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“Cheers, guys!”
An lifted up the invisible glass in her grip, eager grin inviting Kohane, Akito, and Toya to do the same. Instead of the soundless clink of four glasses uniting came Kohane’s giggling, a soft laugh from Toya, and a snort from Akito.
Much like condensation sliding down a beverage, sweat slid off the shiny faces of the four as they trailed away from that day’s event venue. The sun had long set, yet the fire that had been injected into Vivid Street was very much alive. Music weaved its way through the alleyways, danced in intersections, and trickled out of buildings.
And I bet it's thanks to today’s performance! Although exhausted, An could look at their recent event only with fondness, satisfaction, and a desire to do it all over again. But before that… food. Hand over her stomach, she turned to her teammates. “Anyone wanna grab a bite to eat?”
Sheepish expressions were painted on both Kohane and Toya’s faces. “Sorry, An-chan. I need to study for tomorrow’s test.” How Kohane found the energy to sing, and then work her brain, continued to amaze An.
Beside the hamster, the two-toned boy nodded assent. “The same goes for me. And I believe the same can be said for Akito and you…am I wrong?”
A jolt. A shift of the eyes. The two below-average students engaged in their nervous habits: Akito cupped a hand on the back of his neck, An fiddled with her hair as though twirling black spaghetti. Yet both could only sigh, as Toya’s stern gaze showed no sign of easing in strength.
“Ok…I’ll study…maybe…in class…tomorrow…ok. TONIGHT!" An sighed in relief as Toya finally stood back, satiated by her response at last. He fixed a cold yet searing gaze on Akito, until the carrot head reluctantly nodded.
“Same, I guess. No promises though. Anyways, I bet I’d get a better score than a certain SOMEONE even if I didn’t study.”
An spun on her heels, whipping around to face Akito’s smug expression. “OH? Those are fighting words, mister.”
He merely gritted his teeth back. “I am aware, miss .”
“Oh, you two…” Kohane stepped between the two’s drawn fists, hands splayed out protectively. “Less betting, more studying, I think. You two’ll do great if you try!” Her words drew an approving nod from Toya, of whom she stepped back to. “Well, this is where we’ll be off~ great work today, everyone!”
With clear hesitation, Akito and An lowered their fighting stances. The two waved off Kohane and Toya, hands flapping in the evening breeze until sore. Once the two silhouettes were mere dots against the scenery, Akito and An were forced to consider the question, that being: to study, or not to study.
To call the deliberation a question, however, was generous. For there was only one answer in Akito and An’s mind. An answer which, sadly, would earn no points from Kohane or Toya.
Yet the question wasn’t the only conundrum the two pondered upon. An, pretending to fix her hair clips, debated with her feelings. Should I invite him to eat? His stomach did growl not long ago. He tried to hide it, though. Hmmmm….why doesn’t he ask ME then? Does he wanna eat at home or something? Well, I’ll ask, just to be safe - we do have a discount at the cafe, anyways. Yeah!
Yet as she turned, courage mustered, she found Akito, eyebrows knitted in clear irritation, in a state of deep thought.
Oh…maybe he’s not feeling well?
“Uhhh…” she started. “You ok, Akito?”
The ginger blinked rapidly, evidently caught off-guard. “Oh- oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just lost in thought.” He paused, lips slightly parting as though to utter something, only to puff out a sigh. “I guess I’ll head home, then.”
Ah.
An smudged out the pout that emerged on her face, smearing a smile in its place. “Oh, sounds good then! I guess I’ll study…so I can beat a certain SOMEONE.” She let her hands fall from her hair clips, flashing Akito a cheeky peace sign.
“As if THAT’ll happen.” An’s declaration of war, at least, seemed to have Akito looking more like his usual self. He laughed, the sound a treasure. “We’ll see about that.”
The gap between their feet widened as they broke off from one another. Akito raised a hand in goodbye. An did the same, allowing her smile to fade as his presence did the same.
