Hello everyone!

I realize I have not updated this story in some time. 4 years to be exact. Recently over the past week I've been inspired to revive this story and try to finish it, because this is one of my favorites that I've written. I know not many people will still be reading this who had been reading it 4 years ago, but I still want to have it out there as a finished piece. I don't have any excuses for my absence- life happens and you fall out of interest with the story... you all know how it goes. It might be a little late to try and come back to this story, but I'm just doing it for fun and I don't see why I shouldn't if I'm so re-inspired.

Also, I'd like to apologize for my spelling errors throughout the previous chapters. When I started this story I was about 15 and I didn't have my own computer, so I would type every chapter on my phone and post it directly from that. I didn't have spell check, so I made some pretty embarrassing errors lol! I'm probably going to go back and fix/update the chapters if I can figure it out. I also believe I accidentally made Yui move her arms once or twice at some point, and once again I'm sorry about that. It was a silly mistake, and now that I have a computer I can actually edit my stuff!

Thank you so much to anyone still here reading this story! I'm glad so many of you have enjoyed it and wanted more, even with my absence. I promise I'll finish it completely, and I have several more chapters planned so it's not over yet, don't worry :)

Yui was released from the hospital a few days later. She began to eat normally again and her health greatly improved. I helped her mother take her home as we pushed her to the car and lifted her out of the wheelchair.

"Are you excited to come home?" Miyoshi asked Yui in the back seat with me.

"Yeah, I miss my own bed," she replied, looking quite tired.

I saw her mother smile through the rearview mirror. "I bet Hinata is excited to have you home too. Now he doesn't need to take the train to visit."

I laughed a little. "For sure. I can come and see you guys more frequently now."

Yui smiled. I couldn't imagine how bad it must have been to stay in the hospital for so long. I would have probably gone mad. I gently took her hand and squeezed it tight, wishing more than anything I could feel her squeeze back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning I had school, and it took all my willpower and strength to get up out of bed. It was strange not worrying about getting to the hospital for once, because Yui was back safe at home. I couldn't contain my smile as I got dressed, thinking that maybe we could go on a date after class. Perhaps I could take her to dinner or even bring her to a movie. It had been so long since we had done something together.

I walked out to the kitchen and found a note on the table.

Hinata,

I won't be home until tomorrow night. Something came up with work and I have to travel to Tokyo to sell some pottery for a festival. Keep the house clean and don't get into trouble.

-Dad

Perfect, I thought. I could take Yui out tonight without my dad being suspicious about me. I thought about calling her up but I realized what time it was, and ran out the door with a breakfast bar in my hand, hoping I wouldn't be late.

I met Okito by his locker once I arrived, and he looked surprised to see me. "Hey Hinata where the hell have you been?" He asked, looking my dead in the eye.

"Yui's been in the hospital and I've been seeing her the past few days. You know that."

"You skipped 3 days of school for her?"

I nodded and he sighed. "What do you see in her?"

He shut his locker and we started walking. "Lots of things," I told him. "She's a strong person and I want to be there for her."

Okito shrugged. "I guess I can't argue. By the way I'm taking Atsune to the dance next week-"

"Atsune? When have you guys ever talked?" I laughed. "And what's this about a dance?"

"We don't talk," he mumbled. "I just thought she was hot so I decided to ask her." I laughed again. "And the school dance is next friday; we talked about it one of the days you were gone. I guess it's just a mid-year dance. Apparently all the girls go out of their way to buy these gigantic expensive dresses for this thing."

"Girls are into that stuff," I told him, glancing at a girl who had pink hair just like Yui's. "I'm surprised you're even going. I thought you hated dances."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I do. But I wasn't going to waste a chance to hit up some points with Atsune."

Okito told me he'd see me at lunch as we left to our separate classes. I walked into math and thought about how amazing it would be if I could take Yui to the dance...

