Earrings, earrings, earrings.

           No matter what I did, that was all I could think about.

           Even while I was watching a movie with Maika and Asakura-san, my mind kept drifting to the ears on the screen.

           November had passed, and now it was December.

           I needed to hurry up and choose a good pair already.

           No amount of worrying was going to change who I was. There was no way I’d suddenly be able to choose earrings Sendai-san would like. I should’ve given up on trying so hard and just picked something already, but I couldn’t stop hesitating.

           It would’ve been much easier if I were picking out a collar for her instead.

           Red would’ve looked nice. Black probably would’ve suited her too.

           But I knew if I actually got her something like that, she’d just get angry and call me an idiot.

           「Did you want to go in there and look around, Shiori?」

           Maika’s voice pulled me back to reality, and I realized I’d stopped walking. There was a shop selling imported goods in front of me, and I touched my ear.

           Was the store where Sendai-san bought my earrings something like this one?

           This was inside the station building with the movie theater, not the shop Sendai-san had taken me to.

           Even so, it felt very similar.

           「Yeah. Can I?」

           I asked Maika and Asakura-san, and they both said “Sure,” before we went inside together.

           It was a fairly busy Sunday afternoon. After walking past rows of stuffed animals and small trinkets, and stopping to look at a few bags, we finally made it to the earrings section.

           Just like the store I’d gone to with Sendai-san, there were a lot of earrings on display.

           But I couldn’t tell which ones would suit her best.

           「Were you planning to buy earrings, Shiori?」

           Maika asked, staring at the selection next to me.

           「I’m not sure. I just wanted to see if they had any pretty ones.」

           「Pretty ones? Not cute ones?」

           「Well… a cute pair would be fine too.」

           I didn’t really care what style they were.

           Cute ones would’ve been fine, but I felt like something pretty would suit Sendai-san more.

           「Hmm…」

           I stared at the earrings, lost in thought.

           「These ones are pretty cute.」

           Maika said, pointing at a pair with ribbon designs.

           「You’re right.」

           I really did think so.

           But they didn’t really feel like they fit Sendai-san.

           I thought back to the necklace I’d given her in high school. I’d picked it just because I thought it would look good on her, and since it was always hidden under her clothes, I hadn’t cared much whether it actually suited her or not.

           I grabbed a pair of earrings from the display and examined them.

           Picking out earrings for Sendai-san was supposed to be a way to keep her under my control and something everyone would be able to see.

           It wasn’t like the necklace.

           That was why I wanted something that wouldn’t ruin her image — something that would look natural on her, something that still felt like her.

           「Earrings really are nice. And they’re cute too.」

           Asakura-san said wistfully.

           I set the earrings back down and turned to Asakura-san, who didn’t have her ears pierced,

           「Do you think you’ll ever get your ears pierced, Asakura-san?」

           「I think earrings would be nice, but I’m kind of scared they’d get caught on something and tear my ear off.」

           「Now that you mention it, it really does feel like our ears could tear off pretty easily. That’s kind of scary to think about.」

           I said, lightly hitting Asakura-san’s arm for saying something that actually sounded possible. Maika giggled.

           「You’re kind of a scaredy-cat, aren’t you, Shiori?」

           「I just don’t like pain.」

           「I get that, but it’s not like our ears would tear off that easily.」

           「Still, there’s always a chance, you know?」

           Asakura-san said seriously, and Maika laughed.

           「I’m sure your ears would be fine.」

           The three of us started walking again, chatting about silly things like whether ears could really tear off that easily.

           「Are you sure you didn’t want to buy any earrings, Shiori?」

           「Yeah, I’m okay. I didn’t find any I liked.」

           I couldn’t find any earrings that would look good on Sendai-san, and even if I had, I didn’t want to buy them in front of Maika and Asakura-san.

           「Oh, right. There was something I wanted to ask you guys. Do either of you have plans on Christmas Eve this year?」

           Maika asked cheerfully, and I replied, “No, I’m free.”

           「I’ll be working.」

           「You’re working even on Christmas, Asakura-san?」

           「Yeah. I didn’t have any other plans, so I figured I’d just work.」

           Asakura-san answered matter-of-factly.

           「I see. You know how Shiori and I were planning to exchange gifts this Christmas?」

           Maika asked, glancing at me. When I nodded, she continued.

           「I thought maybe the three of us could hang out at my place or something. But I should’ve brought it up earlier.」

           「Try inviting me next year. I might be working then too, though.」

           Asakura-san said with a laugh.

           「Whaat? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to ask you ahead of time!」

           Maika said brightly, then turned to me.

           「Hey, Shiori. Do you know what Sendai-san’s plans are that day?」

           「Huh?」

           I hadn’t expected to hear that name, and a strange sound escaped me.

           「I was thinking we could invite Sendai-san too, but she probably already has plans for Christmas, right? I really should’ve said something sooner.」

           I’d never really thought about what Sendai-san’s plans for Christmas might be.

           Christmas was never fun for me. No one was ever around, so I never cared much about my own plans, let alone someone else’s. I hadn’t even expected Maika to invite me to spend Christmas with her.

           Still, it was normal for people to get together and celebrate Christmas. Thinking about it like that, it wouldn’t be strange if Sendai-san already had plans to hang out with her friends. If anything, it’d be more surprising if she didn’t.

           Then, something Asakura-san had said earlier came back to me.

           “Work.”

           Sendai-san had mentioned wanting to take on a second job over winter break, so even if she didn’t have plans with friends, she’d probably be working.

           「Maybe I should ask her anyway, just in case she doesn’t actually have any plans.」

           Christmas itself didn’t mean much to me, but I didn’t like the idea of Sendai-san already having plans. At the same time, if she didn’t, then the three of us would be spending Christmas together.