Argh…oh well!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argh…damnit.
Akito squished the round pillow in his grip. The fluff was flung, landing on the ground. As though a ball, he began to dribble the object, wincing as his foot caught on the end of his bookshelf, or more accurately, CD shelf, following a misstep.
Haaaaaaaaaa…
Akito wrestled with the pillow and his thoughts as he slumped onto his bed. The event was a success. He'd been in sync with the others. And yet his feelings weren’t that of anxiety towards the test, speeding towards him like a jet plane. Rather, the image of An, slender fingers wrestling with her plastic hairclips, maintained its spot at the front of his memory.
Flaking out like that…She was hungry and everything, damn it.
Frustration had him mussing up his orange hair. Or, ‘Carrot-y’, as An often irritatingly said. The thought of her teases had him grinning, easing the nervous energy that threatened to boil over.
One exhale later, and Akito felt ready to get started on studying. Now, whether or not the studying would go anywhere, be even remotely productive, or not devolve into him singing instead of learning something, was entirely ambiguous. I can at least try, though. Until I get bored.
And boredom was right around the corner, as Akito’s phone pinged in time with the screech of his chair, towards his desk. He guilty eyed his textbooks. Bit his lip.
The phone sprung to life with his touch, light pouring out of the screen. The one message had turned into four within a blink of an eye. And that can only mean…
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Text Log:
Tomato: nice work today!!!!
Tomato: that was a great esvet
Tomato: *event
Tomato: hey are you actually studyign
Tomato: i looked outside and theres no blue moon so theres no way you are
Tomato: I KNOW YOUR ONLINE
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A stamp popped up. A hamster, with their tongue sticking out, bead-like eyes squinted. This thing supposed to be angry? The animal looked more cute than anything. Akito flipped his textbooks closed, spinning his chair around to rest his legs on the table. His thumbs were readied to respond.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomato: hellllooooooo you leaving me on read
Tomato: ???????
Akito: no
Akito: im not
Akito: and yes I was studying
Akito: for two minutes
Tomato: lierrr
Tomato: it was less than that wasnt it?
Akito: damn
Akito: u spying on my house?
Tomato: as if
Tomato: never going there agian
Tomato: got a heart attack jsut ringging the doorbell
Akito: wish i had seen that
Akito: so? u studying?
Akito: miss ‘will get a higher score’?
Tomato: HEY YOU STARTED THAT
Tomato: I studied for a whole 10 minutes
Tomato: sounds like SOMEONE neds to step up there game
Akito: damnit
Akito: but ur the one messaging me
Akito: sounds like someone needs to improve their focus
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akito watched as An paused in her typing. Probably to curse me, huh. He snickered at the thought of her face scrunching up in anger. Akito used the opportunity to stretch, feeling the giddy sensation that often accompanied his exchanges with An via text.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grrr…this guy!
An’s feet had become jackhammers, pounding into the down of her bed. She glowered at the phone in her outstretched grip: she could almost picture Akito’s smug, nonchalant, and very punch-able face at the sight of his cheeky messages. Which only increased in number as she measured her next move in the conversation.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carrot Head: yo, u fall asleep?
Carrot Head: its late. dont stay up too long
An: yes yes, mother
Carrot Head: the hell you calling mother?
Carrot Head: id cry if my kid was as cheeky as u
An: its SARCASM
An: ever heard of it
Carrot Head: no
Carrot Head: tjat’s sarcasm
Carrot Head: if u couldnt tell
An: haha very funny
An: my batterys almost dead
An: i just wanted to talk for some reason
Carrot Head: thats the ‘procastination’ talking
Carrot Head: but i get ya
Carrot Head: these chats arent bad
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although far from a modern day Shakespeare, Akito once again showcased his skill at tugging on An’s heartstrings with mere sentences.
Her pillows received yet another bout of abuse, her arms wrapped around one as she rolled across the bed. Yet her release of the nervous energy building in her was by no means quiet. And then came a voice, the real owner of the ‘mother’ title that An had shifted to Akito mere moments before.
