They go into Shiori’s house. Her parents and brother are still asleep since it’s only about nine o’clock in the morning on a weekend. They go into the bathroom together and close the door.
Shiori “Sit on the edge of the bathtub.”
Hikigaya does as he’s told while Shiori goes into one of the drawers of her counter and pulls out a first aid kit. She goes to Hikigaya and begins to clean up his cut. Focused on the task at hand, she hadn’t realized how close to Hikigaya’s face she had gotten. Hikigaya didn’t notice at first either but as soon as he did he began to blush and look away. Shiori notices this and looks at him confused at first before realizing it too. She quickly finishes cleaning it and pulls out a bandaid. As she’s opening it and getting ready to apply it she makes sure to keep herself a bit farther from him than before. Hikigaya tries to fill the awkward silence with chatter.
Hikigaya “You seem to be used to this. Have you done this before?”
Shiori “Not really anymore but I used to.”
Hikigaya “Oh? On someone else or..?”
Shiori doesn’t answer and lowers her head a bit as she finishes putting on the bandaid. The question obviously upset her a bit.
Hikigaya ‘Maybe too personal?..’
He thought. He gets up and she steps back to put the first aid kit away. Hikigaya stands there awkwardly trying to figure out a way to make her feel better.
Hikigaya “Thank you, Shiori… For helping me.”
She turns to face him and nods a bit. She then turns to grab the doorknob to the bathroom but before she can it begins to open on its own. The both of them get looks of terror as Riku opens the door, rubbing his eyes as it seems he just woke up. He stands in the doorway and looks at the two of them groggily. He just stares for a moment before his eyes begin to open wide and his mouth drops. He begins to call out but before he can, Shiori grabs him and covers his mouth.
Shiori “Don’t! Please Riku, don’t say anything!”
She whispers at him. He struggles to be released but Shiori is too strong. So he resorts to drastic measures. He begins licking the inside of her hand. She lets go immediately.
Shiori “Ew! Gross!”
Riku begins wiping his mouth, grossed out too.
Riku “Ewww, you’re all sweaty!”
He sticks his tongue out at her and then bolts to his parents’ room. Shiori fails to catch him so she starts pushing Hikigaya away towards the door.
Shiori “Go! Go! I don’t want them knowing you were here!”
Hikigaya, confused by the turn of events, gets overwhelmed and doesn’t quite understand what to do immediately. Unfortunately, Takanou comes out of his room awoken by Riku who follows behind him.
Takanou “Shiori? What’s going on here?”
Shiori stops pushing Hikigaya and slowly turns around.
Shiori “No-nothing?”
Takanou assesses the situation with his dad eyes.
Takanou ‘My lovely daughter with a boy she just met? Trying to sneak around the house together?! Unacceptable!’
Takanou puts his fist in the air with one finger pointed out and takes a deep breath in, about to scold them when Hamasaki comes out, still a little sleepy. She throws herself onto Takanou’s back which interrupts him.
Hamasaki “Hikigaya dear, why were you alone with Shiori in the bathroom?”
Her eyes are closed and a smile on her mouth but there is still a sense of intensity in her words. Hikigaya tries to calm himself, nervous to make a bad impression.
Hikigaya “Well you see, I hurt myself earlier so Shiori offered to patch me up. That is all I promise!”
He puts his hands up in defense and sweats nervously. Hamasaki looks at him for a moment before relaxing.
Hamasaki “Okay, I believe you.”
Shiori and Takanou both get shocked looks on their faces.
Takanou “Honey, are you sure? You’re gonna trust this boy we barely just met?”
Hamasaki smiles at him and turns her head to look back at Shiori and Hikigaya.
Hamasaki “Hm, well if Shiori trusts him then I do.”
Shiori “Woah, woah. I do not trust him. I tolerate him at best.”
She says putting one hand on her hip and the other flipped to the side with her eye closed. Hikigaya is obviously offended by the comment.
Hamasaki “Mhm.”
She smiles at them and goes back into her room. Riku goes into the bathroom as he originally intended. Shiori sighs in relief that it didn’t turn into a bigger deal like she had originally thought. Until Takanou walks up to Hikigaya.
Takanou “I’m all for you being stuck with my darling daughter at school but you better be real careful with her, otherwise I will-”
Hamasaki “Ahem.”
Takanou was leaning over Hikigaya while beginning a threat before Hamasaki comes back out and leans against their door frame with one arm over her head and a tanktop strap falling down her shoulder. Obviously trying to be seductive to her husband.
Hamasaki “Why don’t you leave the poor boy alone and come threaten me like that?”
Shiori and Hikigaya both blush, embarrassed and look away quickly.
Shiori “Ew, mama! C’mon!”
