Chapter 11 – Summer Festival: Starry Night Confession

Lidelle's POV

"ARF ARF!"

"Nuuu…Poochy…"

"ARF ARF!"

"Uugh. Come on, Poochy…it's my day off…just let me sleep…"

"ARF! ARF ARF!"

"Ugh…fine. I'll get up."

"ARF ARF!"

I heard Poochy jump off my bed and phase through my door. I then got up and stretched a bit before heading for the bathroom. As I starred at my refection, I started talking to myself.

"Why…just why? Why do I feel so…empty?"

I've been saying these words to myself for a while now. Ever since Ally went back home after our sleepover 3 days ago. I remember us having so much fun that night. We played lots of games, talked a lot, ate tons of food (well, I ate tons of food. I swear, this growth spurt's going to be the end of me.) And most of all, I showed Ally my horns. It took a lot of courage for me to do that, but like told Ally, I trust her. When she accepted me for who I am despite my so-called birth defect (which, now that I think about it, sounds worse than it actually is), It made me really happy. So happy that I felt my heart beating fast that night. And when Ally wanted me to sleep on her futon with her, and she accidently got close to me to the point where she was snuggling up against me…

…It was the best night of my life! I never wanted it to end! I wanted to be next to Ally for the rest of my life! In fact, I want to be with her right now!

"*moan* Ally, I miss you!"

I quickly covered my mouth after realizing what I just yelled out.

"Wh-What did I just say?! That can't be true, right?!"

I moved my hand towards my chest and felt that my heart was racing. It was going so fast, I thought I was having a heart attack. But it eventually calmed down and I went back to starring at my reflection.

"What's happening to me?" I said to myself.

After that weird outburst that I hope no one heard, I went back to my room to change into a pair of white shorts and my favorite green sweater, then headed for the kitchen for anything to eat. Today is my day off from my shrine maiden duties, so I didn't have to cook anything. But I found it weird that as I got closer to the end of the hallway that splits into the living room and kitchen, I didn't smell any food. I mean yes, Mother can cook. That's how I learned to do so, but she doesn't do such extreme meals as I do, as she likes to call it. I was always something simple like regular pancakes, or regular waffles, or…pretty much food that a person without a growth spurt would eat. I reached the end of the hallway and entered the living room to see Mother sitting at the table in the middle.

"Good morning, Mother." I greeted her.

"Good morning, Lidelle." Mother greeted back. "I was afraid you were going to sleep all day."

"Well, she is young, Auntie. Her sleeping all day would be expected."

Auntie? The only person I know who calls Mother that is…

I stopped rubbing my eyes to see who Mother was talking to, and it took me by surprise.

"Hey, Lidelle. How's it going?"

"Ringo? What are you doing here?"

"Huh? You mean Auntie didn't tell you? I'm staying here for the summer."

"Really?! Mother, how come you never told me?!"

"Did I not tell you? Huh. I guess I forgot. Sorry, Sweetie."

"Mother, I sometimes worry about your bad memory."

Ringo is my cousin who lives in Suzuran City. She sometimes comes to Primp to visit us, but this is the first time she was staying for a whole summer. We're both the same age, being 15, but we have way different personalities. While I'm more shy and self-conscious, Ringo's a bit more…adventurous, to put it in a nice way. She's super curious about everything and because of that, she studies whenever she can. She's a total math whiz and can pretty much solve any kind question. But sometimes, Ringo's curiosity can cause a bit of problems.

"Well anyway, it's nice to see you again, Ringo." I said to her.

"Nice to see you again too, Lidelle." Ringo said. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, about a year and a half."

"Yeah, sorry about that. In Suzuran, when you're in your final year of middle school, you have to take a high school entrance exam. And I was studying like crazy."

"Wow…I see."

"You're lucky, Lidelle, going to the same school until now. I'm surprised it only goes up to 9th grade."

"Yeah, it's sad. I'm going to miss that place, and my teacher." I started feeling sad about not being in Ms. Accord's classroom anymore. That's when I felt a nudge on my leg.

