| Fan Fiction |
by Ifah_chan
"Well-Well… Tomo, we wanted to make an order. So, will you recommend us the most delicious here?" asked Ohno-senpai happily.
He then turned to Ohno-senpai and laughed. "Of coz, I will recommend you the best one. As you're my dearest cousin, I will recommend you this one." He pointed out at the menu. He laughed happily at Ohno-senpai. From what I had seen, they seemed quite closed to each other. And from what I had seen also, this would be the first time I had ever seen Tomo-kun's smiling face. It was totally different from I had seen him so far. That smiling face that I had been longing to see was actually appeared right in front of me. I couldn’t denied that his smiling face that I was yearned to see all this time. I was slightly enlightened to see him like this.
"Maki-chan, how about you?" Ohno-senpai suddenly asked.
I was startled. "Eh? Ahh…. I just order what you're ordering." I smiled.
"Okay then, Tomo… We will be ordering the same thing then…" Ohno-senpai smile and handed out the menu.
"Roger that!" He then listed our order and walked away. It was an awkward moment for me. I tried hard not to be obvious around Ohno-senpai. I didn’t want him to know anything about me and Tomo-kun. I didn’t want him to feel awkward around Tomo-kun as they were cousin. And I didn’t want because of me; there was a guilty feeling towards each other.
"Maki-chan, I'll go to the restroom first…" Ohno-senpai smiled at me. I nodded. Then, I took a deep breath and rested my back on the chair. After awhile, Tomo-kun, who served us, arrived with the drinks. I startled and sat up.
I didn’t dare to look up at him. He also didn’t say anything and just did his work. Suddenly he spoke.
"It has been a while. How are you, Horikita?" he asked me.
I was surprised. He called me by my last name. "H-Hait… I'm fine…" I smiled bitterly. "A-And how about you?"
He chuckled. "Well, I can't say if I'm really fine… I have loads of things to do right now. School works, part-time job and my baseball attachment… It's pretty heavy." He turned to me and smiled. Somehow I felt that I was talking to someone else. Tomo-kun that I had known before was different from Tomo-kun now. He was more cheerful and oblivious now. It seemed like he had changed for these days. There was a brighter looks on his face… I could tell by that. I smiled at him.
"Really?"
He nodded happily. "Yes…" He sighed. "Well, it can't be help… I had to do it anyway…" He chuckled again.
I chuckled reluctantly. "Well then, gambatte ne…"
"Arigatou…" He smiled. He then walked away to the back. I looked at him from afar. I bit my lips. How can fate had brought us to see each other again? I wanted to move on, but he kept appearing in front of me. I didn't want to hesitate... I wasn't feel that comfortable. I felt guilty towards him.
"Maki-chan, sorry…" Ohno-senpai suddenly appeared and smiled.
I startled and looked up at him, smiled. "That's okay…" Soon after that, Tomo-kun arrived with our order. He served us while talking with Ohno-senpai. Without realizing, I kept looking at him. Every move he made, caught my eyes. Suddenly, my heart felt saddened. If he had been like this, things wouldn’t end up like that. And I would have courage to trust him again. But, now it was too late… Things wouldn’t get better as it was used to be.
I lost my faith in him. And I didn’t know whether how long it had been going to take. But well, there was no need to feel this again, no guilty and misery. I had Ohno-senpai right now. There was no fear for me to face him again. Right now, I just could be myself and faced it well. That everything was ended long time ago.
"Say, Tomo… It has been a long time since you came to my house. Are you that busy? Mother keeps nagging at me on how you didn’t come to our place anymore." Ohno-senpai looked at Tomo-kun.
"Yeah, I'm busy… Tell auntie, I'm sorry for not stopping by the house." Tomo-kun said simply.
"Tsk… Is it a harmful for you to just stop by? This Saturday, come to our place…" Ohno-senpai insisted.
He smiled. "Ohno-chan, you're sure loves to force me onto anything." Ohno-senpai laughed hard. Then, Tomo-kun laughed as Ohno-senpai patted his head.
"Of coz I am…"
I smiled away as I seen this laughing picture. Two people that I had been looked on were laughing happily in front of me. I felt more content now; Tomo-kun changed a lot. My wish had been fulfilled. To be like this, was better now even though I never knew what would happen in future.
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"Maki-chan, do you free tonight?" Ohno-senpai asked me.
"Yeah, why?" I turned to him.
"Hmm… Well, there's nothing important. My parents are having their wedding anniversary day. So, my mother will cook a lot. She asked me to invite along. She wanted to meet my girlfriend though." He explained. I could hear his laughing sound.
I smiled cheekily. "Well, sure. Why not? In the end, I have to meet my boyfriend's family. Hehe…" I chuckled.
"Well, I'll be seeing you then. I'll pick you up at 7 tomorrow. Ahh… bring Aya along with you. The more the merrier…. Bye! Love you…"
"Okay! Bye, me too…" I smiled.
"Hehe…" He chuckled. I hanged my phone. I turned around and I saw Aya was looking at me.
"What?"
"You know what, you don’t have to be like in the phone too…" Aya crossed her arms.
