As the movie began, I switched my attention from our joined hands to the screen.
The heat from the palm of my hands still remained, and the heat continued to my cheeks. Gently catching my breath, I continued to look at the screen.
The movie is a love story about childhood friends. A boy and a girl, who have been good friends for a long time, become high school students and gradually become aware of each other. Overcoming various events and troubles, their feelings build up each time, and the process of the two falling in love was carefully depicted.
Throughout the movie, I would occasionally steal a glance at Saito, who gazed at the screen with interest. Her lovely, beautiful eyes were filled with the vivid colors of the screen, shimmering like jewels.
Even her glossed lips were sexy and moist, and I couldnāt help but swallow my spit.
In addition, whenever the protagonists were in a predicament, she put a lot of pressure on my tightly clasped hand, perhaps out of fear or nervousness, which made my heart jump. Iām sure it was not intentional, but I really wished sheād give me a heads up.
While experiencing such things, the movie kept playing till the end.
ćIām afraid to confess because Iām afraid itāll destroy our relationshipć
It was the final scene of the story. The two protagonists are aware of each other and all that remains is for them to confess their feelings to each other. When their relationship had progressed to that point, the heroineās monologue was played. Her words strongly touched my heart.
I could very much relate to that thought of hers.
Advancing their relationship means changing the current relationship they have. Once something has changed, it canāt be undone. No matter how important it was to them.
Thatās why Iām afraid to advance, because I like you. I donāt want our relationship to change.
As long as we continue to be good friends as we are now, we can maintain this comfortable relationship. However, if we were to go out, we wouldnāt be able to return to what we had now. I wasnāt ready to lose this relationship.
Iām an adolescent myself, and I have a desire to have a girlfriend. However, itās more like a simple curiosity, and I didnāt want to use Saito to satisfy that curiosity.
Being in a relationship means one day we may have to part ways in the future. Thinking this, I couldnāt take a step forward in our relationship.
What does Saito think about this?
I looked around and saw Saitoās profile next to me.
She trusts me so much, shows me many different expressions, even teases me and allows me to touch her, and with all that, I can say with certainty that Saito likes me. Though, if this is an ego trip, Iāll be very embarrassedā¦
A little more. I want to stay like this a little more.
If we were to go out, it would be when thereās something we want to move forward with, even if it means losing our current relationship. When Iām ready to do so, when that time comes, I will confess my feelings. Thatās what I decided.
In the end, the movie ended with the male finally gathering courage to confess and succeeding. The joy and relief at the happy ending is palpable.
[That was fun]
[I think so too. I got emotionally involved in a lot of places]
[I did too. I was also very impressed by the way the heroine was portrayed in the film. Thereās so many things I could relate to, especially with her, that I watched with bated breath]
Saito also seemed to be immersed in the aftermath of the movie and let out a faint voice with an ecstatic expression on her face. The tone of hers indicated clearly that she was enjoying herself.
[Indeed, Saito was very immersed in the movie]
[Eh? You were looking?]
Her cheeks blushed and she averted her gaze. I thought it was still cute to see her like that, and responded.
[Just a little bit. I could see that Saito was looking at the screen and concentrating]
[Yes, the story itself is simple, but it makes it easier to sympathize with the heroine, and I found myself immersed in the heroineās position]
[Wow, if you got into it that much, itās worth watching. What part of it did you relate to the most?]
[Hmm, itās hard to say when being askedā¦]
She put her slender fingertips to her chin and thought about it. She was like that for a while, then she started to speak.
[ā¦Maybe before the confession?]
[Before the confession?]
[Yes, the part where the heroine monologues āIām afraid to confess because I think itāll destroy our current relationshipā]
[Ahh, that part]
[Yes, Iām still afraid of losing the only thing that matters to meā¦]
Her voice was fragile and somewhat down as she turned her head aside.
While I was wondering what I should say to her, Saito looked up. The slightly down expression she had just now was gone.
[But I liked the last part. Itās just like a main character to step out with courage and I couldnāt help but admire it]
[Yeah, that was pretty cool]
The momentary glimmer of darkness was now completely gone, and she smiled happily and exchanged a few words with me. We left the cinema, discussing our impressions of various other scenes.