As I continued to enjoy the rustle of the leaves, the sound of hurried footsteps snapped me back to reality.
*snap* *snap* *snap*
Looks like someone has a problem with Mother Nature.
I opened my eyes and turned toward the sound. Yu tilted his head at me, about to ask what was wrong, but I put my finger to my lips, signalling him to stay quiet.
In the distance, long blond hair flowed in the wind. Then bright blue eyes—with a faint reddish glint—locked directly onto us. I gulped.
Oh yeah… There was another partner in crime that we forgot about.
"Where the hell were you guys?! Do you know how long I waited for you?!"
Yu's face drained of colour as he realized the same thing I did. Luna stormed toward us and stopped until she was right in front of us. She crossed her arms and glared at us with a scowl that creased through her makeup.
Yu and I immediately straightened our posture and dropped to our knees—backs straight, hands resting neatly on our laps. The universal pose of the guilty.
"Forget how long I waited, time can come back—kinda. But do you know how worried I was?! I waited at the school gate forever! And when I saw other students begin to come out, and you didn't, I thought you got caught! But then I checked your location and saw you were just chilling over here! Where was the ping?! No text?! No call?! You were just going to have your little romantic bromance moment under the trees and leave me?!"
She lectured us so thoroughly that the breeze stilled and the trees grew silent. It was almost like Mother Nature herself adhered to Luna's wrath.
"Sorry," Yu said with his head lowered, genuinely contrite.
"Sorry~" I echoed while picking at my nails.
Even after that, Luna kept chewing us out until she was out of breath. Once she was, she dropped down beside us under the shade. Yu sat against the wall, while Luna and I leaned against him. It was the curse of being the tallest.
"Soooo… are we still getting ramen orrrr?" Yu ventured cautiously.
Luna sighed and pinched his leg. He shut up immediately. "Yes, we are. Just give me a moment. I'm tired."
Hearing that, a devilish grin crept up my face as an idea sparked in my mind. I casually wrapped my arm around Yu's shoulders, as if I were giving him a supportive push. "Don't worry, Yu can just give you a piggyback ride!"
He whipped his head toward me. "What—no, I won't!"
"Hmm? I think you owe it to her after leaving her worrying all that time," I said, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.
He scoffed, throwing my arm off of him. "Excuse me? You didn't tell her either!"
"Yeahhh, but at the same time, the reason we are even here in the first place is that you couldn't put on your damn shoes. What do they say again? 'Take responsibility'?"
Before Yu could retort, Luna chimed in, her eyes sparkling. "Oh! I'd love that!"
She clung to Yu's arm, pleading desperately. "C'mon, Yu, pretty pleaseeee? I wanna see the world from your height!"
Two against one. There was no winning. Yu looked between us with indignant eyes before letting out a sigh of resignation. Without another word, he stood up, stepped forward, and crouched down.
Luna leaped onto his back with enough force to topple a lesser man. He didn't even wobble. He just stood up and started walking.
Damn. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. He is a strong ass dude.
We left the trees and headed toward the ramen shop. People parted instinctively as Yu walked through. Some people stared in awe, and others laughed as they saw Yu grumbling under his breath while Luna gazed around in childlike wonder.
Even I couldn't help but chuckle from time to time.
Five minutes passed, but Yu wasn't even sweating.
"Oh my god, Yu! Is this how you see the world?! It's so different!"
Yu clicked his tongue. "What do you mean by different?! I'm seeing the same things you do!!"
Luna stubbornly shook her head, her legs flailing around. "Nuh-uh, it's totally different. As someone who has been 5'1 since the seventh grade, it's like I'm seeing things in 3-D!"
I followed a few feet behind them, enjoying the sight of Yu's deflated mood. Maybe I'm a bad friend, but I feel like every friendship has to have some sort of teasing. It's better than being nice all the time, at least.
Eventually, we reached the ramen shop. Yu crouched hurriedly, practically throwing Luna off. She lingered for a second, then reluctantly slid down. Yu didn't wait; he bolted inside. Luna and I exchanged a look and burst out laughing.
"Good work, Hoshino! I didn't think you could actually pull that off at first," she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"I've been messing with him since middle school. I know him better than anyone."
We did a quick high-five and followed him. Yu had already secured a table for three. I sat across from Yu; Luna took the seat beside me. It wasn't because we were leaving him out—it's simply because he was the biggest. It only makes sense that the biggest gets the most space.
To be honest, I'd rather have as much space as possible, but I wasn't going to shoo Luna off.
