After My First Love Who is My Classmate Became My Family, My Childhood Friend Became Really Sweet to Me - Chapter 8

Horror Cinema Paradise/Hinata’s Feelings/Because We are a Family

It was only a few hours later that the we watch a horror movie together.

I have an Amapura subscription at my house since I lived with my dad, so we can easily watch movies.

As I’m searching for horror movies on my laptop, I found some good zombies and ghosts movies. But at this point, Hinata looks like she is about to cry already.

“H-Hey, do you really want to watch something this scary…?”

“Isn’t it Hinata who asked me to watch this with her?”

“I think people who watch horror movies on purpose are weird, I mean they go out of their way just to watch a movie so that they feel scared. You think they are weird too, right?”

What she said just now would offend all of the horror movies lovers in the world.

So then I decided that we are going to watch one of the many famous movies that even I who is not a horror movie fan knows it.

Me and Hinata are sitting down at the couch staring at the laptop on the table.

“Okay, here we go.”

“…um, yeah.”

Hinata who had just taken a bath is in her pyjamas hugging her stuffed Fuwashiba tightly.

The stuffed Fuwashiba she’s hugging is a gift I gave to her a while ago. It seems that hugging the stuffed Fuwashiba eases her fear. Perhaps Fuwashibas are made of a material that absorbs fear.

However, there is just something innocent and charming at the sight of a girl in her pyjamas hugging her Fuwashiba.

…how should I say it, Hinata and I already became a family.

But I just think that, she looks really cute right now.

“Alrght, let’s start the movie then.”

I force myself to stop thinking about it and start the movie.

The movie begins by introducing a happy couple. Apparently, they are living together.

“Those two will definitely become the victims…”

“Well, I guess you’re right, but It’ll make me kind of feel sad if you say it that way… Isn’t it better if we just watch how it goes?”

“Uh… I hope that they both live a happy and peaceful life without any incident.”

So it will be a horror movie… Without any problem…

But the fact that Hinata still can have a conversation with me properly is a proof that she still can endure it.

One night, when the couple is sleeping, they are bothered by the strange noises at their house. So they bought a camera and started to record their house in order to find the source of the noise—and it’s clear that Hinata begins to get nervous at this point.

“Are you okay? We can at least turn the lights on.”

“…I-I’m still okay. This is just a training session. I’ll try a little harder.”

She said so, but she looks really scared. She hugs her stuffed Fuwashiba so tightly that it has almost lost its shape.

“Hey, can you come a little closer?”

“…eh?”

“If I have someone right beside me, it might ease my fear a little bit. I know it’s troublesome but…”

“T-That’s not true, okay? You are not troublesome at all. Then, I’ll sit closer to you.”

We are sitting so close to each other that our shoulders are touching. I can smell a sweet scent from Hinata, perhaps it’s because she had just taken a bath.

We are so close to each other that I can feel Hinata’s warmth.

…I’d be lying if I say I don’t mind it. If we were classmates like we used to be, I’m sure I would’ve been so nervous that my mind had gone blank.

But it’s fine now.

Because Hinata is my family.

More importantly, the movie is getting scarier now.

“Wow, the wall is full of bloody letters… I don’t understand it because it’s in English, but I wonder what it says. Maybe Hinata can read it?”

“……”

“Hinata?”

“Ehh!? W-What were you talking about Yuto!?”

What happened? I feel like Hinata’s heart can’t take it anymore… Could it be.

I hit the pause button and shook my head slightly.

“I knew it, let’s stop now. Hinata, it looks like you’re at your limit. You did great, let’s continue your training another time…”

“I-I’m fine! Please, let’s continue for a little while…!”

“Is that so? In spite of that, I felt like your heart can’t take it anymore.”

“Y-Yeah. It’s true that I was scared, but Yuto is right beside me now. So I’ll be fine, okay?”

“…I see. Then just hang in there until the credit rolls.”

I press the play button and we continue to watch the movie together.

But still, she was acting a bit strange earlier… I wonder if she is okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

…I wasn’t okay at all.