They head for the front door as Takanou blushes and gets a nosebleed before clearing his throat. He turns back to Hikigaya one last time before they leave.
Takanou “Just be kind to her, got it?”
He nods and they leave as Takanou turns back to Hamasaki and walks over to her. He wraps his big arms around her waist and pulls her in tightly as she starts kissing him. They fall into the room and lock the door behind them. Riku then comes out of the bathroom and looks around to the now empty hallway.
Riku “Where did they go?”
He shrugs and goes to the living room to watch TV. Shiori and Hikigaya are now outside of their homes and lean against the railing.
Hikigaya “Why were you so concerned with getting me out of there before they saw us?”
Shiori “Because it’s embarrassing.”
Hikigaya “I suppose but it's not like they haven’t met me already.”
Shiori pauses for a moment before deciding to elaborate.
Shiori “Yeah, I know. The real reason is because they are very protective over me. I don’t have a lot of friends because people don’t tend to like me very much so they grill anyone who gets close to me to see if they intend to stick around or not. I just… didn’t want that to happen to you.”
Hikigaya looks at her as she stares at the floor. He turns his head and stares forward too.
Hikigaya “Well… I like you.”
Shiori turns her head quickly, blushing a bit. Hikigaya looks at her and blushes more realizing what it sounded like. He quickly and nervously tries to come up with something else to say.
Hikigaya “I mean from what I’ve seen so far you know? It’s not like we know each other very well or anything! I just think that we could be real friends.”
He embarrassedly covers his head with his arms as he blushes and looks away from her with a dumb smile on his face. She blushes a bit too and smiles softly at him. She stands up.
Shiori “I guess I won’t really be able to go back inside for a little while… Could I maybe… hangout with you?”
She asks nervously, blushing, trying not to make eye contact. Hikigaya drops his arms and looks at her surprised, still blushing. He stands as well.
Hikigaya “Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you my room.”
They go into his home together and hangout for awhile. Some time later, Shiori decides to head back home and says goodbye to Hikigaya. As soon as Shiori comes through the door of her home, Riku is asleep on the couch with the TV on. Shiori smiles and grabs a snack from the fridge. As she’s about to head back into her room her dad comes out and goes into the kitchen as well. He sees her coming out of the kitchen.
Takanou “Good to see you home again sweetie. How was it?”
Shiori “It was cool. We just watched a movie really.”
Takanou “Oh that’s nice. You better have behaved yourself.”
He glares at her as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
Shiori “Nothing happened papa. Like I’d even do anything with him.”
Takanou nods and waves her off as she goes off into her room with her sandwich and sits at her desk casually. She takes a bite of her sandwich and looks down at her clothes.
Shiori ‘I should probably change.’
She shrugs it off and turns to face her desk properly. She grabs her pencil and opens her notebook. She stares at the pages for a moment. The notebook has obviously been written in for a while now as the blank page she is starting at is half way through. She thinks for a moment before getting an idea.
Shiori ‘Next door neighbors…’
She starts writing away while a small smile comes across her face.
The next day, we’re at a supermarket with Haru and Hikigaya. They walk along the aisles with a basket in hand, shopping.
Haru “Thanks again for coming with me Hiki. These grocery trips are always so boring alone.”
Hikigaya “Yeah, not like I was busy anyway. Besides, knowing you, you’ll forget something if someone doesn’t remind you.”
He lightly hits his arm as Haru laughs.
Haru “Man, we’re barely a week into school and things have already been so crazy!”
Hikigaya “Yeah I guess so. I just wish things were more normal. I just wanna be a normal teenager for once. Go to school events, hangout with friends, have crushes ya know?”
Haru “Yeah… Speaking of which, tell me what’s going on between you two, huh, huh?”
He asks excitedly.
Hikigaya “Nothing’s going on okay? If anything she’s just a big pain in my butt at best.”
Haru looks at him confused.
Haru “Chizuru is… a pain in your butt?”
Hikigaya gets a surprised look and quickly corrects himself.
Hikigaya “What? No! Of course not! I was just… nevermind.”
Haru “Who else would I be talking about? You’ve had a huge crush on Chizuru for like 3 years now haven’t you?”
Hikigaya “Yeah.”
Haru “So what’s happening? Give me the scoop! Have you been texting? Hanging out?”
Hikigaya “Yeah we’ve been texting but don’t get your hopes up. I don’t think she likes me like that..”
Haru “Hey, don’t count yourself out yet buddy! There’s still lots of time to tell her how you feel.”
Hikigaya “Well what about you? You like anyone?”
Haru “Oh I don’t know. Maybe? It’s just so hard to say ya know?”
They laugh a bit.
Hikigaya “We are in high school now. Maybe now’s the time to start making moves.”
