Even Though I Loved You First

𝖣𝖾𝖼𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 23𝗋𝖽 (𝖬𝗈𝗋𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀)

~9:30 A.M.

The morning felt colder than usual, the sky was overcast with an abundant amount of clouds, and if people didn’t warm themselves, you could see them shivering due to the cold. As the sun raised not too long ago, a cold winter morning was present.

Today was the day Arisa and I promised to go out together, not only that, but we will also be exchanging presents.

Well, the latter part won’t be until tonight, though…

Autumn was already long gone, and as the morning fell, the snow was also piling up.

Due to this being a casual outing, I decided to wear a formal long-sleeved black t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, along with some beige boots.

Thanks to the absurdly cold weather that late December brought, I didn’t dare to use my usual black sweater, and instead, I went with the brown coat which I usually have inside my closet.

Then, after thoroughly brushing my teeth and getting my hair done, I went down stairs.

➹

As I arrived at our living room, I saw that my whole family was already awake.

“Morning everyone.” (Kei)

At my greetings, my family glanced at me, and did the same.

“Morning, son. Up early I see.” (Touya)

“Good morning, Kei. Breakfast will be ready in a minute.” (Kaho)

“Actually, mom. Today I don’t have time for breakfast, I’m meeting a friend in about 20 minutes so I’ll be heading out now.” (Kei)

I politely declined my mother’s breakfast offer, as I found myself in a hurry.

“Heh~ With who~?” (Karane)

Karane, who was covered in a thick blanket, asked me with a smirk.

“Hm? Arisa, why?” (Kei)

I respond nonchalantly.

“”…eh?”” (Karane & Kotone)

Karane and Kotone, the latter gracefully munching on some tea and snacks, seemed surprised.

It was odd, since both of them knew the friendly relationship I had with Arisa, due to us hanging out being a rather common occurrence.

“What ‘s wrong?” (Kei)

“N-no it’s nothing.” (Karane)

“Don’t mind us… now, off you go!” (Kotone)

“H-hah…?” (Kei)

I couldn’t wrap my head around their behavior, so I finally decided to leave the house, still feeling a little confused.

➹

Third Person POV~

*clank*

As the pair of sisters watched their beloved younger brother go, they started to talk between each other, both with curious expressions on their beautiful faces.

“Seems like Arisa finally made a proper move. To invite him a day before Christmas. How bold~” (Karane)

“You never change, do you sis?” (Kotone)

Karane was a huge fan of romance stories, that’s why she would usually be ecstatic, when she encounters a real life romance.

“But you know. I wonder if she herself knows how she feels.” (Karane)

“What do you mean?” (Kotone)

“The five of us know how she feels, it was obvious. But we also know that Arisa is oblivious to love.” (Karane)

Karane Ichinose

Kotone Ichinose

Kokoro Shiina

Hiyori Tsugumi

Seichiiro Amagi

Everyone in Arisa’s friend group knew about her feelings for Kei. If anything, at first they felt sorry for her, granted Kei was chasing Shizuka at the time.

But with the change in scenery, the play’s script went in an unexpected direction. Thanks to this, everything they could do was root for her in secret, until she herself realized her true feelings.

“My~ That’s some nice intel~!” (Kaho)

“It sure is.” (Touya)

“How long have you two been there!?” (Karane)

“”We were always here.”” (Touya & Kaho)

“Geh–” (Kotone)

At the time, they could only pray that her Christmas date would go well.

➹

~10:00 A.M.

Kei’s POV~

As I arrived at the meeting place, I found a familiar figure, standing in the entrance.

Long brown hair, a beautiful pair of rose beige eyes, and a well proportioned face. Arisa Kamihate, my best friend, was at the entrance of the main plaza.

“Kept you waiting?” (Kei)

“!? Ah, Kei. D-don’t worry about it. You are just in time.” (Arisa)

“That’s good then. Why don’t we go somewhere warmer?” (Kei)

“U-Unn.” (Arisa)

I walked side by side, with the shivering Arisa, and headed to a warmer place.

