Chapter 2
Shine Bright
"I made a friend! I made a friend! I made a friend!" Bocchi cheers in her room, hopping up and down. It was rather late, but the shy girl cannot help herself. This girl, Shouko Komi, has a lot in common with Bocchi. She is happy to meet somebody with the same problem. "She's so sweet, so kind and so…quiet. Ohhhh, I cannot stop thinking about her! I feel so guilty!"
Bocchi knows she had girlfriends, yet she cannot bring herself to love another. Shouko is just so beautiful.
"Uuuuu…what do I doooo…!?" Bocchi whines.
She plops on her bed, buries her face on her pillow and kicks her legs.
"I didn't think this through!" She whines again. "I didn't think this through! Who knew I would fall in love with Komi-saaaaan!?"
Shouko's House*
Shouko puts down her pencil and looks over her communication notebook. She flips through pages until she came across the note she wrote for Bocchi. The small shy girl. Somehow, it makes her heart beat. Thinking about Bocchi makes her heart beat rapidly. But…why? They just met, right?
She picks up her phone, flips it open and stares at her contacts. She and Bocchi exchanged numbers before leaving earlier. She wants to call her so badly. But it's late at night and Bocchi might be asleep right now. She breathes heavily, clutching her phone to her chest.
Why? Why is she feeling this way?
Ring! Ring!
"EEEK!" Shouko squeaks and almost drops her phone at the ringtone. She checks her caller ID. It's Bocchi. She flips it open and puts it to her ear.
"U-ummm…Komi…san?" Bocchi says from the other line. "I just wanted to ummm…check in."
Shouko blushes at this. Bocchi was up all night as well?
"So…if you're doing well…j-just say the word…" Bocchi says. "I-I won't bother you anymore…!"
Shouko takes a few deep breaths. "I…I'm…fine. T-thank….you…" she speaks oh so softly.
"Komi-san?" Bocchi gasps.
"You…w-were not…a bother at all…." Shouko continues. "I'm….very glad you called. I was ummm…wanting t-to call you….as well…"
"That's great!" Bocchi says. "Oh! Are you free this Saturday? I wanna…hang out at a small restaurant. To just get to know you…!"
Shouko gasps at the offer.
"EEK!" Bocchi squeaks. "I-if you don't want to that's fine! I'm sorry fir making such a ridiculous request! We just met and all…!"
"N-no…it's…okay…" Shouko responds quietly. "I would….love…to hang out with…you…"
"Really~!?" Bocchi says excitedly. "Alright! Saturday at noon! How does that sound?"
"Yes…that's…alright…" Shouko quietly replies.
"Awesome! See you then!" Bocchi says
"Bye bye…" Shouko says.
She hangs up and stares at her phone. She plops on her bed and buries her face on the pillow. She kicks her legs excitedly. She is going to meet Bocchi and talk to her! She is so happy!
Next Day*
"You invited Komi?" Nako asks.
"Whoa! That is so cool, Master!" Sotoka says. "You're one brave ninja!"
"Heh, so what are you going to do at your lovely meeting, Bocchi?" Aru asks.
Bocchi taps her index fingers together nervously. "W-we're just going to get to know each other. Nothing special."
Nako smiles. "That's a perfect start. You must really like Komi, don't you?"
"Eh!?" Bocchi squeaks. "L-l-like her!? But…I have you three. As girlfriends! I cannot love another!"
"What's wrong with that~?" Aru says. "You managed to love more than one. And each one of us are more than willing to spend time with you as much as we want. There is no cheating anywhere."
"You wanted to make friends, right?" Nako says. "So you made one and now you are trying to get closer to her. That's a big improvement."
"R-really?" Bocchi says.
"Just do like you did with us~!" Sotoka says. "Shine bright, Master! Be a star ninja!"
"Yes!" Bocchi stands up from her desk, fists pumped. "I am a star! I will shine brightly and be Komi-san's girlfriend!"
"Oh, but wait a minute," Nako holds out a hand. "That girl she was with. Could she be her lover?"
"It seems like she's just a friend to me," Aru says. "Bocchi should ask her first before offering to become girlfriends."
"Good idea," Nako says. She chuckles. "That's pretty smart for someone as unfortunate as you."
"STOP SAYING I'M UNFORTUNATE!!" Aru shrieks.
But Bocchi is ignoring Aru's shouting. She is very confident in talking with Shouko this Saturday. She can hardly wait.
