“One lemon ice tea and one ginger ale please,” I ordered, phone to my ear.
“Thank-you for ordering, your drinks will be up in a few minutes,” a voice replied. I gave a quick thanks before hanging up.
“So, have you decided what you’re going to sing?” I asked Eri.
“I’ve decided what we’re going to sing,” she said.
“What is it?”
“Of course, Shanimuni Paradise!” she declared happily. She handed me one of the microphones and pulled me onto the stage.
“I’ll do Fujimoto-san and Reina’s lines, is that okay?” she asked. I nodded.
“Sure, if that’s what you want to do,” I replied. The music started up.
“Tanoshii tanoshii natsu yasumi,” she sang.
“Zutto zutto shitakatta yume ga aru uh.”

We gladly sipped on your drinks after singing a couple of songs.
“Shanimuni really fits the season,” I sighed out contentedly. Eri nodded in agreement while she drank. She began to blow bubbles into her ginger ale, bubbles coming to the surface and bursting.
“How old are you?” I joked as I watched her.
“Hey, look!” she squealed. She lifted up her straw to me. She had filled it three-quarters of the way up and was holding the top to make sure no ginger ale fell out.
“Pocky!” she squealed again.
I felt a smile slip its way onto my face. No matter what that girl did it always seemed to make me smile. Eri pulled the straw back and put the bottom end in her mouth, releasing her finger from the top end and letting the liquid flow into her mouth. I leaned on my hand and watched Eri. After playing around with her drink for a few more moments she innocently looked up at me.
“Did I spill some on my face?” she asked. I shook my head.
“Your face is cute,” I complimented. I saw her face light up.
“R-really?” she asked in a quiet, shy voice.
“Really.”
“B-but I’m not as cute as Sayu…” she mumbled, as if to herself. I gently grabbed her hand from across the table, gave them a gentle squeeze and flashed a smile.
“You beat Sayu at cuteness any day.”
She lifted her gaze up to meet mine and we looked into each others eyes. I could feel the warmth that radiated from her soft hands and the gentleness in her eyes. I let go of her hands.
“Didn’t you say a while ago that you wanted to do a solo of Indigo Blue Love?” I asked.
“Yup.” She looked at the stage. “Can I?” she asked.
“Be my guest.”
Eri excitedly hopped up and grabbed a microphone. I took a sip of my drink before lying back against the sofa. I reached over to the light switch and turned down the lights. Hey, it went with the song. When I turned back to Eri, I was surprised to see that she had taken out one of the microphone stands. Wait, was she going to do the dance as well?!
“Nakanai wa nido to uh.”
She began to sing and I found myself incredibly concentrated on her. Every movement was burned into my memory; the way her hips swayed, the way her lips moved when she sang, the way her eyes shone mysteriously. I felt the surrounding world slip away. It was just me and Eri in this small, yet comfortable, sound-proof room. As she looked into my eyes, it was if she was penetrating into my soul, seeing everything. When I looked into hers, I saw us. The more I looked the more mesmerised I became. I heard the music beginning to fade away. I dropped our connection. I stood up and cheered loudly. Eri’s face flushed, she put the mic back into the stand and walked over to me. She looked up at the clock on the wall.
“Our time’s nearly over and we need to get to the cinema before the movie starts. Shall we go?”
I looked over to the clock, and nodded.
“Let’s,” I agreed. We both grabbed our things before leaving the room and going to the counter to pay. We linked arms and left.

We bought our tickets, popcorn and drinks and headed into show room #6. There were quite a few couples dotted around the place and a few people by themselves. Eri and I sat down in the seats a few rows from the back and in the middle; the best place. Placing the popcorn and coke in between us we began to talk. When the lights finally dimmed down we turned to face the screen. Trailers flashed by, trying to entice people into giving their money away to see another movie that was all graphics. Soon the trailers ended and the movie certificate came up: 18+. Since we didn’t get to go into the haunted house we decided to be brave and go to this movie. When I saw the trailer for this movie once, I was already scared. The movie started, and rather darkly. I saw Eri bite her bottom lip. I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth.
This was going to be interesting.

A million screams, and a hundred scared hugs later both of us exited the cinema. While I was frozen in fear, Eri was shaking. I doubt that we are ever going to watch a horror movie ever again. We latched onto each others arms. The sun was beginning to set which didn’t do anything good for our nerves.
“Nee, Risa-chan,” Eri asked me in a weak voice.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“C-Can I stay at your house tonight?”
I turned my gaze to her.
“Sure. Do you want to go to your house first so you can get your things?” I asked. She shook her head.
“You can borrow some of my clothes, okay?” I asked. She nodded.
“Let’s go. We can phone your house when we get to mine.”
We changed course and began to walk to my house. The darker it got, the more she hung onto my arm.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you if anything comes,” I reassured her.
“Thanks.”
Within minutes we had arrived. Unlocking the door, we walked inside. Eri seemed to visually relax. We both took off our shoes and headed through to the living room. Eri lay down on the sofa and let out a long sigh. I smiled at her then patted her on the head. She smiled back up at me.
“You can just relax here, I’m going to make dinner so wait,” I informed her.
“Ehh? That’s not fair! I’ll help you make dinner,” Eri protested, sitting up. I gently pushed her over onto her back, a blush appearing on her face. I leaned over her.
“It’s really okay. Just think of it as a thanks for that time you made me breakfast,” I said before kissing her forehead. I got up. “Is spaghetti bolognese and salad fine?” I asked.
“Sounds nice,” she replied. “I’m going to call my house.” I nodded before heading into the kitchen.

After filling up on dinner, we watched T.V until it was late. The only light came from the T.V. As the show ended and the credits rolled, I felt Eri’s head leaning against my shoulder. We had somehow ended up in the position where Eri was in between my legs and was leaning her back against my front. Her head was lying on my shoulder and her eyes were closed. I brushed away a few stray strands of hair that covered her eyes. Somehow, just lying like this was enough. The warmth that we were sharing, the sweet smell of her hair; there’s no word to describe the feeling of perfectness that it brings. I stroked her cheek.
“Kawaii,” I whispered. I turned off the T.V and caressed her cheeks for a few more minutes.
“Eri,” I whispered into her ear, while gently nudging her. “Eri.”
She let out a moan and wiggled. I let out an amused sigh.
“Eri, I have dog cheese,” I said. Her eyes flickered open and she looked up at me.
“You fell asleep. Let’s go get changed then you can sleep until the cows come home,” I teased. She blinked.
“What about my dog cheese?” she asked in a tired voice.
“Don’t be silly.” I lightly tapped her on the head.
I sat up, supporting Eri with my hands.
“Come on,” I said standing up with her. “You can choose which of my pyjamas you want to wear.”
“Hai.”
We went upstairs to my room. I laid out my pyjamas on my bed. Eri picked out one of three tank tops and short shorts I had. I wore the same but a different design. Eri got changed in my room while I got changed in the bathroom. After getting changed we turned out the lights and got into my bed. It was too hot to sleep with a cover so we decided on a thin sheet. We faced each other.
“Good night, Eri,” I said.
“Night night, Risa-chan.”
After a few moments Eri closed her eyes. I kept my eyes open, watching her. The moonlight that filtered through my window fell upon her, lighting her up. She looked so beautiful yet mysterious. It’s almost as if I touched her she would disappear. She was something delicate and precious. I felt my eyelids growing heavy with each passing minute. I took in one last image of Eri before I closed my eyes and fell asleep.