Sho kind of wanted to run away.
He wanted to just put his shoes on and not stop running, ever, until he got to the ocean or something…and then he would either stop being afraid of the water like a little baby or just find a oat or see if he could make himself fly over the ocean or…something. It was a dumb thought. He had been having nothing but dumb thoughts for the past few weeks. Ever since he'd bought the stupid ring in his stupid pocket. It was in, there, just…existing. Just existing there and weighing him down…well that was another stupid thought to have because, of course, it wasn't weighing him down at all. He was stronger than that.
He was strong…and he was not a baby…and he was going to do this.
"Big sis, do you have to do this?" asked Sho. He wanted to run away…and not just because of the ring in his pocket. He wanted to run away from his big sis because she seemed set on ripping all the hair out of his head. She was standing behind him trying to brush his hair even though she knew that it wouldn't work. It was hard enough to comb it when it was wet. When it was dry it was impossible.
So maybe it was best that she just give up.
"Sho, you know that I do. This is going to be the biggest day of your life, you have to look good for it….not that you don't always look good! Because you do. It's just that I want you to look especially good….alright? So please hold still. You hair is doing that thing again." said big sis
"What thing?" asked Sho
"This thing. This thing where it won't let me brush it." Said big sis
"It's not doing anything, that's just the way that it grows…and anyway what does it matter if my hair is all messed up? That's not going to make her say no…is it?" asked Sho. Big sis would know, she was a girl and she knew how girls worked. Maybe girls said no when you looked like shit and then they found guys who could comb their hair and…why had he taken a bath today? What was the matter with him? He should have just…not taken a bath!
No. He was being dumb.
"No, not if she loves you and I know that she does. You let her kiss you and I know that you hate it when girls kiss you…and also you're going to marry her and you're the best little brother in the world and I have no idea why she wouldn't say yes to you. You're going to be fine….but it would help if I brushed your hair." Said big sis before she went back to trying to get her brush to work through his hair. It wasn't going to work. Her hair was totally different than his, and not just because of the color her hair was straight and it never tangled. His hair grew straight up and did nothing but tangle.
He wondered if Emmy's hair tangled.
He wondered if she ever had to have her hair brushed like this. Maybe. Hers was longer than his after all. Also she was a girl and this was a thing that girls did. Big sis loved to brush her hair and his…and maybe Emmy would want to brush his hair too. Maybe she would sit him down on his bed, well their bed since they would be married and married people always shared a bed, and then pull a brush through his hair as hard as she could and then she would say something like 'hold still, booger' and then he would have to and-
Wait, no, Emmy hated brushing her hair.
So that wasn't going to happen. So he was going to be fine. But then why didn't he feel like he was going to be fine? Why did he feel like…like he had to run away? Like…well he knew why he felt like ruing away. He hadn't thought this, any of this, through. He hadn't thought about how Emmy would be there with him for the rest of his life and all the things he would have to do and…and all of that married stuff and…
And he wondered how far he could run before people noticed that he was gone.
"Give it up. There's nothing either of us can do." Said Sho as he reached up and took the brush from big sis's hands. She let him take it and sighed. What did she have to sigh about? All she had to worry about was his hair. He was the one who was going to have to ask someone to spend the rest of her life with him.
"Alright….but only because I don't want to hurt you. Anyway I guess we don't have a lot of time left for all of this. Isn't it almost time for her school to let out?" asked big sis. She grabbed her phone with her powers and showed him the time….and yes, her school would be letting out. He had a whole plan for what he'd do. He'd take her somewhere to eat, she was always hungry after school since the food sucked, and then he would tell her that she was pretty and that he loved her, which wasn't a lie since he loved her like…a human being…or a friend…or a poptart, and then he would give her the ring and ask her to marry him…
And then they would be married….
And then that would be that. He would have done what he was supposed to do. Nobody would call him weird or…or tell him that he wasn't right…and dad would stop being such a jerk about…well he was always a jerk but he would be nicer about Sho growing up and doing what he was supposed to do. He had a girlfriend, and then he would have a wife, and then a family and then he would be dad's age and dad would be dead and then Sho would be able to do whatever he wanted to…only not really because he would have a wife and kids and…
And wives ran away…that was a thing that happened….
