Summer's Promise
Chapter 14: "You're a really great friend!"
The pink-haired girl's eyes slowly opened when a faint light from the outside began to creep into her room through her curtains. The time that the digital clock displayed on her nightstand glowed red, showing her that it was 7:24 in the morning. Confused as to why the sun seemed to beam so brightly when the sun should still be hiding behind the winter clouds, Luka got up and separated the curtains that covered her window.
"Wow," Luka quietly gasped.
The girl's aquamarine eyes reflected the sparkling of the thick winter snow that blanketed over the roofs, roads, walls, and bald trees. Her breath was taken away to see such a scenery from her room, the only room in the second level of the house. Luka's eyes twinkled in excitement for a White Christmas.
Just as her window began to get fogged up, Luka's phone rang a simple tone and the LED light also flashed. Knowing that the only person who had been registered in her contacts and knows her number was her purple-haired friend, Luka jumped onto her bed in panic and began to search for her phone's whereabouts. She patted the bed's surface to feel the hard device that hid under her blanket. As soon as she felt a bump, Luka dove under her blanket and found her phone.
"Isn't it pretty?" she read the message from the first person she had messaged, knowing that he was referring to the snow outside.
With eyes still shimmering from the beauty of the snowy scenery, Luka looked out her window once again before replying with a warm smile on her flushed face.
"It is."
Luka's family began opening their gifts after they enjoyed their Christmas breakfast. They sat on the floor by the giant Christmas tree full of ornaments with the view of the fallen snow from the window behind their Christmas tree. While their mother took pictures, their father handed out the presents with his usual kind face.
Luka received new boots from 'Santa' and the twins were given two new games for their console. Their parents also opened the gifts they received from their children, both proud of how thoughtful their daughters and son were.
"Luka," her mother handed the camera to her father as she looked around for an envelope that she hid in the tree.
"I couldn't really afford to get you the grand one, so I just got you an antique. It still works, though," Luka's mother said just as she found the envelope.
"It's small enough to fit your room, too."
Luka was confused of what her mother was explaining to her. Still clueless, Luka opened the envelope that her mother handed to her. Inside was a receipt for an antique upright piano, though the price was hidden by pen scratches, with the date of the delivery. The pink-haired girl's eyes began to twinkle as her jaw gradually opened in astonishment. Suddenly, she jumped into her mother's arms and hugged her tightly, feeling tears welling up from her eyes.
"Thank you so much, mom! Thank you!" Luka exclaimed, burying her head on her mother's shoulder to hide her teary eyes.
"You've always wanted a grand piano ever since you were little. I finally saved up money to buy you one. Sorry it's just an antique and an upright piano," Luka's mom also began to tear up.
"No, mom. This is more than enough," Luka tightly embraced her mother.
The twins also opened their last gifts, actually being phones. They, too, were surprised because their mother had led their expectations astray when she said that the twins were going to get their own phones next year. Luka's mother and father opened their last gift, which was from their friends next door.
"You've lived in this house for quite a while now, but we noticed you still didn't have a hyousatsu posted by your gate, so we thought of just getting one done for you," the note on the tag read.
When the two heads of the family tore the wrapping paper and opened the box, they found a plaque engraved with the last name that their father and mother had. Since their father was a foreigner, the last name on the hyousatsu was done in katakana. The three children's eyes also glimmered to see the sophisticated slab and encouraged their parents to put it up right away.
Quickly grabbing their own coats and boots, the whole family walked out of the house and watched their father place the smooth plaque onto the brick post of the gate. Then, they walked a few steps back and looked at the gate, feeling as if their moving into the house was finally complete.
Out of nowhere, a breeze blew by, forcing the family to quit their admiring the feeling of entirety and rush back into the house. They all laughed to see each other running in a funny way to avoid slipping from the snow and ice that covered the concrete trail to their doorway.
After a few minutes of laughter, joy, and gratitude for the presents they've received, the family began cleaning up the mess that they had made. It didn't take a while before the living room was clean again and the family to gather in it to enjoy their time together.
