Chapter 5: The Storm
Friday Evening – Hiroshi's Apartment
(Yuki stands in the middle of Hiroshi's tiny apartment, looking around.)
Yuki: "It's so clean."
Hiroshi: "I told you."
Yuki: "But where's your personality?"
Hiroshi: "My personality is in my books."
Yuki: "Books don't count."
(She walks to his desk. Stacks of notebooks. A computer. A small telescope by the window.)
Yuki: "You really live like this?"
Hiroshi: "Efficiently."
Yuki: "Lonely."
Hiroshi: "I have Sōta."
Yuki: "Sōta doesn't live here."
Hiroshi: "Thankfully."
(She laughs. Then thunder rumbles outside.)
Yuki: "Was that thunder?"
Hiroshi: "Yes."
(Rain starts. Hard. Loud against the window.)
Yuki: "Oh no."
Hiroshi: "You should leave before it gets worse."
Yuki: "It's already worse."
(She looks out the window. The rain is pouring sideways.)
Hiroshi: "I'll walk you across the street."
Yuki: "In this? We'll be soaked in three seconds."
Hiroshi: "Then run."
Yuki: "I don't run in thunderstorms."
(Lightning flashes. Thunder cracks immediately after.)
Yuki: "That was close."
Hiroshi: "Very close."
Yuki: "Can I stay? Just until the rain stops?"
Hiroshi: "...Fine."
(She smiles. He sighs.)
One Hour Later – The Rain Hasn't Stopped
(They sit on the floor. Hiroshi is at his desk. Yuki is on a cushion he gave her.)
Yuki: "Your floor is hard."
Hiroshi: "It's wood."
Yuki: "I can feel every grain."
Hiroshi: "Then sit on the bed."
Yuki: "Are you inviting me to your bed?"
Hiroshi: "No. I'm offering a chair alternative."
Yuki: "Same thing."
(She moves to the edge of his bed. He doesn't look at her.)
Hiroshi: "The rain isn't stopping."
Yuki: "I noticed."
Hiroshi: "The last bus is gone."
Yuki: "I noticed that too."
Hiroshi: "You might have to stay."
Yuki: "Are you kicking me out?"
Hiroshi: "I'm stating facts."
Yuki: "The fact is, I'm staying overnight."
Hiroshi: "That's not what I said."
Yuki: "That's what I heard."
(Thunder shakes the building. Yuki jumps.)
Yuki: "Okay, that one scared me."
Hiroshi: "It's just thunder."
Yuki: "It's loud thunder."
(She moves closer to him. He doesn't move away.)
Evening – The Problem
Yuki: "I need to take a bath."
Hiroshi: "The bathroom is down the hall."
Yuki: "I don't have clothes."
Hiroshi: "..."
Yuki: "Can I borrow something?"
Hiroshi: "I don't have anything that will fit you."
Yuki: "A shirt. A big shirt."
Hiroshi: "I have a sweatshirt."
Yuki: "Perfect."
(He opens his closet. He pulls out a plain gray sweatshirt.)
Hiroshi: "It's old."
Yuki: "It smells like you."
Hiroshi: "That's not a compliment."
Yuki: "It is to me."
(She takes it. Her fingers brush his. He pulls back.)
Hiroshi: "The bathroom is the second door on the left."
Yuki: "Don't come in."
Hiroshi: "I wouldn't."
Yuki: "Promise?"
Hiroshi: "I don't break promises."
(She smiles and disappears down the hall.)
The Mistake
(Hiroshi sits at his desk. He tries to read. He can't focus. The sound of water running from the bathroom echoes in the small apartment.)
Hiroshi: (to himself) "Focus. Read."
(He reads the same sentence four times. Nothing.)
(Twenty minutes pass. The water stops. He hears the bathroom door open.)
Yuki: "Hiroshi? I forgot a towel."
(He stands. He walks toward the bathroom without thinking. The door is slightly ajar.)
Hiroshi: "There are towels in the cabinet above the—"
(He pushes the door open.)
(Yuki is standing there. Completely naked. Water still dripping from her hair. Her skin is pink from the heat. Her body is small but curved. She is facing him.)
(Time stops.)
(Hiroshi sees everything.)
(His brain short-circuits.)
Yuki: "..."
Hiroshi: "..."
(Her eyes widen. But instead of screaming or covering herself, she smiles.)
Yuki: "Oh."
(Hiroshi's face turns deep red. His ears burn. He slams the door shut.)
Hiroshi: "I didn't— I wasn't— The towel—"
(His voice cracks. He has never lost composure like this.)
(Behind the door, Yuki laughs. Softly. Happily.)