"*whine*"ARF ARF!"

"sigh. Thanks, Poochy. You really know how to make me feel better." I said while picking him up. He then started to lick my face repeatedly until I started laughing.

"H-Hey! Stop it, Poochy! I-It tickles!"

"ARF ARF!"

"So, did you guys ever find out what Poochy's supposed to be?" Ringo asked.

"No, not yet." Mother answered. "But I'm starting to believe that he and Lidelle are related."

"Really? How so?"

"They both have never-ending appetites."

"M-MOTHER!" I shouted. My cheeks were blushing from embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Don't feel bad about it, Lidelle. It's completely normal for kids our age to have excessive hunger." Ringo said, trying to make me feel better.

"Then how come you don't, Ringo?" I asked.

"…"

Ringo didn't say anything and looked away from me while trying to think of an answer to give. She eventually started digging through her bag and pulled out a white container from it.

"Uh…donut?" She asked with a smile.

I looked at her with an annoyed look at first, then it eventually turned into a smile with a giggle or two.

"You better be lucky that I'm hungry right now." I said to her.

After we ate some of the stuff that Ringo brought with her, Mother asked me to show Ringo the room she'll be using while she's here. So me and her took her bags into the back and we entered the spare room that we have.

"Well, here it is." I said as I opened the door.

"Woah, this room is huge! How do you and Auntie feel comfortable in these, Lidelle?" Ringo asked.

"Huh? It is really big?"

As I took another look at the empty room, I began getting memories of when Ally first saw my room. She said the exact same thing, but shrugged it as a compliment. But now, as I was thinking about Ally, I was starting to see it for myself.

Huh. Maybe these rooms are huge…

"Lidelle? Hey, Lidelle!"

"Huh?"

"You okay? You were spacing out just now." Ringo asked me.

"Huh? Oh…yeah. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

"Hmm…" Ringo was staring at me with one of her you're acting suspicious glares that she's known for doing.

"Wh-What?"

"You sure you're okay? You're acting kinda weird."

"I told you already, I'm fine…" I looked down from her with red cheeks.

"You just looked away from me."

"Because you're starring me down, Ringo!" I shouted.

"…"

"…"

"S-Sorry." I said immediately after.

"No, I should be. I got a little carried away again." Ringo admitted.

"A little?"

"Hey…"

"Sorry, sorry." I said with a light giggle. Then I gave in to some thoughts I had earlier.

I know I can't keep this problem a secret forever. I going to have to talk it out with someone sooner or later. Maybe…

"H-Hey…Ringo? Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure, Lidelle. You can ask me anything. Well, almost anything." Ringo said.

I wanted to know what she meant by that, but knowing my cousin, it's probably something insane, so I didn't ask. I instead took a deep breath and prepared to ask the question I really wanted to ask.

"Ringo…have you ever been…close to someone?"

"Huh? Close? What do you mean by that?" She asked with a confused face. I was hoping that she would understand with that question alone, but I did knew that I would have to explain more anyway.

"W-Well…I met this girl named Ally couple months ago. Although she can be a little…perverted at times, she and I have a lot in common."

"Really? Like what?"

"Well, we both play video games, read manga, love sweets, and other stuff."

"Wow. Kinda sounds like me, aside from the perverted part."

"Yeah, that trait of hers gets out of hand sometimes."

"I see."

"Anyway, a couple days ago we decided to have a sleepover here. And that night, some…things happened."

"W-Wait…wh-what…things? Please tell me you didn't…" Ringo started panicking.

At first I didn't know what she was talking about, but after giving it some thought…

"N-NO NO NO NO NO! RINGO, YOU KNOW ME! I WOULD NEVER DO THAT, ESPECIALLY AT MY CURRENT AGE!" I shouted with the reddest of cheeks.

"Oh, thank god. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

"Eh, it's okay. I mean, I've gotten used to you doing it so much. It's pretty much expected from you."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Ringo said, sounded insulted. "Anyway, continue on."

"Right. Well, during that night, I didn't something else that I normally wouldn't do."

