Life Will Change

Chapter 28: Getting to Know You

Begin!

~Normal POV

5/26 - Thursday

Akira had plans to hang out with Ann today. She'd asked him to meet her in the underground mall in Shibuya Station. As per usual, he had immediately rushed into accepting without hesitation. (As if he'd ever turn her down when she needed something...) And spending time with her would be a breath of fresh air after what he endured with Ryuji and Mishima the other day. (Though cutting a deal with Kawakami did have the unexpected side benefit of making her a little nicer to him.)

He found Ann standing by a clothing store, as to be expected. She greeted him with a bright smile. "Hey, Akira!" He thought he saw her cheeks turn pink, but he must have been seeing things.

"Hey, so what'd you need help with today?"

Ann fiddled with one of her ponytails. "I was hoping we could work on strengthening our hearts again. In different ways, of course!"

Akira put on a fake voice of disappointment, ruined by his amused smile. "Oh damn it, and here I was, ready to shower you with compliments again until your ego can't take it anymore."

Ann giggled, "Very funny. Come on, let's head to the park again!"

They started walking together up the stairs and out of the mall. But right as they did, they hit a snag in their plans. Akira spotted Makoto nearby, entering a transfer line; he quickly told this to Ann. They had agreed that keeping their interactions to a minimum around her would be best to not rouse suspicion. Akira had a feeling she wasn't here to follow him today, but that didn't mean she couldn't try if she saw the two of them together. And he'd rather avoid talking to her if possible. He had to think fast and get them out of sight.

"What do we do?" Ann asked, nervously. She didn't want to get shadowed by the council president either.

Without warning, Akira grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a nearby pillar. This ended them up in rather close proximity to each other, with Ann having her back against the pillar and Akira gently holding her in place by the shoulder, while he peaked around to watch Makoto leave. It seemed they hadn't been spotted and the girl went down the line to board her train without looking their way.

Akira sighed in relief before finally noticing their closeness. Ann was staring at him with wide eyes and her face was a bit red. He wasn't faring any better either. He also noticed his hand was still on her shoulder; he let go of her and apologized for not asking permission.

"Oh, it's ok!" Ann stammered. "It just... happened, you know?"

"Um, yeah... I guess... Still..." He replied softly, running his hand through his hair. He'd never been that close to a woman before. He wondered what kind of perfume she was wearing; it smelled rather nice... He derailed that train of thought. Once again, Akira had to continually remind himself that he had no chance with her.

"Um... is she gone?"

"Yeah, yeah, we can go now..."

~...

The awkwardness between them had ceased once they reached the park. Akira wondered what Ann had planned for their "training" today. And aside from the mess of pollen in the air, the weather was perfectly nice out today. It really made Inokashira Park look much nicer... In fact, Akira couldn't help noticing it was quite a romantic location... He quickly put those thoughts out of his head. The two found themselves seated on the wooden railing near the pond.

"This place does feel amazing, doesn't it?" Ann commented, smiling. "It's not even that far from Shibuya but it's just so different and peaceful."

"Did she read my mind somehow? Oh wait, no, don't open that door... Do not want to think about that possibility." "Ahem, yeah it's nice and quiet, reminds me of home..." He said, aloud.