Love Like You// Wakasa I. & Shinichiro S.

Chapter 22

It was a quiet afternoon at the beach as almost everyone had left by now, the only people left being 5 certain teens. Currently, 3 of the 5 teenagers stood under a giant umbrella stuck to the sand, their eyes fixated on the scenery before them. All, except one.

"Yo." Shinichiro greeted as he walked beside the female standing dangerously near the water, his hands being shoved inside the pockets of his hoodie along the way.

"Hello to you too, Shinichiro-san." She giggled back a response, a visible smile overtaking her features causing Shinichiro to brighten up a bit.

"I take it that you enjoyed today?" He asked with a fond huff, his eyes softening ever so slightly once he caught sight of the childish grin she wore after he greeted her.

As much as he admired the (Y/n) that stands tall in front of a stage during ceremonies, he'd rather pick the one grinning up at him happily any day. To him, (Y/n) (L/n) as their student council president was someone untouchable-unreachable, but the (Y/n) (L/n) he knows as his friend was someone more approachable, a person he'd be able to help.

No matter how admirable the persona she puts on at school is, Shinichiro had always been able to see through it. The way her lips tighten when she's tasked to arrange certain events, the way her eyes furrow by a fraction when someone calls out her name after a tiring day, to the way her fists clench when teachers boast her achievements as some form of motivator to make her work harder, he had noticed it all far long before they started to talk.

After the rooftop incident, every crack and flaw within her mask started to become more apparent. She's starting to open up, that's what he always thought when he saw how she's starting to live life as she should have.

Their student council president is admirable, that is true, but Shinichiro finds himself liking (Y/n) (L/n) just a bit more.

That's why, even if he can't reach the (Y/n) that stands tall in front of the spotlight, he'll happily help the (Y/n) that hides behind the red curtains, the one hiding away from prying eyes. He doesn't care if he can't do as much as he wants to for her, as long as it lightens up her burdens even by a little, he'll happily carry the world with his bare hands.

Slowly, his hand reached out to pat the female's head. He didn't know what came over him but all he knew was that (Y/n) didn't mind and so, he just kept it like that.

Minutes passed of him just patting her head and Shinichiro swears his heart almost exploded when she leaned further into his hand when he tried to pull it away.

Explode, huh?

"Fireworks." He found himself saying as he continued to stare at her relaxed expression. Slowly, the female's eyes opened to look up at him with a confused expression. "Hm?"

Panic flooded Shinichiro's mind as he realized just exactly what he said. Sure, the festival had been plaguing his mind these past few days but never did he expect to mess up so bad that he'd accidentally blurt out the word 'fireworks' to the person he wanted to invite out.

With an awkward laugh, Shinichiro could only scratch his head as he thought of a good way to redeem himself in this situation. Curse his awkwardness and stupidity when it came to women. Puffing out his chest, the gang leader let out a sigh before he started talking.

"There's this festival coming up before our break ends," He muttered quietly, his eyes avoiding hers as a red hue covered his cheeks. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

"Festival?" He heard the female mutter with a slightly confused voice.

If Shinichiro wasn't sure if he was blushing earlier, then he most definitely was now. His heart was starting to speed up as he opened his mouth to start a panicked rant like he usually does in these types of situations.