“Annnnnnn~ are you studying in there?”
A new record formed: it only took An ten seconds to appear as though she had been studying for the past half hour. Fitted in her chair, pencil in hand, she raised her voice to give a hopefully convincing reply. “Yep! Going great in here, Mom!”
Footsteps approached, yet seemed to go no further than the hallway. “I’d hope so. It’s time for lights out, so wrap up for today!”
Crap! I haven’t responded to Akito yet- An had to think, and fast. And she was only adept in the latter. She stretched herself from her chair. “But Mommmmm~ I’m- almost done with this question! I’ll be done in - one minute!”
She received an unconvinced chuckle. “Why, how diligent of you…well, I’ll wait then. Only one minute.”
An tittered back a hasty thank you, all while silently moving her chair back to where her phone was. She snatched up the object, fingers moving quickly as she attempted to wrap up the conversation.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carrot Head: did you die
Carrot Head: or asleep?
Carrot Head: well gn then
Carrot Head: good luck on the test
Carrot Head: u rlly need it
An: NOT asleep
An: and I msot sdafeteintly dnt need toyur well wishes
An: can u read that
Carrot Head: barely
Carrot Head: impressive typos, even from you
An: oh shut up
An: monosyllable punk
Carrot Head: woah
Carrot Head: thats a big word
Carrot Head: toya tell you it?
An: no i read it in my textbook
An: youd know if you ACTUALLY STUDYIED
Carrot Head: smart aleck
Carrot Head: lets see if u live up to your braggin
An: im excited to see you cry lol
An: OH CRPA
An: sorry its already been a minute
An: i gg
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A flood of messages followed. An’s mother knocked on the door, slowly, rhythmically and terrifyingly. “Finished the problem yet, sweetie?”
“ALMOST!”
An’s head snapped to the door in an owl-like motion as she flipped open the Stickers tab. She hurriedly scanned the list, fingers fumbling towards the hamster ‘good night!’ stamp, which she commonly used.
“An?”
An’s shoulders jolted at the sound, and so did her touch, as she pressed down on a sticker. She powered off her phone, the light dying as quickly as her fear. Phew …
With haste, An shut the faces of her textbooks, and pulled her hair into two messy buns. She unlatched her door and met the face of her mother, who was in the middle of a yawn.
“Done! I’m gonna ace the test!”
Her mother’s bleary eyes crinkled as she smiled. “I’m sure you will. Good night, An.”
“Good night, Mom!” The door closed quietly, the sound a stark contrast to An’s pounding heartbeat.
The lies had been told. The lights had been shut. And the residents of the house retired to their beds. All bar one, who had submerged herself into her blankets, wishing to never come up again. Not until the test was long done with, anyways.
I should have written my will instead of writing to Akito…
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A droplet of sweat slid down Akito’s skin.
The orb fell, splattering against the screen he held in his shaky grip. He brushed the water away, regaining a degree of his senses.
What
the
hell.
The expletive was directed to a sticker. And not just any sticker - the sticker following An’s rapid fire messages. And the reason for the heart drumming fast against his chest.
After some time passed, Akito’s quavery fingers attempted to string together a batch of responses. He lifted his strained face from the screen, raising his head to the ceiling fan overhead. The blades spun, unperturbed by the sudden declaration from An.
His fingers lingered on the screen. Akito resisted the urge to bring life to the question that rested at the perch of his mind. The screen flickered, then faded, as Akito pressed down on the power. Yet his concerns were not so quickly snuffed out.
And if it isn’t a misclick?
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The class members of 2-A mingled about. Chatter about shows, clothes, and schoolwork filled the air. Despite the density of the noise, however, the words hardly reached Akito’s ears. Nor could they, with his mind heavy with questions sparked by the night before.
And now, a test. Thank gosh we don’t have practice today. Toya would kill me.
