Mio, and the rest of Stardust Revolution watched as Edwin and Yui hugged it out. Then they split up and Yui giggled a little bit.
"Your tiara has a sticker on it!" Yui smiled.
"It does?" Edwin pulled out his phone camera and took a look. Indeed, it had a pink heart sticker next to the gem.
"It's a little gift to remember me by when we're not in each other's presence!" Yui smirked. Edwin smirked back.
"I guess that also explains the new hairclip I gave you." Edwin giggled. Yui fished a purple flower hairclip out of her pocket and had the cutest smile on her face.
"You're the best Eddie-Kun!" Yui proclaimed.
"You're the best too, Yui-Chan!" Edwin returned the favour and gave her a great big hug. Yui returned the hug. Everyone else had long since went home. An hour later, the pair split apart.
"Oh my god you two are so adorable together!" Tyler walked into the event. Edwin immediately began blushing.
"H-Hey, Tyler! D-Didn't expect you to pick me up t-today." Edwin immediately lost his composure and became a nervous wreck.
"He's right! You two are so cute!" Another girl waked in beside him. She was nearly identical to Yui, except her hair was done in a small tail. Yui instantly recognized her.
"Hi, Ui! Nice to see you! Oooh, I gotta introduce you to Eddie-Kun!" Yui was very excited. "Eddie-Kun, this is Ui-Chan! She's my little sister and she's one of the most responsible people I know!"
"Hello, Eddie. I'm Ui Hirasawa. Nice to meet you." Ui greeted Edwin, who was still blushing.
"H-Hi, Ui. I'm Edwin Inouye. N-Nice to meet you too." Edwin reached out to shake Ui's hand.
"My my, you're certainly a gentleman today. What's gotten into you, Ed?" Tyler began teasing Edwin, who was visibly blushing.
"N-Nothing much… I-I just really enjoy spending time with Yui, th-that's all. N-Nothing weird about that." Edwin was losing his words.
"Yui often tells me about you. She says you're kind, sweet, loving, and most of all, adorable. Judging from what I'm seeing, she told me the truth." Ui spoke calmly, in contrast to Edwin's panicky blushing.
"Nuuuuuu stop I'm not adorable!" Edwin desperately tried to hide his face, and then Yui gave him a big hug and head pats.
"Awwwwww" Ui and Tyler went. Edwin just hugged Yui back and nuzzled her cheek affectionately.
"Anyhoo, I was told you'd take me out for dinner, which is why I showed up to pick you up. Is that still a thing?" Tyler tried to redirect the conversation.
'Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Had to deal with a lot of shit today, so I think a run to the Dust Bowl Diner would be a good way to get it off my mind." Edwin regained his composure. Ui smiled.
"I was thinking of doing the same thing, which is why I came to pick up Yui." Ui announced. Tyler got a glimmer in his scarlet eyes.
"If we're both planning to go there, wanna have dinner together? It's convenient and we can all hang out together." Tyler laid out his grand plan.
"I'd love to! Can we do it, Ui-Chan?" Yui was jumping up and down with excitement.
"We can, Yui. Depending on Edwin's approval." Ui smiled and then looked right at Edwin.
"Of course we can! I've got money to burn and I may as well use it on the people I enjoy spending time with." Edwin agreed. So they hopped in the car that Tyler rented for the trip and took off. About a half hour later, they arrived at the Dust Bowl Diner. It was a small little building with a neon yellow sign on the roof. They walked into the building, all together.
"Hello, welcome to Dust Bowl Diner, what can we do for you?" The waiter greeted them at the door. Tyler smiled.
"Table for four, please." Tyler replied. The waiter led the group to a black table with fancy padded red seats. Edwin sat down next to Yui and Tyler sat next to Ui, across from Edwin.
"So how was the first meeting? Did anything major happen?" Tyler asked. Edwin sighed.
"A lot happened. The meeting started off well, we had some tea, we learned a lot about each other, Yui was being a cuddle bug, as usual, and Richard showed off a collection of photos he took at the festival. One of which… was a gratuitous shot of Mio's panties." Edwin began. Tyler burst out laughing. "The sad part is that i'm not even kidding." Edwin continued.
