Homemade beach day.

In the midst of a blazing hot summer; everyone was looking for ways to cool off. That includes our favorite socially awkward cutie, aki. "Oh man, I wanna go swimming so bad!! Every other commercial has been showing people at the beach".

"Hmm, didn't think advertisements would work so well on you", sora chuckled.

Hey, it's a natural thing to want to swim during the summer. It's like having cocoa in the winter!".

"Okay, well do you wanna go to the beach aki?".

"Absolutely not! The beach is a place where everyone wants to oogle you and search you up and down with their lustful eyes. Not to mention all the peer pressure of who has the best beach bodies…there's absolutely no way I'll go there!!".

"Gotcha, then I guess the beach is a no go. Might as well just forget about it", sora yawned. "I guess…you're right", the buxom teen sighed.

Sora quickly caught wind of her disappointment, he knew right away whenever Aki felt down. But with her unable to challenge these fears; he didn't know how to help. After a few more hours of video games; sora would take his leave. The whole walk home, he couldn't get this issue off his mind. There had to be some way he could grant Aki's wish…but how. Back home, the teen showered and sprawled out on his living room sofa. His troubled expression would catch the attention of another family member. A younger sister that he had always held near and dear named mikan.

Mikan was about fourteen years old and had always been big into track. Very outgoing, she had plenty of friends and was always a good judge of character. She had long brown hair and a very light build. Which is probably why she excelled at her chosen sport. "Hey bro what's wrong, you seem a little down".

"It's nothing for you to worry about mikan".

"Don't say that sora, I don't like to see you sad!".

Seeing as how Mikan had always been protective of her brother; he figured there was no use hiding it. "It's aki, she wants to go to the beach. But she's so afraid of people I don't know how I can help her".

"Awww, you've always looked after her. You guys should get married already".

"Shut up, I'm being serious here! Aki misses out on so much, I can't let her be deprived of a nice summer".

"I see…what if we used force?", mikan teased.

"Very funny, she'd pass out as soon as a crowd of people walked by".

"Okay, then what about that rubber pool dad keeps in his shed?".

"What, we've still got that thing!". Thinking back to many summers ago, the siblings' father bought them a pool. Once inflated and filled, they had a blast splashing around in the cool water. Even a younger aki would come by and play. However, this was before her phobias were a lot less crippling. "Man, I'm gonna go see if it's still in the shed!", sora cheered.

"Ahhh, to be in love", Mikan giggled.

Outside, Sora went into his father's shed with hopes held high. Inside were plenty of tools and boxes full of old junk. Sora knew he'd have to dig around; but it was worth it to help his friend. It wouldn't take long before he found a small box tucked away in a corner. The label on it read pool; instantly bringing a smile to Sora's face. He'd drag it outside and open it up, hoping it hadn't been ruined by the elements. Fortunately it seemed to be in decent shape; albeit a little dusty. So with nothing left but to assemble; sora got to work.

Inside, Mikan watched her brother with a smile on her face. Not many people would take into account Aki's issues. But sora never minded going that extra mile to help someone. After a while, the teens project was coming together. The pool was inflated and currently filling with water. But this run of the mill pool seemed boring; it lacked a certain charm.

That is until mikan walked outside carrying some fun pool accessories. "Come on sora, you gotta have the stuff to spice things up", she giggled.

"Good thinking mikan, this'll make her beach experience even better. Guess there's nothing to do now but call her over", sora nodded.

Meanwhile we'd see a bored aki scrolling aimlessly through the TV. Upon seeing Sora's name come across her phone, a smile gleamed across the teens face. "Hello?", she answered gleefully.

"Hey aki, are you busy right now?", sora asked.

"No".

"Good, could you walk over to my house. I've got a pretty cool surprise for you".

"A surprise, you know I don't like those sora. Can't you just tell me now?".

"Heck no, you'll wanna see this in person".

Not getting the info she wanted; aki started to get pouty. "Seriously sora, you can't just tell me over the phone? You know I hate going outside you jerk!!".

