"Goodbye, Harry Osbum!"
"Hey! Don't leave me alone to deal with this pile of code—"
SLAM!
The door shut loudly, and Gwen cheerfully walked toward me.
"…You're just leaving him alone like that?"
"A couple shouldn't have a third wheel!"
"But Harry is—"
"Shh!" Gwen placed her finger on my lips.
"You're a guy, and guys have to win over girls!"
"We're 15."
"Age is just a number!"
…I was at a loss for words with her.
After that, she and I left Harry's mansion.
I was thinking about which store to buy clothes for Gwen from, hoping it would be a good one.
"Now… let's go shopping—"
"That can wait! I want to hang out with you first!" Gwen grabbed my hand.
"…If you want."
We started wandering around aimlessly.
First stop: the zoo…
"Ooh ooh ah ah!!" She pounded her chest, ready to jump in and fight a gorilla. I had to rush to stop her.
"Peter! That thing gave me a dirty look! I'm gonna beat it up!"
"Absolutely not! And people are watching!!!" I pointed at the crowd staring at Gwen.
"What? Never seen a girl act weird before?" Gwen glared at them, visibly annoyed.
They immediately lost interest.
'Wow, that actually worked?' I thought, surprised, as I let Gwen down.
"Let's go see the tiger!"
"Okay?"
But as soon as we got to the tiger, she tried to jump in and fight it too, so I had to stop her again.
After that, we left the zoo.
"Let's go eat something!"
"…Didn't we just eat?"
"I'm not full! A warrior of hell always has an empty stomach!"
"…"
Weirdly, I remember being the talkative one, so why am I so quiet now?
We went to Wendy's, and I bought her a hamburger. I wasn't hungry.
"Here!" She split half of it for me, looking at me with hopeful eyes.
"…"
I gave in and ate it. She happily hugged me, her sauce-covered hands all over me.
"Next time, don't hug me when your hands are dirty."
"Nah."
After that, we went to an amusement park.
"Let's ride the roller coaster!!"
"…"
I looked at the roller coaster, where people were screaming their heads off, and a few seemed to fly out.
Gulp…
"Gwen, I think we should—"
"Come on~" Gwen grabbed my arm, her eyes pleading pitifully.
"…Don't make that face."
"Come on~"
"Stop repeating yourself!"
"Come on~"
"Ugh, fine! Just one ride!"
"Yayyyy!!"
So, we both got on the roller coaster with the other passengers.
"Are you ready, dear passenger?" A red-haired, red-eyed girl who looked like she stepped out of an anime asked me.
"Uh, not yet—"
"Yes, we're ready, Teto! Pull the lever!!"
"Wait! I'm not ready—AGHHHHHHH!!"
Gwen, me, and the others were launched forward.
"Hey, Teto, you think anyone's gonna die on this ride?" A blue-haired girl with twin tails asked.
"Don't worry, Miku. If they die, it's on them—skill issue!"
"If someone else dies, we're outta here, Miku, Teto," said a blonde girl with a single ponytail, obsessively tapping on her phone.
"Nah, Neru, it's fine!" Teto said cheerfully, brushing it off.
Meanwhile…
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed in terror at the roller coaster's insane speed.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAA~" Gwen screamed with joy, her hands unintentionally smacking my shoulder.
Then something hit my face.
I pulled it off and realized it was a newspaper… with a headline that read, "People die on roller coasters every year."
What the heck?! Why did this show up now??
Right after that, the newspaper tore as something shot through it and lodged into my forehead.
"Huh? Why's your head bleeding?" Gwen asked curiously.
"…" I yanked it out and looked at it.
It was a shuriken. Wow.
Then something else flew toward me.
I panicked and shielded myself with my hands.
"…?"
I opened my eyes and looked at what I was holding.
…It was a pink bra.
"Oh, that's my bra. Peter, you're such a perv~" Gwen teased, playfully poking my shoulder.
How the heck did this get here? I'm serious.
And right after that, something else flew in, knocking the bra away and hitting me square in the head.
"Huh? Why's there even more blood?" Gwen asked, still curious.
"…" I pulled it out of my bloodied forehead.
…It was a brick.
Then I saw more objects heading toward me.
"Oh, great…"
What followed was three minutes of pure torture for Peter.
When the roller coaster finally stopped, Teto approached with a fake smile.
"Did you guys have fun?"
I stared at her blankly, then got up with a cheerful Gwen.
"So rude! You could at least say something!" Teto puffed out her cheeks, while Miku looked horrified at my injuries.
My hair was a mess, my glasses were broken, my face was bruised, and blood was still dripping…
What the heck did he just go through???
"Let's go to the haunted house, Peter!"
"NO, WE'RE LEAVING RIGHT NOW!"
***
After that, we went to a clothing store.
"I hope it doesn't disappoint," I said, wiping the blood off my forehead and holding Gwen's hand as we walked in.
"Ah, welcome, dear customers!" A red-haired girl greeted us.
Wait, isn't that the employee from the amusement park earlier?
"Ah! Hi, Teto!" Gwen waved.
"Hi, dear customers!" Teto waved back.
…I'm so confused right now.
"Can you… find an outfit that suits her?" I approached, asking and pointing at Gwen.
"Hmm… Let me measure her sizes first!" Teto walked over and led Gwen away.
"Wait for me, Peter!!" Gwen called out before disappearing.
"…" I stood there, scratching my head, then sat on a small chair.
After a while, Teto returned with Gwen.
"You can go to counter… 31. The clothes there should fit her perfectly, or would you like me to tailor something on the spot?"