Haru “Yeah man, do it! I’ve got your back! Hey, maybe we should convince the others to do a sleepover! We haven’t had one of those in like a year. And we could invite Sugawara and Shiori!”
Hikigaya “That sounds like a good idea.”
Haru “Great! I’ll get the group chat together. I’ll add Sugawara and you add Shiori okay?”
Hikigaya “Yeah, I’ll add her later.”
He smiles at him. They finish up shopping and part ways. As Hikigaya comes back home, his mom is enjoying herself in the living room.
Asami “How was shopping with Haru?”
Hikigaya “It was good. We’re planning on having a sleepover next weekend.”
Asami “Ooh, that sounds fun! Just let me know, I can give you guys rides if you need.”
Hikigaya “Thanks mom.”
They smile at each other as Hikigaya enters his room. He sits at his desk for a moment before pulling out his phone. He scrolls through his small contact list.
Hikigaya “Hm… I don’t have Shiori’s number…”
Later that night, Shiori is in the shower. It’s around 11 pm now. Her parents are getting ready for bed in their room and Riku is already fast asleep. She washes her hair then steps out. She no longer has her eyepatch on. After she cleans up, she wraps the towel around herself and walks across the hallway straight into her room. Her hair is down showing that it is actually longer than it seems. Just past her shoulders. She grabs the ends of the towel and begins to pull it apart when she hears a noise. She looks at her window, with the curtains open as she forgot to close them, to see Hikigaya popping up.
Hikigaya “Hey Shiori, I stopped by to-”
He notices her. He blushes as his nosebleeds a bit. Her back is to him so he can’t see anything but he still freaks out and ducks.
Hikigaya “I’m so sorry!”
She blushes too and gets very embarrassed. She quickly changes and dries herself the best she can. She then bolts to her window and pulls it open, shooting her head through.
Shiori “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”
Hikigaya is sitting with his back to the wall under her window and his hands over his head. He slowly looks up at her and jumps back standing up.
Hikigaya “It’s not what it looks like!”
Shiori “Then why are you here? Sneaking around a girls bedroom when she’s changing! Pervert!”
Hikigaya gets mad at the insult.
Hikigaya “Yeah right. Like I’d ever perv on a flat chested girl like you.”
He sticks his tongue out at her. She gets even more mad.
Shiori “Oh yeah?! I’ll show you a flat chest!”
She dives out her window and tackles Hikigaya to the floor where they start wrestling. They go at it until the sliding glass door from the living room opens up after a light turns on. Riku stands in the doorway looking down on both of them menacingly. They quickly stop and look at him with looks of dread as Riku calls out.
Riku “Maaa! Shiori is flirting with that boy from earlier again!”
Shiori quickly gets up and then tackles Riku over and starts pulling his cheek again.
Shiori “I am not flirting with this jerk!”
As she does this, Hamasaki comes out and goes to the kitchen sleepily pouring herself a glass of water. Shiori lets go of Riku and stands up.
Hamasaki “*yawn* It’s okay sweetie. It’s normal to flirt at this age.”
Shiori “Mama?!”
She smiles at her. Shiori is then grabbed by the shoulders and turned around. Hikigaya holds her and lowers his head.
Hikigaya “Look, I didn’t mean to disturb your family. Haru and I made some plans and it’d really help if I could… get your number…”
He looks away from her blushing. Shiori blushes a bit too.
Shiori ‘He’s asking for my number?’
He sees this and blushes a bit more.
Hikigaya “Come on, don’t make it weird. It’s what friends do right?”
She nods her head and they exchange numbers. Hikigaya steps back, still on the patio, and bows to Hamasaki, Riku and Shiori. Takanou is still in bed.
Hikigaya “I’m very sorry for disturbing your family. I didn’t mean to.”
Hamasaki waves her hand gently at him.
Hamasaki “No worries dear. We’ll be alright.”
She smiles at him. He turns to jump back over the railing when Shiori interrupts.
Shiori “You know, you could always just use the front door.”
He gets embarrassed and annoyed and jumps back over. Shiori smirks at him and heads back inside herself. Hamasaki takes Riku and puts him back to bed then kisses Shiori goodnight on the forehead before going to bed herself. Once Shiori is in her room she closes her door and gets into bed. Before she goes to sleep, however, her phone rings. She got a text. She pulls her phone to her and reads it. It’s from Hikigaya.
Hikigaya ‘I’m sorry for disturbing you’
She laughs just once, quietly then replies.
Shiori ‘You’re okay. Talk to you tomorrow?’
Hikigaya ‘Yeah’
She smiles warmly staring at her phone then puts it down and rolls over. As she falls to sleep, we get a wide view of her apartment complex. We pan up to the roof under the clear, moonlit night, to see a man crouching on their roof.
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