Saturday*
Dressed in a cute blue polka-dot dress, wearing frilly ankle socks and sneakers, Bocchi waits for Komi near the small restaurant. It's already 11:55 am. She glances at her watch again and again. Is she too early? Of course not. She's just 5 minutes before their meeting time. Light wind blows and she looks up to see a familiar person walking towards her. Shouko is wearing a white sundress with white high heeled sandals and a large hat on her head. Bocchi blushes at her beautiful appearance. The skirt flutters with the wind and her beautiful hair sways gracefully. And her absolutely most beautiful eyes. Bocchi finds herself staring.
"W-wow…" The small brunette says as Shouko approaches her.
The dark haired girl stops and stares at the small girl. She trembles as she just stands there, unable to say anything.
"O-oh, ummm…" Bocchi says. "You look…really beautiful….Komi-san."
Shouko blushes and slides her foot on the floor while putting her hands behind her back. She still doesn't say anything.
"Are you….okay?" Bocchi asks.
Shouko swallows hard and opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. She breathes heavily and tries to speak again.
"You…you look…very…cute…" The dark haired girl manages to say.
Bocchi blushes at the compliment. "Th-thank you very much…"
Both of the girls fiddle with their fingers while sliding their feet. Both of them are extremely nervous because this is their first ever hang out. However, Bocchi knows they cannot stay out forever.
"L-let's go get something to eat!" The small brunette says.
Shouko nods and follows Bocchi inside. They take a seat at a table for two and order what they want (Shouko had to write it down on her notebook) and then wait for their food to arrive. Their drinks come shortly after ordering. Bocchi plays around with her straw while looking at her new friend. There are so many questions she wants to ask Shouko, but she decides to ask some important ones first.
"U-umm…so you barely speak to people….right?" Bocchi says. "C-can you tell me why that is?"
Shouko writes it down. It reads "It's very hard for me to talk to people in front of me. I freeze up and end up not saying anything at all. I have a communication disorder."
"N-no way…" Bocchi says. "So you have it worse than me…" She had no idea this girl has it this rough. The way she spoke to her, how she writes things down just to be able to communicate better? It's no wonder Shouko is super quiet.
Shouko writes another one. "What about you?"
"I…I actually have social anxiety…." Bocchi admits. "It's not like you. I mean…I talk fine in front of people. It's just that I get super nervous that my leg cramps up or I start to throw up."
Shouko just nods in understanding.
"I promised to a dear friend of mine, Kai-chan…" Bocchi continues. "That I should make friends with the whole class. I already made 3 so far on my own. That itself was an improvement."
Shouko nods again.
"We would be friends again if I manage to do um…just that…" Bocchi laughs nervously. "It's funny isn't it? Destroying a friendship just to make a promise to be friends again?"
Shouko bites her lip.
"I-I'm sorry," Bocchi says. "I've been talking too much. Have you been in the same situation?"
Shouko shakes her head and jots something down: "I decided on my own goal. It's to make 100 friends."
"Whoa!" Bocchi says. "That is a lot!"
Shouko write something down again. "I managed to make a decent amount of friends. But…I still have a long way to go."
"Well…I'm very glad you are improving as well~" Bocchi says with a smile.
Shouko smiles a beautiful smile as she writes something down again. "It's good to challenge yourself, isn't it?"
"Eh?" Bocchi tilts her head in confusion.
"To set your own goals to motivate yourself," Shouko writes. "I'm sure Kai-san had her intensions of motivating you, too."
"Y-you're right," Bocchi says softly. Kai may have put her on the deep end, but it's all just to have her overcome her social anxiety. However, she did it in a wrong way.
Shouko gives a soft giggle. The food finally arrives and the girls dig into their food.
Later*
After paying, Bocchi and Shouko leave the small restaurant and stop to look at each other. Both of then blush and look away, fiddling with their fingers. Shouko wants to thank her for a great time. She doesn't need to write it down. She turns to Bocchi and takes a few deep breathes.
"B-Bocchi…san…" she says quietly.
"Yes?" The brunette says, looking up.
"Th-thank….you….f-f-for your…time…" Shouko bows.
"Ah! Y-yes! Thanks for your time as well!" Bocchi quickly bows in return.
Shouko straightens up and smiles a beautiful smile. She then turns to leave. Bocchi stares at her beautiful figure retreating. Her long hair swaying gracefully and her skirt fluttering. Bocchi smiles at this. She is very happy she became friends with Shouko.