"Well, do y'know what you're going to order?" Luna asked.
Yu didn't even look at the menu. "Shoyu ramen with extra and thick noodles, extra pork, three eggs, and a side of chicken."
Luna leaned back in her seat with a horrified expression. "Eugh, I still can't believe you always finish all that."
"I'm just always hungry," he said flatly. "I can eat this and be hungry again an hour later."
"I guess that's the curse of being tall and strong," I teased. "You have to have a flaw somewhere."
Luna hummed thoughtfully, pointing to a specific section on her menu. "Hmm, I think I'll get the Kimchi ramen, then. What about you, Hoshino?"
I scanned the menu lazily. It was just a normal ramen shop you would expect to see anywhere. Then I saw it on the top right corner.
"I'll try the super ultra deluxe spicy ramen challenge."
Yu burst out laughing, drawing stares from the entire restaurant. "Are you crazy? Can you even eat that?"
I shrugged. "Dunno. Let's find out."
Luna lightly tugged at my sleeve, her face full of genuine concern. "Uhh, I don't know if that's a good idea. My Brother tried it last week and still felt the burn in his mouth eight hours later."
I appreciated the sentiment, but seeing the two of them doubt me only made me more sure of my decision. "Well," I said calmly. "I'm not your Brother, am I?"
Luna stammered, trying to find another way, but Yu kicked her under the table and shook his head. She sighed. "Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Right on cue, the waiter arrived and asked us what we were getting. Her face paled slightly as Yu listed his entire feast. It recovered when Luna ordered. Then it paled again when I gave mine.
"Are you sure about this, sir?" she asked nervously. "I once saw a guy last week run out of the store in tears because of how hot it was."
From the corner of my eye, Luna was giving me a look that said, "See, I told you so!" I paid her no mind as I gave the waiter my response. "Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for the concern, though."
The waiter nodded and hurried off. Soon, the bowls arrived, and she set them down for each of us. Yu's bowl was a lot larger compared to ours, probably to accommodate the extra toppings he ordered. Mine was a deep, bubbling crimson—looking like something akin to a cauldron drenched in lava. Luna's, meanwhile, was the only one that was normal.
Luna's brow twitched as she stared at Yu and my bowls, but she chose not to say anything as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "Thank you for the meal."
By the time she lifted her chopsticks—Yu was already done. The waiter, who hadn't even fully stepped away yet, actually gasped. Luna and I, however, just kept eating.
"Wow, that was delicious, thank you so much, Miss!" Yu beamed. "Tell the chef that it was really good too!"
"O-of course!" she squeaked.
She cleared his bowl and retreated. Yu leaned back with his eyes closed as he entered his post-meal comatose trance. When he gets like this, he probably won't be up again for another ten minutes at least.
Luna glanced at him, then at me.
"So," Luna asked, watching me. "How is it, Hoshino?"
"It's alright," I said before making a point of lifting the bowl and drinking the broth—despite not having finished yet—in front of her.
Luna let out an impressed, yet bitter chuckle. "I guess I should've seen that coming. You do like your spice."
"It's one of my many talents."
Luna snorted mid-bite and nearly choked, broth leaking from her nose. I handed her a napkin while keeping my gaze fixed forward. I know she'd rather us not see her messy like this.
We continued eating in silence until we finished. We woke Yu up, paid the bill, and began heading out of the restaurant.
Yu covered his mouth as he let out a massive yawn. "Hahhh, I'm full. The moment I get home, I'm taking a fat nap."
Luna yawned too. "Yeah, me too. I don't think I'll even eat dinner today."
The bell at the entrance rang as a new group entered.
"Welcome to our restaurant. How may we help you?" a waiter from behind us asked.
"A table for four, please!"
The three of us moved to the right as they moved left, passing smoothly without any contact. I kept my gaze fixed toward the door, ready to slip out into the evening air.
Yu exited. Luna followed. Just as I grabbed the door handle—
"Ah! I thought it was you. It's been a while, Hoshino."
My hand froze, the metal biting into my skin. I exhaled slowly.
Of course, he just had to notice me…
I turned around. Mid-turn, our eyes met, and memories from kindergarten all the way to my first year in high school surged forward.
Childhood laughter. The old creaking of swings. Vague promises. Cries. Anger. Shouts. All culminating into one memory: "From this day on, you and I are friends!"
I bit the inside of my mouth.
Now's not the time for nostalgia.
By the time we fully faced each other, I was already smiling.
"Hey. It's been a while—Kevin."