Even Though I Loved You First

~Restaurant [12:00 p.m.]

“I haven’t been to this place before…” Arisa said as she looked around the establishment.

“I found this place recently, they say the food here is really worth its praise.” I looked over the menu.

The place itself was small. However, the atmosphere was calming and it didn’t feel suffocating at all, it was a great place for lunch. Normally, I wouldn’t even know of such a place if it wasn’t for Haru’s suggestion.

“Such a variety… I’m feeling indecisive already…” (Arisa)

“Haha.” (Kei)

We both spent a few minutes deciding on our orders, five minutes passed and the two of us finally made up our minds.

“I’ll have a peach and burrata salad.” (Kei)

“I’ll some chicken katsudon.” (Arisa)

“Understood.” The waitress noted our orders on a notepad, bowed and left the table, leaving me and Arisa alone.

“I’ve been having fun so far. Thanks, Kei. After we’re done eating, where are we going once we finish eating?” (Arisa)

“I thought that going to a bookstore would be nice, since the two of us enjoy reading, we could look for hidden gems.” I reasoned. “As for what we’re doing after that, it’s a secret.” (Kei)

Arisa seemed to be pleased with the idea, as I saw her smiling brightly “You know me so well, Kei!” She giggled.

“Cute.” I unintentionally said.

“C-cute…?” (Arisa)

“Ah. S-sorry, slip of the tongue…” (Kei)

Arisa looked down embarrassed and said in a meek voice, My face also began to heat up, and I could only give a flustered excuse.

♡

While we were busy getting embarrassed, the food was ready and was delivered to our table. The food looked exceptionally delicious, as expected of Haru’s recommendation.

“What do you say we taste it at the same time?” (Kei)

“Deal!” She excitedly said, as she separated a portion of her food, I did the same for mine too. Then, I began to count.

“Then, one. Two. Three.” (Kei)

““So good!”” We both said in unison, we couldn’t help but laugh together once we stared at each other. We calmed down and exchanged thoughts.

“I already had this type of salad but it tastes so good somehow…” (Kei)

“I’ve eaten chicken katsudon multiple times in my life but this one is definitely in my top three.” As she happily continued to eat, she came to a stop, she looked like she was deep in thought for a moment.

A few seconds passed and then she stared at me and said,

“Kei, want to have a portion of mine? In exchange, give me some of yours too.” She shyly asked.

“Hm? Sure, here.” I tried to hand her my spoon but at that moment.

“Ahh~” Her small mouth slightly opened. Huh? Does she… want me to feed her?! Wait… we’re in public, you know?! I thought it wasn’t a big deal at first, so I naturally gave a side-eye just to assess my situation, and I could see a few customers looking this way. It seems that they have been looking at us for some time now.

“Uhm…” I could hear a variety of mutters mixed in, most of them were adult women giving us warm gazes.

“Those two look adorable, don’t they?”

“To be young again…”

“How bold~” And such. I sighed and gave in to the temptation, I grabbed a portion of my salad using a fork and slowly closed drove it to Arisa’s smallmouth.

“nom… It’s… really good… I’m not much of a salad person but I can see myself ordering this…” She was clearly embarrassed. If you’re going to get embarrassed, why suggest it in the first place?!

“Then, Kei— Here.” She extended her spoon to me.

“Yes ma’am… nom… It’s delicious…” I covered my mouth with my hand and looked away.

“Is… t-that so…?” She looked the other way and just continued eating.

It ‘s delicious… and it’s warm…I could only think as such.

♡

“I don’t want to go to class…”

“Oi, you totally unreliable senior, get up.”

“Who are you calling a ‘totally unreliable senior’?!”

They laughed.

They cried.

And celebrated the other’s achievements as if it were their own. These two could no longer get separated, they were already a set, they just didn’t know that at the time.

♡

~Bookstore [1:20 p.m.]

“Oh! This one’s also a must-read, you know? The character development, the scenarios and even the overall message! They are all written to perfection!” (Arisa)

“Oh, I know this one. I think Kotone has a copy. Might as well ask her for it.” (Kei)

“Believe me, you have to!” (Arisa)

I’m glad she’s having fun. A gentle smile spread across my face. After we finished lunch, we went to a nearby bookstore just as promised. I was having a look around the store and I was surprised to see that there appeared to be way more couples in a place like this as I expected. Of course, just because they were a boy-girl group I didn’t call them a couple. Most of them were either holding hands as they went through the aisles filled with books or were so close that it was evident of their relationship.

A certain pair caught my eyes, however, The boy was almost my same height, he had a gentle expression and well groomed hair. The girl beside him was objectively beautiful, she had a cold demeanor complemented with her long white hair tied up in a ponytail.

“Oh, Kei! I found some more!” (Arisa)

“Oh? Let me see.” Hearing Arisa calling my name, I went to her and peeked at the book she had in hand.

“I haven’t seen this one.” I said as I stared at the book.

