"Heya, Bocchi-chan!" Nijika-chan waves to me, descending the stairs of STARRY.
"O-Oh," I mutter, eyeing her as she places her backpack atop one of the tables and walks toward me. "Hi, Nijika-chan."
She steps beside me and takes a seat in the chair. "How are you?" she asks, leaning forward. I look at her hands cupped together resting on the table instead of meeting her eyes.
"I-I'm alright," I respond. I sit on top of my hands, keeping my face down low. I watch as she swings her legs back and forth. "What about you?"
"I'm doing great, thanks!" she responds cheerfully. She pushes her chair out of the table and turns to face me, hands in her lap now. "Kinda tired from school, though, ehehe, but it's not that bad! Today was a pretty slow day."
"Oh, th-that's nice," I say plainly. What else am I supposed to say?! I don't know how to keep conversations going!
A wave of silence follows, and Nijika-chan stops her movement. This is getting even more awkward. I start sinking into my chair, my back slouching even more.
Nijika-chan doesn't seem to say anything else, and instead, she stands up from her chair and says, "We should probably get to work now!"
She spreads her arms out in the air and walks over to the bar. I follow suit behind her as I get out of my own seat sluggishly. I feel so lazy today, I don't wanna work.
"Come on, Bocchi-chan!" Nijika-chan waves towards me. Why is she so peppy today? Did something happen?
Or, well, I guess she's always been like this, right? Maybe... maybe I'm the one who's acting different today. I shrug off the thought and try my best to get through the day of work.
Nijika-chan waits for me at the counter again, and I meet her eyes, to which she responds with a patient smile. Something about it makes this dreadful day more bearable.
If Nijika-chan's here, maybe it won't be too bad.
"Bocchi-chan!" Nijika-chan calls to me from the top of the stairs of STARRY. "Come up here!"
I get myself to walk up the stairs and wave to her weakly. "Hi, Nijika-chan."
"Heya!" She giggles. "Wanna come over for dinner?" She links her hands behind her back, eyeing me expectantly, that same smile from earlier still present.
Dinner? At her house? Why would she- Wait, right now?!
"I- Uh, Um- W-Well," I try to spit any coherent sentence out, but I just don't know what to say!
"Onee-chan's going out for anniversary dinner with her old bandmates," she explains, "and I don't wanna eat alone." She looks down and kicks the dirt off the concrete sheepishly.
Oh, she doesn't want to be alone.
That's right, she usually just eats dinner with her sister. It's only the two of them at their apartment. I totally forgot. Sometimes, I'm still under the assumption that Nijika-chan just lives with her parents and her sister, but really, she's...
Gosh, now that I think about it, it really is sad! Why didn't I think about this before? I'm a bad friend!
I know I should, but going to someone else's house for the first time? That's not something I can just do! I would need at least a week to prepare!
I look at Nijika-chan, who's still waiting for my answer. Oh, right, I have to give her an answer.
It's Nijika-chan, right? It shouldn't be too bad.
She opens her mouth to speak after a beat of silence. "You don't have to if you don't-"
"Yes," I say mindlessly.
Oops. I accidentally interrupted her! Gosh, that's so embarrassing!
"A-Ah, sorry!" I say. "I-I was just, uh, you know, saying yes b-because you, um- I-"
"Hehe, it's okay. I get it, Bocchi-chan," she tells me before I can go into another spiral.
I sigh in relief as my shoulders relax. Whew, I'm glad she's not mad about that.
Looking back at Nijika-chan, I wait for some kind of cue for us to go to her house, but we just stand in the cold night together, not really saying anything.
"Ah, so, um," I try saying something, which makes Nijika-chan come back from an empty, blank stare, "sh-should we go to your house?"
"Hm?" She turns to face where her house is. "Oh, yeah! Let's go, Bocchi-chan!" She cheers, and she marches her way toward the stairs leading to her apartment.
I look up at her house and take a deep breath. I honestly don't know why I didn't think this through enough before agreeing. This might really be the death of me now.
I start walking behind her to catch up. She waits for me at the steps, looking back. I feel a soft smile take over my face.
But, knowing Nijika-chan... maybe it won't be so bad.