You're All I Need - Nishimura Riki

Chapter 17 : The Hang-Out

Sunoo walks to our table with the drinks he ordered for us.

"Thank you, Sunoo! You didn't have to pay for it all by yourself though," I tell him.

"It's alright! I did ask you to come out with me so I feel like I should be the one to pay for you," he says and smiles brightly.

All of a sudden, Sunoo gets quiet and we share some awkward looks.

"Sunoo... are you... okay?" I ask him. His eyes dart up at me and he stutters for a second before telling me that he's okay. "Sunoo, you know you can talk to me, right?" He sighs and looks down at his hands. I have a feeling that he still feels weird about me and Ni-ki. "Sunoo... do you need to talk about it?"

He looks up at me. "Are you sure it won't make you feel uncomfortable?" He asks me. Sunoo is always so considerate of me and my feelings, which is my favorite thing about him.

"No, it won't. I want you to tell me. I am your best friend, you know. I'm here for you whenever you need it," I tell him and he lets out a small smile before talking.

Sunoo explains everything to me, from the first day we met and became friends to the moment he realized his crush, to when Ni-ki and I started dating. It made me remember lots of little moments that were significant to him, but that I forgot.

For example, when I gave him an extra 50 cents to get a drink when he needed it, and when I let him stay over at my house the night his parents got into an argument. The biggest one was the time when we were in like 5th grade and this kid was bullying him and I stood up for him.

"Sunoo, I didn't know it was going on for this long. I wish you would've told me this earlier and maybe... maybe it would've all been different," I say and take a sip of my drink. "But we're still friends now, so it's okay. Let's enjoy our time together now," I smile and it brings his mood back up, making Sunoo smile back at me.

We talk for a while longer and Sunoo gets a text from his mom telling him to come home, so he has to leave earlier than he expected. I walk home myself and decide to stop by Ni-ki's house since I have a little bit of extra time before I have to be home.

I ring the doorbell and it's only about thirty seconds until someone opens the door.

"Hi, Hana!" Sola says and waves at me. I say hi back and she turns around and yells, "Hana's here!" into the house. "Come on in, Hana!" She says and steps out of the way, allowing me to walk in. I step in and put on the slippers they have by the door and follow Sola to the living room.

"Ni-ki's up in his room, if you're looking for him," Konon says, looking up at me for only a second before she continues texting on her phone.

"You can go up there, Hana. I think he's just doing homework," Mrs. Nishimura says as she comes out of the kitchen and sits on the couch.

"It's the last door on the right." She says and smiles to me.

"Okay, thank you," I say and follow her instructions to get to Ni-ki's room. I reach the door at the end of the hallway and I hear music playing. I knock on the door and the music stops. He opens the door and smiles when he sees me.

"Hana!! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Sunoo?" He asks me.

"He had to go home early. So I thought I would stop by your house before going home," I tell him and he grabs my hand and drags me into his bedroom.

"I'll show you around my room since you're here," he says. "There's nothing super special, but it's my comfort place." Ni-ki shows me to his "gaming station" where he has a gaming console and some games that he says he plays from time to time. He shows me his comics, which is something I didn't know he liked. He told me that I can borrow any of them if I would like to. And he showed me the school work that he was working on.