Earlier I was frightened because of the scary and disturbing scene, but now my heart is throbbing even more than earlier.

There is only one reason for that.

Because Yuto is right beside me.

…I haven’t felt this close to him since our date at the amusement park.

I can feel Yuto’s warmth right beside me. Just from that I can feel something warm deep within my heart.

I took a glance at Yuto’s face.

Yuto seemed to be concentrating on the movie, or perhaps he doesn’t even take his eyes off the movie. In the dark room, Yuto’s serious face is illuminated by the monitor.

—I knew it, you’re really cool Yuto.

No, no, no, this is not the time to think about such embarrassing thing…!

Yuto is keeping me company, so I need to focus on my training… Even though I know it, I’m more occupied with Yuto than the movie.

I just wanted to watch a movie together with Yuto—so I hid my true feelings and asked him to watch a movie together by the name of ‘special training’. I never thought I would be this nervous.

…to be honest, maybe it’s wrong to ask such thing from Yuto. Yuto and I are no longer classmates, we are a family.

However, ever since that day when Yuto said he and Tsukino are going on a date, I’ve been feeling so restless and uneasy.

Someday, Tsukino will become Yuto’s girlfriend—whenever I think about it, my heart hurts. I can only imagine the two of them together happily.

As a mere sister, I have no right to fret over Yuto’s relationship with Tsukino.

…but.

That is why it’s okay to at least watch a movie together with Yuto, right?

I cook for Yuto, we eat together, we go shopping together, I welcome him home, and we say good night to each other when we go to bed.

I want to cherish the time I can spend with Yuto as his family, not as his classmates, not as his childhood friend.

So I should be allowed to watch a movie with Yuto at such a close distance.

Because we are a family. This is just my privilege being his sister.

I can’t deny that I wasn’t concentrating on the movie at all.

When I turn my attention back to the movie, it looks like it’s reaching the climax. I didn’t know what happened to the movie because I was distracted with Yuto halfway through, but it seems that the couple is panicking.

The scene alone makes me anxious and it seems that an incident is about to take place.

But it’s okay, Yuto is right beside me— Just as I was thinking about that, I felt a warm touch on my right hand.

Suddenly, Yuto held my hand.

…yeah, let me say it because it’s very important for me.

When Yuto held my hand, it felt like a boyfriend seeking the warmth of his lover.

~~~!

I was so surprised that I couldn’t say anything.

Yuto who was absorbed to the movie, looks at me.

“Ah… Sorry. Maybe you don’t like it?”

“No, no, no! It’s not like that, I was just surprised because it was so sudden.”

Why did Yuto suddenly hold my hand?

…maybe it’s because he was worried that I might be scared?

If that’s the case, you are a very caring person, Yuto.

Immediately after Yuto tried to pull his hand away, I hold his hand tightly as if to hold him back.

“W-Wait… Can’t we stay just like this a little longer?”

“…Hinata?”

“I think it eases my fear when Yuto is holding my hand. Well, as long as Yuto isn’t bothered by it…”

“Eh… I-I see. Sure, no problem. If it helps to ease Hinata’s fear. On top of that, I feel sorry for the stuffed Fuwashiba that is being squeezed by Hinata all this time.”

“Ehehe, thank you. Then it’s okay if I squeeze Yuto’s hand as much as I want, right?”

Yeah, I think this much is safe. I’m not thinking of Yuto as my classmate. I think of him as my little brother.

Yuto is holding my hand right now because he is worried for me as a family.

I wonder if we would have watched movies like this if I had gone out with Yuto. No, no, no, I don’t care about that, not a bit, not even a micron.

…I was just thinking about it.

!!! Yuto is squeezing my hand again…!

Every time Yuto squeezes my hand, my heart flutters even more.

I admit that I’m more occupied with Yuto than the movie.

But I never thought that Yuto would hold my hand like this…

I wonder if Yuto thinks of me as his true family now.

I can feel my heart beats faster and faster.