Sho had this boyfriend thing down.
Really it wasn't hard. You had a girl and you had to make her happy. There. She needed food, he fed her. She was bored, he played with her. She needed to feel good, he kissed her. Also every so often he had to tell her that she was pretty. Girls liked that, when you told them that they were pretty, and he liked to make his girlfriend happy. How he felt about her didn't matter, only what she felt mattered, and he…well this wasn't so bad. Making her feel good. Making her happy. Making her feel how he wanted to feel…how he wished someone could made him feel…
He need to stop thinking like that.
He needed to stop thinking about…well about a lot of things. He was in the park, with his girlfriend, and even if he feel the same way about her he still had to think about her and make her happy and stuff. That was how you were supposed to be when a girl cared about you. Fukuda had said so and Sho…well he believed him. Even though for the whole almost eleven years of his life he had never known a girl to like Fukuda…Sho still believed him.
Because what he said made complete and total sense.
Sho's feelings didn't matter, not when it came to this. This was why he was here. He was supposed to find a girl and then become her boyfriend and then take care of her and have ids and then be a good dad and also rule the world and stuff. It wouldn't be all bad. Emmy was nice and he liked babies, and little kids too like little sis, and…and he had to do what he had to do. He could do this. He would do this. He was doing this. He was doing the hell out of this!
He was the best fucking boyfriend in the fucking universe! Fuck yeah!
"Hey Sho?" asked Emmy as she dragged her feet to stop her swing. Sho had been pushing her even though she could push herself. That was a thing that guys did for their girlfriends. Well he'd seen guys doing that for their girlfriends anyway. There was a guy over on the next swing pushing his girlfriend…or a girl. He was about Sho's age and he had on a really cool hat with a flaming skull on it and his gloves looked like skeleton hands and Sho kind of really wanted to ask him where he had gotten those and also if he liked scary movies and also…well a lot of stuff that he was going to do because he was with his girlfriend now.
Also maybe if he didn't feed the goldfish in his stomach then it would just die or something and then he could be just like everyone else was…just like how he was supposed to be.
"Yeah? What's up? Do you want me to push you higher? Or do you want to go and climb another tree? Or we could throw rocks at cars again maybe?" asked Sho. She knew how to have fun. He had always thought that girls were like big sis…but that was because she had always been there and the only girl he knew and stuff. He had always thought that girls like dresses and makeup and Disney and manga with kissing and stuff. Emmy liked kissing…but she also liked a lot of the stuff that he did. That was so cool. That was just…if he had to have a girlfriend he was happy that his girlfriend was someone like her and not someone like big sis…not that he didn't love her, he did, but she was…a very different person from him….
And, really, he liked to play dolls sometimes…but not every single day for the rest of his life. Throwing rocks at cars was much more fun.
"No…and maybe we shouldn't throw rocks at cars since we could get in loads of trouble." Said Emmy. Well, alright, they couldn't have everything in common. They were different human bins and all of that. Shimazaki was the person he had to most in common with and…he had to stop thinking about Shimazaki and start thinking about Emmy.
She was there.
He liked her. She was a good friend. She was a good friend and stuff and that was enough. Even if she didn't like to throw rocks at cars. They could do other fun stuff. It was a Saturday and on Saturdays she could be out all day. Her mom thought that she was at the library studying and stuff so they had all day…and he didn't mind it…even though Shimazaki was home and he would totally have been up for some rock throwing…
Shut up goldfish. Nobody needs you.
"Ok. We can do other stuff. Uh…when the other swing is free then we can see who can jump off the farthest or we could try and swing over the bar or something." Said Sho. He looked over at the next swing…and he shouldn't have. The girl smiled at him. The guy didn't…and the goldfish in Sho's stomach swam on. It swam and…and Sho wondered if there was some way to just…get rid of it. He hated feeling like this. It was like every time he even looked at another guy the goldfish in his stomach just…went crazy.
It was even worse when Shimazaki was near…but he wasn't near…so he needed to just…stop it already.