"Yeah…it is…so I should just…get to it then." Said Sho as he scooted off the bed. Big sis made room for him. He got up and dusted off his shirt. Big sis had pulled out a bunch of his hair….he hoped that his kid's didn't have hair like his. He didn't know what he'd do if they did. He didn't want to have to brush their hair or…well all of that other stuff that big sis made him do. He wanted his kids to be happy all the time and do whatever they wanted….and all of that stuff…
And Emmy probably wanted that too…so that was good.
"Wait, hang on. Dad got you something to wear." Said big sis. She picked up the big, white box that had been on the floor all day. He had thought that it had something for her inside, it looked like the boxes that her dresses came in, but no…for some reason this was something for him. Why? Why was dad getting him clothes for? Big sis was the one who got him new clothes…and he didn't need new clothes anyway. Big sis had already gotten him his winter clothes and, anyway, dad had no idea what he liked so it was probably something stupid…
Sho wondered if he could see the future.
"What the hell is this?" asked Sho as he picked up the clothes from in the box. A suit. Dad had gotten him a suit for some reason. Like his but green. Nope. Sho was not dressing like this…and not just because it looked stupid. He wasn't dressing like dad even if dad's clothes were the last clothes in the world!
"Dad got you something nice to wear…he does that when he loves you….so I guess he loves you now. I mean he's been calling you Sho for all of this year already so that's a good sign….I think." Said big sis
"….I don't care what he calls me. I am not wearing that." Said Sho
"But Sho, he'll be upset if you don't wear it. He's got a lot of feelings and they get hurt really easily…he doesn't always show it but his feelings get hurt very easily." Said big sis. Sho didn't need to be told that dad had a lot of feelings, he knew fully well that he did, and he knew fully well what dad did about them. He took them out on other people, mostly Sho, and he hadn't done that for a while but…well he had done it a bunch before and…well he could do it again, not that Sho cared. Dad could do whatever he wanted. He'd be dead one day and then it would all be over.
Sho just had to keep on looking forward to that, that was all.
"I don't give a fuck if his feelings get hurt. I'm not wearing that so you can sell it or burn it or put it on one of your dolls or stuffed animals or something." Said Sho with a shrug. Dad already told him what to do and how to be…he wasn't going to let dad tell him how to dress, too. He wasn't going to let dad dress him up like he was one of big sis's dolls…or like he was big sis. He was always getting big sis stuff to wear even though their wardrobe and dresser was mostly full of her clothes already. Dad treated her like a doll and she didn't mind…
But Sho did and he sure as well was not going to let dad do that to him.
"I…don't want to fight with you…and I'll do what I can about that…but I'm not going to sell it or burn it or…anything. I'm just going to put this in our wardrobe, ok?" asked big sis
"Fine, but it'll just take up space or whatever….anyway I gotta go. Happy Valentine's Day." Said Sho. He kissed her on the head, because it was Valentine's Day and she was his sister, and then he left their room. He left her to put that stupid suit that dad had gotten in him into their already overflowing wardrobe. He didn't need it. He was never dressing like that, like dad, even when he grew up. No, dad already bossed him around enough as it was.
He wasn't going to be even more of a doll than he was.
Sure he was going to ask Emmy to marry him because dad had told him, had spent his entire life telling him, that he needed to find a girlfriend and have more baby espers for the bloodline and stuff, but dad didn't get to tell him other things…like how to dress. Besides, being married to Emmy would be a good thing. When they got married, married for real when they grew up, then dad wouldn't be able to tell Sho what to do. Dad would be either really old or really dead and then Sho…well Sho would be able to do whatever he wanted…well not whatever he wanted. He wouldn't have been able to marry the person that he wanted to marry anyway…
But Shimazaki said that he didn't even know if he believed in marriage so it was fine.
This wouldn't be so bad. He would put his shoes on, take Emmy out like he had last Valentine's Day, and then he would give her the ring and then they would be married…and then married for real when they grew up, and then….well and then dad would get off of his back. This was….this was a good thing. He didn't want to run away…that badly. No, he knew what he had to do and he was going to do it.