Since entering the classroom, however, had a new concern arisen. An’s seat was empty. Even as the teacher paced his way to the front of the class.
“Let’s see…” he scanned the classroom, tired eyes resting upon the few vacant seats, and particularly An’s. A sigh trailed out of his mouth. “It appears we have some absent students. Well, let us head into the material. We do have a test, as you all know.”
The students groaned in unison. The teacher paused, taking a moment to relish the cacophony, before raising his voice to begin the lecture.
Akito managed to shift his gaze away from where An's profile should have been, but not for long. So what…she just decides to not show up? He felt tempted to laugh. To avoid me? Or the test? Knowing her, it could very well be a crude mixture of both.
And then, a disturbance. The sound of footsteps, rapidly approaching the class.
Enough time had passed for a few students to start falling asleep when the door screeched open. The newcomer tiptoed to her seat, the teacher halted her with a cough, and Akito finally awoke from his daze.
The teacher, evidently, was not quite as thrilled. “Shiraishi-san. Care to tell the class why you’re late?” His tone was that of exasperation, tinted with a hint of humour.
The girl attempted to summon a smile. “I…I overslept...” An dipped her head, cobalt hair falling like a wave. “I’m very sorry!” She raised herself up, posture stiff. Dark rings encircled her eyes, adding to her story’s credibility.
The teacher merely shrugged, uttering a vague warning, before clearing his voice to begin his lecture anew. As An wormed towards her seat, she wiped at her forehead, puffing out a relieved sigh. Yet her gaze never caught with Akito’s searching olive eyes.
…ok, she really IS ignoring me. Not a big deal. He’d talk to her after class. Get to the bottom of things.
“Hope you all were taking notes. Time for today’s test.”
…if I get out of here alive, anyways.
The papers were handed out, and both Akito and An forgot their exchange long enough to curse their lack of foresight, utter silent prayers, and guess to the best of their ability
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An stared at the ground as she stumbled out of class. I should have faked being sick…
Her brain, already a mess thanks to the glorious lack of sleep, resembled a can of garbage set on fire. And the test had been gasoline. Her uncombed hair was likely a disgrace to mankind, and she hadn’t had the time to grab her phone or her textbooks. At least I’m alive…
‘Alive’ was a generous descriptor of her current state. ‘Zombie-like’ would have been more apt, as she teetered down the hallway, and nearly tripped over her feet, if not for the pair of hands that steadied her shoulders.
An twisted her head, a jumbled thanks leaving her mouth before she even registered Akito’s face. Which sported an uncharacteristically concerned expression.
“Oh, Akito! Thanks.” Conjuring a smile was an easy feat, until she remembered the bets she had made the day before. “Oh crap-” she took a step back, dread turning her already grim skin pale. “how well do you think you did on that test..?”
Akito blinked at the inquiry, as though his apparent worry wasn’t based around the subject. “Huh? Oh.” He paused. “...not very good, probably.”
“Thank gosh~ same here.” Hopefully we get the same mark… She moved to his left as they walked down the hall. A part of her wondered if she merely imagined Akito moving away, creating a distance between their shoulders. She needed not ponder for long, however, as he stopped dead in his tracks and turned her way.
Akito scratched the back of his neck, eyes swimming in the air before resting on her face. “So about last night. When we were talking.”
An nodded. “When I left you hanging, right? Sorry about that, my mom was on my back.” Her smile fell at the sight of Akito’s conflicted look. “What’s up? Did I say something?”
A silence fell on the conversation. The clearly conflicted ginger lifted the sudden lull, his words stilted. “Well…more about what you sent. No big deal though, if you don’t remember. Or care.” He added the last sentence hastily.
“Oh? Uhhhhhhhhh…OH!” She slammed a fist into her palm, amber eyes glowing with recognition. “The hamster stickers, right? You wanna download the pack, don’t you! I’ll show you how to get them-” Her hand went to her skirt pocket, only to freeze.