"Actually I'm getting kind of cold…sorry. I mean I like spending time with you and all but it's cold enough to see my breath." Said Emmy
"We can go and have lunch somewhere or we can go to a store and put on hats and pretend that we're mannequins or we could go to the game store and play the demos or we can go to the library and hide in the back where nobody ever goes." Said Sho. He wanted….well he kind of wanted to go home and see if Shimazaki was awake yet. If he was awake and he wanted to hang out and throw rocks or climb trees or play in the sewers or find dogs to play with or…well a lot of other stuff that he liked to do…for fun reasons, just for fun, not for reasons like the goldfish in his stomach or the times when he would close his eyes and pretend that he was Shimazaki's boyfriend…and stuff.
"Nah, I'm skint again. I spend all me, my, money at the game shop already." Said Emmy
"That's ok, I can get you stuff." Said Sho
"You don't have to keep getting me things all the time, Sho, you're going to end up skint too." Said Emmy
"I'll never end up broke, skint, so you don't have to worry about that. Don't worry about money. You're the girl, it's not your job to worry about it." Said Sho. Dad had said, before, that the guy was supposed to make money and take care of the girl…and he may have been a jerk but he knew about this stuff. Even if mom had run away from him…well she had run away because he was a jerk…but he knew what he was supposed to do. Guys took care of girls and Sho was the boyfriend and he would take care of Emmy. He may not have been in love with her but he didn't want her to dump him. If she dumped him then he would have to go out and find a new girlfriend and that would have been way too much work. He had never met a girl like Emmy before and he didn't want to have to go around looking for another one.
One who was…mad at him?
"Don't be daft." Said Emmy. She was turned away from him. The swing's chains creaked as she turned. The people next to them had gotten up and left. Sho…well now they could swing together…and maybe that would cheer her up. He didn't know. He had no idea what he did. One minute everything was fine and the next she was calling him crazy…right?
Her English was weird.
"How am I being crazy? Daft means crazy, right?" asked Sho. He was just asking…he had no idea what he had done that time. He had just asked her a question…and now she seemed even madder at him. If she had been an esper then she would have been glowing as bright as a Christmas tree. He had done something…but what?!
"Yes, it does, you booger…and you know what booger means, right?" asked Emmy
"Yeah, I know what a booger is…and I'm not a booger either. Why are you mad at me?" asked Sho. Dad had said, once, that girls were weird. They never told you what was wrong, you had to figure it out, and you never did and they got madder and madder until you got them some kind of present. Sho…well he didn't like to listen to dad…but he had been right about this. Emmy was being all mad all of a sudden for no reason…huh. Even assholes could be right about stuff. Well then.
"I'm not mad! You're the one who's mad." Said Emmy. Now it was getting worse…and Sho had no idea what he had done. Maybe she was on her period. Girls got mad when they were on their periods. Sad too. Big sis did, anyway. She got mad and mad or sad and sad…and he would have been too if he had to go through that. Maybe that was happening to her too…but he wasn't going to ask her. Shimazaki had said that you never talked about a girl's period, well he said ketchup times but Sho knew what he meant, and Sho…well he didn't want to piss Emmy off more than she already was.
He hated it when people were pissed off at him.
"I'm not mad. I don't get mad at girls…not anymore anyway." Said Sho. She could be pissed off at him but he would never be pissed off at her. When he got pissed off at people then he yelled at them and he hit them and…and he would never treat a girl like that. He had been like that towards big sis for years and years and…and he was never going to be that asshole again. Not for as long as he lived.
He wasn't even pissed now.
He was mostly confused. He had no idea what he had done…but it was the same with big sis. She got really mad at him because he tried to feed her but then she got really sad because he went to play all on his own in their room. That was fine. You just had to be understanding and stuff. Even though this was kind of…it was part of being someone's boyfriend. He was a good boyfriend.
He had to be a good boyfriend.