Before Luka could sit down and get comfortable, she caught a glimpse of the time on the clock in their dining room. The pink-haired girl remembered the meeting time of 11 am, which was what she and her violet-haired friend agreed on after their conversation about the snow.
"Mom, is it alright if I meet up with my friends?" Luka asked sincerely.
"Do I know your friends?" her mother questioned while she scrolled through her phone.
"They've been here a couple of times, but you've never really met them since you're gone for work when they're around."
"Alright," Luka's mother permitted, still scrolling on her phone.
Luka happily thanked her mother and made her way to her room. She put on a striped white and navy blue oversized sweater and a black wool miniskirt that was mostly covered by the sweater. Then, she wore thick and black thigh-high socks and put on her tall chestnut brown lace-up boots. Luka hummed while brushing her hair in front of her vanity dresser.
"Wait," she thought, putting down the brush and looking at her wide-eyed self.
"Why do I feel this way?" the oblivious Luka asked herself as she felt the warmth of her red cheeks.
In silence, the girl continued to wonder what and why she was feeling that way. She was aware that it wasn't the same feelings she had towards her new friends, but she didn't know what they were.
"I always feel strange when he's around," she thought to herself, still wide-eyed.
Lately, she had been feeling different emotions whenever her male friend was around. The pink-haired girl always dismissed her emotions, however, not trying to dwell on them like how she did in the past.
Luka always tried not to overthink, especially since she was given an opportunity to reset not just herself, but everything. Of course, she didn't want to think about the past, but it would pop up in her head every now and then. She would remember how weak she was and how her emotions changed so easily. Luka didn't want to forget about her past either because after all, it was a part of who she was.
Clenching her fists and her eyes turning cold, broken flashbacks flooded Luka's mind. She kept her gaze on her brush as she got lost in her shattered memories.
"Nee-chan, that handsome bartender's outside," Rin yelled from the other side of the door, breaking the trance that Luka was in.
Luka got up and looked at herself one last time before she grabbed her trench coat and ran downstairs, also bringing a purse and a thick muffler scarf.
"Are you going on a date?" sneered Rin as Luka gave her mom and dad a kiss on the cheeks.
"N-no! Miku-chan's going to be there, too!" Luka's entire face turned red before she opened the door and left.
Luka ran to Gakupo in a rush, forgetting that the ground was icy and slippery. Right before she reached the purple-haired boy, Luka stepped on pure ice and slipped forward. However, Gakupo valiantly caught Luka before she could even fall to the ground.
"S-sorry!" she exclaimed, quickly getting away from him.
"It's alright," Gakupo laughed at the sight of the flustered Luka.
Gakupo, who had only been waiting for a few minutes, noticed the hyousatsu that was finally posted up. Since the purple-haired boy had gone to Luka's house many times after they became friends, he always took notice of the missing name plate. Though now that the plaque was posted, he was a little confused as to why the name on it was different from Luka's.
"Your family finally put up your own hyousatsu, huh," Gakupo and Luka began walking down the street with a good distance between them.
"Y-yeah," Luka smiled, her face still blushing.
"Calm down, me! You're not being yourself!" she yelled in her thoughts right after her reply.
"Is 'Evermore'* your dad's family name?"
Luka nodded in reply with a quaint smile beaming in front of Gakupo's eyes.
"I'm full Japanese, after all. He's only been my stepfather for five years now," she added, confusing Gakupo even more.
One of Gakupo's eyebrows raised up, his knowledge of Luka a little jumbled up.
"Then…what about the twins?" Gakupo thought to himself.
Luka continued to walk in silence, waiting for Gakupo to say something because she didn't notice his puzzled face. However, after she took a peek and noticed that he was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together by himself, she felt a little embarrassed.
"Oh! You're probably confused about my twin siblings. They're actually just my half-siblings; we have the same mother, but different fathers. I don't really know who my real dad is, so my mom registered her maiden name, 'Megurine' as my last name. The twins' last name is 'Kagamine' which is their real father's last name," Luka explained with a smile.
For some reason, Gakupo was able to sense that there was something behind the smile Luka was displaying. He didn't want her to keep on going with her explanation, but she cleared up the confusion for his sake, anyways.
