A/N: Hi! I'm updating again! Thanks to those who read/reviewed and favorited. Maybe after this, I'm going into hibernation to write the next chapter. By the way, this is Chapter 3.
Chapter 3: Such Sweet Moments
Henry found Rika in the locker room. She was fixing her stuff and piling her books even though it was just the second day of school.
"Hey, Rika!" he greeted politely.
"Oh, hey, Henry!" Rika replied as she closed her locker.
"So, are we going to start with our history assignment?" Henry asked her.
"Yeah… That would be nice… I won't have any other things to do later…" she said to him. "Anyway, Henry?"
"Yeah?" he mumbled.
"Thanks…" Rika said, reminding him of what happened in the cafeteria a while ago.
"For what?" he asked again.
"For protecting me in the cafeteria… Who knows, Jeri and I could have been harassed by those worms…" Rika said.
"No problem." Henry smiled. "So, shall we go now?"
"Okay." Rika said as she slipped on her backpack and walked with Henry.
Awkward silence followed the two teenagers as they make their way towards Henry's apartment. Both have something to tell each other but do not have the guts to do so because they wanted to save themselves from the embarrassment that they feel as of this moment.
Takato was running, hoping that he could find Jeri. Jeri walks in a slow pace so it would be easy for Takato to catch her. Then, he eventually found her.
"JERI!" Takato said.
Jeri turned to the source of the voice. "Takato?" she said. "Why are you running?"
Takato panted. "I was trying to catch you… We'll be partners in the history project, right?" he said.
"Oh, I forgot!" Jeri scratched her head in embarrassment. "Hehe! So what are we going to do with it?"
"Do you want to go with me to the library? If you're free… But if not, it's okay…" Takato offered.
Jeri seemed to blush at this statement. "Of course, I'm free… I can go with you too!" she said.
"Great! Now we can find some information!" Takato said. "Oh great! What an alibi! Should I postpone my plan of telling her and wait for the perfect time?"
Jeri was thinking about this. "If the one I like is my partner in history, how can I tell him without getting rejected or something?" she thought but the trail completely lost in her mind.
Henry and Rika were in the middle of the sidewalk, currently talking about their memories about Digimon.
"Do you remember the time when we went to the Digital World and I saw you swinging over Azulongmon's beard?" Rika teased.
It was Henry's turn to laugh. "Yeah… But it was Kazu's idea. We did it just to rescue you and Ryo." He said.
"Ryo did not need rescuing at that time." Rika reminded. "He can do it by himself at that time. He's such a royal show-off."
Henry chuckled. "And how many times did he rescue you?" he asked.
"Twice… But when we were inside that red mass, taking my powers was the worst thing he ever did." Rika replied sullenly. "Then, I finally found out that there had been a good thing."
"What?" Henry asked with a confused look.
"You saved me… And that's one thing I'm still grateful about." Rika said and looked at Henry's grey eyes. Bur as she looked further, Rika felt that in any moment, she would be trapped in his eyes and will never go out, so she looked away.
Henry was silent after that. Then, he felt a blush creeping on his face. "She's still grateful for what I did for her…" he said and afterwards, he smiled a little.
Rika took another glance at Henry before looking forward. She did not know what to say to Henry.
"So, why with all the thank-yous today?" Henry asked Rika. He was wondering why besides her opening up, she began to appreciate everything that happened to her.
"I don't know… I just felt sincere… After all, that was additions to my… you know… 'Opening up'?" Rika said, emphasizing the last two words with her two index fingers. "And besides, you wanna know what Ryo said to me in the telephone yesterday night."
"What is it?" Henry began to be curious and anxious at the same time.
"He said that he was sorry for bugging me, for flirting me openly and all sorts of things related to me… I asked what's going on but he said nothing and I was curious because of his sudden apologizing or something." Rika explained. "I guess he realized that we can't date each other because we'd be like fire and ice…"
Henry just stayed silent. But deep inside, he was happy that he can have a chance with Rika. And if that happens, maybe he can tell her about his dream that had HER last night.