Wait- I forgot to bring it… The phone in question was located on her desk at home, the location she had chosen the night prior. For the second time since the morning, An bowed, arms clasped in a motion akin to a prayer. “Sorry! I forgot my phone…”
She lifted her head to an apparently relieved Akito, whom she was glad to see smiling, ever so slightly. The expression was like a crack of blue in a gloomy sky, as he swiftly recovered his nonchalant gaze. “Scatterbrained as always, huh…all cool, then.” He took a step away from An, the tip of his tongue out as if to annoy her.
If so, he had succeeded, as she hurried to respond. Regretfully, An’s attempt found itself interrupted by Akito’s words, which could be described as more a whisper than anything.
“Seems like it was just a joke, after all.”
Relief lined his sentence… and sadness ? Just what had gotten Akito in such a… not-Akito-like mood ? An, bidden a brief farewell from the boy, attempted to chase after him. Only to realize that doing so in a bustling hallway while half-delirious might not be the best idea.
Hrmmmmm…I guess I’ll eat something…but I won’t rest ‘till I get to the bottom of this!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An’s opportunity showed itself much later, when she finally arrived back to her abode, following the stream of classes, tests, and school duties. Her mission had invigorated her, and she fist-pumped to the air. Time to mask the criminal behind Akito’s weirdness!
Her tongue roamed around the corners of her mouth as she fired up her phone. Her notifications consisted largely of Kohane, some from Mizuki, and beneath the pile, a few from Akito.
A gulp. She pressed. The conversation between her and Carrot Head, her personal and extremely intelligent nickname for Akito, fired up. And with it, the backlog of messages that she had yet to witness.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carrot Head: what
Carrot Head: ecxuse me
Carrot Head: what the hell an
Carrot Head: i swear you ebter not be offlinse
Carrot Head: what the hlel is this supposed to meae?
Carrot Head: this a misclisk
Carrot Head: *misclick?
Carrot Head: damn it
Carrot Head: i am gonna give you hell
Carrot Head: tomorrow
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woah. An found herself giggling at the messages which contained much of Akito’s brusque personality. But what’s making him make even more typos than he usually does?
Ignorance is bliss, as they say, and An’s bliss found itself hitting the brakes as her fingers sped up to the sticker she had sent.
Oh.
Fire might as well have engulfed her skin.
OH.
The reason for Akito’s confusion. The reason for his clear consternation at school. And the source of An’s acute embarrassment at that moment.
It was none other than one of the beloved hamster stickers An adored. The words emblazoned above the creature, however, were far from ‘good night’. Rather, the letters were laced in hearts, and written in a flowy hand, adding to the effect of the statement, which could only be:
‘I love you!!!’
The kiss the hamster blew only increased An’s desire to fade out of existence entirely.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throwing his school jacket onto his chair, lazily unknotting the tie around his neck, and pulling on a sweatshirt were Akito’s first actions upon reaching home. Breathing a sigh, he rummaged through his school bag, slumped against the carpet, in search of his phone. Just to check to see if Toya sent me something…yeah.
Unfortunately, lying did little to ease the anxiety that pulsed through his skin. Yet to his relief, the search was short-lived: a flurry of notifications soon informed the anxious boy of the phone’s location. His stress only increased as the messages showed no sign of stopping and, taking care to ensure his door was closed, he slid open the LINE application, phone now in hand.
Two messages from Toya. Ten from Ena. Three promotional messages. And… over twenty from Tomato?
Fear and curiosity had blended together in Akito’s stomach, making him feel slightly queasy. He clicked open his message log with An, and would have wasted no time in answering…if not for a sudden clamour at his door.
“Hey. HEY. OPEN. You saw my messages, didn’t you now, Akito.”
The words, though slightly submerged, could only belong to one, annoying, person. One who would by no means wait for an answer. Akito’s leaden steps led him to the door, which he flung open with little regard for his guest. Sure enough, with a bag in one hand, stood Ena.
