You’ve been saving up money all year to finally be able to attend this yearly festival. If you were alone, it may have been easier, but you want to bring someone along. After all, what fun is there if you can’t bring a friend?

Her name is Shiori Novella.

After all these months, both of you are finally here, sitting in the audience waiting for the concert to begin. The seats all around us darken to pitch black, and the lights on stage come to life. The performers come out in a group and greet all of us, causing a chorus of cheers and adoration to erupt. Soon enough, the singers start the show.

Even as you cheer on, Shiori remains fixated on the stage, watching and smiling as the songs and dance continue. Then, she tucks her hair behind her ear and asks you a question.

“If I was up there singing, would you come see me?”

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As she said that close to your ears through all the loud music and cheering in the background, your eyes lit up a bit. You looked at her for a moment only to notice her eyes were already glued to yours, eagerly awaiting your answer.

And it was your turn to tell her what you felt.

“I would! But I don’t think Security is gonna like it if some random weird girl just hops on stage and just starts singing willy-nilly Shiori!”

You were trying your best to hold your laughter.

“They’d kick us out in a heartbeat!”

Surprised as soon as she realized you were messing with her again, she pushed you gently as you two laughed about it. Both of you were just two people in the crowd.

Those words came from your childhood friend who’s always spent most of her time indoors, reading books, playing video games and writing her own stories from basically anything and everything that inspires her. And for as long as you’ve known her, she has always been quite indecisive about the things that she wants, whether it was marrying Gourmet only to find out that she wants to marry Kappa instead in Harvest Moon, deciding which lolita outfit she was going to wear for Thanksgiving, or whether or not to believe that Sherlock and Dr. Watson were indeed lovers, you can always count on Shiori to be swinging from one thing to the other, or even a completely different thing entirely.

But what’s this about singing on stage and you watching her? It wasn’t a good time to think about those things in the moment, so you focused on the performances with Shiori and enjoyed the concert for the time being… But it was still at the back of your mind.

Hours and an exhausted crowd later, one of the most memorable concerts in history has yet again ended, and both you and Shiori were very tired from cheering and were still recovering from the highs of the most amazing experience both of you have had in a while.

“Oh, I still can’t get over it! THAT WAS AMAZING!”

Shiori said out loud while she sat high above you on the base of the railings outside the venue.

“Was all this what you’ve been up to these past years? Those girls were incredible! I didn’t think you could give so much fun to that many people with just a concert! Just how many fans do those girls have? And you’re telling me they do all those stuff all the time?”

“Not all the time Shiori.”

“W-woah! Oh nyo!”

You tossed her a can of hot tea which she almost didn’t catch properly.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Hoohoohoo~! Almost slipped!"

Shiori giggled while showing you the can.

“You know, this was also my first time being here, and I’ve never had this much fun in my entire life, but I’m actually more surprised that you enjoyed this more than I did. As a fan for years, somehow I felt like I lost to you.”

The can of adzuki bean soup made a sound as you opened it.

“My god, this isn’t quenching my thirst… What’s wrong Shiori? You’ve been quiet for a bit.”

“I can’t get down.”

You looked at the standing and now distressed Neko Shiori before taking another sip of your commonsensically, unsavory can of adzuki bean soup that you’ve obviously known to be bad ever since you’ve been watching anime.

“Now that is your problem Shiowin. Should I call some firemen to get you? Maybe put a saucer of milk on the floor to tempt you down?”

But she had other ideas.

“Uh-uh… I know! I’ll jump down!”

“WHAT.”

“And you better catch me quick! Threee—Twooo”

“Oh for Snufkin’s sakes Shiori, this isn’t RE4 and you’re not Ashley!”

You protested as you made haste to catch her because you know she was really going to do it.

“One!”

She then jumped down towards you and you caught her… well, almost like she crashed on you to be honest, but you were both fine, excluding the can of adzuki bean soup that was spilled on the pavement.

Her arms were wrapped around your neck as she was practically on top of you. Her face was quite close to yours, so much that her scarf was already touching your cheek. The air that she breathed out with her mouth and nose were visible due to the cold, you felt how warm it was as it made contact with your skin.

“Ugh… Remind me again why you chose to go up there, Miss Novella?”

She took her sweet time before she chose to respond to your question, not because she didn't know the answer to it, but rather she was really embarrassed to tell you the truth; and you know this to be true because while it was indeed cold tonight, it wasn't cold enough for her body to allow her cheeks to become so red in an attempt to warm them up.

“I wanted to know what it feels like looking down at you from that stage.”

After she mentioned that, your mind immediately saw flashes of images of the performance that the both of you just experienced earlier in the night—except they weren’t the same concert because you saw Shiori performing in it.

After thinking for a moment, you then spoke up.

“Am I jumping the gun Shiowin, or is the phrase ‘I want to join that comedian group’ is an idea that you’ve been pondering in that hyper-idealistic head of yours?”

Shiori wasn’t looking you in the face while her expression looked slightly sad and worried. She didn’t say a word but only nodded twice to answer you. Both of you got up and sat on the floor for a bit—not looking at each other.

“I’ll be there.”

Shiori turned to you as you said those words.

"You asked if I'd come see you earlier—you remember, of course..."

You didn't necessarily knew a lot of the things that can or would happen, and everything was too sudden. Neither were you aware of how you felt about most things, especially concerning your own life or even your own future... But when it came to Shiori, you knew exactly how you felt, and what you want to do for her.

"Well, provided you’re actually serious about all that and then actually ‘make it’ there, cause I don’t think it’s gonna be easy. I’ll be there as you try and do the things you need to do, and I’ll definitely be there when you’re finally performing on stage someday.”

You looked at her for a moment before continuing.

“Oh my god, listen to the things you’re making me say! Anyways, yeah, I believe in you, and what kind of a friend am I supposed to be for you all these years if I don’t support you all the way?”

You proceeded to dust off the end of Shiori’s sleeve that’s become dirty.

“Just promise me I’d still be in that future that you’re seeing Shiori.”

After telling her that with a smile on your face, Shiori inched closer to you.

“You dum-dum…”

One of her hands landed on top of yours.

“You are always in the futures I see.”

Her right hand immediately made its way towards your cheek.

“OW! THAT’S HOT!”

It was the hot can of tea that she was still holding that she pressed against your cheek. Shiori ran away abruptly, laughing and giggling as you chased her.

“Oh I’ll freaking get you! COME BACK HERE SHIORI!”

Any dream can start from anywhere.

—End—