After the little shopping expedition today, Yumiko had arrived back at her home and ate dinner, soon after washing up and now finding herself in her bed. She finished all her assignments and homework she needed to complete that would be due tomorrow, now using the rest of her time before eventually heading to bed.

Scrolling through her phone, looking through social media and what not to keep up to date on what was happening around, she was currently looking at Hayato's page. A recent post of his was a photo posted of himself and a few members of the soccer club, posing with smiles with the blonde male holding the soccer ball under his arm. It seemed that at the time of posting they finished a nice, sweat-filled practice session.

Her original plans for today were to hang out and watch the soccer practice, but after not getting a single text or call back from the L/N teen, she felt aggravated and annoyed. The plans ended up changing and she went to the little shopping trip Y/N and his mother went on, helping him pick out some clothes for him as apparently the only thing in his wardrobe was nothing but suits and ties. However, now that she thought about it, the thought of Y/N in a simple suit and tie began to make its way to her head and push those thoughts of Hayato Hayama out. Between a sweat drenched Hayato and a pleasantly dressed Y/N, the latter seemed to be very much more appealing to her. So much so that a slight blush began to make its way to her face.

Letting out a slight frustrated squeal and kicking her legs up in the air a couple of times, slight thumps as they slammed back onto the mattress. Using a pillow to cover her reddened face, she cursed at Ebina in her head.

Why did she have to mention that to her? Now she felt so much more confused.

---

Hours prior

Their slight clicking of their shoes as they traversed the mall grounds, going through various stores to look for some clothes for the L/N teen. But as they traversed through the many stores, none of them seemed to fit Y/N's tastes.

But still, they didn't seem to give up and continued to look around some more. They soon ended up coming to another store, PAG.

(A/N): Very unoriginal, I know, but I've seen anime feature WcDonald's instead of McDonald's, so I might as well just use some of the most unoriginal names I can come up with for store names and what not, right?

"Hey, what about this one?" Yumiko asked, instantly caught at attention by a simple grey buttoned shirt, lined with red and black lines in a checkered pattern.

Y/N hummed. "I suppose it's not terrible looking. I don't mind buttoned shirts or polos."

"Is that so?" Yumiko grinned and tossed the shirt at him. "Then, try these on. Oh, and these black pants too," she quickly picked out a pair from a nearby shelf.

"You didn't have to throw them at my face," Y/N says, a deadpan expression on his face as the clothes slide down into his arms.

"Don't sweat the small things and get in the changing rooms already," Yumiko says with a nonchalant expression, ushering him into said changing rooms by pushing him.

Eleanor and Hina simply stood from afar.

"Is it just me or do they really get along well? Well, more like L/N-kun can act like a dog with a bone from what I've seen sometimes."

"No, it isn't just you," Eleanor says, "that's how they've always been. They make quite the pair, don't they?"

Hina nodded her head a couple of times. "Yep, yep! I may have my fantasies, but seeing Yumiko in situations like these, I can't help but sprout even more ideas for future stories...!"

Eleanor seemed to share the same expression, a close-eyed smile, "Indeed. I might be able to use some situations like these for future doujins. Perhaps a public intercourse one?"

"Oohh!~ That sounds like a great idea!"

Yumiko soon pops in, giving them a suspicious look. "What are you two babbling on now?"

"Hehe, it's nothing!~"

"Right..." The blonde's suspiciousness only grew.

"More importantly," Hina began, "hey, L/N-kun! Come on out and show us already!"

"Will you hold on a damn minute?" Y/N's voice protrudes out from the changing rooms. "It takes a while to get myself ready and adjust the clothing so it doesn't have any wrinkles. It's common courtesy to at least look presentable, isn't it?"

Eleanor soon grew smug, "And didn't you tell me that you didn't care how you looked in public?"

"Mother, I do not need this right now."

"Just hurry up and get out here, already," Yumiko says, kicking the door.