But what was stopping it? I knew from past dances we could take people from other schools as dates. Of course she couldn't really dance, but it'd be fun and give her something to look forward to right? One thing for sure; I was not going to the dance unless it was with Yui.

"Hinata!" Mr. Iwata roared. "Sit down and wipe that smirk off your face!"

I sat as everyone turned to looked at me, not able to stop smiling. "Sorry sir."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I walked straight from school to Yui's house. Her mother answered as usual.

"Oh Hinata you look so cute in your school uniform! I almost forgot how it looked on you."

I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure what to say. "Thanks."

"I just made a new batch of pastries if you're hungry," she offered, rubbing her hands on her apron. The house smelled amazing, like a bakery.

"Oh no thank you," I took my shoes off. "Yui's in her room?"

I opened the door, and she was laying in her bed wearing a blue T-Shirt and shorts watching an anime I never heard of. She smiled when she saw me.

"Hey Yui," I sat on the side of her bed. "How was your day?"

Her hair was partially up in her usual ribbons. "Good. My mom tried catching me up on my homeschooling lessons and I think my brain almost exploded. What about you?"

"It was fine," I said. "I have something I want to ask you," I looked away awkwardly.

She smiled. God, her smile.

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "My school uhm... We're having a dance next friday. I... wanted to know if you'd go with me."

Her smile faded a little. She looked down at her hands. "A dance?"

"Yeah. It'd be so much fun," I smiled, worrying I said something wrong. "I know you can't... dance...but you can get a dress and I can take you with me and I'll introduce you to my friends. We can take pictures and have food- they always have lots of food," I laughed a little awkwardly. "I promise you'll have lots of fun."

She hesitated. "I don't know..."

I tried to hide my disappointment. "Yui look at me," I said gently, turning her face carefully up to meet my eyes. "Think about it okay? I understand if you don't want to go, but I promise you'll have fun. I'll be with you the entire time."

I thought about how I would feel if I were in her situation. It understood why she wouldn't want to go; sitting in a wheelchair while everyone else danced and had fun. It probably would feel embarrassing for her. I regretted asking.

"Okay."

"I mean... It's alright if you don't want to go. I just thought it would be something fun to do."

Yui smiled a little. "No, I think it would be fun too. I'm just not sure if I'd be comfortable enough."

"Hey don't worry about that. I'll be with you the whole time. I promise."

She changed the subject and asked me to switch the channel. "Is it okay if I sit next to you?"

"What?"

"Can I lay next to you?" I asked."I'm asking for permission."

She laughed. "You don't need permission."

I moved on the bed and laid down next to her, our legs touching. Outside her window, past the baseball diamond, the sun was beginning to set. I wished I had a view like that from my bedroom.

There was a cooking show on her TV, but I wasn't really paying attention. All I could focus on was how close Yui was to me. Why was I so nervous? We kissed and hugged before, yet I still had butterflies just sitting next to her.

"I wish I could cook like that," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Then my mom wouldn't have to do so much work."

I knew she hadn't meant to, but her comment made me feel bad. "Don't be silly, your mom loves cooking for you. I'm sure it's no trouble."

"I don't know. She always says everything is no trouble, which is not true at all."

Her hair was extraordinarily pink today. I loved it. "Well maybe one day she won't have to take care of you anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," I smiled a little to myself. "Oh that reminds me," I sat up, looking at the cooking show. "My dad's gone until tomorrow night so I thought we could go out for dinner. If you want."

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

We ended up in a casual restaurant not too far from her house. I didn't change clothes but Yui insisted she dress up, so I left the room while her mom helped her change. When Miyoshi opened the door again, Yui wore a pretty peach colored dress with spaghetti straps, the skirt ending just above her knees. I leaned against the door frame and mouthed the word "wow". She looked away.

Miyoshi clapped her hands together it delight. "Have fun you two! You both are so cute!"

"Mommmmm."

"Okay okay," she smiled and pushed Yui's wheelchair past me through the door frame.