He already had the ring, and everyone knew about it, so he didn't have much of a choice now did he?
"You're leaving the house dressed like that?" asked dad. Sho had thought that he had been sneaky enough that dad hadn't noticed him. He'd been in the living working on some boring work stuff, probably or maybe games that he pretended were boring work stuff. Sho didn't care what dad did just so long as he didn't bother him about it.
But dad was bothering him. He was bothering him right now.
"Yeah, dad, I'm wearing this. I'm not big sis. Don't get me any more clothes." Said Sho as he tied his shoes. He rolled up his sleeves as he worked. This jacket was still too big for him. He didn't care, he still wanted to wear it, and not just because it was cold out. Shimazaki had given him this. Wearing it was like wearing Shimazaki…but not in that cut off someone's skin and make a suit out of them way. That would have been a weird thing to want. Sho just wanted to hold his hand and kiss him and sleep next to him and wear his clothes after Shimazaki was done wearing them. That wasn't nearly as weird as wanting to wear someone's skin.
Sho wasn't weird.
"I won't make a habit of it but I had assumed that you would want to wear something nicer than what you normally have on. I even made sure that it was green since seventy eight percent of your wardrobe has some sort of green in it." Said dad. Sho didn't want dad to notice that or anything else about him. He wanted to tell dad to fuck off…but that would have been mean to big sis. She would have had to deal with all of that and, really, she had enough to deal with as it was.
"Yeah, well, I can pick out my own clothes so whatever. Don't you have work or something to do?" asked Sho
"I do." Said dad
"So then why don't you go and do it and leave me alone?" asked Sho
"I will in a moment. I wanted to see you off. This is a big day for you." Said dad
"Well you saw me so…bye." Said Sho with a wave of his hand. Dad was just as allergic to getting a clue as he ever was, it seemed, since he made no move to get the hell out of the hallway and back to the living room where he could do whatever it was that he did all day.
"It's alright to be frightened. This is one of the few instances in your life when it's alright to be frightened….so take advantage of it." Said dad. Sho was not afraid…and he wanted dad to shut up already. Sho knew what he was doing…and he had nothing to be afraid of. If even someone like dad could get married then it couldn't have been very hard at all. Sho was not afraid…and he did not run away from things that he was afraid of anyway…and that didn't matter because he wasn't in the least bit afraid right now.
"I'm not scared." Said Sho
"Or nervous, you may be nervous as well." Said dad. He said that like he cared….well of course he cared. He wanted to be someone's grandpa. Sho didn't know why he wanted that. He was already a pretty bad dad as it was. Another chance wouldn't change anything about him as the terrible person he was.
"I'm not nervous. I just have to give her this ring. How hard can it be?" asked Sho
"More difficult than you could ever imagine." Said dad. He had a tone there, an actual tone, and he looked down at his ring. Sho wondered why he still wore it. Mom wasn't ever coming back. Even if she wanted to come back it wasn't like she would have been able to find them anyway. She had left her phone when she ran away so she couldn't call them and also…also she obviously did not want to come back. If she had wanted to come back then she would have come back already. So it would have made more sense for dad to take off that stupid ring already.
Sho knew that, when Emmy ran away, he wouldn't be keeping his ring on.
"So not that hard at all then." Said Sho mostly just to piss dad off. Maybe if he pissed dad off badly enough he would leave and then Sho could leave the house and go do what he had to do. What dad wanted him to do more than anything else in the world.
"No, no, it is…and she may say 'no' and you should brace yourself for that possibility. She has no reason to say 'yes' and-" said dad
"Seriously? I thought you wanted me to ask her to marry me. Why are you talking like you hope that she says no? Make up our mind, dad." Said Sho
"I don't want her to reject you, no, that's the worst pain that you will ever feel in your life. I want you to…be prepared for the possibility. Mentally. I want her to say yes but she has no reason to. Your mother…well her marriage to me was an urgent matter…because you needed a father and she was already pregnant with you-" said dad
"You mean big sis." Said Sho
"What about your sister?" asked dad
"Mom had big sis in her stomach before me…wait…you and mom weren't married when you made big sis? I thought that only married people could have kids." Said Sho. People got married and then they had kids. That was his understanding of it, anyway, but what did he know? He was eleven. He didn't even want to touch Emmy's boobs let alone stick his dick inside of her…well he didn't want that with any girl and he never would…but he didn't want that with any guy either. Guys didn't even have boobs or anything, real ones not just the result of being super fat, so really he had no idea what two guys would have even done together besides kiss…kissing was awesome…or standing around looking at each other naked…which sounded like it would have been awesome….