Yuki: "You saw me."
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Your ears are red. I can hear it in your voice."
Hiroshi: "I'm going back to my desk."
Yuki: "Don't run away."
Hiroshi: "I'm not running. I'm walking quickly."
(He walks back to his desk. His hands are shaking. He stares at his computer screen but sees nothing.)
(His heart is pounding. He doesn't understand why.)
Ten Minutes Later – Yuki Emerges
(She comes out wearing his gray sweatshirt. It falls to her thighs. Her legs are bare. Her hair is damp and messy.)
Yuki: "I found the towels."
Hiroshi: "Good."
(He doesn't look at her.)
Yuki: "You can look at me now. I'm dressed."
Hiroshi: "You're wearing my sweatshirt."
Yuki: "Yes."
Hiroshi: "That's not dressed."
Yuki: "It's dressed enough."
(She sits on his bed. Crosses her legs. He still doesn't look.)
Yuki: "Are you going to avoid me all night?"
Hiroshi: "I'm not avoiding you. I'm reading."
Yuki: "Your book is upside down."
(He looks. It is.)
Hiroshi: "..."
Yuki: "You're flustered."
Hiroshi: "I'm not."
Yuki: "Your ears are red."
Hiroshi: "The room is warm."
Yuki: "The window is open. It's cold outside."
Hiroshi: "Then close the window."
Yuki: "Then you'll be cold."
Hiroshi: "I don't get cold."
Yuki: "You're shaking."
(He looks at his hand. It is trembling.)
Hiroshi: "That's adrenaline."
Yuki: "From what?"
(He doesn't answer.)
Late Evening – The Tension
(They sit in silence. The rain continues. Thunder rumbles occasionally.)
Yuki: "Hiroshi."
Hiroshi: "What."
Yuki: "Did you like what you saw?"
Hiroshi: "I'm not answering that."
Yuki: "That means yes."
Hiroshi: "That means I refuse to answer."
Yuki: "Same thing."
(She moves from the bed to the floor. She sits next to his desk. Her bare knee touches his leg.)
Hiroshi: "Personal space."
Yuki: "We're past that. You saw me naked."
Hiroshi: "That was an accident."
Yuki: "Still happened."
Hiroshi: "Forget it."
Yuki: "I won't. Ever."
(He finally looks at her. Her face is close. Her eyes are bright. She is smiling.)
Hiroshi: "Why aren't you angry?"
Yuki: "Because it's you."
Hiroshi: "That doesn't make sense."
Yuki: "It makes perfect sense. I like you. You saw me. Now you can't stop thinking about me."
Hiroshi: "That's manipulation."
Yuki: "That's strategy."
Hiroshi: "Same thing."
Yuki: (laughing) "You used my line."
Hiroshi: "Accidentally."
Yuki: "You're blushing again."
Hiroshi: "I'm not."
Yuki: "Your neck is red too."
(He touches his neck. It's warm.)
Hiroshi: "I think I'm getting sick."
Yuki: "You're not sick. You're feeling something."
Hiroshi: "I don't feel things."
Yuki: "You feel something right now. What is it?"
(He stares at her. His mouth opens. Closes.)
Hiroshi: "I don't know."
Yuki: "That's okay. You can figure it out later."
(She rests her head on his shoulder. He freezes.)
Hiroshi: "What are you doing?"
Yuki: "Resting."
Hiroshi: "On me."
Yuki: "You're comfortable."
Hiroshi: "I'm not."
Yuki: "You are. I can hear your heartbeat."
Hiroshi: "That's invasive."
Yuki: "That's intimate."
(He doesn't push her away. His heart beats faster. She smiles against his shoulder.)
Night – Sleeping Arrangements
(The rain finally slows. But it's past midnight.)
Yuki: "I can't walk home now. It's too dark."
Hiroshi: "You can have the bed."
Yuki: "Where will you sleep?"
Hiroshi: "Desk."
Yuki: "That's bad for your back."
Hiroshi: "I'll survive."
Yuki: "Sleep on the floor. I'll sleep on the bed."
Hiroshi: "The floor is hard."
Yuki: "Then sleep on the bed with me."
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Why not?"
Hiroshi: "Because."
Yuki: "That's not a reason."
Hiroshi: "It's my reason."
(She stands. She pulls his hand.)
Yuki: "Come on."
Hiroshi: "I said no."
Yuki: "I said yes."
Hiroshi: "That's not how consent works."
Yuki: "Fine. I'll sleep on the floor. You take the bed."
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Then we both sleep on the floor."
Hiroshi: "That's ridiculous."
Yuki: "Then we both sleep on the bed."
