Chapter 8

Len.

I don't know what happened back there. I really liked Rin, or, at least I thought I did, and I really didn't like it when people cried or broke down.

I pulled back quickly. "S-Sorry," I began, "It's just that...I don't like it when people cry. I always end up trying to comfort them..."

I could tell that Rin was surprised when I had suddenly pulled away. "Oh," her face seemed a little red under the white light falling down on us, "That's nice of you."

"I-I should probably head home now," I began to panic and stutter, getting up from the bench, "It's getting late."

"Yeah, you're right," Rin stood up as well.

I put a hand behind my head. "Er, well...I hope you feel better now," I wasn't sure if should smile or not, "And don't worry, I didn't hear anything you didn't want me to."

Rin smiled, and then suddenly, she hugged me, quickly pulling back. I let my arms hang lamely by my sides. "Thank you," she smiled, "You're a very nice person, Len."

I knew I was blushing, I just hoped that she couldn't tell. I looked down at the ground, but I could feel her eyes set on me. "T-Thanks, Rin," I managed to say, "Do you...I mean, do you want me to walk you home? Or something? I mean..."

Rin laughed. "Okay, silly!" She smacked my arm gently, "But you better take care of me!"

"Of course!" I shouted, balling my fists. Then I realized that I was reacting way too seriously to her joke. Oh man, I'm such an idiot.

"All right, all right," Rin grinned. The two of us walked out of the park.

"I didn't know you liked to sing," I mused, recalling the incident that caused all of this, that led to me hugging her.

"Oh," Rin put her index finger against her mouth thoughtfully. She looked at me, "Yeah, I guess you really don't know a lot about me," then she grinned, "I don't even know a lot about you!"

"Eh heh heh...," I chuckled, feeling a little uneasy.

"But that will have to change, because we're friends now!" Rin caught me off guard with that bit. I blinked a couple of times, trying to digest what she had just said.

"Wait, we're friends?" I asked in disbelief.

Rin waved a hand in front of my face, as if she wanted to make sure I was still awake. "Yes, silly billy! How hard is it to become friends?"

"Okay, okay," I would have more time to think about this later. Now I was friends with my crush. Hooray? No, no, I'll think about this later, I thought.

"Yes, Len, I like singing," Rin said, "In fact, I've been singing for as long as I can remember! Maybe it's because I always thought Miku was so cool, singing like that, but really, I can't remember."

Yeah, it was true. Miku was a teenage idol, popular because of her amazing singing and at the same time feared because of her way with leeks. No one would dare approach her. Watching her music videos online was enough.

"Do you sing?" Rin asked. I shook my head.

"Me? Sing? I'm no good," I explained.

Rin puffed up her cheeks. "Have you even tried?"

"N-No...," I ruffled my hair nervously.

"Then how do you know you're no good at it if you haven't even tried?"

"I just don't think it'll work. I mean, me and singing?" I tried to laugh, but it came out as a nervous chuckle.

"You mean you don't even sing in the shower?" Rin looked at me with wide eyes.

"No...is this your home?" I tried to change the subject. We had arrived at a large gate made of intimidating, black iron bars. Inside was a fountain spurting water, a lush and quiet garden that looked almost magical, and a huge house.

"Yes, this is it," Rin nodded, pulling a key out of her pocket, "You wanna come in? Your mom's not at home tonight, so maybe you could stay the night? We've got lots of space, and I'm always alone anyway..."

"No, no, no! That's fine!" I waved my hands, cutting her off before she went on and on. Inside, I kind of wanted to stay at her home, but at the same time, I wasn't ready yet. I didn't want to rush; we had already ended up hugging in the park, and now we were apparently friends.

"Okay...," Rin sounded a bit let down, and for a moment, I considered saying yes, "But feel free to drop by anytime, Len!"

"Okay," I put on a grin, "I'll do that! Goodnight, Rin, see you..."

As I turned and began to say "tomorrow," Rin took my arm.

"And starting tomorrow, you're coming with me to the music club!" She said firmly.

"What?!"