"Yamato says that everyone has their first kiss before high school."
Leaning against the railing outside of Odaiba Middle School, Takaishi Takeru ruffled his blond fringe. Despite the chilly breeze of March, his smile remained effortlessly warm and bright.
Yagami Hikari wished she could appear as comfortable in the bone-chilling cold as Takeru seemed to be.
"I don't think it's really that big of a deal."
Hikari bent down to unchain her bicycle, pausing briefly to breathe warmth into her numb fingers. She had woken up late that morning, her gloves forgotten beside the front door.
Beside her, Takeru scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You've had boys falling at your feet since we were, like, ten."
With her back turned to him, Hikari allowed herself to roll her eyes. Takeru had always been a bit of a drama queen, but as high school entrance exams drew near, his attitude had taken a turn for the worse.
Without a word, the wheels of the bicycle ticked forwards, her stride short to give Takeru time to catch up.
A breeze whistled through the mostly barren trees, a trail of goosebumps decorating her thighs. Hikari shivered slightly, absent-mindedly wishing the hem of her uniform skirt was longer.
"Ah, I see. You're giving me the cold shoulder." Takeru bumped his shoulder against hers, a smirk stretched across his lips. "Your cheeks are also pink. Tell me: Is the mysterious and aloof Yagami Hikari embarrassed?"
"Embarrassed?" The ticking of the bicycle stopped, Hikari facing Takeru head-on. "What do I have to be embarrassed about?"
His cerulean eyes bore into hers, unflinching. "Boys."
Hikari could feel her eyebrows scrunch together, the back of her hand pressing against her cheek. Like the weather around her, Hikari's skin was cold.
"Boys? Are you talking about Daisuke, or something? I can't really think of anyone else that has thrown themselves at my feet besides him."
Another gust of wind coaxed them further down the street, the warmth of their apartments like a beacon in the storm.
They walked alongside each other in silence for a moment. Remnants of the last snowfall adorned the street corners in piles of graying mush.
"Well?" Takeru broke the silence. The tip of his nose was bright pink, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his trousers. Hikari still marveled at how her neck had to crane upwards to meet his gaze, his height surpassing hers long ago.
"Well, what?"
"How was it?" Takeru kept his focus on the path in front of him. Confusion bubbled in Hikari's stomach, a strange curiosity pulling at the edge of her lips.
"Takeru, it's too cold to play twenty questions. If you have something to ask, come out with it."
She tore her focus from him. Even through her two pairs of socks, her toes had frozen, the journey home more arduous now that Takeru was being obnoxious.
Running his fingers through his hair, a puff of air ghosted in the afternoon sun. As he stalled, Hikari allowed herself to glance over his features. The best time to watch Takeru, she had decided, was when he was distracted.
His cheerful mask had slipped around the edges, the corners of his mouth downturned.
Dark circles crowded underneath his usually bright eyes, an uncharacteristic anxiety gnawing at his bottom lip. 'Whatever Yamato had said must have really messed with him,' Hikari thought.
Looking away, she gave him a moment of privacy to gather his thoughts.
"How was kissing Daisuke?"
"Daisuke?" The bicycle screeched to a halt. Hikari couldn't - wouldn't - process Takeru's implication, shock leaving her mouth open. "Where on Earth would you get the idea that I've kissed Daisuke of all people?"
Takeru merely shrugged as if he hadn't suggested that Hikari spent her spare time shoving her tongue down Daisuke's throat. "It just made sense, you know? He obviously has the hots for you, and he told me and Ken you both would be official by April. I guess my next question is why haven't you kissed him?"
Hikari could feel the warm flush of indignation crawl up her neck, effectively shielding her from the cold. "You're my best friend. If I was dating anyone, Daisuke or otherwise, don't you think I would have told you?" She paused, knuckles turning white around the handlebars of her bicycle. As she opened her mouth to continue, the wave of Takeru's hand cut her off.
"I didn't mean to upset you. It's just…" His voice pittered out. "I'm nervous. What if I get into high school, ready to finally kiss someone, and I'm horrible at it? Like, where do your teeth even go?" With a frustrated sigh, the pair resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace than before.
