It wasn’t unusual for Kohane and An to get into some sort of strange mishap. An adventure was what An always called it. Sometimes they hopped on a train, expecting one stop but ending up on the opposite side of the city. Or they’d find a completely new shop, deciding to go for a detour.
Kohane felt that it was like she was meeting An for the first time again on every one of these. In an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces, her heart would be pounding before her eyes landed on An’s. And she’d smile, inviting her on a journey that Kohane didn’t know she was missing out on.
Of course, that determined, strong willed, brave girl slowly melted away into the An Kohane loved just the same (As friends of course!). Kohane felt a bit of glee (albeit a bit guiltily) at spotting different sides of An. Her fear of ghosts, her ability to get lost in places that weren’t Vivid Street, or the way her eyes shimmered in the sunlight. Maybe that last one wasn’t new.
The newest side Kohane found was her ability to panic. Kohane bit back a smile as An paced back and forth under the awning.
“Yes…We’re safe…’Kay…Love you.” An hung up the phone.
“He’s on his way?” Kohane tilted her head. An nodded, placing the phone in her pocket.
“I’m so sorry, Kohane, I should’ve checked the weather…” Kohane noticed how her fingers twitched slightly, as if trying to grab hold of something to keep her stable.
“It’s okay, An-chan,” Kohane smiled, saying the same words she had used to reassure her only a few minutes before. “I’m having fun just being with you anyways.”
“Are you sure?” An squeaked, her voice filled with insecurity. “Oh, shoot, is your mom going to get the groceries she wanted? Agh, this is a mess!” An’s hands fled to her scalp. Her ponytail (dampened by the rain they had escaped from) swished back and forth.
“An-chan, I promise it’s okay!” Kohane tried to calm her again as her pacing resumed. An had been strangely nervous all day. Fidgeting, looking around, jumping at any question Kohane asked. She intertwined her fingers around her knees. She had to admit — and only to herself — that seeing the roles reversed was just a bit fun. “The errand wasn’t that important and…” Her voice faltered (Why did it falter?). “I was using it as an excuse to hang out with you anyway.”
“Eh?” An stopped her pacing, turning to Kohane. “You don’t need an excuse to hang out with me.”
“I-I know! I’m just…bad at asking.” Kohane’s cheeks warmed ever so slightly at the embarrassing memories. She couldn’t count how many nights she spent pacing her room (much like An was doing now) trying to word out the exact right message to invite An out. Of course, it usually ended in deleting the message and going to bed soon after.
“Kohane, I will drop everything to hang out with you,” An said, a dead serious tone now in her voice. She crouched down, taking Kohane’s hands in her own. “Ev-er-y-thing.” With each syllable she gave Kohane’s hands a squeeze.
Kohane laughed lightly. “Thank you, An-chan.” Her eyes darted up to An’s face. Her heart jumped that quiet way it always did when she looked at An.
An looked down at their intertwined hands for a second. “Kohane, you are crazy warm, are you okay?” She looked back up to Kohane, which somehow made Kohane feel even more warm. “Oh god, don’t tell me you got sick from the rain-“ She lunged forward, placing the back of her hand against Kohane’s forehead.
“A-An-chan!” Kohane yelped at the sudden cool contact.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. When we get back to my place I’ll give you a bunch of medicine!” An pulled back.
“No, no, I promise I’m okay,” Kohane giggled. “I think you’re making the cold…um, nicer?” She wasn’t sure where she was going with that, but that was close enough to how An was making it feel.
Of course, this didn’t make much sense to An. Her eyes darted away from Kohane’s, leaving her a bit lost. “…Oookay…If you start to feel sick at all, tell me.” An shifted to sit next to her on the curb. Kohane felt a chilly absence of warmth as she let go of her hands.
And so, they fell into a comfortable silence. Despite their relationship being built on being singing partners, Kohane didn’t mind the quiet as long as An was there. In any other situation, this type of awkward silence would drive her insane. A million thoughts flooding at speeds she could hardly decipher. Next to An, she didn’t have to feel insecure.
Besides, An managed to tell Kohane her thoughts without even verbalizing them. Kohane tended to play a little game where she guessed what An was thinking before she burst out with whatever plagued her mind. It used to be subconscious, but now Kohane felt a small delight whenever she got it right.
First, Kohane looked at her body language. An’s foot tapped to an invisible beat, her eyes scanned the puddle-ridden road ahead of them, and her eyes kept darting back to Kohane. Through her masterful deductions, Kohane was fairly certain her mind had wandered back toward how comfortable Kohane was in the given situation. Maybe she was praying that her dad would arrive sooner with her old Hello Kitty back-up umbrella since her new one had broken only a month before. Or, maybe she was thinking about bringing up something about Vivid BAD-
“Have I ever told you how pretty your eyes are?” An blurted.
