Don't look down.
Pacing back and forth, the ginger-haired boy swallowed hard. He was nervous about what he was about to say. He had stayed up all night, thinking of the perfect way to word what he was about to ask the girl of his dreams. He had rehearsed it multiple times in his head, there was no way he could mess this up. 'Right?' he asked himself, suddenly unsure.
"What am I even thinking? Of course I won't mess it up. I've gone over it so many times, and plus, it's me. I'm gonna do awesome, and she'll absolutely say yes!" he said, pumping his fist as he gave himself a small pep talk.
Walking down the sidewalk, he made his way to his rival school, Iwatobi High School. Class hadn't quite started just yet, in fact it wouldn't be for another ten minutes until the students would really start to arrive. He felt confident in himself, a sudden burst of energy taking over as he thought of the day that hopefully lied ahead. With a large smile on his face, he leaned against the wall by the entrance onto the grounds, waiting for the one girl who had his eye.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen, and he began to grow nervous. What if she wasn't even coming today? His thoughts raced, his confidence melting away, until he saw a familiar burgundy ponytail. He immediately lit up and made a beeline over to the young girl. "Hi Gou-san!" he called out, causing the girl to look up from her conversation with her friend.
"O-oh! Hi Momo-kun!" she paused and smiled brightly, rather surprised to see him.
"You look pretty cute today… Actually, you look cute every day, " Momotarou said with a happy smile, before taking her hand and looking down at her, straight into her amber eyes.
"Thank you… but uh… Why are you here? Don't you have class today?" she asked, pulling her hand away and looking back up at him, confused but concerned.
"Well, yeah… but I was wondering… would you uh… would you…" he cut himself off, immediately upset with himself for already screwing up. He had planned it out so perfectly in his head and now he had messed up and she'd probably say no.
"Would I what? What is it?" she tilted her head and then nodded at her friend who walked on ahead, leaving her and Momo by themselves.
"Would you… go on a date with me? Today! Like right now? Instead of going to class?" he asked quickly, trying not to stumble over his words.
Gou was taken aback by his suggestion. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times while trying to think of what to say. He had come all the way to ask her that? 'What a sweet thing for him to do…' Her thoughts made her smile, but the reality of missing class was weighing heavily on her. She looked down at the ground and sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I can't, Momo-kun. I can't miss class," she said quietly.
Momo's face fell, his smile crumbling quickly. He felt like he had just been shot through the heart. "O-oh… I see… Well, it was worth a shot asking… But, I understand," he said, looking away and turning on his heel.
Gou grimaced at the look on his face and bit her lip. She would probably regret what she was about to say, but she reached out and grabbed his arm before he could walk off. "Wait. I mean… I guess this once won't hurt. Just I can't go out in my uniform… They'll stop me and send me to school." She couldn't believe her words, but they seemed to bring that goofy smile back onto Momotarou's face.
He let out a whoop of joy, thrusting his fist in the air. He hadn't screwed up after all. And even better, she had said yes. He couldn't contain himself. He would have Gou to himself all day and he was beside himself with happiness. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Up this high; we'll never hit the ground.
Gou stepped out of her front door, this time dressed in something casual and easy to maneuver in. Momo looked at her with admiration. She looked so beautiful, as always. She smiled shyly at him and was met with a dorky grin. "Well… Shall we go then?" she asked, stepping down and making her way to him.
She couldn't quite believe she was skipping class today to go on a date. 'What would Rin say? Does he know? Of course he doesn't know, Gou. If he knew, Momotarou wouldn't be here right now.' Her mind raced as she walked next to the ginger-haired boy who was practically bouncing with excitement next to her. Turning to look at him, she tilted her head to the side, feeling her ponytail fall onto her shoulder. "So where exactly are we going, Momotarou?"
Momo was off in his own little happy-go-lucky world while Gou was at his side. Everything was going perfectly. He hadn't really expected her to say yes, but there she was, skipping class to go on a date with him. Momotarou Mikoshiba. There had never been a luckier man in the world, he was sure of it. He was in a daze when she spoke to him, only to snap out of it at the sound of her voice. "Oh! I thought we could go to the amusement park… and maybe then to the beach," he said with a confident smile, feeling cool for having planned everything out.
Surprised at how much he had already planned out, she smiled brightly. He was actually more mature than he originally came across. It was refreshing. "So amusement park and then the beach? That sounds like a lot of fun!" her voice, accompanied by her eyes, emphasized her excitement, her steps quickening to keep up with his.
Don't look down.
Approaching the amusement park, Momo and Gou started running, suddenly acting very childlike. They were the only ones there, save the employees, and that was something neither of them had ever experienced. Racing up to the admissions booth, Momo paid for the both of them and they entered the park, eager to get started. "Gou-san! Should we ride the rollercoasters first?" Momo asked, his golden eyes shining bright with excitement.
She glanced around the park, studying each ride. The rollercoasters looked like they'd be a true thrill, and right that moment, she craved thrill. "Absolutely, Momo-kun! Let's go!" she called out as she made her way over to one of the rides.
It had twists and loops, causing Momo's eyes to grow big. He never once thought a ride could make him so nervous just by the sight of it. Shaking his head, he ran off after her, catching up to her and walking side by side to the rollercoaster.