A small giggle slipped past Hikari, the tension in her shoulders slowly melted. "Your teeth? How am I supposed to know?" Takeru glanced at her through his peripherals, but Hikari pretended not to notice.
He awkwardly cleared his throat, his hand poorly hiding his smirk. "I know you haven't kissed Daisuke, but surely you've kissed somebody."
Warmth seeped into her cheeks, Takeru's observant eyes searching her face. Hikari averted her gaze, pushing forward. If she squinted, the corner of her apartment building would be barely visible through the weaving streets.
Peeking up at him from the corner of her eye, Hikari balked as a look of realization settled on Takeru's features.
"You've never kissed anyone."
The statement, simple and true, hung between them. Takeru's energy had somehow been restored, a mischievous grin simultaneously infuriating and flustering her.
"So?" Hikari managed, doing her best to sound indifferent. Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. The brunette uselessly hoped that Takeru wouldn't notice.
A single syllable laugh jolted Hikari from her momentary reprieve.
"I don't know what your brother said to get you all like," she gestured vaguely with a free hand, "this, but I'm positive that kissing someone isn't the end-all, be-all of high school. I'm sure that everyone else is too busy studying or juggling after school clubs to care about who's kissed who."
"That's what someone who's never been kissed would say." Takeru coughed into his fist, his chuckles reverberating in his chest.
She swatted his arm with her free hand, fighting back a grin. "You," she smacked him, "are one to talk. Now, I want you to tell me something: Why hasn't the basketball captain and self-proclaimed heartthrob of Odaiba Middle School gotten a kiss from one of his admirers? My theory is stage fright, or a gnarly snaggle tooth."
Takeru's smile faded in the weak ray of sunshine that peeked through the clouds. Hikari could see him retreat back into himself, his cerulean eyes void of their usual glimmer.
Regret cinched around her heart for the briefest moment, her gait faltering. Their corner approached much too quickly, their time together growing short.
Words filled her mouth to the brim, balancing on the tip of her tongue. She had to make this right before they went their separate ways. "Takeru, wait, I-"
"No, it's okay." He waved her off, lips pulled upwards in an ingenious way, "You're right."
As he turned to go down his street, his sneaker collided with the wheel of Hikari's bicycle tire. His hair fluttered in the chilly breeze as he shot her a look over his shoulder, eyebrows gathered in confusion.
"Wait," she breathed, a half-baked idea at the forefront of her mind.
Takeru paused and turned around. His mouth formed a straight line, blond fringe obscuring his features.
"Why don't we…try it?" Hikari could feel her heart pounding in her chest, The words seem to thicken the air around them, the chilly weather long forgotten. Takeru's head snapped to attention, his eyes searching hers.
"What?" His voice was no louder than a whisper, his uniform jacket waving in the wind.
Hikari swallowed the doubt that had risen to her chest. Taking a page from her brother's book, she charged forward. "Well, now I'm scared. I don't want to go to high school without having kissed anyone either. As Koushiro would say, we have to think logically about this. Why don't…" With his gaze on her, Hikari could feel her palms grow sweaty, a fluttering of something mixing with the anxiety in her stomach. Her tongue felt too thick in her mouth to speak.
Takeru took a tentative step forward, pulling his hands from the pockets of his slacks. "Hikari?"
Together they teetered on the precipice, neither willing to disturb the delicate tension that encased them. Hikari's fingers trembled around the handlebars of her bicycle.
"Could we?" she whispered.
Takeru stepped even closer, the tips of his shoes grazing her own. From this distance, the light smell of his cologne engulfed her, easing the tension in her shoulder.
She had to look upwards to meet his eyes.
"Could we what?"
In the midst of her inner turmoil, Hikari almost rejoiced at the shimmer of mirth in his eyes; she almost found joy in the way the corners of his mouth twitched as he teased her.
"Actually," Hikari straightened herself, gracefully hopping onto the seat of the bicycle, "I've got to run. Mom needs my help cooking dinner tonight."