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"I don't care, get your butt over here or I'm gonna post that picture of you sleeping in your bunny pajamas!".

"Y-you wouldn't dare you fiend!!", aki cried. The anxious girl in turn ran out of her house; even forgetting to put on a pair of shoes. This wouldn't matter much though, as sora lived right across the street. With aki familiar with this house, she burst right in without knocking. While this wasn't something she normally did; these were dire straits.

Having a picture of her posted online was bad enough. But one of her asleep in her pj's...that would be horrifying. Upon searching, she'd see sora standing out in his backyard. With her anger boiling over, she was eager to claw his eyes out.

"Sora you jerk...prepare to die!!", she yelled.

Though after taking a look around; her demeanor quickly changed. "Hey, what's all this?", she said, noticing the pool and many toys.

"We're glad you came over", mikan greeted. "Sora put all this together just so you could have your very own beach day".

Mikan told nothing but the truth. The scene she stumbled upon truly screamed summertime. There were noodles, water guns and even a few beach balls. With all this effort put in just for her; aki couldn't help but blush.

"S-so you did all this for me?".

"Of course silly, now go grab your swimsuit. Welcome to aki Beach, the serene locale that is my backyard", the boy giggled.

After everyone changed; they'd have a blast splashing around in the water. Mikan sprayed both teens with a high powered water gun. Sora and aki bashed each other with pool noodles. Everyone had so much fun; they might as well have been at a real beach. Before they knew it, day would fade into evening. At this point, everyone was exhausted and ready to call it a day. Mikan had long gone inside leaving sora and aki alone together.

Sora couldn't help but stare at his buxom friend in her swimsuit. Sometimes he'd forget about her annoying tendencies and look at her for what she actually was. A beautiful girl that he always enjoyed being around. Likewise, aki felt nothing but joy with the effort Sora put in today. Sometimes she had these unfamiliar feelings towards the boy. Feelings that she'd never felt for anyone in her whole life. What they truly were, she didn't really know.

"Hey aki?", the boy asked.

"Oh, y-yeah", she stuttered nervously.

"I hope you had fun today, you deserve a summer too you know".

"I…had a blast", the girl blushed. I'm so grateful you'd put all this together for me".

With them both staring at the sunset, this seemed like the perfect moment for a confession. Unfortunately though, fate had other plans for today. "Well I really didn't have a choice. I couldn't imagine bringing you to an actual beach. That'd be a freaking nightmare", the teen giggled. Angry with him for ruining the moment, aki struck sora in the head.

"Ow, what was that for", he yelled.

"So I'm an annoyance to you now. You're so mean sora!!", the girl said, stomping inside to change.

Meanwhile, the boy was left with a knot and unsure of what just happened. "Man, what was with that…I was only playing around".

An embarrassed mikan would poke her head out the window and scold her hapless brother. "Wow sora, way to kill a mood. That was totally lame".

"W-what do you mean!?".

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll learn when you get older", she teased.

A not so happy birthday!

To most people in the world, today would be an uneventful one. Going to work and school, living life like usual. But for aki, today was more stressful than usual. As her birthday was less than twenty four hours away. Now usually this would be a good thing. Aki always enjoyed ordering items in droves and enjoying them with sora.

This birthday however, something a little different was being planned. As akis mom wanted her to spend time with people this year. More specifically, a bunch of her relatives that she hadn't seen in a while. Normally this would be okay for some people, but aki was completely livid.

Still arguing with her mother about these sudden changes in tradition. "Mom, you can't invite all those people over…that's too many!".

"Aki, your family loves you and wants to celebrate your birthday. It won't kill you to socialize for a few hours".

"Yes it will mom, I'll be a nervous wreck!!", the girl pouted.

"I don't care aki, your grandparents and everyone else is coming. I hear they even got you some gifts".

"But...but!!".

"No but's young lady, now stop all that whining!", her mother exclaimed.

