She Comes And Goes As She Pleases (Part 6)
by BrDPirateMan

It's been a week ever since Eri and I went on what might arguably be the craziest date in history. The events of that fateful day kept repeating themselves inside of my head and wouldn't let up.

All in the space of one wild afternoon, we had watched a movie, had an ice cream, and then finished up with some shopping. It may sound like a typical date routine straight from the dating handbook, but in truth, it was anything but normal. The movie in question was a really frightening horror flick. She had the cheek to spoon-feed me ice cream in public. She stuffed the two of us inside a cramped fitting room to hide from her boyfriend. And on top of that, she took me to a lingerie store, where I bled from the nose to near-death.

Typical date, my foot! But…

…at the same time, I found the experience fun in its own demented way. Eri's oddities gave me my fair share of troubles, but I had to admit that something about the way she went about life was refreshing… maybe even cute.

Cute? Did I just think Eri was… cute?

I didn't know why, but lately I had been thinking a lot about her. Sure, she's attractive and awfully sexy, and if you can look past her quirks, she also has an easygoing personality that's hard not to like. And maybe she was on my mind more often these days because, well, I just wasn't thinking about Shiki anymore ever since I found out she got herself a boyfriend.

Wrestling for Shiki's affections at this stage was hardly worth it, so my crush on her vanished. And now, in her place… was Eri.

I wondered what Eri really thought of me… I knew I wasn't the coolest guy around and few girls would even look my way, but if she felt I was cute, even if it's just a teensy bit, I guess I'd be happy.

I probably sounded like I was in love with her or something. No matter how I tried to deny it, the truth was that little by little she was sweeping me off my feet. Perhaps it was a good thing?

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this time of night? I hardly had anyone come over to visit me, so there was only one person who fit the bill. And I was right. When I swung the door open, Eri stood before me.

What I didn't expect was that she was crying. Whenever she arrived at my doorstep, she was either drunk or too lazy to go back home. But for her to be in tears? This was a first. I had every right to be alarmed.

"Eri!" I gasped. "Wh-What happened? Why are you crying?"

Tears streamed from the eyes. She stumbled forward and latched onto the sleeves of my shirt for support, then dug her head into my chest and cried harder. Seeing her like this made me feel sorry for her. All I wanted right now was to be able to comfort her. My arms were about to circle around her to give her a hug…

…but then she blew her nose on my shirt.

"Wha – Hey!" That was my favourite shirt!

"Oh, Neku…" she sniffled. "It's so horrible…"

Despite what she did, I couldn't stay mad for too long. My shirt was ruined, but it could wait. There was a reason she was sobbing so hard and I was going to get the bottom of this.

"What is it, Eri? You can tell me. I'm here to listen."

She hesitated a little. "My… My…"

I waited with bated breath for her to answer. What was it that she wanted to say? Maybe she had a fight with her parents? Or perhaps she was mugged on the streets? Could it be that she was being bullied at college? Whatever it was, I wouldn't allow it! Eri was a friend I cared very much about and I didn't want her to cry anymore if I could help it.

"Let it out," I whispered. "Don't be afraid to tell me."

"Neku, my… it… I…"

"Eri?"

She blurted it out in one quick breath.

"My fingernail broke!"

Five seconds passed. Maybe ten. But I was so stunned I didn't know what to say until I recovered from the shock.

"Say what? You're saying your fingernail… broke?"

She nodded into my chest. What? Was this ridiculous or what?

"You're crying because you broke your fingernail? Is… Is that all?"

"Well… I also broke up with my boyfriend."

"And why do you sound so unaffected by that?"

"I thought at first he was nice, but he's been really possessive these days. He's more lame than suave now, and I've been wanting to dump that stupid jerk, so when I did, it was a great relief." She blew her nose into my shirt again with a vengeance. "But I was so angry. And then…"

"And then what?"

She sniffled, "And then I slapped him, and that was when my fingernail broke off! And I went for a manicure not too long ago too! It's totally wasted!"

