FLOP.
I land face down into my bed, allowing the mattress to consume my entire body. As much as I tried, I couldn't pay attention to rest of the study session. It's all thanks to Himiko's comment.
Do I like Maki... that way? Being a piano freak, I haven't really thought of love that much. When I would play something romantic like Chopin nocturne in b major, op. 62 no. 1, I would just think about a classic fairy tale setting.
The dashing prince meeting a fair young maiden in the meadow. Her lovely long milk chocolate hair would be fluttering in the wind. Normally, she would put up a emotionless front in front of others but with the person she loves, her mask would break to reveal the most radiant smile. The said person would offer their hand to her and she would cautiously accept it. The person would then carefully whisk them up on their horse, ready to take them away to place just for the two of them. However, the person would notice a patch of roses on the ground and start to insist that one should be put in her hair for it matches her eye-WAIT A SECOND!
W-W-WHY AM I IMAGINING MAKI AS THE FAIR MAIDEN? IS IT BECAUSE OF HIMIKO'S COMMENT? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME? WHAT IS IT?
...
I-I need to bath to clear my thoughts.
Lifting my head, I peer over to the small shower room in my dorm. I sigh.
Maybe I should have a change of pace and go to the dormitories bath house instead. It's open to the girls today. The bath is really big as well and I could chat with the other girls to get my mind off this.
Pushing my myself off the bed, I take a deep breath.
"Alright!" I exclaim to lift my spirits. I pick up some bath supplies and head out of my dorm room. I'm sure someone will be in the bath house, so I won't bother asking any of the girls to come with.
Once done changing into simply a towel the changing room, I notice Kirigiri leaving the room.
"Hey, Kirigiri!"
As usual, she just nods and leaves. Kirigiri has sort of the same aura as Maki. It's kind of a cute au-SLAM!
I slam my face into the lockers.
STOP THINKING ABOUT MAKI, ME! THIS IS WHY I WENT HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!
With determination to forget about Maki, I dash straight through the opening of the bath house. However, right in front of my eyes, I see her. I see Maki washing herself.
"M-MAKI!" I unintentionally screech. Instantly, she snaps her neck toward me with her common death glare.
"What?" she coldly asks.
"Well-uh, I-uh, umm, didn't see you as a uhh, person who'd go to uhh bathhouse."
Why am I such fumbling mess?
"Whatever, I'm allowed to be here. If you don't like me being here, I'll leave"
"N-No! I actually would like for you to stay!" What am I saying? "I came here to chat with someone while relaxing."
Avoiding my eyes away from Maki, I clumsily plop down to the washing station next to her.
"Well talking to people is annoying, so don't expect to me to be up for a chat."
"T-That's fine. Just relaxing is good too."
I quietly sigh in relief. I don't think I could continue a conversation with my heart race this fast. Wait, why is my heart beating this fast? I just saw a girl naked in a bath house. My heart didn't beat this fast when I did this with Ibuki and Maizono. Yeah, Maki is just a girl. I'm not in love with her. I should not be affected by seeing her showering.
As I apply some soap on my body, I take a peek at Maki.
Ah. Her skin looks so soft. She's looks at lot thinner than she does with clothes. There's something mesmerizing about the milky color of her skin. Wait, there's something wrong. Bits of her skin look a tad pinker than the rest of her skin. Most of this pink is tiny thin eclipses on her arm.
"It's rude to stare."
Snapping my neck up, my eyes meet with Maki's iconic death stare.
"A-Ah! S-Sorry!" I start to fumble again. "M-Maki, were you clumsy as a kid?"
"Huh?"
"Well, it looks like you have a few scars on your arm. Or they... could... be just birthmarks." I slowly trail of when I notice Maki's posture.
Her left hand slides up her right arm to hide the bitty eclipses. Biting her lip, she pouts out a puff of melancholy.
"Yeah, something like that." she mutters.
She turns off the shower head and slowly walks over to the huge bath. Seeing her like that creates within me the desire to hug her or at least play her something soothing like Chair de Lune. Too bad we're in a bathhouse where it'd be weird to have a piano. Also, I think it would worse to hug her. Maki doesn't seem like the huggy type. Still, I should do something, anything to get rid of this tense air.
"Does this bathhouse remind you of your childhood?"
There is a long silence. All I can hear is her breathing deeply.
"...yeah, it does." Maki responds. I can see from the mirror that she is still facing away from me, but I don't mind.
"I figured. Being in a huge bath makes you feel like a kid again. I remember when I was little, I took baths with my mother. I would always be scared of getting shampoo in my eyes, but mother would remind me that she had special shampoo that would never get into good girls eyes. Heehee, I can tell that she used that to make sure I was a good girl who went to bed on time instead of playing piano till dawn."
"..." No response. However, I felt like the tension in the room had gone down. The sign is in the way Maki is playing with her long hair. Literally testing the waters, I decide it was time to join Maki in the bath.
When I slip my feet in, Maki shows no signs of protest. Actually, she looks relaxed.
"Aaaaah" I instinctively let out an exhale of joy from the heat of the water.
Maki sighs.
"We had a bath house sort of like this at my orphanage. That's why I always bathe here instead of shower in my dorm."
"Do you miss washing the little kids backs?" I ask.
...
"Well, I do miss washing with an old friend." Maki absentmindedly twirls her hair when she says that. It's like an adorable little child.
"I'm sure they do too." I chime in. Maki and I then continue chatting (well, it was mostly me talking) about random things. This ended up being more relaxing than I predicted. It just feels nice to spend time with Maki.
I guess I can't deny it anymore. I... have a crush on Maki.