“You haven’t?! It’s so good though. It’s a fantasy-romance between a witch and a prince. The story is kind of bittersweet but it has its seat parts along with a happy ending! You have to read! It’s only six volumes.” She said.

“‘Only’” I stared at Arisa, noticing my stare, she tilted her head.

“Unn. Only six, what’s wrong? I mean, six volumes is nothing, you know?” I mean, Arisa has always been quite a bookworm, so it was obvious that six volumes meant nothing to her.

“I’ll give it a read when I have time. ‘The witch of the crimson moon and the cursed prince’, was it? I’ll check it out.” (Kei)

“Want me to lend you all six volumes?” (Arisa)

“You have them?” (Kei)

“Of course! I’ll give you the first two volumes on a further date! I’m not going to buy anything in particular, what about Kei?” (Arisa)
“Nothing from my side either. Want to head to a park for the time being? Let’s kill time together.” (Kei)

“‘Time being’?” She tilted her head.

“You’ll see soon enough.” I could only smile at her. We headed to the park and after the clock struck three o’clock, it was time to head to  the second to last location.

♡

“It’s all good now, though.” She smiled, “I may not have as much company right now as I had back then but… I’ve been having so much fun lately I have no time to think about it, you know?”

What she said back then wasn’t a lie. She was all good now, she didn’t feel alone.

All because she had him by her side now.

♡

~4:10 p.m.

“A… planetarium…?” She said as the next location came into view.

“Unn. I thought that you’d like a place like this. You mentioned beforehand that you were in the Astrology Club, didn’t you?” (Kei)

“You… remembered…?” Arisa stared at me with utter shock.

“Unn. Why wouldn’t I?” (Kei)

“I-I see.” (Arisa)

We made the line and waited for about thirty minutes, which wasn’t an awkward or boring moment at all. We kept the conversation going naturally and before we knew it was time to enter. Time for the show.

♡

~4:40 p.m.

The large room hosted a large amount of seats, well more like seats. They were cushions that felt like clouds, not to mention they were a ton of them. The dome-shaped ceiling gave it a free and open feeling, there was no doubt that once they called it lights off it would feel even better.

“K-Kei… are you sure about this?” (Arisa)

“Hm? Of course I ‘m sure. Wait. Could it be that Arisa is trying to do something to me?” I hugged myself mockingly and stared at Arisa.

“Like hell I would!” (Arisa)

“Then there’s no problem now, is there?” I tapped the side of the cushion which was still empty. She looked hesitant, but she silently laid down next to me.

At that moment, the lights turned off. I took advantage of the situation and grabbed Arisa’s hand.

“?!” I could feel her body jolting and due to us sharing the big cushion, with the movement I knew Arisa was staring at me. I could only continue to look at the projections.

A little time passed and Arisa calmed herself, she started whispering next to me telling me about the different constellations and stars that appeared in the projection.

I wasn’t really interested in astrology, but when Arisa was the one to explain all these things to me, I could feel myself paying more and more attention, I could feel myself becoming more interested in what she told me.

During the whole show, Arisa’s hand remained within my grasp and sometimes when I squeezed it a little, Arisa only giggled and continued her explanation.

The show lasted until about six, then we headed to a family restaurant to eat a quick dinner and the time finally came.

The time to tell Arisa my feelings.

♡

“Still… ‘Love’, huh?”

Ever since the day that Arisa met Kei, her life has been even more fun than she imagined, she was finally able to count on someone who would understand her, who would tell things the way they were, someone who would laugh along with her.

The day she fell in love with Kei Ichinose will always be the happiest day of her life.

♡

~7:30 p.m.

Third Person POV~

They ate dinner together as they talked away about their memories made on their date. The two of them grew closer than ever before, there was no turning back, it was now or never.

Before the two knew it, their date was coming to an end and as they walked side by side, they continued chatting away. However, even though on the outside not much has changed, Kei was visibly nervous.

He took a deep breath, and finally went on with it.

“Hah~ Thanks for accompanying me today, Arisa.” (Kei)

“Hm? No no, I had so much fun! We really went to many places today, didn’t we?” (Arisa)

“Haha, that’s true.” The conversation was cut short and a loud silence invaded the streets they were walking in. Due to the time of night, they were illuminated from both sides.

The moon, as if it was created solely for this moment, loomed huge, glowing a yellowish white, and was encircled by an ethereal radiance.

Five minutes passed, they visibly started to get physically closer and before they knew it, they were holding hands. However, unlike all the other times they held hands, this time their fingers were intertwined.

After a while, Kei gathered the courage,

“These past months have been… fun, you know?” (Kei)

“Really?” She said, in a sweet whisper.

“Unn. Arisa and I went to many places, I met many different people in this time span… It feels… unreal…” (Kei)

“Many things happened… yeah…” They continued to walk together. However, Kei was far from done.

