Find What You're Looking For ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ By the time Elena had reached Narumi's house, the thunder and lightning had kicked off again. There was no rain. But it made the search for Narumi... unnerving. Thunder and lightning were the two facets of nature that Elena had trouble in accepting. But when she saw that Narumi was gone, she went to look for the Japanese girl. At first she looked around in the precinct of the festival. When the search of the carnival came up fruitless, Elena moved out to check in the nearby areas. And when Elena still couldn't find Narumi; she actually started to get worried. What if something bad had happened to Narumi? The African girl shuddered to think of it. The first thing she did in her urgency was back step and head for Narumi's house. If she wasn't there; then Elena would probably have to do something drastic. But fortunately, she was there. Elena opened the door and called out for the girl in the downstairs hallway. There was no reply. But what she did see was Narumi's keys, hung on the key hook beside the doorway. Elena could tell they belonged to Narumi from the little Usagi key chain. That meant she was home. Elena quickly checked the kitchen and the living room to see if Narumi was there. She wasn't. So then Elena made her way up the steps to the top floor. Elena pulled a corner around the banister to see where her friend might be. Then she stopped when she heard the soft sound of sobs. Something that Elena wasn't familiar with by experience, but disliked all the same. And she knew that to be the sound of Narumi, crying. The tall teen slowly tip-toed to the door of Narumi's door. Then peered through the slight gap between the open door and the doorway. Narumi was lying face down on her bed, sobbing frantically into her pillow. Her soft black hair was in disarray, her glasses were off and Elena knew that she had never seen Narumi so sad. What could have caused it? The door creaked a bit from Elena's pressure. Narumi didn't look up from the pillow, but mumbled something into it. "...Go... away, Mom..." "...Narumi..." Elena spoke softly, opening the door, "...it's me." The shorter woman gasped. The LAST thing she wanted was for Elena to see her like this. The girl rose from her tear-stained pillow to reveal the tear tracks down her face. She scrambled to compose herself but by then it was too late. There was absolutely nothing she could hide from Elena (especially not in that state). The cinnamon-skinned beauty was almost empathic. She could feel the sadness around her like it was her own. The sentiment of which was mirrored in the current expression on Elena's face. When the people around her were unhappy, she was unhappy. The Kenyan woman took a seat next to Narumi on the bed and stared at her with heart-rending compassion. "What's wrong, Naru-chan?" She asked solemnly, "Why... did you leave me behind like that? Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you in some way? If I did, then I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again." It was altruistic comments like those that made this situation so hard for Narumi. "...It's not about you... Elena. You didn't do anything... wrong. It's me... it's me... I'm sorry..." Elena blinked in confusion. "...What did you do?" It was not so much what she did, but rather what she felt. Narumi snivelled a little and looked downwards. The green-eyed monster was making its return as she thought about those guys flirting with Elena. "...I just can't stand seeing people look at you that way! I know it's selfish, but I can't help it..." The confusion in Elena's face could not have been more frank. In her ears, it was like Narumi was talking in riddles. But Elena was naïve, not stupid. Though it was confusing at first, she put real thought into what was being said. And evaluated Narumi's reaction to it all. Her eyes soon widened when she realized what was going on here. What Narumi 'felt'. Suddenly the facts couldn't have been more clear. Narumi was jealous. And she was jealous because... Elena's surprised look became a blank one when she spoke. "...Naru-chan... how do you feel about me...?" "Huh?" The taller of the girls then closed her eyes, with a hint of a smile. "Are you going to kiss me?" Narumi's confusion was now added with a blush. "...Wha?!" "Kiss me." Elena repeated blankly. At that point; Narumi could not have felt the heat at her cheeks more vividly. This was not what she was expecting at all. She expected Elena to give her some I-still-like-you-but-I'm-not-into-that-sort-of-thing speech. But she got the complete opposite. Narumi was still in the dark about all of this; which kept her from reacting quickly enough. Just until she noticed Elena frown, saying, "...How long are you going to keep me waiting...?" The now shy Narumi could hardly bring herself to reply. The last thing she would have thought about happening between them... was this. Was this some kind of trick or joke? Elena really wasn't the type for that. This was so hard to explain. But since she couldn't really think of any reason for this action, Narumi nervously went with the flow. She pulled herself over her bed and slowly inched towards the waiting Elena; her soft lips pursed. Narumi and Elena were face-to-face. So close that Elena could feel Narumi's warm breath against her lips. She was so utterly anxious. But Narumi slowly closed those wet eyes of hers and leaned in just a little further. Which had the dramatic effect of pressing their lips together. It was a sweet kiss; lacking stylish finesse and possessed of innocent clumsiness. But neither girl could have felt more warm or secure than they presently did. Elena was the one to pull away first. And those light auburn lips curled into a smile. While Narumi opened her eyes and blinked. Her first kiss. And it was with the one girl she wanted all her kisses to be with. Both of the girls blushed but Narumi was the one who felt the most awkward about the whole thing, pressing her palms into her lap and looking downwards at them. "...L-Like... that?" She timidly asked. Elena pressed her hand into Narumi's. "...I wish you would have told me." "...I wanted to," Narumi replied, "I really did. But... it's hard. I thought that if I told you about it... you'd end up hating me." The taller girl tilted her head to the side. "Do you hate me?" "...Of course not," Narumi's said seriously, "...Isn't that obvious? Why would you even ask me something like that....?" No direct reply was given in that instant. Elena just smiled and wrapped her arms around the shorter, flushed Narumi. The Japanese teen blinked as Elena huddled around her like that in an embrace. She was still confused. But that confusion, and all her other worries, became nothing more than distant memories when Elena spoke again, uttering, "Because I like you too, Naru-chan. I like you a lot."
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