Rika noticed that Henry became silent after she shared her conversation with Ryo last night. Then she looked at her surroundings and they stopped in front of Henry's apartment.
"Henry?" she now waved her hands to him. "We're now at your house!"
Then Henry snapped back to reality and scratched his head. "Oh! Right… Let's go inside!" he said goofily to Rika and led her to his apartment.
Rika smiled because she could get Henry to be goofy and followed him.
"Right behind you." Rika replied.
At the same moment, Takato and Jeri were searching for books about Japanese history.
"On the Origin of Japanese…" Takato read.
"Have you tried the literature about the sun goddess?" Jeri asked Takato while he was holding the book.
"I didn't think about that! Let's go!" he exclaimed.
Then the librarian heard him and said. "SHHHHHHHHH!"
Both Takato and Jeri blushed in embarrassment after being reprimanded.
"Takato, have you forgotten that we're in a library?" Jeri asked her fellow brunette.
"I forgot… I was busy thinking of ways how to do our assignment." Takato whispered.
Jeri just smiled. She and Takato found two empty chairs nearby and urged Takato to sit with her.
"Takato, I'll do the writing while you paraphrase everything here." She said.
"Alright, Jeri!" Takato said and he continued reading the books that he just got.
Even though Takato was reading, he found it hard to concentrate because of the presence of Jeri in front of him. He fought his blush but he failed. Luckily, Jeri was not looking at him.
"In the Japanese literature, it was seen that…" Jeri could not figure the rest of her sentence. She was lost in translation. More than that, she had been lost in thought. She was turning exactly lovesick as what she sees in television.
"According to some parts of Japanese history, we all started in the couple named…" Takato read and he felt lazy to continue. But he could not do so because his grade depends on his school performance.
"Takato?" Jeri whispered. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah! Don't I look okay?" Takato said.
"I don't know!" Jeri grinned and returned to work.
Takato could not help but blush at Jeri's grin at him.
"Oh boy." Takato only thought to himself.
Henry saw his mother and sister Suzie as he entered the living room with Rika.
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Suzie!" he greeted. "I brought Rika so we could work on our history assignment."
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Wong!" Rika said politely to Henry's mother.
"Hello, Henry! Hello, Rika!" Mrs. Wong smiled as she was seated in the couch with Suzie. "You two can work in the dining table… No one's there."
"Thanks, Mom! But we'll have to get some Japanese books in my room." Henry said. "Come on, Rika!"
"Okay, Henry." Mrs. Wong said as she watched with her youngest daughter.
Henry and Rika entered his room. "Welcome to my room, Rika!" he quipped.
"Nice room, Henry…" Rika teased as he started to gather lots of books. "You can carry all of them?! Let me help you!"
"No… I can manage." Henry said and even Rika wanted to lift one, he did not allow her.
"Whatever you say, Mister Pacifist!" Rika rolled her eyes.
Henry carried the books to the dining room while Rika just walked. They sat and started to read and write together. Just as they were in the midst of the historical account, Suzie showed up between the two.
"Henwy! Wika! Want some food?" Suzie offered two plates of cookies.
"I could use some…" Henry said. "Do you want, Rika?"
Rika was busy writing so when she glanced at Henry, her mind sprang to reality.
"Huh? I mean, sure!" Rika replied, not sure what could be the outcome of what she is doing.
Henry was eating while Rika remained silent. She began to speak up.
"Henry, about what I told you earlier…"
"You mean with Ryo?"
"Yeah…"
"What's with it?"
"I told you that because I trust you more than the others… And I hope you won't spread it or divulge it to the other tamers." Rika said frankly.
"Don't worry… It's safe with me." Henry said.
"Thanks, Henry." Rika finally smiled. With that, Henry also smiled to Rika.
Takato and Jeri were done in the library. When Jeri checked the time, a look of alarm came to her face.
"What is it, Jeri?" Takato asked silently.
