9"Oi." He called. "What happened? Why are you sulking?"
Shizuka blushed. "It's stupid…"
"When has anything that ever came out of your mind not been stupid?"
"Don't confuse yourself with me, Hikigaya."
Hachiman scoffed and looked away, before murmuring. "Just tell me what's wrong…"
"It's just…" Shizuka picked a leaf from a nearby tree, gazing at it while avoiding Hachiman's stare. "Sometimes I imagine what would it be like to have a love, like the one in the stories."
"Tch, most of those end badly or drag on forever."
"Not all of them." Hachiman raised a brow. "Even in tragedies… At least they had it for a moment, you know?"
"Shut up." He said, hoping that his words would convey his feelings for once.
To Hachiman, Shizuka was the most wonderful person in the world.
He liked her long hair and how the wild bangs framed her face - he usually had to contain himself not to reach up and brush his fingers against the strands, mesmerized by the jet black color.
Hachiman liked the color of her eyes, he never seen that shade before, this middle ground between grey and purple. He liked how her eyes widened and glinted whenever called him into her office to talk about the new manga she'd been reading.
He liked the way Shizuka's lips curled before opening up in a smile - not that he observed her during class like a creep.
So in moments like this, made Hachiman wonder, how can anyone not be completely hypnotized by Shizuka Hiratsuka?
"You shouldn't accept a momentary love. You deserve it for a lifetime, Hiratsuka."
She smiled. "Who's the hopeless romantic now?"
Hachiman turned up to gaze at the stars again, searching for constellations. He opened his mouth, slightly surprised when he found Ursa Major.
With the way he was feeling right no, Hachiman could only picture Shizuka as a grand constellation on the sky, forever eternalized. Hachiman, however, was just a lone twinkle nearby who stood forgotten, his brightness simply couldn't compare.
Shizuka suddenly got in his line of sight and leaned in, brushing her lips against his. Hachiman had no time to prepare a reaction, he just stood there starstruck.
Shizuka's bangs tickled his skin. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad. No, it felt pretty good, way better than he imagined.
Hachiman reached to touch Shizuka's face, but she pulled away the moment his fingers stroke her cheek. He opened his eyes slowly and searched for Shizuka.
He didn't have to move much to get closer to Shizuka. "Why did you pull away?"
He leaned in almost involuntarily and only stopped once he felt her noses touching.
Shizuka was a lightning storm, a giant wave crashing against his shore. She was a magnet for disaster, and that night, Hachiman felt attracted to trouble.
Hachiman reached for Shizuka's hand, his palm grazing her fingertips.
"You didn't kiss me back," She murmured, captivated by their intertwined hands.
"You didn't give me time to react."
At that, Shizuka looked up, a playful grin graced her lips. "You can always return the favor, you know."
"You're insufferable," He stated and then pressed their lips together again.
The kiss was slower, gentler this time, both were learning each other's mouths. Hachiman squeezed Shizuka's right hand, only pulling back to breathe. He dropped his head on Shizuka's shoulders and felt her fingers caress his hair.
Hachiman wanted to save this moment in his mind for the rest of his life, he wanted to come back years from now and savor like it was happening again.
Then, Hachiman remembered. Oh, this is my first kiss.
He pulled back from Shizuka, searching for her eyes. Even in the poor lighting that the moon provided, Shizuka seemed to glow. her eyes glistened and her smile grew bigger with every second passing.
"It's this where my actually great love story begins?" She absent-mindedly played with Hachiman's shirt, tugging and folding the hem multiple times.
"Without the tragedy, preferably."
"Well, a grumpy boy once told me that I deserved a love for a lifetime."
"What a wise guy."
"Ah, he has his moments." Shizuka laughed. "But yeah, no tragedies. We'll be one of the good ones."