Chapter 8: Thank you

It was Friday morning, and everything had returned to normal as Clara finally returned to school in good health.

"Clara, you're back!" exclaimed by her classmates as she stepped into the classroom. They welcomed her warmly, expressing their happiness and excitement to see her, even though she had only been absent for a day.

"She’s really popular, no?" Rosie remarked, casting a glance at the crowd surrounding Clara.

"Yeah," Leon replied, appearing uninterested as he flipped through a book that he’s reading.

"Good morning, everyone!" Clara greeted as she took her seat, looking well and energetic once again.

"Morning," they both responded in unison.

"I'm glad you're back, Clara," said Rosie, her expression serene as she smiled at her friend.

"Thank you, Rosie!" Clara replied, returning the smile before turning to Leon. "Hey, did you miss me?"

"Not a chance," Leon denied, slightly tilting his head in response to her question. But deep down, he was relieved that she was okay.

Even during break time, Clara found herself surrounded by concerned classmates. It was unusual for her to get sick, so everyone was curious about what had happened.

"So, you were absent because you were sick?" her classmates interrogated her.

"Yeah," Clara confirmed to them.

"Oh, okay. That explains why I saw Leon buying porridge at the store yesterday," said by another girl, causing Leon to freeze.

He felt the weight of his classmates' stares, but he quickly tried to deflect attention. "U-umm, actually, I just had a craving for porridge yesterday, so I bought some hahaha." he said with a forced laugh, clearly not convincing anyone.

"He really sucks at lying," Rosie muttered under her breath.

Leon had hoped to make them believe his lame excuse, but it was shattered when Clara confirmed it, saying, "Yeah, he came to visit me yesterday." 

He facepalmed as she revealed where he went from the day before. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he tried to look away, but there was no escaping his classmates' interrogation. "Can we borrow Leon for a bit?" one of their classmates asked.

"Sure," replied the others in unison.

Before they could drag him away, Clara tugged at his uniform and leaned in close. "Let's meet up in front of the school after dismissal, okay?" she whispered.

Leon didn’t dare to look back, feeling the weight of his classmates' gazes. They just went outside the canteen with his boy classmates to interrogate him.

"What time did you go to Clara’s house yesterday?" one of the boys asked, genuinely curious about his visit.

"After dismissal," Leon replied bluntly.

"What did you do there?" another boy chimed in.

"What do you mean? I was clearly visiting her because she’s sick, nothing more, nothing less. By the way, why is this such a big deal to you?" Leon retorted, feeling irritated by their sudden interrogation because it ruins his precious break time.

"Don’t act clueless, Leon. We all know who the popular peeps are, and we admire her, so we're curious about what happened," Edward replied.

"Wait, so you, Arthur, Edward, and Paul are admirers of hers?" Leon asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yeah, so what?" Edward replied defensively. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Ahh, I'm so jealous of Leon. He knows where Clara lives and can visit her whenever he wants," Paul remarked, annoyance evident on his face.

These three boys in their classroom were low-key admirers of Clara but lacked the courage to confess to her. They were timid in love, waiting for Clara to make the first move. Despite their desire to be with her, they couldn’t muster the courage for a simple gesture or conversation.

"I thought you guys were the type who didn’t like romance. Maybe it’s just my imagination," Leon shrugged, realizing he had misunderstood their behavior.

"Shut up!" Arthur exclaimed. "Are you sure you didn’t do something weird to her when she’s sick?"

"Absolutely not," Leon replied, laughing inwardly at their overprotective behavior.

"Hey, why are you grinning?" Edward noticed his slight smirk. "Did you do something?"

"N-nothing, I just really think you should approach her and stop overthinking," Leon suggested.

"We can't do that," Paul replied.

"Why not?" he wondered.

"We're the silent, faraway admirers," Arthur responded seriously, making Leon chuckle.

"The silent, faraway what?" Leon asked, confused yet amused.

"We're the type of people who, when we see how happy and healthy our crush is, we're just happy and contented," Arthur explained.

"We admire her from afar, appreciating her from a distance without needing anything in return," Paul added.

"Yeah, we're like silent guardians, silently rooting for her happiness," Edward chimed in.

"Exactly. We find joy in seeing her thrive, even if it means we stay in the background," Arthur concluded. They are like some kind of trio connecting those answers into one explanation.

“Damn, I didn’t know about that” Leon was amused. 

“So you better respect people like us–” Edward was about to finish her sentence but Leon seemed to be hungry at that moment.

