Shimmer

A short, unusually fluffy shoujo-ai one-shot

“These past few days have been really crazy, and I’m not sure if we’re friends, or dating, or whatever, but one thing I know for sure is I love you.”

Kitsune thought of her friend’s words as she stared at her reflection in the water. It was a starry night, and a little cooler than Kitsune would expect, it being June and all. Her knes held to her chest, the memory of what had happened was flooding over her, threatening to take over her thoughts as these things often did.

“Kitsune, can I ask you something?” Hikari inquired, her blue eyes fixed on me.

“Sure, anything, Kari,” I replied. We’d been friends since the first grade; Hikari normally would just say what she needed to say and not ask my permission. That is, unless it was a big deal.

“See, I have this crush on someone I know really well…how do I tell her?” Hikari felt a bit nervous as she asked me this incredibly awkward question.

“Well, I guess you should probably just be honest with her. Tell her you like her and want to pursue a relationship. And if that makes the whole thing awkward, you probably weren’t as good friends with her as you thought.” I studied Hikari’s face, looking to see if I could figure out who it was. Normally Hikari was so easy to read, but today I couldn’t get anything. Taking a deep breath, my friend spoke again.

“Kitsune, I really like you and want to pursue a relationship,” Hikari finally said, using my own words exactly. I hate when she does that… I pushed my hair out of my eyes and thought for a moment.

“You know, I guess I should’ve expected that. I actually can’t believe it surprised me. It’s not that I don’t want to, but there’s just no way I can right now. I have a job, four advanced classes with finals coming up, and it’s impossible keep up with that kind of schedule and give you the time and attention you deserve.” Hikari looked at me, a bit disappointed.

“Classes end in a week, Kitsune. You’re telling me that once this summer gets started you won’t have time for me either?” Hikari sounded slightly hurt, but I think she was trying not to show that.

“It’s very complicated, and it’d take forever for me to explain it to you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” I finished saying as the bell rang to signal the end of the day.

“Guess so, then,” Hikari said to herself, so I could barely hear.

Looking out onto the horizon, Kitsune sighed. It really had proved a tough decision. She’d begun to regret the advice she gave Hikari. The truth was, it was awkward, but knowing Hikari, she’d taken Kitsune’s words to heart and thought they’d never been good friends. That wasn’t the case. Kitsune loved her friend dearly; she just wasn’t sure if she did in that way. Sure, she was annoying sometimes, and not terribly intelligent, but she was also sweet and loyal. Trying to stray away from the subject of Hikari in her thoughts, she lay on her back and watched the stars. Of course, trying not to think about her made not it near-impossible.

“Hey.” Hikari looked at me, as though her eyes were saying ‘you have an answer yet?’ I didn’t know what to tell her. She’d been my best friend for so long, anything else would take some major adjustments.

“Listen,” I wasn’t really sure where I was going with this. I just thought I had to say something. “I don’t know yet, I’ll tell you when I do.” That bought me some time. I really didn’t know if I wanted a relationship with her or not. She seemed very desirable at times; others, er, not so much.

“Kitsune, we’ve only got three days left. I really would like an answer before summer starts…I want to know whether or not I’m going to have to look for someone else,” she laughed a little and looked at me. “You all right?”

I hadn’t been listening. She was, in a rare moment, right. There were only three more days of classes, and if she wanted an answer I was going to have to put thought into this fast. The main question, I guess, was ‘Is she worth being with?’

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied. “I’ll try to have some kind of answer for you later today, all right?” Hikari nodded.

“See you later, sexy,” She called to me as she walked away, in that cute singsong voice of hers.

Kitsune fished her cell phone out of her pocket to check the time. 8:50 p.m. Hikari would be coming in about ten minutes. That is, if she were on schedule. She would most likely show up twenty minutes late, yet with a story so enthralling that Kitsune couldn’t help but forgive her. But she couldn’t count on it. After all, if the situation they had found themselves in showed Kitsune anything, it was that Hikari was full of surprises. She smiled as her mind began to drift off to thoughts of Hikari once more.

“So, it’s our last day.” Hikari smiled and leaned forward very close to me, maybe a little closer than I’d normally have liked. But if we were going to be together, we’d have to learn to deal with all these annoying little things the other one does.

“Yeah. Congratulations, Kari. As of tomorrow, we’re sophomores,” I said, smiling a little myself.

“I know. It’s exciting, isn’t it? Kind of makes me want to do something fun, you know, send freshman year off with a bang.” She looked at me, twirling her hair with her finger and biting her lip ever so slightly.

“Don’t you think you’re going a bit too fast? I mean, you don’t even know if we’re dating yet.” I said, drawing myself back playfully. We both knew I didn’t really think she meant sex. But it’s Hikari; she may have.

“Yeah…you never did tell me. Building the suspense or do you really not know how to talk to a beautiful goddess like myself about these things?” She thrust her breasts forward and licked her lips as she said this. In all honesty, I hadn’t known what to say to her, but at that moment it hit me.

“Okay, you want your answer? I’ve got one. But you’ll have to wait ‘til tonight, beautiful.” I teased. I was honestly beginning to enjoy this a little too much.

“Oh, but Kitsune, that’s so far away! I don’t know if I can wait that long!” Hikari laughed and shoved me playfully.

“Try.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Hikari’s the type of person who can be so infectiously cheerful sometimes. “How about at the water’s edge around nine?”

“Any time you say is fine with me.” She gave me a mischievous look as she said this. I couldn’t stand the wait myself at this point. As the final minutes of our freshman year began to wind down, she turned to me and said, in the sweetest, most intoxicating tone of voice she could possibly manage, “These past few days have been really crazy, and I’m not sure if we’re friends, or dating, or whatever, but one thing I know for sure is I love you.” She kissed me on the cheek as she walked away. I watched her, deep in thought. It became apparent to me that tonight would be the beginning of either pure ecstasy or hell on earth.

Kitsune smiled. That had been her favorite part of the story; after all, much as she’d hate to admit it, happy endings were the best kind. She looked at her phone again. 9:30. Her heart sank into her chest. All that trouble for nothing.

“She stood me up,” Kitsune sighed heavily. She should have seen it coming. Hikari had many wonderful qualities, but dependability had never been among them. Kitsune began to walk away, not wanting to leave. It was a long shot, but she really wanted to believe that Hikari was coming. She forced herself to walk, with the thought that leaving now would be less disheartening than staying by the water’s edge and falling asleep there alone.

“Kitsune,” she heard Hikari’s familiar voice call. Her mind must have been playing tricks on her. Hikari was forty-five minutes late by this point; one could argue that it was a fair assumption she wasn’t coming. Seconds later, the two collided as Kitsune walked toward her home, not watching in front of her. Hikari began to laugh as they lay next to each other on the ground.

“Shut up…it’s dark,” Kitsune chuckled very slightly.

“Kitsune, you remember what I’m here for, right?” Hikari’s voice displayed a mild touch of anxiety asking this.

“Oh, you want an answer, huh?” Kitsune asked slyly. “Take a guess.”

“Uh, yes?” Hikari said, trying to act cute. She pushed herself closer to Kitsune and laid her head on her shoulder.

“Good guess,” Kitsune replied, kissing Hikari on the forehead. Hikari held herself closer to Kitsune, pressing her chest to Kitsune’s side.

“Kitsune, this is going to be an amazing summer.” She said, sounding totally content.

“Yeah, it really is.”