"Like what?"

I took a short break to prepare myself from what I was about to say. I was still getting used to talking about this freely, so my nerves were racking up. But I did eventually calmed down and continued talking.

"I…I showed Ally my horns."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Ringo shouted.

"P-Please don't make me repeat it."

"Sorry, it's just…I never expected you would do such a thing."

"Yeah, it took a bit of courage for me to do that."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, after I showed her, I made her promise not to tell anyone. She agreed, but asked me why I told her of all people."

"And what did you say?"

"…"

"…I-I said that I trusted her."

"Ohhh…"

"And then later that night, Ally asked me to sleep on her futon with her, and so I did. Soon after we fell asleep, I felt something against me. I then open my eyes to see snuggling up against me."

"And…"

"And…and I…I didn't push her away. In fact, I got closer to her. It felt really nice and cozy. My heart was racing and my cheeks were blazing red. But after a short while, I managed to fall back asleep. It was truly the best night of my life."

"W-Wow, Lidelle. That's deep."

"Yeah. And since then, I couldn't stop thinking of her. I feel so…so…empty inside. I was hoping you could help me figure it out."

"I see. I understand now. Let me think about it for a sec."

"Oh…okay then. I have to go feed Poochy, anyway. I'll be in the garden if you need me."

"Okay then. See ya in a bit."

I left Ringo's room and headed for the kitchen to grab some food for Poochy. I then went out to the garden to meet up with him.

"Poochy! Time to eat!" I yelled.

"ARF ARF!"

Poochy came running towards me with excitement as I sat down on the steps in front of the door. As I watched him eat his food, I rubbed his fur(?) while putting a somewhat fake smile. Poochy noticed it and stopped eating as he starred me down.

"What?"

"ARF!"

"I'm fine, Poochy. Nothing to worry about."

"GRRR…"

"sigh. I guess there's no fooling you, huh?"

"ARF! ARF ARF!"

"Well, thanks for caring about me. You're a really good…something."

"ARF!"

"Wow, I always forget how pretty this garden is." I heard Ringo's voice and turned to see her standing behind me.

"Yeah, it's really is. I sometimes come out here and stare at them whenever I feel stressed about life." I said.

"That sounds relaxing." Ringo said. "So I did some thinking…over what we talked about earlier."

"You did? Well, what do you think?"

"Well…how much do you like this Ally girl, anyway?"

"How much? Well…I like her a lot, really. Like I said before, I feel empty without her."

"I see. Hey Lidelle, fair warning. Because what I'm about to say may blow your mind a little."

"I'm ready for it." I said after taking a deep breath.

Ringo took a deep breath as well and grabbed my hand with hers as she looked me in the eyes.

"Lidelle, after all thinking I did on it…it sounds like to me that…" Ringo started blushing mid-sentence.

"Sounds like what?"

"W-Well…"

"Come on, Ringo. I can handle it. Just tell me."

Ringo took another deep breath before continuing.

"…I-It sounds like you're in love with Ally."

I sat there in silence, replying the words Ringo just said in my mind over and over again until it finally clicked for me.

"L-Lidelle?" Ringo asked.

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT?! M-M-M-ME?! IN LOVE?! W-W-W-WITH ALLY?! ARE YOU SURE?!" I shouted in a panicked state.

"You show all the signs of someone who's in love. There's no denying it."

I calmed down and began to realize that what Ringo said was starting to make sense. The entire time I was with Ally that night, I was the happiest I could ever be. And when she went home, I was all miserable. My heart ached at night because she wasn't next to me snuggling. All this time I was feeling sad and alone, when the answer was so obvious. But I was too miserable to notice it myself.

"Wow…I'm in love with Ally." I finally said after a few minutes of silence from both of us.

"You feeling any better?" Ringo asked.

"Yeah. Thanks, Ringo! I feel so much better!"

"Well, glad I could help, cousin."

"Yes! I feel so better, in fact, that I'm going to confess my love for Ally!"

"C-Confess?!"

"And during the summer festival, too!"

"D-During the summer festival?!"