"No need, let's just try on some clothes, Gwen."
So Teto led us to counter 31, and yeah, everything fit her perfectly.
But…
"Why are they staring at me like that?" I whispered to Teto.
"Because you're the only guy in my store. We don't get many guys shopping here."
"Oh, thanks."
All the girls in the store were looking at me—some with concern, some with curiosity, and some with… love.
Well, the "love" one was Gwen. She'd been clinging to me the whole time.
"Alright, dear customers, if you need anything, just call me. I'm off now!" Teto left.
I looked at all the uniforms, and there were even cosplay outfits! Pretty cool, huh?
"I want to try this one!" Gwen grabbed an outfit and looked at me, but I wasn't paying attention.
"Wear whatever you want. You can show me when you're done."
"Oh, really? Is that a challenge?"
"Huh? Challenge what—"
I looked up, and Gwen was gone.
Right after that, the curtain of the fitting room opened, revealing Gwen in a very familiar outfit.
Yup, it was Alice's outfit from Alice in Wonderland.
What stood out was the headband that made her look a bit like a rabbit and the black-and-white striped knee-high socks.
"Cute, right? Kyun kyun!"
"Alright… It's prettier than I expected."
She already had long blonde hair, so the outfit suited her surprisingly well.
"Really? Then I'm buying this one!"
"Alright, change and let's head out—"
"Wait! I've got a few more outfits!"
"…Okay, as long as you're happy."
She closed the curtain, changed, and pulled it open again.
"Look at this!"
"Alright, let me see—WHAT?!"
This time… uh… she was wearing a succubus outfit I recognized.
Definitely Morrigan!
"Where did you even find that?!"
"Oh, so you like Morrigan, huh? Noted!"
"Hey, wait a sec!"
She closed the curtain again. I froze, wiping the sweat off my face.
"Look at this, Peter!"
"Alright, alright, let me see—?!?!"
This time… uh… she wasn't wearing anything.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!!!"
"KYAA! PETER, YOU PERV~"
She closed the curtain, laughing cheerfully, while I collapsed in exhaustion.
Dealing with this girl… I'm gonna die one day…
After that, she put her normal clothes back on and happily grabbed my hand.
"Like it?"
"…"
What kind of girl asks a guy that right after doing something like that? You've got to be kidding.
"Your face is all red—it's super cute! Stay still, I'm taking a picture!"
"No!"
"Too late!"
"Delete it!"
We both went to see Teto afterward.
"This pile of clothes comes to… $320!"
"Kind of pricey, huh?"
"These clothes took me nearly a month to make each one!" Teto retorted.
"Alright, thanks."
We left the store after Teto said goodbye to us.
"Did you like it?" I asked Gwen.
"Absolutely loved it! Dates are the best! Now let's go to a hotel!"
"We're 15, so no."
"Age is just a number."
"And jail is jail!"
"But we're 15!"
We strolled down the street, Gwen humming a tune.
I looked at her and patted her head.
"Huh? Why'd you pat my head?"
"…Is it okay if I tell you how I really feel about you?"
Gwen looked at me, confused.
I took a deep breath and looked at her closely.
"You're absolutely insane."
"???"
"Acting like my girlfriend even though we've never met before, and sometimes you act like a kid."
"I thought that was a plus??"
"Who told you that? Oh, and you're super casual, sometimes weird, and sometimes terrifyingly perverted. I'm honestly scared of you."
"Aww…" Gwen looked a bit sad.
"But… it's kind of fun? I guess? This is my first time hanging out with a girl, after all." I stopped walking and faced her.
"So… I'm your first?!"
"Why do you phrase it in such a misleading way?!"
Then Gwen poked her fingers together and looked at me.
"Can… can I say something?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure, say whatever you want."
"Alright… PETER! YOU'RE THE HOTTEST GUY IN MY EYES, FROM EVERY STRAND OF HAIR TO EVERY NOSE HAIR AND PUBIC HAIR, I LOVE IT ALL!!!"
"????"
"I ALSO LOVE STARING AT YOUR NIPPLES! I WANT TO TOUCH THEM AND POKE THEM! I EVEN WANT TO ******"
"OKAY, STOP! PEOPLE ARE LOOKING—"
"I LOVE HOW YOU ALWAYS STARE AT ME, BECAUSE I CAN FEEL THAT YOU CARE ABOUT ME EVEN WHEN I ACT WEIRD! AND I HOPE YOU'LL STARE AT ME WHILE I'M BATHING TOO!"
"STOP IT, PLEASE!!!!"
I collapsed, my face bright red, as passersby whispered about us.
Damn it, I underestimated her—she's dangerously intense!
Gwen then grabbed my hand and pulled me up.
Then she hugged me tightly.
"…One last thing. I love you."
"…"
I sighed and hugged her back.
This love feels so forced. I don't even have clear feelings yet, but she's already pouring her burning passion onto me. Scary stuff.
"Oh, and I just ordered something for you! It'll be here soon!"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a delivery guy appeared out of nowhere, handed a package to Gwen, and she paid him in cash.
"Here, this is a gift for you because your existence makes my life more meaningful!"
"?"
I opened the box and my eyes widened.
"…No way."
"Like it?"
I looked at the text on the box.
Gundam Barbatos.
"…I love it, wifey."
"Say it louder."
"Wifey."
"LOUDER!"
"WIFEY!!!"
"Kiss me on the lips!"
"That'll have to wait a while."
And yeah… what started as a shopping trip for Gwen turned into my most memorable day ever.