But nothing with touching because that would have been gross if it had even been possible.
"No, a woman's ability to conceive has nothing to do with whether or not she is married…so don't get your…future wife…pregnant. Be careful about that." Said dad. Sho stuck out his tongue. Did dad have to use that word? And talk about that stuff? Dad saying pregnant made him think of mom and how she'd had him and big sis….and how she and dad must have done all of that stuff…and that was just gross. Nobody ever wanted to think about their parents…like that…and now Sho was…and now he really wanted to run away…
Which was ok because this whole thing was just way too gross.
"Gross. That stuff is gross…and not in the good way. No way am I doing that. Not in a million years." Said Sho
"You'll change your mind in a year or so…and when you do then….well be prepared for the fact that she may get pregnant and that you'll be responsible for the creation of another human being." Said dad. Sho was prepared to make a person. He'd do that gross thing as many times as Emmy wanted to have babies and then they'd have some and he'd be a better dad than his own dad had ever been. He'd teach them things and play with them and make sure that his kids knew that no matter what he would always love them.
Sho would love his kids even if they ended up like him.
"Yeah, well, I like babies so there…and if she wants to have a kid then we'll get for real married really fast. I won't wait until my second kid is born." Said Sho. He expected dad to tell him to shut up and get out of his sight, or to call big sis over and tell her that Sho was talking like a jerk, but instead he just….got weird. His aura got all pulled in close…and Sho didn't get it.
What was he so afraid of?
"….I have no idea what you mean." Said dad
"You said that you only married mom because she was going to have me. Big sis was born first so she was alive for a long time before I was born. So you waited." Said Sho
"I…misspoke. Yes, your sister…was the one your mother was carrying. Not you. I simply…misspoke." Said dad
"Yeah, well, whatever. I have to go and meet Emmy after school." Said Sho
"Good, you do that…and I wish you the best in your endeavors." Said dad. He said that and then he left…and his aura was still pulled in like he was scared…which was fine by Sho. Let him be scared of whatever it was that he was scared of. Sho had a mission and that mission was asking Emmy to marry him and…and he was going to accomplish that mission no matter what.
So that was what he left the house to do.
He walked fast. He didn't stop once, not eve to say hi to Shimazaki, and that was for the best. He had to walk fast so he didn't think about what happened last year….that had been a pretty bad year. He knew what Shimazaki and Minegishi were doing and he didn't want to have to hear it gain. They were so gross sometimes…and he'd have to be gross too one of these days…but he wouldn't have been gross like that with Minegishi. Even if they had been a guy just…no way. They were mean and boring and…and a jerk and…and no way! Shimazaki was way too awesome for them!
He was the coolest, most fun, and all around best person that Sho had ever met…and it wasn't fair.
He tried to walk faster, he tried to get away from his thoughts. Thoughts about how it wasn't fair that someone like Minegishi got someone like Shimazaki. Thoughts that it wasn't fair that he hadn't been Shoko, that he had to be Sho, because if he had been Shoko then he and Shimazaki could have been together. Sho would have even done all of that gross stuff with him if he had wanted to. Anything to keep him from leaving…
Sometimes when you loved someone they left.
Even being married didn't mean forever. Sometimes you could be married to a person, and make new people with them, but they would still leave you. They could just leave you without even so much as a note or a text, and just….Sho…he wanted that. Not from Shimazaki. No, he didn't know what he would have done if he had been Shoko and he had been Shimazaki's girlfriend and Shimazaki had been gone and he hadn't even left a note…well of course he wouldn't have left a note since he couldn't write, but not even a text and…and he wanted that from Emmy but not Shimazaki….
Which was dumb.
