144 Awkwardness

"It's been a while since we talked like this, just the two of us" Said Ariel 

The two were sitting side by side on a rock outside the restaurant. Everyone was inside, so aside from the occasional loud screams, it was pretty quiet. 

"Yeah..." 

John on the other hand, had guilt weighing over his shoulders. After having a close romantic moment with one girl, he's now moving on to the other. 

[How lustful.] 

[Shut up, you know that's not the case] John replied seemingly annoyed 

"Um-" The two simultaneously said, cancelling each other out 

"You go first" Said John 

"It's fine, I'll go after you" Said Ariel 

The air around the two was a little awkward. Things were much easier with Serena because she was drunk. 

"I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now" 

Ariel quietly nodded, as the two stared eye to eye, john noticed that her cheeks were also slightly flushed 

"Since we've been a bit distant lately, I wasn't sure how to ask but..." 

Ariel's eyes grew more and more expectant 

"You... You knew about me before I lost my memories, right?" John asked 

Suddenly, Ariel lost all that energy and hung her head, before letting out a sigh. John wasn't sure what brought on this change and as he was about to ask 

[Idiot] 

The word echoed inside of his head 

[Oi, zestari, what was that for?] 

[For playing with a maiden's heart] 

[Huh?] 

Suddenly, john looked towards Ariel and noticed that the corner of her lips were forming a slight pout, and that her expression changed into an embarrassed one over a frown. 

"Ariel, what's wrong?" John asked 

"Nothing" Said Ariel as she made a 'hmph' sound 

[No matter how you look at it, she's definitely annoyed, right?] 

[… I was a fool to expect more from you.] 

Despite not saying anything, john was hurt by Ariel's sudden reaction and Zestari's words. 

"But, regarding your question... Yes" Said Ariel as she released the pout and the frown 

"Could you tell me about it? Like how close we were?" John asked 

Ariel turned her head to the water and stared closely at the waves before explaining what happened 

"Before my uncle got sick and stopped working at the pharmacy, there'd be this boy he'd occasionally donate food to. That boy was you, John... I was shy and didn't have many friends so it was a little hard to approach you but you'd visit nearly everyday so I'd occasionally try to muster up the courage, but in the end, I kept failing." 

[I'm not emotionally ready for this] John thought to himself 

"Eventually, I gave up, however one day, you called out to me, just like on that day. You asked me what was my name or if I wanted to play. I said no back then, because uncle was starting to get sick, and after that..." 

"Uncle was forced to close down the shop, and a few people claiming that we owed them, managed to claim most of the money, which made us unable to afford uncles treatment." 

John was speechless and unexpectedly mad. 

Ariel's long black hair on the other hand, dropped and covered her eyes, preventing john from seeing her face. But he didn't need to." 

"It's funny isn't it? Even though he used his last option and sold his own pharmacy, but in the end, i was so useless that I wasn't able to do anything to help..." 

Ariel wasn't crying, but john could feel resentment and sadness coming out of her. Seeing this, he unconsciously placed right arm over her shoulder before pulling her in to his chest. 

As her head rested near his chest, she could hear his heartbeat, which kept getting faster and faster. She looked up to see what was wrong with john and noticed that his cheeks were a flushed red. 

"It's not funny at all. Your uncle was a great man, if anyone says otherwise, just prove them wrong by being the great niece that you are and always were." 

A tear streamed down Ariel's face when she heard this, she couldn't remember when was the last time she cried or complained of anything. She was even starting to distance herself from john, so that she wouldn't remain the frail weak girl that she used to be. 

However, as another tear streamed down, she wondered, if crying every once in a while, if showing weakness, was bad. She couldn't help herself 

As more tears started to stream down her reddened face, she formed a smile as she said 

"Yeah... Thank you" 

[Showing me a face like that... Is unfair...] John thought to himself 

Ariel then turned her head to face, ocean with a happy expression as she rubbed her eyes. The two stayed in that position for a while 

"Ariel..." 

John called out to Ariel. Ariel who saw this, without getting her hopes Ariel replied 

"John?" 

"Um, you see... How should I say this..." 

[It's too soon, you don't have to rush] 

John had completely forgotten about Zestari, not only that, but he was annoyed at her for interrupting him 

[… Until when?] 

[When you're both adults.] 

Although he didn't like it, he was grateful to her and she had a fair point. John nearly got caught up in the heat of the moment and was going to ask Ariel something 

"N-Nevermind" 

Ariel quietly nodded, before getting up 

"Let's go back, master told us not to take long" 

Despite saying that, she had a happy look, so John assumed everything went well 

"Right" 

John couldn't think of any words to say, and as he was about to get up, Ariel suddenly moved in closer 

Surprised, John watch as her face got closer and closer to his, until it eventually came into contact with his cheek. 

The soft sensation of small lips, caused him to blush even more so than before 

"Wha-" 

John was interrupted by Ariel who quickly moved her bright red face away 

"W-Well, I'll meet you there!" Said Ariel before running off as fast as she could back to the shop 

John's brain was trying to process what happened so he just stood there, alone, listening to the calming sound of the waves. 

[She's a fighter, isn't she... More importantly, two girls in one day, you're quite the player, aren't you?] 

[Be quiet…]