"why are you here?"
you've always been best friends with xiao, ever since elementary. although, he oddly became popular in high school even though he rarely speaks. you couldn't deny he was fairly attractive, and all the girls fell for him.
though...
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"xiao, look! the cherry blossom trees..!"
on your way to campus, both you and xiao had noticed that the cherry blossom trees had finally came to life. spring had arrived.
you looked at xiao and noticed him looking up at the trees next to the sidewalk, intrigued. you laugh at his expression.
"it's like you've never seen cherry blossom trees before." you joke. he looks at you, unamused with a tint of pink on his cheeks.
"wh-what are you talking about? i'm not...that surprised.." xiao retorts in reply, lying through his teeth. you could obviously tell, but you weren't going to tease him about it.
"yep, yep." you answer, looking the opposite direction of him. you had to admit, walking under the cherry blossoms felt very serene and peaceful.
it wasn't long before the both of you reached campus. you could see other students taking pictures with each other under the trees before classes started.
"well, xiao, i'll see you during lunch." you glance back at him, smiling before waving to him. you quickly turn the other way and start walking towards your classroom, but you feel a hand suddenly pull you back.
"wha—eh..? xiao?" you look back at him in shock. you couldn't see his eyes, and he was at a loss of words for a moment.
there was a brief few seconds of silence before he replied.
"i...nevermind, it's nothing. i'll see you—um—during lunch." he mumbled in response, quickly letting go of your hand and walking past you to his classroom.
the rest of the day seemed like a blur to you. you didn't pay much attention to the teachers, you were too busy just staring out the window, watching the sakura blossoms as if they were hypnotizing you.
which, they were, in a way.
lunch finally rolled around, with you and xiao sitting under one of the cherry blossom trees for the day. you usually sit at your usual table in the cafeteria, but at this time lots of students wanted to eat outside instead. so, both you and xiao just went along with the crowd.
"how was literature with ms. lisa?" you asked, leaning against the tree while eating your lunch.
"it was good." he bluntly replied, not looking up from his bento box. you look at him questionably but shrug it off, taking a sip from your water bottle.
you look back at xiao and see him pick up one of his sushi rolls with his chopsticks. he looks back at you, hesitating at first, before bringing the roll up to you and asking,
"...do you want one?"
you look back at him, confused. then, the realization hit you like a truck.
"h-huh...?!" your eyes widen, as a massive blush quickly takes over your face.
he was offering you his food? XIAO? and with his own chopsticks too?! isn't he aware he used those already?! y'know, put them in his own mouth?! and now he's offering you the same sushi with those same chopsticks?!?!
"xi-xiao, i don't know—i mean, um, sure, but what if other people—"
xiao looks at you with a heavy stare in response, cutting you off with his own expression. in that moment, you remember what he said last time.
"just ignore them."
...
"sure...i'll have a roll." you reply, still blushing. he then brings the chopsticks closer to you, as you bite the whole roll from them.
trying to ignore how flustered you were and instead focusing on the food, you realized how good the roll actually was.
"wow, this is actually really good! i'm impressed, xiao! it's really tasty!" you beam at him, as his lips curve into a small smile in response.
"i'm glad to hear you like it. my mother made them today, so you should thank her later instead of me." he mentions, closing his bento as the lunch bell rings, signaling the next class.
"sounds good! thanks for—um, sharing." you respond, waving at him once again before heading off to class. this time, he waved back in reply.
"no problem. i'll see you at the end of school." he answers, grabbing his bag and going to his next class.
finally, it was the end of your last class! you couldn't wait to go back outside and sit under the cherry blossoms again.
you quickly walked down the stairs and down the hallway to the exit of the school building. there, you already saw xiao waiting for you outside like usual.
"xiao!" you called out to him, grabbing his attention. he looked over to you, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"ready to go?" he asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"yeah...but is it alright if we stop by the cherry blossom trees real quick?" you ask him, as he looks at you in confusion.
"oh, by the grass? sure, we can sit on the bench by there, under that one big sakura tree." he replies, leading the way. you follow behind him before slowly making your way to his side.
it wasn't long before the both of you had made it to the area. you both quickly sat down on the bench to relieve your legs. you look up as you feel a heavy breeze pass by.
"woaah, look xiao! the cherry blossoms are falling!" you point, extending your hand out to the tree to catch one of the falling pedals. both of you were being showered in pink sakura.
xiao looked up and did the same, gently catching a falling cherry blossom from the large tree above.
"ooh, that one in your hand is so pretty!! i just got a petal.." you laugh, opening your hand and showing xiao the small pink petal.
suddenly, you saw his hand move up to your hair. your eyes widened as you felt him put the flower in your hair. his finger slightly grazed past your ear, taking you by surprise and causing you to flinch.
"a-ah, sorry...i was just trying to see how it'd look...on you." he mumbles, his cheeks slowly turning red. he brings his hand away from your hair.
you bring a strand of hair behind your ear as he pulls away.
"we..well? how does it look?" you ask him, a bit flustered from what he had just done.
"...you look very pretty." he muttered under his breath very lightly, hoping you couldn't hear him. but, you had heard every word he said.
the compliment couldn't help but make you go pink. you were at a complete loss for words...you had no idea what to say back.
"you look as pink as the cherry blossom now." he teased, causing you to grumble in embarrassment. "damn it, why am i blushing so much? and why is his laugh so cute?" you thought.
"sh-shut up...i'm not—" you murmured, struggling to respond to any of his sentences. you couldn't have possibly been more embarrassed than this very moment by someone, let alone your own best friend.
however, his next reply would make you even more flustered than before.