The words caught Kohane completely off guard — and maybe An too. An had pressed her lips together immediately after she spoke, her eyes wide with a sort of shock that put her amber eyes on full display. Kohane didn’t think she was faring much better.
It actually took her a full second to realize her mouth had dropped open. “I-Ah.” Kohane cleared her throat, turning away from An quickly. “I don’t believe you have,” she said in the quietest voice possible.
Between the full declarations of “gal-pal” love and the tight hugs, Kohane was used to An’s compliments. But that was very, very different. It made Kohane’s heart pound even louder in her chest.
An coughed, looking back over to the road. “Yeah! Uh, aha…They’re really pretty…” An’s voice was shrinking as she spoke.
“Thank you…” Kohane squeaked.
Kohane thought she had to take back everything she had said about her mind calming around An because those words made it go about a million miles per hour and she had no idea why. That comfortable silence? A thousand times more awkward.
Should Kohane compliment her back? An was very good-looking — much more good looking than Kohane, if she had to be honest. Her eyes as well? Or maybe the warmth her hands had given only moments prior? Oh, lord, that might be way too specific. Think, Kohane, think!
If anything, this was feeling a lot more like a rom-com than a normal hang out between friends. Kohane could practically feel her heart trying to leap out of her chest and she was 90% sure her body was overheating.
And then a hand fell over hers. Kohane jumped.
“Sorry! Did I startle you?” An pulled away quickly. Kohane shook her head quickly, grabbing An’s hand and placing it back down on the concrete.
Normal. This was very, very normal. They held hands all the time — multiple times that day in fact! Except, now it was making Kohane panic. For some god forsaken reason.
“You, uh, you just looked nervous…” An blinked at the floor. She did!? And Kohane thought she was good at reading An…
“Thank you, An-chan.” Kohane stared at the street for a second. Their hands awkwardly intertwined between them.
What was happening?
What, seriously, was wrong with Kohane? Those few words seemed to turn everything upside down.
This was all such normal stuff, she shouldn’t-
Oh.
Her eyes slowly trailed back to An.
Oh.
Oh no.
Kohane knew what a lesbian was, of course. She read the yuri manga Minori had suggested once or twice (she tried to ignore how embarrassed she felt reading them. Really, any romance just made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. It didn’t help that her face flushed so easily, so any romcom she tried to sit through with her dad left her completely red. It usually ended with her running to her room the second it was over).
But now Kohane had to be hit with the realization that no, all of the feelings she had been feeling for the past — god, how many months had it been? — five months was not, in fact, the wonderful emotions of having a very close buddy who also happened to be your singing partner but actually a crush.
“Kohane…?” An squeaked out.
“Eh!?” Kohane’s head whipped around back to An.
“You’re-you’re kind of crushing my hand…”
And indeed she was. Apparently, her grip had tightened as she thought more and more. “Ack, sorry!” She let go quickly.
“It’s okay, it’s okay!” An waved her hands quickly. Her hands landed at the back of her neck, massaging it as she looked at the road.
Kohane stared at An’s worried face. It wasn’t particularly aimed at Kohane but Kohane could no longer tell what An was thinking. Her head was too full of An, An, An (which was a bit ironic in its own right). This realization was possibly the worst one she had ever had because now as she stared at the girl beside her all she could see were her slightly pursed lips.
Her face reddened even further, forcing her to rip her attention away from An and onto the ground.
“I’m totally blowing it…” An mumbled, not particularly to anyone. “Kohane, I-I’m so sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. This entire day has been a mess…”
“No, it’s not you!” Kohane said a bit louder than she intended. “You’re perfect, you’re always perfect, An-chan.”
An’s face flushed at this compliment. Her head turned away from Kohane but not before she spotted the blush. “I’m not…I can’t even say the things I mean to say.”
Kohane opened her mouth. When no words came out, she simply nodded.
An took a deep breath. She turned toward Kohane, her eyes suddenly determined as they met.
“Kohane, I-“
HONK.
HOOOOONK.
The two girls jumped at the sudden beeping. Ken rolled down the window, tossing the pink umbrella towards them.
“You two are going to catch a cold!” He shouted from inside the car.
An opened her mouth and then closed it a few times.
Kohane grabbed the umbrella and popped it open. “L-let’s get out of the rain!”
An was still speechless, staring at Kohane before breaking into a defeated smile.
“Thanks, dad…” She stood up, following Kohane under the tiny, tiny umbrella and opening the car door.
“I told you it was going to rain.” Ken chuckled as the two slipped inside.
“I don’t remember that at all…” An huffed.
The two continued bickering lightly as the girls were rescued from their desolate awning. But Kohane couldn’t help but feel a part of her heart was still locked away there. Her eyes kept flicking toward An’s.
This was going to be a long ride…