L: Tainaka?
R: Yeah, Hisao too, and you can just say Ritsu.
R: You’re Lilly, right? Didn’t catch it yesterday.
L: Oh, Yes, and hello to you as well Hisao.
I clear my throat before mumbling a response and raising my hand slightly in salute, it takes a few moments before I realize it’s for no reason at all, as Hanako has taken refuge behind her hands again.
I think we’re being a little too forward, even if Lilly is taking our sudden intruding remarkably well, Hanako looks frozen in panic.
As usual.
H: err, Hi Lilly, Hanako.
Lilly just flashes a sweet smile, as she has already said her greeting, I think Hanako is making some kind of sound from behind her hands as well.
Maybe.
R: So we’re eating lunch with you, is that okay?
L: My my, forward, are we? But it’d be all right with me, what do you think Hanako?
Hanako visibly cringes as Lilly says her name, she looks terrified.
I want to speak up for her.
H: Is this really such a good Idea, I mean Hanako looks…
 
Ha: NO!
Hanako looks more sad than angry.
Her face makes me more sad than scared too.
She quickly retreats from her sudden outburst and brings one hand back to her face to cover the scarred side
…
The whole room goes silent for a few seconds, just long enough for it to be eerie
Everyone looks flabbergasted, most of all Hanako.
I feel like an ass.
I barely know Hanako, I really shouldn’t make assumptions like that.
But still, she looked so…
Ha: I m-mean, I’d like to e-eat lunch with you, p-please
Hanako is quick to crawl back into her shell, she looks slightly different from before though.
Like she is shocked instead of scared.
I don’t know if she’s shocked by me or herself, and I wonder what would be worse.
 
R: Well, it’s settled then!
Ritsu’s cheeriness feels out of place, still, I appreciate her effort to save the conversation.
If it ended here, things would probably have gone even worse in the future.
Her save works surprisingly well though, and the rest of the lunch actually goes pretty smooth.
Save for the extreme awkwardness anytime I have to talk directly to Hanako, but I couldn’t hope for anything more.
Hopefully, things will get better with time.
We’re in a band together, after all.
 
When the bell signaling the end of break rings, Ritsu and I get up to leave while Lilly and Hanako are staying a little longer.
It’s a little weird, even if I know that Hanako is skipping classes on a regular basis, Lilly really doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would do something like that.
However, if she was, it wouldn’t be the first time I’d misjudge someone I barely know today.
Ugh.
R: It’s fantastic!
H: What?
R: Everything, it’s just like it used to!
H: I don’t follow…
R: Just let me be happy!
Then something unexpected happens.
Ritsu hugs me.
A real, “throw yourself into an embrace” hug
She is warm, and her skin feels incredibly soft against my own.
I can feel her hair brush against my skin, it feels nice.
It catches me so off guard that I don’t even manage to embrace her back before she is loose again, skipping down the hallway.
I don’t know what’s going on, why would she be so happy over a slightly awkward lunch?