Chapter Twenty-Two
-Gumi-
"I cannot wait for those two to get back from their date!" I sigh, collapsing onto the living room couch. Piko gives me a confused glance, his widening eyes spangled with confusion.
"They're on a date?" Piko asks with a tilt of his head.
"Your ahoge got fixed," I laugh, tossing him the remote. He doesn't laugh back. Way to go, Gumi.
"No, Gumi, seriously," he says, catching it in his hand smoothly. "They're on a date? Like, a serious one?" I nod my head slowly. Is that not what I just said? I watch as Piko's eyebrows narrow as the poor remote is choked in his asphyxiating grasp. "S-She told me…" he whispers.
"She told you what?" I ask suddenly, my eyebrows furrowing. Why would he even care in the first place? Oh, right…
"She told me it was just casual, that's all," Piko informs me. Suddenly, his eyes widen further as a gasping noise escapes his throat. "Wait!" he exclaims, "How did you even know about this?" he asks. As his words circle around in my head, I can't help but let out a suppressed giggle. I clasp my hand over my mouth to stop, but, oh well… Suddenly, I burst out into a huge laugh. He gives me a confused look.
"Eh, I guess I just know stuff, Piko," I giggle, checking my candy apple green nails. Really, Luka had overheard earlier and was talking to me about how cute of a couple Kaito and Miku would be. "Hey, toss the remote," I say, holding out my hand. He flings it lightly back at me. I catch it in my hand like he had done.
"Ha, nice catch," he chuckles. I can feel my cheeks getting hot as I feel my entire face lighting up. Gross, red and green? Not a good match until Christmas. "I guess I should just forget about it?" Piko asks, rubbing the back of his neck. Why do guys do that all the time?
"Yeah. It's not that big of a deal, right?" I smile convincingly. He's actually talking to me. And like… not Miku! This is a step in the right direction. "Hey, Piko," I say, putting the remote down on the coffee table. "Maybe we should go outside and play catch!" I grin.
"Really? I never really thought of you as the sporty type," he chuckles.
"Well, when you're hanging around Rin for that long, it kinda happens," I joke. He pushes himself of the couch as I follow him through the sliding glass door.
As I step onto the soft cool bright green grass, little drops of wet morning dew soak into my bare feet. It's actually quite sunny out, although it seems like it rained last night. I look up to see seven dynamic colors flashing across the cloudless blue sky. "Piko! Look!" I smile, poking at his shoulder and pointing upward. He grins as he sees it too. A beautiful rainbow… how special.
"It's so intense…" he whispers, a thousand-mile stare misting up his eyes. I utter a laugh as I toss my jade green shoulder-length hair behind my back. He laughs as well, walking over to a shed in his backyard. I lean over behind his shoulder as he pulls out a baseball. I grin.
"My dad taught me how to play baseball when I was a kid. I was really good at it then, but I guess I haven't really picked up a baseball since I was seven," I tell Piko with a warm smile. He looks back up at me, returning it.
"Really?" he jokes, "I thought it might have been Rin."
"She, on the other hand, still plays baseball," I chuckle. I raise a finger up to my chin. "And basketball, and soccer, and swimming, and lacrosse, and football-"
"Wh-Wh-Whoa, wait," Piko laughs, holding up a hand, "The chick plays football?" I nod proudly. Baseball in hand, he walks over to a more open space in his yard. I follow him, along with the sound of the summery breeze curving through the leaves of the orange trees.
He tosses me the baseball lightly. I catch it with both my hands. "Come on, you can throw it harder than that, Utatane!" I tease, flinging it back to him. He throws it harder, but not hard enough to even crack a window. "Man up!" I laugh, "I don't wanna see any shota throws!" He rolls his eyes as I throw it back to him. He catches it and sends it flying back through the air. "There ya go!" I shout encouragingly.
"Is this what your dad was like?" he asks as I catch it with one hand.
"Yeah, pretty much," I shrug, tossing it back to him. I laugh as he catches it behind his back. Smooth move, shota. "What's your dad like?" I ask.