"Oh…you meant cross. Right. Sorry….and I am cross with you." Said Emmy. She seemed less mad now. She was looking down at the ground and kicking a hole in the dirt with her boot. He wondered if he should have sat down next to her…or maybe he should have kept on standing…but maybe she thought that he was standing over her to remind her of how tall he was…even though they were about the same height…but still.
He hated it when dad did that.
"Why?" asked Sho as he sat down on the swing next to her. She turned to face him. The swing creaked again. The wind blew through his hair. She shivered a little. She wasn't in a very thick jacket, just this army jacket, so no wonder she was cold. Sho…well he was going to be a good boyfriend…and good boyfriends took care of their girlfriends.
She was cold so he warmed her up.
He took off his coat and put it over her shoulders. His swing creaked as he moved towards her too. He would much rather have been swinging on the swings with her, that was fun, and this just…wasn't. This was kind of…well he didn't know what to do. He had no idea how to fix this. If she told him that she was cold then he could warm her up, if she told him that she was bored then he would have fun with her, and if she told him that she was hungry then he would feed her. Hell, if she needed that girl stuff that big sis kept under the bathroom sink then he would have gotten that stuff for her…even if it was stealing…but at least he would have stolen for real. Big sis kept accusing him of stealing the stuff from between her mattress and box spring…and he hadn't!
Girls…they were way too complicated.
"Thank you." Said Emmy as she pulled his coat on. That was his coat…and she was wearing it…and he just…he wanted it back. He wanted it back because Shimazaki had given it to him…and now he knew that he was the crazy one, the daft one, because he knew that she would give it back. Besides, he knew that he was making her happy and he should have been happy that she was happy. He remembered how he felt when Shimazaki gave him that coat…and he should have been happy that Emmy was that happy…
But he mostly just felt cold.
"You're welcome…and I'm sorry that I mad you mad…cross. I really am and if you just tell me what's wrong then I can fix it." Said Sho
"I', cross with you because…I don't like it when you say that you're the boy and I'm the girl…you know…like it means something. Like there's rules. I don't like those sorts of rules…and I don't think that I can live like that. I mean it's hard, you know, when everyone tells you how you have to be." Said Emmy
"….I never meant to make you feel like that." Said Sho. He….made her feel like that? He had never wanted to and…and he knew how it felt. He was just like dad. He was being a total asshole and…and he was being like dad and…and if she left him then he would have understand. If she just got up and walked away and he never saw her again then he knew why…and it would have sucked…but then he would have deserved it.
"Well you did. You just…when you say that we have to be one way because of…daft rules…it just…I don't like it. Like I get worried. Like you want me to be someone I'm not." Said Emmy
"What do you mean? I like you for you. You're you and that's why you're my girlfriend." Said Sho
"I….I'm being daft. Sorry. I've just been thinking about…things. Things that your sister said to me I mean." Said Emmy
"Wait…what did big sis say?" asked Sho. He knew big sis and he knew that she never would have said anything mean to anyone…but she could also be really clueless sometimes. He didn't know what she could have said and…and he knew that she loved him and…and he was going to stay calm.
"That you were in love with me and that you wanted us to get married….and I don't know how I feel about that. I mean…you…I like you but…I'm not even in secondary school yet! I can't even decide on a case for me, my, mobile and…I don't know if I can marry someone who thinks like…like I have to be one way because I'm a girl…you know?" asked Emmy
"You're….worried that I'm going to boss you around?" asked Sho. That…made no sense. You weren't supposed to boss your girlfriend or wife around…actually if big sis was anything to go off of the girl was the boss of the house…and this whole just…complicated.
"Yes." said Emmy
"I would never boss you around. I'm not like that. I just…yeah, ok, I want us to get married when we grow up but not because I want to boss you around. I want to get married to you because you're my most perfect person." Said Sho. She looked at him and then she pulled her helmet down over her eyes. She was facing him but not looking at him…and he didn't know if that had been a good thing or a bad thing. She was red and…and maybe he had said the wrong thing…but he had just been telling the truth.
She was his most perfect person because she was a girl, she was nice, and they got along. What more could a person ask for?
