YO YO YO! I'm pretty active eh? XD This is the first time i'm making a valentine story ! 0.0 N also the first time i'm making a holiday prompt ! XD uuh this is a response to scribe's february holiday prompt ! Today is the deadline n i just wrote it today XD But as before, I've already planned beforehand ! XD Just too lazy to write XD Anyway hope u enjoy..? I'm not sure...? 0.0 Oh yeah ! This is a sequel to my story "COMPASS" (Was it compass..?) in scribe faction's "magnet and feathers".. By the way this story is just going to be a collection of short stories bout the background/supporting characters XD
"Valentine's day..." Nao muttered to herself, sarcasm oozing out of every syllable.
It was the day of the lovers. But for Nao, it was the day where she was half-resentful and half-glad that she did not have anyone that she liked. Everywhere she went, confessions were bursting like fireworks, in the library, in class, in the hallways, on the rooftops and behind the school, yes, definitely behind the school. The reply was either a "yes", a "no" or a "I'll think about it". Sweet, sweet chocolates symbolized the girls' feelings. The guys receiving them had a hard time rejecting them. Only some of them actually had the cold heart of stone to reject the chocolates with reasons like "I don't like sweets", the line that she was sure Len had used for at least five times that day. Shocked, shy, amused, scared, glad, relieved, disappointed, pained and sometimes even petrified faces decorated the Seisou Gakuen. As she watched, Nao wanted to be like the girls who got their chocolates accepted, no matter how much she denied it, but the sight of the girls who got rejected truly filled Nao with fear. Valentine's Day had a mysterious power. It gave girls the courage to make a move. Whether or not it ended happily or tragically was unknown.
Unfortunately, the power of Valentine's Day did not work on Nao. She had no one to target anyway. So exactly like last year, she brought chocolates for Kahoko and Mio as gifts of their friendship. Since Kahoko went to practice the violin during all the breaks, Nao failed to give her the chocolate she had prepared. Her weak memory and Kahoko's practices were both factors. It was already dismissal and after a vain attempt of finding Kahoko, Nao was walking back to class to get her bag and head home.
"So... What should I do with you?" Nao asked the blue box of chocolates in her hand. She could give the chocolates to Kahoko the next day but she already made a bunch at home so apparently, bringing that piece of chocolate to school was a waste.
The moment her right foot stepped on the stairs that led to her classroom, she caught a glimpse of a familiar classmate.
His hazelnut hair slowly swayed in the gentle wind. The black general department uniform defined his frame as he stood against the window. His back was hunched over the windowsill as he seemed to be looking at something below.
Usually, Nao would not even notice that kind of scene but a certain encounter that happened a few days ago planted a certain idea in her mind. She was going to return a broken compass when she started thinking random thoughts and asked the compass where her soulmate was and the compass pointed behind her, at Sasaki who was holding a magnet. She was dumbfounded and for a second there, she actually believed it.
The second was there again. Seeing Sasaki's back against the orange sunset got her heart to skip a beat, just a little bit.
"Maybe... I should just give it to him...? There's no point in bringing it for nothing..." Nao thought.
Giving a remaining chocolate to Sasaki as a sign of friendship should be an incredibly easy task. There was no special feeling in it after all. Then why was it so hard? All she had to do was walk up the stairs to him and give the chocolate to him.
Nao took one step up the stairs.
The back of Sasaki's head remained unmoved. The face on the other side of that head started to be attractive to Nao.
Nao continued going up the stairs.
Sasaki's broad shoulders, although nowhere as broad as Ryoutarou's indicated that he was athletic. He looked capable of protecting his girlfriend, if he ever had one. He looked capable of protecting her, if she was ever his girlfriend.
Nao took a few more steps up the stairs.
"Maybe I'm starting to like him...?"
Both the steps of realization and the steps of the stairs came to an end.
Just before Nao could muster her courage and called him out, she heard giggles from outside the window, giggles that she heard every single day.
She tiptoed to take a peek down the window, to make sure that it really was them. Being so closely behind Sasaki was kind of unnerving but at least she could get a clear view of what she wanted to see. From her spot diagonal to Sasaki, she stretched her neck to widen the range of her vision down the window.
Sure enough, there they were. Kahoko, Mio and Nami were on the school lawn that was directly under the window. They were gathered around a small cage with a brown and white hamster in it. Apparently, the first years were having an experiment and they were carrying it out on the lawn.