He knew that sometimes wives left, and he knew that sometimes you could promise a person that you would be there forever but then you could leave, and he knew that he was not the kind of person who could do that…and neither was Emmy. She loved him and…well he'd never heard his parents say that they loved each other so there was that, and also it was stupid to want his girlfriend to leave him anyway. He would just have to find another….and he didn't even want the one he had…but this was not about what he wanted.
What in his life, what one thing, had ever been about what he wanted?
What he wanted didn't matter. He had to do what he had to do. Besides, making someone else happy was what mattered the most. Like what Fukuda said. Fukuda may not have ever had a wife or a girlfriend or any girl that had ever liked him but he knew about this stuff. He knew more than dad did. Dad had let mom leave so he must have known less than nothing. Sho knew...what he had to do…and he knew that he had to do it…even though what he really wanted to do was go home and somehow become Shimazaki's boyfriend and then kick Minegishi out and then he and Shimazaki could have been together forever and they could have held hand and kissed and Sho maybe could have even touched the tattoo on his chest and-
….and no matter how fast he ran his thoughts still followed.
He ran as fast as he could, so fast that when he met Emmy he was totally out of breath, but his thoughts were still in his head and they were still just as loud as before. Thought about….about how if he had been a girl then this could have been simpler. How if Shimazaki had asked him to marry him then he could have said yes….and kissing him wouldn't have felt like a chore…and also they could have been together forever and…and all of that other stuff. He wished that he could have outran his thoughts but that was not how it worked….and he couldn't change how it worked…
So it didn't matter.
"Are you alright? You look like you need to go to A&E or something." Said Emmy. Sho nodded and tried to catch his breath. She was wearing that lip stuff again, but not the one that had almost killed him. She smelled like bubblegum today, and also the stuff she had on her lips was glittery, so he had no excuse not to kiss her…and also she was wearing glittery stuff on her eyes too which made no sense….but what did he know about girls?
He didn't even like them…not like that anyway….but that didn't matter.
"No, I'm fine…um…you look really pretty and stuff." Said Sho as he caught his breath. She liked it when he told her that. It wasn't a lie, she was pretty, so he didn't feel bad saying that to her. Not like when he told her that he loved her.
"Stop it you booger….you're being daft….anyway…here! Happy….happy Valentine's Day." Said Emmy. She had been holding a bag in her hands….a red one with hearts on it…because it was Valentine's Day…and also their anniversary…and it was a big bag. Well it was bigger than the ring that he had gotten her…so maybe he should have gotten her something else…because he ring was small and maybe she wanted big things like…a crown…or one of those cool rocks she liked…or another petrified eyeball so she'd have a matching set or…something….
If she told him to taker to the most expensive store I town and get her the most expensive thing stuffed with the second most expensive thing and sewn with the third most expensive thing then he happily would have gone and done just that for her.
"Well? Aren't you going to open it?" asked Emmy
"I…I will but…well I didn't get you something this big…and I just…well now I feel kind of bad so maybe I should go and get you something bigger and then I can open this." said Sho. There, that made sense. Girls liked big flashy presents. You were supposed to get them jewels and gold and…ponies…and stuff…flashy things! Not rings and…and maybe she would have wanted…maybe she didn't even want this ring and….and….
And maybe she deserved a better boyfriend than him.
"Don't be daft. You being here with me is enough…especially after you left for the States out of nowhere…but whatever. You're here now and you made it back for our anniversary and….and I know that you'll like this so open your bloody gift already." Said Emmy. She had her hands on her hips and she was looking at him like she was getting pissed off…and it was rude of him to not accept her gift…and maybe once he saw what he got her then he could figure out if a ring was…a good trade…or…whatever…
However this worked.
However presents and love and stuff worked. He had told dad that he wasn't afraid…and he wasn't…but he just…she was looking him in the eyes and she was smiling and…and she loved him. She was looking at him like she loved him and he…he had to make sure that he looked at her like he loved her back. He had to make sure to look like he loved the present she got him too…and he would…as soon as he pulled it out. There, in the bag, was…chocolates?
Eyeballs.
Chocolate eyeballs.