➹

We discussed, and decided to enter a cafe, since both of us will have lunch together, and since it was too early for it, we decided to grab something simple and fast.

“So, Lady Arisa. What’s our schedule today?” (Kei)

I said, holding my cup of coffee, looking as ele—

“You don’t look elegant at all. You look more like an idiot.” (Arisa)

“Tch.” (Kei)

“It’s bad manners clicking your tongue in front of a maiden like me~” (Arisa)

A sneaky comment, from a sneak devil. Nevertheless…

“Maiden? Who?” (Kei)

“Hey!” (Arisa)

“Pfftt.” (Kei)

Like this, be bantered for a while, still I decided to use our time wisely.

Probably sensing what I wanted to say, Arisa cleared her throat, and told me.

“Well to be honest, I didn’t plan much. What about window shopping for a while? It’s barely 10:30 a.m. and we planned to eat lunch at 1:00 p.m., right?” (Arisa)

“That’s mostly it.” (Kei)

“Then it’s decided!” (Arisa)

While clasping both her hands, along with her cheerful smile, Arisa said so.

We chatted for another 30 minutes, and left the coffee shop.

➹

11:00 A.M.

“It really gets crowded during this time of the year, huh?” (Arisa)

As she glanced at the amount of people that were walking throughout the plaza, Arisa, who was walking beside me, said.

“It sure does. Well, even if it is the 23rd, many people come and buy some last minute items, or just come to pass the time, with their friends as always.” (Kei)

“Heh~” (Arisa)

Still, the place was really crowded, so it could be easy to get lost.

“Be sure you don’t go astray~” (Kei)

“I’m not a child!?” (Arisa)

“Sure. Sure.” (Kei)

“I have a decent sense of direction, you know!” (Arisa)

“‘Decent’. Well, then let’s do this—” (Kei)

“Huh? Wha– Kei!?” (Arisa)

I decided to ignore Arisa’s protest, and gently wrapped my left hand on her right.

“—Now we won’t get separated. If we do, we’ll know!” (Kei)

Explaining to Arisa that holding her hand would be more efficient, I commented.

However, for some reason—

“…” (Arisa)

“Arisa?” (Kei)

—Arisa had her head down. I could also see her ears possess a tinge of red in them.

Is she feeling embarrassed?

“N-no. It’s nothing. W-well then! Let’s go!” (Arisa)

She said, as she gently pulled me by the hand. This wasn’t bad at all. On the contrary, it felt… nice…

➹

“Those clothes look nice!” (Arisa)

“They look too dim, don’t they?” (Kei)

We were window shopping, as we talked nonsense, and whenever we (or I should say, Arisa) spotted something nice, she would stare at it, with sparkling eyes.

“Oh! Then what about that coat!” (Arisa)

“Too dark.” (Kei)

“What’s with your crappy fashion style…?” (Arisa)

“Oi.” (Kei)

Arisa, who seemed displeased with my opinions, sharply glared at me while still holding my hand.

“I mean, it’s a preference you know!” (Kei)

“Preference… sure…” (Arisa)

Please stop… stop staring at me like that!

“Still. I can’t complain. You do have a sense of style after all…” (Arisa)

“Huh?” (Kei)

Confused at her words, I tilted my head. After, Arisa lowered her head, as if in embarrassment, and in a small voice said.

“…your clothes… they looked… r-really good on you…” (Arisa)

I kept quiet for a while, and then I replied back.

“Oya? Are you blushing? I wonder who’s the senior and junior here~” (Kei)

“Hey!? I-I complimented you, you moron!” (Arisa)

She instantly dissolved that shy and meekly side and quickly got irritated.

Oops… stepped on a landmine.

