"He said WHAT?!" Petunia exclaimed. Her voice caused a dog to start barking at them from behind a fence, and Flaky hurried to bring her friend to the other side of the street. "Be quiet!" Flaky gestured with a finger over her lips, and Petunia asked, "He asked you to the lantern festival? You're positive?" Flaky blushed before nodding, and Petunia let out a high-pitched squeal that set off the dog again, "Oh my God, Flaky!" She gushed while taking hold of her friend's hands and shaking them in earnest. "I'm so happy for you!" Flaky felt her cheeks begin to hurt from just how long she was smiling, and she could only nod in agreement.
"Oh my God, we need to hurry and pick out your yukata! The festival is tomorrow!" Petunia gasped and pulled Flaky with her along to the nearest clothing store. They searched around various stores for what seemed like hours, before one finally caught Flaky's eye: it was a soft red with a sakura flower pattern and a yellow obi that had a white flower clipped to it. She examined it in awe and Petunia glanced over at her face lit up, "This one then?" Before Flaky even had a chance to respond, her friend was pushing her into the changing room to try it on. Petunia closed the door behind her and helped Flaky get into the yukata before tying the obi snugly around her stomach. Petunia's tail wagged excitedly behind her all the while. After much fidgeting around and Flaky crying out from getting her hair caught in the fabric, Petunia stepped back to look at her masterpiece.
"You look ready to steal all the hearts of the boys in the city," Petunia said with a wink, and Flaky flushed before shaking her head quickly. The only boy's attention Flaky wanted was Flippy's.
"Come on, let's go pick out some sandals." With that, Petunia dragged Flaky to the rest of the stores down the block. Flaky didn't get a chance to breathe until she got home, which was later in the night. She flopped down on the mattress of her bed with the bags containing the yukata and sandals, as well as several hair accessories Petunia got along the way. Holding the bags close to her chest, Flaky tried to imagine what tomorrow night would look like. What if things got awkward? What if one of them gets an upset stomach in the middle of the night and has to rush home? Would they get to hold hands?
Flaky let out a pathetic squeak and covered her beet-red face before rolling around on the bed. Even the mere thought of it was enough to throw her mind for a loop. The only thing Flaky needed to focus on was not passing out on the date and completely embarrassing herself. Either or. Wait, was this considered a date?
Flaky waited by the entrance of the site where the festival was to be held. She held onto her small draw-string bag while looking around for Flippy. She ended up arriving twenty-minutes early, but that was probably a good thing. It gave Flaky time to clear her mind before the other came.
Flaky stumbled back in surprise when a group of children ran past her to enter through the gate, and when Flaky looked back up, she felt her throat seize up. Flippy was amongst the crowd just crossing the street. She noticed the other stop amongst the crowd, and Flaky realized that Flippy was trying to look for her.
"U-Uhm…" Flaky tried to wave to get his attention, but her short height caused her hand to go dismissed, as well as the softness of her voice. "F-Flippy…" Flaky tried calling as loudly as she could, but the roar of the crowd drowned out her voice easily. Just then, Flaky noticed Flippy begin to follow the crowd through the gates. Out of sheer panic, Flaky pushed past the swarm of people, apologizing to those she accidentally pricked along the way, before finally getting to Flippy. Without thinking, Flaky grabbed the other by the front of his shirt, "F-Flippy!" Flaky gasped out the other's name, clearly exhausted from the ordeal to get to him. Flippy looked down at her before his eyes widened, and a blush crept up his neck and ears, "Flaky?" Flaky nodded in response and was confused by the other's expression, was he that surprised?
"You look…You look beautiful." Flippy confessed before placing a hand over his mouth and looking away. Flaky blinked before letting out nervous giggles and putting her hands on her warm cheeks. Flippy managed to compose himself soon after and grabbed Flaky's hand before going inside the venue. Flaky let out a surprised squeak at the feeling of their hands making contact, and she stumbled to keep up with the other in sandals. She knew she should have practiced walking in them before coming.
The place was bustling with people from all age groups, and music played loudly over the speakers while people were hollering from behind their designated booths. It was all a bit overwhelming for Flaky. Fortunately, Flippy kept her close to him the entire time so as not to get lost, although Flaky wasn't sure if that did any good for her emotional state. But one thing was for sure: she was extremely happy.
"Hey Flaky, look at this!"
Flaky looked back up at Flippy to see the other holding a Hyottoko mask against his face. Flaky stared with wide eyes before she burst into laughter. "Should we buy two?" Flippy asked with a broad smile. Flaky muffled the rest of her giggles behind her palm and nodded quickly. Flippy bought two of the Hyottoko masks and gave one to Flaky while wearing the other one on the side of his head.
They continued going deeper into the venue and tried the things sold at various booths. Flaky ended up sharing a bowl of shaved ice, and the two of them both winced from the cold at the same time, before glancing at each other and laughing to themselves. Flaky allowed Flippy to finish up the rest of the shaved ice as they continued down the booths, and then something caught her eye. Her eyes widened when she saw a small tank surrounded by children we were trying to scoop up goldfish.
