Our World

by Ash Mio

  I was throwing out the trash later when I saw them outside. They were sitting on a bench together.

  “Here. It’s a carrot cake.” Hikari handed Will his portion shyly.

  “Ohh? That’s my favorite. What a coincidence.” He gave him another peck on the cheek, “Thank you.” He smiled.

  “And here’s my group’s cake.” Will handed Hikari a cake topped with mangos, his favorite.

  So they even know each other’s favorite foods. I feel like I’ve lost somehow. Why are these two so sickeningly sweet? I feel like anyone who saw them would be buried in an avalanche of sugar.

  A few girls walk toward the area where Will and Hikari are sitting. They stopped when they saw Will.

  “Look at that.”

  “I wanted to give my piece to Will, but he turned it down.”

  “You don’t think….Will can’t actually like Hikari right?”

  “I bet it’s blackmail or something.”

  “Gross.”

  I’m just like these girls. I’m jealous too, but I’m also different. I can see how happy the idiot couple are, and there’s no ruining their happiness as long as they have me as a friend. I go up to the girls and glare at them.

  “What did you say?” They’re scared.

  “Nothing….We just…”

  “If you say anything bad about Will and Hikari, I’ll beat you guys up. My uncle runs a dojo.” I crouch. The girls scream and run away. I catch Shun staring at me from behind a corner. Why is he always staring? Is he a stalker?

  “Emi…”

  “What is it Shun? Did you come to bother them? Even if we’re friends, I’ll beat you up too.” He looks surprised.

  “It’s not that. I promise. I felt really bad about what I did to Hikari. Although, I don’t think I can accept it still…And I don’t understand why you accept it so easily. After all you-”

  He cut himself off. “You like him don’t you?” I just stare at him. We’ve known each other a long time, and at one point, I told him about my feelings for Hikari.

  He whispered. “If you told him…”

  “That’s precisely it.” I sigh. “ To me, those two are really brave. I could never admit I liked Hikari…even when I’m a girl. Will and Hikari admitted they like each other even when they know most people will think it’s strange. They’re really brave. Don’t you think Shun?” He doesn’t respond.

  “ Besides, there’s zero chance for me. If you’ve seen how they look at each other, I think you’d understand just a little bit.” He looks away for a while.

  “Did you need something Shun? If you didn’t come here to mess with Will and Hikari, did you come here to see me?”

  He looks at me nervously and starts fidgeting. “I...this…this is for you.” Shun hands me his portion of strawberry shortcake.

  “Shun don’t you want to eat it? Your group worked hard to make this didn’t they?”

  “No, it’s yours. Throw it away if you don’t want it.” He ran off in a hurry.

  “Shun! Wait!” I sigh. I don’t understand Shun sometimes.

  The cake was dense but sweet. “How did you manage to make it like this?” I smile.

  Honestly, this class is full of idiots.

  The next day, I confront them. I decided it was better that they knew someone was there for them than to just keep it all inside.

  “So…you two are dating huh?”

  Hikari spits out his food.

  “Don’t.Even.Try.To.Lie.Because. You.Can’t.Hi-ka-ri.” I give him an intimidating stare.

  He panics a little.

  “Yup, we’re dating.” Will smiles happily. Will is too straightforward sometimes. Hikari starts blushing.

  “Well that was super obvious. Congrats I guess.”

  Although, I’m still a little bitter. I’ve got to keep that in check.

  “Thank you.”

  You cheeky bastard. Don’t get an ego just because everyone is in love with you and Hikari loves you.

  Will suddenly leans in. “And sorry for taking Hikari, but I’ll take good care of him. I promise.”

  It took me a second to realize what he meant. I blush in embarrassment.

  This guy…now I think I definitely hate him.

  Ch. 12 Hikari

  “What was that about?”

  “It’s a secret.”

  “Were you and Emi that close?”

  Will had this thoughtful look on his face. “Not at all. It’s just that I feel bad for her. She must be suffering because of this really dense person.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  “It’s okay Hikari. She’ll recover. Can I have some rolled omelet?”

  “Sure.” I push the lunchbox towards him, but he bites the one on my chopstick instead.

  “You guys aren’t even trying to hide it.” Shun clicks his tongue.

  “Shun…” It’s strange for him to approach us.

  “The girls are all crying because of Will. They can’t even get close to you two. Everyone pretty much thinks you’re dating.”

  “We decided we weren’t going to hide anything.” Will says. “This is our way of “telling people” so they can react however they want.”

  “Now that you mention it though, I expected more of commotion or reaction. I wonder why there hasn’t been any girls trying to beat me up.”

  Shun frowned. “That’s cause Emi has been threatening everyone who says anything bad.”

  I had no idea. I should buy her some new manga as a thank you.

  “She’s a good person. Take good care of her Shun.” I encourage. I know how much he cares about Emi.

  He blushes. “Shut up Hikari. I just want to let you know that if anyone bothers you, you can come to me for help. “ He seems emphatic. I can’t help think that he’s the one that started everything though…But if he hadn’t started it….

  “Don’t give me that face like you don’t trust me Hikari.”