“I’m sorry but I need to go. Take care.” he gently smiled at them, leaving them outside of the canteen. 

“Argh! That boy, just because he’s popular too, he walked out right that huh?!” Edward mumbled in annoyance.

As the class came to an end, Leon made his way outside the school building, heading towards the front gate where Clara was waiting for him. From a distance, he spotted her standing there, patiently waiting at his arrival. Just as he was about to approach her, a familiar voice called out nearby.

"Hey, Clara," Zeno's voice rang out, drawing Leon's attention.

Turning his head, Leon saw Zeno, the ace football player, walking towards Clara. "Hello," Clara greeted, her tone friendly but slightly surprised.

Deciding to give them some space, Leon discreetly stepped back, positioning himself behind a nearby wall to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I heard you weren't feeling well yesterday. Are you feeling better today?" Zeno asked, genuine concern evident in his voice.

Clara nodded, offering a reassuring smile. "Yes, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for asking."

"Good to hear," Zeno replied, his expression reflecting relief. "So, what brings you here?"

Before Clara could respond, Zeno took the opportunity to suggest they walk home together. "Are you on your way home now? Would you like some company?" he asked, catching Clara off guard.

People started to stare at them again, making Clara a bit uncomfortable with the environment. Sensing Clara's hesitation, Leon decided to step forward, coming out from behind the wall to join them. “Clara!” 

They both turned as they heard Leon calling Clara’s name.

"Sorry for the delay, I got held up in the restroom," Leon explained, offering a nod of greeting to Zeno.

Clara quickly interjected, "No worries, Leon."

Realizing that Clara and Leon might have plans, Zeno tried to read the room. "Do you guys have somewhere else to go together?" he inquired.

"Yeah, we've got some errands to run after school," Leon replied and looked back at Clara who was staring at him too.

Understanding their situation, Zeno smiled understandingly. "Got it. Well, perhaps we can catch up another time, Clara. Take care, you two." With a friendly wave, Zeno bid them farewell and headed off.

Leon turned to Clara, who’s just looking at him. “Shall we go?”, he asked

“Y-yeah” Clara replied hesitantly

They finally made their way outside of the campus, under the fine weather, they walked on the street side.

“By the way, thanks for earlier.” she said pertaining to his sudden appearance that made her escape that tight situation.

“No worries, you’re really having a little bit of a problem there” he replied, Leon always knew that even though she was popular, she could easily get tense with the people when she was being stared at by them. 

Amazed by his observation, she raised her brows, “You can tell?”

“Yeah, your hands are literally shaking earlier” he said

“Hey! That’s not true!” she immediately defended herself which appears to be true. Leon was just trying to release her tension from earlier.

“Alright alright, then why do you suddenly want to meet me after class?” he recalled about what she said earlier in the class

“It’s about yesterday” she replied

“Yesterday?” 

She nodded, “Yeah, I didn’t give you a proper thanks for what you did yesterday”.

He finally understood what she meant and that made him clarify why she wanted to meet with him after the class. 

“So as my thanks, I’ll treat you to some takoyaki.” she proposed. Leon stopped for a bit when he heard that.

His favorite food is takoyaki and no one else knew that and just her, “You don’t need to do that, it was my decision to visit you” but since he’s shy to take the offer, he pretended not to focus on the treat.

“And that’s the reason I wanted to thank you, come on you don’t need to be shy” she replied, forming a smirk on him

“I’m not shy, it’s just–”.

“No talking! Just follow me okay?” she left an assuring smile on him before returning his gaze back on the road. Leon had no choice but to follow her, it seems that she’s eager to thank him not only for visiting her at her home, but for giving her an assurance about not leaving by her side.

After a few minutes of walking, they spotted a cozy takoyaki stand with colorful lanterns hanging above. The stand was small but lively, with people gathered around watching the chef cook the takoyaki. The chef was quick and skilled, flipping the balls with ease as they cooked to a perfect golden brown. The smell of sizzling batter and octopus filled the air, making their mouths water. As they got closer, they could hear the sound of cooking and people chatting happily.

Clara was glad as she found Leon struck by the lively ambiance of the stall, he seemed to be amused on where she took him into.

"I searched online and had no idea this beautiful place was here. What do you think?" she asked confidently, her hands resting on her waist.

He shook his head, obviously distracted by the appealing food on the sizzling pan. “U-um…don’t know”

“Looking hungry now huh?” she smirked, “Shall we order?”

