Black Clover - By My Side (Asta X Noelle)

Chapter 10: Star Festival (Part 3)

[It appeared as though humanity would be destroyed by demons. But a single mage saved them all. He was called the wizard king, and he became a legend.]

Noelle POV:

As Asta and I walk around the festival, and we talk about all sorts of things. 

"This is the first time I've ever been to a festival like this. Back in Hage, we never had festivals for anything. So I'm glad I got to go with you. It's been a lot of fun so far." Asta says as he smiles. 

"I'm glad I got to come with you too." I look Asta in the eyes, I want to kiss him so badly, but there are too many people around. "Why don't we sit down somewhere?"

"Sure, why not," Asta says as a walks ahead, "after we definitely have to play more games. I want to win a bunch of different things!"

 I smile and laugh at Asta's declaration, "Okay, we'll have to find games that don't require magic if you want to win anything then."

"Or, you could always help me out."

"Hmm, if I'm feeling generous," I say jokingly.

"It's okay. I know you'll help me." Asta says as he smiles.

My face heats up, "well, of course, I would."

We make our way over to a bench and sit down. We've been walking around for a while, so it's nice to sit and take a break.

"Say, Asta, what was Hage like? You were saying earlier that you've never even been to a festival. I find it hard to believe."

Asta looks at me, almost surprised that I asked him about his village. After taking some time, he finally responds, "well, Hage was a poor village, so we didn't have much. The church I lived at wasn't any better. Just getting by day to day was hard. Stuff like festivals was nearly impossible. Nobody had the time or money."

"Could we go sometime? To Hage?"

"You'd want to go to Hage?" Asta responds, sounding puzzled.

"I mean, it's your home, and to be honest, I'm curious."

"Curious of what?"

"Well, practically my entire life, I lived in the noble realm. The only village I've seen that was poor was Saussy. So I want to see more of the kingdom with my own eyes." I fix my gaze towards Asta and look him in the eyes.

"Where's this coming from? Not that it's a problem or anything." 

"Well..." I hesitate because I know I'm going to say something embarrassing. "Well," my voice gets quieter, "I feel like it would help us get closer if I learned more about your life." I feel a rush of embarrassment and cover my face with my hands. However, I peek between the cracks of my fingers to get a look at Asta. To my surprise, he looks taken aback, and he's blushing so much.

"I'm happy you feel that way, Noelle. We can go to Hage whenever you want." Asta rubs the back of his head as he stands up, "say, do you want to start walking again?"

Following his lead, I stand up as well, "Mhm, I'm ready!" Seeing Asta get flustered makes me feel good. We start to walk around the festival once more, looking for ways to entertain us. 

As we walk, I think about getting closer to him. Maybe it would be okay if I held his hand? Earlier, I told him we should go slowly, but I need to make an effort, at least. I reach for Asta's hand and grab it. He then looks over to me.

"Are you sure?"

"I-It wouldn't be fair to you if I never put in the effort," I look away from him to hide my embarrassment, "so you better be grateful." 

"Of course," Asta says, sounding happier than before, "I'm very grateful."

Hearing him say that makes me feel happy. It also makes me blush heavily. We continue to hold hands while walking around the festival. To be honest, holding hands is a little hard for me. The quick glances people give me and their whispers I hear as we pass by make me feel anxious.  However, I know I have to do this for Asta, so I have to stay strong. As we walk through the crowds of people, I can feel my grip on Asta's hand loosen, but he then starts to hold my hand tighter.

"I'm not letting go of you that easily," Asta says while leading the way, "that stand over there seems pretty cool. Let's check it out." He starts to pick up his pace and practically starts running, pulling me along. He's always been like this. Running ahead without looking back, paving the way for others to follow. It's something I've always admired about Asta. I love that about him. He's always so brave. When he's like that, it makes me want to be just like him. Suddenly those worries I just had seem trivial. Right now, I feel happy to be by his side, and nothing can change that. 

[Chapter 10 end]

{Author's notes: Hey everyone! Sorry in advance if there's ever a big gap between chapters, I'm in university so sometimes I get a heavy load of work. At the very least I'd like to get 2 chapters per week. However, personally, I'd like to get more done school does make it a bit harder. Anyways thank you for reading!}