The sound of her sobs and wails sounded muffled as she continued to bury her face in my chest. She had been my friend long enough for me to know that she had two simple emotions: laughter and lechery. She never cried. So if she was ever in tears, like now, then something must have hurt her plenty. But to think that the culprit was a broken fingernail of all things…

Eri really was insane. Yup.

But insane or not, a crying girl was sure to induce a lot of pity. I felt sorry for her and did the right thing to let her in so she could rest and cry it out.

"Come on," I said, "let's go inside. I'll fix you some hot cocoa."

After coaxing her into my home and changing my ruined shirt, I set to work in the kitchen. She sat slumped in a chair at the dining table, looking as dejected as can be. Her tears dried up fairly quickly, though there was the occasional sniffle.

As the cocoa was simmering, I sneaked a peek over my shoulder at her. She didn't notice me, or if she did, she certainly didn't care. The sight of her looking so vulnerable tugged at my heartstrings awfully hard, and I couldn't help thinking how, despite being in a sad wretched state, she looked so cute. It made me want to care for her… to help cheer her up and make her feel better so I could see that cheeky smile of hers that was a staple of her personality.

"Here." I set our cups on the table. She took hers and sipped slowly as I joined her at the table. She wasn't bawling anymore. Things were a lot calmer.

"Eri," I said, "let me take a look at that fingernail."

She fidgeted uncomfortably. "…No."

"Why not? I just want to see how bad – "

"No way, Neku. It's ugly right now. It's like a… fashion faux pas."

I spoke firmly but remained gentle. "I don't care if it's ugly or not. If your finger's injured, we're going to have to do something about that."

It took a little longer than I hoped, but eventually, after much consideration, she reluctantly drew her right hand from under the table and lifted it up for me to see. The nail on her index finger was sheared in half and it now had a jagged saw edge where it broke. But it wasn't that badly damaged, and with some careful filing, it'd be back to normal. That must have been one heck of a slap, though! If her boyfriend really was a jerk as she had put it, then I was glad he got what had been coming to him. Served him right!

I found a nail file from somewhere and started smoothing out the rough edge of her nail. Eri reacted to this in surprise.

"Neku, what are you doing?" she spluttered, though she didn't take her hand away.

"Huh?" I mumbled, confused. "I'm just fixing your nail."

"B-But… well, eh…"

Was she afraid I'd butcher her nail further? "Don't worry. I'll be careful."

Her mouth was ajar like she wanted to protest or at least say something, but in the end she chose to remain silent and let me go about my business. We spent about a minute in total quietness, accompanied only by the sound of the file scraping her nail. In the silence, my mind was clear enough to think about a lot of things, including what her relationship must have been like and such, but the most prominent thought I had…

…was that right now as I was busy filing her nail, I was also holding her hand.

I'd never held a girl's hand before. And Eri's was warm to the touch. My heart was beating so fast from touching her skin. Now I knew how nice it was to hold hands with a girl.

"It looks pretty normal now," I said, after I had finished. "Sorry if it's shorter and doesn't look too great. I'm not a manicurist, after all."

She scrutinised her nail carefully, and although she had yet to say anything, she looked impressed. In fact, she had actually become a little more cheerful, deadpanning, "You may not be a manicurist, but at least you're not a sadist."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her wit.

"But Neku," she added, "seriously… thank you. And… the cocoa is good. I feel… a whole lot better now."

Her words of gratitude for me were genuine, and being thanked like this took me by surprise. But it was a pleasant surprise, and I felt so good my heart was growing wings. And, if I wasn't mistaken… was she blushing too? Cute…

Onto other matters, though. "It's good that you're feeling better now, Eri," I said, "but if you still feel like you need to brood and go emo for a bit, you can stay over for the night. No, in fact, you should stay over. It's really late and dark out, and I'd be worried if you were out walking around at this time of night."

Dewy eyes met mine. Her lips trembled as she spoke.

"Neku, I'm happy that you're so kind to me, but… but…"

"But…?"

"Well…" Eri was fiddling with her pink locks nervously. "It's just… this is the first time you've ever asked me to stay over on your own accord. C-Could you be, um, propositioning me?"

