Even Though I Loved You First

~Saturday [9:00 a.m.]

Third Person POV~

“My hair’s done… clothes seem to be okay… where did I place my watch?! Ah!” (Kei)

The morning sunlight was filtering through the half-opened curtains, and inside a bedroom which had been gathering way more personality as of late; a black-haired boy went in circled with a clear hint of nervousness.

At the same time, sitting on his bed, two violet-haired beauties looked at him with a wry smile as they sensed their younger brother’s feelings of uneasiness.

“I’ve seen my clothes for seven times now… Sis~! I don’t look weird, do I?!” Kei turned around and asked.

“Calm down. You’re looking handsome, Kei. There’s no doubt about that.” His older sister Kotone reassured him with a motherly smile.

Kei wore a pair of black jeans, along with a black collared shirt underneath a brown coat. His hair was neatly styled to one side, anyone who saw Kei in such attire wouldn’t be able to doubt Kei’s great looks.

“Now then. You’ll be late if you keep worrying.” Karane patted her brother on the shoulder.

“Right! Well then… uhm… I’m off!” Kei waved as he left his bedroom.

““Good luck! Take care!”” (Karane & Kotone)

The twins smiled as they watched their brother go from his room’s door frame.

♡

~Train Station [9:50 a.m.]

Kei’s POV~

Is my hair okay?

My clothes don’t look weird, do they? I’ve been here on the station waiting restlessly for the time of our meet-up.

I’m…really confessing today…I thought to myself. Thinking back, a lot of things had happened. I’ve come a long way and I can proudly say that I’ve changed as a person, I’ve grown more… mature.

Back when Arisa first reached out to me, I never expected for things to end like this, I thought that it would just be a one-time thing and that’s it.

“Kei? Y-you’re here early… Wait… Am I late?!” (Arisa)

Hearing Arisa’s voice, I reassured her as I turned around at the same time.

“No, don’t worry. I just happened to arrive e—” Once I landed eyes on Arisa, I froze.

“K-Kei?” (Arisa)

Arisa wore a brown turtle-neck along with a black skirt, her hair was kept straight, which was a sight I was accustomed to. However, she looked so dazzling that words couldn’t leave my mouth.

“I knew it looked weird on me…” (Arisa)

“Huh? What are you talking about? I mean, they don’t look weird at all, you know?” (Kei)

“You didn’t say a word, so I thought…” (Arisa)

“I mean, can you blame me? Anyone will be left speechless if such a stunning beauty were to appear in front of them. You look really beautiful, Arisa. Those clothes suit you.” I said.

There was no way I’ll be lying, Arisa looked stunningly beautiful, so much that there was the occasional bypasser that wanted to steal a glance at her.

“H-huh? Is… that so?” Arisa faced down.

“Unn. You look really beautiful.” (Kei)

“Stop! Please no more!” (Arisa)

“Oh? Could Arisa be embarrassed?” I teased.

“No, I’m not! Anyhow, let’s go, shall we?” She started walking.

“Sure~” Seeing Arisa way more nervous than I was, I felt my heart calming down significantly.

Finally, the date began.

♡

“So… Kei Ichinose… will you let me… Arisa Kamihate—”

—Be your miracle?

These words changed the course of their futures, from that day on, both of them were already bound by the red string of fate.

♡

“So, Kei. Where are we going first?” Arisa asked me.

“You see, I have many places in mind. For now, what do you say we head to the mall and go window shopping? After that, we can head over to the arcade until lunch time.” (Kei)

“Oh! I’m in! Let me show you who’s the senior here!” She beamed.

That has always been you, right?! Oh god… I think I’ll end up adding one more thing to my trauma list. I braced myself for what’s to come and headed with Arisa to the mall.

♡

~10:10 a.m.

As we looked around the mall,  we saw through the exhibits of various clothing stores that were showcasing their outfits for the spring season.

“Hey… Arisa.” (Kei)

“Hm? What ‘s up?” (Arisa)

“Wanna go into that clothing store and try some outfits on?” I could feel myself grinning like an idiot.

I want to see Arisa in all kinds of outfits! My objective was as such.

“Don’t wanna.” She started to walk away.

“Wait~! Please~ We’re on a date so that much is natural, right?” If she doesn’t yield, I’ll have no choice but to use the puppy eyes!

She pondered for a second, I could see her face gradually heat and once she turned to me once again, she said,

“…under one condition…” (Arisa)

“Oya? What could it be?!” (Kei)

“I want to see you in different outfits, too.” (Arisa)

“…eh?” A brief silence fell upon us, then she flusteredly added.

“I-it’s embarrassing, you know?! S-so… I can’t be the only one! Anyways, that’s my condition. Or what, are you too embarra—” (Arisa)

“Deal.” (Kei)

“—ain’t that way too fast?!” Arisa retorted.

The reason I felt silent wasn’t because I was embarrassed, it was simply because I couldn’t believe her condition was that simple. To be honest, modeling for Arisa doesn’t seem that bad…

Not to mention, even if I were embarrassed about it, seeing her in all kinds of clothes will be a fine reward for my sacrifice.

“Then, let ‘s go!” I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the clothing store.