"It's already 5! And I promised Mom that I'll get home and take care of Masahiko!" Jeri exclaimed in whispers.
"She won't get mad at you… You're busy in schoolworks!" Takato assured.
"I hope you're right, Takato…" Jeri said while fixing her stuff.
"I'm going to walk you home…" Takato said.
Jeri felt blushes in her cheeks. "T-Thanks!" she managed to say.
Henry and Rika were done writing and noting. The only things that were still needed are pictures and evidences regarding Japanese history.
"I'm going to do with the pictures…" Rika said to Henry.
"Okay." Henry said.
Then, they finished everything and wrapped the things up. Henry and Rika returned the books to his room.
"That went well…" Henry said.
"Although the deadline's just a week away!" Rika pointed out.
"True… But we might think of anything else that would add to our assignment… Right?" Henry replied.
Rika nodded. "Oh well… I guess I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." She said and left the apartment.
Henry did not realize that his heart is slightly beating faster than ever.
Takato and Jeri eventually reached Jeri's house.
"You know, Takato. It's really fun being with you…" Jeri complimented.
"Heheh! Yeah, sure!" Takato said.
"Uh… Takato?" Jeri was about to say what is on her mind.
"Yeah. What is it?" Takato asked.
"Never mind." Jeri said. "See you tomorrow!"
Takato just smiled as the brunette girl entered her own house.
Rika eventually got home and saw her mother who also just arrived.
"Where have you been?" Mrs. Nonaka asked. She was wondering why Rika arrived at the same time as she.
"I was in Henry's house…" Rika said.
"What did you do there?" Mrs. Nonaka began to become interested. She had hoped that her daughter would eventually let some guy into her life.
"Nothing!" Rika said. "We just did homework that was due next week."
"And why are you defensive, Rika?" Mrs. Nonaka began to sneer.
"Mom! It's the truth!" Rika's eyes are now getting wide.
"Okay! Okay!" Mrs. Nonaka calmed Rika down while laughing. "No need to get mad!"
"Thank you, Mom. For understanding." Rika replied as she opened the gates.
As the mother-daughter entered the house, Rika is now getting confused.
"My dream and my mother think that I am compatible with Henry… Now what's next?" she said with frustration.
Rika saw her grandmother at the kitchen, apparently making dinner.
"Hey, Grandma!" she said to her grandmother.
"Rika, it's a good thing you and Rumiko are home! You're just in time for dinner!" Grandma Seiko replied.
Rika just placed her bag in the couch dully and sat there and her thoughts started wandering off.
Takato just got home after walking Jeri home. He may not have asked her out yet but he knows that it will be soon. He was in his room, contemplating his thoughts.
"Let's just take it slow!" Takato said to himself.
"Takato!" Mr. Matsuki called out.
"Yes, Dad?!" Takato asked.
"You go down here because we're going to have dinner!" Mr. Matsuki replied.
"Coming, Dad!" Takato shrieked and he was racing down the stairs of his house.
Henry was in his bed, massaging his head. He was now in a deep thought because of Rika. After what he heard a while ago, he does not know if he will continue getting his chance with her and he realized that the girl he likes is hard to please, so he was still in a quandary if he should just stay friends with her or not.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when his sister Suzie appeared.
"HENWY!" she said.
"Suzie? What are you doing here?" Henry asked.
"Nothing. I was just checking you out." Suzie answered. "Anyway, we'we going to have dinnew!"
Henry rose up from his bed and straightened himself. "Okay, Suzie. I'm going." He said.
Suzie and Henry eventually went to the dining room. They were only with their parents because their siblings are now in college. They ate silently their dinner with their parents.
Jeri was in her house and looking after Masahiko, just as usual.
"Today was sooooooo great! I had fun with Takato in the library! Although it's awkward since it's quiet, but I don't care! As long as I'm with him, I'm so happy!" Jeri squealed.
"Jeri, what did you say?" Masahiko started to ask her.
