10 Signs You're In Love With Your Best Friend • OHSHC

Chapter 9

While it was true that Aiko wasn't one to participate in the field of athletics, there was something about the nearby town that she couldn't help but explore on foot. Ouran was a beautiful town, after all, there was surely more to it than the art store and café. At least, that's what Aiko hoped.

She usually never ventured into foreign territory unless Hikaru was close by, but Aiko knew that this was something she needed to do by herself. After all, it would be almost impossible to find a suitable candidate if the whole time she compared them to the mischievous auburn. So, with one hand wrapped tightly around her brown clutch and the other nervously fidgeting by her side, she headed towards the commoners shopping district.

She stayed on the sidewalk, avoiding any and all contact with other people until she reached her destination. As Aiko met a crossroad, she noticed a small building with flashing lights emitting from the windows. Curiosity took over, and she found herself walking up the steps. She tried pushing the door, but nothing happened. Aiko peered through the door but only saw black. She tried to get closer, but the door suddenly opened; smacking her face onto the metal door.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there," admitted her attacker. Aiko waved it off and chuckled.

"It's alright. I should have probably read the 'pull' sign first," giggled Aiko. The boy helped her catch her balance, and introduced himself.

"Hi. I'm Jonah." He was obviously not native here, given his strong accent.

"I'm Aiko." Once Aiko could see straight, she finally got a glance at the boy. He had a mop of curly blonde waves and emerald green eyes. Freckles lightly dusted his cheeks, along with a faint blush. His lips were a rose pink color and he wore a polite but cheeky smile.

"Were you going in there?" Questioned the boy curiously.

"I was honestly just intrigued by the lights." He snorted as if she had said something incredibly stupid, but afterwards genuinely smiled at Aiko.

"I don't think that place is really your kind of thing. How about I treat you to ice cream? I know a killer hang out." Quickly forgetting about her infatuation with the odd building, she nodded in agreement.

"Follow me then." Without thinking, he grabbed Aiko's hand and lead them towards the ice cream parlor. His hand was soft, but Aiko couldn't ignore the empty feeling in her gut and she knew exactly just what was the cause of it. He wasn't Hikaru. By now her smile had faded, and Jonah took notice quickly.

"Are you okay? Do you not like being touched or something?" His grip loosened on Aiko's hand, worried he was the cause of her sudden change in attitude.

"Of course not! I'm just a little cold, that's all." She reassured him by softly squeezing his hand. His grip tightened as well and they continued walking. After reaching the parlor, Aiko had already learned so much about him. He hated Khaki's, he loved Supernatural, and he was also from Ireland. Jonah had an uplifting personality about him that made Aiko want to learn more and more about him.

He politely opened the door for Aiko, and quickly entered behind her.

"Do you want to share a sundae? They make them really big here and I doubt I could eat one all by myself." Aiko nodded and watched Jonah order and pay for their treat. He grabbed the sundae along with two spoons and walked towards an empty booth near a window. Aiko took a seat in front of Jonah, eagerly awaiting to taste the ice cream.

"You seem excited," Jonah laughed as Aiko practically drooled over the toppings.

"Shut up," she laughed. Jonah handed her a spoon and they both dug in. Neither exchanged any words due to the concentration that came with eating ice cream.

"This is really good," admitted Aiko.

"Yeah, I used to come here a lot with my brother when I was younger." confessed Jonah.

"You had a brother?" Questioned Aiko curiously. Come to think of it, Jonah had not mentioned anything about his family.

"Oh yeah. His name was Parker." Was. Realizing that this was a touchy subject, Aiko quickly changed the topic.

"Hikaru and I always go to ice cream parlors together whenever he's not busy." Jonah raised his eye brows subjectively.

"We aren't like that," Aiko blushed. "He's just a friend."

"I'm guessing you don't want to be 'just friends', do you?" Aiko choked on her ice cream and laughed awkwardly.

"I have no romantic feelings towards him," she argued. Jonah smirked and grabbed her phone.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He flipped the phone around and pointed to her background.

"I'm guessing this is him?" He said while motioning to a photo of the two making silly faces together.

"Yeah, and?" She snatched her phone from his grip protectively and laid it back down on the table beside of her.

"It's pretty obvious you like this guy. Once you mentioned his name, I could tell by the way you smiled." Aiko remained quiet, shocked that someone could read her emotions so easily. People seemed to be doing that a lot these days, i.e Kyoya.

"And even if I did like him, which I don't, it just wouldn't work out. He likes someone else." Confessed Aiko with sadness evident in her tone. Jonah gazed at Aiko, never breaking eye contact with her unless it was to blink.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Coughed Aiko as she looked away.

"If I was straight, I would totally be into you." Aiko's face froze in shock.

"This isn't a date?" Asked Aiko stunned.

"No offense, but I don't swing your way. After all you did catch me walking outside of a club for gay dudes." Laughed Jonah. Aiko remained stunned, her cheeks flashing a hue of red in embarrassment.

"Anyway, I'm guessing this guy means a lot to you right?" Aiko nodded her head.

"All I can tell you is to fight. If you truly love him, you won't back down." Aiko took in every piece of advice he gave her, and within minutes, she already felt like a new person. Why sit back and watch Haruhi steal Hikaru away from her when she could actually do something about it? The thought had crossed Aiko's mind several times, but she always lacked the confidence to do so.

"If we're being honest, I made a bet with Hikaru that I could manage a successful date."

"Oh, really?"

Aiko hummed and, with a light nod, grabbed her phone and opened the camera. "We can just pretend we were on a date, though. That works, wouldn't it?"

"Yep, he'd never have to know a thing," agreed Jonah.

With a tap of the screen the picture was taken - the two were huddled close together, Jonah's arm wrapped around Aiko's shoulder, and making silly faces - and with another it was sent to Hikaru.

Two days later

"Nice look Hikaru," Kaoru exclaimed in between laughs. Hikaru grimaced as Tamaki snapped a quick photo of him. His hair was pulled into tiny pigtails and he was dressed in one of Aiko's old Sunday dresses. He had putrid pink lipstick smeared on to his lips with bright pink blush lazily slapped onto his cheeks. His eyeliner was atrociously attached to his "on fleek eyebrows", as Aiko called them.

"I don't even want to know," stated Haruhi as she tried her best not to laugh. Hikaru only glared at everyone as he sat down to carry out his host duties.