"So that's why I couldn't find Kaho in the practice rooms... And I endured all the staring too... Kaho, you're so gonna get it!" Nao chided jokingly.
It took her a moment before she remembered about her original purpose. Her target was still standing there, unmoving. Being less than a meter from him, she could just reach out and lightly touch him.
"TO GET HIS ATTENTION!" Nao thought, blushing wildly.
Before her hand had lifted from her sides, a thought occurred to her.
The way Sasaki did not even turn at her presence or twitch from that very spot meant that he was looking at something intently and that something happened to be...
...The girls who were crowding over the little animal in the cage.
"So... Does this mean that... He..."
Slight hints of despair crept on her.
"... Likes one of them...?"
She gulped at the thought and scolded herself right after.
"What am I talking about? It's not like I even like him!"
Her eyes strayed from the back of Sasaki's head and back down to the lawn, falling on the little hamster in the cage. It was so trapped, just like her. She was in a cage where she was protected from all the pains and danger outside but she was also eliminated from all the thrilling fun. She did not dare to gather her courage and break the cage of her mediocre life. She did not dare to take a chance to enter the world of the unknown. She did not dare to escape from the little sanctuary that she knew so well.
Deciding that she was still the same scared girl who did not dare to take risks and will forever stay unnoticed, she started to turn away but a flashing light from the windows of the building across the window caught her attention. She did not where it came from but the concept of "light of hope" popped up in her mind. Was it really hope?
She let out a gasp as she saw the window of the building opposite of them. Because of the tinting of the window, it was able to reflect like a mirror, although the image was quite dark and not contrasting enough to show little details.
The enchanted window showed the guy who was leaning on the windowsill with his head down. His hand held a penlight which he constantly turned on and off to get a particular girl's attention. Beside him was the very surprised particular girl. Her stare of disbelief was set on the window.
She could see Sasaki's face. It was not very vivid but it was clear enough to hint that maybe his eyes were looking straight into the window and maybe, just maybe indirectly looking straight at her.
"Y-you... What are you doing!?" She stammered, still looking at the reflecting window.
Sasaki laughed as a response.
Nao could not stop the chaotic thoughts that jumbled up her mind.
"I was just standing here looking at stuffs when I noticed you behind me from that window over there..." He explained while he turned around to face her.
Nao wondered if she should stay or run away to avoid hearing the rest of his story.
"... I waited for you to call me out or something but you never did. It seemed like you were going to say something but then you turned away so I flashed the light to see if it gets your attention and wow, it totally did. It was so funny watching you stand there like a statue!"
Nao stood rooted to the spot while Sasaki burst, once again, into unsuppressed laughter.
"So what's the problem? You're gonna confess?" He asked playfully with a cheeky smile. Normally, Nao would have denied it right away but that smile defied all logic. The way his lips curved into that cunning arc and the way his perfect white teeth seemed to sparkle made her flustered. In addition, his eyes shone with glee and malice, making it seem like he was going to say something more. The possibilities of that something caused Nao's inner turmoil.
"O-of course not! You idiot! Here! I have extra chocolate!" Nao screamed before raising her hand and throwing the box of chocolates at Sasaki.
Being the soccer player that he was, he used his head to headbutt the incoming chocolate box before catching the bounded chocolate box with his hands. Locks of soft hazelnut hair bounced up and down as his head bobbed against the box of chocolates. Sasaki bore an expression of confidence as another dazzling smile plastered itself on his face. With the effect of the orange sunset, Sasaki seemed to glow, increasing his charm. He was the extraordinary of the ordinary. Nao watched all this with pure admiration as her heart beat out of control.
"So cool..." She unconsciously said out loud.
"What was that?" He questioned innocently while his smirk betrayed his real intention.
"N-nothing! It's late already! I have to go!" Nao babbled before running back to her class.
"I swear that girl really has something weird going on with her... But her cute reaction to the confession statement...Maybe..." Sasaki mumbled.
"I can't believe I made such a big deal out of this... But... Why did I feel so...Maybe...I..." Nao reprimanded herself.
"What just happened?" They thought at the same time.
Well XD I just realized that it's the first time I'm writing about a couple who doesn't have feelings for each other yet 0.0 Is it real enough ? 0.0 N is the window thing actually possible? 0.0 I think so right? And the prompt was to use "stairs","cage" and "light" so there ya go XD Aaaand happy end-of-feb valentine? 0.0 Hope you enjoyed XD