[While the first kiss had been on pure impulse, the second had also been to tease her. So when she kisses him again, he's taken by surprise. Not that he disliked it. Not at all.]

Whatchu mean we even? Pretty sure I kissed ya twice.

[Beat chuckles lightly. Despite the surprise, the mere fact that Futaba initated it, together with the look she gave him after he kissed her, was telling.

He was worried that she wasn't ready for something like that. Neither of them really talked about it much since Valentine's. He found himself dancing around the topic, making eyes at her when he thought she wasn't looking. But what had just happened gave him the courage he needed to say what he wanted to next.]

Look, Shorty... You're here sayin' I'm a good guy when I ain't been fair with ya. [A beat.] I said I was gonna figure things out and I took a helluva long time tryin' to do that.

But I really wanna hang out with you more, just doing stuff with you. I wanna know more about you, and your mom, and your friends. I wanna be with you!

[He's rambling. He knows he's rambling but he can't get himself to stop, saying anything and everything that comes to mind. One of his hands move to scratch the back of his head and he grumbles.]

What I'm tryin' to say is... [Augh. Why is this so hard?] I mean, pretty sure I...

[Slowly, he brings his hands together, looking down at them as he takes the fabric of his pants once more, keeping them busy as he tries to power through his thoughts. Then he looks back up, past his blond bangs, at Futaba. His lips curl in a nervous but hopeful smirk, lopsided as always.]

I really want ya to be my girlfriend.