Y/N sighed. "Yes, 'Your Majesty.'"

A tick mark grew on her head. "Huh? Say that again, dammit."

"Alright, calm down, will you? I'm almost done."

A few more seconds later and Y/N stepped out. Readjusting his collar a little and sweeping his hair back, he presents himself.

And to be honest, Yumiko felt herself at a loss for words. Sure, she's admitted to herself that her friend was quite the handsome fellow, but wasn't sure whether to consider him more good looking than Hayato Hayama. However, seeing him standing there in the shirt and pants she picked out, he looked quite good. She figured the clothing would contrast quite well with his hair and eyes and it did look well on him.

The way the cloth would hug his upper body loosely but also not too tight. The pants didn't look too baggy, but when she first touched it, they weren't soft but weren't too firm. It seemed to be a just right fit.

While Y/N could tell that Yumiko was looking at him in quite the awe expression, her face stunned and standing there in complete silence, completely taken aback by how well the outfit looked good on him despite how casual it may seem, he began to grow a bit nervous. He was used to Yumiko staring at him before, yes, but he wasn't used to this kind of stare, the blonde girl taking the view in and seemingly approving the outfit of choice in order to make him look good. Scratching his cheek a little, he cleared his throat, which caught Yumiko's attention.

"You okay? You've been staring quite a while now. Does it look strange now that you've gotten a pretty good look at it?"

"E-Eh? N-No, it's n-not that," Yumiko stuttered. "I just didn't think it would look so well. You're not the type to wear pretty casual things, considering your background."

Y/N rolled his eyes. "Yes, just because I came from a rich family, I sure do love to wear suits and ties and overly extravagant outfits."

She punched his shoulder. "That's not what I mean, asshole, you know that. But something like this is a nice change of pace to what you usually wear, right?"

"Yeah, you're not wrong about that," Y/N admitted. "Although, you didn't tell me that you had a pretty good sense of fashion taste."

"Heh, you underestimate me, N/N. It should be quite obvious with how much effort I put into my appearance." Yumiko was quite smug about this.

"I'll take your word for it," Y/N shrugged. "Guess I'll buy this, then."

Pulling the door closed, he briefly changes back to his school uniform. Once finished, he opened the door, the folded clothing hanging on his arm, he walked out and began to head for the cashier. However, he didn't get rather far, the back of his collar pulled back before he was shoved back into the changing booth by Yumiko. He looked at her with mild annoyance.

"What was that for?"

"Ah, ah, ah, N/N.~" Yumiko said this in a rather teasing voice. "What makes you say that we're done here?"

"...Eh?"

"Yup, yup! She's right, L/N-kun! The fun's just beginning!" Hina excitedly exclaimed.

Eleanor nodded. "Correct, Y/N. We didn't come here to buy just one outfit."

Y/N sighed. "Give me a break already..." He muttered.

"Nope.~ Consider this your punishment, N/N.~" Yumiko growled slightly, still a little bit pissed off at him for not returning her texts and calls.

The brown-haired teen could only resign to his fate, now being a subject to his mother's, Yumiko's, and Hina's dress-up doll. And so, he would end up waiting within the changing booth, all while the three women would go around the clothing store and pick out different outfits and see which ones would fit his tastes.

He was brought jackets, shirts, t-shirts, pants, shorts, khakis, jeans, all kinds of things. But like many people, Y/N was drawn to many of the darker colors rather than the lighter ones. Picking out a black zipper-up jacket, pairing it with a red undershirt and khaki pants, this was something of a casual wear he could do for the Winter or Fall. For some summer clothing, a nice simple white t-shirt with a simple design on it was there, a nice little tee of a yellow sun with shades whilst also at the beach. Again, this type of shirt could be worn with almost all shorts.