"And under the starry-night sky!"

"Th-The starry night sky?!"

"What? You don't think it's a good idea?"

"W-Well, while I do agree that confessing your love at the summer festival under the starry night sky is the most romantic thing in the world, you just found out about your feelings. Don't you think you should wait a little longer?"

"But Ringo! If I wait much longer, I'm going to be all sad again!" I wined.

"Aw, geez. Don't start whining on me now. You know I can't resist that."

"pwease?" I starred at her with the most saddest I could possibly make my puppy-dog eyes look.

"GAH! It's too cute!" Ringo yelled. "Alright fine! But I'm going to help whether you like it or not!"

"Deal! Thanks, Ringo!" I said. Then I hugged her real tight while trying to not shed a tear. Despite us being the same age, Ringo's always been like a big sibling to me. More so than my actual big sibling, which is ironic in some way.

Sigh. Why couldn't Satan be more like Ringo? I certainly would've liked him more if he did.

"So, what do we do first?" I asked once we broke off the hug.

"Huh? You're asking me?" Ringo asked.

"You're the smart one."

"Yeah, at math. Not love."

"Great. We haven't even done anything and we're already stumped."

"Calm down will you. I could just call Ris and ask him what to do. He's more of an expert on love than I am."

"Sounds great!" I said happily. I then gain a random thought in my mind that's been bugging me for a while.

"By the way, Ringo. Just what is Risukuma?" I asked.

Ringo sat there for a second trying to think of an answer.

"You know, I'm not really sure." She said. "He says he's a squirrel bear, but when I googled it, I found no prove of that species ever existing. I keep asking him if I could cut him open and see his insides for research, but he always refuses."

"Ringo, I'm pretty sure any sane person would say no to that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"sigh. I guess you're right." She sounded disappointed.

"Hey, we got some time left before I have to go help set up the booth for the festival. Wanna play a game?"

"Sure. I'm fine with anything except The House of the Dead."

"Seriously?! Why is everybody so afraid of that game?!"

"How are you not?"

"sigh. Fine! Then what do you want to play?"

Ringo thought for a second. Between the two of us, we've played tons of video games, so thinking of one on the spot is kinda hard for us.

"Hmm…You still have Kirby's Return to Dream Land?"

"Ha! Like I would ever get rid of that game! Or any Kirby game for that matter!"

"Right?! How can you when he's so cute?!"

"I know! And it really pisses me off when people say it's too easy."

"Those people haven't beaten the True Arena."

"ugh. The True Arena…" The both of us shiver in fear as we had Vietnam flashbacks of the last True Arena we did.

"Triple Deluxe's was pure evil." Ringo said.

"Yeah, it was." I agreed.

"…"

"…"

"But Kirby still sucks." I said.

"Oh, yeah of course. He totally sucks." Ringo added.

We both started laughing at the joke we made, then went inside to play some games that involved a pink puffball.

We ended up playing Return to Dream Land all day, beating both the normal and extra modes, all the challenges, and both arenas. As always, the True Arena took most of our day. We kept using Hammer and Spark with every attempt, and kept failing. But when we weren't being serious anymore and both picked Tornado, we ended up beating it on our first attempt.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" We both shouted.

Let's just say, we were more angry than proud.

"Lidelle, sweetie." Mother said as she came in my room. "Weren't you supposed to go help set up the booths for the festival?"

"Yeah, I was going to go around 2:30." I said.

"Sweetie…it's almost 8:30."

"Huh?" I looked at the clock on my phone to see that it really was almost 8:30 at night. 8:27pm, to be exact.

"WAH! I lost track of time!"

"Woah. I can't believe we've played this game all day…" Ringo said, just as shocked as me.

"Yeah, me neither. It's been a while since I've done this."

"Well, it's okay. I'm sure they got everything done anyway." Mother said. "Dinner's almost ready, so you girls go on and get changed for bed."

"Okay, Mother."

"Okay, Auntie."

