When Spring First Came

🌸Chapter Three🌸

Seeing his shocked expression, she immediately rushed to say her explanation. It wasn't what he was thinking!

"I mean, no! I don't want you to be my boyfriend. Not in that way..." Rui stood still stood, frozen.

"......"

Then which one is it?!

Mei took a deep breath.

"What I mean to say is...I want you to be my boyfriend in name only." He blinked, as if waking up from a trance.

"You want me to do what?" She let go of his sweater as she looked at him with an earnest look on her face.

"Be my boyfriend."

"Wait." He shook his head as he tried to recover from the whiplash of the sudden confession (?) and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"So," he began as he tried to make sense of what she said. "You want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"But we're not actually dating?"

"Yes."

"So, a fake boyfriend?"

"Well, sort of." He sighed. Either this was really a creative ploy to have him be her boyfriend or this girl was indeed crazy. Should he be impressed or disappointed?

Or what if she was caught in some trouble, and she needed a scapegoat.

Ah, all choices were horrible.

"Why?" He asked, placing his hands in his pockets. She gently swayed herself on the swing once again.

"For...my book." He blinked. This wasn't what he expected. He didn't know if this was for the better or worse.

"Your book?"

"Yeah. I'm planning to write a romance novel."

"And?" What's this got to do with me? She pressed her on the ground, and stared into his eyes.

"The thing is, I haven't experienced anything about what I'm planning to write. I haven't experienced 'love' for a real person yet."

"So, can't you just write about it?" She shook her head.

"It comes off really fake or just boring. I can't seem to write well about something I haven't tried so please..." She stood up, before bowing down into a straight 90 degrees, "Please let me have the honor of having all my firsts with you! Please be my boyfriend!"

"Oi!" He exclaimed, as he stepped back in shock. His ears were blushing pink. Is this girl crazy?!

"Just for the whole summer, until I can finish my book. After that, we can go back to normal and pretend nothing ever happened."

"But why...me?" Because I don't know anyone else but you. Because nobody's ever talked to me except you.

"Because you're just like a real life ml!" He blinked.

"A what?"

"A male lead! You're cool, smart, popular, handsome and kind. You're like a prince!"

"B-but you just saw me wear a skirt..."

"That's fine! I like wearing pants!"

"Eh?"

"You can be the prince who likes wearing skirts and I can be the princess who likes wearing pants!" Rui laughed.

"What the fuck is with that description?" Mei smiled; she was bouncing from excitement.

"Does that mean you'll say yes?" He cocked his head as he took a good look at her. She didn't look bad, and well though this idea of hers and the motive behind it was absolutely outrageous...

It didn't hurt to have fun once in a while.

"Okay. I'll do it." Her jaw dropped. Without thinking, she grabbed her hands in his, jumping up and down; her eyes gleaming with happiness. Rui couldn't help but stare into them.

"Really?" He nodded his head.

"Sure." She squealed, pulling him into a tight bear hug that almost knocked the breath out of his lungs. Though she looked small, her grip was actually pretty strong.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She let go of him, and he gasped, holding the side of his stomach.

"I'll be in you care for now on!" He gave her a wincing smile. That one actually took his breath away.

"Likewise." The gravity of the situation must have finally sunk into her, as her feeling of euphoria slowly started to seep into the grass, and she was left to face this boy in front of her-no he was her boyfriend now. Her face glowed a bright pink. He chuckled.

"So..." she wrung her hands nervously, going back to her timid self. "W-what now?" He tilted his head to the side, a mischievous smile on his face. He hummed, seemingly thinking of what to do next.

"Well, we're lovers now." Her face burned. L-lovers? She, Mei, a self-proclaimed spinster, finally bagged a boyfriend?!

Well, I mean, he's a contractual boyfriend, but still.

"It's getting dark. Should we go home now?" His voice brought her back to reality and she blinked.

"What? Oh, ah, yes." Oh gods, this was awkward. She didn't know what to do. She was a pure virgin, with no experience outside of dramas and books.

"Should we hold hands?" She blinked.

"What?" Rui grinned.

"We are a couple, aren't we?"

"Ah yes." His warm hand enclosed around hers. With that, they took the slow walk from the playground to their houses. None of them spoke throughout the while journey, both of them consumed on their own heads. Mei couldn't stop staring at their intertwined hands. His fingers were huge and slender. They looked prettier than her short and stubby ones. She blushed.

Oh, my fuck, was she swooning over a hand?!

On the outside she managed to keep her cool, but on the inside, she was internally screaming.

Oh, my fuck. What has my impulsivity led me to? For the first time in her life, she was actually holding hands with a boy. A good-looking boy at that. One that made girls hearts flutter.

She didn't know what was going to happen next. What if she was going to regret it? What if they find out they actually hate each other's guts? Nothing good would surely come out of this.

On the other hand, she felt elated. With this, she could finally write her book! Doing the things that she would usually see couples do, the inspiration would surely come in, and she can finally make a work she was proud of. This was a good start.

For Rui, there were a lot of thoughts going through his head as well. Has he gone crazy? Why did he even agree to this in the first place? What was so different from this faux confession amongst all the other ones he received?

Maybe it was because this one had a limit; and this wasn't real. He could have as much fun as he wants and then leave if he could. There was no commitment, no promise weighing them down.

It could also be because of the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about her book, the eagerness to make something amazing, or the way she called him cool for wearing a dress.

A faint blush sprinkled on his cheeks.

She looked kinda cute.

.

.

.

.

That night, Mei spent more hours on her laptop than she did on her bed. Surprisingly, enough she was still full of energy. The hours wore on, and the bags under her eyes had darkened as she furiously tapped on her keyboard, leaking her thoughts into words.

Finally, she has started.