"N-Nothing!" Jeri said, a blush went to her face in alarm.
"You're weird, sister!" Masahiko said to Jeri. "Just like Dad!"
"Thank you, Masahiko!" Jeri said sarcastically.
Then she realized that Mrs. Katou was calling her.
"JERI! YOU COME HERE THIS INSTANT!" she called.
Jeri went to her stepmother to help her in her chores. She expected that she will get screamed at by her stepmother for going home later than expected.
"What is it?" Jeri asked her stepmother.
"What took you so long?" Mrs. Katou asked Jeri.
"I just did schoolwork… That's all." Jeri said. "I'm sorry."
Mrs. Katou eventually smiled. "It's okay, Jeri. At least, I know why you had been late today."
"Thanks!" Jeri said. Her politeness never ceases with her family.
"You're welcome." Mrs. Katou said.
Jeri just went on to continue what she was doing.
After eating dinner, Rika eventually went to her room. She was tired from what happened in school earlier. Not to mention that she was still in a dazed state after the dream that lingered to her since last night. Worse is that her secret "crush" is now her partner in a history assignment.
"I can't believe that it's not a phase anymore…" Rika said to herself. "I'm learning enough to like him… But who the heck would believe that the Ice Queen is mellowing down?"
Rika could not find the answers to her questions as she lie down. She was too busy thinking about everything and now it was like finding the jigsaw puzzle pieces together.
Takato was now busy in his room, sketching something and forgetting about his history assignment just for tonight. That was the way he created Guilmon, by his artistic imagination. He stumbled upon a picture of Jeri and him during a dance. Then it hit him. That is what he wanted to draw right now.
"If there's one thing I could give Jeri for now…" Takato mused as his pencil ran through his paper in a manner that he would do whenever he is serious.
Takato started working on his drawing. He sweatdropped as he immediately got Jeri's face without looking back and forth.
"Jeri's really special to me… How I wish I could be special to her in some way…" Takato said, not realizing that what he uttered is a phrase of a common lovesick idiot.
Takato drew for almost two hours and after some finishing touches, he was done. He was proud of his artwork and he will give it to her once he asks her out.
"Oh yeah… That should be it." Takato said with contentment.
Jeri could not sleep with her excitement. Being partners with Takato in history would mean that she will always stick with him.
"I can't wait for me to see him again!" Jeri mused. "But with all the history, I totally forgot what Rika said to me! Oh well, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm with Takato, that's fine with me!"
She remembered how Takato called her yesterday night. They talked about the mundane, irrelevant and funny stuff. If only she did not have classes today, she could engage with Takato in a night-long conversation.
"He's funny, both in telephone and in personal! But I don't care! He's sooooooo cute!" Jeri remarked to herself.
Then right beside her was the puppet that she used around 2 years ago. She giggled at the memory because that is her company when she met Takato.
"Time sure flies…" Jeri remarked to herself as she placed the puppet in her cabinet and settled to sleep.
A week after school officially resumed, the Tamers already got used to school. Maybe because teachers give them loads of homework and they had been busier as ever. Well, save for Rika, she never minded if she had tons because she came from a private school that kept on loading her with such.
One Tuesday morning, the Tamers are waiting near the school grounds while they were engaging in a conversation.
"How come you never feel the threat of homework that attacks everytime, Rika?" Kazu asked, wondering how Rika could do such things by herself.
"That's the downside of being in a private school, Shioda…" Rika said plainly. "Teachers there always bombard us with many of them… Ask Alice McCoy and she too will have the same say to you."
"Really?" Kenta asked her as well.
"Really." Rika said.
"So how's your history assignment coming?" Takato asked.
"It's fine… Nikki has it…" Kazu said. "After that assignment, I think I kinda like her…"
Henry, Takato and Kenta just laughed along with Jeri and Rika.
"Why did you laugh, guys? Isn't it normal for a guy to like a girl?" Kazu asked.
"It's normal but for you, it isn't, Kazu!" Kenta pointed out.
