Chapter 6

"Hey, why do you like Rina so much," asked Amber, as she absentmindedly chewed on the straw of her iced black coffee with no sugar or syrup from Starbucks. She didn't even bother to make her question sound like a question.

"W-what?" Stacy beautifully spat out her white chocolate mocha with extra whipped cream (which she got for free by winking at the blushing barista) in surprise.

"I mean, I get it. She treats you better than any man has and she's cute, but you've only ever dated your kind before."

"…What do you mean 'my kind,'" Stacy eyed her brunette best friend warily.

"You know. Blonde, blue eyes, abs. Basically very straight guys who have more than 1000 followers in Instagram," Amber shot imaginary red arrows through Stacy without blinking once.

It was hard to tell if the blonde's face was red from embarrassment or indignation. Probably both.

As usual, Amber was right—her fixation towards the Japanese girl was very, very unusual. In fact, she used to be one of those white people who asked if East Asians could see well through their smaller, narrower eyes, albeit without any ill intentions.

It was a beautiful sunny day. She was walking her tiny Yorkshire terrier pup that loved to stick out its tongue to the side of its small snout in the nearby park.

She briefly let go of the pup's leash to lie down on the grass for a quick tan when the pup bolted towards wherever the delicious smell of food was coming from.

When Stacy realized what had happened, it was as if she had been pushed into ice cold water. She searched for her dog frantically, running through her mind the thousands of precious memories she had with her terrier and the thousands of bad things that could happen to it.

Night had fallen fast when she finally found her puppy in the hands of the most pompous and spoiled looking child she had ever seen.

Her face was red and marked with tears, her mascara was long gone, her ponytail had various nature stuck in it, but most of all she had been so, so worried. She choked back a sob and ran towards her terrier with open arms, but when she was so close, the brat quickly turned to the side.

She fell face forward onto the dusty pavement, and when she got up, she was about to give the brat a "small" piece of her mind. The child, realizing that the rightful owner had appeared, tightly clutched onto the struggling dog in his arms and was about to throw an ear-piercing tantrum.

That's when she appeared.

"Hi there," Rina seemingly appeared out of thin air before the two, startling them out of their frustration for a brief moment.

She calmly walked over to Stacy and asked, "Is that dog yours?"

"YEA-" Stacy started to yell when she was once again stopped by a hand on her shoulder and a reassuring smile. She was astounded by how familiar this stranger was acting, but for some reason, she felt like she could trust her.

"Heya kiddo, can you return the puppy to the lady? She really misses her dog," for some reason, the word "lady" made Stacy blush.

"NO! IT'S MY DOG NOW!" the child predictably started to scream.

"I know that the puppy was keeping you company when you were lonely, but I'm sure your mommy misses you too," Rina smiled unfazed as she gently pat the boy's head.

As the lost child burst into tears, she gently pried the dog out of the boy's arms and gathered him into her arms. The dog happily ran over to its owner, blissfully unaware of how desperately its owner searched for him.

The boy had fallen asleep in her arms by the time the frantic mother came running to get him.

"Thank you so much for helping me out earlier," said Stacy, tired and grateful.

"I'm glad it worked out. I'm really sorry for butting in, though,"

"No, no, I didn't even realize that a child was alone outside during the night…"

"Can you come with me for a second?" said Rina as she led Stacy and her dog to the bench outside the convenience store.

Tired from searching and crying, Stacy waited quietly on the bench when Rina came towards her a minute later holding a bag. The said girl knelt down in front of her and gently started to clean the scratches on Stacy's legs.

The moment was magical for Stacy—it seemed as if the world slowed down and it was just the two of them.

She watched the stranger treat her so delicately and carefully. Nobody, nobody had treated her so preciously before.

Noticing the stare, Rina looked up and smiled—her crescent shaped dark eyes looked almost mysterious in the dim light of the night and her grin was lopsided and playful.

By the time Rina blinked once, Stacy had already fallen madly in love with her.

"Wow," said Amber, awed and almost subdued, as she took in the long, long flashback.

Because Amber is Amber, she then finished with a - "That's so corny though," before Stacy slowly raised her fist.

XXX

We will be the best in Japan.

Tetsuya always surprised her. For someone who doesn't stand out much as a person, he sure liked to make flashy and bold statements.

As she leaned on the windowsill to look at the big white words on the field, Rina's smiled wobbled. She shivered slightly, barely containing her excitement to see him and worries about his reactions…or lack thereof.

She was a terribly selfish person.

Although her self-confidence did take a hit when she was thrown into a completely new environment during her middle school, Rina always ended up finding friends who supported her. She ended up forming an unexpected bond with the popular girls in her school in America, Stacy and Amber.

Especially Stacy, thought Rina, she was so cute… as she remembered the blonde crying into her chest before she left LA.

Fully relying on Tetsuya's kindness, Rina delayed her promise that she would come back to him. It was between her second and third year in middle school when she finally worked up her courage to go see him.

The same quiet neighborhood with the occasional barking of the old shiba inu down the corner

The same gray pavement with the same crack that now had a strong-willed dandelion proudly basking in the warm sun

The same clean steps up to his white front door

She was skipping at this point. Everything was the same after all! Tetsuya would forgive her easily and they would go back to the times when they were inseparable. The times his small warm hands would help her up after she failed to climb the same tree four times and the times his smiles would make her feel like a bright red balloon floating up, up, and up…

When his mom opened the door to reveal a sad and tired expression rather than her characteristic cheerful smile, Rina immediately realized that she was too late.

XXX

Tetsuya had found his passion, did his very best to achieve it, and met those who shared his ambitions. Even when he realized that his talents could not carry him to the same level that his friends were on, Tetsuya was happy because he loved playing basketball with them.

And just when he thought he could enjoy the same court as them, he was left behind again.

Just like how she had left him.

Tears streaming down her face, Rina left the house in a hurry but not after giving Tetsuya's mom a heartfelt goodbye.

At that moment, she only felt regret and guilt.

When she found her resolve, it was through the riddles of a weird but wise brown haired teenage boy.

XXX

Amber missed Rina, sure, but Stacy was being too much.

Said girl was a mess—her red painted nails were chipped, her dark circles looked almost purple, and there was a comb still stuck in her long blonde hair.

"Stacy, does Rina still think that you were crying into her chest because you hated seeing her go?"

"…Wha-what? What's wrong about it?"

"Give me your red heels or I'll tell Rina that you were trying to cut her hair for some ritual or something."

"…Fine," Stacy begrudgingly agreed, clutching a small red omamori to her heart.