Given a knowing smile by the ride conductor, Momo nodded back as he climbed into the car, sitting next to Gou, trying to contain his happiness as to not embarrass himself too much. The cars started moving forward, climbing up to the top of the peak. 'Here it comes…' He beamed as Gou took hold of his arm as the car tipped forward. "You okay, Gou-san?"
"I'm fine!" she screamed out as they lurched forward and went through one of the twists and around a loop. Adrenaline raced through both of them, screams erupting from the female's mouth, while whoops of joy and excitement came from the male's. But, it was obvious the two of them were having the time of their lives.
As the car went through a second time, Gou's grip on Momo's arm strengthened once more, only relaxing once they came to a complete stop at the end. "Th-that was… amazing!" she gushed as she exited the car, her amber eyes sparkling vibrantly.
This caused Momo to grin with confidence. "I'm glad you're having fun, Gou-san. Should we ride another? Do you want to play some games in the midway? Whatever you want to do, I'm totally game!" He reached forward and grabbed her hand, holding it up with eager eyes. "Well? What do you want to do?"
"Hm… Can we ride the carousel? Please?"
"The carousel? Seems… weak. But sure!" he said, pulling her in the direction of the carousel, knowing that it would make her happy, and that's all that mattered. Her happiness was his goal.
See that sky?
Seating herself on one of the sea creature pedestals, a sea horse, she turned to look at Momo, who ironically chose to sit on the otter. She chuckled and smiled at him, feeling the ride start to move. She hadn't had this much fun with anyone since the last time her brother had taken her to the amusement park, before he left for Australia. It was definitely long overdue. A thought still weighed heavily on her mind though, something she needed to ask him. 'It'll have to wait though.'
Momo found great joy in watching Gou ride next to him on the carousel. The amount of delight in her face, the aura of elation that she was emitting was enough to make him beam brightly. "Hey, Gou-san… do you want to go play games now?"
Nodding eagerly at his question, Gou smiled. "Of course! But don't cry when I win!" she said with a teasing grin. He was going down, she wasn't about to lose to Momotarou. She'd never live it down if she did.
We're gonna reach it now.
The two played fiercely against one another, not relenting a single time. Gou ended up beating Momo more times than he had beaten her, but he didn't mind. She might've trash-talked him the whole time, with a couple quips thrown her way from him, but it was all innocent fun, and worth it to see the smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're having fun, Gou-san!" he said to her as they walked away from the midway, both with prizes to spare.
It was getting to be late afternoon; time had flown by while they challenged each other and played games. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky. Turning to Momo with a hint of concern in her eyes, Gou tilted her head to the side, "Momo-kun? Don't you have to go to swim practice? Won't Rin get mad if you aren't there?" she asked, stopping in her tracks to look at him.
"Oh! Crap! I forgot about practice! I just… I was having so much fun with you, it slipped my mind completely…" he smiled reassuringly. "But don't worry; missing one practice isn't that big of a deal. I can handle it all later."
Momo knew for a fact that missing practice was a very big deal, and his reason for missing would definitely upset Rin. To miss practice was one thing. To miss practice because he was out on a date with the captain's younger sister was another. 'Whatever! I like Gou more than I fear Rin.' His thoughts were a death sentence, but he didn't really care. Being with Gou was enough for him, even if it was the last thing he would probably ever do.
"If you insist… come on, let's go to the beach. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the swim team can manage without me for one day…" Gou smiled and followed him as they left the park, heading for the beach. The sun was sinking lower as they walked side by side once more, and she couldn't help but blush lightly.
'What is this feeling…?' She blinked in confusion. It was similar to the feeling she got when she observed incredibly muscular bodies, but it was still very different. It made her flush with bashfulness and want to cast her eyes downward. "Such a weird feeling…" she mumbled to herself, before looking up and over at her ginger-haired companion.
Do you feel the lightning inside of you?
As they walked down the shoreline, Gou leaned down to slip her sandals off, loving the feel of the sand between her toes. Holding them in one hand, she looked nervously over at Momo, who was gazing out at the water. She took a deep breath and blushed deeply, taking hold of his hand, interlocking her fingers with his.
Momo wasn't expecting Gou to grab his hand and he looked over at her with a surprised expression that quickly melted into a small, happy smile. Squeezing her hand and turning on his heel a bit, he continued to walk, leading her along. He swung their arms slightly, trying not to explode from elation.
The two of them walked in silence, before Gou suddenly stopped and set down her shoes. She let go of his hand and stepped over into the water, feeling the waves crash gently on her feet. Looking back at Momo, who stared at her with a confused look, she smiled. "Hey Momo-kun…"
"Yeah?" he responded as he stood next to her in the water, feeling her take his hand once again as she continued to stare out onto the horizon.
The sun was setting and it was a beautiful scene to behold: the girl of his dreams, holding his hand and watching the sunset with him, on the beach. They were both completely silent until the sun was about halfway out of sight. At that moment, Gou turned to him and smiled shyly, leaning up and forward.
Leaning closer, she kissed him lightly on the cheek before whispering in his ear, "Will you follow through if I fall for you?"