I choked on my cocoa. If I wasn't careful I might have swallowed the whole thing down my windpipe and fatally burned my lungs.

"Wh-What gave you that idea?"

"Neku, my heart isn't ready for this kind of thing, you know… You mustn't be so hasty. I know we're not underage anymore, but…"

"I never said I was going to…! I mean, that's the kind of stuff you do only when both parties are ready… W-Wait, what are you making me say?"

"Well… at least you understand."

The five seconds of silence that followed never felt longer. I was cursing myself for being so awkward about things. But she quickly put me at ease.

"Okay, Neku," she said softly. "I'll stay for the night. All this crying and getting mad has tired me out, so I might as well. Thank you." She smiled…

…and so did I. "I'll make you some supper."

XOXOXOXOXO

Eri took the spare bedroom as usual. It was already a little past midnight, but I still couldn't sleep. I tried counting sheep, but it wasn't any use; it was like they were stuck under the fence.

Whenever Eri came to stay over, I never really felt like it was much to fuss over. However, in light of my growing feelings for her, which I had now slowly come to recognize, tonight was an especially exciting night indeed. My heart was bouncing about in my ribcage and threatening to blow it wide open like a piñata.

I did a lot of thinking in bed. No matter how terrible her ex-boyfriend might have been, breaking up must've been hard on her. Filing her nail and making her cocoa was thoughtful, but I wanted to do more for her…

What should I do? Maybe… Wait, that's it! She had taken me out on a date to cheer me up, so if I took her out on a similar date, then she might just feel better! It was perfect! Except…

This would be the first time I actually asked a girl out on a date – even if this was going to be a pretend one – and right now, the experience I had in such matters was…

…zero.

Sure, I could do all the things she did on our first pretend date, namely take her to a movie, get an ice-cream and help her with her shopping. But I didn't want it to be just some carbon copy outing that was boring and had that "been there, done that" vibe. I wanted this date to be different. But… how?

Just then, I was startled by the sudden click of my bedroom door being opened. The intruder lingered at the doorway, hesitant to enter. It was pitch black and even though my eyes had adjusted to the dark, I didn't need to see to know who it was.

"Eri?"

She let out a small "eep" and spoke in a hushed voice. "Oh! N-Neku, did I wake you up? I'm sorry!"

"No, relax, I'm still awake." I could just about make her out in the darkness, but she was just a blotted figure. I reached for the bedside lamp and turned it on. "What can I do for y– Bwuh?"

"Neku? What is it?"

I sat upright in an instant. "Eri, not again! Must you take off your clothes when you sleep?"

What I said wasn't entirely accurate, though it was close. There she was, standing at the doorway in only her underwear, with a pillow in the crook of one arm. The sight of a stripped-down Eri was almost getting old by now, but it was always a jarring sight nonetheless.

To my question she had a stupid answer, if it counted as one: "Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't for one," I sighed. "But whatever, do you need something?"

She fiddled with her fingers nervously and her eyes darted away. "Um, Neku, I know this sounds like a lot, but… can I sleep with you tonight?"

My jaw dropped to the floor.

"WHAT!" I cried. "Y-You want to sleep… with me?"

"Uh-huh… I'm just… well, I'm feeling a little lonely tonight. So…"

Uh-oh. I knew where this was going. I just knew it! In an attempt to drown her sorrows, she was going to seduce me. Then when I succumbed to her charms, we would have a crazy night doing all sorts of things with each other! As sinfully tempting as that sounded, I felt it was way too early for that, all the more so when we weren't even going out. It almost seemed like a plot right out of a blue movie! Girl becomes sad, girl meets boy, boy comforts girl, boy beds girl. Oh god!

I edged away from her, gathering up the blanket around me in self-defense. I had to stop her before I lost control of even myself! "And you're the one who told me your heart isn't ready! I thought you're still opposed to this kind of thing!"

She frowned, but even then, she was steadily growing redder from the implications. "Look, um, Neku, this isn't about – so to speak – having a family and stuff."