"My mom married my siblings' dad after I turned 1. Then, my first stepfather, the twins' real dad, found a job in the States, and that's how I ended up growing up there," Luka faced forward as they kept walking in a moderate pace.
"My mom and the twins' real dad got a divorce because of...uhh…complications," the pink-haired girl turned to Gakupo to show him a smile that said she was alright, though he was already aware that she didn't want to remember anymore.
"Then, my mom met my stepfather now, and he found a job here, so here I am."
Luka narrated them so cheerfully that one would think she was fine. Gakupo, though, could feel the pain in between the lines and the smile that Luka painfully forced.
"I see," Gakupo mustered the only words he could think of.
Silence lingered between the two as they sunk in their thoughts. Luka kept a smile on her face, but Gakupo felt worry deep in his heart.
Gakupo began to think about how he had always thought of Luka as someone who was book-smart, yet oblivious; shy, yet caring; charming, yet humble. He had always thought that Luka was easy to understand, but the first two days of their winter break proved him wrong. His whole general idea of how Luka really was began to break when he realized that he has yet to meet the real her. He realized that in reality, he didn't know Luka.
"Oh, by the way, where's Miku-chan?" Luka asked to break the silence between them.
"Huh?" Gakupo's eye twitched from Luka's question, amazed by just how dense she really was.
The pink-haired girl's eyes kept showing curiosity, looking for the answer to her question from the boy. Gakupo awkwardly smiled, thinking of an excuse.
"Oh, yeah! Uhh…she caught a cold yesterday. I think she said she went out to the convenient store when it started snowing."
"She thought Miku was coming with us this whole time?" thought Gakupo, awkward.
"We should visit her, Kamui-kun!" stopping, Luka determinedly suggested.
Gakupo explained to Luka about how Miku wouldn't want her friends to get sick, so he suggested to wait until tomorrow to visit her. Luka, who bought the whole lie, agreed with Gakupo. The purple-haired teen felt his confidence lower, thinking that he didn't do well enough to get his point through to the clueless Luka.
The two continued to walk while talking about random things in their conversations. Luka didn't even realize that they were already riding the train when suddenly, on the third stop from the station they got on, a big crowd swarmed in, pushing her close to Gakupo. He continued to talk, not even realizing that Luka's face began to intensely blush. He couldn't see her face very well because her head only reached to his chest and she was also looking down.
Luka could hear Gakupo's heartbeat even with the noise of the moving subway and the people chatting. She could also hear her own heart thumping so loudly and quickly as if it was trying to get out of her chest. Nervous of what was going on, Luka started to feel light-headed and started leaning back to the man behind her when suddenly, Gakupo wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest.
"Huh?" thought Luka with widened eyes.
"If you don't feel well, don't fall back. Come closer to me, okay?" straightforward, Gakupo's eyes didn't turn away from what he was looking at as he instructed Luka, not even sounding or feeling a little awkward.
Luka, who seemed to be the only one feeling uncomfortable from the situation, nodded with a completely red face.
The two stayed that way in the subway for ten more minutes. The crowd didn't lessen at all, so Luka's only escape was to wait until they get off.
"Now that I think about it, I don't even know where we're going," she thought, her eyes gazing at the fast scenery that passed by.
The train gradually slowed down and came to a stop. Gakupo gently grabbed Luka's wrist to get out of the subway car full of people.
"Sorry that took a while," Luka's companion apologized as they made their way to the exit of the station.
It wasn't until when they reached the exit when they realized that they were still holding hands. They heard murmured compliments from the people they passed by, thinking they were a couple. Both of them blushing, they quickly turned away from each other.
Luka still didn't understand what she was feeling despite the blunt clues that the people around them already whispered. Placing her hand on her chest to calm her fast heartbeat, Luka breathed in and out. Gakupo awkwardly scratched the back of his head, also hoping that Luka would finally catch on. However, when he remembered that Luka was still not fully comfortable around him, Gakupo cleared his throat and took the lead to lead them out of the clumsy atmosphere that floated around. Luka also did her best to just throw away all the awkward situations that happened.
