Smile
Satoshi Hiwatari didn't realize how much he scowled. He really didn't. He never smiled. Not when he received a good grade, was given a compliment, or found something amusing (but that was kind of rare).
He wouldn't have known how angry he seemed unless little Miss Risa Harada had told him so.
"You know, Hiwatari-kun," she had said one day. "It's ok to smile. I'm sure it won't kill you."
He had ignored it.
Then, the other day, while sitting in the library, studying with her, something just came to him. Actually, everything just came to him.
The way her hair was so shiny; how it dangled over the side of her face as she worked; how, when she pushed it behind her ear, it would always manage to come back down; how it would gently sway when she looked up at him. He noticed her smile and how it would make him feel a little better on his worst days. He thought of the way she would gently touch his arm, or hit his pencil with her own whenever she thought something was wrong. He remembered once, while coming out of the library, she spotted Kyo Yamazaki (currently the biggest, rudest, and scariest jerk in their grade), and she unknowingly took his hand, frightened. He held it, the tiny, fragile hand, stroking it a bit and tightening the grip as the two of them walked by Kyo and his gang. She had been so nervous, it was sort of a surprise. Satoshi thought about the way she looked at him once they were a few blocks away, like he had just saved her life. He thought about her eyes... her big brown eyes. There was too much to think about with them. So much emotion, so much care and concern, so much love for the world...
"Harada-san," he said, his voice softer than usual. "... Thank you for being my friend." Friend... that had been a lie, but he couldn't exactly tell her that she meant much more to him than a friend. For the moment, at the time, that was enough.
"Eh?" Risa looked up at him, confused. There was a pause before she let the words sink in. Flustered, she shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I mean... I like being your friend."
He smiled. Satoshi Hiwatari smiled. He smiled, truly, genuinely, happily. Satoshi smiled at her. It kind of threw her off guard a bit.
She blushed. "W-what are you smiling about?"
Satoshi just shook his head, returning to his work. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
There was a pause before Risa said very quietly, "... I like it when you smile..."
He looked at her, unable to stop the smile. He couldn't help. He hadn't felt, looked at, or thought about anyone this way before...
"Oi! Hiwatari!" The was a blinding flash and both students jumped in their seats. "Great one! You know, Hiwatari, I think this is the first and only shot I have of you smiling..."
The rest of the "study session" was spent telling a whining and upset Takeshi to get over his broken camera.