We walked silently for a few minutes until we reached the restaurant. Our waiter gave us menus and kindly left.

"What's good here?" I asked.

"Everything I've tried," Yui replied, then asked me to turn her menu page.

"Not helpful."

She just stuck her tongue out at me.

We ordered our meals and sat quietly for a bit. Both of us apparently weren't good at conversation making. "So how does it feel to be back out of the hospital?"

"Really good. I was beginning to hate that place."

I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Me too."

She flushed a bright shade of pink. It wasn't like her to be shy or nervous, and I wondered if it was because we were official now. "You know, just because you're my girlfriend now doesn't mean you have to act any different around me. I want you to just be yourself, alright?" I wasn't completely sure why I was lecturing her about not being nervous, when I was here feeling butterflies in my stomach anytime I was near her.

"Okay," she nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to being so close with someone. I sort of assumed I'd never have a boyfriend so I guess I never really prepared myself."

"That's a silly thing to assume. Who wouldn't want to date a pretty girl like you?" I brought her glass of water to her lips for her. She didn't ask me to, I just noticed her staring at it for awhile. I was starting to figure her out. "Well, you don't have to be nervous or shy," I said, putting my hand on her leg. She glanced down at it and her face turned even more pink. "... You're blushing, Yui."

"I'm not used to anyone touching me there! How should I act?" she said giggling with nerves.

I took my hand away and put my arms on the table. "You'll get used to it," I smiled. "I can take it slow if you want."

She thought for a moment. "Maybe just a little. I don't wanna look like a tomato in the face every time you touch me," Yui said, looking at my hands. "You didn't have to move it."

Before I could put my hand back on her leg, our waiter brought our food to the table and asked if we needed anything else. I thanked him and started handing Yui her sandwich to take a bite, since she had been claiming ever since we got here that she was starving. As we ate together, something popped into my head.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot!" I said, making Yui turn her head curiously. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

She spoke with her mouth full. "Yeah what's up?"

"As you may or may not know," I explained. "baseball season is almost over. We have 1 more game and then I don't have practice again until next summer. Meaning, if you want to hang out more often and stuff I'll actually have the time."

Her ears perked up. "Oh?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Me? Having free time? It's a crazy concept, I know."

"That sucks that you won't have baseball anymore," she said, trying to sound disappointed for me. I saw right through her.

"You don't have to act like you're sad for me. Just admit that you're gonna want me to come over every single day."

She gave me a teasing angry look. "Okay fine. But maybe not every day. You still have school and I have to catch up on my stuff too."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

We finished our meals and I paid for the food. I realized that if I wanted to keep taking Yui out on dates like this I was going to need to get a job. I couldn't keep borrowing from my dad all the time, and I was running out of the money I had saved from my summer job last season. It made me anxious to think about, but I pushed it to the back of my mind for now. "You ready to go?"

I stood up and pulled Yui back from the table, out the door and towards the sidewalk. It was starting to get dark out. The urge to ask her if she had made up her mind about the dance was strong, but I wasn't going to pressure her. The walk home was mostly silent between us, and I worried about if she had fun or not.

We arrived back at her house a few minutes later. I look far out through the trees to the empty baseball field where I had spent so much of my time, not even knowing that Yui was there living in her house behind it. The field looked so strange when no people were there.

I wheeled Yui up to her front door, looking down at her and she was looking up at me. She smiled, "Thanks for taking me to dinner. I had a lot of fun Hinata."

I swallowed, rubbing the back of my neck. "No problem. I'll take you out whenever you want."

She grinned. "Awesome! I'll take you up on that offer."

I returned her smile, kneeling down and wrapping my arms around her. "I'll see you soon, okay?" I whispered. "I'm not gonna get shut out by you again, am I?"

She laughed a little. "No, I promise," Yui nestled her head into my shoulder. "Oh... Hinata?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's go to the dance together."