"Wanna do that?" Flippy's voice caused Flaky to flinch, and she glanced up in embarrassment before nodding meekly. Flippy discarded the empty bowl and spoons before taking Flaky's hand and leading her towards the tank filled with goldfish. Flaky had to force herself to calm down the entire way there, but when she arrived at the tank, she couldn't suppress the squeal of excitement that escaped her lips. Crouching down, Flaky gazed at the multitudes of goldfish that swam around in the shallow waters and watched as children tried scooping them up one by one. One of the children managed to land two at once and quickly put them into his bowl before jumping up in excitement and hollering to his mother at the back. Flaky felt a bit embarrassed to be at the level of children, but Petunia always told her she had the mental age of an eight-year-old, whatever that meant.
"Two please." Flippy talked to the man behind the booth, and he handed them two small paper nets to catch the fish. "You only get one chance, good luck!" The man piped with a hearty voice, and Flaky could feel her quills thinning out in nervousness. "Don't worry; we'll try until we get one." Flippy reassured her, and Flaky flashed a weary smile before taking one of the nets and examining the tank deeply. The fishes were all frantic at this point and swam around quickly. Whenever the shadow of a net hovered over them, they were gone in less than a second. Flaky chewed her lower lip and closely observed the movements of the fish, feeling like a lioness on the hunt. Then, she noticed one fish that was moving slower than the rest, and she took that moment to swoop in and catch it with her net. Without even checking if she got it or not, Flaky submerged the net into her bowl before slowly lifting it back out and looking inside. Her eyes widened when she saw not one, but two goldfishes were swimming around inside. "Flippy!" Flaky called the other's name without thinking, and Flippy looked up from the tank. "I got it!" Flaky announced, and she felt her quills popping out from beneath her hair, piercing a child who was passing behind her. The child let out a loud cry, "Ah! Mommy!" He cried while clutching his arm, and the mother immediately held her child close to her, flashed Flaky an evil look, and pulled him out from the crowd.
Flaky could feel her excitement drop to the pit of her stomach, but when she turned back to Flippy the other stepped closer and examined the bowl with a glisten in his eyes, "You did it, Flaky!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm that matched hers, and Flaky felt her mood lift right back up. She nodded quickly and gave the bowl to the man in charge of the booth, and he put the fishes into a clear bag for her to carry. After thanking the man, Flaky left the booth holding her goldfishes close to her chest.
As they walked along the crowded street, Flaky kept glancing at the goldfishes and smiling stupidly to herself. Flippy commented, "You seem happy."
"I am. This is the first time I ever won something." Flaky admitted, and Flippy's smile grew, "Cute." Flaky blinked at the statement before blushing and tucked some hair behind her ear.
When Flaky looked up from the ground, she realized that Flippy was several people ahead of her. She hurried to try and catch up, but a group of boys ran the opposite direction and pushed past her, causing her to fumble and drop the bag of goldfish. "N-No!" Flaky exclaimed, and then pounced to the floor to protect the bag from getting stepped on. The people skirted around her in confusion, and Flaky breathed out a sigh of relief before getting back up with the bag that was thankfully still safe and leak-free.
However, Flaky had lost Flippy entirely at that point, and tall heads and bodies blocked her view of the road ahead. Feeling panicked, Flaky tried calling the other's name though it fell on deaf ears, and Flaky stumbled around a bit more before she had to retreat to the booths to catch her breath.
"Flippy…" Flaky mumbled and trembled from the thought of getting lost in a festival this big. She glanced to her left, and her eyes widened. Nutty was standing in front of a caramel apple stand, staring back at her with a skewer of dango in his hand. "N-Nutty?" Flaky called the other's name hesitantly, and Nutty's eyes widened as for if he had heard something unexpected.
"Here you go, one caramel apple!" A man handed Nutty the large apple on a stick from behind the bar, and Nutty took it with his free hand before coming over to Flaky. "What are you doing here?" Flaky asked, watching as Nutty alternated between eating the dango and apple. "Visiting," Nutty stated simply, "You?"
"I…" Flaky glanced around one more time, "I came with Flippy, but we got separated." Nutty nodded, "Oh yeah, your boyfriend, right?" Flaky tensed up in alarm and quickly shook her head, "No we—we're not dating or anything." It almost felt like she was putting herself down, but it wasn't as if she was lying.
"Okay," Nutty said, though he didn't sound convinced. "Why don't you just call him?" He saw Flaky hesitate and added, "Don't tell me—you don't have a phone?" Flaky chewed her lower lip, "It's not that…Flippy doesn't have one." Nutty stared at her for a moment before smiling in amusement. He finished up the dango and threw the skewer into the nearest trash bin before taking Flaky's hand, "Come on, we'll look for him together."
"Eh?" Flaky looked up at the other in shock and hurried to catch up with the other's quick strides while clutching her goldfish tightly. Nutty was strangely energetic. Maybe she had the wrong impression about her. As they squeezed through the crowd, Flaky caught an enticing aroma and tilted her head towards the source. She smiled when she saw a booth selling squid, and she gradually slowed down her steps.