  “Sorry, it’s just surprising coming from you Shun.” What caused this sudden change of heart I wonder? Oh well, at least he’s not trying to rough me up anymore.

  “Anyways, come to me for help.” He pointed to his chest with his thumb and walked away.

  “That’s nice of him to offer. I’m sure Emi has some influence.” Will paused to think. “It may take some time for her to see how hard he’s working though.”

  “That’s true, “ I agreed but it sounded like there was more to that statement like he knew something I didn’t.

  “By the way…” Will pull out some coupons from his pocket. “ ..These are for you. This is the most romantic gesture I could think of for Hikari.”

  I took the coupons to the dog café excitedly. I really wanted to hug him. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received. I love, love, love it so much.”

  “So my biggest competition is actually the dogs,” Will pouted.

  “Yup.”

  “At least think about it a little bit…”

  “Let’s go right now!”

  “We’re still in school.”

  “Let’s go after school.”

  “Well I have work, so I was going there anyways. I really want to be the reason Hikari visits the café though and not the dogs.” He sighs.

  On our way to the dog café, Will asked me how I afforded to visit so many times before.

  “I buy collector’s items and re-sell them online. My manga collection is worth a fortune probably.”

  “Hikari’s actually a shrewd business man…”

  “Of course, you have to wheedle money from people to visit dog cafes.”

  Chibi’s leg has healed from the sprain. His tiny cast had been taken off. He and I have made some real progress. Instead of outright rejecting me and walking away, he stares at me and then decides not to jump on my lap.

  Chibi still prefers Will to anyone else. He runs up to him and even waits patiently while he’s talking to customers. I look at the group of girls he has to fight off. He’s as popular as ever. “Chibi,
Will doesn’t have time for us right now.” Will is getting overwhelmed with questions about the dogs.

  “So what kind of dog is your favorite?”

  “If you were to become a dog, which breed would you be?”

  “How do I get my dog to come to me like these dogs?”

  “Do you own a dog?”

  He politely put his hands up“….Wouldn’t you ladies prefer playing with the dogs instead? We have many friendly, cute dogs.”

  “He really is a little too handsome. “ I say. Chibi barked in agreement.

  “You two looked bummed.” Oda-san came over with a pile of pictures.

  “What are those Oda-san?”

  He smiled mischievously and handed me a picture of Will holding Chibi.

  “We’re going to sell these.”

  “Does Will know?”

  “Yup. He agreed.” He agreed? That sounds suspicious in its own way.

  “Did you blackmail him?”

  Oda-san smirked. “Of course not. I merely said that to pay for Chibi’s veterinarian fees, it might be a good idea to sell some of the dog’s picture and some of “Chibi’s.””

  “That’s emotional blackmail Oda-san.”

  “Hmm? Is it?”

  “It is.”

  “I’ve got an idea. Why don’t I give you the other dog’s pictures free of charge? You love dogs don’t you Hikari?”

  “I already have plenty of pictures of the dogs. But actually….could I keep this one?”

  Oda-san looked surprised. “Sure, since it’s Chibi’s picture?”

  I smiled. “Something like that.”

  Oda-san looked confused. I put the picture safely in my pocket.

  The picture sale was pandemonium. Female customers screamed excitedly. Oda-san shouted over them.“200 yen per picture. One per customer please. You’re all helping cover little Chibi’s vet bill. Thank you very much. We appreciate your business.”

  Will looked a little defeated. “Whatever helps I guess.” There was so much demand that the pictures were sold out in no time.

  “We’ll be doing a second printing, please come visit us again.”

  “Well they really went batshit crazy for those pictures.” The employees were closing up the café, cleaning and putting the dogs in their kennels. Will was holding Chibi, who was excitedly jumping on his lap.

  “You know, I think Chibi may have a thing for handsome men.” Oda-san observed.

  “Is that why he prefers Will?”

  Will laughed.

  “My face is just normal, but why don’t we test it out?” He put Chibi down and came over to me to fix my hair. His fingers made my face tingle. They were so soft and long.

  “Alright, we have one handsome man.”

  “Oh this looks interesting. Look Chibi-tan. Isn’t Hikari handsome?” Oda-san pointed to me.

  Chibi stared at me for a second.

  “I don’t think this will work.”

  Chibi walks up to me and barks. He wags his tail.

  “It worked.” Oda-san chuckled. “So that’s the reason you like Will Chibi. He goes for looks.”

  I picked him up and petted him. He nuzzled his head against me for the first time. The fur is the softest of all the dogs.

  “I don’t know whether I should be happy or depressed.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Now we can let handsome customers play with him.”

  “Chibi has good taste.”

  …………………………………………………………………………

  “Are you still depressed Hikari?” Will was asking as we walked home together. “All this time…that’s all it took.”

  “I’m sure Chibi also remembers you saving him.” Will grabbed my hand and held it. “Let me walk you home like this.” I hold on tighter. “Okay.”

  We walk and talk as we slowly make our way home. At the front of my house, he lets go of my hand. “Will, do you want to come in for a minute? Mom really wants to see you.”

  He pouted. “Only your mom wants to see me?” His hurt puppy dog eyes were too much for my heart to handle. “No…Of course not dummy.” He perked up.