"You think that I'm the most perfect person in the world? Nobody's ever said that to me before…" said Emmy. Her voice sounded kind of far away and she was being all quiet and…well the way she said it…it was kind of a lot.
"To me, I mean. My dad…well he's an asshole but he said that everyone has their most perfect person and when you meet that person you just sort of…know…and then you spend your life with them…and I think that you're the most perfect girl for me. I mean you like me and you like the same stuff that I do and my sister likes you too so…yeah. I just…want to make you happy. That's all that matters, making you happy, and I would never boss you around or make you be anyone other than yourself. I just want to do stuff to make you happy…and stuff." Said Sho. Emmy pulled her helmet up and then pulled it down again. Her face had been as red as her hair and…and he had no idea what he would do now. She was all…like this….and he didn't think that it should have been this complicated. Girls. They were just so…complicated….and he just…
Maybe it was better when you actually liked them.
He liked her. She was nice. He just…didn't like her the way that she liked him…and maybe if he had felt the same way then it would have made sense. But it didn't. She just pulled her helmet down, looked at him, and then pulled it back up again. She did that a few times like he was a baby and she was trying to play peekaboo with him. But she wasn't. He had no idea what she had been trying to do but he knew that it wasn't that. She pulled her helmet up and kept it up…and that was better…but now she was staring at him. She was staring at him and she was holding the chains of the swing so tight that her knuckles were white…and she was looking him in the eyes and….and he got the feeling that she was getting ready to hit him. Well if she did then he wouldn't fight back. Shimazaki said that it was ok to hit a girl when she hit you first but he didn't want to hit her or any girl ever again…and if she hit him then…well at least he would have been able to understand that.
She didn't hit him.
She stood up, leaned in, and kissed him. That was…well he didn't run away. Back when he'd been little he'd always ran from girls who tried to kiss him…and he felt like doing that now…but he didn't. No, he just let her do it…and about three seconds in he remembered that he had to kiss her back. Usually she asked or he asked…and asking made it better…well less like…this…but this was ok. The goldfish in his stomach was dead and her lips were all sticky…and also she smelled like coconuts…but at least he liked coconuts…
And at least it had been short.
"So…um…alright…and…um…you're my most perfect person too I guess. I mean you're the only boy who's ever liked me and…and I like you so…um...I feel the same." Said Emmy. She sat back down and stared at him. He stared at her. Was it over? Was she better now? Were they cool? Was that all that she had wanted, a kiss? He could have just done that at the beginning of the fight…the almost fight. Well it was done now and…yeah. It was done now….so why was she still staring at him?
"Cool." Said Sho.
"Brilliant." Said Emmy
"Awesome." Said Sho
"Capitol." Said Emmy
"Bitchin'" said Sho
"Ace." Said Emmy
"So…um…do you want to…go somewhere warm? Still?" asked Sho. That had been…well she was still staring at him…and he wished that he could have read minds or something. Girls. They were complicated. They were from Mars and men were from Venus, he had heard, and he knew that it was just a figure of speech but…yeah. He would have believed it. She was just…still sitting there and still staring and…well now she was smiling at him…and that was good…right?
Right?
"I'm already warm…but if you wanted to go to the dodgy curry shop we could…and share?" asked Emmy. What happened to worrying about money? How did that get fixed? And why was she smiling so much now? And what was….nope. He wasn't going to jinx whatever this was. He was going to go with it. What else could he do….besides go back to the fighting…and he didn't want to go back to the fighting. She was probably just hungry or cold or having her period or something. Whatever, it didn't matter, he could take care of her. That was what mattered the most, him taking care of her.
"Sure, it's a date." Said Sho. She smiled even more at that. Good. He loved it when she smiled. That meant that he was doing this boyfriend thing right. He may not have been in love with her, he may not have gotten that goldfish feeling in his stomach when he was near her, but he could make her happy and that was what mattered. She was his girlfriend, his most perfect person, and he was hers…so what else could have possibly mattered.
Sho had this boyfriend thing down, mostly, and that was what mattered the most.