The New Neighbor - Birthday Party and A Confession Part 2
Aiba arrived at Nino's house ten minutes before 7 PM. He rang the doorbell, expecting to see Nino or Ohno or Jun who opened the door. However…
"Happy birthday, Aiba-chan!"
Sakurai Sho was standing in front of him, wearing a party hat and smiling widely. Aiba blinked his eyes a few times. He found it hard to believe that Sho was here for his birthday party.
"Are you okay, Aiba-chan?" Asked Sho.
Finding it hard to utter a word, Aiba only answered with a nod. Why didn't Nino tell him about this? He could prepare himself for the meeting and not act like a stupid and idiot person in front of Sho. Unless… ah! Now, it made sense. This must be the surprise gift that Nino talked about earlier. Urgh! He would reprimand his friend later.
"Hello, Sho-chan,"
Finally! After struggling to say something, he could finally greet the man in front of him.
"Let's get inside, ne," said Sho. He reached out to Aiba's hand and pulled him inside. Aiba could feel his heartbeat faster because of the touch.
"Happy birthday, Aiba-chan," chorused Nino, Ohno and Jun when he entered the living room. All of them wore the same hat as Sho. Nino gave one to Sho and then pointed to Aiba. As he was still in shock to see Sho in his party, he didn't understand what the gesture meant. So, he couldn't help squealing when Sho put the hat on him.
"Thank you," mumbled Aiba. He couldn't bring himself to look straight at Sho yet so he looked around the living room. When he noticed Nino was smirking at him, he responded to it with a glare.
Then, Ohno pushed him to sit on the couch as Jun brought a big cake to the living room and put it on the coffee table.
"Did you make this?" Asked Aiba to Jun when he saw the cake. It was pretty.
Jun shook his head. "I don't have time so we bought it from your favourite store. Satoshi recommends it,"
"Oh…" said Aiba. He didn't know how to express how grateful he was. He wanted to cry, feeling emotional to be celebrated like this.
"Thank you so much, guys!" Said Aiba. He could feel tears started to flow and he tried to hold it back. If he cried, Nino would tease him about it. "Really… I'm so happy because you guys prepare this party for me,"
"It's nothing, Aiba-chan," said Ohno, patting his shoulder. "You deserve this,"
"Blow the candles!" Urged Nino. "After that, we can eat. And maybe, we could play games,"
Nino smiled teasingly at him. And knowing his friend, Aiba couldn't help but worry for what kind of game they're going to play.
“Hey, how about we play truth or dare?” Nino suddenly suggested when they were eating.
Aiba narrowed his eyes, knowing why his friend decided to play that awful game. He knew that no matter what he chose, Nino would make sure it would be related to Sho. Let’s say, he chose to do truth, Nino would ask him if he’s in love with someone. And, if he chose dare, Nino would dare him to confess. They had known each other for a long time. He knew how Nino’s mind worked.
Hmm… but, maybe he could do the same to Nino. Perhaps, he could dare Nino to kiss Ohno. Thinking of how he could tease Nino with the game made he want to try it. But, it’s too risky. Nino is a little devil. Try to prank him, he would return the favour tenfold.
“No, thanks,” said Jun. And Aiba wanted to thank the guy. If Jun refused to play, it would be easier to make Nino give up. “Who knows what kind of ridiculous thing you will come up with. I don’t want this to turn into a wild party,”
“It’s a party!” Refuted Nino. “It will be more interesting if we…”
“Whatever,” Jun cut him off, which served to annoy Nino even more.
“Fine!” Nino was pouting. “You don’t have to play, then!”
“Well, since it’s Aiba-chan’s birthday, why don’t he decide if he wants to play or not,” suggested Sho. And all eyes turned at his direction which made Aiba fidget his seat. Of course, he wanted to reject. However, it was hard to do so when Nino was looking straight at him.
“Hmm…” He was still unsure. Seeing him like that, Sho smiled softly at him.
“Based on Aiba-chan’s reaction…” Sho began. “He is reluctant to play. So, let’s play something else,”
“Okay,” Nino easily agreed despite his earlier determination to play the game. But, Aiba decided not to think too much about it. His heart fluttered thinking of how Sho had come to rescue him from Nino’s evil game.
“Let’s just play Pictionary,” Sho suggested.
“Okay, I will be in the same team with Ohchan,” Jun suddenly declared, earning him a glare from Nino.
“That’s not fair!” retorted Nino. “Ohchan is good at drawing. It will be easier to guess, then. Ohchan should be the judge. Sho-chan and Aiba-chan will be in a team and you can… eh… I don’t want to be in the same team as you,”
Aiba wanted to laugh because of Nino. His friend was too excited to put him and Sho in a team, causing him to forget that he would have to partner up with Jun.
“As if I want to be in your team,” said Jun, rolling his eyes. “Let’s decide with janken,”
And the result of the janken put both Nino and Jun in the same team, which made everyone, other than those two, laugh.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
Aiba shyly nodded his head when he heard Sho's request. The two of them were left alone in the living room while the other three were in the kitchen. After a few rounds of Pictionary, they decided to play charades. Instead of playing by a team, they decided to let Ohno do all the gestures and they would simply guess. After a few words, Ohno was switched to Sho and the latter was proven to be good in acting out the words. Then, Jun got bored playing so he started cleaning up and Ohno volunteered to help him. Being jealous and couldn't stand to let Jun and Ohno alone, Nino followed them to the kitchen. That and also, he wanted to torture Aiba.
It was awkward at first because Aiba had no idea what to talk about with Sho. But, remembering his terrible drawing when they played Pictionary earlier, he started the conversation.
“Your drawing is bad, right?” said Aiba, hoping Sho wouldn’t be offended by what he said. “I cannot guess at all what you draw,”
“As if your drawing is any better,” said Sho in a teasing tone. “It’s an easy win for those two, you know,”
Aiba only laughed awkwardly to hear that. “Matsujun and Nino love to squabble but their teamwork is amazing, right?”
Sho nodded in agreement. “Hey, are you busy the day after tomorrow?”
Aiba shook his head. “I asked for a week break from work,”
“Oh, great!” said Sho. “Hmm… If it’s okay with you, would you like to go out with me on that day? Just the two of us,”
Aiba was taken aback by the sudden request. Did Sho just ask him out on a date? Or, it was just an outing between two friends?
“Is it a…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question. He was afraid that it wasn’t what he hoped for. But, Sho reached out and touched his hand.
“Yes, it is a date,” confirmed Sho. And, Aiba shyly agreed.
Nino watched Aiba and Sho with a smile on his face. That went well. He didn’t have to do much. Sho was quite forward with his feeling for Aiba and it made things easier for them.
“I am right,” Ohno suddenly appeared, standing right next to him. “Sho-chan asked me a lot of things about Aiba-chan. So, I think he likes our friend. I’m happy to see them together,”
“Me too,” Nino hummed in agreement.
“How about us?” Ohno asked. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”
Nino turned sharply to look at Ohno. His jaws dropped, he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Did Ohno just ask him out on a date?
A/N: Happy birthday, Aiba Masaki! Hope you will stay happy and healthy.
To be honest, I don't plan to write anything for Aiba's birthday. But, the idea just came out of nowhere so I decided to write it. Because of this, I apologize for the delay in updating Cupid. Will try to update it soon.
Anyway, I hope u will enjoy reading this. Let me know what you think of it, okay? It will be very much appreciated :)