"It's not?" I felt a little better. "Then what is it?"

"You remember how I said my boyfriend's mean, and I dumped him? That argument I had with him still stings plenty, and I've been feeling terrible all this time."

"You feel terrible? Are you saying you want to go back to him?"

"To that lousy skunk? Heck no." She made a face in disgust. "I don't feel any guilt. I did say I've always wanted to break it off with him. But my heart hurts and I just need some company. I hate being alone…"

Oh, so that was it… She just wanted a friend to relate her troubles to… a friend who could make her feel better with the right words and take away the pain. In that case, I was more than willing to help her out, but I wasn't sure if sleeping in the same bed with a half-naked girl was such a good idea…

"Even if you say that," I hesitated, "sleeping together is still a bit strange…"

This got her thinking, although she should have thought of the awkwardness of it sooner! "Hmmm… If the thought of a guy and a girl sharing a bed together freaks you out, then would it be fine if I say I'd like to sleep in your bed because I want you as my bolster?"

"Um… th-that's not exactly helping matters either…" If anything, it made things even harder than they already were! Me, as a bolster? She'd be clinging onto me with that amazing body of hers… for the whole night? I wasn't so sure I could take it.

Sensing my discomfort, she tried her hand at a softer approach to her request: "Uh, if not a bolster then maybe… a foot warmer… or, er…" Why would anyone use a foot warmer in summer?

I didn't want to drag this out any longer, but I couldn't bear to shoo her back to her room to sleep alone and face her troubles by herself, so I eventually gave in. "Well… I guess if you really really want to, you can share my bed."

The smile she gave me was soft and warm. "Thanks, Neku."

She peeled my blanket aside and slipped herself in. It was tough to restrain my urges as I watched her luscious legs go in first, and then her perky behind, and then… what beautiful underwear she was wearing! Black was pretty darn hot… oh, heck, I was sounding like a dirty old man. Maybe I really was one!

The lights went off and we were bathed in darkness once more. It made my discomfort – and excitement – a little more tolerable. I did nothing but lie ramrod straight, eyes glaring at the ceiling so hard I could burn a hole through. It was dark and I could see nothing, but I didn't dare to look at Eri, who was more relaxed and rolled onto her side to face me. All I could do was to wait for the morning and hope she wouldn't rape me in the middle of the night.

"Neku," she mumbled, "do you have any idea of what it's like to know true love?"

"Huh? I'd have thought you'd know about this yourself. Why are you asking someone who's never even had a girlfriend?"

This caused her to pause for a second or two before replying, "Well, do you remember our date last week? You know, when you accompanied me to the boutique and we were stuck in the fitting room?"

"Erm… Uh-huh?"

"When my phone rang and I was itching to answer it, you were visibly disgusted by how my boyfriend had this habit of checking on me so often every day. And on hindsight, you were right that he was a kook."

"What do you mean – Wait… you didn't break up with him because of what I said, did you?"

"What you said made me open my eyes. I thought I was being lovey-dovey with him, but looking back, it was more like him keeping tabs on me than anything. I realized this was tiring and it wasn't what I wanted so I broke things off with him. Glad I did. Now I feel so much freer!"

"Oh, um… if it worked out fine in the end, good for you."

She sighed sadly. "But it's always like this, Neku. I'm always flitting about from boyfriend to boyfriend, and there's always something wrong like this with the relationship, so it never lasts long."

I was surprised but curious at the same time. "Really? How long have you been with this boy – I mean, ex-boyfriend of yours?"

"Just over two months."

"Gosh, that's short."

"I'll say." That was a sad tone she was using… I could picture her biting her lip. "I did some thinking. After looking back at my love life, I saw a pattern. In the end, I'd always find out that those ex-boyfriends are not the dream guys I'd envision them to be. Turns out they're either egotists without a care for my feelings, control freaks who keep tabs on me 24/7, or perverts in disguise."