  “Mom might want to cook for you but I’ll make an excuse...”

  When Mom saw Will, she squeezed him in a bear hug. She brought him some snacks. Dad was happy he got to eat some as well.

  “Will have some dango!” She puts the dango up to his mouth.

  “Mom, he’s going to choke.”

  …..We barely escape upstairs. “We finally have some alone time together. Although, I’ll have to leave soon.” Yeah, he’d have to leave today, and then when his study abroad is done….

  “What wrong?”

  I grab onto his shirt. “I just keep thinking that 10 months isn’t nearly enough. We have school and you have customers all over you at work.“

  He put his arms around me. “I feel the same way. No matter how much time we spend together, it’s not enough. I’m glad Hikari feels the same way.” He sways and I sway with him.

  Against his chest, it felt so warm. “Hikari, go on a date with me.”

  “A date?” I look up at him.

  “Yeah, a date. Let’s spend the months we have left going on a lot of dates and being together.”

  “Yes! Let’s go!”

  “Great! I’ll plan something. Can you meet me at the train station tomorrow?” I nodded. He hugged me again. My whole body was warm.

  “Is there something in your pocket? I think I’m crumpling something like paper.” He reaches in a pulls out the picture.

  “That’s…that’s….” He has the most unreadable expression on his face.

  “What is this Hikari?” His voice is even.

  “It’s …a picture of you and Chibi.” My voice trails off a bit.

  “I see that. Why do you have one of these exactly?”

  “I…wanted a souvenir.” I avert his gaze. His mouth twitched.

  “You wanted my picture or Chibi’s?” I turned red and burry my face in his chest.

  “Yours.”

  He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up. “I think I love you. I really do.”

  “Put me down Will! It’s embarrassing.”

  “Not a chance. I’m too happy.”

  ………………………………………………….

  “Will, come play again.” Mom was clinging onto him as he was trying to leave. “Of course.”

  “Mom, let him go. He can’t come home with a middle aged woman on his arms.” She glared at me and let him go. She ran quickly to the kitchen and came back with a radish.

  “I plucked this daikon radish, please bring it home. I heard it’s good in stew or pickled.”

  “Thank you.” He’s probably never received a daikon radish as a gift before.

  “What a good boy,” Mom said after he left.”

  “Yeah. He’s the best,” I say as I wave him goodbye, but all I can think about is the date.

  A date. We have a date tomorrow.

  Ch.13 Will

  My first date ended in me getting slapped in the face. And since it went so well the last time, I’m a bit nervous for this date. I asked the Tachibanas where people go on their day off.

  “The amusement park.”

  “My friend probably doesn’t like fast rides.”

  “The aquarium is really popular. There’s also this planetarium show I heard was good.”

  “That might work.”

  In the end, I chose the planetarium. I hope it was the right choice. Hikari texted and said he was 10 minutes away. I waited nervously.

  “Will.”

  Hikari had done his hair and was wearing a striped sleeved shirt , pants cut at the ankle, and sneakers. He looks incredibly adorable. He ran breathlessly over. His skin looks dewy and flushed.

  “Did I make you wait long?” I stared at him. “Will?”

  “Sorry. I’ve just never seen you in regular clothes. This feels like an authentic date.”
/>   His cheeks turn a cherry color. “Oh.” He looks away shyly.

  “I’ve got tickets to this planetarium show. It’s supposed to be really beautiful. “

  “Sounds good.”

  “I hope it’s okay. I thought about the aquarium, but there are too many people on the weekend.”

  “As long as I get to spend time with you, I’m good.” He smiles with his lips scrunched.

  Damn. I really do love this guy. I reach out and take Hikari’s hands, which feel small and slender in mine.

  “Don’t let go.”

  “I’m not a kid.” So he says, but he squeezes tighter.

  The inside of the planetarium is spacious. The visuals on the dome play out and they are really beautiful. The music plays as the show continues on the dome roof. Hikari gasps. He’s really easy to impress. The next image was of meteors falling to the earth in streaks of light. Since it’s dark, I pet Hikari’s head and play with his ears. He squirms a little bit. As the show ends, we leave the darkness of the theater for the burning brightness outside.

  “I didn’t expect the music to be so fitting.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “Yes!” His smile is big.

  We walk by the park and there’s a crepe stand on the way. There were guys lining up to buy it for their girlfriends, and girls lining up to buy for themselves.

  “Want to get some crepes?” I suggest.

  Hikari looks at the stand. “I’ll buy it for us since you got the tickets.”

  “But we’re on a date….I should…”

  “We’ve both got dicks right? I want to buy a crepe for my boyfriend.” He smiled. He can be so crude and so cute at the same time. He runs over to the crepe stand.

  “One strawberry and one banana please.”

  The crepes are super tasty and a little messy. I snap a picture of the two of us. Hikari’s face is priceless in the photo. He tried to delete the photo , but there was no way he could reach my phone with his height.

  “Let’s at least take a better one on my phone.”

  “That’s a good idea, but I want a better one on my phone too.” We took photos of everything we did. Hikari documented our dinner and me winning him a small stuffed toy keychain at the arcade.