(He stares at her. She stares back.)
Hiroshi: "...Fine. Bed. But no touching."
Yuki: "Define touching."
Hiroshi: "Any physical contact."
Yuki: "What if we touch accidentally?"
Hiroshi: "Then avoid it."
Yuki: "What if you roll over in your sleep?"
Hiroshi: "I don't move when I sleep."
Yuki: "How do you know?"
Hiroshi: "I just know."
(They lie down on the bed. There is space between them. A few inches.)
Yuki: "This is nice."
Hiroshi: "This is uncomfortable."
Yuki: "For you or for me?"
Hiroshi: "Both."
Yuki: "Liar."
(She shifts closer. Her arm touches his.)
Hiroshi: "You're touching me."
Yuki: "Accidentally."
Hiroshi: "That was intentional."
Yuki: "Prove it."
Hiroshi: "I can't prove intent."
Yuki: "Then it's an accident."
(She moves closer. Her leg touches his.)
Hiroshi: "Now you're doing it on purpose."
Yuki: "Maybe."
Hiroshi: "Stop."
Yuki: "Make me."
(He doesn't move. He doesn't push her away.)
(She smiles in the dark.)
Early Morning – Waking Up
(Hiroshi wakes first. Sunlight is coming through the window.)
(Yuki is curled against him. Her head is on his chest. Her arm is across his stomach. Her bare leg is tangled with his.)
(His arm is around her. He doesn't remember putting it there.)
(He freezes.)
Hiroshi: "..."
(He looks down at her. Her face is peaceful. Her lips are slightly parted. She is beautiful.)
(His heart pounds.)
(He carefully tries to move. She stirs.)
Yuki: "Mm..."
Hiroshi: "Wake up."
Yuki: "Five more minutes."
Hiroshi: "You're on top of me."
Yuki: "I know. It's nice."
(She snuggles closer. He stops breathing.)
Hiroshi: "Yuki."
Yuki: "Hmm?"
Hiroshi: "We need to get up."
Yuki: "Why?"
Hiroshi: "Because."
Yuki: "That's not a reason."
Hiroshi: "It's Saturday. There's no school. Let me sleep."
Hiroshi: "You're sleeping on me."
Yuki: "You're comfortable."
(She opens her eyes. She looks up at him. She smiles.)
Yuki: "Good morning."
Hiroshi: "Morning."
Yuki: "You have bed hair."
Hiroshi: "I don't have bed hair. My hair is always neat."
Yuki: "It's messy. It's cute."
Hiroshi: "I'm not cute."
Yuki: "You are. You just don't know it."
(She sits up. His sweatshirt is loose. It slips off one shoulder. She doesn't fix it.)
Hiroshi: "Your shoulder."
Yuki: "What about it?"
Hiroshi: "It's exposed."
Yuki: "Are you looking?"
Hiroshi: "No."
Yuki: "Then how do you know it's exposed?"
(He looks away. His ears are crimson.)
Yuki: "You're so easy to fluster."
Hiroshi: "I'm not flustered."
Yuki: "Your ears say otherwise."
Hiroshi: "My ears don't talk."
Yuki: "They do. They say 'Hiroshi likes Yuki.'"
Hiroshi: "That's not what they say."
Yuki: "That's what I hear."
(She leans close. Her face is inches from his.)
Yuki: "Thank you for letting me stay."
Hiroshi: "I didn't have a choice."
Yuki: "You always have a choice. You chose to let me stay."
Hiroshi: "..."
Yuki: "And you chose to hold me in your sleep."
Hiroshi: "That was unconscious."
Yuki: "Your unconscious likes me."
Hiroshi: "That's not how unconscious works."
Yuki: "That's how I want it to work."
(She kisses his cheek. Quick. Soft.)
(He freezes completely.)
Yuki: "Breakfast?"
Hiroshi: "You just kissed me."
Yuki: "On the cheek. It's not a big deal."
Hiroshi: "It's a very big deal."
Yuki: "Then I'll kiss you again later."
Hiroshi: "Please don't."
Yuki: "Please do?"
(She stands. His sweatshirt falls to her mid-thigh. She stretches.)
Yuki: "I'm hungry."
Hiroshi: "There's rice. And eggs."
Yuki: "I'll cook."
Hiroshi: "You're a guest."
Yuki: "I'm your bench neighbor who slept in your bed and saw you naked."
Hiroshi: "I saw YOU naked. Not the other way around."
Yuki: "Same thing."
(She walks to the kitchen. He watches her. His face is still red.)
(He touches his cheek where she kissed him.)
(He doesn't know why his heart won't stop racing.)
---
End of Chapter 5