“At first, I didn’t think much of our outings. Sure, they were fun. But back then I thought that they would reach their end sooner or later. Neither of the two were bounded by each other. We were our own selves. We had… different lives.” (Kei)

“…” (Arisa)

“However, the more time I spent with Arisa, the more fun I began to have. The more color I began to see… I didn’t think much about that whole ‘miracle’ thing, you know?” (Kei)

“Ugh… I’d appreciate it if you stopped bringing that up…” (Arisa)

“It was that miracle that began to make me selfish, you know?” (Kei)

“Huh? H-how so—” Arisa looked at Kei perplexed. However, once she saw Kei’s face, she stayed silent. Kei had the warm gaze of a gentleman… the warm gaze of a boy deeply in love.

“The more I knew about you… The more time I wanted to spend with you. I wanted to know more about you and I wanted to get even closer to you…” (Kei)

He continued, “Then, an even stronger feeling began to form within me… I was no longer satisfied with this friendship. I was no longer satisfied with the distance between the two of us. I wanted to make you look at me, I wanted to be the reason you smiled wholeheartedly, I wanted to have you by my side. Not as a friend, but as a lover.” (Kei)

Kei stopped in his tracks, Arisa was dumbfounded. Afterall, Kei just confessed to her… but it wasn’t the end. Kei grabbed her other hand, Arisa could only stare at Kei.

“What I mean to say is… I love you, Arisa. I really really really love you. I want to go to many more places with you, I want to spend even more time together with you… I want to walk down whatever path with you besides me.” He warmly gazed at his hands which were holding Arisa’s.

It was a tight grip, as if he didn’t want to let go. As if… she’ll disappear if he were to let go. He then faced Arisa once again and said the words.

“I’m deeply in love with you, Arisa. I want to make even more memories with you from now on. So… I want you to go out with me. If you’ll have me, I want you to be my girlfriend.” He finally did it.

Now, everything that was left was for Arisa to respond. He could see Arisa’s facial expressions go through many changes rapidly. But ultimately, her beautiful face ended in a smile, a genuine smile that Arisa could’ve never seen herself with before she met all these people she deeply cherished.

“Ever since we began to hang out. I’ve also had so much fun. Just as you said, Kei. There was a point where I was no longer satisfied with this relationship as well.” (Arisa)

They were strangers, they didn’t even know about each other’s existence.

“I love you, Kei. I’m madly in love with you. No matter what side of you it is, I love each and every bit of it. If you’re fine with someone like me… then please, go out with me,” She lovingly gazed at Kei.

They got acquainted through Kei’s sisters. They were simply a ‘best friends’ younger brother’ and an ‘older sisters’ best friend.

Immediately, Kei broke into a big smile.

“Yes! I’ll be in your care!” (Kei)

“Fufu~ Likewise~ Oh? What could that be?” (Arisa)

After a chain of events, the two of them became friends and knew more about each other. It took a little tragedy later to eventually turn them into best friends.

“It’s… a gift I bought for you. Something I wanted to give you, when you accepted my confession.” He opened the small box which revealed a sunflower hairpin, a beautiful hairpin which clearly fits Arisa’s long brown hair.

“Can I?” (Kei)

“Go ahead.” Kei brushed aside her hair, and after a little while, the hairpin was successful in its respective place.

“How do I look?” Arisa said with a smile.

“Absolutely beautiful.” Responded Kei without hesitation.

Arisa giggled, at her now-boyfriend’s immediate response. “Thanks.” She said

They stared at each other’s eyes for a long while, seconds passed and Kei spoke up, he wanted to seal the deal.

Kei brought his right hand to Arisa’s cheek and softly stroked it. He gazed into her rose-beige eyes and asked her, 

“May… I?” (Kei)

Arisa seemed to need a moment to calm down, after a while, she finally spoke. Making her true feelings known.

“I’ve… been waiting for you… you know?” She chuckled to hide her embarrassment.

“Then…” (Kei)

Now… After many ups and downs, the two confessed their feelings, and the two grew closer than ever before.

Twelve centimeters.

Eight centimeters.

Five centimeters.

Two centimeters.

One centimeter.

And finally…

““Nhn.”” (Kei & Arisa)

As Kei brought his face closer to Arisa, they shared their first kiss as a couple. The amount of sweetness the two tasted and the amount of happiness that they felt overflowing their bodies wasn’t something that could be described.

 Kei’s girlfriend was a year older than him, she was mature and reliable like an older sister. However, when something caught her eye, she was enthusiastic and whenever she got embarrassed, she was the cutest girl on earth.

Arisa’s boyfriend was a year younger than her, he was calm and loving, he was the spitting image of a gentleman. However, he was also a human being and was quite sensible. He was understanding and whenever he was vulnerable, he was the best thing she could even wish for.

No matter what difficulties lie ahead for them, as long as they know how to act accordingly and as long as the two stay with each other, everything will be fine.

They will continue to get closer and closer— from now on.

Story Arc 6: Confess Before The Gave Strikes [END]

Volume 2 [END]