Feeling a resistance behind him, Nutty looked back and saw Flaky gazing at the squid booth. Nutty smiled and changed their destination for that instead. "You like this stuff?" He asked as Flaky was taking out her wallet to pay. "Yeah, you don't?" Flaky retorted, and Nutty shrugged, "I only eat sweets." Flaky shot him a strange look before handing over the money, "How do you not get fat? Or cavities?" Nutty shrugged again, dropping the subject right there.
"There you go, miss." The woman handed Flaky the chopped up squid in a container, and Flaky thanked her earnestly before taking a piece with a toothpick. She blew on it a few times and then put the entire thing into her mouth, feeling her quills shiver in ecstasy.
Then the spiciness kicked in.
Flaky spluttered in shock, causing Nutty to turn to her with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?" He asked. Flaky coughed and forced herself to swallow the whole thing despite her mind telling her otherwise. "It's spicy!" She gasped and then broke into a fit of coughs as it felt like lava was traveling down her throat. Nutty blinked before he burst into laughter, hard enough that he dropped to a crouching position. "It's not funny!" Flaky protested amidst her coughs, and she wiped the tears from her eyes before patting the back of her hand against her warm cheeks. "I'm sorry," Nutty giggled as he rose back up, "Your face was just, so cute." The statement caused Flaky to flush. But, the more Flaky thought about it, the funnier the situation seemed.
"I didn't think it would be spicy," Flaky admitted, before hiding her smile behind her hand. Nutty lost it again and laughed while clutching his stomach. Flaky found herself giggling alongside the other, and she realized how nice Nutty's laugh sounded. She felt ashamed for assuming the other was a cold person. Just then, Flaky heard a familiar voice nearby.
"Flaky!" Flippy escaped through the crowd and ran over to the duo, out of breath and sweating through his shirt, "Finally, I found you!"
"Flippy!" Flaky steps closer to the other in concern, "I'm so sorry! Some children bumped into me, and I got carried away in the crowd." She bowed in apology. Flippy let out a tired laugh and patted the other's head, "Don't worry about it!" He looked up and noticed Nutty hanging at the back, "Nutty!" The green-haired boy gave a simple nod of acknowledgment before turning to leave. "Nutty, thank you!" Flaky called behind him, causing Nutty to stop short and glance back. Seeing the flushed and happy expression on Flaky's face made Nutty's heart do weird flips, and he gave a small smile before disappearing into the crowd.
"You were with Nutty the whole time?" Flippy asked as he and Flaky walked further down the street. "Yeah, but we weren't together for very long," Flaky stated, and glanced up at the other. For some reason, Flippy had a sad expression on his face. "I wish…I could have found you sooner." Flippy thought out-loud, and Flaky felt her heartbeat increase despite not knowing why. She merely squeezed the other's hand in reassurance while walking just a little bit closer to the other.
A group of girls rushed past them, whispering about fireworks show that was happening by the ocean at the edge of the venue. Flaky perked up in interest and looked up at Flippy, "They're having fireworks later! Let's hurry—" Just as she took a step forward; she felt something tug her back. Glancing back at Flippy, Flaky's heart dropped when she saw the other's complexion go pale. Worrying that she said something wrong, Flaky stammered for a response before Flippy squeezed her hand tightly, "I'm sorry…It's just…The sound—"
The realization hit Flaky like lightning.
"Ah! Let's do something else, then." Flaky suggested, and began pulling Flippy in another direction. "I…I think I should leave." Flippy admitted, and Flaky looked back with a confused expression. "The sounds, are going to travel. They're most likely going to cover the entire venue." Flippy explained, and Flaky felt the other's hand start to tremble in hers.
"…Then let's go home." Flaky offered, and Flippy gave her an apologetic look.
Once they managed to get past the gates, Flaky breathed in the fresh air and stretched her arms. "I'm sorry, Flaky." Flippy couldn't even make himself look at the other, and Flaky's smile faded as she took a tentative step towards him.
"It's not your fault. Plus, I had so much fun tonight, I'll never be able to forget it." Flaky said as she flashed the other a reassuring smile. Flippy was silent for a moment before he straightened up and smiled back at her, "I'll walk you home."
The entire way back home was silent, and Flaky could make out the faint sound of fireworks from the shoreline, but thankfully it was too quiet for Flippy to hear. When they got to her house, Flaky was about to bid the other farewell until Flippy took out a small bag of colored tissue paper. He reached inside and took out a necklace with a little silver bird on it. "They were selling this at the festival. I thought it might be something you like." Flippy stated with a flushed complexion, and Flaky felt as if her heart was going to leap out from her throat. "It's…It's beautiful." She stated, and Flippy smiled widely at her before stepping closer and attempted to tie the necklace around her neck. Flaky's heart was beating madly in her chest, and she had her eyes shut tight until Flippy spoke up,
"Oh, shit…"
The necklace hung down to the bottom of her chest, clearly several sizes too big for her. Flaky opened her mouth just as Flippy took the necklace off, "Or, we could tie it here." He tied the chain loosely around Flaky's arm and secured it with a knot and then gave an unsure smile. Flaky gazed down at the necklace that was magically transformed into a bracelet, and covered her mouth while giggling,
"I love it."