Hellooooo! So as I said, there's another chapter today, and a lot more happens in this one than in the last one I promise... Anyways then, I won't delay it even further, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Ushio's birthday came very slowly due to the fact that she kept thinking about it. In the meantime, she met up with Kentaro once in town, and Chieko twice. The fact that they liked each other didn't make their meetings awkward in the least; they were the same best friends they always had been, and nothing could change that; even if they got together, there would only be a few minor changes.
The day of the party finally came, and Ushio was extremely excited. She wasn't big on fashion and clothes but she had been given a deep purple dress by Sanae, Nagisa's mother who was also over to help along with Nagisa's Dad Akio, and had put it on, along with just a little dusting of make-up (which was barely noticeable) and some black slipper-shoes. Her long chestnut hair was brushed all the way through, and her dress reached all the way to her feet, just showing the tips of her shoes. It's fair to say that Ushio felt very special on her sixteenth birthday.
After getting dressed, Ushio was drawn to the kitchen where the warm, heavenly scent of all sorts of foods were coming from. Ushio didn't particularly like many foods, so most of the dishes were quite plain, but there was a fair amount of variety.
'Ushio!' Gasped Nagisa the minute she saw her daughter. 'You look absolutely wonderful, honey!'
Sanae turned and smiled at her granddaughter. 'She's right, Ushio! Do you like the dress?'
'Yes thank you, I love it. Oh, I'm so excited!' Replied Ushio, skipping over to them and glancing at the clock. 'It's not long until everyone's here now...'
'You're right, and we still need to finish cooking this food,' said Nagisa. 'How about you go and find your Dad and Akki in the living room? They're setting up the table for you.'
'Oh, okay,' smiled Ushio, seeing that they needed her to leave if they were to be ready in time. She turned and skipped happily out of the room, pausing by the door to inhale the scent of cooking food one last time before she gently closed the door and made her way to the living room.
Inside, the living room wasn't too fancy, but it was enough for Ushio. There were a few balloons spread about and the table was laid out with food that had already been finished and jugs of drinks and glasses. Tomoya and Akio were standing together with glasses, talking. Ushio assumed that they must have already finished setting everything up. Quiet music was playing in the background, but Ushio could still hear what they were saying.
'So, Ushio's doing okay at school?' asked Akio.
'Yeah, she's joined the Drama club and a few of her friends often come round.' replied Tomoya with a smile.
'I wonder if one of her friends is the sort of person you were for Nagisa... oh, hi Ushio!' Said Akio, looking around at her. 'Happy Birthday!'
'Hi Dad. Hi Akki,' she replied, laughing. It didn't matter how old she was, she still called him that.
'Lovely new dress, Ushio,' commented Tomoya, walking over to hug his daughter.
'Thanks Dad.'
Suddenly, the doorbell trilled through the house. Ushio gasped and made for the door. 'The first person's here!' She cried excitedly. She wondered who it was. Cho lived close, it could be her, or Chieko, but she had no idea where Kentaro lived, so he could arrive at any time...
She flung the door open, smiling. 'Welcome!'
The face that grinned down at her was lightly tanned, even in winter, and framed by locks of messy, dark-red hair. 'Hey, Ush.' said Chieko. 'Happy Birthday.' He looked at her lit-up, smiling face and her shining eyes, and he couldn't help but pull her into a hug.
'Thanks, Chieko,' laughed Ushio in between their brief embrace. He let go again, and Ushio blushed slightly. Then she stood aside to let him go in, closing the door, and was about to lead him into the living room when the doorbell trilled again. 'You can go in,' smiled Ushio to Chieko, motioning towards the living room, as she opened the door again.
Standing on the other side were her other two guests, Kentaro and Cho. 'Oh! Both of you at the same time!' She laughed, beckoning them in. 'Lunch is almost ready, it'll be in the living room, and my friend Chieko's already here. I guess I should introduce you guys since you've never met each other before.'
It seemed that Tomoya had whisked Chieko into a conversation with him and Akio, but he politely excused himself as soon as Ushio and the others entered the room and Tomoya understandingly let him go. Tomoya liked Chieko and his sense of humour. 'Happy Birthday, Ushio,' Cho and Kentaro were saying as he approached.
'Thanks guys,' smiled Ushio, 'this is my friend Chieko Mitsuharu. Chieko, this is Cho Matsukata and Kentaro Ijiri. I gotta say, it's nice for me to finally see you all meet!'
Chieko grinned. 'Hi, Matsukata and Ijiri. It's great to meet you.'
'Hi to you too, Mitsuharu, it's great to meet you as well!' Said Cho happily.
Kentaro greeted him as well, trying to sound as cheerful as possible but silently envying Chieko. He was so good-looking, Kentaro thought, and so lucky to be Ushio's best friend. Or were they maybe more by now? He asked himself. Kentaro decided to keep a watchful eye on them to see if anything unusual happened.
They sat down at the dining table, with half of the table to themselves so that they could sit opposite each other and talk with more ease. Cho and Kentaro sat on one side as Ushio and Chieko sat on the other, and when they arrived with the food Nagisa was to sit next to Ushio with Tomoya, and Sanae and Akio were to sit on the opposite side.