"I read that in Japan you were supposed to make chocolates for the boy you fancied….and I more than fancy you…and I know that you like chocolate and you got me an eyeball so…I made these. Well my mum helped but I did loads. I saw in the internet how to do these…and I managed to convince my mum that they were for me….sorry I'm just not allowed to have a boyfriend yet….but…yeah. I hope that you like them…now what did you get me?" asked Emmy. She held out her hands. Sho…he had no idea what to do. She had made him chocolates…and no girl had ever made him anything besides his big sis…and now he had these chocolates that looked kind of like eyes and…and she was looking at him with her arms stretched out and…
And he needed more time.
"Well? Why are you….oh! Don't worry about the citrus. I washed my hands up to the elbow before I made these and I cleaned my kitchen too just to be safe. My mum thought she'd gone mad when she saw me cleaning…mad like mental, I mean, not mad like cross." Said Emmy. She was still holding her hands out and he just…he felt his pocket. There in his jacket was the ring…and it had lived in there since he'd bought it…and he just….he had thought that there would have been more time. He had thought that they would trade gifts after their date…..and this was not after their date.
"Um…I have something for you but it's not as nice as this so…um….it's not candy! I mean I know that you love candy and if you want we can go to the candy store, or a bigger one, or even M&M World if you want and-" said Sho
"Stop being like that. I don't care what you get me so long as it's from you. Besides, I just spent my whole twenty quid at the sweet store the other day….so I'm good on sweets." Said Emmy with a smile. Sho…he took a deep breath. He had to do this now. He had to…he reached into his pocket and…wait. You were supposed to get down on one knee.
So that was what he did.
"What….what are you doing?" asked Emmy. She played with the bottom of her jacket and took a step back. She seemed like she was scared…but what did she have to be afraid of? She wasn't the one who was asking someone else to spend the rest of their life with him. She wasn't the one who had her entire future running in front of her eyes like a movie on fast forward. She wasn't the one who had to…to….
She wasn't the one who had to realize, to accept, that she would never be with the person that she loved most in the world.
"Emmy…do you want to marry me!?" asked Sho. Emmy…she didn't say anything. In the movies the girl always started jumping up and down and saying 'yes' a bunch of times…or they said 'no' and ran away or slapped you in the face or kicked you in the nuts…and he didn't her to say 'no' or do any of that…especially the nut kicking….but…
Anything would have been better than nothing.
"Oh, you're foolin' about. Knock it off you daft booger and give me my real present." Said Emmy. Sho…hadn't expected her to say that. He wondered if she'd understood him. His English wasn't the best…but it wasn't that bad…right?
"This is your present. I got you this human tooth ring at the oddities store and I've been planning on how to ask you to marry me and-" said Sho
"No! You're foolin' right now! We can't get married!" said Emmy. Sho….well he felt like it was time to get up now. His pants were wet, it was wet outside, and he sort of wanted to go home…if not to just change…but he couldn't leave. Not now. No, he had to figure out what he was supposed to do…now.
Nobody had warned him about the girl thinking that you weren't serious when you got down on knee and asked her to spend her entire life with you.
"Why not? You're a boy and I'm a girl….wait…no. I'm a boy and you're a girl and-" said Sho as he played with the ring in his hands. English was complicated, this was complicated, and he wanted to….to run away home….back to big sis…where nothing was ever complicated.
"So there, you are foolin' I knew it. Fine, you didn't get me anything for Valentine's Day which is also our anniversary but that's fine. We can just have fun and-" said Emmy
"If you don't want to marry me then you can say 'no', really, it's not like I'm going to force you to marry me-" said Sho
"I'd kick you in nuts really bloody hard if you tried to force me to do anything." Said Emmy
"Please don't do that….and just…ok, you don't want us to get married and-" said Sho
"I don't know what I want! I'm a kid! I can't drive or get a job or vote or…or join the army or….or sell my blood and…and I can't get married! You're being daft! And mad! And a booger! And a daft mad booger! And…and feck off with that! I don't know…what I want. I love you and…and this is going too bloody fast!" said Emmy. She was right. This was going too fast. Right. Well now they could go back to the beginning and…and they could be just friends again even. Yeah…if she didn't want to get married then she should have been free to find the guy of her dreams.