Wordlessly, she pressed the plastic against Akito’s chest, body already turned to make her exit. “Here. I got you cheesecake. It was on sale. I WOULD have gotten you a specific flavour, but you didn’t answer. So, deal with this one!”
Akito didn’t know whether to yell at her, or thank her. He was given little opportunity to do either, as she already disappeared down the hallway.
…well, thanks, I guess.
A grim grin on his face, he procured the slice of cake from its plastic cage, queasiness forgotten. Retreating back to his bed, to where the phone was, he nearly choked on the metal spoon in his mouth as he looked at the screen.
FIFTY messages???
Akito was, frankly, scared.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An was, frankly, having a heart attack.
With each message she sent, they were immediately shown as ‘read’, indicating two things: 1. Akito was online, and 2. She was being ignored. Blatantly.
What’s up with him? She had sent over 50 messages, yet they were, admittedly, mere repeats of a dozen or so phrases.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomato: AKLDFLALSDFA
Tomato: IM GONAN THORW UP
Tomato: that was an accidnet
Tomato: i msitclikced
Tomato: miscledk
Tomato: misclicked
Tomato: im sorry
Tomato: AKITO
Tomato: WHER ARE U
Tomato: IT WAS A MSITAKE
Tomato: AKITO STOP IGNORIGN ME
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In spite of the events passed, Akito found himself almost laughing at An’s outburst. It’s just like her to get all frantic. He placed his thumb on his chin, taking a moment to briefly stare at the ceiling. Wait, is this any time for me to laugh? An had sliced away the misunderstanding between them. Now, the blade fell to him to respond.
…where do I even start though? Akito pursued his lips, fingers idly flicking up and down through An’s flood of messages…only to notice the ‘read’ icons next to them all.
…oops. Wielding his spoon, which now contained a portion of the cheesecake, and the phone, Akito was armed and ready to respond. I better, before she gets even more of a heart attack.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akito: hey
Akito: stop spamming
Akito: its all cool
Akito: i knew it was a mistake
Akito: also srry
Akito: ena burst in
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With his heart in this throat, yet his resolve hardened, he typed up a following string of statements, heaving a nervous, shaky sigh once done.
—--------------------------------------------------------
Carrot Head: just be careful
Carrot Head: someone else may take it the wrong way
Carrot Head: i may excuse your spazz moments
Carrot Head: but thats cuz
Carrot Head: nevermind
Carrot Head: anyways dont sweat it
—--------------------------------------------------------
Akito wasn’t mad. Akito wasn’t shocked. Akito…seems kinda distant. An once again found herself in a state of agony. Yet not towards what her next statement should be. Rather, on Akito’s.
What does he mean I should ’be careful’? Was Akito of the thought that she accidentally sent ‘I love you’ stamps to everyone she knew? I’m not THAT careless!
With a hint of trepidation, her fingers began to type out a response, and with time, the words began to flow forth from her heart.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An: phewwww
An: i was wondering why you were keeping me on read
An: sorry agian
An: and yea
An: I get what you mean
An: but its not like id make this sort of mistake to anyone
An: its that its you that I can
An: kinda
An: I obviously wouldnt to anyone else
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And in that moment, both Akito and An’s phones slid from their now sweaty grips.
An, however, caught hold of hers far sooner, giving her ample time to quickly write up an impassioned follow up to the message, which she realized with dismay, sounded just like a confession.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomato: WAIT NO
Tomato: I MEAN THAT I FEEL LIKE ITS EASY TO MAKE MSITAKES WITH U
Tomato: bcz ur all understanding and stuff
Tomato: gosh
Tomato: i want to die
Tomato: im shutting up nwo
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akito paced around his bed, utilizing the sudden surge of anxious energy he felt, following An’s confes- it isn’t a confession. He glanced at the screen of his phone once more to re-read An’s last messages. True to her vow of silence, a hush fell on the conversation.
…gosh. I’m gonna regret this.