"He's okay. I guess we never really have time to do anything together since he's always away for business," Piko says, throwing it back to me. He shrugs it off. "My mom's the same way, but I've gotten used to it."
"Oh," I say, my face falling, "That's too bad." I wish I knew what to say. "Hey, are you hungry?" I ask, catching it in my hands. He nods, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets. I run over and toss the baseball back in the shed. I reach to close the door when suddenly, I see a small yellow bird hiding underneath a shovel. "Hey little guy, I don't want you getting stuck in here," I giggle as it spreads its black wings and flies out.
"What was that?" Piko asks, walking up next to me.
"Just a little bird," I answer. Suddenly, the bird flies right past my face and into a low tree branch that hangs right above my shoulder. "He's really friendly," I laugh. Piko and I watch as he takes off into the air and soars out above Piko's driveway. It turns around, fluttering over to us again and circling around out into the driveway another time.
"I think he's trying to get us to follow him," Piko laughs, raising his eyebrows. The bird lets out an approving tweet as if it understands what Piko said.
"You think we should?" I ask, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"Why not?" Piko laughs. Suddenly, a low growling noise rumbles from the center of my stomach. "Here, let's go get something to eat," he suggests, opening the sliding glass door for me to follow him back into the house. I skip through the door as he closes it behind me. "So, when exactly is Miku's birthday?" Piko asks me as we walk into the kitchen.
"Friday," I answer, sliding into a chair.
"What do you want to eat?" he asks.
"Just a salad is fine, thanks," I say with a wave of my hand.
"You sure?" he asks with a tilt of his head, "You sounded pretty hungry back there," he grins. I laugh. "I'm making ravioli, if you change your mind," he says.
"Ravioli?" I laugh, "Alright fine. Ravioli and salad."
"There we go," he smiles, reaching into the cupboard for a glass. "So, um, when exactly is Miku's birthday?" he asks, placing two glasses onto the table after filling them with water.
"It's on Friday," I reply, taking a sip. "I can tell she's really excited."
"Oh," Piko says, "What are you guys planning to do for her?"
"Well, Luka, Rin and I were all looking at some fun things, but with the money mishap and all…" I trail off as Piko sits down in the chair across from me.
"That's no problem. Remember, not only will you each collect some things from your jobs, but I'm here. I'm sure Kaito and Len are doing the same for Rin and Luka," he offers. My face melts into a heartfelt smile.
"P-Piko," I stammer, "Thank you so much! You'll really pay for all this too?"
"Yeah, I don't mind one bit," he says, smiling strongly. Something in his multicolored eyes softens as my shoulders relax slowly with a heavy sigh. "It must be hard for you guys, going on a vacation and seeing that your money is…" he falters quietly.
"Gone," I finish, raising my eyebrows. "But maybe we can do something that doesn't require money!" I say, "Like, we could probably just celebrate here or something." Suddenly, Piko's eyes light up.
"You could go to the beach!" he grins, playing with the string of his hoodie. Thank goodness I packed a bikini. This is a perfect idea!
"That's great, Piko!" I smile. Suddenly, a vision of Piko shirtless floods my mind. Oh god no, don't think like that, Gumi. Suddenly, a bright red heated blush splashes onto my cheeks as I tear away from his gaze. In attempt to hide the blush, I clasp my hands over my cheeks.
"You okay?" he asks, looking up at me through his silky silvery bangs. I quickly nod.
"I should um, go," I say suddenly, pushing myself up from the table.
"But… Gumi, your lunch!" he calls back to me as I walk straight past him. "Gumi!" he calls again, on the bridge between standing up and sitting. "Gumi…" he mumbles as I wordlessly leave the room.
What has just gotten into me? Why didn't I answer him? Gah! I probably look like an idiot right now…
But the beach does sound like a good idea…
Next up is Luka!
Eating: a NutriGrain bar
Drinking: about to be chocolate milk
Doing: Publishing, math homework
Homework: Math... it sucks.
Listening to: Nothing (Not allowed to, but whatever)
Quote time: "Oh god no, don't think like that Gumi!" - Gumi
I will see you, Seeu! *Runs away waving as scarf trails behind me in the winter air*
*Runs into the brick wall of a building*