When she first felt her shoulder claimed by an unknown source before she could make it close enough to Miyukiâs car to escape, Tsukikoâs panic was beyond belief. She ended up dropping her own bag in her moment of fear. She wasnât sure who would have ran toward her and grabbed her, but her fear turned to relief at the sight of a familiar pair of bright blue eyes. Her expression of terror morphed into one of pure joy, something that very rarely crossed her features genuinely.
It was confirmed that the person standing before her was truly him when he spoke her name without even bothering to use honorifics. Before she could move in to embrace him, he beat her to it. While she was tall for a girl her age, he had always been a bit taller. Due to her height Tsukiko had not been lifted off of her feet often, an embarrassing squeal of surprise escaping her before she could nullify it. Her composure as a confident and dominant person completely cracked as he spun her around, âChase!â She scolded him, but couldnât stop herself from giggling, unable to keep a sternness to her tone.
He had made her a little dizzy, so even after she was on her own two feet she held onto his arms, âYou scared me! I didnât know you were a student here. Wait, does that mean weâre classmates?â She couldnât quite stick to one trail of thought but ended her openly voiced thoughts as she asked as the pieces began to fall together. How did she not notice that? She was excited to finally see him again. While they only were able to hang out briefly amongst their respective travels, they had spent a lot of time together when they could. Chase, despite his extreme good looks was one of the only guys she had never hit on. Though now that she was looking him over... he had gotten taller.
Her right hand measured their height difference. He nearly had half a foot on her now, her gold eyes widening a bit in surprise, âYouâve gotten taller since I last saw you.â She suddenly felt small as she had to tilt her head up to look at him now. It forced her to accept that he wasnât exactly the middle school boy she remembered.
Too caught up in reminiscing, Miyuki interjected their reunion by clearing his throat loudly, âMust I remind the both of you that just because paparazzi hasnât located you yet, does not mean itâs safe to embrace each other out in the open like this. Please get into the car if you wish to continue this... whatever it is you are.â He sighed in displeasure. Miyuki was never able to control Tsukiko, and she had snuck out to see Chase several times in the past. For a long time Miyuki was under the impression that they were romantically involved but he soon figured out they were close friends. Not that he understood how they had become so close in such brief and scattered encounters.
âWant to go on a date with me?â Tsukiko chimed playfully, but it wasnât the seductive playfulness she used when attempting to trap a guy in her web, she had dropped her façade and was genuinely excited. Though her offer of a âdateâ wasnât in the literal romantic sense, she didnât clarify either, âThereâs this beach party tonight I was invited to and I hadnât chose my plus one yet~ We can go shopping for our swimsuits!â she let out the hook, knowing that he was as big of a fan of a good time as she was and adored shopping. There were perks to knowing oneâs target and she was confident that she knew him well enough to reel him in. She wasnât sure how much their friendship would change now that they attended the same school, but for now, she was just happy to see him and wanted to enjoy his company.
Tsukiko slid into the back seat of the car, leaving enough room for him to join her if he felt so inclined, âOr did you get boring while I was away?â She threw out a small teasing challenge, quirking her brow. She didnât actually mean it, simply trying to provoke a reaction out of him. While she wouldnât admit it, part of the reason that she wanted him to go because she was actually very wary of beach or pool parties. She couldnât swim, a fact she had managed to hide from public knowledge. Plus there would be bikinis and underage drinking. If someone saw her alone and decided to throw her in the water it could end badly. Besides, Chase had grown into a very attractive guy. She was thrilled to have him as a friend, but she didnât mind having him as arm candy for the night either. In the end the choice was his and she would respect it, even if she was subtly dying to spend some time woth him to catch up. This was exactly the boost she didnât know she needed, but now that he was in her sights, she wanted to monopolize him at least for the night. It wasnât often that she offered to pay for one of her âdatesâ, in fact, now that she thought about it she never had. That was information she planned to keep to herself. It didnât mean anything, they were simply two friends who had grown up in a lot of ways. What had it been... a year? Two? It was far time that they caught up and to her, a beach party felt like the perfect setting considering she met him on the beach in the first place. It just felt too perfectly timed. In all honesty it was just a party she was invited to in order to bolster her almost nonexistent Japanese popularity, she needed to be seen mingling amongst Japanese celebrities.
Charm: +1 to Chase
Popularity: +1 to Chase
Popularity: +1 to Chase