Knowing there was no changing her mom's mind; an angry aki retreated to her room. Meanwhile her mother dropped her head and let out a sigh. "I swear, that girl is too stubborn for her own good!". Aki's mom was a beautiful woman named sakura. With long brown hair and a luscious body of her own; she was the envy of most middle aged women. Sakura was also a full time housewife that always cared for her children.

Unfortunately for her, aki was pretty set in her ways. Opening up to hardly anyone at all.. Though one boy always seemed to tickle her fancy. Right now the boy in question was laying in his bed scrolling through social media. He knew that Aki's birthday was tomorrow and he had long since got her a gift.

What he wasn't expecting however, was the sudden phone call he'd receive. That being from aki, who was currently sobbing in her bedroom closet. "Sora…it's just terrible", the girl sniffled.

"What's going on, is everything alright", sora said, quickly sitting up.

"No, everything's just terrible…I can't believe this happened!".

Fearing the worst, sora was ready to jump up and rush to the girl's aid. Not putting up with anyone messing with his childhood friend. "Okay, just slow down. Tell me what's going on. Did a solicitor try to sell you something again!?".

"No it's my mom…she's…she's!".

"Auntie sakura, so help me if anyone touches her. It'll be the last thing they ever do", sora growled.

"No this is her fault, she's throwing me a birthday party!!", aki cried.

Quickly stopping in his tracks; sora would get annoyed by this sudden revelation. "Are you serious aki, that's all. I thought something bad was happening".

"This is bad", the teen said, wiping away tears. "A bunch of my relatives are coming and it's gonna be a house full".

"That doesn't sound so bad, you'll probably get tons of gifts".

"I don't want their freaking gifts. And I don't want all those people intruding in my safe space".

Feeling he was about to deal with another aki moment. Sora got back into bed and prepared to comfort his friend. "Aki, I know you don't like people and all. But your mom is only trying to bring you out of your shell a bit. I think that's perfectly natural", the boy spoke softly.

"Well I don't, my shell is perfectly comfortable. And it has no need for any outsiders intruding", aki grunted.

"I get that but they're not outsiders; these people are your family aki. They're coming over just to celebrate your life. It'll probably be a blast and make you feel good about yourself. After all, my relatives live really far away. All of my birthdays have just been me, you and mikan. Personally, I think I'd be honored to have a big party in my honor", the teen smiled.

On the other line, aki felt a tinge of pity come over her. It was true that sora had a pretty small family. Most of his relatives he hadn't even met before. This in turn would make her feel like an ungrateful brat. But the issue still stood, a bunch of people meant bad news for aki. "I get what you're saying, but we're gonna have a house full. Regardless if I know them or not, it's still gonna be scary!".

"Then I'll be there to help. Sora chuckled. I'll even do all the talking if need be…but your saying thanks for the gifts".

"Heh, that doesn't sound so bad…is that a promise?", aki blushed.

"You know it, now get out of the closet and apologize to your mom".

"Wait, how did you know I was in the closet?".

"Today's not our first time meeting aki, that's where you go anytime you're stressed".

"I'm glad you know me so well sora, see you tomorrow. You'd better have me something nice", the girl warned.

"Oh I'm sure you'll love it", he said, glancing at the newest game in her favorite series.

With a newly found confidence, aki stepped out of the closet. The anxious teen would travel downstairs, ready to face her mother. While clutching her favorite red hoodie tightly, she bowed her head in apology. "Mom, I'm sorry! I know you're trying to show me a good time and I appreciate that. I am nervous about all the people, but I'll try my best to have fun".

"Let me guess", her mother giggled. "You talked to Sora and he made everything better, am I right".

"Ugh, no!" Aki whined.

"Yeah,yeah, happy early birthday honey. I think you'll have a good time tomorrow".

Now usually aki would have disagreed considering the circumstances. But now she was looking forward to her big day. Especially the part where she gets to open a gift from her most treasured friend.

To be continued.