Gakupo toured Luka around in the shopping district outside the city they lived in. The place they were visiting had many varieties when it came to malls, restaurants, and arcades, unlike the city they lived in. The peaceful city they inhabited had its own shopping district, a place that Luka had visited a couple of times but only for shopping for ingredients and school supplies, though it didn't have many choices.
Luka enjoyed the different places they visited in the busy district. First, they ate lunch at a maid café, where Luka was treated like a young heiress and Gakupo was admired by all the maids. Luka, of course, was upset that Gakupo was talking to all the maids that she thought were cuter than her, but the pink-haired girl didn't understand why. After enjoying the omurice at the café, Gakupo took her to an arcade where they spent most of their time trying to grab the giant stuffed toy. Gakupo found it weird, yet adorable, that Luka thought the toy was cute, especially since it was a tuna. Finally giving up, Gakupo took the pink-haired girl to the mall. Most of the shops inside sold expensive clothes, but they didn't let the prices waste their time because they actually only went in there to enjoy the warm temperature.
Inside the mall, they found a coffee shop that sold crepes and warm beverages. Luka, who had been wanting to taste crepes for the longest time, finally got to try it out. Gakupo was really glad to see her warm smile as she bit small pieces of the crepe he bought for her. He was able to learn that Luka was the type of girl to honestly get really happy over the smallest things.
"Girlfriend, huh," Gakupo once again remembered his little brother's comment from last night while he watched Luka enjoy her dessert.
He sat there in silence, thinking that he wanted to know more about Luka. Ever since he first met Luka, he had always thought that she was very charming. The more he got to know her, the more he felt attracted to her. The purple-haired boy would've already started flirting with her with all his might, but in the back of his head, he knew Luka was different from any girl he had ever met, somehow. Also, Luka would probably still be oblivious of his intentions, no matter how obvious his methods of flirting were.
"Thank you so much for everything, Kamui-kun," Luka broke into his shell of thoughts with her soft voice.
"Oh, don't mind—oh," Gakupo delightfully smiled until he found a tiny smudge of whip cream near the edge of Luka's pink lips.
Grabbing his napkin, the purple-haired boy reached out his hand and wiped the cream away, freezing Luka. Again, she felt her heart skip a beat, still confused as to why. Luka dismissed everything else and accepted what she thought was the closest reason as to why she felt that way. She concluded that her happiness was because of friendship.
"You're a really great friend, Kamui-kun! I'm glad I got closer to such a wonderful friend like you. I hope you'll always be my friend," Luka smiled again, this time, causing Gakupo's heart to skip a beat.
Gakupo's eyes widened when he felt his heart throb. He had never seen Luka's smile as warm as what she had just shown. He was glad that he was able to see it, but the word 'friend' kept ringing in his ears.
"Friend, huh," he painfully smiled, rethinking about what he wanted Luka to be to him.
Author's note:
hyousatsu- a door plate that usually bears the family name of the household and facilitates the delivery of mail and goods
katakana- Japanese syllabary system used for words imported from foreign languages
omurice- Japanese food consisting of an omelette made with fried rice and usually topped with ketchup
*Evermore is a surname created solely for this story. Any living or dead person bearing the same surname is not related to this story or the characters of the story. (Mayumi-chan: Okay, so you're probably thinking: 'Evermore' is such a weird last name. Well, it took me a REALLY long time to figure out an English last name that would fit the story or at least be connected to the characters. After some research, I came up with 'Evermore,' which is the synonym for the word 'forever.' How did I get that, you ask? Well, since the owner of this last name in the story is Luka's present stepfather, I figured that it should be related to her in some way. So, I took Luka Megurine's voice provider's name, Yuu Asakawa [Who noticed how I named the school nurse after her? ;D] and analyzed it. The character for Ms. Asakawa's first name, 'Yuu,' actually means 'permanence' or 'forever,' so I just looked for a word similar to 'forever' that can sound like a realistic [?] English last name, and voila! 'Evermore.' So, 'Evermore' is not just a random last name, though I doubt anyone actually has that last name -.-)