As we made our way to an empty bench Shin was staring at me acting all  suspicious about this agenda of us knowing each other. We sat down at the bench with Shin sitting in the middle as if trying to separate Yukino from me.

“Now, would you guys mind explaining?” Shin demanded.

“Should I go first?” Asked Yukino

“No, I don’t want any misunderstanding so I’ll do it” 

“Remember how I got rejected, right? I just can’t continue the classes for the rest of the day so I decided to cut classes and I  happened to bump into your friend Yukino. All she did was cheer me up and that’s all. I didn’t  do anything suspicious so you can relax now and stop with all the suspicious staring okay?”

“Aren’t you gonna tell her how you played the piano for me?” Added Yukino?

“What? Aoi never played the piano in front of anyone except me and his grandparents. Now that’s a surprise” 

Yukino looked shocked by the words spoken by Shin. Her face radiates an aura of surprised feeling, and it looks like she’s blushing a bit.

“So what’s with you two? Don’t tell me you guys are attracted to each other or something just because of all that.”

I wasn’t able to give Shin an answer right away. I couldn’t deny the fact that Yukino is attractive so I was quiet. But instead, Yukino answered quickly in my stead.

“Well, I can’t say he’s not attractive, but you know me right? I don’t do romance or any of that stuff so you don’t have to worry Shin”

I don’t know what I felt when she said those words but it definitely hit me. Am I sad about that fact? No,  I shouldn’t even care, it’s not that I like her or anything. Besides, I haven’t even moved on yet. Maybe I just felt some sort of attachment because she happened to be there when I was at my lowest. I shouldn’t give this much thought either like Yukino did. It’s not even a big deal in the first place, her comforting me is just what kind people do. She’s kind so it’s the obvious thing to do. 

The day passed as the three of us talked about random stuff. But most of it was them teasing me without any constraint. But somewhere in my mind I asked myself why Shin wants me to meet Yukino if she’s trying to cheer me up. If she’s not going to ship the two of us then what? But I can kind of understand why. My guess is that because Yukino somehow manages to lighten the air up. That’s what happened when she comforted me. All the pain was like taken away by just her being my company. That’s what it feels like. A rainbow after the storm? No that’s not it, she can be the storm itself sometimes.  But I guess I wouldn’t mind a little storm in my life. 

But despite Yukino having all these traits that could possibly cheer me up, that’s not exactly the reason Shin brought her here. 

“So Yukino, as we both know, Aoi, my friend here, was rejected badly yesterday. I know you have lots of friends. So can you hook him up with someone?” 

“Well, I do have a lot of friends that I can think of right now who can be a good fit for him. Here look”

Yukino showed her phone  to Shin, leaving me out of the topic and not even asking about my say in this agenda so I just spoke up.

“Hey! I don’t want that kind of stuff! I just got rejected so at least be more considerate. I’m not desperate for love, and you can’t force something like this on a whim. This is way out of line” 

I walked out hurrying to where I parked. I’m upset. What I did might be a bit too much but I can’t help it. 

As I was about to ride my motorbike,  Yukino appeared in front of me and was catching her breath. 

“Shin’s mad, you know?”

“Yeah I know, we’ll make up eventually”

“She went home, the two of you can’t leave me alone just like that”

“I’m sorry you got dragged into all this stuff. I’ll make it up to you next time”

“You can do that if you allow me to tag along now” 

I handed her the spare helmet without thinking. So she sat at the backseat and the two of us went on our way. 

“So where are we going?” Yukino asked.

“To my usual spot”

When I first entered college, I found a good spot at the university which is really good to stay at as soon as the night falls. There was an empty room that was previously occupied by the astronomy club before they stopped their activities and disbanded. Inside the room was a telescope that was never picked up by its owner. So I usually stargaze at night by using it. 

We arrived at the university at around 10:30 PM since we bought snacks on our way here. We snuck inside the university and went to my usual spot. 

“So this is your spot huh? A bit spooky ain’t it?” 

“Try using the telescope”

I helped her since she doesn’t know how to use it. Our bodies were close to each other but we didn’t realize it as we were both focused on the task at hand.

Yukino looked at the stars as I stared at her face without her knowing. I didn’t even realize it but I felt relieved that she liked something that I do.

“This is beautiful!” Said Yukino as she stepped back from the telescope and caught me staring at her. 

We quickly diverted our gaze towards the sky leaving a bit of an awkward atmosphere around us. 

As we were looking at the night sky with the telescope standing between us, I thought that I should tell her why I acted that way earlier.

“I was upset earlier, It felt like she’s doing this out of pity. I’m not desperate for love that I’ll go for anyone. I’m not saying this to disrespect your friends. It’s just that, relationships are a big deal to me since I cherish it so much that I think things like that shouldn’t be done on a whim.” 

“Yeah I understand” 

“Maybe it’s just an excuse for myself. I shouldn’t have acted that way. I know that’s not her intention. Maybe I’m just not ready yet because I’m still hurt. And I feel so pathetic about the fact that I went for someone out of my league.” 

“You know Shin too well Aoi, so I know you already understand. She’s just doing this to cheer you up. Well, she’s a bit over for doing that haha. It’s okay to be hurt, it's proof that you take these things seriously. And there’s no such thing as out of our league. It’s just that not all of the time, feelings will be reciprocated. And most of the time, there’s nothing we can do about it but to accept it. That’s life. We always have to move forward no matter what” Shin said all of these words while looking at the stars. Her face is so vibrant that it’s hard to take my eyes away from her. 

“You sound like an old man you know?”

“Is that what you say to someone who’s comforting you?”

We both laughed while looking up at the stars. 

I took her home a few minutes later. It was past midnight so Yukino told me to go right after dropping her off before her uncle saw me. We waved goodbye to each other and I went on my way quickly.

I thought about what Yukino said earlier on my way home. It felt like she’s a free spirit. Like, she’s ready to accept whatever the world gives her. I think she’s really cool because of that. I don’t mind having someone like her around me. A positive energy to neutralize all the hardships of the world that was unveiled to me as I grew up.