"Glad thing, Henry or Ryo are not consuming the girl population once again…" Kazu replied.
Rika looked at Kazu with interest. "Yep. I am right. Henry is the sought-after boys here in Shinjuku High… There's no way I'll get around with him for sure…" she thought.
Then the group was surprised that Ryo was also appearing to them.
"Hi guys!" Ryo greeted them.
"RYO!" they screamed.
"How's it going, Ryo?" Kazu asked.
"Insanely good!" Ryo said cheerfully.
"That's nice…" Kenta commented.
The bell began to ring. The six tamers went to their classrooms immediately because they do not want Ms. Asaji to be angry. Noticing that Rika walked alone, Henry went up to catch with her.
"Hey!" Henry said good-naturedly.
"I brought the pictures here…" Rika replied. "You can have them if you want…" and she gave Henry the pictures she got from her research last night.
"Gee, thanks, Rika!" Henry smiled after getting the pictures from her.
"Yeah sure!" Rika answered as she and Henry made their way to their classroom.
After two straight hours of listening to Math and Biology, the tamers eventually got out of class for their lunch. Rika and Jeri stayed behind because they went to the bathroom.
"Hey, Rika!" Jeri called her.
"Yeah what is it?" Rika asked. "Did you confess your secret feelings to Takato now?"
"Not yet… and I'm afraid to do so…" Jeri said sheepishly. "I don't know if he likes me yet, I like him!"
Rika and Jeri went out of the classroom door when Rika said something.
"Jeri! I have a pretty well hunch that Gogglehead has a thing for you! When you two were called as partners a week ago for history, I found that Takato blushed as well as you!" Rika replied frankly.
"Oh I don't know, Rika!" said Jeri. "I wish you could help me on this one…"
Rika just raised an eyebrow. She definitely had no idea regarding love and other sappy things that she do not like.
"Jeri, you know me so much that I can't do anything regarding romance and that stuff!" Rika pressed firmly to Jeri.
"What am I going to do?" Jeri wailed.
"Simple. Admit it. Get yourself straight to the point." Rika answered.
Jeri just shook her head and this made Rika a little frustrated. "I can't, Rika…" she said.
"Katou, you're really stressing me out… And I'm getting hungry as well!" Rika said while running her hands through her hair.
Jeri just laughed as she and Rika make their way towards the cafeteria.
The five boys are seated altogether in the cafeteria. Kazu and Kenta were seated together while Ryo, Henry and Takato sat in the other seats. Until they saw Rika and Jeri apparently finding the table where the boys are.
"Dudes, are those Rika and Jeri?" Kenta asked when he spotted the two girls.
At the mention of Jeri, Takato turned red and became fidgety. Henry sensed this immediately because he was beside him.
"Takato indeed likes Jeri… it's no doubt that he turns red whenever her name is called…" Henry thought to himself.
"Yeah!" Ryo said and he spotted Rika and Jeri. "There they are!"
"They must be looking for us!" Kazu deduced.
"Why don't I go and lead them here?" Henry offered.
"Yeah! Great idea, Henry!" Ryo agreed with Henry's suggestion. "You better go there. Otherwise, Rika would give me a smack in my arm if I do so…"
"Alright… But can you save my seat?" Henry replied to Ryo.
"Sure, Henry!" Ryo answered. "No problem at all!"
Rika and Jeri are still finding their friends. Rika is now getting impatient with the volume of the people inside the cafeteria.
"Where could those boys be?" Rika said impatiently.
"They must be down here somewhere!" Jeri answered.
"That somewhere probably meant the end of the road!" Rika answered while her violet eyes scanned the entire area.
Henry was finding Rika and Jeri. It happened that he saw the two standing near a table.
"Rika! Jeri!" Henry called the two girls.
"Finally, Henry! We've been looking for you!" Rika said with trace of annoyance in her voice. "Where have you guys been?"
"We were seated there near the other door… But I guess you didn't see us…" Henry said good-naturedly.
