Chapter 47:

Stalker

Ana looked in the mirror and lightly touched her lips. She blushed. Ahhh. She dropped to the floor and groaned loudly. I can't believe I demanded that! Ahhh. It had only been one night since her date that ended in a kiss. Currently, she was having a panic attack after waking up and remembering her boldness from the night before. Why did I demand that! Then I told him it sucked… Was I any better? She kicked her feet in the air, frustrated, before plopping to the ground. Her phone rang, not giving her any more time to stew on it.

She practically ran to grab her phone and answered, "H-hello?"

"How was the date yesterday, Ana-chan?" Sanae's voice came out the other end.

Ana let out a sigh. "It was fine."

There was a pause. "Where you expecting someone else to call you?"

"Um, no." Ana quickly denied it, making her look even more suspicious.

"Hmmm. So, how far did you get?" Sanae snickered on the other end.

Ana's face heated up. "I… We kissed."

There was a squeal on the other end and Ana had to pull the phone away from her ear until her friend calmed down.

When Sanae finally finished, she asked, "So, how was it?"

Ana paused this time. "It was… fine?"

"Why do you sound like you're asking me? Was it really that bad? Oh, wait. Is Kaiba-san a horrible kisser? Is he the type of person that likes to jam his tongue into your mouth?"

"What? No! Nothing like that. It was just… very normal."

Sanae ticked her tongue against her teeth, sounding disappointed. "Well, then it just sounds like you two need to practice more."

Ana's ears grew warm. Practice? It had been hard enough to do that first one… I wasn't really planning on trying it again any time soon.

"Stop teasing me. Did you only call to ask about my date?" Ana huffed at her.

"No. I think I have a stalker."

Ana froze. It hadn't happened as often, but a few people had stalked Sanae as well, just for being Ana's friend.

"Who? When? Did you report it, yet?" Ana drilled her friend with questions.

"Well… Normally I would have reported it, but this time I don't think it has anything to do with you." Sanae sounded unsure.

"That doesn't matter. No one should stalk you regardless of why their doing it." Ana was already planning a counterattack in her head on how to make this person pay.

"Yeah… except, this stalker only seems to be in elementary school." Sanae let out a sigh.

"Huh?"

"A little pink haired girl keeps following me whenever I go to do my volunteer work. I've never seen her before. I think she might be one of the elderly resident's grandchildren, but I'm not sure."

"Oh, that is very odd." Ana's plans in her head shattered. That's not a type of stalker I know how to deal with.

"Since she's just a child, I've been ignoring her, but last time she followed me from the building and almost got run over in traffic. I'm afraid if she keeps following me that she's going to get herself hurt." Sanae sounded concerned.

"It sounds like you need to confront her or maybe her guardian."

"Yeah, I've tried, but I can't catch her. She runs away too quickly. On that note, could you come with me to the center today and help me catch her?" Sanae asked.

"Sure, I had nothing planned today yet, and I'm curious what this is all about." Ana agreed. After they set up the time to meet in front of the bus stop, she got ready for the day.

As she was getting ready, a text came in from Seto asking her if she wanted to go out to eat. She blushed when she thought of last night, but quickly put it out of her mind and told him that she had something to do with Sanae. He didn't respond again after her rejection. Is he mopping? Ana finished getting ready and headed to the nearest bus stop that was halfway in between her house and Sanae's. Her friend was already there, waiting.

"Thanks for coming. I'm so glad you were able to pry yourself away from your boyfriend." Sanae poked her arm and grinned. Ana pinched hers in retaliation. "Ow."

The bus pulled up and they boarded. It didn't take them long to get to Sunny Homes Retirement home. When they entered, Ana noticed a man sitting in a wheelchair staring off into space. When he saw her looking, he smiled. Ana smiled back but felt saddened by the encounter. It didn't seem like he had any visitors. Sanae finished checking them in and they headed further inside the building.

"Sanae-chan, I didn't know you were coming today." A woman in her mid-forties looked up from a resident and smiled at her. "You've brought a friend, too."

"This is Sakurai Ana. She's here to help today." Sanae smiled pleasantly. "Ana-chan, this is director Ohno Kino."