Perverts, huh? Don't birds of a feather flock together? I chose to keep it to myself this time though…

She continued, "I've had boyfriends who appear nice, but they treat me like I'm hot merchandise… And like all merchandise, they think I've got an expiry date. In other words, they get tired of their girlfriends easily, and when they do, they dump me and find someone else. Those are the egotists. They don't care how I feel. They just want to pump up their own image.

"Control freaks like the one I just broke up with care too much about me, so they're just as bad. They're overly possessive and when I don't answer their calls they get mad and accuse me of cheating behind their backs. I get no peace at all.

"And the less we talk about the perverts the better. They go after me only because they think I'll put out easily. I don't! Sure, they're friendly at first but two weeks into the relationship they make demands like… well, you know. They're really pushy."

I was surprised to hear this. Eri liked her own brand of kinky humour very much, but just because she loved her naturist ways didn't mean she was a fan of the bedroom arts. One would have thought that with the casual manner she went about life she'd hop into bed with the nearest guy the moment she had the chance. Looked like I was mistaken myself, but I was sure glad I was. Inwardly I breathed a sigh of relief knowing she wasn't too eager for this kind of thing.

Kind of ironic though. Eri, known to be wild, was uncomfortable with the birds and bees, while Shiki, whom I thought to be demure, was probably getting it on as we speak… Oh well, whatever…

In any case, I also felt angry towards all those boyfriends she had who were bad to her. How dare they hurt her so! I made a silent vow to protect her from now on.

"I don't know why I'm so unfortunate in love," she said. "Maybe it's because I've got a carefree attitude towards life? Maybe. Ahaha… I can't be sure."

"At least you did the right thing quickly," I said. "It's a good thing you broke up with them soon enough. I'm happy for you that you did. You're too good for those jerk mullets."

"Jerk… mullets?"

I could tell she was confused by my choice of words. "Ah, sorry, Eri. I couldn't think of a more appropriate word to call them, but believe me, I would if I could, and it'll be much stronger than 'jerk mullets'!"

She giggled. "You're funny, Neku."

"B-But I really mean it, Eri… I mean, it's wrong that they did all that to you. If I had a girlfriend I'd never treat her with disrespect. Just thinking about what you had to go through… it… it really… it really…"

Suddenly the table lamp came on, and I immediately narrowed my eyes to reduce the glare of the light. That's when I felt something on my mouth. Something soft and… wh-what was this? When my eyesight readjusted itself, I found Eri sitting up partially, her index finger on my lips as a gentle way to demand silence. It made my heart skip a beat.

"Neku," she chuckled, "I'm so glad you understand how I feel. I'm angry and hurt over what happened to me, and it's nice that someone else can empathise with me. But let's keep the bad language at a minimum, shall we?"

A meek nod from me indicated that I understood. But 'jerk mullets' was relatively safe…

"Will you be alright though, Eri?" I asked her.

She looked amused, but in a nice way. "I'll be fine, Neku. Tomorrow's a new day, and I already feel like I can walk again thanks to you."

"I… I didn't do much," I muttered softly.

Her laughter was music to the ears. "Now, now, no need to be so modest! You're an amazing person, that's for sure! But enough for now… I'm getting sleepy. We'll talk more tomorrow. So… I'll see you in the morning?"

"Uh, okay… G'night, Eri."

"Thanks for everything."

"Y-Yeah…"

And then she did the most amazing thing. She clutched onto my arm, treating it as though it were a bolster. My skin prickled at her touch. Wait… Was I going to spend the whole night like this, her breasts in my arm?

In the darkness I heard her smoky voice. "Good night, Neku."

With that, she finally settled comfortably in bed and in two shakes of a lamb's tail she was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, I couldn't get much sleep myself. I had to blame Eri for this. And of course, you know why. She was touching me… So… distracting…

I had said it earlier but I'd say it again: Eri was a lot of things. She was a fashion buff and a joker. She was a weirdo with a disturbing penchant for indecency. Yet in spite of all of her obvious faults, she was also a friend. And now…

…she was also the girl I was madly in love with. What would tomorrow hold for us? I was getting excited at the prospect of spending more time with this fantastic girl.