"Wait, you're serious? He actually took a photo of Mio's panties? Wow, I don't know if that's him being lucky, or incredibly invasive. Probably both." Tyler stopped laughing and took a serious tone.
"This is Richard, after all. He's not exactly the smartest person in the room." Edwin commented.
"I know, I know. It was a hell of a shot though. Not something you see every day." As if on cue, Richard showed up. Edwin was surprised.
"Oh! Hi, Richard. I was just talking about you… and your ahem, twitchy camera finger." Edwin greeted Richard with a bit of snark.
"Anyhoo, changing the topic, what brings you guys here?" Richard asked.
"Edwin and Yui are going on a date and I'm his third wheel." Tyler bragged. Edwin sighed.
"It's not a date, Tyler. It's dinner with a friend. There's a difference." Edwin responded.
"It just gives me and Ritsu more ammo. Just admit it, you like Yui, don't you?" Richard teased. Edwin blushed.
"I like her as a friend, Richard." Edwin desperately tried to switch subjects.
"I think you're a great friend too, Eddie-Kun!" Yui smiled sweetly. Edwin smiled back.
"Thanks a bunch, Yui-Chan. That means a lot." Edwin responded. Richard smirked.
"Did I hear that correctly? Did he just call you, Yui-Chan?" Richard got that devious tone in his voice. Edwin blushed.
"I-I did, what of it?" Edwin lost his composure.
"Wow, you really like her, Ed. When are you-"
"PLEASE! CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Edwin tried to stop the conversation. He was blushing intensely. "A-Anyhoo, what are you doing here, Richard?" Edwin stuttered.
"Just popping by for a bite to eat. Nothing much." Richard smiled. "Today I just so happened to run into you guys. Anyhoo, I'll be off. The waiter must be getting impatient waiting for me. See you later!" Richard took off for his table. Edwin regained his composure.
"That reminds me, our waiter should be coming along. Has anyone decided what they want?" Edwin asked.
"Shit, I never looked at the menu. I got caught up in all the talking." Tyler admitted as he picked up the menu. Everyone took a look at their menu, except for Edwin, who already knew exactly what he wanted. Soon enough, the waiter came. The group made their orders and the waiter took off to tell the cooks. While the group waited for their meals, they had a chat.
"So how'd the rest of the meeting go, after the photo display?" Tyler asked.
"Well, Mio was rightfully pissed about everyone getting a shot of her panties, so she took off with Ritsu chasing her down in an attempt to apologize. Later, Ritsu came back in a panic, and we followed her to the auditorium where we found out Mio was beaten up. That's when Valerie showed up." Edwin started.
"Good god, Valerie's still giving you trouble?" Tyler was surprised.
"Yeah, she's still lying about me. I honestly wish she would cut it out." Edwin sighed.
"Then we found out she hired Anita-Chan to beat up Mio-Chan for having a recording of that one date between Eddie-Kun and Valerie-Chan!" Yui added. Ui was surprised.
"Anita van Korvyn? I haven't heard her name in a long time. Whatever happened to her anyway?" Ui was curious.
"I don't even know, sis! The last time I saw her before this was four years ago." Yui stated. The rest of the group was stunned.
"Four years ago?! How long have you been in our neighbourhood?" Tyler asked. Yui smiled.
"I've been here my entire life!" Yui bragged.
"Holy shit, me too! How have we never met until the festival?" Edwin was surprised.
"I guess we just didn't run into each other for years!" Yui smiled sheepishly.
"Ok, that's a possibility. Oh, that reminds me! Ui, are me and Yui-Chan ok to have a sleepover at your place?" Edwin remembered the sleepover Yui suggested. Yui's eyes lit up.
"Yes, that's perfectly fine by me." Ui answered. Edwin beamed.
"Thank you so much! Ummm what's your parent's number? Should I ask them for permission to visit?" Edwin asked again. Ui giggled.
"Oh no, our parents are always off travelling, usually to Europe." Ui answered. Edwin was shocked.
"H-How do they pay the bills?!" Edwin questioned.
"Oh they do, they just leave Ui to maintain household responsibilities while they're out on their endless travels." Yui explained. Edwin smiled a bit.