Ana raised an eyebrow at her friend but said nothing. Instead, she bowed politely to the older woman. Ohno seemed excited about the additional worker.

"That's wonderful, I'll get you an apron." Just then another worker called out to Ohno from a hall saying they needed her approval for something. She sighed. "Well, Sanae-chan, can you get her an apron and show her the ropes?"

"Of course." Sanae led Ana to a small closet and got her an apron.

"I don't remember agreeing to volunteer?" Ana pursed her lips.

"Well, since we don't really have anyone specific to visit, I thought it would look kind of weird if we just wondered around."

"I guess… but tell me next time." Ana frowned at her friend, who grinned bashfully.

They spent the next couple hours cleaning around the home and helping deliver meals to the residents. It didn't take long for Ana to notice a small pink haired girl glaring at them from around a corner. Ana pretended to ignore her and slowly made her way down the hallway with a bag of trash. Sanae caught up listening to a resident's story and didn't notice. The small pink haired girl didn't take her eyes off Sanae. She kept glaring evilly.

Ana passed her by, pretending to be taking the trash outside, but turned around and walked up behind the girl. "And you are?"

The girl spun around, surprised, and looked up at her mouth agape. She quickly recovered and put her hands on her hips. The girl was wearing a pretty fluffy pink dress with pink slippers. She looked to be about eight.

"That's none of your business," the girl snapped at her.

"Oh, it's not? Even though you're spying on my friend." Ana's eyes narrowed and the girl flinched.

"Sakura, is everything ok?"

Ana turned around and to her surprise found the pink-haired freshman boy that had tried to talk to her and Sanae on the last day before summer break. He looked just as shocked to see her.

"Onii-san, this person is bullying me!" The girl ran to the older boy and hid behind him.

"Eh?" Ana and the boy said in unison.

"All I did was ask her who she is and why she kept staring at my friend." Ana's grip tightened on the bag in her hand.

The boy looked between Ana and the little girl then let out a loud sigh as he looked at his sister, disappointed. The little girl seemed to realize that her brother believed Ana over her.

"You think I'm lying!" She backed up from him and stopped her foot.

"Sakura, you are lying." The pink-haired boy seemed annoyed. He turned to Ana and bowed. "I'm sorry about my sister."

"It's fine, as long as she stops following my friend around," Ana replied.

The pink-haired boy looked confused until Sanae came around the corner looking for Ana. His reaction was immediate. His entire face turned the same color as his hair, and his gaze dropped to the ground. Ana looked from Sanae to the pink-haired boy. The little girl also seemed to notice her brother's look and puffed up her cheeks in irritation. Oh, so that's what's going on.

"Oh, you're from school," Sanae said casually, not noticing the pink-haired boy's reaction. She glanced at the little girl, who was glaring at her, and frowned. "What's your name?"

"A-Asao…" He didn't give his last name.

"Oh, ok. Asao-kun. I'm Watanabe Sanae and this is Sakurai Ana." Sanae introduced them. She smiled at him, but Ana could tell she was forcing it. "I've been seeing your sister around lately. Was there something either of you needed from me?"

Asao blushed and shook his head. Sakura, on the other hand, was glaring at Sanae from behind her brother. The little girl stuck her tongue out at Sanae when they made eye contact. I think I understand now. Asao likes Sanae, but the little sister doesn't like her. Ana looked at her friend and wondered if she'd figure it out. I guess I can mention it later. Anyway, this Asao looks a little familiar…. And not just from seeing him that one time at school. I can't place it though. Where have I seen him from? Ana eyed the boy. Today he wasn't wearing his large glasses and she could see his green eyes clearly. He had a nice, symmetrical face and seemed decently fit. The clothes he was wearing accentuated his figure, and he seemed almost like he could model for a catalogue, except for his lack of height. He looks a lot nicer than when he was at school.

Sanae opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and frowned before answering, "Hello?"

There was silence as Sanae listened to the other person on the phone. Ana watched her friend's face turn pale. Shakely, Sanae hung up.

Sanae stared at her phone, but didn't move. "I… I need to go. My dad was in a wreck."

Author Note: Hi all! I'm back 😊 Did ya miss me? My book has mostly launched now. So, I'll be back to regular updates. Enjoy!