'So, Mitsuharu,' said Kentaro casually, looking across at Chieko, 'I heard you're joining the Drama club after vacation.'
'Oh, I guess Ush told you that,' said Chieko with a grin, glancing at Ushio. 'Yeah, I'm joining the Drama club, since I was forced into promising Ushio that I would.'
'Hey!' Laughed Ushio, lightly elbowing him, 'I didn't force you into it! Well actually I guess I kind of did. But still, you said you might have joined anyway!'
'Okay, okay, Ush, it was a joke! And you're right, I did say I might join, you're right.'
The two smiled at each other for a few seconds before Cho tilted her head and said, 'Say, are you two-'
'No, no, we're not,' replied Ushio quickly, looking over at her anxiously - she knew what Cho was going to say.
'Oh. Okay.'
There was silence for a minute, and Kentaro silently rejoiced that Ushio had said no. Still, she had seemed a little suspicious. Suddenly the adults appeared in the room, talking and laughing, carrying plates of food and setting them down on the table. The smell was mouth-wateringly delicious, but before they started eating the family put their hands together and said 'Thank you for the food!' In unison. Only Cho didn't do this, as both Chieko and Kentaro had been over for a meal before and knew that it was the drill. Cho just watched them with surprised amber eyes and put her hands together at the last possible millisecond before they finished.
As they lowered their arms back down, Chieko's hand briefly touched Ushio's and she felt a burst of static between them, hastily pulling hers away. She looked down at her food, feeling her face flood a warm red, and began to eat. Chieko looked at her thoughtfully for a second and then he, too, began to eat.
'That was wonderful!' Exclaimed Ushio once the food had been finished, looking over at Nagisa and Sanae. 'Thank you so much, everyone.'
'Honey, it's the least we can do for you just once a year,' smiled Nagisa. 'Now, we'll go and clean all this up.'
The adults got up and collected the plates, leaving a few leftovers just in case, and disappeared into the kitchen. 'Let's go to the sofas,' suggested Ushio once they were gone. It's much more comfortable there.'
'Sounds great!' Grinned Chieko, and he and Ushio went to sit down. Kentaro tried to follow, but Cho held him back.
'Hey, Kentaro, so... how are you today?'
Kentaro fidgeted in his seat. He didn't want Ushio and Chieko to be alone; he was afraid of what might happen, but he didn't want to be rude to Cho either. 'I'm great thanks...'
Chieko looked over at Cho and Kentaro, seeing that they weren't immediately following. 'Hey, Ushio, can I ask you something...?' he said, turning and looking solemnly at his friend next to him.
'Sure you can,' she smiled, but she was slightly mystified by how earnest he seemed.
Kentaro looked anxiously over at Chieko and Ushio.
'Are you okay?' asked Cho with a frown. Kentaro put on his brightest smile.
'I'm fine!' He replied, almost too enthusiastically. 'But, shouldn't we be with Okazaki...? It's her birthday.'
'Well, I was just wondering...' said Chieko hesitantly. He scratched the back of his head, not knowing how to ask the next question.
'Yes?' urged Ushio gently. She seemed clueless on the outside, but on the inside she thought she might have an idea of what the question would be.
'So you're going to leave me?' asked Cho disappointedly.
'No!' Cried Kentaro quickly. 'I mean, how about we both go over there? Come on,' he explained, standing up and motioning for her to follow. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he wanted to be a part of it anyway.
Chieko took a deep breath. 'Will you go-'
'Hi!' Interrupted Kentaro, coming up behind the sofa. 'Sorry about that. We should have come over here right away.'
Chieko looked away from Ushio embarrassedly and Ushio tried to hide her irritation at him interfering. He ruined the moment! Thought Chieko, staring at the floor.
'Oh, it's fine...' mumbled Ushio, making her best attempt at a smile. Then, she remembered that it was her birthday, and everyone was there for her, and she properly smiled. 'It's okay, Ijiri. It's okay. Come on and sit down, both of you!'
They spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and talking together in Ushio's living room, as it was too cold to go anywhere that was outside. The leftovers gradually disappeared from the table as the adults came in from the kitchen, pinched a few, and went back. They talked there, and Ushio, Chieko, Kentaro and Cho stayed on the sofas. When the leftovers were all gone and it was the inevitable time for everyone to leave, Ushio couldn't help but feel sorry that it was all over. Chieko was the last to leave, and just before he did Ushio looked up at him.
'What were you going to ask me earlier?'
Chieko hesitated as though he was about to tell her, but suddenly decided not to. 'It was nothing. Don't worry about it, okay?'
'Oh,' Ushio replied, her face falling. 'Well, thanks so much for coming, Chie! This afternoon was wonderful with all of you guys here with me.'
'No, thank you for inviting me! See you back at school, Ush.'
'Yeah. See you at school.'
Ushio watched as the door closed behind him with a quiet 'click'. Then, she traipsed down the corridor to her bedroom and lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling, wondering what on earth would happen next.
...
Hope you liked that chapter! The next one's going to be back at school. So yeah.
Thanks for reading again!
~LilsNightlock