Glass Heart - Chapter 1 - Part 2

If you haven't read Glass Heart, Chapter 1, Part 1, please read that first. :)



Glass Heart

Chapter 1

Part 2



February, 2008



My budding friendship with Natsumi had steadily grown stronger over the past month, and today was the day I was finally going to take things to the next level. Today, I was going to ask Natsumi out.

It was Valentine's Day, and I came to school armed with a bouquet of roses, a big, heart-shaped box of chocolates, and a cheesy card, which, if I knew her sense of humor like I thought I did, she would love. I even dressed up for this special day. I was wearing a suit--nothing too over-the-top... at least, I hoped.

I walked into class a few minutes early, something I never did. I even arrived a few minutes before Natsumi walked in. Her name meant "summer beauty", but I thought she was beautiful every day of the year. Today, "beautiful" was an understatement. Her shiny, dark-brown hair floated around her shoulders like I'd never seen. She smiled when she saw me, and rushed over.

She opened her mouth to speak, then blushed. I wondered what she was planning to say. "Um, Daisuke?" I made a small noise to prove that I had heard her before she continued. "Daisuke, I know we haven't known each other that long, and this may seem sudden, but..." she looked down at the floor, blushing again, then looked back at me. "I was wondering... would you like to go out with me?"

I was so shocked, I almost dropped the gifts I had hidden behind my back. I must have had an odd expression on my face, as she apologized then asked if I could forget she had asked. "No, Natsumi, I... I'd love to." Her eyes widened and she smiled at me before throwning her arms around me.

"That's great! Thank you, Daisuke."

"It's no problem. I got this for you." I held out her gifts when she had stopped hugging me.

"Oh, you didn't have to get me anything special." She smiled, then a confused expression flashed across her face. "Wait, how did you know I was going to--"

"I didn't. I was going to ask you." She didn't say anything, so in order to break the silence, I added, "Happy Valentine's Day."

At that moment, Yuka dashed into the classroom carrying a pink bag. She stopped about halfway to where Natsumi and I were standing before continuing, a bit cautiously. She smiled at me, then turned all of her attention to Natsumi. "Suzuki-san? I... I was wondering if you finished the math homework from yesterday. I know we don't have the same teacher, but...."

"Did you not finish?"

Yuka shook her head.

"There's still time before class starts. If you hurry, you can borrow my homework."

"Ah, thank you."

Natsumi handed the paper to Yuka, and Yuka sat down in the desk in the corner of the room, setting the medium-sized gift bag next to her chair. When she pulled out her homework, I noticed all of the answers were filled in. Perhaps she had simply wanted to check her work? No, she wouldn't have said her homework was unfinished if all she was planning to do was check answers. And what was in the bag she had? Before I could confuse myself with more questions, Natsumi spoke.

"Thank you, Daisuke." She said, taking the gifts in her arms. She smelled the roses once, and smiled. "These are beautiful. Thank you."

The two of us talked until the bell rang. When I turned to say goodbye to Yuka, I saw she had already left without saying anything to either Natsumi or I. She had taken her things with her, but left Natsumi's homework on the desk. "I wonder what's up with her...." Natsumi said quietly, picking up her homework and putting it away.



* * *



I didn't see Yuka much after that, and I felt bad for her. She had looked rather disappointed when she saw Natsumi and I, and had lied about not finishing her homework... could it have been that she had something she had wanted to tell me, but after seeing Natsumi and I, she was too afraid? No, that was impossible... Yuka didn't like me.

Did she?

It didn't matter, anyway. I had planned to ask Natsumi to date me first. And if she would have said no....

It was no use asking myself such stupid questions. What happened, happened, and what didn't, well, didn't.

Things with Natsumi, however, were much better. We went on our first date on the Saturday following Valentine's Day. It all had happened pretty fast--both her parents and mine were shocked at the pace we seemed to be going at--but we enjoyed ourselves. I had offered to take her shopping--I still had some money left from a summer job--but she declined, and suggested we go to a movie instead.

There was a new horror film out that I really wanted to see, but Natsumi didn't seem like the horror movie kind of girl, so I let her pick the movie. There were only five movies playing: the zombie horror film, two romantic comedies, a regular comedy, and a drama. She couldn't decide between a romantic comedy and the drama film, so she asked which one I'd rather see. I told her that I thought we should see the comedy, because my mother's friend had seen the drama and said that it was really sad, and I didn't want to see Natsumi cry. She thought that was sweet, and she even let me pay for her ticket--after a few refusals, of course.

I have to admit, the movie wasn't too bad. The plot was pretty sappy, but Natsumi loved it. Basically, it was a woman who worked in a hospital. Her ex-boyfriend, who she had gotten back together with and then broken up with again many times, was sent to jail for stabbing a man. While on duty, she meets the man who her ex had stabbed. The two fall in love, grow apart, then fall in love again. I don't know why it was listed as a romantic comedy, as I didn't find anything funny about it.

The movie was long; just over two hours. As we walked out of the theater, Natsumi grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers in mine. "Thanks for taking me here today." She smiled.

"It's no problem. I'm guessing you had fun?"

"Mmhmm. Did you?"

"Yeah. You pick good movies. We'll have to go see another one sometime." Her face lit up when I said this.

"I'd like that."

In our perfect, carefree world, the snow was still falling.