"Yeah! We only saw students!" Rika pointed out.
"Anyway, I went here to retrieve you two… Luckily, Kenta spotted the two of you." Henry said to Rika. "Follow me…"
"Even Four-Eyes can do such good things!" Rika smirked as she and Jeri followed Henry.
Rika and Jeri followed Henry to the boys' table. When the three of them reached the table, they felt relieved because they can sit down already. But, when Takato and Jeri saw each other, they both blushed.
"H-Hi, J-Jeri!" Takato greeted Jeri and stuttered. His crush on Jeri grew bigger more than ever.
"Hi, Takato!" Jeri greeted Takato back.
"S-Sure! N-No problem at all!" Takato said as his blush never ceases down a bit.
Henry and Rika heard clearly that Jeri and Takato were stuttering and stammering. They knew that Takato and Jeri liked each other secretly but do not have the guts to do so.
"It was pretty obvious that Takato likes Jeri… Even when Rika wasn't here yet, it's pretty simple how Takato shows his affections to her…" Henry thought. "Before, during and after the D-Reaper!"
"Even though we were 12, Takato has something for Jeri but I guess it's just puppy love… But now, it's some sort of growing and is confirmed that he likes Jeri and Jeri likes him too… Blushing like no other!" Rika thought to herself as she watched her friend Jeri turn red infinitely.
Rika and Jeri sat in the vacant space that was beside Kazu and Kenta.
"Hey, Miss Digimon Queen!" Kenta said. "Hey, Jeri!"
"Hello, Kenta!" Jeri said and waved her hand to Kenta.
"Since we're complete now, why don't we get food?" Takato asked as he recovered from his blushes.
"Yeah, Gogglehead!" Rika said. "So, what now?"
"COME ON!" Ryo urged. He was the hungriest among the seven tamers.
They stood and went to the cafeteria. When they got food already, that was the time when they returned to their seats. Rika became goggle-eyed at Kazu's tray.
"Kazu, you're going to explode like a grenade when you continue that diet!" Rika replied. It turned out that Kazu ordered pasta, rice, fish and bread. Carbohydrates at once!
"Don't poke fun at my food, Rika! I'm hungry!" Kazu protested. Even if he was not hungrier than Ryo, he still took much food.
"Suit yourself, Shioda!" Rika said and sat beside a space. The space was reserved for Jeri.
Jeri sat in the vacant space beside Rika. Takato sat just after her and Henry followed after. The last who arrived where Kenta and Ryo.
"Man, Kazu! You sure can eat like a horse!" Kenta commented.
"Chumley, even if I eat like this, I can't get stout…" Kazu laughed off.
But the most obvious thing is that Takato and Jeri were seated in front of each other. Then again, they blushed and Henry and Rika noticed this.
"I knew it!" Henry said while eating and he noticed Takato blushing in front of Jeri.
"Pretty obvious indeed!" Rika replied as she bit into her tempura.
The seven ate their lunch and they got finished. Until, Ryo, Kazu and Kenta left because they were engaged with new playmates in Digimon cards.
"Bye, guys! See you later!" they said in unison.
It was 1 in the afternoon when they returned to class. Most of them did not want to enter class but they knew that after 2 hours, they will be dismissed. It was their time for English class and all of the students did not prefer writing in the unholy hours.
"I hate afternoon classes!" Kazu complained.
"So do I, Kazu!" Kenta said.
Henry and Takato now sat at their respective seats. Rika sat beside Henry and spoke up what was on her mind.
"How do you find Jeri and Takato?" she whispered.
"Simple… They just like each other and they find it hard to admit!" Henry said.
"Correct! They like each other and they blushed madly a while ago while eating!" Rika concluded.
"You noticed that too?" Henry asked Rika.
"Of course I noticed that! I have a weakest link beside me!" Rika referred to Jeri. "So what do you think we should do for them?"
"Maybe we can turn those two into something more?" Henry suggested.
