It was a humid Friday afternoon, the sun's relentless rays and chirping cicadas only emphasising that it was Summer. Ryoko and Joe were hanging out at their favourite cafe close to the school, minus one person. Sara would have joined them, but she had a club meeting she needed to attend, and had left them in a hurry.
The two of them had ordered chocolate milkshakes, the cool drinks soothing their sweating bodies. They had started up a conversation, comfortable as always, but Ryoko had found her friend spacing out every few minutes. She found herself snapping her fingers to wake him up much too often.
Ryoko gave a sigh. She had a feeling she knew what he was so distracted by.
Taking a lazy sip of her drink, she spoke up. “You like Sara, don’t you?”
Joe comically did a spit take. Ryoko coiled back, disgusted.
Her friend sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, quickly wiping up the spill on the table with a nearby napkin.
“W-w-what’re you talking about?! I don’t...like Sara…” he trailed off.
A few seconds passed. They sat there in silence, Ryoko’s heavy gaze trained on Joe like a weight on a balance scale.
Finally, the boy let out a loud shout.
“Aaarggggh!!” Joe groaned, wringing his hands through his hair, a few passerby looking over in alarm.
The girl raised an eyebrow. It was surprising that they hadn’t been kicked out of the cafe yet due to disruption of peace.
“...Was it really that obvious?” He’s blushing.
“Too obvious. Everyone knows but you two.”
“Arrrghhh!”
Ryoko sighed again. This idiot… “So tell me- why haven’t you told her yet?”
She wasn’t going to say that Sara liked him too just yet.
Joe lay his head down on his arms, face down, but Ryoko could still see that his ears were red, right to the tips. Cute.
“...she’s just...too cool...and strong..and amazing. And I’m just...not cool. She’d never see me in that way,” he mumbled dejectedly, his voice muffled by his arms. You have no idea how wrong you are.
Ryoko stared at her dejected friend for a little while longer. It was strange to see the ever-confident Joe so insecure. This only proved how much Sara meant to him.
But still. Ryoko sighed for the third time that day.
Sara was a bit of a different case. She tended to keep things to herself, so Ryoko had to pry the truth out of her.
The girl giggled silently to herself. It was funny how they both had the same reaction when she pressed them.
Ryoko cleared her throat. If she didn't do anything now, then they would never make any progress!
Steeling her gaze and voice, she spoke. “Joe Tazuna! Are you a man or what? Go confess to her before someone steals her away!”
The poor boy jumped in his seat, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.
Ryoko crossed her arms. “This attitude of yours isn’t going to get you anywhere! You’ll just end up with a broken heart!”
“But, I don’t think I’m good enough for her… okay, okay, I’m sorry! Please stop glaring at me....”
Ryoko continued to glare. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re cool or not! If you don’t say anything, you’ll regret it in the long run!”
She gave her friend a bit of time to let her words sink in, a satisfied smile showing on her face as she observed Joe’s changing facial expression. His eyes had become more clear now.
“I think she’d appreciate it either way if you got the guts to confess to her head on! Now are you gonna confess or what?!”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” yelled Joe in a soldier-like voice, his back straight and his arm in a salute.
Ryoko grinned. “That’s the spirit!”
Joe returned her smile, giving her a wave as he quickly ran off, his resolve clearly strengthened.
“You forgot your bag!” Ryoko called out from behind him.
The silly boy quickly backtracked to grab said item, calling out a thanks to his close friend while he was at it.
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Ryoko didn’t even need to ask how it went- the two came back to the classroom a little later with their hands intertwined, the shy smiles on their faces indicating something special had occurred between them.
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