"Ok…cool. So we can break up and-" said Sho
"What?" asked Emmy. Her voice was high and now her eyes were red…and he had no idea what he'd even said. If she didn't want to be married then they could go back to being just friends and she could meet a guy who she did want to marry.
"If I'm not the guy you want to marry then you should be free to find someone you do want to be married to. It's ok if you want to be with someone else and-" said Sho. Ok, now he really didn't know what he'd said that time. Now she looked like she wanted to kill him….and he just…maybe he just needed to stop talking all together. Maybe she was having her period or something. Big sis always got mad and sad when it happened to her. That would have explained all of this.
"Sho….shut up! Just shut up! I love you! I love you and…and it's happening too fast but…of course I want to marry you! I've thought about it but when we're older! We're kids! We can't move out or have jobs or go to…I'm not even allowed to get on the tube by myself! I just…I love you and you love me and…and I don't know why you even want to be married!" said Emmy
"Because…well when you love someone aren't you supposed to marry them?" asked Sho
"Is this a Japanese or something? Because, really, most of what I know about Japan comes from anime and YouTube and they never did things like this….but just…I don't know." Said Emmy
"It's not a Japanese thing….I mean we get married too but…I just thought that this was what you were supposed to do when a girl loves you." Said Sho
"I...I do love you and…and I get it. I mean I love you and…and I like the ring but I just…you mean a lot to me. Nobody has ever been as nice to me or fancied me, or kissed me, or just…anything…before. I mean you're gone most of the year and it's hard for me but when you're here it's like a dream…this is like a dream…" said Emmy. She took the ring from his hand and slipped it onto her finger. Now he was extra confused….
"So…you do want to marry me?" asked Sho. Well if she wanted to marry him then she should have just said that from the beginning. Why was she being like this? She was so confusing and…and was this just what girls were like? He didn't know…the only girl he knew was his sister…and Emmy was nothing like his sister…because she was his girlfriend. Also she would be his wife…and a wife was nothing like a sister…
He was fine. This was fine.
"I do…but when we grow up. When we're allowed to get married…alright? So just…I'm promising you that when we grow up we can get married…and there's so much to figure out but…but you're right. You love me and I love you and we can figure out things like what country we're going to live in and what university we'll go to and how many kids we'll have later. Right now…I can promise that we can be married…alright?" asked Emmy
"Um…sure. But only if you want to. I don't want to make you do anything-" said Sho
"Sho…I want this…and you do too. I mean we love each other so…yeah. I guess I'm going to be Emmeline Magnolia Suzuki when I grow up…or I guess Suzuki Emmeline Magnolia….or Suzuki Magnolia Emmeline…or just Suzuki Emi since Emi is my name in Japanese." Said Emmy
"Magnolia?" asked Sho. He didn't know that word…he didn't know a lot of words….and he would have to learn more words in English is they were going to be…married.
Married.
He was getting married.
"That's my middle name. I've got one, well my dad says that I do anyway. My mum never uses it. I don't use it either, most people don't, but we have three names here…but I know you only have two in Japan so we'll give our babies only two….and I guess I have to learn Japanese...but I know some words already so I guess it's a good start." Said Emmy. She smiled and leaned in close. He leaned in and kissed her really fast. He heard some clapping and looked over…people had been watching…and someone was recording…and…and…
And didn't these people have their own girlfriends?! And…wives….
"Y-Yeah…or we can move to London…or another place that speaks English….and stuff….it'll be great. Yeah…so…let's go and have Valentine's Day dinner…or lunch…or whatever." Said Sho as he wiped her lip stuff off of his face. At least it was bubblegum this time…though he wished that it was the citrus stuff again….because then he would have been able to go home…but that was selfish of him….
Even dad, the king of selfishness, had said that a man always put his wife first.
"Sho…that would be lovely." Said Emmy. She leaned in and kissed him again…and he kissed her back. That was…he was going to have to do that again…and again and again for the rest of his life…and he was going to have to do more than that…later. When they grew up. When she became his wife. Not now. She wasn't his wife now, no, she was still his girlfriend….his fiancée….and….and he was fine. He was fine and this was fine and…
…and he wanted to run away.