Rika immediately knew what Henry is getting at. "Oh no, Henry Wong, you seriously can't count on me on this one! I don't know anything about sappy stuff! So I'm leaving it all to you." she said.
Henry chuckled. "I'm going to think of something!" He said.
Then they started to write essays for their English class and passed it to their teacher in just a span of thirty minutes. The teacher commended them for having an improvement in their writings.
History finally came after and the students were ready to submit their assignments. The entire class were called one-by-one by their teacher. Then before they knew it, the teacher started discussing again about Japanese history and before they knew it, the day ended just like any other.
"End of the class! I thought you gave up on me!" Kazu cried out.
"Right behind you, Kazu!" Kenta replied.
Takato and Jeri went to their separate ways. Just as they enjoyed working with each other, the history assignment ended. Takato went with Kazu and Kenta while Jeri ended up with Nikki.
Later that afternoon, Henry and Rika just got out of the school grounds when they felt that it was drizzling with rain. Rika forgot her umbrella and Henry saw this.
"You stay under the umbrella, Rika… You might get sick." Henry reminded while he pulled Rika close to him.
"Okay…" Rika said. After this, she realized that her heart beat so fast.
But fate was playing with them because the rain grew stronger. Because of this, with her fear of getting wet, Rika went closer to Henry.
"I hope there won't be any thunder!" Rika said to herself.
The opposite just happened. There came thunder and Rika became more and more afraid.
"YIIIIKEESSSSSS!" Rika said and she got even closer to Henry and held his arm in fear.
When she realized what she did, Rika immediately blushed and shivered because she stuck close to Henry and he might think she is a weakling because she fears thunder. Henry blushed as well because of Rika held his arm.
"S-Sorry…" she said.
Henry understood why Rika did it so he assured her. "It's okay, Rika… You don't have to be sorry."
"You might think I'm a weakling because I'm afraid of thunder!" Rika protested indignantly.
"It's alright… Even Suzie's afraid of it. Don't worry, Rika. Every person has his or her fear. It's normal." Henry added. "Fear does not make a person weak, you know? And you're not alone… I'm here… with you…"
Rika eventually relaxed because of what Henry said to her. She felt happy that she is not alone.
"You're not going to leave me until I get home?" Rika asked him to make sure.
"Of course! I'm not an idiot to leave you alone… for a beautiful girl like you should get home safe…" Henry replied and smiled at her. "So, stick with me so you can get shelter with my umbrella…"
"He is so nice, understanding… and he wouldn't pick me for what I am not…" Rika said to herself. "He does not want anything from me aside from friendship… He is indeed the Henry Wong I knew since we're 12… And that must be why I like him… Because he sees me as who I am and until now, I am still wondering how he could put up so much with me."
Rika only held Henry's arm while he was holding the umbrella. Afterwards, they reached the Nonaka residence.
"I guess this is my stop…" Rika said. "Thanks anyway!"
"No problem, Rika!" Henry said casually.
Seeing that Rika already entered her house, Henry turned away and walked home.
Henry contemplated on top of his bed and looked at his wall. His wall had been full of love poems and letters from the girls that like him. He remembered that he had no Valentine's Day without gifts from girls anywhere in his class. Even Kazu got jealous of him because he attracts girls here and there. He just ranked after Ryo because the latter was two years older. However, he does not like them back because deep in his heart, he likes someone else. His mind reverted again to Rika and how she stuck to him like glue during the rainfall a while ago.
"Rika, you don't know how much sanity you have knocked outside of me." He said. "I know I'm an idiot but that's what I was feeling for you… I wish that someday I won't be just a friend to you anymore…"
~ Cause I've been
thinking 'bout you lately.
Maybe you can save me,
from this crazy world we live in
And I know we could happen,
cause you know that I've been feeling you.
I know you want me to. ~
But Henry decided to drop the subject for now. Seeing his goggled friend blushing like mad hours ago, he decided to help him. But how?
What would be Henry's plan of helping Takato out? Before that, RATE AND REVIEW! :D