He nodded as he followed her pace through the counter. They finished ordering and after a few minutes of waiting they finally had the takoyaki on their table.

The salty and sweet smoky aroma of the takoyaki balls rose filled their noses and it was about time for them to eat it but Clara stopped for a bit.

“Hey, wait for a moment!” she exclaimed, while bringing out her phone from her bag immediately. It seems like she wanted to take a picture of the beautiful dish they had in front of their table.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Nothing, just taking pictures.” she smiled, finally clicking the capture button. She checked the photo she took and suddenly showed it to him with an exciting expression written on her face. “Hey look! This one looks good in the photo right?!” 

“Yeah, not gonna lie.” he agreed, “Shall we eat now?”

"She nodded eagerly, her eyes bright. 'Sure, go ahead!' With synchronized movements, they turned their attention to their meal, each silently expressing gratitude for the food. 'Thank you for the food,' they murmured in unison, their voices harmonizing in appreciation."

As they bit into the golden spheres, the warm cheese bomb filling oozed out, mingling with the tender chunks of squid within. The creamy cheese wrapped around their taste buds with its rich, indulgent flavor, while the squid added a delightful seafood essence.

"Mmmm....it's delicious!" she's screaming in amusement while saying that.

"Yeah, it really is" Leon added right after he took a bite of the food.

They both enjoyed themselves at the table while savoring the tasty, cheesy-flavored takoyaki on their tongues to the point that it's like they are in their own world right now.

"I'm glad we made it here." she looked at Leon with a smile on her face.

"Y-yeah." as Leon said that, he noticed that a part of the sauce of the takoyaki was still on Clara's lower cheek.

"Uh, you've got a little sauce on your cheek."

"Oh!" Clara quickly raised a hand to her face. "Where?"

"Right here." Leon pointed vaguely toward his own mouth.

Clara rubbed the opposite side of her lips. "Did I get it?"

Leon couldn't help but chuckle. "N-No. A little more to the left."

His fingers gently brushed against Clara's lower lip as he wiped away the tiny streak of sauce.

"..."

For a moment, Clara completely froze.

Her eyes widened, and she could only stare at Leon. A warm feeling quickly spread across her face, and before she knew it, her cheeks had turned bright red. Leon, however, didn't seem to think much of it.

"There," he said with a small smile as he pulled his hand back. "You kept missing it."

Clara lowered her gaze and quickly looked back at her food. Her heart wouldn't stop beating fast, and the more she thought about what had just happened, the more embarrassed she felt.

Not long after, they finished the last of their takoyaki. They stood up and continued walking along the streets. 

Not long after, they finished the last of their takoyaki and left the stall.

"Ahh... I'm full," Clara said with a satisfied sigh as they walked down the sidewalk.

The afternoon breeze brushed past them while the sounds of the city filled the air. For a while, neither of them spoke, simply enjoying the comfortable silence.

Then Leon suddenly scratched the back of his head. "By the way... thanks for the food."

Clara blinked and looked at him. "Hm?"

"It was really good," he admitted. "But still you didn't have to treat me."

A small smile appeared on Clara's face. "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you for yesterday."

"I told you, it was my choice to visit you." he replied

"Exactly! You visited me when I was sick, brought me food, and stayed with me until I felt better."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"It was."

Leon fell silent. Clara looked ahead as memories from years ago surfaced in her mind. "Besides, you've done the same thing before."

"What do you mean?"

She let out a small laugh. "Did you forget already?"

Leon tilted his head.

"When we were kids, you got sick after the school trip."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh."

"You had a fever and kept insisting you were fine."

"I was fine." he immediately replied.

"You were not." She chuckled. "You looked like you were about to collapse."

Back then, Clara had stayed by his side the whole afternoon. Leon's mother was worried that Clara might catch his cold and repeatedly told her to keep her distance, but Clara refused. No matter how many times she was told to go play with the others, she remained beside him, worried about her sick friend.

"I stayed with you the whole afternoon, you know?" Clara continued. "So when you visited me yesterday, it reminded me of that."

Leon remained silent as he listened.

Back then, neither of them had thought much about it. They were just kids. But looking back now, Clara realized how much those small moments meant to her.

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Still... thank you. Leon"

Leon looked at her for a moment before looking away. Somehow, hearing those words from her felt different.

"...Y-you're welcome."

For a brief moment, neither of them noticed the smiles on their faces as they continued walking side by side.