"Well, I can see why they put their trust in Ui. She seems like a responsible person." Edwin spoke in full confidence. Just then, their dinner arrived. Tyler's mouth watered at the sight of his medium rare steak seasoned with sautee'd mushrooms, paprika, and Montreal steak spice.
"Now that is how you do a steak properly." Tyler smirked. Edwin sighed.
"I'm perfectly fine with my simple cheeseburger." Edwin was significantly more modest. Ui looked at him funny.
"You don't have any vegetables on your burger." Ui pointed out. Edwin immediately groaned.
"I don't need them. I use the occasional cheeseburger or pizza to get a break from eating produce 5 nights a week, not to add on to it." Edwin defended his position. Tyler leaned into Ui.
"Just between us, he still finds any excuse to dodge produce." Tyler whispered. Ui giggled as Edwin desperately tried to hide his face. Yui found a way to hug him after she almost instantly finished her hot dog. Soon enough, Edwin calmed down and the meal went on as planned. The waiter came back later and asked about dessert.
"We'll pass." Ui and Tyler said simultaneously.
"Not us. Yui and I will share the famous pink heart ice cream." Edwin spoke to the waiter as she took the order and left for the kitchen. Later, he arrived with the ice cream. It was shaped in a pink heart, as advertised. It also sported a cherry on top. Yui's mouth watered at the sight.
"It looks gorgeous, doesn't it?" Edwin smiled as Yui already began staring at the cherry.
"Should we take the first bite together, Eddie-Kun?" Yui asked. Edwin smiled brightly.
"I was about to ask the same thing, Yui-Chan." They took the first bites out of their side of the heart together. It tasted like strawberries. They chowed down until they got to the lone cherry. Edwin then let Yui take the cherry. Afterwards, the waiter came back with the bill. It read "Total: $121.68" Ui nearly had a heart attack when she saw it. Edwin casualy paid the bill with his cash. After they got their reciept and a few chocolates each, they hopped back into the car and drove home. Tyler dropped the Hirasawa sisters off at their place, and they said goodbye for the day, but not before Edwin and Yui shared a hug that went on for 5 minutes straight. Tyler then dropped the car off at the dealership and walked home with Edwin.
"Sounds to me like you and Yui are gonna be a really cute couple sometime soon." Tyler commented. Edwin blushed.
"Y-You know what, since it's just us talking to each other without anyone else around… I'll bite. I like Yui. A lot, in fact. She… she means a lot to me. She's super sweet, she makes me smile, she's the most cuddly person you'll ever meet, and I… I just feel safe being myself around her. S-Sometime before this year ends, I wanna confess to her… i-in front of all of Sakuragaoka." Edwin finally admitted everything he was feeling about Yui as he crossed the street with Tyler, who was clapping in approval.
"Clearly she means something to you. You probably wouldn't be pouring your heart out right now if you didn't love her with every ounce of your being. I say, go for it. I'm sure that since you have experience in the whole being a boyfriend thing, you'll do great with Yui. I believe in you, man. Always." Tyler was clearly very proud. Edwin smiled as the pair rounded the corner to their place. Edwin went to the door, only to see a note. It read:
"Dear Tyler Inouye, I thought I'd leave you a little something since you weren't home today. It's on the porch, waiting for you. Hopefully we can try again another day. Signed, Azusa Nakano" Tyler's heart sunk.
"Goddamnit, I forgot I had plans with Azusa today! Fuck, I feel stupid." Tyler facepalmed. Edwin patted his brother's shoulder
"Hold your head high, man. Judging by this note, she's not mad at you at all. She even left you a bag of your favourite caramels." Edwin pointed to the surprisingly large bag of soft caramels at the door. Tyler's smile returned.
"I mean, hey. I still got some caramel. That was really sweet of her. I'll call her after school tomorrow and tell her I'm sorry for ditching her." Tyler spoke.
"You didn't really ditch her, you just forgot." Edwin reassured Tyler.
"Still, I should be a better friend than that. I know I can be." Tyler vowed to be a better friend to Azusa from this point forward. The sky was dark and it was late at night when they got in the house, so they chose to call it a night and eagerly awaited what tomorrow would bring.