           I enjoyed hanging out with Maika.

           And this Christmas sounded like it could be fun too.

           But I didn’t like the idea of Sendai-san and Maika hanging out on Christmas.

           「No, I’ll ask her after I get home.」

           I couldn’t exactly tell Maika not to contact Sendai-san. I didn’t know what Sendai-san’s plans were, but I wanted to be the first one to ask.

           「Okay. I’ll leave it to you, then.」

           「Yeah.」

           Asakura-san spoke up.

           「Miyagi-san, you live with Sendai-san, right?」

           「Yeah. Why?」

           「I’ve said this before, but you two seem so different and don’t really seem to have much in common, so it’s kind of surprising. Honestly, I feel like I’d get really nervous if I ever met her again.」

           She had said something like that back during the school festival. It hadn’t sounded like a joke when she admitted she’d be nervous if she ever saw Sendai-san again, though Maika had quickly brushed it off.

           「Back in high school, I thought she was from a completely different world than us. But once I actually talked to her, I realized that wasn’t true at all. If you saw her again, I think it’d be fun. Right, Shiori?」

           「Yeah. I think she’s pretty kind.」

           「She is?」

           Asakura-san turned toward me.

           「She used to help me study in high school.」

           「That’s kind of unexpected.」

           Asakura-san laughed lightly, then added,

           「Oh, I’m getting hungry. What are you two doing after this, Miyagi-san, Utsunomiya-san? Do you want to grab something before heading home?」

           A fair amount of time had passed since the movie ended. It was already evening. A little early for dinner, maybe, though not strange to be hungry.

           「I’m down. What about you, Shiori?」

           Maika-san answered with a smile and looked at me.

           「Sorry, I can’t today.」

           「Do you have plans with Sendai-san later?」

           「Yeah. Something like that.」

           Sendai-san had gone out today, just like I had, and we hadn’t actually made any plans. But she had mentioned she’d be eating dinner at home.

           After parting ways with them, I boarded the train home.

           As it swayed along the tracks, I took out my phone and opened a photo of Sendai-san.

           My eyes went straight to her ears.

           In the picture, she wore the same small silver studs she’d had ever since she got them pierced.

           They were about to be replaced with earrings I would choose for her.

           If I did that, the earrings wouldn’t just be for our birthday promise anymore. They would become something that kept her under my control — something that made her mine, and kept her that way.

           ― But…

           If that were true, then didn’t it also mean I belonged to her?

           The earrings in my ears were the ones she had chosen.

           If choosing and changing Sendai-san’s earrings meant keeping her under my control, then it wouldn’t be strange if the earrings in my ears carried the same meaning.

           Or maybe they didn’t mean that at all, but it still bothered me.

           I touched my ear and ran my fingers over the earring.

           I didn’t belong to Sendai-san, but these earrings were important to me because they would remind her of our promises.

           I put my phone away as the train continued to sway.

           I got off at my usual station and walked home.

           Night came early in winter. The wind was cold, so I put my hands in my coat pockets.

           Before I realized it, my pace had quickened.

           After climbing three flights of stairs, I opened the door and saw Sendai-san’s shoes at the entrance.

           I stepped inside, shut the door behind me, and headed toward the shared living space. Sendai-san was standing in front of the refrigerator.

           「I’m home.」

           「Welcome back. Was the movie good?」

           She closed the refrigerator and walked toward me.

           「It was okay.」

           「And my earrings?」

           She stepped close enough to reach up and brush her fingertip lightly against my earring.

           「I still haven’t picked a good pair yet.」

           I kicked her leg. She knew she was asking something she already knew the answer to.

           「Should I take you not choosing anything yet as a sign that you want me to leave more marks on you?」

           「No. Absolutely not.」

           Whenever Sendai-san asked about the earrings and I answered her with, “I haven’t picked anything yet,” another mark was added to her body — and one to mine. It wasn’t something we had formally agreed on, but it was something we’d started doing ever since that day we left marks on each other.

           I traced Sendai-san’s neck with my fingertips.

           I tugged her knit collar slightly aside.

           I pressed my lips just below her collarbone, in a place her clothes would hide, and sucked firmly on her skin. Sendai-san slipped her arms around my back. She held me loosely, and I could feel her warmth not only through my lips, but from the rest of her body as well.

           I sucked long enough to leave a mark, then pulled away.

           After checking the faint red bloom on her skin, I bit her gently.

           She let go and moved back a little. Then Sendai-san pressed her lips to the same place I had marked, this time on me.

           The way she sucked at my skin, the matching scent of her shampoo, and the pleasure of it all made me want to feel Sendai-san even more.

           She drew back from my skin before tracing it with her tongue.

           It tickled, sending a shiver down my spine, so I pushed Sendai-san away. Her hand immediately reached for my ears and neck, and I stomped on her foot hard.

           「You don’t have to be so guarded all the time.」

           Sendai-san sounded dissatisfied.

           「Yes, I do.」

           How could I not?

           The word “someday” that Sendai-san had said the other day lingered in my mind. I didn’t remember agreeing to it, but she seemed to be waiting for the right time to touch me, and not knowing when that would be made me uneasy.

           「You’re worrying too much. When I said I’d touch you ‘someday,’ it doesn’t mean I have anything planned. Oh, but if there’s ever a day you actually want me to, just let me know, okay?」

           「There’s no way I’d do that.」

           I didn’t want her doing something to me. But there was something I needed to ask her.

           I had to ask about her plans for Christmas.

           But before I could bring it up, Sendai-san spoke first.

           「Miyagi, I need your help with dinner tonight.」

           「What are we making?」

           「This.」

           Sendai-san said, opening the refrigerator.

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