Hoshino POV:
Remi and Yu spent the remainder of the time ironing out the details of the date, occasionally asking Luna and me for our opinions. By the time we left the restaurant, it was around 6:00 p.m., and the sun had begun to set, burning the sky with a fiery orange.
"Man! I'm so full!" Luna announced as she stretched her arms out wide.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have kept ordering then," I replied flatly.
My phone, which I hadn't put away, flashed. I glanced at the screen. It was a text that I didn't have to reply to. I kept a mental note of it, then looked away.
"Heyyy," Luna said, leaning in closer, "did you even hear what I said?"
I blinked at her, not knowing what she meant. "Did you say something? If you did, I didn't hear you."
Luna's eyes widened, and she slowly pulled away from me. Her gaze lingered on my face just a bit longer before she hurriedly twirled her hair around her finger and let out an awkward chuckle.
"Hahaha, well, that's a first."
I tilted my head. "First for what?"
"Well, it's just…" Luna's pace slowed, the distance between us growing one half-step at a time. "You've always listened. Even if you're on your phone or talking to someone else, you've always managed to hear me at the end of the day. So… I was just a little surprised, is all."
By the time she finished talking, her voice had faded into nothing but a faint whisper.
A pang of guilt settled in my chest, and I bit the inside of my mouth. It was hard to see the once energetic Luna now... disheartened.
Words bubbled up from within me and threatened to spill out, but I kept them in. Anything I said now would either be an excuse or much worse—a lie.
So—I didn't say anything at all. I kept my gaze forward and continued walking.
I felt Luna's gaze on the side of my face. From the corner of my eye, I noticed that a soft, yet fragile smile spread across her face.
Luna took a deep breath, then reached out and grabbed my arm, as if she were afraid of letting go. She stepped in closer until our arms pressed together and whispered:
"Hey, we are going to be friends forever, right?"
I responded instantly. "Of course."
That wasn't a lie.
Her grip on my arm loosened slightly—but she didn't let go. She turned her head back and glanced at Remi and Yu, who were walking behind us, laughing loudly.
Her gaze seemed to grow distant.
"...Even if we find new friends, or even if we find lovers—we will still always be together, right?"
I traced Luna's gaze back to Yu and Remi. I could somewhat understand how she felt. Watching your friends get close to others was... strange. You felt happy for them, but at the same time, left out. It's one of the many things that you couldn't open up about. If you did, it looked like you're mad that they're talking to new people—which is stupid. So, the only thing you could do was hold it in forever.
Or at least—that's how it usually went.
...
I opened my mouth and spoke quietly, enough so that she alone could hear me. "I can't speak for Yu, but…" I turned back to Luna. She met me with her own gaze. It was only then that I continued.
"At the very least, you're stuck with me for life."
I grabbed her arm back and gave her an unserious grin. "So, good luck with that."
A single tear had begun to form in the corner of Luna's eye, but she quickly returned my grin with her usual smile. "I look forward to it! Bestie!"
I shook my head. "You shouldn't be celebrating too hard. I think two years down the line, you'll regret being friends with me."
Luna let out a laugh. "Haha, don't say that! I think I'll always be thankful for this!"
The two of us continued to enjoy our little exchange until a voice suddenly called out to us from behind.
"Yo!" Yu shouted.
We both looked back.
"I'm gonna drop Remi home. I don't want her walking out late alone. Is that okay with you?"
I glanced over at Luna. Her smile was slightly strained on the corners of her lips.
It wasn't like Yu was ditching us or anything—he simply looked out for people. She knew that too. Still...
Maybe now is a bad time.
I opened my mouth, but Luna spoke first.
"It's okay!" she shouted back. "Make sure she gets home safe!"
Luna turned to me and jabbed my arm with a sly grin. I shot her a glare, but she paid me no mind. "Hoshino can drop me off, so you don't have to worry about us!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
I guess there was nothing to worry about after all. That's good.
Yu nodded. "Okay! Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
Yu flashed us his usual happy smile before turning around and walking off. Both Luna and I watched his retreating figure as it grew smaller in the distance, fading into the fiery orange backdrop. Even now, he and Remi were talking and laughing.
I sighed.
What else did I expect? That they'd walk home in silence? Of course not, that was unreasonable.
My gaze lingered for a little longer before I turned around and began walking forward, leaving him behind.
"Well, let's go. We can't just sit around all day."
Luna flinched, her head snapping in my direction. Realizing that I wasn't stopping, she ran back to my side.
The walk to her house was filled with laughs of our very own until she was at her front door.
"Well, this is where I take my leave!"
She ran up to the front door and grabbed the handle. She was in the middle of opening it when she paused.
"What's wrong?" I asked, slightly concerned.
Luna quickly shook her head without turning back to me. "No, it's just…" Luna spun on her heel and revealed one last energetic smile.
"Thank you for dropping me off! Bye-bye, see you tomorrow!"
She gave me a wide wave.
I scoffed.
"Yeah, bye. See you tomorrow," I answered with a small wave of my own.
Luna closed the door with a loud *thud*. It lingered in the air until silence took over. As it did, the sun seemed to descend even further, the fiery sky decaying into a dark indigo.
I let out a deep breath and glanced at my phone screen.
Just in time.
I put my phone back in my pocket and began walking towards my destination. Luna lived about five minutes away from me. To get to my house from hers, I needed to take a right at the stop sign.
When I reached the stop sign, I turned left.
I continued walking until I was at the edge of the neighbourhood. Across the street, just in front of me, stood two tall, old, nearly abandoned buildings.
I walked into the gap between the two buildings—the alleyway. It was like a rift in the world, shrouded in complete darkness. Yet, I navigated myself through it with ease until I reached the dead end. An empty vending machine stood against the right wall, its inky-black shadow bleeding into the corner.
"You're late," a cheery voice said, hidden within the shadow of the vending machine.
My smile faded until only my neutral expression remained.
"Don't be overdramatic," I countered. "I'm right on time."
There was no response, just a deep, weary sigh that drifted through the dark. "Whatever. Just hurry up."
I did what the voice asked and stepped into the darkness. In its very depths, a girl sat on the ground, holding a can of tea.
She wore baggy white sweatpants and an oversized black hoodie. Her long, black hair was tied up in a high ponytail, revealing the layer of magenta under-dye.
She glanced up at me, her deep purple eyes with streaks of pink peering into me.
And there it was—that cheery smile.
Without saying anything else, I sat down to her left, leaving thirty centimetres between us. Still, she extended a hand halfway. I extended my own.
Our fingers touched first, hers chillingly warm. Then they intertwined. We pushed further until our palms were pressed together, our fingers finally closing in a tight grip.
With her free hand, she reached into the dark and placed the object down where our hands met. A quiet, metallic *clang* hung in the air for a moment. A can of tea. Same brand as hers, but a different flavour.
I grabbed it with my free hand and opened it—barely leaving a sound behind.
She lifted her can into the air, directed at me.
I stared at it for a bit before asking: "What are you doing?"
She giggled softly. "What does it look like I'm doing? A toast."
I sighed, then I lifted my can towards hers. "What are we toasting?"
Her smile grew slightly more hollow, as if it didn't sit right on her cheery face.
She took a small breath—then slowly parted her lips.
When she spoke, there was no trace of the cheeriness I had heard previously.
As if…
It never existed.
The only thing that remained—
Was a tinge of nothing.
"A toast—to us."