[Contest: Changes] [PG]
Things change in the fall. Temperatures drop and chilly winds start to blow over the water, making it colder, making goosebumps rise on your arms. You go shopping for sweaters, even though you already own several. But you go, anyway, because Hino wants the two of you to have matching ones. When you walk around together, arm in arm, people joke (despite obvious differences) that you’re twins. Her arm tugs your arm closer and she chuckles, like there’s some secret that none of those people are in on. You only wish there was.
--
You’re on your way home from school and a leaf falls into your hand that’s the same color as her hair. It just lands on your open palm, with a confidence that says I’m meant to be here. That confidence reminds you of her, too. Even though she’s assured you, more than once, that she’s really such a coward, she still possesses more of the elusive c-word than you do. Though that isn’t saying much, you still admire her for it. You take the leaf home and keep it pressed between the pages of your diary, between the pages that read, It’s pretty silly, but I think I’m falling in love with her.
--
Everyone around you is changing. Hihara is in a commercial, and when Yunoki talks to you in the hallway, his eyes don’t make you shiver anymore. You never see Tsuchiura on the field anymore, because he spends all his afternoons in a practice room, and sometimes he lets you listen to him play without reluctance. Shimizu doesn’t drool anymore when he falls asleep on your shoulder, and you’re almost certain Tsukimori smiles at you, at least two times. Hino’s violin is sounding better and she starts calling you by your first name whenever you’re alone. You don’t really understand why, but you like it, so you don’t question it. You chalk it up to the fall.
--
You spend Halloween together at Nami Amou’s house. The three of you dress as Disney princesses, and Amou’s camera-happy fingers never rest. You’re Snow White, so she tosses you an apple and takes a picture of you biting into it. She wants Hino to get into the bathtub, but she says no, because she’s human Ariel-in that pretty pink dress she wears to dinner-and not mermaid Ariel. And besides, she doesn’t want to get said pretty dress wet. The bowl of sweets grows slowly emptier and emptier as the night goes on and you think Hino’s fingers look cute covered in chocolate smudges. Amou tells terrifying ghost stories with the lights off and Hino gets really close to you, and only in the dark are you not afraid to reach for her.
--
You’re changing. You’re beyond the tongue-tied stage when you’re with her. You speak to her and, yeah, you have to really think about your words several minutes ahead of time, but you’re still speaking to her. You’re walking with your head held up. You pass by a mirror or a window and you think you look kinda cute. You take your clarinet to the Osanbashi Pier and play it in public, on the rooftop garden, during sunset. You start off shaky, but you get better. Your sound grows smooth and stays that way, even with the people watching you, listening to you. A couple of American tourists begin an impromptu waltz. Hino is there when you finish and she grins as she takes you into her arms. You savor the feel of her soft, fuzzy sweater and the warmth of her embrace and you feel things changing between you, too.
--
You’re on your way home from school and a leaf falls into your hand that’s the same color as her hair. It just lands on your open palm, with a confidence that says I’m meant to be here. That confidence reminds you of her, too. Even though she’s assured you, more than once, that she’s really such a coward, she still possesses more of the elusive c-word than you do. Though that isn’t saying much, you still admire her for it. You take the leaf home and keep it pressed between the pages of your diary, between the pages that read, It’s pretty silly, but I think I’m falling in love with her.
--
Everyone around you is changing. Hihara is in a commercial, and when Yunoki talks to you in the hallway, his eyes don’t make you shiver anymore. You never see Tsuchiura on the field anymore, because he spends all his afternoons in a practice room, and sometimes he lets you listen to him play without reluctance. Shimizu doesn’t drool anymore when he falls asleep on your shoulder, and you’re almost certain Tsukimori smiles at you, at least two times. Hino’s violin is sounding better and she starts calling you by your first name whenever you’re alone. You don’t really understand why, but you like it, so you don’t question it. You chalk it up to the fall.
--
You spend Halloween together at Nami Amou’s house. The three of you dress as Disney princesses, and Amou’s camera-happy fingers never rest. You’re Snow White, so she tosses you an apple and takes a picture of you biting into it. She wants Hino to get into the bathtub, but she says no, because she’s human Ariel-in that pretty pink dress she wears to dinner-and not mermaid Ariel. And besides, she doesn’t want to get said pretty dress wet. The bowl of sweets grows slowly emptier and emptier as the night goes on and you think Hino’s fingers look cute covered in chocolate smudges. Amou tells terrifying ghost stories with the lights off and Hino gets really close to you, and only in the dark are you not afraid to reach for her.
--
You’re changing. You’re beyond the tongue-tied stage when you’re with her. You speak to her and, yeah, you have to really think about your words several minutes ahead of time, but you’re still speaking to her. You’re walking with your head held up. You pass by a mirror or a window and you think you look kinda cute. You take your clarinet to the Osanbashi Pier and play it in public, on the rooftop garden, during sunset. You start off shaky, but you get better. Your sound grows smooth and stays that way, even with the people watching you, listening to you. A couple of American tourists begin an impromptu waltz. Hino is there when you finish and she grins as she takes you into her arms. You savor the feel of her soft, fuzzy sweater and the warmth of her embrace and you feel things changing between you, too.