♡

~Mall [Clothing Store]

10:35 a.m.

“Alright now, try this one next!” I picked up another set of clothes from her and handed it to Arisa.

“Ugh… I’ll make you pay…” Arisa shyly entered the fitting room again. Once she was changing, the clerk who offered her assistance turned to me with a smile.

“You have a beautiful girlfriend, sir.”

“She’s… not my girlfriend yet…” Then, in a low voice that only the clerk could hear, I said, “I’m planning on confessing at the end of the day, you see…” (Kei)

“Oh~ I see. I wish you the best of luck.” The clerk smiled, soon after, Arisa was done changing and left the clothing room.

She was wearing a pair of jeans, along with a gray coat over a white shirt. She had the appearance of a young and energetic girl.

Some of the previous outfits made her look in many types of ways, some made her look like a college student, while others made her look like a young newlywed housewife.

“So? What do you think of this one—” (Arisa)

“Suits you. It really suits you!” (Kei)

“—Fast?!” She quickly blushed. I could visibly see her taking a deep breath before proceeding. “Now then, it’s your turn!” She pointed at me.

What’s with her smug expression?

I helplessly raised both my hands up and said, “Alright, your highness.” To which Arisa only chuckled. I could easily feel the clerk’s warm gaze as the two of us bantered.

Now, it was my turn to try out some outfits.

♡

“The Kei who attentively listens to me, the Kei who gets competitive over many of the arcade games we find. Even the Kei who cries and vents his insecurities. I want to see the real you, the one who smiles genuinely. Can you do that for me?”

As someone who previously hid her true self, as someone who never really had someone she could trust until a certain girl approached her, she wanted to know the true nature of the boy she loved.

She wanted to be able to proudly say just how close the two are, that’s why, the bond between these two may be one of the strongest out there.

♡

~Mall [Arcade]

10:55 a.m.

After trying on a variety of outfits chosen by Arisa, we decided to buy one set of clothes each and headed to our next destination: The arcade.

“So~ What should we play? A racing game? A shooter? Or will you prefer a dance-off? Either way I may utterly crush you,” She smiled.

How could someone look so cute while threatening someone else? I wondered.

“We have an hour before lunch, so… How about a racing game and then a shooter? We can also visit the claw machine on our way out~ I saw you staring intently at a plushie before~” (Kei)

“~?! A-a racing game it is! Come on now!” She stormed towards the spot where they were located. I could only helplessly chuckle as I followed behind her.

♡

“…how…? I thought I got you this time, though?!” (Kei)

“Now, now. At least you were close. Look, it went better than last time!” (Arisa)

“I don’t want to hear that from a totally unreliable senior!” (Kei)

“Y-you…! I thought you finally dropped that nickname! I thought I was doing a good job at being reliable!” (Arisa)

A brief silence fell but seconds later the two of us burst out laughing.

“Then, the next one is a shooter, right?” (Arisa)

Arisa walked beside me as we headed to the next arcade machine.

“Unn. Unlike our racing match, I swear I’ll beat you this time!” (Kei)

“Heh~ Listen little junior of mine, sometimes it’s better to admit you’re inferior. At the end of the day, a disciple can hardly surpass its master!” She puffed out her chest as she grabbed my shoulder with a proud smile.

“Oi. What’s that smug look for?!” (Kei)

♡

“One of your charms is that, even though you’re quite the eye candy to look at, you still feel human. Most good looking people use their looks as an excuse to look down on others and even though some of them don’t, and even though they’re quite nice to many, they won’t care about others feelings as much as you do.”

The two of them had complete trust in each other. They no longer cared about the eyes of others, as long as they knew that the other didn’t hate them, that was everything they could ask for.

♡

“How?!” I lamented once again. Honestly, why is she so good at this…?

“To be fair, I beat you by two points. You were almost there. Cheer up?” (Arisa)

“Why was that a question?!” (Kei)

Arisa was looking completely smug in contrast to me, who was completely embarrassed. Even after all that big talk I could only narrow the score to a ‘8-7’.

Arisa and I realized that it was almost time for our lunch, so we proceeded to leave the arcade. Of course, after making one last stop.

“Hm. The position is quite a difficult one…” (Kei)

“As I said… you don’t really have to—” (Arisa)

“No can’t do. I have to give you at least something for the date.” I replied. Well… something apart from that.

“—I already had the clothes, though…” She said, clearly giving up.

I played around with the claw machine a little, at first it kept falling out, or I wasn’t able to properly grab it. However, after about four tries, I finally managed to grab the plushie.

The plushie itself was a little teddy bear with a cat-themed onesie, with the ears and tail clearly visible. “Here you go,” I handed the plushie to Arisa as I took it out the prize hole.

“T-thank you…” Arisa hugged the plushie, with a little blush across her face.

“Then, shall we go?” I extended my hand for Arisa to grab. With a little hesitation, she grabbed my hand and positioned herself beside me. After gripping tightly her hand, we walked side by side towards our restaurant.

In times like this, I clearly forget that she’s older than me. I chuckled to myself, as we walked side by side while our shoulders aligned, due to our similarity in height.