As Mother went back to the kitchen, we turned off the game and changed into our pajamas. Then we went to the living room and sat at the table, where Poochy wasted no time in climbing on my lap and licking my face.

"Haha! Poochy! Come on, stop it! It tickles!" I begged.

"ARF ARF!"

"I know you missed me, but you're going to end up licking my face off."

"ARF ARF!"

"You and Poochy really do love each other, huh?" Ringo asked.

"He's friendly with everyone, but he shows extreme affection with me."

"Gee, I wish I had a…whatever Poochy is."

Then out of nowhere, Poochy stopped licking me and charged at Ringo. And was now licking her face to no end.

"Hahaha! Poochy Come on! Down boy! It really tickles!"

"ARF ARF ARF!"

"Come on, Poochy. Time to eat." Mother said as she entered the room. Poochy then jumped off of Ringo and sat next to me waiting patiently for his food.

"You okay, Ringo?" I asked as I pulled her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You were right, though. Poochy licking your face really does tickle." She said.

We all ate dinner and then afterwards we went back to my room to talk about what to do tomorrow.

"So I asked Ris for any advice on how to confess your love for some." Ringo said. "It took me a while to convince him that it's not me, but once that was settled he sent me this text with tips on how to do it."

"I see. What did he say?" I asked.

"He said all you need to do is do these 3 things:

Spend the entire day with this person, just the two of you.

Don't give any hints of your feelings towards this person, that includes blushing.

When the time comes, take them to a secluded spot and tell that person how you truly feel. And don't rush the response out of that person.

He also left a fourth thing, but…I told him it wasn't…necessary."

"What was it?"

"W-Well…you know…"

"…"

"…O-Oh. Y-Yeah, I-I get it." We both had light blushes on our cheeks.

"A-Anyway, aside from the one, these tips should help you confess to Ally tomorrow." Ringo said.

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Positive. But in order for them to work, you know what you have to do."

"Do what?"

"You know, silly. Text Ally and ask if she wants to go the festival with you."

"H-Huh?! D-Do I really have to do that?!"

"Do you want this to work or not?"

"…Yeah, I do." I said silently. "Pass me my phone."

Ringo handed over my cell phone and I scrolled through my contacts to find Ally's number. Once I did, I opened the messaging app and texted her a message.

Hey, Ally. Want to go to the summer festival with me?

Once done I hit the sent button.

"Alright, I sent it." I said.

"Great! Now we just wait for a response." Ringo said.

It didn't even pass 10 seconds before the phone chimed letting us know that we got a message.

Sure! I'll go with you, Lidelle! Can't wait!

I froze in shock when I read the response.

"Well? What did she say?" Ringo asked.

"S-S-She said yes. She said yes! OMG, SHE SAID YES!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down, will ya? I'll send you the list so you can memorize it for tomorrow. Just follow these and your confession will go perfectly."

"Thanks, Ringo! You're the best!"

"Aw, you're welcome, Lidelle. I'm just glad I could come visit you again. Today was so much fun."

"Yeah. It was."

"Well, I'm gonna call it a day. Goodnight, Lidelle."

"Oh right. Goodnight, Ringo."

Ringo left my room and I was left alone. I couldn't stop starring at the message on my phone. The fact that Ally wants to go with me made my heart flutter like crazy. I was so happy. I wanted tomorrow to come already, because I felt like it was going to be the best night of my life!

CONTINUED IN PART 2

A/N: Here's the final part of the summer festival series…part 1. I know I said that this was the final part, but I miscalculated and was one chapter off from a good stopping point for this story. It won't be finished after the next part, I just want to take a break from this story and focus on others I have in mind. Trust me, this story isn't done, not by a long shot.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Japanese school system (which I assume is what the schools in Puyo Puyo are based off) it goes like this:

Grades K-6 are elementary

Grades 7, 8, and 9 are middle school

Grades 10, 11, and 12 are high school

I think other countries do this as well, but I know the US doesn't.

By the way, only Kirby fans will understand that "insult" I made about him.

That's all I have to say. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. The (not so much a) finale will be uploaded soon. Until then, thanks for reading.