The cheesecake, in direct line of the sunlight pouring from his window, had begun to liquidize, much like Akito’s confidence.
Time for hesitation, however, was little. He would act, before the words melted. Or, more accurately, the sticker.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An had to admit - breathing was difficult with three pillows resting over her head. Yet there were few better ways to deafen the shrieks she couldn’t help but produce.
Now I really DO wish I had faked sickness…
But then. A ping.
The pillows went flying as she surged upwards like an over-excited whack-a-mole. Immediately, her hands went for her phone, shocked at what her eyes fell upon.
It was the sticker. The hamster had reappeared to confess their love, the ‘I love you!!!’ pink bright as a solar flare.
And the hamster was sent…by Akito.
Akito.
An blinked. Blinked again.
She was no longer able to ignore the flush that coloured her face. Yet before she could even start to hyperventilate, a flurry of notifications appeared.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carrot Head: there
Carrot Head: were even
Carrot Head: now we can both act like this didnt happen
Carrot Head: got it?
Carrot Head: damnit
Carrot Head: this is the worst idae ive had in my entire life
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh crap…I can’t stop smiling! An wiped at her face, trying to blot out the grin shining bright on her features. The girl couldn’t help but consider: what if he meant it? For real?
There it was again - that frustrating skip of the heart. She would spare no more time on what-ifs: there was a far more important task at hand, after all. Uhh…how to respond…
A devious idea popped into her head. Oh ho ho HO!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a fit of anxiety, Akito essentially inhaled the cheesecake, anxiously refreshing the page for a potential response from An.
He didn’t need to fidget for long, nor need much time to read the batch of messages either, as they consisted mainly of another sticker.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomato: deal!
Tomato: 1 sec while i delete it from my memory
Tomato: oh
Tomato: but first
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘I’m sorry...'
Chubby paws laid to the side neatly, the hamster’s head was dipped in a bow, creating space above for the formal apology.
H A H ?
Akito nearly choked on the strawberry, still undevoured, and occupying the now gaping mouth of the boy. Damn An!…messing with me, huh?
He knew she had sent it to both apologize for her silly error, AND to make it seem as though she was declining his (not real) display of affection.
Yet he found himself smiling as he typed out a reply.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akito: OI
Akito: dont you go rejecting a not even real confession
Akito: seriously
An: lololololololololol
An: sorry, had to
An: seriously though, i AM sorry
An: can i treat u to a sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight discount at the cafe?
Akito: hm
Akito: when?
An: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
An: this weekend?
Akito: cool
Akito: the new pancakes better be good
An: ofc they are!
An: dad made them with your bad taste in mind
Akito: dang
Akito: very touched
Akito: if only his daughter was as cool
An: HEY
An: this discount isnt coming CHEAP you know
Akito: like hell I care
Akito: guess im looking forward to it now though
Akito: so ill keep the braggin to a minimum when i get a better score on the test
An: your STILL on about that huh
An: you just wait and see
Akito: u bet i will
Akito: also
Akito: *you're
An: oh please
An: ok, how's this
An: you're stupid
Akito: great job
Akito: you understand basic grammar
An: *grammer
An: oh yeah
An: i screenshotted your little confession by the way
An: cant wait to see kohanes reaction
Akito: HSEY
Akito: HEY
Akito: i will find you if you do
An: jk
An: llollololololol i bet your pulse jumped
Akito: yea well it did
Akito: your great at increasing my blood pressure
An: awww thanks
An: and youre great at tempting me too! ;)
Akito: whatever
Akito: you feeling any better btw?
An: yeppp
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And so, the conversation continued, with an equal amount of laughter, curses, and smiling on both ends of the dialogue. Yet although the two could so honestly converse, neither of them could find the courage to state the thought that resonated strongly through their minds. The thought, being:
‘It would be nice if this could go on forever.’
Perhaps one day they’d find a sticker that could sum up the sentiment. But until then, Akito and An were content. With bugging one another, anyways.
- End