I laughed. "Well, you're just being jealous…." I stood up and sat beside her. "You should get a boyfriend. You're now university student. You should have an experience…."
"Hmph… Unlike you, I don’t need all that. It's enough for me to be like this. I enjoyed it anyway…" She turned away. I laughed. She then turned to me annoyingly. She was agitated that she tickled me. "You can laugh whatever you like, I'm not gonna let you go this time…!" She laughed.
"Stop it, Aya! It tickles…!"
The next day, Ohno-senpai picked us up. I was quite nervous as this would be the first time I was meeting his family. I didn’t know how they were going to react when they saw me. I was afraid though. As soon as we arrived, Ohno-senpai took my hand and introduced me to his family. They were kind and great people. Ohno-senpai's parents were the best. They were very friendly towards me and Aya. They welcomed us with a warming smile. I had a great time with them. We laughed and talked a lot. I had never seen a cheerful and bubbly family as Ohno-senpai's family.
But my great day was slightly spoiled by the presence of Tomo-kun. He had arrived there a little bit late than us. He brought his best friend, Toma along. I didn't want to look at him that much. I just spent my time with Ohno-senpai and Aya. But Toma, blurted something he shouldn’t. He accidently blurted out to Ohno-senpai that we used to be in the same high school before. I thought it was awful. But Ohno-senpai rather seemed to be interested with it. Maybe I should really be thankful instead. It was a good thing that Toma didn’t know anything about me and Tomo-kun. Aya, who had been quiet since then, she suddenly became wild with Toma. It wasn’t that she hated Toma but she was annoyed by his stupid gimmicks.
Ohno-senpai kept laughing since then. He couldn’t help but laughed at Aya and Toma. Their love-hate quarrel had a colorful atmosphere. Aya, who kept smirking and wailing at Toma made all of us laughed. And Toma, who was also arguing and boasting at himself who made Aya annoyed, had made our day. It had been a long time since I had felt this atmosphere again. I took a glance at Tomo-kun. He was rather quiet and just smiled at them. He didn’t say anything from the beginning. I guessed he didn’t want to make things worse for us. So, he kept his distance away from me.
As I was looking at Tomo-kun, suddenly Ohno-senpai's mother approached me. I was startled. I bowed at her. She smiled at me. "Did you having fun, dear?" she asked me.
I nodded happily. "Yes, I did… Thanks for inviting me, Satoshi-san…"
She patted my head. "It was nothing. Ohno told me a lot about you… Indeed, you're as sweet as he described to me."
I laughed. "I'm not that sweet though…"
She chuckled. "But at least, that's what Ohno has been telling quite a lot." She smiled at me. She then turned to Tomo-kun, who was busied clearing the mess at the dining table. "Tomo… Are you okay with that?" She asked. But Tomo-kun just nodded and smiled. "He used had this gloomy kind of looks. He seldom smiles."
I turned to her and smiled. "Yes, he is… But he's different now…"
She nodded. "He does…" She sighed. "Well, he has changed a lot. I hope he will keep it like that always…" She turned to me. I nodded. "Ahh… Maki-chan, can you bring this to Tomo? I'll bring the rest…"
"Hait…" I took the boxes and headed to the kitchen and I saw him. Tomo-kun was washing the plates. I entered the room and made him startled. He smiled at me. I nodded and smiled back at him. "Tomo-kun, where should I put this?" I asked.
"Ouh… You can put it there." He pointed out at the corner of the stairs and continued on what he was doing. I walked towards the stairs and placed the box. After that, I walked away but then I stopped.
I bit my lips and turned to him again. "You're really good at that, aren’t you?" I suddenly asked.
He turned around. "Really? Well, thanks to my part-time job… I learned a lot there. Cleaning, washing and even cooking… It's a great experience though." He smiled.
I chuckled. "To see you like this, it's kind of awkward."
"Is that so? I thought so… To have me like this, I've never expected…" he laughed.
I laughed. "And I've never expected that you're Ohno-senpai's cousin."
"And me too...." He looked at me. His laughing expression stopped. "Well, I've never expected that you're Ohno-chan's girlfriend. It is a small world, isn’t it?"
I stopped laughing. He looked at me with these eyes. I nodded. "It is a small world." I pressed my lips and looked away. "Back then, I'm sorry for my hurting words…."
He shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. You don’t have to apologize…" He then placed the clean plates on the towel. He then wiped off his wet hands and suddenly handed out his hand to me. He smiled. I, who was surprised by his sudden action, took his hand.
"But then, I'm happy for you.... And you must be happy, Horikita."
I looked up at him. Slowly, I gave him a slightly smile. "I will..."
After that, he let go of my hand and continued with his work. He didn't say anything, or even looked at me. He became so distant from me as if he wanted to put a gap between us. He knew I was Ohno-senpai's girlfriend and I assumed he wanted to stay that way. He wanted to know his position now. He wanted to stay alerted that he had chose that way and could never betray his cousin. I, was on the other hand, felt slightly sad. I don't know why but my heart felt so burden. My feelings for him had demolished, but why I didn't like the way it went now?
I didn't know why.... But, I guessed... My feelings for him, hadn't faded away.... Maybe.