You're My Illusion

Chapter Nine

(Y/n)'s Pov:

  Shinso carried me the rest of the way back to his home as the sun began to set, it was only a block or two away from where we began. He gently set me down on the door step to bring in our bags. I still held onto his shirt in the corner. Shaking like a leaf. As soon as he finished unlocking the door, he lead me inside with his hand on my back.

  Shinso walked me over to the couch and wrapped the blanket, that was previously hanging over the edge of the couch, around my shoulders. He told me to wait there while he went to the kitchen to make some coffee for us. He returned to the couch with our coffee and sat down next to me. Koda jumped into my lap and curled up, purring as I pet him.

"Is the door locked?" I questioned, turning to look as the locks.

"Yeah. I always lock it."

"Okay." I took my coffee and watched as the liquid rippled from my trembling hands.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Shinso asked softly.

"No." There was a pause. "But... can I ask you for a favor?" Shinso nodded in response. "Could you carry me again? But on the couch? Just for a little while...?"

  Shinso was silent for a moment. He seemed like he was contemplating what to say or do. He began to speak once more.

"Yeah. As your friend, I'll do this as a one time favor. Don't tell anyone at school or I'll have to erase their memory and yours. Got it?" I nodded. "Lay down. Here." Shinso guided the coffee cup out of my hands and onto the table infront of the couch.

  He adjusted himself so he was laying on the couch and then gently pulled me atop him. He fit his arms around my waist and squeezed me slightly. I placed my head in the crook of his neck. He pulled the blanket on top of us both and called Koda to lay with us. Koda jumped up with a meow and curled up purring once more.

"Shinso?" He hummed. "What are we? Are we boyfriend and girl--"

"We're just friends. I know it might seem like we're dating but we're not. You're not in love with me and I'm not in love with you." He interrupted.

"Then... What if I fall in love with you someday and you don't fall in love with me? What then?" I sent questions towards him hoping to get my mind off of the man I had seen earlier.

"We would just be friends." He responded bluntly.

"What if we fall in love with each other?"

"Then..." Shinso thought for a moment. "We'll see what happens if that ever happens."

"Okay." I paused. "Shinso?"

"Yeah?" He yawned.

"I think I like you a lot. More than a lot." I smiled wrapping my arms around his torso and squeezing him just a bit.

"I like you, too. I'm glad to have you here. To be honest, I was lonely... before you and Koda came along and made my life chaos." Shinso and I chuckled.

"Can we stay like this? Just a little longer?" I asked softly.

"Sure. I'll put on a movie. Could you hand me the remote?" Shinso pointed to the table where the remote was sitting.

"Yeah. Do you want your coffee too?"

  Shinso hummed and nodded 'yes.' I handed him both the remote and his luke warm coffee.

"Got any movies in mind?" He questioned.

"Is the one we were watching the other night still recorded?" I asked hoping we could finish it together.

"Let me check." Shinso paused to check for our movie. "Yup, still here. Wanna finish it?"

"You know it!" I giggled as Shinso and I began watching our movie and drinking our coffee.

  Eventually, he and I fell into a peaceful sleep together. We slept more soundly than either of us had in a long time.

  The next morning, I woke up to Koda meowing and pawing my face.

"Mmm... Ngh... Koda.. stop it..." I picked him up off of the couch and set him on the ground before plopping myself back down onto, what I thought was, my bed.

"Ack!" Shinso groaned as he woke up from all my shifting.

"W-What the!?" I jumped feeling Shinso move. I suddenly remembered everything that happened the day before and quickly got off of Shinso apologizing for how I'd woken him up and for having slept on him all night.

"Stop talking." Shinso took hold of my wrist and pulled me back onto the couch with him, nuzzling his nose into my neck.

"S-Shinso! That-- That tickles when you-- Hahaha!-- breath!!!" I started laughing uncontrollably trying to push, the half awake, Shinso away.

  I felt him smirk into my skin as he started to intentionally blow air onto my neck.

"You- haha-- you jerk! Hahahaha! Stop it! Make it stop! Haha! Koda! Help!" Koda didn't respond to my cries of laughter. He only looked at me and then began to groom himself.

"TRAITOR!!!" I yelled as Shinso continued to torture me.

  I eventually found a way out from under Shinso. In one swift motion, I pushed myself out from under him and on top of him, pinning his arms down to the couch.

"Not so cocky now, huh?" I smirked using my free hand to tickle his sides.

"No- wait-- what are you-!? AH! AHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! MAKE IT STOP!"

  Shinso yelled, squirmed, and tried desperately to wiggle free but it was too late. I wanted my revenge.

"Beg." My smirk grew as he fell helpless under me.

"AH! OH GOD! UNCLE! UNCLE! I GIVE! THREE TAPS!!!" Shinso sighed heavily as I released him.

"HA! I'm the fricken QUEEN of tickling! My sister and I would always have our little fights back when mom would--" I stopped suddenly.

'I have a sister? And a mother? I remember! I had a little sister! I remember what she looked like too! Why can't I remember my mother's face? What would she do again? Why did my sister and I have tickle fights?' My thoughts ran wild. Question after question raised in my head.

"Did you remember something?" Shinso asked propping himself up with his arms, his lower half still underneath my weight.

"Yes. But only what my little sister looked like. Just her face. I almost remembered something else but it just got so fuzzy..."

"It's okay. Describe her to me. Maybe I can find a lead that way."

"She has the same eye color and shape as me. She has a contoured nose, high cheek bones, light brown hair, and rosy cheeks. That's all I can remember." I felt my heart sore and sink all at once. I was happy to have remembered something but it only made more questions arise within me.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it right this second. We need to worry about getting to school right now. We're going to be late." Shinso said calmly, pointing to the clock on the wall.

"What!?" I jumped off Shinso, ran to the bedroom, got dressed into my school uniform, brushed my hair, brushed my teeth, put on my socks and shoes while popping some toast in the toaster for Shinso and I.

  Shinso and I raced out of the house to the bus station and just barely made it to school on time. Neither of us were excited to hear that, for our first class, we had a physical fitness test. Shinso and I both deadpanned before turning to each other and giving a unenthusiastic thumbs up for good luck.