But he also received some rather questionable clothing. Probably from Hina. Some rather questionable outfits considered some skimpy things, a speedo for some reason was included. Of course, Y/N refused to go out and wear this, especially in front of the girl he considered his crush. Hina somehow even got him girls' lingerie and slipped it in for him to wear, which something Y/N looked at with disgust. However, he was still impressed by Yumiko's and his mother's taste in clothing.

In a separate pile, there were some polos. Varied colors like dark blue, some dull dark green, and some with stripes of contrasting colors. But these selected clothes did pair well with the variety of different khakis and tan colored pants and shorts they picked out. And of course, they wouldn't let him go unless he went out and showed the appearance to them. He was met with looks of approval from his mother and Hina, but whenever his gaze looked to Yumiko, she would either say nothing or just look away and twirl her chest-length hair with her finger and respond with a simple, "It looks great." If there's anything he's picked up in the few weeks he's been back and spent with Yumiko, he knows that whenever she doesn't answer him or looks away and plays with her curls whilst giving a meek response, that must mean that she doesn't want to admit something. Something that involves not speaking up for what she truly means and merely just hiding it.

Soon after paying for the clothing, bags upon bags in the boy's hands, they began to depart and head home for the day. Although they offered to take the girls' home with their car, Yumiko and Hina denied politely as they would take the metro instead.

They soon bid each other farewell and headed home.

---

That's how the day ended. Yumiko continued to lay in her bed, her face still beet red as she continued to remember constantly of the outfits she had Y/N try on. She's always considered her clothing to be spot on, considering she's always put an effort to make herself look good whenever she goes on outings with her friends or tries to make herself at least stylish when wearing her uniform. It's how she gained popularity in the first place, her looks boosting her to the top spot of being one of the most beautiful girls in school.

While she did indeed like Hayato Hayama, perhaps considering him to be her future partner, that sentence Ebina had told her still echoed within her head. Why did she have to put that thought into her?

To take her mind off of things, she quickly scrolled through her music library and put on a song.

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you'd see the signs
But Lord knows that this world is cruel
And I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool
Learning loving somebody don't make then love you

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool?

I sang your songs, I danced your dance
I gave your friends all a chance
But putting up with them wasn't worth never having you
Ah, maybe you've been through this before
But it's my first time so please ignore
The next few lines 'cause they're directed at you

I can't always be waiting, waiting for you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool

I keep playing your part
But it's not my scene
Want this plot to twist
I've had enough mystery
Keep building it up
But then you're shooting me down
But I'm already down

Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting
Just wait a minute
Just sitting, waiting

Well if I was in your position
I'd put down all my ammunition
I'd wonder why'd it taken me so long
But Lord knows that I'm not you
And if I was I wouldn't be so cruel
'Cause waiting on you ain't so easy to do

Must I always be waiting, waiting on you?
Must I always be playing, playing your fool?

No I can't always be waiting, waiting on you
I can't always be playing, playing your fool

Fool, hm, hm

(A/N): Song - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing by Jack Johnson

At one point in her life, she did feel like a fool. A fool to believe that fateful was nothing more than a lie and Y/N would show up the next day. What he told her was nothing but a joke, something to get a laugh out of her.

But when he didn't show up, she still waited, wishing, and hoping that he would come back. His travel overseas wouldn't be too long, being at least away for a week at best. However, when it took so long, too long for her to realize that he wasn't coming back for what seemed to be like an inevitable time, she felt like a fool. A fool to believe that he would come back despite all the things they did together.

They both sang and danced with each other. Music was what brought them together.

For some reason, she could understand what the meaning behind this song was, but she couldn't remember. Well, at least she told herself that she understood it. She couldn't necessarily understand the poetic words the songs composed, something Y/N was far more adept at.

But still... She couldn't help but feel a stinging pain in her heart. A pain that she hadn't felt since that day.

[Chapter Eight] | Shopping Trip [Part Two]

---

A rather short one compared to last chapter. But my goal isn't to make super long chapters anyway as this story is going to be one of the more shorter ones.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Until the next one.