“I’m just teasing you, okay? Thank you. How should I put this?” (Kei)

“Your clothes also suit you. You look… beautiful, you know?” (Kei)

➹

Third Person POV~

“Your clothes also suit you. You look… beautiful, you know?” (Kei)

Arisa wore a brown turtleneck along with a black pair of jeans and some brown boots. Which further emphasized her charm.

“!?” (Arisa)

Arisa felt weird, she struggled at complimenting Kei’s appearance.

From an objective point of view, Kei was a handsome young man. He didn’t seem to notice, but during their short time spent until now, there were women who would occasionally glance and take a look at him, some even gave Arisa gazes of envy.

Which the latter felt confused about.

Now, at Kei’s praise, she felt her temperature rising, and her face getting hotter overtime.

“T-thank you.” (Arisa)

Still, she managed to utter her gratitude.

“Unn.” (Kei)

Kei smiled like it was nothing, which somehow made Arisa feel disappointed.

Leaving these thoughts aside, Arisa continued on with the day, and they both continued window shopping, until their lunch time.

➹

𝖣𝖾𝖼𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋 23𝗋𝖽 (𝖠𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗈𝗈𝗇)

~Restaurant

1:10 P.M.

Kei’s POV~

“This is really good!” (Arisa)

Arisa, who kept munching her slow-roasted beef tenderloin, said happily.

“It sure is. I wonder how they made it this tender and salty…” (Kei)

“Crap. Kei ‘s inner chef is coming out…” (Arisa)

“Don’t exaggerate…” (Kei)

‘Inner chef’? What’s that?

As I wondered at Arisa’s words while eating, we continued to lightly make small talk.

➹

“I hope spring comes around already…” (Arisa)

“Bored of the festive mood already?” (Kei)

As we finished eating and rested inside the restaurant, Arisa suddenly commented.

“It’s not that. It’s just that… Isn’t it way too cold!?” (Arisa)

“You are right. But what did you expect? To be just like spring or summer?” (Kei)

“Stop looking at me like a baby bird!” (Arisa)

I didn’t though.

“Changing topic~ The year really flew by, huh?” (Kei)

In about 8 days or so, the new year will eventually arrive. Another year which was full of surprises, and many new memories to be made. 

At least, that’s how I felt.

“It sure did! Still, there were many things I couldn’t do this year…” (Arisa)

“Like what?” (Kei)

“See a meteor shower, you know? Somehow, every time I try to go and view one, a sudden business comes into the equation! It’s like, isn’t it kind of unfair!?” (Arisa)

“Ah, I know that feeling…” (Kei)

The feeling of thoroughly planning something beforehand, only for it to crash down due to a random appointment, it hurts…

“What about you, Kei?” (Arisa)

Me, huh?

“Probably confessing to Shizuka… I mean, there’s no use crying over spilled milk… However, I at least wanted to end this once and for all…” (Kei)

“I see. Did you give up on closing things?” (Arisa)

“Not really. I mean… I’m pretty much almost over Shizuka now, that’s why it doesn’t bother me now… and even if I confessed to her and closed this, when is it a good time? Now that she has a boyfriend, wouldn’t I be like a hindrance? If this were a manga, you could call it ‘unnecessary drama’ you know?” (Kei)

Shizuka was now happy, and that was enough for me. Even if I wanted to, Shizuka would feel troubled over me, suddenly confessing to her.

“Anyway! Enough of that! Let’s enjoy ourselves today! Where do you want to go? How about the arcade for a while?” (Kei)

I decided to dispel the unnecessary sour mood that started to form, and asked Arisa where to go next.

“Unn! Sounds good! Let’s bet once again!” (Arisa)

“Again!? How much is my pride going to crumble now!?” (Kei)

I said, as I stood up and Arisa did the same. I ended up paying the bill, to which Arisa reluctantly agreed, and we left for the arcade.

Until now, the day has been a lot of fun. Unn, this is really a pleasant way to be with company!